Monday, Oct. 26, 1998

Sifl & Olly Show

By Joel Stein

At first they seem to be sock puppets who sound stoned. But soon they're your friends. Sifl and Olly sing songs, argue and interview the likes of an orgasm, a nine-volt battery, the Grim Reaper and an atom in one of Elvis' combs. The show's unscripted feel and sub-Kukla production values make the bizarre punch lines even more jolting. The chemistry between the puppets springs from the longtime friendship of Liam Lynch and Matt Crocco, two childhood friends from Nashville who, while in different colleges, used the voices on each other's answering machines. Now struggling musicians with radically divergent musical tastes, they collaborate on this post-Beavis mockery of the future of America. Cool.

--By Joel Stein