It’s no secret that silk-voiced, piss-your-pants-funny comedian Todd Barry has a few tricks up his sleeve. One such trick is his ability to hold it down as a drummer, as he’s shown numerous times at shows with Yo La Tengo. More recently, Barry turned up as a session man for another super kewl couple of rockers, Mates of State, to cover one of the greatest songs ever, I Will Dare by The Replacements. It was part of The AV Club’s Undercover series, wherein a list of 25 songs is covered by 25 different bands.

Here, watch this video:

Mates Of State cover The Replacements

Last night, Louis CK stopped by the Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his new FX show, Louie. The segment starts with a clip from Louie during which the comedian gets stuck at airport security and has to explain what his bottle of lube is for. Things quickly devolved into Louis CK and Jon Stewart using their rolling chairs as hopping devices, and Stewart let the audience in on why the wheels on the chairs don’t actually work (hint: all precautions must be taken to ensure Jimmy Carter doesn’t die on set).

Louis CK also shared three banned words on FX and explored the ramifications of saying “retarded” in a nice tone of voice. For more musings, check out the full interview below. And don’t forget to tune into Louie, premiering on FX at 11 pm EST on June 29.

Hey comedy wieners! Punchline blogger/stand-up comic, Brendan McLaughlin here. My editor has graciously offered me a miniscule portion of the blog’s bandwidth to share some info about a very cool show that I’m participating in tomorrow night…

Every month the folks at The Daily Show produce The Daily Show and Friends, a monthly stand-up showcase at NYC’s Comix comedy club. The show consists of writers that perform on the show, people who make it happen behind the scenes and people who might be funny and watch the show (hi!).

Tomorrow’s lineup includes Wyatt Cenac, Rory Albanese, Adam Lowitt, Rachel Feinstein, Josh Rabinowitz, Jenna Kim Jones, myself and a few surprise guests. Click here for tickets to this sure-to-be-awesome show, and use the promotion code “FBDS” for a $5 discount. Thanks!

So Iron Man 2 opens wide tomorrow, right? And Robert Downey Jr is like the most talked about actor of the moment. Because he’s the star of said movie, right? So that’s why you need to watch a very candid Downey Jr. being interviewed by comedian Frazer Smith onstage at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.

In the vid, Downey Jr. talks a bit about how he had to learn to peal his penis out of the Iron Man suit in order to pee, plans for the third installment of the franchise and some other stuff. Check it out, friends.

Did this comic take it too far when joking about autistic kids? Australian comic Russel Kane has viewers of the show Good News Week, recorded during the Melbourne comedy festival, enraged over a comment he made on the air regarding children with autism. Here’s what went down:

Earlier in the festival, Kane had engaged in a lively televised comedy debate with show host Paul McDermott. Referencing back to that moment during the episode in question, Kane had said, “We went at it like an autistic kid at a drum and destroyed you.”

The remark was reportedly met with stark silence to which McDermott replied, “You can see they don’t like autistic humor here.” Indeed, they did not. It would seem that the majority of the outrage was voiced on the Channel Ten website, pointing out that the pre-recorded show should have been edited to remove the offensive comment.

“‘Making a stereotype comment like they did is way off the mark,” said a spokesperson for Autism Spectrum Australia. “As well, it shows a lack of understanding. Those sorts of comments should not have been put to air.”

Having a child of autism myself, I understand why parents would be hurt and why organizations would take offense and sound the advocacy alarms. However, being a student of comedy I also get that the simile made by Kane was meant to walk the line, invoke feelings, and ultimately be laughed off. To me, funny is funny. In this case, while no specific child with autism was being pointed out, Kane managed to trip over that line and come across as offensive instead of funny. Was Kane wrong in this situation? How does a comic know when they’re crossing that line of edgy-but-funny into the realm of just plain offensive?

Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, the world’s biggest and most prestigious ha ha fest, is honoring director Jay Roach with its Comedy Director of the Year Award. The director is being honored at the Just For Laughs Comedy Conference for his upcoming flick Dinner For Schmucks. Roach is one of comedy’s biggest hit makers, with previous credits that include Austin Powers and Meet The Parents.

The Just For Laughs Comedy Conference is one of the top festival events for industry insiders. The Conference will also feature the Pitch ‘Til Your Sides Split event, in which writers are invited to pitch TV and webseries ideas to industry professionals. Three projects from each category will be chosen and pitched. For more info on submitting, requirements and special “early bird” incentives, visit hahaha.com/conference.

For in-the-know New York residents, the city’s downtown is currently in a renaissance of live comedy. There are great shows with killer lineups every night of the week. It’s great! But with a scene this vibrant, dedicated show-goers are repeatedly faced with an inevitable question: which to choose? National headliner and ECNY nomineee Tom Shillue can answer this question once a month.

Shillue’s new monthly show is called Tell: Worlds Collide. It happens once a month at the Comix comedy club, and features the unique twist of being a comedy show comprised entirely of storytelling. Well known standups, improvisers and sketch performers fill the bill, but they won’t be performing their regular material. Each performer reaches into his/her arsenal of personal experience to unleash a personal yarn upon the crowd. Big names from across the comedic map come together to present a one-of-kind evening of highly personal, first-person ha ha.

“Comedic storytelling is a really fun alternative genre to standard stand-up,” says Michael Showalter, who appears on the next Tell show. “It’s not about one-two punch jokes — it’s about crafting really good stories. Other storytelling shows usually run the emotional gamut — funny, sad, spooky, enlightening… But Tom’s show is 100% funny. I’m excited.”

Shillue was no doubt influenced by his involvement with The Moth live storytelling series. And longer bits that veer off from the one-two, joke-punchline format have long been a staple of the alternative comedy scene, but this show takes it to the next level. This month, Shillue welcomes Showalter, Andrea Rosen, Aasif Mandvi, Boris Timonovsky, and Reggie Watts.

Tickets are  $10, and can be bought by calling 212.524.2500, ordering online at the Comix web site, or by showing up at the box office. There’s also a two drink minimum. Check out the Tell Facebook page for more information. You can also follow the show on Twitter.

If you know anything about comedian Patrice O’Neal, it’s that he’s got a lot of opinions about race, namely white people. And it seems not just the veteran stand-up’s fans are showing their appreciation. Comedy Central has ordered a pilot, which O’Neal is set to helm, titled Patrice Oneal’s Guide to White People.

The show will have two elements: a scripted portion and a more reality show feeling portion. According to the Hollywood Reporter, in the scripted portion, O’Neal will play “a professor of whiteness teaching a Whitey 101 class at an adult school that is designed for foreigners as well as Americans who want to learn “what white people are about and how to get along with them,” said Oneal.

The reality portion of the show will find O’Neal talking to people on the street to further delve into what makes people white and what white people like (think vintage clothing). Perhaps he’ll even accuse white gentile’s with kinky hair of trying to be Jewish. He spent 20 minutes doing that to me a few weeks ago during an interview. Fun!

In addition to the pilot, Comedy Central has ordered a one-hour special from O’Neal, which will shoot this year.

Hollywood Reporter just announced that Craig Robinson, best known as Darryl the loading dock guy on NBC’s The Office, will host the upcoming season of Last Comic Standing.

“Last Comic Standing has been a consistent success with both viewers and critics, and we can’t wait to bring it back,” said Paul Telegdy, NBC’s executive vice president of alternative programming. “The addition of a versatile comedic talent like Craig will only enhance what has proved to be a winning formula.”

Last Comic Standing’s previous hosts have been Jay Mohr, Anthony Clark and Bill Bellamy. The new season will air this summer.

I admit, I didn’t watch one second of the Super Bowl. Honestly, I just don’t give a shit if a bunch of overpaid manchildren win or lose a game- no matter how “important” it is. I’d rather watch someone like Andy Kindler, an underpaid manchild, make fun of the game for three hours. Luckily David Letterman had the same idea. Sadly, it only amounted to a three-plus minute package of interviews. But it’s better than nothing. Check out Kindler below, hilariously, “covering” the Super Bowl for the Late Show.