A look at Vulture's Best Comedy Specials of 2023 and Paste's Best Comedy Albums of 2023

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:12.839
Callaroga Shark Media. Hello, I'm
Johnny Mack with your daily comedy news.

2
00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:17.359
Earlier in December, Vulture put out
their article the Best Comedy Specials of twenty

3
00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:21.839
twenty three, So that doesn't include
Trevor Noah, won't include Ricky Gervas,

4
00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:25.640
and won't include Chapelle. As for
me, I'm planning on putting out my

5
00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:28.199
list towards the end of next week. I want to get on the other

6
00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:31.679
side of Ricky Gervas. I won't
include Chappelle because it doesn't come out to

7
00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.079
New Year's Eve, so I wouldn't
be able to do it in twenty twenty

8
00:00:34.119 --> 00:00:37.079
three unless Netflix hooks me up with
a screener, which they have not as

9
00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:40.159
of yet. If you are a
new listener. When I do these article

10
00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.320
episodes, I don't look in advance
because I like to react as I go

11
00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:47.200
along. So I'm hitting click here
from Vulture, The Best Comedy Specials of

12
00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.399
twenty twenty three. This was published
on December sixth. They have number ten

13
00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:57.520
Saser Zamada's The First Woman. I
haven't heard any buzz whatsoever on that,

14
00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.640
and I haven't seen it, so
maybe it is awesome, but no buzz

15
00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:06.159
you'll find it on YouTube. Vulture
tells us the specials title comes from a

16
00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.640
joke at the end of a long
and pointed joke about the history of female

17
00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:12.879
aviators. That's part you're wrong about
episode, part feminist screed, and part

18
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.840
that thing when you're a hilarious friend
can't help but tell you about this fascinating

19
00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:19.799
Wikipedia rabbit hole that they fell down
last night. Number nine is John Early

20
00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.840
is Now more Than Ever. That
is on my list towards the back half,

21
00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.519
part sketch, parts stand up,
part concert documentary of a fake cover

22
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:32.359
band, John Early is Now more
than Ever gleefully puts its tongue in several

23
00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:36.120
nested layers of cheek. Yeah,
I enjoyed it because it was quite different.

24
00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:38.480
I think that's the thing I like
about it. Vulture wrote. The

25
00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:42.319
whole thing is absurd. It's almost
certain there are one or possibly a dozen

26
00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:46.799
too many ideas in here, all
shoehorned into the concert documentary conceit then undermined

27
00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:52.079
by the cynicism of the entire production. You'll find that on Max. Next

28
00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:55.280
one up, Mike bur Bigley as
the old man on the pool I've mentioned

29
00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.760
on this podcast. I think you
would really like it. The comedy snob

30
00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.439
in me kicked in and I was
watching it. Mike was telling a story

31
00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.599
about wrestling, and I didn't believe
the premise of the story. I just

32
00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.000
didn't believe the story ever actually happened. I may be incorrect, but I

33
00:02:07.039 --> 00:02:12.120
didn't believe the story, so I
punched down on it. I think you

34
00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.520
guys, not being comedy snobs,
will enjoy Mike Broviigley as the old man

35
00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:19.240
on the pool. Vulture has it
at number eight. You'll find that on

36
00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:23.439
Netflix. At seven. They have
Zanab Johnson's His Jobs Off. I have

37
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.400
seen buzz about this one, haven't
gotten to it yet. Vulture writes.

38
00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:30.039
Johnson's not interested in waiting or in
storing gowing material for some later point in

39
00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:31.919
her career. This is her debut
special. Now is the time to talk

40
00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.319
about the hard stuff, to embrace
it as part of who she is from

41
00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:38.120
the gymp, and to establish the
kind of comedian who can do it with

42
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:42.840
grace. That one's on Amazon Maria
Bamford's local act. Haven't seen this one,

43
00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.680
haven't purchased it. This one not
free streaming anywhere, and by free

44
00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:50.719
streaming, you know what I mean, Like you know you give Netflix seventeen

45
00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:52.680
dollars a month or whatever it is, and they give you stuff. This

46
00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:54.840
year, you'll have to actually go
purchase. There's been a lot of buzz

47
00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:58.360
on Maria in the back half of
the year, and apparently this special is

48
00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.840
pretty good. Next one, Gary
Goleman's Born on Third Base. So we're

49
00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:07.000
doing some time traveling here. Apparently
Vulture saw this early in December. The

50
00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.240
special came out two days ago on
Max. I'm recording this on December fourteenth,

51
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.520
so I haven't seen Gary Goleman yet. I suspect it'll make my end

52
00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.120
of the year list because I like
Gary A. Lott and his previous work

53
00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:21.120
is fantastic. So with that time
traveling in mind, I'm not sure how

54
00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:23.719
I can review it, so I'll
tell you. Vulture said, Born on

55
00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:27.759
Third Base is a comedy special about
income inequality and the fraying social fabric that

56
00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.919
creates lasting poverty in America, a
topic that feels like a dubious framework for

57
00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.280
an hour of laughs. But Goldman's
so good at negotiating that tension and weaving

58
00:03:34.280 --> 00:03:38.520
material about his childhood together with more
general ideas about culture and class. That

59
00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:44.000
one is on Max number four Sam
Jay's Salute Me or Shoot Me? Wow.

60
00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.879
That one's also on Max. I
think I started to watch it and

61
00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.240
just wasn't into it. Vulture says, Salute Me or Shoot Me is all

62
00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:53.520
about Sam's ability to move in and
out of jokes, that swagger and jokes

63
00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:58.039
that approach with delicacy and grease.
Every other comedian wants to stand on a

64
00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.719
stage and say bad words to get
people who all up desperately wishes they had

65
00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.599
what Sam Jay has. Good review
there, huh. Joe Parra is slow

66
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:12.800
and steady. I struggled with this
one because the audience was kind of out

67
00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.120
in front of Joe. I know, Hedberg ran into that late in life,

68
00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.759
so I think the audience kind of
screwed up his special. But Vulture

69
00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:21.439
says, the rhythm of Joe para
joke can feel like water dripping from a

70
00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:26.519
faucet. Yeah, I don't know
if you're familiar with Joe works very deliberately.

71
00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:29.879
That's a big way of saying slow. The punchline will come at the

72
00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:31.160
same beat as everything else, and
yet when you're waiting for it, the

73
00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:34.240
gap between the last line and the
next one can feel like time slowing down

74
00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:39.199
and just hovering for a moment.
Number two Vulture has Beth stellings if you

75
00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.920
didn't want me, then I started
to watch that one and just wasn't feeling

76
00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:46.360
it and punched out of it.
Vultra says her comedic persona, which ticks

77
00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.360
between cool disaffection and full throated weirdness, is especially effective in this special.

78
00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:53.720
It's full of recollections on her childhood, and Stelling comes at those stories about

79
00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:57.680
her youth with both fondness and a
sense of absurdity. And their number one

80
00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:01.519
special of the year, Wow,
I love this guy. I've been on

81
00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:06.439
a kick about this guy, and
yet I did not like this special and

82
00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:09.959
didn't make it to the end of
it. That's how much I didn't like

83
00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.079
it. And I'm really into this
guy. I'm a big fan of this

84
00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.519
guy. I'm hoping to get to
talk to this guy. Number one on

85
00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:19.079
Vulture's list, Mark Maren's from Bleak
to Dark. You'll find that one on

86
00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:24.079
Max. Wow. All right,
they have some honorable mentions. Shane Torris

87
00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:27.439
is the blue eyed Mexican Dina Hasham's
Dark Little Whispers. I gotta get to

88
00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.439
that one. Chris Fleming's Hell That's
on my list I like that one a

89
00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.839
lot. You'll find that one on
Peacock, Ali Sadiq'z The Domino Effect.

90
00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.759
That one is on let me scroll
down here YouTube. Didn't like that one.

91
00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.000
John Mulani's Baby Jay. I know
we're all supposed to fall and over

92
00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.040
that one. It's not on my
list Netflix. Monique's My name is Monique.

93
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.160
I check that out, bailed on
it. That one's on Netflix.

94
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.240
Mae Martin's sap is on Netflix.
Didn't like that one. Kyle Kanaan Shocks

95
00:05:54.240 --> 00:05:59.120
and Struts. Love that one.
That's gonna make my top ten, maybe

96
00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:02.319
my top five, depending on how
things like Jervaise shakeout culture writes. His

97
00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:06.439
cruise ship material conjures a nightmarish,
heatonistic carnival. His story about a van

98
00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:11.079
goes places no one could have predicted, but shocks and stresses a reminder the

99
00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.680
Canaane is so good you can do
it with no words too. There's an

100
00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.600
act out about a jam band that
is somehow perfectly exasperated while nearly silent.

101
00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:21.040
That one's on YouTube. Highly recommended
by me. Marlon Wayns God Loves Me.

102
00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:26.040
Yeah, I wasn't feeling that one
that was on Max Nprighatsy's Hello World.

103
00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:29.839
One of my favorites could be top
five. That one was so good

104
00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.199
I had pause, grabbed my wife
and watched twenty minutes again because I knew

105
00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:38.319
she would enjoy it. That one's
strong. That's on Amazon, way up

106
00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:41.120
my list, but I'll tell you
I just double check my list. I

107
00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:45.319
have it below Kyle Kaneen's That's how
Much I like? Those two? From

108
00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:49.000
December eleventh, Paced Magazines the Best
Comedy Albums of twenty twenty three. This

109
00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:53.199
one I have skimmed, and I
didn't know most of these, so it's

110
00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:58.160
excited to read this one. These
are listed alphabetically. Maria Bamford's Crowd Pleaser,

111
00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.199
So that's that same special that we
just talked about that's out on Comedy

112
00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:08.040
Dynamics. Next, they have Liz
Barrett's Getting by Getting with an apostrophe.

113
00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:11.040
There, it didn't drop the jeep
because of my queen accent. Liz shares

114
00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:14.120
her secrets to living well. I'm
having a great year because I've given up.

115
00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:18.040
Between her deadpan delivery and shrugging sarcastic
observations, Barrett's comedy is a perfect

116
00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:23.800
marriage of tone and content. Derek
Brown's a close Shave with Heaven. Derek

117
00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:28.839
takes the Boston stage accompanied by a
twinkling piano, and this musical choice sets

118
00:07:28.879 --> 00:07:31.000
the tone for an LP that clearly
would be at home on the airwaves of

119
00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:36.920
NPR. Yet Brown keeps from being
pretentious. He reminds us to stay stupid

120
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:43.560
everybody. Carack Connor's Straight for Pay
past writes, there's a lot of pressure

121
00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:46.040
on a stand up comedian's debut album
to properly introduce them to a sight unseen.

122
00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:48.480
You need to be confident in your
ability to sell jokes based on your

123
00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:53.040
voice and your voice alone. Luckily, for La based comedian Karack Connors,

124
00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:57.879
her voice is one of her strongest
suits. Connor's vocal elasticity is truly a

125
00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.839
wonder, immediately bringing to mind Adam
sing Handler's goofy impressions. Not sure that's

126
00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.680
a good comparison there, and not
sure that's helping. It's not helping with

127
00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:11.360
me John Glazer's soothing meditations for the
Solitary Dog. The album begins with spa

128
00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:15.040
ready ambient music and twinkling sounds in
the background, as the gentle voice of

129
00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:18.480
Uncle John reassures lonely canines that their
humans will surely be home soon. He

130
00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.920
plans to record the perfect calming audio
companion for needy dogs, although more and

131
00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.879
more issues crop up. It's the
type of escalating chaos Glazer excels at,

132
00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:35.480
aided by sound design expertise, sounds
awesome. Pap Johnson's Timeless Papp Johnson past

133
00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:37.039
writes. The first thing you notice
about Pap Johnson is the timber of his

134
00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:41.080
voice. It's sonorous setting depth to
his unhurried, care free delivery. He

135
00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:46.080
set is full of pregnant pauses,
some so long they'll think you've accidentally stopped

136
00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:50.159
the track. Love it. Sometimes
Johnson's trailing off is the punchline itself,

137
00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:52.279
and again this demonstrates just how comfortable
he is on stage to make such a

138
00:08:52.360 --> 00:08:56.759
risky choice. Greg proofs Gregg's comedy
albums are pretty strong. I play them

139
00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:00.919
a lot on live one. I'd
like to play all of these. So

140
00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.279
many of these are not available for
digital release. That's why I'm not really

141
00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:05.600
familiar with them. I guess I
could purchase them, but I'm trying to

142
00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:09.879
just stream them and they're not available. French drug deal involves an extended tangent

143
00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:15.159
about bats an anecdote about the view, a bit about performing at then Prince

144
00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.720
now King Charles's birthday, and multiple
stories starting off with travel destinations. We've

145
00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:22.120
made quite a leap in the alphabetical
order. We've gone from p to Van

146
00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:26.840
Natasha vain Blatt, We're all dads
here. Natasha emigrated from Russia at the

147
00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:31.360
age of seven, and some of
her funniest anecdotes touch on the differences between

148
00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:35.240
Russia and American cultures. World Dads
Here is a hilarious look at vain BLAT's

149
00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.879
family life, her marriage of ten
years, and the various scrapes she's gotten

150
00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.399
herself into. Her droll delivery of
increasingly silly jokes like a call in response

151
00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:46.720
bit where the crowd guesses the veracity
of odd workout classes is the perfect packaging

152
00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:50.360
pace. Magazines Best of twenty twenty
three comedy albums, and that is your

153
00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.320
comedy news for today. I hope
you have a Greek Christmas, even a

154
00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:58.879
fantastic Christmas. There is an episode
tomorrow. There's always an episode. If

155
00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.159
you enjoy the show US Somebody about
It. You can follow the show on

156
00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:05.039
Apple Podcasts or Spotify Again. Merry
Christmas, See you tomorrow.