SAM KINISON, WILD THING & LONG ISLAND ICE TEA …
Once in a while, Factual Harassment will take a break from the serious and stodgy world of politics to share with you our highly recommended pairings of comedians, classics & chemicals.
Here’s our first installment, for your physical, emotional and gastronomical pleasure …
COMEDIAN: SAM KINISON
Kinison (December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were most often characterized by an intense style, similar to charismatic preachers, and punctuated by his distinct scream. Click here to see his memorable 1985 television network debut on the Tonight Show with David Letterman. (FYI: It’s an old recording, so the video is grainy, but we think you’ll enjoy anyway.) Enjoy!
CLASSIC: WILD THING
What classic rock song pairs better with Kinison’s first TV performance than his own rendition of Wild Thing (The Troggs) that he recorded as a novelty in 1988. The video was a regular on MTV with many cameos of Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Tyler and Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Slash and Steven Adler (Gun’s and Rose’s), The band Ratt, Billy Idol, Steve Vai and even Dweezil Zappa just to name a few. It also included a few raunchy scenes with American model and actress Jessica Hahn rolling around on a mat. Click here to watch the Wild Thing video. Rock on!
CHEMICAL: LONG ISLAND ICE TEA
The Long Island Iced Tea was actually invented in the ’70s, on Long Island, by a man with an unfortunate name: Bob Butt. But Butt (that’s redundant) overcame it when he created the sweet and sour liquor bomb that came to be know appropriately as ‘LIT,’ as folks guzzling them in the ’80s tended to end up ridiculously lit — 5 shots of liquor (vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec) in just one drink will do that to a human. But we think there’s no better chemical to pair with an 80’s comedian and classic rock song. Cheers!
