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 WTF With Marc Maron is a (semi-)comedic podcast hosted by stand-up Marc Maron (did you watch Comedy Central in the mid- to late-ninties? You probably have seen him perform before), where he has a guest on each week, and interviews them. Why is this so important and unique and special? Two reasons; first, the host. Marc isn't a typical interviewer. Hell, he's probably not the best interviewer, but he has an astounding success rate, if you consider a success as an interesting interview. Something about the fact that he's insecure and neurotic and depressed carries over to the interviews, and because instead of taking a neutral position like most interviewers, he actively engages in a conversation with his guests, you get some stories and information that that you definitely wouldn't hear most other places. The second is the variety of the guests. He started out interviewing friends from the stand-up community and people he had met (and probably burned bridges with) over his 20-odd years doing comedy, but as the podcast got more people listening to it, the guests got better. Sure, Patton Oswalt and David Cross and Sarah Silverman are big names in the comedy world, but 75% of people probably wouldn't have a clue who you were talking about if you mentioned them, but starting with his interview with Robin Williams, he's been able to get some pretty big names on the show, and had interviews that were more than the traditional Tonight Show spot. People like Ben Stiller, Carlos Mencia, Dane Cook and Chris Rock have all been on the show, and classic comedians like Gallagher, Carrot Top and Andrew Dice Clay have shown up as well (more on that Gallagher show later). Sounds cool, but what's with the weird topic title? Well, like I've said, Marc Maron is not a normal person. He's messed up in the head, and for 10-20 minutes a show before the interview, you get a little peek inside what goes on in there. He'll talk to himself/the listener at length about his girlfriend, his life on the road, his past, and any number of things that are bothering him. These segments are met with two very different opinions. People like me find this fascinating because it's a look into the mind of a crazy person and he's often still very funny when he's doing it, but there is a large contingent who are incredibly turned off by the rants, and to them I say, "Just skip it". There's still a solid 30-50 minutes of interview in there, just listen to that. Occasionally (especially in the earlier episodes, and especially when the guest is someone Maron has met and hated at some point in his life) this will seep into the interview, but it's getting less prevalent, and it's kinda funny to watch other people react to it. I'm sold, where do I start? There is quite a bit of backlog, but the nice thing about the show is that there's no continuity to it. Honestly, if there are any names on the list that you recognize and would like to listen to, do it! There's very rarely a bad episode, and if it's someone you like, you get to listen to them for a little while. If you either don't recognize any names or just want the absolute best of the best, I've compiled a little "Essential Listening" list for the new listeners: Episode 67: Robin Williams This is kinda where it all blew up. It's an interview with Robin Williams that doesn't shy away from the hard stuff, and cemented Maron as a host who can get a hell of an interview out of guests. Episodes 75/76: Carlos Mencia Yeah, that dick. There's a very important reason that there are two episodes on the guy, and that's because Maron felt that the initial interview felt very fake, and so he interviewed a few latin comics that came up with Mencia in the next episode, and painted two very different pictures of the same guy. Will cement hatred for Carlos Mencia that might not already have been cemented. Episode 85: Dane Cook And on the opposite side of the spectrum, you might end up listening to this and having a much better opinion of Dane Cook. Maron brings up the Mencia interview and talks about a few parallels between the two, but Cook actually responds honestly where Mencia responded with PR bullshit. All three of those are interesting because these guys are all fairly well known for being accused of joke stealing, and the way each of them talks about it is completely different. It's a nice compare and contrast. The next three are a lot more calm and dare I say heartwarming. Episodes 103/104: Judd Apatow Judd Apatow loves stand-up comedy, and this is all the proof anyone will ever need. These two episodes talk about Apatow's high school interviews of famous comedians, as well as everything else in his life. You actually hear some tapes that Apatow taped when he was in high school, and it's interesting to hear some of the people he interviewed. Episodes 111/112: Louis C.K. This may actually be the high point of the show. Louis and Marc go way back, and are great friends, but at the time of the interview, didn't talk much at all, and so along with being a career overview of the modern day Carlin (Louis is that good), it's listening to two friends reconnect and talk about their friendship. May end up bringing a tear or two to your eye. Episode 130: Mike DeStefano While the first five I listed are with some of the biggest names that have been on WTF, this episode is a little different because it's not a guy that the average joe would recognize, but it's so worth listening to because the story DeStefano has to tell. Talking about growing up around the mob, drug addiction, living and working with AIDS, meeting and eventually losing his wife, and his recovery and getting into stand-up, it's great listening to someone who has found happiness despite life constantly making GBS threads on them. Of course, the sad coda to this interview is that less than 3 months later DeStefano would die of complications from his disease. And of course, Episode 145: Gallagher This is hilarious. Gallagher is that guy who smashes the gently caress out of watermelons and other poo poo on stage, and also happens to be a horrible, racist, homophobic, untalented rear end in a top hat, and when Marc calls him out on all that, he leaves. Just straight up ditches the interview. Probably got the 'cast the most attention it had gotten since the Williams ep. Beyond that, just start listening. If you don't recognize any names, just start wiki-searching names, you'll recognize people pretty quick. There are lots of episodes that I didn't name that are great, and I'm sure people will come in here and list off a few that I forgot as well. OK, I listened, but it doesn't go back that far. What gives? Oh yeah, the backlog. Well, the show's backlog on iTunes and the website is pretty small, only going back about 50 episodes (along with the Gallagher and DeStefano eps), but for some of the most popular episodes, they are sold for $1.99 on iTunes, and you can get the WTF app on your iPhone or Android phone (iPhone you can get 1, 6, or 12 month subscriptions for a small price, and Android you get the same thing until the end of 2011, which as of right now is obviously pretty worthless, but I bet if you wait a couple weeks, there will be a 2012 app). I got the year subscription for my iPhone, and the app works very well and has every main episode of the show, along with most of the premium episodes. OK, this is awesome. I know. If you like this, you'd probably also like Marc Maron's new CD (recently named AV Club's 3rd best comedy album of the year, and when the only people better than you are Patton Oswalt and Louis C.K., that's saying something). You can also get t-shirts and poo poo at his website I loving love this show, and hopefully y'all will too.
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Dec 22, 2011 08:31
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jyrka posted:The next one is with Russell Brand, which should be interesting. Maron is probably going to hate him. I wonder just how close the interview was to Russell filing for divorce. I'm sure the two could relate on that level.
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Jan 5, 2012 17:13
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THE AWESOME GHOST posted:I like that he gets big guests to open up but I really don't like Marc himself. His standup isn't funny at all and I skip his dumb rants every time. Recently TJ Miller tweeted something about Dane Cook's recent set where all he was doing was working out his personal issues onstage in the middle of a set and how comedians shouldn't do that. I feel like Marc Maron does that and nothing else. The thing is, that's what Maron does best, he works out his personal issues on stage (and in his podcast). I'm of the opinion that Maron is an excellent stand-up, and his newest album is one of my all time favorites, because of stuff like that. He's an intensely personal comedian, kind of a complete 180 from someone like Daniel Tosh, or Anthony Jeselnik, who are joke comedians through and through. Both have their merits, but one has a lot more punchlines, and the other has a lot more moments where you go "oh poo poo I do that holy crap are we messed up". If you're a perfectly rational and sane human being, you might not find Maron as funny. As for this whole "Dane Cook bombing hard" thing people keep talking about, I'm honestly on Dane's side. People bomb. It's a fact of comedy that you're gonna go up on stage and spectacularly fail. The whole "Dane Cook is onstage, shut the gently caress up" thing is a little awkward, but I get why he said it, because gently caress people talking while you're onstage. Dane has always been a bit serious in comedy (learned that from the WTF interview), and that comes off as douchey to some people, but he treats comedy as much more of a job than a lifestyle.
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Jan 23, 2012 22:27
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Rabbit Hill posted:Marc opened today's interview with Ryan Stout with a story about his girlfriend begging him to have a baby, Marc yelling at her about how she can't even clean up after herself let alone a baby, girlfriend cleans the house and asks him if she had passed "the baby test"... He told that joke at his show last night, too.
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Aug 6, 2012 19:16
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