Comedy on Vinyl

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

Episode 18 Direct Download

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 & 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

Episode 15 Direct Download

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

Episode 14 Direct Download