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This Charming Ron: ‘Parks and Recreation’ Drops Morrissey, Smiths Knowledge

'Parks and Recreation,' Morrissey, Smiths, Moz, 'Meat Is Murder,' Sam Elliott

If you watched the latest episode of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, you (spoiler, obviously!) saw mustachioed guest star Sam Elliott — the cowboy-hatted stranger from The Big Lebowski, among many other roles — perched on the floor in a meditative position, saying, “It’s like Moz once said: Hold on to your friends.” At priceless looks of puzzlement from Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope and Nick Offerman’s Ron Swanson, he continues: “Morrissey? The Smiths? You don’t know ‘Meat Is Murder’? One of the best songs ever written about industrialized beef consumption.” Elsewhere in the episode, Elliott’s character, who like Offerman’s is named Ron, also quotes Cat Stevens: “If you want to be free, be free.” Between this, the Morrissey autobiography, and the Peanuts-Smiths Tumblr staying alive, the more you ignore Moz — well, he’s always making himself difficult to ignore, isn’t he?

Watch the full episode above; the Morrissey stuff happens around the 21-minute mark, and you might want to go make some tea (with Stevia, for Elliott’s natural man), because you’ll have to sit through some ads first.