B-Mo Counts Down The Hits
April 26, 2007 · Print This Article
For all of you out there who want to start adding stand up to your cd collection but don’t know where to start, this one’s for you. Brian lists the essential comedy albums, as well as what to look for when exploring the half a shelf most music stores donate to comedy.
Listener topics include, laughing after tragedy, new baby announcments (not Brian’s), giving tv shows a fighting chance, and who’s more imprtant, the comic or the audience.
Finally, a prescription fueled rant of the week, and our final comic to tv spotlight of the week. I’m comin’ Elizabeth!
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com
Give the show a call: 206-600-4325
Yeah, it’s nice to get a compliment from the boss, because they usually hear a compliment from the customer. For me, it means more to get compliments from my clients, because when it comes down to it, if they’re not happy, it really doesn’t matter how much my boss likes me.
I understand where you’re coming from, though, with wanting to please not only your audience, but your colleagues as well. But for me, my number one priority is to make the people who provide the money to pay my salary happy. They will report back to my bosses, and your audience will respond to the club if they’re happy.
Just an opinion. I’m not a comic, and I don’t play one on TV. I just love to laugh.
Can’t argue with you too much jsaund. In the end, you can make every comic in the building laugh, but if an audience leaves unentertained and with a bad impression of the club, you won’t be asked back.
BMO, come on now, I live in WEST Virginia which is not actually part of Virginia (not since 1863). It’s actually a separate state. I’m sure most Virginians would have found that statement insulting. West Virginia is a pretty mountainous and hilly area, and let me tell you those hills have eyes because it’s populated with more mutants than an X-Men comic.
If I had to guess I’d say that it would be a good bit harder to make a comedy club owner laugh. I bet they hear the WORST jokes in the world on a regular basis. I liken it to a cartoon I saw once in a Playboy where the gynecologist is yawning at work with his head between a womans knees.
Personally my boss hates most of the work I do but my usual reply has been: “The customer’s happy and that who’s paying for it, not you.”
My bad LX. But now that I know it’s safe I can say that I passed through West Virginia on a road trip, and my wife thought it would be “quaint” to have dinner off the highway at a small local diner. I was never so terrified in all my life. There were so many freaky looking people in there it was like a Rob Zombie video. My wife and I were the ones being stared at for not fitting in!
No biggie BMO. We were in the southern part of West Virginia on our way to North Carolina one time and we managed to get lost after a pit stop. We stopped to ask this guy how to get back to the interstate and I swear to you his left eye was looking at his right eye and his right eye was looking at his left ear. If that wasn’t bad enough he couldn’t tell us how to get back to the interstate. The state separated from Virginia during the Civil War and that was pretty much the last time we had any real standards. Once you leave Morgantown, Wheeling or Charleston the collective IQ takes a severe nose-dive.
Actually Bmo, even with Ray Ramano and Seinfeld together in #6, you didn’t have a list of 11. You only had 10. You skipped #7. So it all evens out.
Good list
I already have Steve Martin- Comedy isn’t Pretty & Wild and Crazy Guy. Though his albums are a bit annoying in that they jump. In this day and age of MP3s, I wasn’t sure if I had them in the playlist in the wrong order- I’d be 3 tracks in and suddenly he’s introduced and starts a set. That was a bit annoying, but still very good CDs.
I have Hedberg’s- Strategic Grill Location and plan on getting Mitch All Together.
I wish the Woody Allen one was on ITunes.
I used to have Wright’s - I Had a Pony on tape too, but have since lost that. Time to get it again.
I’ll probably pick up both Romano’s and Seinfeld’s CDs since they only made one after years of honing their acts. Maybe just Seinfeld, I need to sample some Romano.
I could use some classic Carlins so his Classic Gold sounds like a solid purchase for me. I saw him live at my school back in 1995 I think.. maybe 96. The year before Dennis Miller was there, but he sucked. You could tell he just didn’t want to be there. But Carlin kicked ass.
Bill Cosby’s Himself (was it on showtime?) was fantastic and something my whole family used to watch and laugh together. I think I stll have it on VHS somewhere.
I’ll have to listen to some Attel stuff. Can’t say I’m not a fan since I don’t really know much of his work.
As for Richard Pryor, I know what he accomplished was amazing and can ultimately agree he was a fantastic comedian, but I just never really got into his stuff. It’s kinda like the Beatles. You don’t have to like them, but there’s no denying what they did for Rock n Roll.
I would like to chime in on the “take home”jokes that were a topic of this show. This opinion is coming from a spectator, paying customer and comedy aficionado. I don’t care what kind of jokes are told as long as I laugh. Make me laugh and I will pay to see you again, and even recommend you to others. Don’t make me laugh, I tell others that you were a waste of money.
But now it isn’t just that black and white. You have to be original enough that the next time I see you (granted this isn’t the next night, but a second tour) you have added more to your repotoire. I don’t mind recycled jokes as long as they are funny. Hell, if you do it right, repeat the same fucking joke over and over I might find that funny. But be yourself, and add your own flair to the Bar jokes.
I think the key for a comic (this comes from someone who performs magic for fuckin 6 year olds, so take it for what it is worth.), or performer, is to try to be original and stand out. You don’t have to follow one guideline or another, and not all formulas will apply to you. But you better bring it, and when you do, mean it. The keys for performing that I have found is Commit to the act (if you phone it in, it is noticed), be entertaining (if you aren’t having fun, chances are you audience isn’t), and most importantly be yourself.
What the hell does that ramble have to do with anything? I don’t know why I got off on that tangient…..
Anyhoo, yeah, I don’t mind bar jokes at the end, or even in the middle of an act.
Oh, and if any of you ever watched Arrested Development, when I do magic I try my best to be like Will Arnetts http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004715/ character. That works well, especially if you put some extra “goofy” into it.
Two CD’s I would add are “Something Like This” the Bob Newhart Anthology. It always makes me laugh. Also, if it were my list I would have to add “No Cure For Cancer” by Denis Leary. There are few CD’s that meant more to me at the time that I bought them than that one. Later, I found out about Bill Hicks and that made me wonder how good Leary really was.
Oh, and this episode cost me $40 in CDs as I had to hit Zia (Tucson indy record store) for some new comedy CDs.
Ouch, K Freeze… $40… I download most of the comedy cd’s in my collection from emusic.com (whom i happen to work for, in the interest of full disclosure). You wind up paying .25 - 35 cents a track, as opposed to $12 CDs. From the first day I started working here, I’ve been downloading just about every comedy album that comes out. Lots of ooooooooooooold, hard to find stuff, like Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley, and just about all the new guys too.
If you use any download site, be sure to preview each track, especially the first and last track. Sometimes you’ll wind up paying for a track that’s got nothing but the MC’s introduction, or the headliner’s goodbyes, or god forbid, some lame-ass song that the comedian threw on the album in order to collect mechanical royalties or get themselves into ASCAP.
sup, B-mo one thing. you made a small mistake with carlins albums. now solid gold is one of my favorite albums, but i think you also said that his first album. actually that was his third his. His first is when he was still wearing a suit and it was called TAKE OFF’S AND PUT ON’s. And then His Second Was called AM/FM. just thought id clear that up
Good call Smiley, that’s my bad. How could I forget Carlin’s early suit and tie years!
That is good advice NYComedy, I will have to check out emusic.
I do wonder why some comics insist on including lame versions of them singing. (Although I like “If You Buy This CD, I Can Get Me A Car” very much.)
Two reasons for the lame singing: a bigger piece of the pie, and more airplay.
Record companies have to pay publishing fees and mechanical royalties for songs, they don’t for straight stand-up. Having a song or two on the album gives the songwriter (usually the comedian) an extra cut of sales. It ain’t much, but it’s pretty steady.
Plus, radio stations back in “the day” were more apt to play music rather than a straight stand-up performance, so having a song on the album was a good way to get airplay, and therefore more album sales. In the 80s, novelty songs even got a lot of airplay on MTV (back whey they actually played videos!), I still remember seeing Rodney’s “No Respect” rap, and Sam Kinnison’s “Wild Thing”. Hell, i think they even made a video for Howie Mandell’s “Do the Watusi” from his “Fits like a glove” album.
That album was so funny to me back then, now I can’t even listen to it. Some acts just can’t stand the test of time, I guess.
Since everyone’s correcting B-Mo, I figured I’d chime in.
The blackout of 2004 that you remember so well really took place in 2003.
Otherwise, keep up the good work!
J
Hmm, ‘04 must have been a drinking induced blackout.
Hey Brian, just playing catch-up… I was glad you gave honorable mention to Patton Oswalt’s “Feelin’ Kinda Patton” on your list of tops, as this is bar none my favorite comedy album of all time (not that I have hundreds, but I’ve got 20 or so, and I grew up watching loads of stand-up).
That said, if you haven’t already and you can track this down, try to get your hands on 222, which is the uncut performance that was pared down to FKP. It’s about an extra hour’s worth of material, and really gives you more of a look into Oswalt’s OCD comic book dork personality, the general vibe in the room, and just how drunk he was when he was performing that night. As great as FKP is, 222 blows it out of the water, and I can’t recommend it highly enough for ANY comedy fan (I know I’ve subjected many friends and family to this show, and they all loved me for it later).
PS: Thanks for the great show, I look forward to it whenever I have a free hour to listen!
I can’t believe I didn’t rant about this on the show, but it pisses me off when music stores don’t even devote half a rack to comedy. I was at Circuit City today, they combine comedy and soundtracks together. Just what I want to see when I’m looking for a Pryor album, the original cast of High School High.