Flight of the Conchords released their most recent album.

As many of you have figured out by now, I just can’t get enough of Bret and Jemaine these days. For starters, I just bought the first season and then had to purchase their new album. I took a trip up to Portland, ME yesterday and couldn’t wait to listen to my new CD. Having bought their most recent album (the release date, as I said in my first piece about them, was April 22, 2008). In fact, the album was so funny, I found myself ignoring the scenery.

It turns out, this CD, not surprisingly, is as equally as funny as the television show. In fact, I was so distracted from its hilarity - my face actually ached after listening to all the songs and laughing so hard - I had to turn it off for a while. You see, I’ve never been to Maine, and this is the time of year to go (it’s breathtakingly lush and devoid of humans, which is odd for New England). So after touring parts of Portland and Portsmouth, NH, I had to get my FOC fix. Read More »

[Warning to the reader: Story line and contents of this episode are discussed below].

Bret and Jemaine have moved to NYC from New Zealand. This first episode – the pilot – is my favorite, as FOC packs in a number of songs, allowing the viewer to get a real sense of what their act is all about. (The other episodes, I’ve found, don’t include as many songs as this first one).

With a full introduction to Bret and Jemaine, the show also highlights all the side characters. There’s Mel (Kristen Schaal), the “fan” (viz. a stalker); Murray (Rhys Darby), their incompetent “agent,” who is, as I mentioned in my previous piece, also a representative for the New Zealand consulate; and Dave (Rick Shroeder), their uneducated, coarse American friend.

THE PREMISE

Although Bret and Jemaine are trying to get gigs, there’s another issue – the two musicians are both on the look out for “hot girls,” and long to have a real girlfriend. As it turns out, when one or the other dates a girl, problems ensue, and the hilarity of these situations is a delightful highlight. In this case, the main love interest, for Jemaine, is a woman named Sally (Rachel Blanchard).

Jemaine first sees Sally at Dave’s party. She is in a spotlight, her make-up is impeccable, and her hair is blowing around her face. When Jemaine sees Sally from across the room, he begins to belt out a song, called “Part-Time Model.” As the first song for FOC, it demonstrates their ability to weave tunes into the story line – its seamlessness is nothing short of impressive. (Incidentally, all references to songs hereafter will be listed below each recap, and if you want to read the actual lyrics, HBO provides a useful page for that). Read More »