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Jason
Author Archives: Comedy on Vinyl
Episode 21 – Lenny Bruce – I Am Not a Nut, Elect Me! – With Matt Besser
If you think of Lenny Bruce, you probably think of the guy who took on censorship and was a martyr for the cause of free speech. Maybe you’ve seen the movie “Lenny” and associate him with Dustin Hoffman’s huggable heroin addict. Your first thought might not be that Lenny Bruce was a guy who told jokes. And that’s why we’re here.
Luckily, this week we’ve got backup, in the form of Matt Besser, master improviser and brilliant comedic actor. Though he might not point you to this album to discover Lenny Bruce, this is the album that clearly blew his mind and was integral in his understanding of his own craft. Listen in, listen up, and check this album out.
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Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guest: Matt Besser
Matt’s Podcast, Improv 4 Humans
Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/mattbesser
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Lenny Bruce’s Official Website: http://www.lennybruceofficial.com/
Buy “I Am Not a Nut, Elect Me!” on Vinyl: http://goo.gl/nxzCb
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Episode 20 – Woody Allen – Standup Comic
Before he was Alvy Singer – before he was Woody Allen, even – he was still a writer named simply Woody Allen. He was turning his behind-the-scenes skills from writing on “Your Show of Shows” and for the stage into a persona to accompany his work. Though its been said that he hated doing stand-up, there’s no doubt that his point of view ended up so succinct and focused as a result of this character work that the film work that followed wouldn’t be nearly what we have today.
Even if you don’t like his later films (I suggest you just start from the top, chronologically, and stop when you get bored), you should listen to the classic bits archived on this two-disc set. It chronicles an evolution from an inexperienced standup and brilliant writer, to a man who merged the form with the content brilliantly.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guest: Jeremy Guskin
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Woody Allen’s Official Website: http://www.woodyallen.com/
Buy “Standup Comic” on Vinyl: http://goo.gl/iN6XW
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Episode 19 – Eddie Murphy – Self-Titled
It’s about time we discuss an album none of us are familiar with and then turns out to be not nearly as good as we hoped. It’s not going to be a regular feature, but this week I figured why not get a little perspective? Before we talk about “Raw” or “Delirious,” let’s see where he was on the heels of being SNL’s first child prodigy.
At the end of the day, Eddie Murphy’s self-titled 1982 album is what you’d expect. Rushed, somewhat inexperienced and shocking simply for the sake of it. For all the times Eddie Murphy said something homophobic, sexist or racist after this, listening to this will give you an idea of what it sounds like to not wrap much content around it. Fear not, we will soon be going over his best stuff. You know, the stuff he eventually apologized for.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guest: Mike Worden
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Eddie Murphy on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000552/
Buy “Eddie Murphy” on Vinyl: http://goo.gl/Ey8On
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Episode 18 – Tom Lehrer – That Was The Year That Was
Happy New Year and happy satire. Sure, that’s an expression. One of the great, energetic musical comedians, Tom Lehrer is a must-listen (again, another real expression) for those bent on listening to comedy made by intelligent people.
Until recently, Lehrer was a university professor who got out of the satire business for a number of reasons. He has been quoted as saying “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Prize.” That about sums it up. Give it a listen.
Also, given Tumblr’s inherent limits (if we post more than 20… anythings, it starts pushing old episodes off of iTunes), we’re moving feed hosts, so there MAY be some iTunes issues in the coming days. Please let us know if you notice an issue before we do: jason@comedyonvinyl.com
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guests: Dan Gomiller and Ari Jarvis
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Tom Lehrer’s Official Website: http://www.tomlehrer.org/
Buy “That Was The Year That Was” on Vinyl: http://goo.gl/NS7yV
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Episode 17 – Zero Mostel – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
…I have no words. Except Merry Christmas. This special episode features the one and only Zero Mostel at possibly his most insane, reading Dr. Seuss’s timeless “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” There are SO many things going on here, I can’t begin to describe it.
Just know that despite the fact that we didn’t talk much about Zero (his comedy was on the stage and screen), he was a great actor, and Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” wouldn’t have been the same without him intimidating the hell out of Gene Wilder. In many ways, we wouldn’t have the same Gene Wilder. Take a listen and, as always, have a Merry Thing.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guests: Dan Gomiller, Ari Jarvis, Jeremy Guskin and Jen Smith
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Zero Mostel’s IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0609216/
Buy “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on vinyl: http://goo.gl/3fChz
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Episode 16 – George Carlin – Class Clown
We waited too long to get to this album, since its among the first albums I ever listened to, and it simply blew my mind. What’s disappointing is its the first one I simply have not been able to find locally on vinyl – despite having it in the secret Comedy on Vinyl Vaults somewhere deep in the woods of Upstate New York at my mom’s house (it also explains why we’re pointing to an image of the album cover on my phone). THAT said, this is going to be one of those albums I absolutely DEMAND you purchase immediately. I choose to sample these tracks without killing the value of purchasing the album, but believe me, it was very tempting to give you “Seven Words” in its entirety, as this is the greatest version there is. That said, I didn’t – so go buy it.
Though people have treated George Carlin as though he was following the work of Lenny Bruce, Carlin was never an activist, and no matter what you thought of his changing onstage persona, he remained a comedian, unlike Lenny Bruce. “Stand-up philosopher” is a phrase bandied about in this podcast, and I’ve always felt it fit George Carlin to a T. Comedians are, by trade, thinkers before speakers. Usually the speaking takes the form of a joke – Carlin weaves the traditional joke in with pure “one-on-one” conversation, letting you discover his thought process as he helps you understand your own. All this, on top of being a bad-ass who did, indeed, challenge the FCC and, whether he tried to or not, changed the way the US and its government looks at “profanity,” makes George Carlin a legend. Do yourself a favor and discover this album, if you haven’t already.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guests: Dan Gomiller, Ari Jarvis and Jeremy Guskin
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
George Carlin’s official site: http://georgecarlin.com/
Buy “Class Clown” on vinyl: goo.gl/fs6ny
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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New Episodes Coming Soon
Our last recording session was canceled, hence the delay. You can thank Chris Hardwick for that. And because of said delay, you might just see me on the January 14 episode of the Nerdist BBC special. Maybe the December 24th one, briefly, along with Jen. I’m sporting a Nerdist-themed shirt of my own design, which is the reason I was asked to stick around.
I promise, we have some really good episodes coming up. Thanks for your patience!
- Jason
Episode 15 – Eric Idle and Neil Innes – The Rutles
After Monty Python, Eric Idle continued the sketch comedy television with Rutland Weekend Television, which featured “The Seventh Python,” Neil Innes. Best known beyond The Rutles as an amazing absurd satirist, Innes brought a musical legitimacy that Idle, with impressive musical credentials of his own, likely couldn’t match. Also, Innes did a dead-on John Lennon.
Hardly the first mock-documentary, this is one of the first – if not THE first musical-themed film in the genre. A pretty literal parallel of the actual history of The Beatles, The Rutles is impressive, if only for its attention to detail. The songs are, in many cases, dead-ringers for actual Beatles songs (which apparently caused a legal problem or two), and the story an absurd twist and comment on Beatlemania – an obsession that, no matter how you feel about The Beatles, is easily seen as one of the strangest phenomena to ever ripple through pop culture.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guests: Dan Gomiller and Ari Jarvis
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Buy “The Rutles” on vinyl: http://goo.gl/iafam
Buy “The Rutles” on DVD: http://goo.gl/l96Yx
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Episode 14 – Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder – Young Frankenstein
Mel Brooks may have made the name he has today with a unique brand of parody, but Young Frankenstein is arguably his masterpiece, and is no doubt the beginning of a brand of pastiche that has informed the work of every great filmmaker of the last four decades. Self-awareness without having to mug, genuine drama without a sly wink, and real, stone-faced, honest acting make this more than just what Mel Brooks calls a “spoof.”
As Dan points out in this episode, “Young Frankenstein” is a spiritual sequel to its namesake, and even cursory knowledge of the original “Frankenstein” is enough to get the basics. That said, it’s still a good, human story, given to us through some of the best slapstick ever put on film.
Subscribe on iTunes (And please leave your comments and rate us.)
Host: Jason Klamm
Producer: Mike Worden
This Week’s Guests: Jennifer Smith, Dan Gomiller & Ari Jarvis
Comedy on Vinyl is recorded at Fort Awesome Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank. The samples played in these non-commercial (see: free) podcasts are used without permission, and are intended to sell more albums, not to endorse Vinyl Piracy. Follow us on Twitter or at the Facebooks.
Buy the “Young Frankenstein” soundtrack on VERY expensive vinyl: http://goo.gl/3qZPC
Buy “Young Frankenstein” on DVD: http://goo.gl/7OT4x
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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