Going Herb Tarlek
Does anyone remember the old TV series WKRP in Cincinnati? It was set at a radio station in Cincinnati (duh) and had a whole host of oddball characters populating the staff, including one Herb Tarlek.
I loved that show. For those of you who don't recall, Herb, in addition to being the world's tackiest dresser and least-successful ad salesman ever, was a buffoon who was prone to seeing the world solely through his own eyes. In fact, every once in a while after something happened he'd stop cold in his tracks and ask in alarm, Wait a minute--how does that affect me?
So whenever I realize that I'm essentially doing the same thing, making anything and everything about me even when it isn't, I call it "going Herb Tarlek." Although sometimes I forget that not everyone knows what I'm talking about, and I'm like, Wot? What do you mean you don't know what I'm referring to? Doesn't everyone have the same set of cultural reference points as I do??
The New Pornographers--"My Rights vs. Yours" mp3 off Challengers (buy)
System of a Down--"Ego Brain" mp3 off Steal This Album (buy)
LOVED WKRP - my favorite was Les, but that's cause I could relate. Nice
flashback and great New Pornographers song.
thanks, chris. i loved that whole album. and as far as wkrp goes. i think
every character was perfection. i wish they'd re-run the show again. it's
been ages since it was on.
I do the same thing with The Simpsons. Fortunately, my wife is awesome and
jumps in an explains the reference, while I sit there contentedly smiling
like some kind of weird guru.
james--i used to watch wkrp twice a day sometimes and i used to know the
shows by heart. now my brain can only recall certain key phrases. i'm kind
of like homer that way, every time i learn something new something old gets
pushed out of my brain. ;-)
If you are a Herb Tarlek fan you have to see the video by the Rheostatics.
It's for the tune Tarleks from their last album 2067. So sad the Rheos are
no more.
http://www.rheostatics.ca/media/tarleks_medium.mov
http://www.rheostatics.ca
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