Monday, May 11, 2020

Mystery Science Theater 3000 or MST3K as part of the 1980s "Minneapolis Sound" Renaissance

Sure by mainstream standards but Joel is a big Replacements fan and his early season shows promote punk-hardcore music. So also he's from the "Minneapolis Sound" renaissance - Prince, and grunge noise. I was part of that scene also. I grew up just two blocks away from where this show was created - by Josh and Joel meeting at the local library and near their comedy club (just across the street from my church). For example the high school across the street had huge graffiti spray painted Husker Du - I always thought it was the kid's game (and then I finally saw the band live when they performed on the Today show in Minneapolis downtown). And the Replacements MOM worked at Uptown Bar just down from the library.

 yes if you watch "the actual guy" doing his stand up comedy before he created MST3K - he does the same character more or less - which is also the same style as the props he creates. It's a sardonic dry humor as a kind of anti-acting.

 you mean Mike were there for the first TWO seasons? I don't think so. Kevin can't replace Josh Weinstein either (who helped create Tom Servo). Yeah CREATING the show is not the same as starting writing jokes later on. Josh brought Mike in - and he didn't start out as lead writer... "In 1989, the Illinois native joined MST3K, becoming a staff writer," So he started in season 1 as a writer but was not a lead writer till after Josh left.....

 Did Josh work the puppets also? I'm pretty sure he helped CREATE "tom" Servo. haha.

 Joel definitely "brought" something to that which he CREATED. Josh Weinstein also helped create the show and then he "brought" Mike in.

 If you watch Joel live on David Letterman - look it up on youtube - he likes to stare up at the boom mike. So it fits in with the Kabuki style of MST3K - it's a Bretchian "critical distancing" technique to mess with the "collapse of disbelief" or whatever it's called. "willing suspension of disbelief" - so instead of making it a passive viewing experience, you're supposed to get upset and therefore critically engage with the medium itself as a kind of self-reflective critical distancing.

 Joel was into the Replacements and early seasons make references to punk-hardcore music. So yeah he had an anti-music streak.

  I ONLY saw it on the local tv station in the twin cities - and thought it was awesome. But I forgot about it until my gf's uncle said he loved the show - in another part of the US - in the mid-90s. That's the only way I knew I had seen it on the local station. I'm the same age as Josh Weinstein. They created this show just a couple blocks from my house - pretty amazing. Joel was a big fan of the Replacements who were from that same neighborhood - their mom worked at the Uptown Bar. So yeah Prince used to Roller Skate around Lake of the Isles. So it's a little 1980s Renaissance of the Minneapolis Sound.

No comments:

Post a Comment