Yo…
Last night’s nerd adventure was wild.
Weird Al Yankovic’s Bigger & Weirder Tour pulled up to Toronto at the Budweiser Stage: aww yeah!!
I lost my cool when he rolled out in a Segway for White and Nerdy.
One of the most hilarious parts of every Weird Al concert is the crowd sing-alongs.
I’ve been to tons of concerts—from Oasis (back in the day), U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers…R.E.M. to indie bands to Run-D.M.C. and Kanye West. I’ve seen and enjoyed a range of sounds and live music.
And for any blow-the-roof-off the joint concert, each bands needs a classic sing-along anthem. Wonderwall is solid. The boys can perform it acoustic or with the full band. Either way, with those crowd classics you know the lead singer’s going to point the mic at the crowd—and the audience knows exactly what to do.
The lead singer mic point is one of our greatest social cues.
With Weird Al, it’s surreal to see 10,000 people belting out the exact phrase “I Love Rocky Road.” (A parody of I Love Rock 'n' Roll.) What an absurd thing for a large group of people to shout.
And of course the crowd sang along with “You know I'm fat!” Another "big" hit for Al.
“When I sit around the house / I really sit around the house.”
Still cracks me up, all these years later.
And when Amish Paradise dropped, the place went ballistic.
It’s kinda sad, though. Seeing Weird Al in 2025, it’s clear the musical landscape has shifted. Culturally Eat It and Like a Surgeon work because we all know those originals, we know those music videos—we all get the super funny joke. (It’s technically an inside joke for everyone who grew up in the ‘80s.)
Sadly, that type of board cultural currency is dwindling.
There’s maybe a Taylor Swift song…Shake It Off kinda? Kendrick’s Not Like Us? But converting Bad into Fat and inflating the Edward Scissorhands outfit MJ wore in the Bad video and album cover? That’s rare gold these days.
In the past most of us were on the same page—literally. We watched the same Six O’Clock News. We read the same newspapers. Admittedly, that wasn’t a perfect system, even if it successfully created a deep and shared understanding of current events and cultural experiences.
Now, we live in stubborn information silos. Individuals (and fools) can choose their news, their politics, even their reality like a combo from McDonald’s.
And that disheartening cultural breakdown makes Weird Al’s parody work a whole lot harder. There’s way less inside jokes, now.
I say all this at the risk of sounding like I want to live in Amish Paradise.
Who Wears Short Shorts? Jaws Wears Short Shorts…
I got caught up in all the Jaws is 50! hype so I sat down to (re)watch the movie. It’d been…I dunno how many years.
Hafta admit watching Jaws in 2025 I can see why it still resonates today. Nothing truly dates it.
It’s the same rare joy with Die Hard. Yeah in Die Hard there’s a couple of moments with those old school computer monitors, with a big ol butt. But they’re fleeting.
For the most part Die Hard is guns, terrorists and a NYC cop with a wife beater. That’s evergreen. That’ll never go out of style. Every generation can instantly pick it up.
Ditto for Jaws.
Granted, in some of the beach scenes guys are rocking NBA short shorts…how anyone had kids in the ‘80s, I’ll never understand.
Chief Brody types up his investigation report on a typewriter though only for 1 short scene. Eh.
Jaws is just 2 hours of boats and ocean and a mean shark. Again all evergreen.
Also—can we take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate that exhilarating ‘70s run?
Dungeons & Dragons launched in January 1974.
Carrie, Stephen King’s debut novel, hit bookstore shelves on April 5, 1974.
The Ramones made their CBGB debut on August 16, 1974.
Jaws opened on June 20, 1975.
Saturday Night Live premiered on October 11, 1975.
Good Gravy.
If you were a nerd during that era, you had no idea just how radically your entire world had shifted in barely two years. That was strictly nerd gentrification for pop culture.
And even with all that as an incredible foundation... Star Wars was still two years away.
Yo, son.
See for yourself…while Jaws is currently streaming for the movie’s 50th Anniversary it opens on Labor Day Weekend, on August 29.
I’d say that’s #PantsWorthy but in this case it’s #ShortShortsWorthy. Check your local cinemas for upcoming screenings and events.
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
For Jaws’ 50th Anniversary filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau directed Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, a documentary slash retrospective whose official description reads:
“Alongside Steven Spielberg, JAWS @ 50 charts the extraordinary journey from Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel to one of the most iconic films ever made. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the documentary uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.”
Behold the Laurent Bouzereau’s Jaws @ 50 trailer:
Toward the end of the attached My Summer Lair conversation, I asked Laurent about his many making of… documentaries: Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford (2023) is a recent example. (Might still be on Disney+ double check. Music by John Williams was just added to Disney+ this past November. Do enjoy that out. Pairs well with a hot cup of tea.)
He’s documented behind-the-scenes documentaries for most of Spielberg’s movies as well as works by Hitchcock, Orson Welles, de Palma, Scorsese, Lumet and much more films and filmmaking journeys. These are some of the biggest and best names we got in cinema, you know? These guys craft classics.
And I wanted to know from Laurent who has talked to many of them and written about them: do these cinematic giants share something in common?
Maybe, something subtle in their work that we’ve failed to recognize? I wasn’t chasing a cheat code formula—this wasn’t 5 Simple Steps to Make Your Own Blockbuster.
My curiosity laced question was anthropological, not instructional.
I want to identify and understand the extraordinary cultural connections and how how we got here.
These films endure. They shape our pop culture and influence who we are—and who we become—as creative individuals.
It’s like attending a magic show. I never believe it’s an illusion or sleight of hand trickery. I really believe it’s all real magic.
And so I appreciated that Laurent gently corrected my terminology in response to my inquiry, about his behind-the-scenes documentaries:
“I don’t see them as making of. I used to at the very beginning, when I was doing the first Jaws doc. 30 years ago it was called The Making of Jaws. (For the Jaws Laserdisc).
But for today, I really tried to capture a legacy that is still happening today. And why we should not forget the creators. And why we should not forget those particular films. Here’s a way to appreciate them in the context of our lives and our cinema today.
So I’m really trying to influence and inspire young people who are searching for inspiration or searching for ways to express themselves in any sort of art form. And, hopefully this, this film about the tribulations of making Jaws will inspire maybe just one person to not give up. And that will be the next artist that will do another masterpiece.”
With Jaws @ 50 Laurent makes a compelling case that Jaws’ legacy—perhaps overlooked or underappreciated—is it’s a creative big bang.
As he eloquently told me me in this MSL episode: “I really wanted Jaws @ 50 to show the impact that basically without Jaws, we may not have had the kind of Hollywood that we have today.”
He’s right.
I dunno if we’ve become jaded or if we just got hard. Somewhere, sometime…there’s a kid sitting in a dark cinema, spellbound, as this wild cinematic world unfolds on the big screen.
And that kid is thinking and deciding: I wanna do that.
I wanna direct. I wanna write. I wanna act. I wanna do that.
That’s the magic of cinema.
That’s why we put on pants and you go to the movies.
For the spark. For the magic.
You can enjoy Laurent Bouzereau’s Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story tonight at 9 p.m. when it premieres on National Geographic TV.
However, it’ll streams tomorrow on Disney+ and Hulu so either way #SetTheVCR. As for Jaws it is streaming on Peacock, Crave…think it was also added to Netflix-Canada.
For now, enjoy this MSL conversation with Laurent. He and I unpack creativity, filmmaking, Hollywood and he shares the unusual way he came to see Jaws. When he shared that experience I was like…woah: interesting.
Jaws 50th Anniversary Pinball Game
Ironically, New York City’s pinball ban officially ended on August 1, 1976. (Thanks for nothing Fiorello La Guardia!)
While, Jaws opened on June 20, 1975—when the pinball ban was still in effect. Clearly, this time…it’s personal.
This newly revamped and stylish Jaws pinball game looks fantastic. And it looks expensive.
The premium pinball machine comes with a premium price tag: a MSRP of $US 9,699. That’s nuttier than closing down a beach during the Fourth of July weekend.
The new pinball machine will be playable for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, running from July 24 – 27, at the Stern Pinball pop-up arcade in the Marriott Marquis Hotel.
Wasn’t that the ultimate ‘80s dream? Like in Big—filling your home with arcade games and pinball machines. Sigh.
Just like multiball, life comes at you fast and it gets hectic. And with dreams? Today is the best day. Tomorrow is too late.
Da-Dum…Da-Dum…Da-Dum…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
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