THE RATASS GAZETTE

This is, bar none, the finest performance of this great rock song you'll find on the web. It's Donnie Iris performing his 1981 hit, "Ah, Leah", and it's a must-watch. Well, what are you waiting for?! Check it out!  Donnie Iris - Ah, Leah RANDOM THOUGHTS ... According to the screen shot at the end of this video, this was aired on WQED (Pittsburgh) in 2002. The band he's playing with are the house band from that local TV station, and let me tell you, these guys (and gal) kick some serious ass in this one! I mean, they knock it out of the park. Every single member of that band are spot-on, technically precise, and provide a note-perfect rendition of this song. The grinding distortion of the guitars and Donnie Iris' amazing vocal performance just sound way better than the original album version . Iris' pipes are definitely still intact, he really nails it here, it's awesome to watch. That must have been an amazing feeling to be there in the TV...

"You ever not buy anything in the supermarket and try to get out of there? It's impossible." - Here is some classic stand-up from the great Jerry Seinfeld. He riffs on supermarkets for a good five minutes, including some funny bits about the produce section, seedless watermelons, and milk. On fruit: "See the way that's fading left? That one's not ready." Cracks me up every time! Got to loooove the Sein.  

Here's a collection of ha-larious scenes from an episode of The Office (Season 5, Ep 13) called "The Stress Relief". "You were in the parking lot earlier, that's how I know you." - Pure gold right here. The office attempts to learn CPR, but fails badly. In fact, the lesson results in Andy singing the Bee Gees while Kelly dances. I like how the rest of the employees just look on with amusement/apathy. The scene is full of funny bits. Favorite line... Dwight: "Ok, he's dead. Anyone know what we do next?" Classic! The Roast of Michael Scott - Probably one of the best all-time Office scenes. Michael set up a Comedy Central-style Roast so employees could poke fun at him, and it's nothing short of gut-busting. I think I like Dwight's roast the best. Enjoy! "Boom, Roasted!" - Here's the end of episode. Michael got his feelings hurt at his own roast, but now he's got some comebacks of his own. "Osc...

Green Day "Walking Contradiction" and "Going to Pasalacqua"  Live on Saturday Night Special in 1996 RANDOM THOUGHTS... This is probably my favorite Green Day late-night TV performance of all time. It originally aired in 1996 on a short-lived Fox TV show called Saturday Night Special , produced by Roseanne Barr.  Special filled in for MAD TV for six weeks opposite NBC's Saturday Night Live , and Green Day appeared in the sixth and final episode.  It's pretty apparent that the people behind the scenes at the network wanted the band to play "Walking Contradiction," which was their single at the time (from the album Insomniac which was released the previous year).  It's also pretty apparent that Green Day wanted to play something else.  Let's be honest, "Walking Contradiction" is a catchy song with a fun music video , but it's a mid-tempo rocker and probably not the most exciting tune in their catalog to play.  So Green ...

The Rise of the NWO in WCW - Here's an awesome clip featuring the formation and rise of the New World Order in the WCW.  The faction formed in 1996 and it was a huge move for the WCW in the Monday Night Wars , with Nitro subsequently besting Raw in the ratings for quite a while.  It's got fantastic interviews with all the major players including Eric Bischoff, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and the Hulkster, among others.  It's interesting to hear them reflect on that time period, when wrestling was really surging on TV.  I'll admit, I was a WWF guy during this time, but when you team up Hall, Nash, and Hogan, and throw in some kick-ass black-and-white t-shirts... well, you really got something going there.  Check it out!

" That's gotta be KANE! " - Watch this clip and relive the debut of Kane! This was the first time we got a glimpse of the Undertaker's long-lost undead brother, and it was pretty awesome. He showed up at WWF's Badd Blood in 1997, ripped the door off a steel cage, and Tombstoned the Undertaker's big dead ass back to Hell, helping the Heartbreak Kid to a victory along the way. What a nice guy! Having the great Vince McMahon calling the match really helps sell it, too, good stuff. Hellfire and brimstone! It's KANE!!!

DX Invades WCW in 1998 - Where were you when D-Generation X drove a tank down to WCW's Monday Nitro and talked shit to Eric Bischoff and the dubya-see-dubya? Well, I was there. Oh, maybe not there physically, but I was there , man . This is clearly one of the highlights of the Monday Night Wars between Raw and Nitro , and my buddies and I were huge DX fans, so this was right up our alley. Screw Nitro , DX rules! Suck it!! The interviews with all the people involved here are fantastic, real good stuff. Enjoy!

Deion Sanders 1990 Topps #61 RANDOM THOUGHTS ... An awesome card featuring Deion Sanders as an up-and-coming phenom. Prime Time before his prime. Check out the badass photo! A young man on his way to conquering the sports world. It's a really cool picture that captures Neon Deion at a very exciting time in his career. ... He was entering his second MLB season in 1990, and he appeared in just 57 games for the Yankees that year, but then again, he did play 16 games with the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL that fall as a kick returner/ punt returner/ shutdown corner. So we'll cut him some slack. ... The 1990 Topps set, as any baseball card collector will tell you, was the first set to feature colored borders, and it's one of my favorite Topps card designs ever. There were many border colors, varying by team or whatnot. The other design features -- like the player photo showing in front of the team name, and a parallelogram (a parallelogram!) containing the player ...

RANDY MOSS SIGNS WITH THE 49ERS - The San Francisco 49ers made a very wise move and signed future Hall Of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss this past week. Anyone that thinks that Moss is washed up or not worth the "risk" is crazy, and here's why... Did the Niners upgrade at the position? Clearly. Randy Moss' worst year is better than Josh Morgan's best year. That's not just big talk, either. Well, actually it is. Morgan's best year is, in fact, better than Moss' worst year, but it's pretty damn close! Moss' "worst" season (in terms of sheer statistics) was 2006, his final year in Oakland. He posted 42 receptions, 553 yards, and 3 TD in 13 games. Josh Morgan's best season was 2010, when he posted 44, 698, and 2. So Morgan's stats are slightly better, but than again, if you extrapolate Moss' 13 games out to a full 16, Moss's numbers are 52, 680, and 4. The bottom line is, even if you get only 75% of the Moss of old, h...

THE "MY SHARONA" GUITAR SOLO - Am I crazy, or is the big guitar solo on "My Sharona" one of the best solos ever recorded? There was a time in my life (not long ago, actually) where I'd watch this video 20 times a day. It's the best live performance of this song I've seen, check it out! The Knack - My Sharona RANDOM THOUGHTS... Of course, the main guitar riff in this song is classic. The octave-jumping bass riff heard in the intro is also doubled by the guitar, and it was written by guitarist Berton Averre. I also think the first guitar break (you could probably call it a solo, Mr. Technically) at the 1:17 mark is really good. Today, however, I want to focus mainly on the full-blown celebration of life that is the big guitar solo... THE GUITAR SOLO (2:35 to 4:06) ... ... I'm almost appalled that this song is not mentioned in Guitar World's Top 100 Guitar Solos list. I mean, what the hell?! I'm sorry, but the "My Sha...