I Hear Voices
July 15, 2010 2:07 PM Subscribe
Good news, everyone! Billy West on Fresh Air discussing the various voices he has created for Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, and many others.
I honestly can't believe I never made the connection between Stimpy and Professor Farnsworth before this post pointed it out. Now it's all I can hear. Good news, Ren! I've invented a happy helmet!
posted by Kirk Grim at 2:28 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kirk Grim at 2:28 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
I heard him on the Adam Carolla Podcast a few weeks ago, and he was hilarious.
posted by reenum at 2:30 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by reenum at 2:30 PM on July 15, 2010
Yeah, I listened today at work and even as only a moderate Futurama fan, this was entertaining as hell.
posted by saul wright at 2:33 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by saul wright at 2:33 PM on July 15, 2010
Weirdly, he was on Adam Corolla's podcast a few weeks ago. He was the most unfunny and manic jerk I've ever heard. Obviously hugely talented w/r/t voices, but painfully boorish.
Will listen to this when I get home to see if NPR made him not an ass.......
posted by lattiboy at 2:39 PM on July 15, 2010
Will listen to this when I get home to see if NPR made him not an ass.......
posted by lattiboy at 2:39 PM on July 15, 2010
Sweet. He's always funny and interesting to listen to. That and Farnsworth and Zoidberg never fail to make me laugh.
Also, so glad we have proper Futurama back.
posted by opsin at 2:41 PM on July 15, 2010
Also, so glad we have proper Futurama back.
posted by opsin at 2:41 PM on July 15, 2010
I'm so glad to hear that connection between Zapp Brannigan and Phil Hartman.
Maybe that's old news, maybe not, but it feels like a blank has been filled in that I didn't know was there.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:48 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Maybe that's old news, maybe not, but it feels like a blank has been filled in that I didn't know was there.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:48 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Billy West also did a two-hours-plus interview alongside John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender) on Kevin Pollak's Chat Show. A lot of the anecdotes and background info he mentions on Fresh Air are expounded upon at greater length there.
posted by letourneau at 3:00 PM on July 15, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by letourneau at 3:00 PM on July 15, 2010 [5 favorites]
I was going to refuse to listen to this until I heard that someone else was filling in for Terry Gross. I can't stand her as an interviewer.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:02 PM on July 15, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 3:02 PM on July 15, 2010 [4 favorites]
The Great Big Mulp, it's actually Billy West doing his Dave Davies impression.
posted by infinitewindow at 3:05 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 3:05 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
Thanks -- I used to listen to him on the Big Mattress and it is great to hear him again!
posted by theredpen at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by theredpen at 3:06 PM on July 15, 2010
I was going to refuse to listen to this until I heard that someone else was filling in for Terry Gross. I can't stand her as an interviewer.
Thank you for this. I was dreading having to hear her handle this interview, with her lame questions and valley girl "every sentence ends with a question mark?" style.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
Thank you for this. I was dreading having to hear her handle this interview, with her lame questions and valley girl "every sentence ends with a question mark?" style.
posted by schoolgirl report at 3:07 PM on July 15, 2010 [2 favorites]
its funny to go back and listen to a fresh air from the distant past, because you can tell that terry gross's "accent" is totally put-on. she's been amplifying it over the years. i hate that little stutter that she does.
anyway i happened to hear this in the car today and it was fantastic, thanks for posting.
posted by joeblough at 3:12 PM on July 15, 2010
anyway i happened to hear this in the car today and it was fantastic, thanks for posting.
posted by joeblough at 3:12 PM on July 15, 2010
I was going to refuse to listen to this until I heard that someone else was filling in for Terry Gross. I can't stand her as an interviewer.
I think she's better than the guy who filled in for her. He wasn't bad but, he kind of didn't keep up with it, and came over as mildly uninterested at moments, though it may well all have been nerves.
posted by opsin at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2010
I think she's better than the guy who filled in for her. He wasn't bad but, he kind of didn't keep up with it, and came over as mildly uninterested at moments, though it may well all have been nerves.
posted by opsin at 3:15 PM on July 15, 2010
I think we should have an official Metafilter GOOD NEWS day and precede every FPP with "Good News, Everyone!"
Examples:
"Good News, Everyone! As of about an hour and a half ago, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's broken well for the first time in 87 days. See for yourself."
"Good News, Everyone! Argentina Approves Gay Marriage."
"Good News, Everyone! New Episodes of Beavis and Butt-head confirmed. That is all. "
"Good News, Everyone! Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why. "
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:17 PM on July 15, 2010 [10 favorites]
Examples:
"Good News, Everyone! As of about an hour and a half ago, oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's broken well for the first time in 87 days. See for yourself."
"Good News, Everyone! Argentina Approves Gay Marriage."
"Good News, Everyone! New Episodes of Beavis and Butt-head confirmed. That is all. "
"Good News, Everyone! Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why. "
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:17 PM on July 15, 2010 [10 favorites]
He was a frequent guest on Howard Stern back in the '80s. Howard always referred to him as "the funniest guy I know."
posted by puny human at 3:27 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by puny human at 3:27 PM on July 15, 2010
"Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that makes you read this statement in your head in my voice!"
posted by killdevil at 3:45 PM on July 15, 2010 [9 favorites]
posted by killdevil at 3:45 PM on July 15, 2010 [9 favorites]
Ever since I first heard Stimpy, with no idea who was doing it or anything, I knew there was a talent at work behind that voice. Glad for this and glad for the Kevin Pollack pointer.
posted by Trochanter at 4:06 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by Trochanter at 4:06 PM on July 15, 2010
Oops! Pollak. (At least I didn't say Polack.)
posted by Trochanter at 4:16 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by Trochanter at 4:16 PM on July 15, 2010
The one thing that got me was that the interviewer had to bring up Phil Hartman while discussing the voice of Zap Brannigan. It seemed a little odd that he didn't mention him up front when discussing the character, since it's so obviously a continuation of the Lionel Hutz/Troy McClure characters Hartman played on The Simpsons. No doubt Billy West is a very talented guy but that makes me wonder if John K's complaint about him might have had merit.
posted by Grimgrin at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Grimgrin at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]
He was a frequent guest on Howard Stern back in the '80s. Howard always referred to him as "the funniest guy I know."
90's. He was a cast member of the show until they had a fallout over money.
He was by far the funniest he's ever been when he did that show, thanks to the show's freeform style (unheard of back then and of course impossible now).
It would take hours for me to list the bits and material Stern, West and the others did on that show that have been lifted by The Simpsons writers, South Park, SNL, Letterman and Leno.
posted by L'OM at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2010 [3 favorites]
90's. He was a cast member of the show until they had a fallout over money.
He was by far the funniest he's ever been when he did that show, thanks to the show's freeform style (unheard of back then and of course impossible now).
It would take hours for me to list the bits and material Stern, West and the others did on that show that have been lifted by The Simpsons writers, South Park, SNL, Letterman and Leno.
posted by L'OM at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2010 [3 favorites]
I heard him on the Adam Carolla Podcast a few weeks ago, and he was hilarious.
Huh. Just goes to prove that everybody's tastes are utterly different when it comes to comedy. I found him to be so painfully unfunny on Carolla's podcast that it's almost ruined Futurama for me.
Then again, I've been extra-cranky lately, so.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:59 PM on July 15, 2010
Huh. Just goes to prove that everybody's tastes are utterly different when it comes to comedy. I found him to be so painfully unfunny on Carolla's podcast that it's almost ruined Futurama for me.
Then again, I've been extra-cranky lately, so.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:59 PM on July 15, 2010
It still tends to amuse me that, after Nickelodeon seized Ren & Stimpy from Spümcø, Ren's voice was basically Billy West doing an impression of John K. doing an impression of Mel Blanc doing an impression of Peter Lorre.
posted by Kalthare at 6:32 PM on July 15, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by Kalthare at 6:32 PM on July 15, 2010 [6 favorites]
Will listen to this when I get home to see if NPR made him not an ass.......
Thank goodness. I thought I was the only person who thought that. When I heard him kvetching about "celebrities" stealing all his jobs I turned out.
But a talent nonetheless. Except when doing Mel Blanc.
posted by gjc at 8:01 PM on July 15, 2010
Thank goodness. I thought I was the only person who thought that. When I heard him kvetching about "celebrities" stealing all his jobs I turned out.
But a talent nonetheless. Except when doing Mel Blanc.
posted by gjc at 8:01 PM on July 15, 2010
Maybe I'm just an apologist, because the guy is crazy talented and is such a major force in making Futurama as funny as it is, but my understanding of the John K. feud is that John K. tried to get West to quit Ren and Stimpy so that they'd freak out at the threat and hire John K. back, and while that would have certainly been a nice and loyal thing to do, bitching that somebody didn't put their own job on the line for the sake of yours is stretching it a bit.
Also, the celebrities getting hired for voice work is a cheap (and historically not-very-successful) way to try to get big names attached to animation projects, which then disrespects the actual skill-set involved in voice-acting. (I've got some background in this, and it really is a very different kind of thing. Plus, the Shrek movies aside, has this ever worked? Pixar notably doesn't really do this. (Yes, I know I know, name-actors work in Pixar movies. The movies aren't marketed based on their names, however, and they are clearly cast based on vocal ability. Nobody aside from maybe me was watching A Bug's Life because of Dave Foley. Ditto for Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Patton Oswalt or Janeane Garafalo. Rather, they could create great characters out of nothing but their voices. It's a far cry from casting Brad Pitt and Michelle Pfeiffer, or Matt Damon, so that you can plaster their names at the top of your poster.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:12 PM on July 15, 2010
Also, the celebrities getting hired for voice work is a cheap (and historically not-very-successful) way to try to get big names attached to animation projects, which then disrespects the actual skill-set involved in voice-acting. (I've got some background in this, and it really is a very different kind of thing. Plus, the Shrek movies aside, has this ever worked? Pixar notably doesn't really do this. (Yes, I know I know, name-actors work in Pixar movies. The movies aren't marketed based on their names, however, and they are clearly cast based on vocal ability. Nobody aside from maybe me was watching A Bug's Life because of Dave Foley. Ditto for Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Albert Brooks, Ellen Degeneres, Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Patton Oswalt or Janeane Garafalo. Rather, they could create great characters out of nothing but their voices. It's a far cry from casting Brad Pitt and Michelle Pfeiffer, or Matt Damon, so that you can plaster their names at the top of your poster.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:12 PM on July 15, 2010
Navelgazer, that wasn't the complaint I was talking about. At one point John K was pissed off because Billy West went on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and was asked how he developed the voices for Ren and Stimpy, and his answer didn't mention John K at all. The Zap Brannigan question just reminded me of that.
posted by Grimgrin at 10:49 PM on July 15, 2010
posted by Grimgrin at 10:49 PM on July 15, 2010
I can attest that Despicable Me uses only celebrities as its voice talent, but it really works as a film and is quite enjoyable.
posted by waraw at 5:05 AM on July 16, 2010
posted by waraw at 5:05 AM on July 16, 2010
I can attest that Despicable Me uses only celebrities as its voice talent, but it really works as a film and is quite enjoyable.
I took a look at who is in that movie, and it occurs to me that the celebrities who are most successful at voice work in animated movies are those with a stand up or improv background (like Steve Carrell or Eddie Murphy and Mike Meyers). As Navelgazer points out, it is a matter of the ability to create a character, and a background of being the beautiful person in rom coms and/or action movies doesn't seem to be adequate preparation for that.
Wait, what is this thread about again?
posted by jeoc at 6:46 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
I took a look at who is in that movie, and it occurs to me that the celebrities who are most successful at voice work in animated movies are those with a stand up or improv background (like Steve Carrell or Eddie Murphy and Mike Meyers). As Navelgazer points out, it is a matter of the ability to create a character, and a background of being the beautiful person in rom coms and/or action movies doesn't seem to be adequate preparation for that.
Wait, what is this thread about again?
posted by jeoc at 6:46 AM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
He did this killer bit on the Stern show as Larry Fine at Woodstock. "Hey listen up you guys, you better not take the brown acid... don't do it, I'm warning you..."
(And it's amazing how much mileage he's gotten out of the Larry Fine voice over the years. I am impressed.)
posted by Spatch at 8:17 AM on July 16, 2010
(And it's amazing how much mileage he's gotten out of the Larry Fine voice over the years. I am impressed.)
posted by Spatch at 8:17 AM on July 16, 2010
"It would take hours for me to list the bits and material Stern, West and the others did on that show that have been lifted by The Simpsons writers, South Park, SNL, Letterman and Leno."
Yet no-one has done "Larry Fine at Woodstock" or that bit where Floyd the Barber molests Opie...
Good times... Good times...
posted by mikelieman at 11:12 AM on July 16, 2010
Yet no-one has done "Larry Fine at Woodstock" or that bit where Floyd the Barber molests Opie...
Good times... Good times...
posted by mikelieman at 11:12 AM on July 16, 2010
There's a Larry Fine interview on that Youtube page that's quite interesting, if you're into listening old timers talking about old time showbiz.
posted by Trochanter at 11:43 AM on July 16, 2010
posted by Trochanter at 11:43 AM on July 16, 2010
I was disappointed with Billy's work in "Bender's Big Score." He was just phoning it in, IMHO. That new character, Lars? He just sounds like an older version of Fry!
posted by SPrintF at 3:51 PM on July 17, 2010
posted by SPrintF at 3:51 PM on July 17, 2010
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posted by l33tpolicywonk at 2:23 PM on July 15, 2010 [2 favorites]