LOCK THE GATES!

Growing up I was quite the COMEDY NERD.  Back in the 80s there was standup comedy all over tv: Mtv, VH1, A&E, Nick at Night, Lifetime, Carson, Letterman and if you were fortunate enough to have premium cable channels like Showtime or HBO... jackpot!  For the record I never thought Gallagher was funny.  Even when I was a kid.  I believe the direct quote from a 6 or 7 year old Travis was: "He smashes stuff? That's it?"

B-but... Travis, you didn't mention COMEDY CENTRAL in the above text!  Well, that's because my local cable provider didn't begin carrying COMEDY CENTRAL until about 1992. 

One of the slew of comedians I discovered post-CC is a guy named Marc Maron.  Maron is a sarcastic, witty and insightful comic and he quickly became one of my favorites.  Aside from his brief appearance in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000) as the "angry promoter"; I didn't seem to hear much from the guy during this new millenium. 

However apparently he's appeared on CONAN O'BRIEN'S various talk shows over 40 times and I'm sure I must have caught a couple of those along the way.  Finally back in 2010, via a message board that I frequent, I learned MARC MARON was the host of a rather popular podcast!

WTF or (What the Fuck if you must) is posted twice a week.  And it is often incredible.  Not just because of the content, but the fact that he landed a podcast titled WTF before someone beat him to it. Or maybe he didn't?  Perhaps there are other podcasts with the WTF title? I'll go look.  No, nah... I won't bother with that right now.  Just go to Marc's website.

Each episode kicks off with a sound clip of Marc's Almost Famous character shouting the line "LOCK THE GATES!" over, what I think is a pretty catchy theme song.  Every MONDAY and THURSDAY sees the arrival of a new WTF episode featuring Marc interviewing fellow comedians, or at least well known funny people: Dave Foley, Judd Apatow, Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, Robin Williams and many more! 

I started off just listening to episodes with guests who I was also a fan of, but soon found myself listening to EVERYTHING.  Why? Marc asks great questions.  Often questions listeners probably would ask these people themselves, if they could.  And sometimes even if it's a person you think that you cannot stand, or are perhaps unfamiliar with, you'd be surprised to learn their back story, and maybe at least gain a minor appreciation for what they do. And sometimes not.

My attention was first thrust upon WTF Podcast  #75 aka the Carlos Mencia episode.  In which Marc confronted Ned "Carlos" Holness about his practices of joke stealing, bumping other comedians at clubs and just general douchebaggery.  As someone who has never been a fan of the mindlessness of Mencia, it was a pleasure to hear him practically break down and beg for understanding while at the same time admitting that he is an asshole.
And oh yes the Dane Cook episode in which Mr. SU-FI discusses the theft of his "essence" is quite something too.  As is the recent update to one of the stories heard in Marc's WTF interview with comedian Steve Byrne (WTF #175).

Not every WTF episode is an examination in confrontation. 

Some episodes end with the guest walking out early.  Okay, ONE episode (#145) with Gallagher ends that way.  It's worth a listen to hear the Sledge-O-Matic king rant about what he believes is his rightful place in the world of comedy and the conspiracy theories as to why he hasn't been allowed to succeed where other "less talented" people have.  While also suggesting that much of his current material, which has come under fire for being racist and homophobic amongst other things, is perfectly fine because they're just "street jokes" that are not entirely of his creation.

Many episodes start with Marc admitting that he thinks his interview subject doesn't like him or at the very least that there is conflict of some kind between them. Only to discover it was all in his head.  Maybe I find such relief in these episodes because I often suffer from the "Oh, that guy hates me" syndrome. 

Other WTF episodes of note include:
#163 Conan O'Brien - At last some great insight from COCO about how he endured the NBC horse shit. And how he's happy to to have a show of his own, opposed to one that he inherited. 
#146 Dave Foley - The Kids in the Hall member, who IMHO made the sexiest woman, reflects on the birth of comedy troupe.  And discusses how a crazy ex-wife has resulted in dire financial troubles which keep him from returning to his home country of Canada. 

Episodes featuring some of my "old school" favorites Bobcat Goldthwait (#167),  Laura Kightlinger (#166), Tom Rhodes (#158) are also a treat.  If that doesn't float your boat there are also interviews with more current comedians such as Patton Oswalt (#144), Brian Posehn (#181), Adam Carolla (#159) and Paul F. Tompkins (#150). 

Poehler? I barely know 'er!



The most recent episode featuring Amy Poehler of  "Parks and Recreation" is pretty damn fantastic.  In roughly 86 minutes we cover a lot of territory.  The birth of Upright Citizens brigade (and all it's offshoots), SNL, being a female in the comedy biz, SNL, Lorne Michaels, kids, improv comedy, working with Marc in the 90s and her fears of being compared to Steve Carrell.  While most episodes clock in at about 60-70 minutes, this one, as I noted above runs a tad longer.


I'd love to hear Maron land some of my favorite funny folks: Weird Al, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Michael Keaton, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Diablo Cody, Edgar Wright... and I'm sure Marc would like to land interviews with many of these people as well.  I'd also love to hear him interview actor Vincent D'Onofrio, while not really being known as a comedian or even comedic actor, Marc does have a pretty amusing story involving the Law & Order: Criminal Intent actor.

There was a time when I got jealous hearing/reading about all of these podcasts people were listening to and I couldn't ( because didn't have the proper internet connection, computer, etc).  Then one day I had access to these glorious things called podcasts.  For the most part I was disappointed and realized that I had not been missing out on a whole lot. 

WTF definitely stands out amongst all the crap infesting the world wide web.  

So... What the fuckernauts, What the fuckericans, What the fuckanucks... give the show a listen.  It's available on iTunes and via other various apps.  Apps? Boy, I wish I could me some of those apps, they sound pretty F'n sweet.  Or you can listen to it via the Zune marketplace like I do.

Yeah, I've got a ZUNE! Do you got a problem with that?

I didn't think so.

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