Tweet of the Day (Andy Richter, on Getting Christmas Lights Out of the Garage)

“Every year when I get the Christmas lights out of the garage I am struck by how little respect last year’s me has for this year’s me.”— American actor, writer, comedian, and late- night talk-show announcer Andy Richter, tweet of Dec. 12, 2021

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on the Decline of the Late-Night Talk-Show Sidekick)

“Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon existed unto themselves. There was no late-night war. There was no competition. It was just a leisurely conversation. When you look at some of the old interviews that went on for like three acts, they don’t talk about anything. There just was nothing else on. When it started to be a competition, then it started to be about a personality and branding the show based on this one person.”—Talk-show personality (and Conan O'Brien "second banana") Andy Richter, theorizing on how the late-night tradition of talk-show sidekick declined, quoted in Dave Itzkoff, “The Top Second Banana Moves On,” The New York Times, June 27, 2021

Tweet of the Day (Andy Richter, on a Burning Question From His TV Watching)

“Watching The Strain, and have a general question: who maintains the lightbulbs that are always burning in forgotten underground movie tunnels?” — American actor, writer, comedian, and late- night talk-show announcer Andy Richter, October 6, 2014 tweet

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, Guarding His Food Concept)

“Nobody steal my idea for the breakfast sundae!”—Andy Richter, February 11, 2014 tweet

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on Austin, Texas)

“Being in Austin, Texas, is like sitting next to a fun gay cousin at a Romney wedding.” —Comedian Andy Richter, October 12, 2014 tweet

If the former Massachusetts governor decides to run for President again (as some would like him to do), expect plenty more where this came from. For talk-show hosts (and "second bananas" such as Richter), Romney would be the gift that keeps on giving, all through the year.

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on Fox News and Facts)

“Kinda neat that @FoxNews took a break for a ‘fact-dissemination exercise.’ They used to call that ‘the news.’ http://go.fox13now.com/1rf2WD5” — Andy Richter, October 19, 2014 tweet, on the cable channel’s “Ebola message everyone needs to hear.”

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on His ‘New Dating Service’)

“In all honesty, my new dating service, ‘Well You're Not So Great Yourself’ hasn't really taken off like I'd hoped.”— Andy Richter, August 27, 2014 tweet

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on the ‘Most Valuable Tears in Television’)

“The most valuable tears in television are the ones shed on Antiques Roadshow.”—Comedian/talk-show second banana Andy Richter, February 26, 2014 tweet

Quote of the Day (Andy Richter, on Paul McCartney Lyrics)

“When I want to alert my children to the dangers of marijuana abuse, I just print out the lyrics to some Wings' songs.”—Comedian/second banana Andy Richter, April 26, 2013 tweet

According to Skylark, Philip Furia’s biography of Johnny Mercer, the singer Margaret Whiting was used as an intermediary to sound out the Oscar-winning lyricist of “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses” about the possibility of collaborating with Paul McCartney. Mercer turned down the invitation, using as an excuse his wife’s fragile health, though more likely it was his own (he died shortly afterward). There are conflicting reports about the Georgia-born writer’s feelings about the Beatles, but he is unlikely to have been impressed with most of McCartney’s lyrics in the Seventies.

Andy Richter’s comment brings to mind the usual complaints about the “cute Beatle” after his breakup from longtime songwriting partner John Lennon. Case in point of what Richter and the other (less snarky) critics have in mind: the album Red Rose Speedway, released in the United States on this date 40 years ago, recorded with the backup band Wings. It was a success, of course, hitting #1 in the U.S., including the singer's tribute to wife Linda, "My Love." But...

Here, for instance, are some sample lyrics of “Big Barn Bed,” the LP’s first song:

“Who you gonna weep on?

Who you gonna sleep on?

Who you gonna creep on next?”

Amazingly, McCartney thought seriously about releasing this as a double album. (Other songs, released in other formats later, were “Live and Let Die,” admittedly one of the better James Bond songs, and “Hi Hi Hi,” which—well, talking about “who you gonna creep on next”!)

Of course, Richter’s jibe could apply just about across the whole spectrum of rock ‘n’ roll. I mean, can anyone really explain America’s “Horse With No Name”? And let’s not get anywhere near their “Muskrat Love”!