Comedic Interlude: The Best Show

The Best Show on WMFU is something I only recently discovered via the magic of the Internet. For that, I am both saddened and delighted–saddened because it’s taken so long for this comedic genius to become a part of my life and delighted because it finally has. The Show is hosted by Tom Scharpling, a comedy writer and music guy, on free form radio powerhouse WFMU Tuesdays at 8PM EST. It consists mostly of random call-ins by listeners, a smattering of music, funny rants by Tom, and a roster of regular callers. The highlight, and the real meat of the show are the calls from characters played by Jon Wurster (aka the drummer from Superchunk). Wurster typically plays some bizarre person with a weird background or idea to which Tom plays straight man. My favorite Wurster character is Philly Boy Roy, a silly, bragging asshole of a guy who works at the Wawa selling hoagies and Tastykakes and speaks with Tom in a most obnoxious South Philly accent about how much better things are in Philadelphia than in New Jersey. It’s funny, trust me.

The show is broadcast live online in iTunes (and of course over the air in NJ/NY), but is also available as a podcast now. In addition to the weekly broadcasts, Scharpling and Wurster release the best bits of their broadcasts on CD via their label, Stereolaffs. They also have a sharp new website at scharplingandwurster.com

Here’s a track from their latest release, The Art of the Slap. It really hit home for me since I do computer stuff for a living. Too bad I can’t bench more than a few pounds.

Listen to “Jock Squad”

Check out the podcast in iTunes
Read some interviews on Fluxblog [1,2,3]

June 28, 2007 | Filed Under Comedy | Leave a Comment 

Wonder Katzen

Fans of twisted, subversive comedy take note: The first season of MTV2’s often brilliant “kids” show, Wonder Showzen (which I first gushed about here), is set to be released on DVD March 28th according to this and this. I’m psyched, are you? (You sicko creep.)

And if that weren’t already enough, there’s even better news. According to an interview with (H.) Jon Benjamin on the January 7th episode of the Sound of Young America, Dr. Katz is finally coming to DVD! Benjamin discusses doing the commentary for the Season 1 DVD in the interview, as well as his thoughts on Squigglevision (the style of animation used on Dr. Katz and on the 1st season of Home Movies, another show which features his voice), hosting the ongoing comedy thing Tinkle with David Cross and Todd Barry, and why he doesn’t do traditional stand-up. You can hear the unedited Jon Benjamin interview here.

Anyway, this is awesome news for fans of Dr. Katz who have been petitioning for a DVD release for quite a while. My “temporary” copies of the series (previously discussed here), while good for quick fix, obviously can’t compete with high quality editions with commentary and all that. I can’t wait. [No release date has been set so far, and sites like Amazon aren’t yet listing it.]

January 12, 2007 | Filed Under Comedy, TV | Leave a Comment 

Favorites

My new favorite ice cream is…
Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked Frozen Yogurt

My new favorite cartoon character is…
The grandma on Adult Swim’s Squidbillies

My new favorite stand-up comic is…
Louis CK

I remember first seeing him on Dr. Katz back in the mid 90’s. He did a bit about going in Wal-Mart and buying a bunch of weird, unrelated stuff just to freak people out. It was funny, but I soon forgot about him and carried on with my sad, pathetic Louie-less existence.

Flash forward to August 2005, when I was lucky enough to catch a particularly good episode of HBO’s newly-resurrected One Night Stand featuring, yes–you guessed it, the comedy stylings of Mr. Louis CK. And it was good. It was so good, it was more like fucking excellent. In fact, I actually el-oh-eled quite a few times, despite watching it alone. I’d even go as far as to say it’s a damn near perfect half hour of comedy. If you have the means I highly suggest you Tivo that shit or something. Here’s an audio clip (NSFW):

Louis CK: HBO One Night Stand clip [MP3]

He’s got an album called Live In Houston for sale on his site, too. It’s not quite as tight as the HBO special, but it’s definitely worth checking out. Some klips (mostly NSFW):

Louis CK: Diner Ordering [MP3]

Louis CK: Diet [MP3]

Louis CK: Itchy Asshole [MP3]

So apparently the guy’s been busy since that Dr. Katz episode. In addition to the stand-up, he’s written for Conan, Letterman, and the Chris Rock show, among other things. And now he’s taping his own sitcom for HBO. It’s called Lucky Louie and will premiere sometime in 2006. You can read all about it in a hefty article from a recent issue of the Boston Globe Magazine here.

Despite his busy schedule, Louie was kind enough to grace the boards at A Special Thing, a site that started as a Tenacious D fan site but has become a haven for comedy nerds everywhere. Actual, life-sized comics like Brian Posehn and Scott Aukerman (Mr. Show), Andy Kindler, and Patton Oswalt sometimes stop in for a chat. Louis CK recently started a “Question and Insult” thread there by promising “anyone can ask me any question and I will provide an answer that is deeply insulting to the person who asks the question.”

Here’s what BrickSprickly (aka me) had to say to Louis and the insult offered in return:

BrickSprickly wrote:

Louis:

I know you’re busy with your fancy new show, but do you think you’ll do a stand-up show in Seattle in the near future? Will you tour after your show doesn’t get picked up or what?

PS: I hope your show does get picked up. I’m gay for you.

It will be very hard for me to hit the road for a while. Once the show hits the air, however (in june) I’ll probably to go on the road and make some cash. I miss standup and being on the road a lot. And I love working in Seattle.
And you’re not gay for me. You’re gay for the trillions, literally trillions of cocks that have been in your ass. Do you realize what that means? Trillions of cocks. There have never been trillions of people alive ever. That means that, on top of the billions of cocks that have been up your ass, meaning the cock of every man that is and ever was, there have been billions, trillions more up there, cocks that must just exist on their own without people attached to them, that were conjured by your wizard friend, just so they could go up yoru ass and die.

LCK

http://www.louisck.com

ps. you are not good.

If that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is. Oh, and by “I’m gay for you” I meant “I really enjoy your work.”

So there you have it, folks–my new favorite ice cream. [Sorry, David Cross. You’ve been crossed out, my man. Yeah, I’m still a little gay for you too, but you have to understand that things change.]

December 6, 2005 | Filed Under Comedy | Leave a Comment 

Wonder Showzen

Why have I not already heard about this? Tim and I were hanging around last night watching Aqua Teen when he told me about Wonder Showzen, this show on MTV2 he caught after watching Subterranean the night before (see my previous post…no, I don’t work for MTV). Anyway, it sounded mildly interesting…a twisted kids show with weird puppets and little kids saying crazy shit, strange cartoons, etc. Well it happened to be coming on, so we stayed up to watch.

Let me tell you, it’s fucking awesome. It’s completely twisted and dark but so hilarious. The kids on the show are great. In one segment, a girl is on Wall Street “interviewing” businessmen, asking them questions like “How many people have you exploited today?” or offering them a napkin “for the blood on [their] hands.” Then there are these bizarre cartoons and old educational films overdubbed and re-edited, some of which are really brilliant. I laughed out loud I don’t know how many times, and that just doesn’t happen much when I watch TV.

It sort of reminds me of a cross between Robert Smigel’s Saturday TV Funhouse and the “Druggachusetts” sketch from Mr. Show. Anyway, if you’re into weird dark humour, I recommend it.

+ Go here to see the pilot episode.
+ MTV2 has some clips here.

April 5, 2005 | Filed Under Comedy, TV | 1 Comment