Thursday, July 01, 2010

First off, I'd ask that you listen to me and my main man Ryan talk about NBA free agency. This just so happens to be one of the biggest topics in sports, besides the World Cup and Wimbledon. Listen by clicking right here.

As you probably have heard by now, Mr. Larry King will be retiring from television in the fall, after 25 years on CNN. Much like like Bryant Gumbel, I've always admired King for his full body of work. He's done politics, he's announced and written about sports, he's currently on twitter, he had a nationally syndicated column in the USA Today for over 20 years, in which he became the king of the semi-humorous non-sequitur, and apparently he gets it done with the ladies because he's been married eight times in 48 years, which means he's presumably had more affairs than Tiger Woods can shake a stick (or a golf club) at.

But while I was walking into work this morning, I heard a statistic that made my jaw drop. Mr. King has interviewed over 50,000 people during his distinguished career. 50,000 son! So that got me thinking about interviews that I've conducted, which led me to start thinking about the people I've interviewed, which led me to start thinking about a wish list of sorts. So, without further ado, here is my interview wish list, which shall only focus on people who are living.

1) Mike Wallace and Larry King. Wallace is 92 years old, King is 76, but looks 92. Wallace is a legend primarily because of 60 Minutes, and we've already established King's greatness. Interviewing these two guys is as important as interviewing your grandparents. They can go at any time, but before they do it is a must to get their stories recorded in some shape, form or fashion. And with well over 100 years of combined journalism experience between them, Wallace and King would be a joy to talk to.

2) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I know its hard to believe that after my dazzling 9 minute interview with him back in December, that I could want more, but I do. From basketball, to history, to acting, to jazz, this man has a wealth of knowledge that I need to tap into. He's already written his autobiography, but that was back in 1983, and plenty of things have happened since then. He needs me to update him.

3) Tiger Woods - no explanation necessary
4) Quincy Jones. I ONLY want to talk to him about his Off The Wall and Thriller Recording sessions with Michael Jackson. I want stories, I want to hear about arguments, I want CDs of unreleased music..all of that.

5) George W. Bush. I think he overplayed his hand by aspiring to be president. I think if he had peaked with just trying to be a baseball owner, he'd look and feel a lot younger than he probably does right now. I'd make it my business to find something likeable about this guy, because right about now, its easy and convenient to bash him.

6) Janeane Garofalo. I've seen numerous interviews with her, and I'm always left wanting more--mainly because the people asking her questions either a) ask dumb shit or b)seem to get intimidated both by her humor and her faux angry woman vibe. I'd like to penetrate (pause) that exterior and figure out what she's about, because I dig her work.

7) Chris Rock/Eddie Murphy/Dave Chappelle. Again no explanation necessary
8) Mike Tyson. One of my favorite writers, Mr. Tony Kornheiser has said numerous times, that Tyson is easily the most fascinating person he's ever talked to, and I've heard that numerous times. Much like George Bush, its easy to focus on the negative and crazy aspects, but Tyson has some smarts under there.




I'm sure there are more but I'm tired of writing. To be continued. And now, a creepy, stalker-esque song from Jerry "Iceman" Butler. One of my co-workers was playing this song this morning, and I got a good listen to the words. Jerry is creepy.

2 comments:

Jazzbrew said...

Good call on Janeane Garofalo. I've always been fascinated (and turned on) by her.

Tiffany said...

Janeane is hilarious.

Peace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany