Clam chowder Popsicle, Area 51 and 'Cats' trailer: David Spade talks summer in pop culture

Sending funny memes doesn't make you a comedian.

Take it from "Saturday Night Live" vet David Spade, who riffs on pop culture and weird news four nights a week on his new Comedy Central talk show "Lights Out with David Spade" (Monday through Thursday, 11:30 EDT/PDT).

"My friend's kid told me she likes a guy at school who's funny on Instagram, but all he was doing was sending her memes," Spade says. "I was like, 'This guy's a middle man. He's just getting ones that are confirmed funny and sending them to you. He doesn't know what's going on.' "

That's one of the tamer jokes Spade, 55, recalls from his first round of shows last week, which featured biting, often raunchy back-and-forth with guest panelists including Whitney Cummings, Kaley Cuoco, Dana Carvey and new mom Amy Schumer (who Skyped in while she was "nursing").

Unlike other late-night shows, "there's not a big star who comes on for a 15-minute interview and then a music act," Spade says. "It's just funny people who B.S. about stuff and make fun of each other. It's more casual."

We asked Spade about some of the oddest stories of the summer. Here's what he had to say.

Clam chowder Popsicle

In June, a photo made the rounds on Reddit and Twitter of a frozen Popsicle made out of Campbell's Chunky clam chowder, thoroughly disgusting users.

"That's sickening," Spade says. "On the show, we were going to try eating mustard-flavored ice cream and we were not excited about it, but we'll probably do it. They said, 'You don't even have to like mustard to enjoy it,' and I said, 'I think you definitely do.' "

Area 51

The highly classified United States Air Force facility became a social-media phenomenon after a Facebook post went viral last month, urging people to storm the premises to "see them aliens." Nearly 1.5 million Facebook users responded to the event, which was meant as a joke.

"I love anything that goes bananas like that and everyone jumps in on it," Spade says. "And when the Army had to say, ‘We’ll shoot you if you (trespass)?' It’s so off-the-charts nuts. But I like UFOs anyway, so that story was more fun for me. I’m sure they have a whole Costco full of aliens there. I'd love to get a membership."

More: 'Dangerous': Air Force responds to plans to 'storm Area 51' and 'see them aliens'

'Cats' trailer

The nightmarish first trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical "Cats" is truly the gift that keeps on giving, inspiring hilarious memes of Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench and Taylor Swift as eerily human-like (and voluptuous) felines.

"I knew nothing about this movie coming out and thought it was a sketch, like, 'Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift – there's no way all these people are in 'Cats,' " Spade says. "Then there was controversy over an African American woman (Francesca Hayward) playing a white cat. There were so many levels to that (trailer)."

Woodstock 50

Following months of setbacks, the 50th anniversary Woodstock music festival was canceled last week. The doomed event was beleaguered by funding and permit woes, and the dropouts of would-be headliners such as Jay-Z and Miley Cyrus.

"After the Fyre Festival, I don't think people were all that shocked and were glad to get a heads-up, at least," Spade says. "You'd rather get the plug pulled before you get on the flight. We had a joke, like, 'They pulled out of Woodstock, but a lot of kids were born because they didn't pull out at Woodstock.' "

More: Woodstock co-founder on failed 50th: 'It's not been surprising that we weren't able to pull this off'

Instagram "likes"

In an effort to make users happier and less worried about what they post on social media, Instagram is testing hiding "likes" in seven countries including Australia, Canada and Japan.

"There was something about how they're going to stop showing likes and followers on your Instagram, and we were like, 'We have to stop this from happening,' " Spade says. "I need to know who's popular and who's pretty. I can't tell on my own, I need confirmation. Let's not all go back to being equal – I don't like that."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: David Spade talks Comedy Central show 'Lights Out,' Area 51 and 'Cats'