Spoiler alert: I’m not on the list. Mostly, I’m assuming, because this list was made in 2013. If it was made today, I can only expect that I’d be near the top. If not the toppest.
This was clearly a joke. Not to rag on John Mulaney, but #1? Hahaha. There are also a lot of pretty darn unknown comics in there, which is fun.
P.S. I love the picture I used for this. It looks like Marc Maron is peeking into your window.
Yeah, so, as implied by the title I have seen a ton of lists out there chronicling the “whatever-est” comedy “whatevers” of 2015.
Here are the best of the best of 2015 when it comes to lists of the best comedy things of 2015:
Continue reading “The 10 Best “Best Of 2015” Comedy Lists Of 2015″
Writing “Young Louis” reminds me of “Young Link.” Like, from video games. Which makes me think: “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun if there was a comedian video game? You know, where like you go to clubs every night and try out jokes for ten years and then you go on late night and bomb? No, you’re right – that probably wouldn’t be fun.”
I’d still love to see an animated “Young Louis” though.
Well, here’s a clip of Young Louis doing a set when he still had all his hair. Part of him certainly sounds like he does today, but there are lots of differences too.
This is a really fun interview that came out in April from Inside Joke (watchinsidejoke), a YouTube channel I’d never heard of before, but looks awesome.
As a recent college grad, I found Mulaney’s stories especially funny. We had comedians come to our school and I remember thinking, what is the audience doing? They would only laugh at set-ups instead of the punch lines and they would laugh and cheer uncontrollably just at references to like a TV show and they would yell out stuff! And the show would be generally unorganized. And the shows happened in weird spaces. College shows are weird.
A lot of the interview is also Mulaney and the host reminiscing about the last time she interviewed him. That was funny.
Check out Inside Joke – they have tons of videos with awesome comics, but somehow don’t have a thousand views on everything! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.
So I talk about Marc Maron a lot and I realized that not many people really know what he does. Even though he’s getting to be more of a household name, I bet that most people, when they heard that he interviewed Obama, went, “who?!”
Maron is a podcaster. And he’s a comic. And he’s been around forever but never really got a “big break” until WTF Podcast, which isn’t so much a “break” so much as it is something he made happen himself.
Marc is a self-described “angry dude” who somehow became the most successful comedy podcaster out there. His style is different. When I first started listening to him, I couldn’t help but find him loud, narcissistic, and yeah – angry. But the more I listened, the more I liked him. I realized that he’s a phenomenal interviewer and he has a great story. He’s “the underdog” and people like to see the underdog succeed.
This awesome article came out yesterday about how Maron rose to where he is today, and it’s a really cool read. For all the work that Maron does showcasing other people, it’s great that The Washington Post would feature his life’s work. You can read How an angry comic who had a coke habit became the Barbara Walters of podcasts here.
Have you ever been with a bunch of friends when one of them starts to laugh? And then she keeps laughing and laughing…and laughing. Until someone else begins to laugh at how ridiculous she is…and then suddenly everyone is starting to laugh uncontrollably?
Well that’s what happened in Tanzania in 1962, but it wasn’t just a group of friends. It was entire towns. And it didn’t stop for several months. I’m serious.
You might have heard about the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic (yes, epidemic) before, but you might not know that outbreaks of “mass hysteria” still happen there today. In fact, Radiolab did a story on contagious laughter that detailed another more recent outbreak, where one girl was actually hospitalized and repeatedly administered Valium until she finally stopped laughing when she woke up.
I first heard about contagious laughter when I was doing humor research on puns and I was like “No wayy – that’s impossible.” But, It’ real! Check it out.
I think it’s a fascinating concept and it kind of explains why stand up comedy works. If you ever ask a comic to tell you a joke one-on-one, he probably won’t do it. Why? Well, no one says, “Oh, you’re a dentist?! Pull out someone’s tooth right here at this dinner party!” Also, it’s just different performing to one person than it is performing to a crowd. Have you ever had a creepy girlfriend or boyfriend who sang love ballads to you one-on-one? It’s awkward! It’s like singing a love ballad, but with humor. Which sounds funny, but in person not so much.
Besides that, it’s just too risky. Telling a joke one-on-one, anything can happen. But I’ll tell you what usually happens: nothing. People just stand there and don’t say anything. Or worse, they say, “That was funny.” Rarely do they actually laugh, even if it’s your best joke that kills every time on stage.
Why? Well, there’s no other people around to laugh at the thing together! I think contagious laughter definitely comes into play when you’re doing a set for a crowd. And, the very best crowds are the ones who are laughing uncontrollably…one might say “bordering on mass hysteria.” Maybe I just need to play some venues in Tanzania and then I’ll be really funny.
As a comic, you’re always thinking about what sets you apart from every other comedian. You want to stand out: be different. Memorable. How are you special?
What sets me apart? Well, I’ll tell you: I say “thanks guys” at the end of every one of my sets.
Do you need some tips to help your writing stand out to agents looking for the next big thing? No? Me neither, never mind.
Here are some ideas to get you thinking about scriptwriting in a different way. Although it bills itself as a “for getting an agent” thing, this is really a useful read for learning about screenwriting in general. I mean, if you think about it, writing that will impress an agent is darn close to the same writing that will impress producers and other writers. So these are pretty good writing tips for any screenwriter.
I really need to set aside more time for screenwriting. I guess I’ll do that.
The featured picture shows the intersection of Macdougal and 3rd Streets in the West Village. Ben’s Pizzeria can be seen in the opening credits of the show Louie, where Louis CK grabs a bite of pizza and a passer-by flips him off. It’s also the scene for a first date in the pilot episode. The pizza is pretty good.
Hey, remember that summer blockbuster Trainwreck that Amy Schumer wrote and starred in? That happened because Judd Apatow went up to Amy Schumer and was all, “We should do a movie together” and she was like, “Yeah defs, Judd.” That’s the kind of power Apatow has.
For people who don’t really care about behind-the-camera stuff much are probably like “I don’t know who that guy is,” but you should. Before I knew anything about movies or television (now I know a few things, maybe), I never really thought too much about writers or directors. Most people, me included, only focus on the actors because that’s who is there. That’s who you see. They’re usually the ones credited with the roles rather than the people who really invented the parts.
Apatow is one of the best comedy screenwriter/producer/directors out there and he came from comedy. Which means that he started by doing stand up. I think that’s a really unique point that most people don’t notice or pick up on. A lot of “humor” screenwriters have never actually done stand up before: they’re just writers. Apatow is also a performer, so it’s cool to see him come back to stand up again and come full circle, in a way.
This reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedian documentary, which was about his comeback to stand up after Seinfeld. Maybe it’s not quite the same thing, but it has reminded me to post about that documentary at some point, so that’s good!
I got roped into this Apatow stuff by listening to the Todd Barry Podcast, on which Apatow was a guest this week. You can read about Apatow’s comeback here and listen to the podcast episode here (Ep. 111).
One other side thing that I heard about in the podcast was a pilot that Apatow is working on with Pete Holmes. It’s called Crashing and it’s a semi-autobiographical, single-camera comedy that has Holmes crashing on the couches of NYC comics. It sounds awesome and I’m hoping that it gets picked up by HBO because I want to see it. Who is Pete Holmes? He hosted The Pete Holmes Show, which ran on TBS from 2013 to 2014. Also, he purchased like 5 breakfast bars in front of me at the Denver airport once. You can find out more about that project here.
Once in a while I’ll look to share a cool stand up set from a comic I find cool or interesting. This is one of those times. Right, now. It’s happening, people!
This set that Randy Liedtke did on Conan was not your typical late night set, which I think makes it really cool. For part of it, he grabs his iPad and plays his “audiobook.”
Not your typical stuff. Check it out! Liedtke recently recorded his Comedy Central album. You can learn more about Liedtke here.
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