365 Days of Alternative Comedy

Comic Number 20: Maria Bamford

2010-01-24T15:58:00.000-08:00

This might seem like a cop-out, but...I don't want to give you free Maria Bamford. She's the best lady comic there is, and quite frankly the one of the absolute best comics of any kind. So.....buy her stuff

She has three brilliantly beautiful cd's, all available on iTunes

Do it.....eh, I realize this is a shitty post. I'll edit it tomorrow with more great stuff about my favorite lady in the world, Maria.

Comic Number 19: 'Weird Al' Yankovic

2010-01-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

I don't feel obligated to list all of Al's music, because we're all super familiar with him. I do feel obligated to prove why he deserves to be on a blog about alternative comedy.

Here are the two episodes of Comedy Death Ray Radio he was a part of:

First with Scott Aukerman, and Paul Scheer

Then with Paul F. Tompkins, and Tig Notaro

Speaking of Comedy Death Ray, here he is in the Comedy Death Ray "Do They Know It's Christmas" music video:

And, let's not forget that he plays a vital role in Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as Uncle Muscle

So, even though he's been doing comedy and music forever, he's stayed fresh and original and wonderful through it all.

Comic Number 18: Jimmy Pardo

2010-01-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

"I'm one of the best"- Jimmy Pardo. Truer words have never been spoken. Jimmy Pardo is like a comedy savant. After hearing him do what he does, he immediately becomes everyone's favorite comedian.

So, how might you know him? Well, he has a very popular podcast called Never Not Funny, that if you are interested in comedy enough to be reading this, you can afford (it's like, less than a dollar an episode if you buy a season at a time). Here's some snippits of what that's like:

You can also get the first 20 minutes of each episode (minus the bonus live episodes) on iTunes

So, if you want hours and hours of free Pardo entertainment, 6 episodes of You Bet Your Life, one of his many live shows, is avalible on MonkeyGoLucky.com. Here's an example:

You get HOURS AND HOURS of that!

He has two albums...one of which myself and billions of other fans can't find anywhere (Uno), but the other, Pompous Clown, is avalible on iTunes. He's constantly doing cool shows at the UCB such as You Bet Your Life, Running Your Trap, and the very popular Match Game. He'll be at MaxFunCon and probably the Vancouver Comedy Festival. Do whatever you can to check him out, he is an absolute utter genius.

Sketch Number 3: The Weekender

2010-01-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

So, as I keep talking about comics, I hope you'll be able to start picking them out of videos and sketches and whatnot. So, let's see how good you are:

So, who did you see that you know?

Schedule for this next week...and you guys, it's a great one. The theme, honestly, is GREATNESS. Comics and professionals who are the absolute finest at what they do
Friday- Every stand-up comedian's favorite stand-up comedian, Jimmy Pardo
Saturday- The only guy who can do song parodies and be respected by all, "Weird Al" Yankovic
Sunday- Arguably the funniest woman in the country, Maria Bamford
Monday- The most likeable, enjoyable younger comic I've ever heard, Matt Braunger
Tuesday- Writer for Mr. Show and creator of the amazing Comedy Death Ray, Scott Aukerman
Wednesday- Improv, character actor, stand-up, all over genius Andy Daly

Comic Number 18: Arj Barker

2010-01-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

So, you know that friend of yours who you think you know really well and think you're totally aware of all his friendships, but then you see him hanging out with another group of people that you're also friends with and it's all "I didn't know you were friends with those guys?" and he's like "Yeah of course" and this happens 4 or 5 times.

That's how Arj Barker is.

Arj is absolutely one of my favorite comics out there, and he has a special airing THIS SUNDAY! CHECK IT OUT!

Arj is part of so many comedy crowds. He performed with Tony Camin and Doug Benson in The Marijuana-logues. He was a secondary character on Flight of the Conchords with all those guys that we talked about last week (I switched Arj and Aziz in my calendar because I wanted to advertise them before they had their specials). I've heard both L.A. comics and New York comics talk about how much they like him.

So...let's get to the funny. Here he is with one of his funniest bits, AND addressing a heckler which he is fabulous at:

He has an animated web series called Arj and Poopy about himself and a cat who only speaks in farts. Here's an episode where Patton Oswalt appears!

Now, I love comedy as an art form, but often I don't find political or religious humor as funny as like....fart jokes and references to Charles in Charge. But Arj can do it in a way that kills me:

So, plugs. He has two albums. The first I can't find online, but it's called Issues Were Here. His most recent one is called LYAO which I have pre-ordered and am super pumped about.

Comic Number 17: Bobby Tisdale

2010-01-19T05:21:00.001-08:00

This week we've been highlighting some awesome New York comedians, so we must discuss the great Bobby Tisdale.

There are certain comics who just seem to be friends with everyone. Bobby is one of them. As co-creator of Invite Them Up (which, blah blah blah, yet again, blah blah blah, you should buy the album of) he is friends with New York's finest stand-up comics, improv artists, sketch players, etc.

If you search for his name on Youtube, there are about a hundred videos, only some of which include him. That's because he's involved in so many shows in New York.

There are a few tracks of his stand-up on Invite Them Up, which I quite enjoy, but other than 5 to 10 minute introductions, his stand-up is not very available online. So yet again, I encourage you to buy Invite Them Up.

Comic Number 16: Kumail Nanjiani

2010-01-18T09:44:00.001-08:00

For the most part, I hear about comics in whispers for several months (or years) before I actually start hearing their stand-up. With Kumail, only weeks after I first heard his name I started hearing how he was a genius stand-up who was going to change the comedy landscape. I couldn't agree more.

He did stand-up on The Sound of Young America which is available to listen to for freezies if you click RIGHT HERE

Kumail also participated in Eugene Mirman's album "God is a 12 Year Old Boy with Aspergers" which was fantastic. He was featured on Comedy Central's "Hot List" for new young comedians.

Here he is opening for Zach Galifianakis:

So....he's been featured on Comedy Central, he's worked with Eugene Mirman and Zach Galifianakis.....I think it's safe to say that he's going to be massive in the next few...weeks or so.

Comic Number 15: Morgan Murphy

2010-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

My first experience of Morgan Murphy came from the above set, part of the Comedians of Comedy at The Troubadour dvd. In awe of her ability to command a stage and get non-stop laughs, I searched and quickly found this.

She is absolutely wonderful. I can't get enough of her stand-up. Her presence on stage is unlike anyone I've ever seen: She connects with the audience in a very subtle way that keeps you totally focused. I truly am I awe of her talent.

Plus, she's friends with Dragon Boy Suede!!!

Unfortunately, there is no yet way to support her financially (as in, albums and dvds and such) but as I mentioned she is in the Comedians of Comedy Live at the Troubadour dvd which anyone with an interest in comedy should own. She's also a writer on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which...I'm sure I'll get into it more later (probably when I discuss A.D. Miles) but if you haven't given it a shot, please do. It's a great show with GREAT writing.

Comic Number 14: The Doilies

2010-01-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

So, The Doilies...they might not be prolific, but they're certainly awesome. The Doilies is made up of Michael Showalter and Zak Orth, who have worked together on countless television shows and movies. They essentially have two songs.

Erotica

and Sandwich Commandments:

Both tracks are available on Michael Showalter's album "Sandwiches and Cats" and a live version of Erotica is available as one of the tracks on the aforementioned Invite Them Up album. I think we can all hope that as Showalter continues to grow in popularity, that The Doilies will put out more music (if you can call it that) for us to enjoy.

Comic Number 13: Eugene Mirman

2010-01-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

I hate when people ask me who my favorite comedian is, because I love so many comedians in so many different ways that it's hard to pick. However, when people ask me and I don't want to get into a discussion about the facets of alternative comedy, I usually just say Eugene Mirman. It's the easiest way for me to express what I consider to be fantastic comedy.

Comedy that is based in real experiences

Comedy that is political but is still enjoyable to those who may not agree with him

Comedy that is interactive

Comedy that is self-referential

Eugene Mirman Defines Alternative Comedy at AltCom 2009 from Thomas Attila Lewis on Vimeo.

Comedy that works off the traditional stand-up stage

Comedy that is character based

Do I have to give you more examples? No. I'll tell you how to purchase some Eugene. He has three albums, The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman, En Garde, Society!, and God is a 12 Year Old Boy with Aspergers. All three are available on iTunes and Amazon. He has a book called The Will to Whatevs which is worth buying. Also, any comedy fan needs to have Invite Them Up in their library. It is a show started by Eugene and Bobby Tisdale that showcases comics like Aziz Ansari, David Wain, Todd Barry, and every comic we are talking about this week. Get the album.

Sketch Number 2: The Perfect Song

2010-01-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen: Thunderant (Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen)

Also, I thought I could start letting you guys know who would be on next week.
14: Perhaps my favorite stand-up comedian, Eugene Mirman
15: Musical comedy duo The Doilies, comprised of Michael Showalter and Zak Orth
16: Stand-up extraordinaire and genius writer Morgan Murphy
17: A new comic who is making waves, Kumail Nanjiani
18: Comedy partner of Eugene Mirman and co-creator of Invite Them Up, Bobby Tisdale
19: The man behind Fabrice Fabrice, Bobby Bottleservice, and El Chupacabra, Nick Kroll

Comic Number 12: Aziz Ansari

2010-01-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

Because this weekend is the premiere of Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, I'm squeezing in Aziz Ansari. First up: Watch his special on Comedy Central on the 17th. If you have faith in how funny it will be (which hopefully after reading this blog, you will) it's available for pre-order both as a CD and DVD.

So, Aziz. I first fell in love with his comedy after listening to his track on the Invite Them Up album. He has this amazing talent at being high energy and referential to pop culture while remaining really smart and original in his material and delivery. Here's a great example of that:

Beyond his traditional stand-up, he also created the brilliant character of Raaaaaaaandy (www.laughyourdickoff.com). He's able to mock everything about terrible comedians at once, and be ridiculously funny with it. I suppose I should give this a Not Safe for Work warning, but you probably have head phones on, so go for it.

So, this handsome young Indian man clearly is prodigious about stand-up, but what about sketch comedy?

Human Giant: Let's Go (w/Patton Oswalt) - watch more funny videos

Ah yes, he's part of super-smart super-funny group Human Giant.

So, please everyone tune in this weekend on Comedy Central to hear Aziz be great and hilarious. I'm so glad to see someone as deserving as he is get a little bit of attention.

Comic Number 11: David Wain

2010-01-12T05:38:00.000-08:00

So, as you’ll learn as this project progresses, I am madly in love with all 11 (but really only 10) members of The State. In fact, the week of April 16th through the 22nd will be purely members of The State. They were a comedy troupe from the early 90s that, in my opinion, should be worshiped as gods.

MTV Shows

While (nearly) all the members of The State went on to have comedic success, none compare to David Wain. There is not an element of comedy he does not excel at.
He’s best known as a film director

And writer

He also has a web series, Wainy Days, that takes the idea of internet comedy to a whole new level. This is part 2 of the last season finale (to figure out where they start from, go to www.mydamnchannel.com/wainydays and watch Rochelle part one.)

But he’s also part of absurd comedy trio Stella (with fellow State members Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black)

And he does stand-up too!

I could basically say that he murders innocent kittens and it would be alright because he’s the funniest human of all the humans. Now, go buy Role Models, The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer, Stella, and The State on dvd.

Comic Number 10: Armen Weitzman

2010-01-11T08:16:00.001-08:00

Part of why I wanted to do this blog was to learn about new comics. I'm known to have an encyclopedic knowledge of alternative comedy, but there are some comics out there that I know by name and not by material. Armen is one of them.

He's on the cover of this years CDR calendar so obviously he's a big part of the comedy community, but I can only seem to find him guest-starring in sketches and having one line on things like Role Models and The Sarah Silverman Program

He's definitely got a specific sense of humor. And he's definitely also adorable

Celebrity Rehab 2 Preview - watch more funny videos

So, Armen, if you're reading this, I hope you can see that we (the world) desperately want to see more of you. You're clearly hilarious. Be a part of our lives!

Comic Number 9: Kristen Schaal

2010-01-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

So.....Kristen Schaal is a genius. Beyond genius. As a lady comic, I tend to look towards lady comics for inspiration, and I totally get it from this lady comic. She's...just...the best!?!?!? She takes it so far beyond jokes and yuks and creates art, as stupid and pretentious as that sounds.

And, I have to do the most famous joke:

Total genius. Total visionary. Total inspiration. LOVE HER

Unfortunately she doesn't have any albums (yet), but you can buy both season 1 and 2 of Flight of the Conchords to see her as Mel, the Conchord's biggest fan:

(hey look, it's Todd Barry from the other day? See how organized I'm being?)

Comic Number 8: Flight of the Conchords

2010-01-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

So, this week we're going to talk a lot about the people involved in the TV show "Flight of the Conchords." It's only appropriate that our Saturday comics are Bret and Jemaine themselves. Now, I'm not one of those people who pretends to have known about things way before they got famous....but I did with Flight of the Conchords. I remember watching videos of them only 5 or 6 years before they had their show. I still love those videos.

But as they've gained fame, they've been able to do crazy cool things. In the second season of their show, the music took on a whole new level of greatness:

You could briefly see in that last video Mr. Eugene Mirman. One of the very cool things about Flight of the Conchords is how they brought together so many great comics. The show included Eugene Mirman, Arj Barker, and Kristen Schaal as cast members, and had guest appearances from Kristen Wiig, Todd Barry (remember from yesterday), Aziz Ansari, Jim Gaffigan, Greg Proops, Patton Oswalt, Will Forte, John Hodgeman, Mary Lynn Rasjkub, and probably some others.

Flight of the Conchords (the show) was great for alternative comedy. The music was fun, all the plot lines were fantastic, the show had a wonderful aesthetic...unfortunately the show isn't coming back for a third season, but it did so much good in it's two seasons that it's fine.

Comic Number 7: Todd Barry

2010-01-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

Oh, Todd.

So, business first I guess: His albums are Falling Off The Bone, From Heaven, and Medium Energy.

His style is obvious from that clip, he's a laid-back and deadpan comic with jokes ranging from 30 seconds long to 45 seconds long. He's also capable of totally silly fun though:

That's about all I can think of, because I'm guessing anyone coming to this site already has a nice knowledge of Todd Barry. But, if you have any questions, be sure to ask in the comments!?!?!?

Sketch Number 1: Sketch of the Dead

2010-01-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

I'll end this week with a fun sketch that came out in the last few weeks featuring Paul F. Tompkins and Rich Sommer. Enjoy

Sketch Of The Dead

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Atom Originals | Funny Animations

Comic Number 6: Doug Benson

2010-01-06T12:10:00.001-08:00

I don't need to go into great depth of Doug Benson, because he's finally starting to get the fame he deserves. I'll just let you know how you could get some awesome comedy of his.

First of all, FREE COMEDY! I Love Movies comes out every other week, and it's 45 minutes of Doug hanging out with his comic friends and talking about movies. It's great and hilarious and wonderful.

He has two solo records out: Professional Humoredian and Unbalanced Load. Also, there is a recording of his show The Marijuana-Louges with Arj Barker and Tony Camin. It's fairly hard to find, but if I can find a link I'll update this post with it. Here's a clip of what that's like:

If you are unfamiliar with Doug, while he definitely has a significant amount of marijuana material

But he also has a ton of fun, topical, interesting, wonderful material that's fun for everyone.

So, get I Love Movies, and just start falling in love with him. He's the best.

Comic Number 5: Matt Belknap

2010-01-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Now, before you all start screaming at me, I know Matt isn't himself a comic. Tuesdays are the days where we (meaning I) talk about people who have an important role in the world of alternative comedy, but might not themselves be stand-up comics (or, might do stand-up, but that might not be their primary position). It wouldn't be a discussion of alternative comedy without talking about Matt Belknap, so it only makes sense for me to start with him.

Matt has made a name for himself and a pretty nice little career in being a total comedy nerd. When the Tenacious D message boards became too overrun with stupid fans who didn't know what they were talking about, he began A Special Thing. While AST began as a Tenacious D message board, fans of Mr. Show (where Jack Black got his start) flocked to it as well. As the world of alternative comedy expanded, it stayed centered around AST. Soon AST began a successful podcast where Matt interviewed important comics (Tim & Eric, Paul F. Tompkins, Jimmy Pardo, Jim Gaffigan, Patton Oswalt, etc). It didn't take too long until artists like Jen Kirkman, The Sklar Brothers, Jonah Ray (remember from yesterday?) and others chose to release albums through AST Records.

The turning point for the fame of AST and Matt (if I may assume) would be when Matt asked mondo-successful comic Jimmy Pardo if he wanted to do a podcast with him. It would be the two of them plus a comedian friend of theirs just spending an hour and a half talking about whatever they wanted to talk about. That podcast is Never Not Funny and is currently in it's 6th season. Before season 3 they made the decision to make people pay for it, and turns out...people wanted to. People don't mind spending money on consistantly good entertainment from people they can trust to be entertaining. For 30 bucks you get 6 months of Never Not Funny, with a new episode every week. I don't mean to turn this into an ad for Never Not Funny, but you are definitely missing out if you are not a subscriber.

They have on funny people you probably have never heard of like Pat Francis and Scott Aukerman (my favorite human being ever):

And they have on super successful comics like Paul F Tompkins and Conan O'Brien and super handsome people like Jon Hamm

So....that's Matt. He's awesome.

Comic Number 4: Jonah Ray

2010-01-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

Jonah Ray is a conundrum. His material is centered about being a lazy alcoholic, yet he’s a super successful writer with a ton of credits. He’s currently the head writer for Web Soup. He’s great.
For cheap yuks, you can get “This is Crazy/ Mixed Up Plumbing” on iTunes for a mere $4.95 (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/this-is-crazy-mixed-up-plumbing/id258648554)
His material spans from filthy/lazy:

To adorable and fun:

For more free Jonah, I suggest the I Love Movies episode with him, Matt Belknap (who I will be discussing tomorrow) and David Huntsberger:

Click to play

The “I Love Movies” podcast is a great way to get free comedy nearly weekly. iTunes that shit.

Comic Number 3: Sarah Silverman

2010-01-03T10:07:00.001-08:00

I chose to start with Sarah Silverman as the first lady on my list for several reasons. I realize she is controversial and there’s a good deal of people who don’t care for her at all, but I’m hoping I might be able to show a different side of her that might make you realize how important she is to comedy.
I think people forget that the person she plays on stage is a character. The racial slurs are intended at showing how ridiculous it is to use slurs. The frank religious persecution is mocking those who mock people’s religion. Her sexual talk is in reference to how many women comics of the 80’s spent entire sets talking about make-up, dating, and other woman-specific things.

Sarah started with a brief stint on Saturday Night Live that didn’t work out. In the 90’s she became friends with Doug Benson, Brian Posehn, and many members of the “Mr. Show” crew. She did solo comedy for a while, but I fell for her when watching The Sarah Silverman Program. That show has allowed her to show a deeper amount of her comedic talent, as she writes for her racist/filterless character as well as writing totally goofy roles and very sweet roles.

The Sarah Silverman Program

Big Rock Candy Mountain

www.comedycentral.com

Joke of the Day

Stand-Up Comedy

Free Online Games

If you don’t like Sarah, that’s perfectly fine. I understand comedic tastes differ, and I’m sure that I’ll talk about comics that you don’t like, but I hope you can begin to respect what she does as really smart and socially conscious and not just “filthy.”

Comic Number 2: Howard Kremer

2010-01-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

I’m going to have to try especially hard to write this one without bias, because I simply adore Howard Kremer, and his alter ego Dragon Boy Suede.

I suppose I’ll start with the obvious: Dragon Boy Suede. Dragon Boy Suede is a rapper, and anytime you hear rapping on a comedy track (Bad Wiring by R.O. Manse, Pi by Hard ‘n Phirm, both of whom I have on the calendar to discuss) it’s Dragon Boy Suede. Here is the music video of his song “You Won’t Sass Me Like That When I Can Summon Wolves”, which is directed by DJ Douggpound and features Natasha Leggero (again, both of whom are on the calendar).

Dragon Boy Suede satirizes popular themes of rap music (hating women, hating your family, combining lawlessness with sex, etc). When Howard did his Comedy Central Presents, he did it as Dragon Boy Suede.

But, Howard has a deeper comedic well than just surface level rap pastiche. Here’s a bit he did at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater, entitled “Have a summah”

Granted, a bit like that isn’t for everyone. You truly have to plug into his sensibility, but if you can you’ll really enjoy yourself. I’ll leave you with his piece that made me completely ga-ga for him. It starts at 13:20 (the other voices are Scott Aukerman, Matt Walsh, and Dave Holmes…who I probably don’t need to tell you, are on the calendar)

Click to play

Edit: I wish this player was fast-forwardable, but alas it is not. If you don't want to sit through the first 13 minutes, I suggest downloading it on iTunes (it's free) and then you can navigate through it.

It's episode 30

Comic Number 1: Graham Elwood

2010-01-01T12:19:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd start with Graham since he's one of the newest additions to my iPod, even though I've been a fan for a while. He recently released his first album, The Comedian's Got a Boo Boo which is available on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-comedians-got-a-boo-boo/id346025638) as well as his website (https://store.comedyfilmnerds.com/Graham-Elwood-The-Comedian-s-Got-a-Boo-Boo.html).

My first exposure of him was a while back, when I heard an audio recording to Doug Benson's show "The Benson Interruption." I was completely impressed and loved the crazy alternative wacky stuff he was doing. Then for several years all I knew of him was his appearances on Never Not Funny which was much more subdued and not nearly as experimental. I was worried that it was just a fluke, and that he had turned to more subtle comedy.

Listening to The Comedian's Got a Boo Boo made me relinquish my fear. The album, while having a broader audience in mind, kept the elements of his performance that I loved; His pace, his darkness, his subject matter. Graham is most well known for his performances at the alternative clubhouse UCB LA, and for his work entertaining the troops overseas.

Here is a clip of Graham doin' what he does. I chose this clip because, to me, it embodies many of the characteristics of alternative comedy. It doesn't use traditional joke structure, it's fairly mean-spirited, and it takes what might otherwise be a boring premise and turn it into something that's fresh

Day 1 of 2010

2010-01-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

A bit of an explanation:

My name is Caroline. I do stand-up, but mostly...I love stand-up. That's actually not accurate (I explain, rather than editing). It's too specific in that I love sketch comedy, musical comedy, improv, and all sorts of funny stuff. It's too broad in that I love alternative comedy.

The abbreviated history of alternative comedy:
Once upon a time in the early 90's, some comedians (Janeane Garofalo, Bob Odenkirk, David Cross) were all "How come stand-up sucks?" and started doing their own stuff. They began the idea that comedy should follow suit of musicians, a comedian should do something specific to them (not just airline food and dating stuff) and perform in settings where they can get a genuine response from the audience.

Flash forward 10ish years. The State failed on television (and continued to fail on television), Bill Hicks passed away shortly after offending tons of people, and perhaps most importantly the Upright Citizens Brigade started schools in Los Angeles and New York. These schools acted as venues for alternative comedy, a way for comics to meet each other and form groups (Human Giant, Garfunkel and Oates).

Now, mainstream comedy is falling by the wayside as Patton Oswalt and Paul F. Tompkins take over the world. But I'm not going to talk about PFT and Patton. I'm going to talk about alternative comics who have inspired myself and that most of you might now know. 365 of them. Let's see when I run out of people.

Here's how it's going to work. I've planned out all of January, and it kind of fits this. Each day of the week has a theme (ish)
Sunday- Laaaadies
Monday- Young'uns (people very very new to the scene)
Tuesday- People who work heavily in comedy, yet are nameless to most
Wednesday- People who are reaching mainstream fame
Thursday- VARIOUS! Mostly sketch stuff
Friday- The papa's (and mama's) of the genre. Folks that helped begin the genre.
Saturday- Musical comics