Tag: podcast

Amy Schumer And Joke Stealing

If you haven’t heard this recording between Jim Norton and Amy Schumer, it’s a must-hear. She defends herself regarding all the recent accusations of her joke stealing and it’s fascinating.

A lot of comics rush to Schumer’s defense, and rightfully so. I can’t say for sure that she didn’t do it, but the jokes that she’s been accused of stealing are really…well, not that great of jokes that basically anyone could think of. I think it’s more likely to have been coincidence. That won’t stop the internet from bashing her, though. Just take a look at the comments on the video…sheeeeeesh!

On the other hand, Schumer does say a lot of things in this interview that she probably doesn’t have to say. Saying over and over that her accusers aren’t famous like her and suggesting that accusing her of joke stealing is how they think they can get famous is not exactly super classy. That doesn’t mean she’s wrong, and I know she’s clearly upset in the recording, but I might try to handle it a little differently if I were her.

 

Stand Up Comedy Documentary: 60 Minutes, 7 Days

I came across comedian Owen Benjamin in a very weird way recently. A guy on twitter started following me who is friends with Benjamin. Which is how I found Benjamin’s site and eventually came across his documentary, 60 Minutes, 7 Days.

If you’re a fan of comedy, this is a must see documentary. The premise is that Benjamin tries to write 60 minutes of show-ready material in 7 days – which, if you didn’t know, is pretty darn insane of a goal to hit.

A lot of the documentary is narration. Some of it is kind of weird. But it takes you into the mind of a writer and comedian: who Benjamin is and what it’s like to turn horrible material into something people will laugh at. I love it.

I eventually realized that a friend had recommended Benjamin’s podcast, Why Didn’t They Laugh, to me before. I’ve only listened to one episode of it so far, but I absolutely love it too. It breaks down comedy and quite literally offers answers to why certain jokes don’t work. It’s an analytical approach to comedy, but it’s also a really fun show.

Both the doc and podcast are fantastic if you ask me – Owen Benjamin has a new fan!

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day 5

Day Five: Esther Povitsky

Povitsky also came through the Just For Laughs Festival a couple years ago and has been a big name in the LA comedy scene. Yay! Not a New York person!

She’s been on late night a few times and you might have also seen her appear on @midnight or Parks and Recreation. She’s also from Skokie, Illinois. Illinois! Like me!

Povitsky also goes by Little Esther and hosts a podcast called Weird Adults, where she talks to other comedians about what makes them weird. Whoopie! This is how I conclude paragraphs now!

Great Comedians You Probably Haven’t Heard Of Week: Day 2

Day Two: Joe List

To New York City comedians, Joe List is a name you gotta know. He’s been around the best clubs in the city for a little while now and he’s starting to make his way onto TV. He was on last season of Last Comic Standing and made it pretty darn far. He’s also performed on late night several times over the past couple of years.

This article paints List as “the comedy underdog,” a guy who’s been around the New York comedy scene for forever, but has never quite gotten his big break. If you like him, check out the podcast he co-hosts with Mark Normand (also hilarious), Tuesdays With Stories.

Crowdsourced Tips From Podcasting

As I’m getting ready to launch a podcast with my comedy friend Matt (who also happens to be my roommate), I’ve been trying to find out more about what it takes to make a good podcast.

I just found this list of comedy tips that a comic named Simon Caine has compiled on his website from all his podcasting. He podcasted for a full year (34 episodes) and compiled all the best advice he got from each episode. The best thing is that his guests are people “from the industry,” so they kind of know what they’re talking about. Haven’t had a chance to actually listen to his podcast yet, but the tips are super helpful, and I think the podcast idea is really terrific. Just asking people questions about how comedy works can get you to a much better level of understanding.

Some of the episode topics look fascinating and I’m excited to give the episodes a listen!

 

The Art Of Interviewing: Why It Finally Worked Out For Marc Maron

I’ve listened to enough WTF Podcast episodes to have finally realized, “You know, what? Marc Maron is actually pretty good at this.” A previous coolstuffs I wrote about a Marc Maron article inspired me to go more in depth into what makes him so good at what he does.

Continue reading “The Art Of Interviewing: Why It Finally Worked Out For Marc Maron” →

The Comedy Nerds Is A Thing I Like

I just found this website called The Comedy Nerds and it’s a pretty darn cool little site dedicated to all different types of comedy. That’s right: stand up, sketch, improv – you name it. Seriously, name it. Okay, fine. Don’t.

So The Comedy Nerds has thousands of podcast episodes talking about everything comedy. On cool topics like “Were the 80’s the golden age of comedy movies?” I feel like I’ll spend a lot of time exploring the site.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a “Things I Like” page to the site. Pretty self-explanatory. These are really just a bunch of links to things I like in the comedy world. Mostly great websites and stuff for people who are interested in comedy. Like, comedy nerds. This one’s been added to the list!

Comedy, Coke Habits, And Barbara Walters

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.

Judd Apatow Is Returning To Stand Up

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.

 

Marc Maron Chats With Aaron Draplin

Here’s what I’ve been listening to recently…

I’ve been prowling the WTF Podcast waiting in anticipation for the release of Marc Maron’s interview with Lorne Michaels of SNL. This particular episode with Aaron Draplin I found really interesting. Why? Well, I find the intersection of comedians and stuff that isn’t comedy very interesting.

Who is Aaron Draplin? Well, he’s a designer who works with a lot of different brands (perhaps most notably, Field Notes) and also tours the country giving speeches. He has a fascinating back story about moving from Michigan to the mountains out west and eventually to Portland. But, even more captivating is Draplin’s enthusiasm for…well, whatever he happens to be talking about. I don’t care what he’s saying: it sounds good.

Maron has an ability to find really interesting people to talk to. I like that he doesn’t just talk to comedians any more.

Listen to this podcast episode, it’s pretty cool.