February 2012
1 post
As A Reminder, the New Blog is at... →
January 2012
1 post
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Episode 18 - Tom Lehrer - That Was The Year That...
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...
December 2011
3 posts
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Episode 17 - Zero Mostel - How the Grinch Stole...
…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...
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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...
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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...
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Episode 14 - Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder - Young...
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...
November 2011
3 posts
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Episode 13 - Cheech and Chong - Greatest Hit
They’re back, and this time we cover the second album that made Jason and Dan become best friends while hanging out in a broken Ford Fiesta. Yep, that’s Upstate New York for you. This is, in fact, our first quadrilateral New York episode.
The appeal of this album is clear, even to comedy nerds who have never touched marijuana in their lives. The characters are great, due in large...
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Episode 12 - Monty Python - The Instant Record...
It’s taken much too long to get to Monty Python, given our collective love for the group, perhaps best demonstrated by how many Holy Grail references make their way into this podcast. This is a great primer album, though it makes little sense to listen to this until after watching the series and, of course, Holy Grail and Life of Brian.
They were the gods of irreverence and detractors of...
September 2011
3 posts
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Episode 11 - Ernie Kovacs: The Ernie Kovacs Album...
For the first time, I’m going to recommend you actually watch something before listening to this week’s album (links are below). Why? Well, because Ernie Kovacs is the godfather of experimental TV. Which is why, as a comedy writer, I was blown away that my introduction to him was from non-comedian (but hilarious person) Adam X. Storm.
Adam’s connection to Ernie Kovacs is a...
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Episode 10 - Live Phil Hartman Tribute with Vicki...
He was Troy McClure. He was Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. He was Bill McNeil. Most importantly, he was a brilliant comedic actor, and loved by everyone he worked with. He also inspired some of us to do what it is we do. That was reason enough to make our first live episode a tribute to him.
This week we were honored to be joined by Vicki Lewis, whose love for Phil Hartman made this one big,...
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Episode 9 - Steve Martin: Let's Get Small
(Originally posted 9/7:) Every once in a great while, you come across a comedy album that changes comedy. Maybe it doesn’t change the nature of comedy, but it changes your understanding of what comedy can be. Rarely can a stand-up do that on his own. But then, it’s arguable that Steve Martin wasn’t just a stand-up, and that “Let’s Get Small” might not be a...
August 2011
3 posts
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Episode 8 - Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset...
It didn’t take long for Richard Pryor’s work to crop back up on Comedy on Vinyl, which is mostly due to popular demand. Not only is “…Is it Something I Said?” still our most-downloaded episode, but two of my favorite comedic minds specifically said they needed to talk to me about this one. And I do mean to me, folks, as Live on the Sunset Strip is, sadly, fairly...
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Episode 7 - Cheech and Chong: Big Bambu (with...
If it wasn’t for this album, the 70s arguably wouldn’t have been the 70s. Before “pot culture” and “pot humor,” there were two brilliant sketch comedians who also talked a lot about pot. Those guys were Cheech and Chong. I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for Cheech and Chong - my first attempts at audio comedy, at 13 - if a bit rough - were...
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Episode 6 - The Firesign Theatre: Don't Crush That...
Not stand-up. Not sketch. Just pure comedy. The Firesign Theatre are, luckily, indescribable. You owe it to yourself to find any of their comedy. They have released 22 albums since the 70s and this is, frankly, their third.
This particular episode forgoes the convention of being clip-heavy, or even clip-light (there’s just the one, really) as we had a lot to talk about with this...
July 2011
3 posts
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Episode 5 - Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow...
This week we skip back to last week’s comedian’s (Richard Pryor) biggest influence. Bill Cosby influenced two generations in two entirely different ways. He broke ground with his stand up comedy, became the first black man to star in a TV drama, and then headed up what was arguably the most successful (financially and culturally) sitcom of the 80s.
This is Bill Cosby’s first...
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Episode 4 - Richard Pryor: ...Is It Something I...
This week: three white guys talk about Richard Pryor. In this episode, we’re joined by the hilarious and talented Mike Preister. You’ve seen his work on TV for over a decade, and now he’s been kind enough to talk with us about his earliest, biggest comedy influence. Namely: Richard Pryor’s fourth album, “…Is It Something I Said?” Raw,...
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Episode 3 - The Smothers Brothers Live at the...
Finally! We cover The Smothers Brothers’s’s first album. This album helped the duo achieve the kind of notoriety that informs the success of every folk comedy… duo… since. Actually, the form was so unique that they cut out a place for themselves in the world of comedy that, eventually, made them two of the most influential voices in the history of modern comedy.
...
March 2011
1 post
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EPISODE #2: The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart...
February 2011
1 post
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Welcome to the Comedy on Vinyl podcast, where we...