Noah Way

There's a mini-controversy going on--Bloomberg columnist Noah Smith has tweeted that the only joke in the famed SNL "more cowbell" sketch is that there is no joke:

The actual humor is in watching people straining to understand the joke, or tricking themselves into thinking they get it.

Smith seems to be serious (in more ways than one), but his argument is not going over well.  I'm not going to bother to refute it, since the humor in the sketch, whether you go for it or not, is pretty clear.



A few observations, though:

1)  I like the sketch, though its reputation as maybe the greatest ever on SNL is a bit much.

2) I remember watching it when it first aired, and the part that made me laugh most was Will Ferrell prominently playing the cowbell before Bruce Dickinson demanded even more.

3)  I find it annoying when the performers start to lose it.  Thank goodness for Chris Parnell, who never broke.

4)  I have a friend who told me she doesn't find the David S. Pumpkins sketch funny.  I prefer it to More Cowbell.  Maybe she should tweet about that and go viral.