Another booking coup for our favorite podcast: this week on WTF with Marc Maron, the comedian turned podcast king interviews writer/director Judd Apatow. In this special two-part interview, the second of which just went live online, Marc and Judd cover a range of topics, including the deep-seated love of stand-up that took hold of each of them at a young age.
Part 1 includes a major bonus: audio of interviews that Apatow conducted with comedians in 1983 for his high school radio station. This Inception-esque interview within an interview portion features a teen-aged Apatow talking to Jay Leno, Gary Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld, all of whom were working comedians who had yet to become huge stars.
Part 2 is more standard WTF fare, with Marc and Judd talking movies and whether Judd was happy with how Funny People turned out. All in all, it’s just fun to hear two guys who know a lot about comedy talk about comedy. Get the episode of wtfpod.com or download it directly from iTunes.
Tired of watching good comedy? Here’s some of the shittiest stand-up online. [Urlesque]
Interesting profile of a transgendered comedian. [Guardian]
There’s some great old-school comedy greats like Carol Channing and Shelley Berman lined up to speak on comedy at the University of San Francisco throughout August. [Playbill]
What happens when a comedian steals a joke? In most industries, creative material is effectively policed by Intellectual Property (IP) laws, putting a type of copyright on original material. However, in the chapter “Intellectual Property Norms in Stand-Up Comedy,” which will appear in an upcoming book from the University of Chicago Press, two University of Virginia law school authors find that stand-up comedians find their own ways to police originality in their work.
Instead of using the legal system to protect their jokes, comedians use a system of social norms. Based on 19 interviews with working comics, the authors found that some comics will confront an alleged joke stealer to try to work things out, while other comics will refuse to be on the same bill as a comedian who steals material. We see this every day with comedians like Patton Oswalt speaking out against his act getting stolen, or Marc Maron confronting Carlos Mencia about stealing jokes on his podcast WTF.
The chapter also explores the difficulty in determining whether a comedian has stolen a joke or has merely experienced “parallel thinking,” when multiple comedians come up with the same premise independently. Many comics interviewed in the chapter said that it is important for them to find their own point of view and explore unique material to avoid even the suspicion of having taken a joke. These comedians also find it easier to identify when their jokes have been used because they are written in a distinctive voice.
Usually, intellectual property rights serve to promote more creative material because it prevents people from repeating what has already been done. But despite the lack of formal property rights associated with stand-up material, the authors concluded that comics still create original acts. The system of social norms established in the stand-up community are enough to push the form forward and to encourage comics to establish their own voice and point of view, even though there are rarely legal ramifications for stealing a joke.
The Seattle music and arts festival Bumbershoot recently announced its jam-packed comedy lineup for the September event. Boasting both national acts and up and coming comedians, Bumbershoot will have a comedy stage South, West, and North in addition to its main music stage and other creative arts performances.
Who’s going to be there? Among the comedians are Patton Oswalt, Greg Behrendt, Donald Glover, Joe Mande, Morgan Murphy, Chelsea Peretti, Nick Kroll, and Marc Maron. You can check out the full lineup here.
Shortly after I started doing stand-up, I was talking shit about Dane Cook. It seemed, at the time, a rite of passage for new comics. It seemed that people, who, when they were 14 or 15 had seen his 30-minute Comedy Central special and loved it, had to – with the coming of adulthood – distinguish themselves as having matured, having moved past the high-energy style-over-substance salesmanship epitomized by Dane Cook.
Basically I was taking potshots at a silver-back because a critical part of the development of new authority is the challenging of the old guard. I also talked shit about him because I didn’t know who I was on stage, and it helped me carve out a sense of who I wanted to be, by making clear about who I wasn’t.
Dane was at the forefront when or the early aughts comedy boom. Along with Carlos Mencia, Larry The Cable Guy, and Jeff Dunham, Dane was one of the four horsemen of “Big Comedy,” people who had corporate sponsorships and fanatical devotees, and could fill stadiums.
Mass appeal is a tricky thing. Of course there’s always The Beatles or Steve Martin (one of Cook’s comedy heroes), artists who simultaneously appeal to both committed enthusiasts and the casual consumer. But more often than not, mass appeal equates to Britney Spears or Two and a Half Men—artistic representations that are so broad it’s deemed offensive by so-called artist snobs.
In the last few months, Marc Maron’s podcast WTF has blown the hell up, thanks, in part to high profile — not to mention, expertly crafted — interviews with Robin Willians and Carlos Mencia, the latter of which got mentions on Entertainment Weekly and Huffington Post and started nothing short of an online debate on the ethics of comedy.
Today, Maron posted his latest episode, this one with Ben Stiller– a guy who, since birth, was raised by and around professional comedians. Check it out now!
And check this out, podcast fans: Maron recently announced that in addition to his two weekly episodes, he’ll release at least one additional episode each month.
This month’s special episode will be a recording from the Live from WTF show at Comix last month. This show featured comedians John Mulaney, Janeane Garofalo, Morgan Murphy, Todd Barry, Greg Giraldo, and Tom Shillue. The special, available for just $2.99, is promised to be worth the time and money (complete with awkward moments from Maron and Morgan Murphy).
You can purchase these special episodes by going to wtfpodshop.com to create a free profile. You’ll be notified any time episodes becomes available, allowing you to keep up with all the newest material from WTF.
Scottish newspaper Daily Record jumped on Ricky Gervais’ case on May 23 for using the term “mong” in a bit onstage he did during his a recent UK tour stop. He was referring to Britain’s Got Talent champion singer Susan Boyle.
For those of you who, like myself, had no idea what “mong” meant and are now therefore confused as what the hubbub is about, it seems the term is a decidedly offensive way of referring to someone with Down Syndrome—short for “mongoloid.” Or, at least, it was a word used in that context.
I write “was” because, apparently, this is no longer the case.
Gervais responded to the article quickly, explaining on his official blog that he sent a letter to the Down Syndrome Association, who, had contacted his camp for some sort of explanation.
“I clearly explain that words change and that at no point am I referring to anyone with Down’s syndrome. Not only am I not referring to people with Down’s Syndrome I also explain that I am not associating the word with its old derogatory meaning. I also do it as part of a routine about comedians taking responsibility for everything they say. I hope this is acceptable.” the comedian wrote.
Even the Record’s article recognizes that words and their meanings can change over time, calling the term “outdated.” And the highest rated definition of the term on Urban Dictionary describes the meaning as “Lacking in physical and cerebral ability. General retardation. Generally: a total spastic.”
According to this publicly run dictionary, the term has nothing to do with Down Syndrome anymore; instead, it’s simply another way of calling somebody an idiot.
But based on the report, it doesn’t seem like this was what Gervais was going for.
When you look at what he said – “Well, she’s a mong, isn’t she? She looks like a mong, doesn’t she? – it’s a bit challenging to believe his usage fits into the new definition of the term, since the updated meaning mentions nothing of appearance. The old definition, however, referred to a group of people born with certain mental and physical characteristics.
It seems like Gervais is back-pedaling a bit to save face. And honestly, it seems the Down Syndrome Association wasn’t all that committed to their argument, seeing as, according to the comedian, they responded to his explanation like this: “Fully explained and acceptable reply. Please extend our thanks to Ricky for the prompt reply.”
Regardless of what Gervais was trying to say onstage, his “meaning-of-derogatory-words-change” is a theme common to stand-up comedy— so much so that both Louis CK and Marc Maron have opened entire albums with the concept.
On his 2006 album Tickets Still Available, Maron says he wants the word “retarded” back; he wants to be able to say it again without the guilt. (Start listening at the 1:55 mark).
Two years later, on his album and DVD, Chewed Up, Louis CK talks about his usage and the history (as he sees it) of the word “faggot.”
After listening to the Maron, C.K. and reading about Gervais, what do you think? Is it ok for comedians to use words like these when they aren’t using them to attack certain groups of people? Are they attacking those groups, whether its their intention or not? Let us know!
On Friday, we posted some previews of Marc Maron’s interview with Robin Williams. Now, comedy fans, the entire episode of WTF, Maron’s popular podcast wherein the interview is housed, is up. And you should get there immediately. But if you missed the previews on Friday or just wanted to get a quick taste of the interview before you head on over, there’s a trio of clips below. If not, listen to the interview in full right here.
Maron and Williams talk heart attacks:
Maron and Willams talk Robert De Niro
Maron and Williams talk blackouts
“I had about one degree of separation with Robin Williams,” Maron tells Punchline Magazine. “We’d hung out a couple of times but we weren’t tight. I was taking a trip up to his neck of the woods. I thought I would try to track him down. So I did and he agreed to an interview.”
Maron continues: “No matter what your opinions may be of him he was, and might still be, one of the biggest comedy stars in the world. I was nervous because I didn’t want to get caught up in the Williams riff cyclone and be blown out without getting a real interview– a genuine conversation with him. We sat down for about an hour and he stayed still and focused and open. This is a rare chat with a huge star.”
First off, before we tell you what you already know from reading the headline on this here post, let us say this: If you haven’t yet listened to last week’s WTF with Marc Maron, wherein Marc interviews Mr. Show legend Bob Odenkirk, do yourself a favor and check it out here.
It perfectly embodies what this podcast is all about– getting deep inside the minds of the people that truly shape the world of comedy, not just by talking about their art but also by drawing out the artists’ life-related fears and their emotional disconnects. As someone who’s respected by his peers and who has been around these comedians for his entire career (but who isn’t necessarily friends with those people), Maron is in the perfect position to do this; and he rarely disappoints. And this time, he’s topped himself.
And that’s why Punchline Magazine is a proud sponsor of WTF with Marc Maron.
Ok, so you’re going to want to check out the episodes that posted this week as well, featuring comedians Dave Hill and Myq Kaplan, who Punchline Magazine had named one of the comics to watch in 2010. Of course, the eps are on iTunes, but as always you can stream those puppies at the official podcast site at WTFpod.com, where you can also donate some bucks and pick up some sick merchandise. You should also sign up for Marc’s email list which will give you info not just on WTF but also on Marc’s stand-up dates throughout the country. Enjoy!
In what I can only describe as one of the most pointless and ill-conceived analyses on the subject of comedy, Troy Media yesterday, in a pair of op-eds (“American Comedians Can’t Hold a Candle to their Canadian Counterparts” and “Why Americans Love Canadian Comedians”) makes the point that Canadian comedians are better than American comedians. “Better”— as if it can be quantified. I actually had to make sure, before writing what’s below, that Troy Media was not part of the Onion News Network.
To be clear, I’m not annoyed that Troy Media – an online news service that covers “issues shaping Canada and the world” – thinks Canadian comedians are funnier than American comedians. I’m annoyed that as a news organization, they feel that this is something that can be proven; they take an art as complex, personal and subjective as stand-up comedy and attempt – failingly – to compare the two camps (as if there are two camps and not just comedians from two different countries) as if they’re comparing sedans or bathroom cleaning products.
That said and out of the way, the most disturbing parts of the editorials are the reasons they give for Canadian comedians’ dominance.
This is my favorite: Canadian comics have “no need to spill their psychological guts.” It continues:
Why? Because they don’t have the need to talk about the psychological horrors of their upbringings the way American comedians do. Canadians are either free of them or throw themselves into their work and hide behind their characters in an attempt to avoid confronting them.
Listen, there are many American comedians that I love to watch who do not feel the need to share their inner most scars – see Brian Regan, Jim Gaffigan – but the comedians who bare their souls artfully are the ones that fuel my passion for covering comedy and embedding myself into their world. Guys like Doug Stanhope, Jim Norton, Marc Maron and Greg Giraldo would no doubt fall into the “spilling of their psychological guts” categories Troy Media disdains. And that’s exactly why those comedians resonate so powerfully with their fans.
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Another booking coup for our favorite podcast: this week on WTF with Marc Maron, the comedian turned podcast king interviews writer/director Judd Apatow. In this special two-part interview, the second of which just went live online, Marc and Judd cover a range of topics, including the deep-seated love of stand-up that took hold of each of them at a young age.
Marc Maron getting mainstream press? Yes, indeed! [
The Seattle music and arts festival 
Scottish newspaper 
