Marc Hirsh : NPR

Marc Hirsh Marc Hirsh lives in the Boston area, where he indulges in the magic trinity of improv comedy, competitive adult four square and music journalism.

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Marc Hirsh

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Friday June 13, 2014

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Christopher Walken Tells Jon Stewart About Tap Dance Cops ... Again

June 13, 2014 • On Thursday night's Daily Show, Christopher Walken told Jon Stewart about his theory that Queens is full of retired cops who can dance. and Stewart laughed gamely ... for the second time.

Tuesday April 15, 2014

No Take-Backs: Why Can't 'New Girl' Figure Out What It's Doing?

Jess (Zooey Deschanel) and Nick (Jake Johnson) dealt with some relationship business in the New Girl episode "Mars Landing," but where are they supposed to go now? Ray Mickshaw/Fox hide caption

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Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

No Take-Backs: Why Can't 'New Girl' Figure Out What It's Doing?

April 15, 2014 • Marc Hirsh looks at the direction of the Fox comedy and wonders: why can't it leave well enough alone? Or, in fact, leave anything alone?

Friday April 4, 2014

Last Chance: 'Raising Hope' Ends Its Run At The Right Time

Martha Plimpton and Garret Dillahunt end their run in Raising Hope on Friday night. Greg Gayne/Fox hide caption

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Greg Gayne/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Last Chance: 'Raising Hope' Ends Its Run At The Right Time

April 4, 2014 • Marc Hirsh looks at the series finale of the "goof machine" Raising Hope, and concludes that while some series hang around too long and some die prematurely, this exits at just the right moment.

Friday January 24, 2014

If it's true that Lorde should be glad her Grammy nominations don't include Best New Artist, then the entire enterprise has become ridiculous. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Fix The Best New Artist Grammy: Dump It

January 24, 2014 • Marc Hirsh argues that the Best New Artist award, the kids' table of the Grammys, ought to go the way of the dodo bird, for everyone's sake and everyone's sanity.

Thursday January 9, 2014

'Parks And Recreation': Good For Nerds, Good For America

Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope and Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt on NBC's deeply pro-nerd Parks And Recreation. Colleen Hayes/NBC hide caption

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Colleen Hayes/NBC

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Parks And Recreation': Good For Nerds, Good For America

January 9, 2014 • There aren't all that many shows on television that are nice to nerds. But Parks And Recreation embraces its grown-up enthusiasts, whether they're into board games, Game Of Thrones, or dressing like Batman.

Wednesday November 27, 2013

About 'Mystery Science Theater,' A Bold Declaration. It's Bold!

Joel Hodgson poses with Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo, two of his "robot friends." PhotoFest hide caption

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PhotoFest

Pop Culture Happy Hour

About 'Mystery Science Theater,' A Bold Declaration. It's Bold!

November 27, 2013 • Marc Hirsh marks the 25th anniversary of the great bad-movie snark-off by taking an unpopular opinion about two poor fellas who got stranded in space playing with robots.

Thursday October 17, 2013

Katy Perry performs on Saturday Night Live. Dana Edelson/NBC hide caption

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Dana Edelson/NBC

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Katy Perry And The New Rules Of Pop

October 17, 2013 • Marc Hirsh checks in with Katy Perry and the current requirements for pop stagecraft. It used to be that you didn't need big and splashy stage shows unless they suited you; that's no longer the case.

Thursday September 12, 2013

Nothing Personal, But I'm Not Reading Your 'Breaking Bad' Analysis

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston as Jesse and Walt on AMC's Breaking Bad, which will have its finale in a few weeks. Frank Ockenfels/AMC hide caption

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Frank Ockenfels/AMC

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Nothing Personal, But I'm Not Reading Your 'Breaking Bad' Analysis

September 12, 2013 • Marc Hirsh explains why, even though he loves good television and good writing, he's ignoring the avalanche of Breaking Bad coverage until the show ends.

Thursday August 29, 2013

The Beach Boys' Perfect Imperfect Box Set

The Beach Boys. Capitol Photo Archives hide caption

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Capitol Photo Archives

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Beach Boys' Perfect Imperfect Box Set

August 29, 2013 • The band's new box set, Made in California, has critic Marc Hirsh thinking again about a group whose legend never made sense to him.

Tuesday March 26, 2013

Tweaks, Retooling, And When To Give Up: A Tale Of Two Singing Shows

Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher, and Blake Shelton make up the adjusted judging panel on NBC's The Voice. Adam Taylor/NBC hide caption

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Adam Taylor/NBC

Opinion

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Tweaks, Retooling, And When To Give Up: A Tale Of Two Singing Shows

March 26, 2013 • The Voice returns tonight with two new coaches, while The X Factor will return in the fall minus three familiar faces. But only one of the shows is in trouble.

Monday January 28, 2013

A Farewell Salute To 'Ben & Kate,' A Show About Friends Who Are Actually Friends

Dakota Johnson and Nat Faxon star in Ben & Kate, recently yanked from the Fox schedule. Jennifer Clasen/Fox hide caption

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Jennifer Clasen/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Farewell Salute To 'Ben & Kate,' A Show About Friends Who Are Actually Friends

January 28, 2013 • With the departure of Ben & Kate, television loses one of its few comedies whose characters — gasp! — like one another.

Wednesday October 17, 2012

'The X Factor' Has A Mournful Piano Ballad Or Ten For You

Girl group Lylas performs in front of Simon Cowell and guest mentor Marc Anthony on The X Factor. Ray Mickshaw/Fox hide caption

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Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The X Factor' Has A Mournful Piano Ballad Or Ten For You

October 17, 2012 • As The X Factor whittles its contestants down to the top 16, one type of song has become triumphant: the slow, sad ballad.

Tuesday October 16, 2012

'You Can't Do That On Film': A Performance Documentary Without Performance Footage

Shout! Factory

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'You Can't Do That On Film': A Performance Documentary Without Performance Footage

October 16, 2012 • A new DVD celebrates the kids' sketch show You Can't Do That On Television. But can a documentary work without looking directly at its subject?

Friday October 12, 2012

The Critical Tyranny Of 'You're Doing It Wrong'

iStockphoto.com

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Critical Tyranny Of 'You're Doing It Wrong'

October 12, 2012 • With the increasing prevalence in criticism that sets down arbitrary rules for cultural consumption, a look at the unnecessary tunnel vision of "You're Doing It Wrong."

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Veracity Of 'Titanic,' James Bond and 'Homeland,' And Why Recognizability Matters

October 12, 2012 • What do the Mythbusters crew, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Salon television critic Willa Paskin have in common? They're all reminding us of the importance of a recognizable reality in fiction.

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Whither Prince's "Batdance"? (Quo Batdancimus?)

October 10, 2012 • A recent reassessment of Prince's Batman album prompts the question: Why has "Batdance," a No. 1 hit, seemingly vanished from his history?

Sunday August 26, 2012

It's Who You Know: Predicting How 'The Newsroom' Will Get Its Next Scoop

Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy on HBO's The Newsroom knows people who know people, fortunately for him. Melissa Moseley/HBO hide caption

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Melissa Moseley/HBO

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's Who You Know: Predicting How 'The Newsroom' Will Get Its Next Scoop

August 26, 2012 • On the eve of its first-season finale, some bold predictions about how the journalists on HBO's The Newsroom will lean on their fortuitously-placed friends and family for future stories.

Wednesday August 1, 2012

Sam Phillips And Trying To Describe The Indescribable Wow

Musician Sam Phillips Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Sam Phillips And Trying To Describe The Indescribable Wow

August 1, 2012 • Faced with a new reissue of Sam Phillips's 1994 album Martinis & Bikinis, a critic reveals his inability to write about the music that seems to be made with him in mind.

Friday June 29, 2012

The Perfect Listen: Fiona Apple As A Lesson In Irrational Music Rituals

Recording artist Fiona Apple performs in February 2011. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images hide caption

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Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Perfect Listen: Fiona Apple As A Lesson In Irrational Music Rituals

June 29, 2012 • Can you look forward to a record so much that you can't make yourself listen to it? Perhaps you can, if you're determined to have just the right listening experience.

Wednesday May 23, 2012

Eliza Rickman. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

Eliza Rickman: A Cockeyed Pop Song

May 23, 2012 • "Pretty Little Head" is simple yet intricate, a contradiction which helps give it the feel of a nursery rhyme that's just starting to teeter off the rails. All the while, the arrangement works hard to keep listeners from finding their bearings for long.

'Pretty Little Head' by Eliza Rickman

3:51

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/153296147/153282800" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday May 14, 2012

Long-Term Investments On Shaky Stocks: 'New Girl' And 'Smash' End Their Seasons

Zooey Deschanel as Jess on Fox's New Girl. Ray Mickshaw/Fox hide caption

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Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Long-Term Investments On Shaky Stocks: 'New Girl' And 'Smash' End Their Seasons

May 14, 2012 • Commentator Marc Hirsh considers the viewer investment required to let an uneven pilot develop as a series, and how that process went very differently for two of this season's most hyped shows.

Friday May 11, 2012

NBC Renews And Reduces Its Thursday-Night Comedies, And That's A Good Thing

One more ride: Tina Fey's Liz Lemon gets 13 more chances to pick up a little elevator advice from Alec Baldwin's Jack Donaghy. Ali Goldstein/NBC hide caption

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Ali Goldstein/NBC

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NBC Renews And Reduces Its Thursday-Night Comedies, And That's A Good Thing

May 11, 2012 • NBC has renewed several of its critically-acclaimed but low-rated comedies, including 30 Rock, Community and Parks And Recreation, with shortened orders. Rather than spelling their demise, this could be exactly what saves them.

Thursday May 10, 2012

James Cameron And Getting Trapped Inside Your Most Successful Creation

Writer-director James Cameron on the set of 2009's Avatar with cast members Sigourney Weaver, Joel David Moore, and Sam Worthington. Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Twentieth Century Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

James Cameron And Getting Trapped Inside Your Most Successful Creation

May 10, 2012 • Director James Cameron recently claimed that he was no longer interested in making movies unless they were based on his 2009 hit Avatar. Two others have fallen into similar traps, with problematic results.

Wednesday May 9, 2012

10 Things I Hate About 'American Idol' (Besides The Singing And The Judging)

Oh, get on with it: Ryan Seacrest's increasingly elaborate fake-outs when he's delivering results is just one of the most irritating things about the current season of American Idol. Fox hide caption

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Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

10 Things I Hate About 'American Idol' (Besides The Singing And The Judging)

May 9, 2012 • As we near the finale of the current season of American Idol, a look at some of the show's annoyances, great and small.