If you liked the “Mr. Creosote” sketch in “Monty Python’s Meaning of Life,” you’ll like this one. And if you didn’t…well, you’re like many other folks, some of whom complained loudly enough to get Microsoft (MSFT) to yank the ad, though it still lives in Google’s (GOOG) YouTube.

Microsoft’s explanation for the spot, and its removal, via an email to CNET:

We make a point of listening to our customers. We created the … video as a tongue-in-cheek look at the InPrivate Browsing feature of Internet Explorer 8, using the same irreverent humor that our customers told us they liked about other components of the Internet Explorer 8 marketing campaign. While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it.

A reminder: These spots are not the work of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the high-profile ad shop that gets associated with most of Microsoft’s marketing work these days. They’re from Indiana-based Bradley and Montgomery and they’re directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, for whom I’ve already professed my admiration.

These were Goldthwait’s first commercials, though, and it will be interesting to see if he gets another shot. And in retrospect, he did hint that this might be coming when he talked to Techflash after the first of his browser ads hit the Web last month:

Well, the folks at (Bradley and Montgomery), the agency that wrote ‘em, I would have to credit them with my involvement, and also Microsoft. I think they were trying to do something that was a little less mainstream, and I think that’s (what led to) my involvement. Normally the corporate world is very frightened of hiring the dude from Police Academy to direct their stuff, so I’m flattered and I was really happy. There’s a couple more coming up, too, so I’m actually looking forward to those being released, because I think they’re a little more nutty in tone.

Want to see for yourself? Have at it. But don’t complain to us afterward.

For one thing, no matter how aggressively I lean on the fast-forward button on my DVR, I still end up seeing bits of Bing spots. Can’t escape them. But as far as I can tell, the ads below aren’t scheduled to appear on TV at all.

Another hint: They star Dean Cain, who is best known for his work in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” And that show went off the air in 1997.

The ads come to us courtesy of Bradley & Montgomery, the Indianapolis shop that also made the much-buzzed about “Mojave” spots for Windows Vista last year. But I don’t think the buzz translated into many happy Vista users, and I don’t know that these new spots will prompt people to rethink their browser choice.

You know what, though? I don’t care. If I used a computer that ran Windows, I would totally download IE8 just to support the ad’s director: Bobcat Goldthwait.

Many of you may have a vague memory of Bobcat as the screamy comedian from the 80s who wasn’t Sam Kinison and who appeared in a bunch of “Police Academy” movies. But he’s also the writer, director and star of “Shakes the Clown,” which is awesome and dark and truthful and also really funny. Go watch it! Or download IE8.

The transition will kick in during the first few months of 2009, says Michael Spiegelman, who heads up Yahoo’s music unit. The two companies will share any ad revenue the service generates.

It’s one of a series of moves Yahoo (YHOO) is making to essentially outsource its music offerings to third parties; earlier this fall the company rolled out a partnership with RealNetworks’ (RNWK) Rhapsody service to provide free streaming music alongside search results.

For CBS (CBS), this represents yet another bet on digital music. The company already boasts 4.5 million monthly users for its Web radio offering, many of whom come from the AOL music service it powers. The Yahoo deal will add another three million users. That’s in addition to the audience that uses Last.fm, the Web music service it purchased for $280 million in 2007.

CBS boasts that Yahoo users will benefit by getting access to 150 additional radio stations, including actual CBS radio stations like WFAN in New York and WXRT in Chicago, which is nice. Potentially more meaningful: The new service will work on Apple (AAPL) computers and will also support Mozilla’s FireFox browser; Yahoo’s current offering only works on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Internet Explorer.

Other changes: Yahoo will phase out its paid version of Launchcast, which costs up to $3 a month and offers commercial-free programming. And while the current Launchcast player gives listeners the ability to customize their stations by selecting a mix of artists they’re interested in, the new CBS-powered player will offer a “much more programmed radio experience,” Spiegelman says. About two-thirds of Yahoo’s users end up selecting preprogrammed stations, anyway, he says.

A few years ago, this move would have had more meaning for the digital music world because Yahoo was one of the biggest players in the industry. But like other areas of Yahoo’s content business, the music group has scaled down both internally and externally: It has lost a series of executives, it has sold off its music subscription business to RealNetworks, and users who once turned to it for digital songs and videos have migrated to other parts of the Web.