FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: iAmBaronVonTito on April 15, 2008, 07:52:43 PM
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does anyone else have this problem:
i have a friend at work who listens to HOWARD STERN and ADAM CAROLLA, thus in an effort to show off my comedic taste(s), i forwarded Tom. after only one archived show to swallow, he calls me (majorly) disappointed, "i dont get this. he's never going to get big. how is throwing change in korea losing your cool?" listen, im trying to open your horizons, maybe get you to find something more than the world smallest penis contest and fart jokes humorous and you cant digest a single phone call on The Best Show?
ugh, i wish i could gomp people to their faces.
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Some "friends" aren't really your friends.
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My closest friend up in Pittsburgh gives me a lot of crap about how he doesn't think Tom's funny. He only listened to the show twice, and he's also a huge grump who likes very little.
I told him he's a dumb-tard for not liking it.
There's no accounting for other people's taste. But my friend is stoopid.
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It took me a while to get into The Best Show, too.
ps: Not now, but Howard Stern used to be really funny. Some of the best Stern segments were long-form and expansive. So I think there is hope for a Stern fan to upgrade.
pps: I'd start with a show that featured Tom making fun of something for an extended period of time.
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granted, he has different tastes. but ive tried THREE different shows (i dont remember the other two), over the last 6 months. he doesnt have to think Tom is as funny as i think he is, but really?
glad im not alone
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Don't be discouraged, it took my own brother almost a year and a half to finally talk me into listening to the show. Now, I'm hooked.
You can lead a horse to water ... and so forth.
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I've definitely had people come over and listen to the show with mixed results. Listening live can be hit or miss for people regardless of the callers or Tom. Most people just don't have the patience to sit still and listen to something for 3 hours. What I find a lot more successful is marking points on the podcast and playing some clips for people to get them up to speed. Tom singing is always good but I find the best bit to get people hooked on the show is playing the "Worst Song in History" segment. It's a topic people can relate to, it was pretty fast paced, Tom's really funny throughout and the pay-off is great. Then you can start to get into more of the Wurster calls.
I was speaking with a friend of mine in L.A. recently and found out that he had come across the show. I asked him what he thought of the show and he said, "He seems really funny but I don't like how he loops the music in the background; so I don't listen."
What!?
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Tom says he is fan of Stern
which blows my mind
I been listening to Stern for the past year because I need something to listen to all day at work
and boy, it helps pass the time, but now I really look sideways who says they are a Stern fan.
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Trembling Eagle -
Let me qualify something. I haven't heard the Howard Stern Show in well over ten years. I used to listen a looooong time ago but stopped because I was bored to tears by the show and got turned off to the meanness of it. I hate anything where an innocent person with problems is used as cannon fodder to fill the time. Hate it.
So if you look sideways at anyone who listens, don't look sideways at me. Look sideways at the man in the mirror, son.
Tom.
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I've never understood Stern but at a friends insistence, I gave the new Stern shows a listen. They are a lot better than they used to be with Jackie Martling being replaced (maybe not anymore) by Artie Lange and not having a E! show. The show isn't as heavy on the strippers and Howard salivating over women. It's also a lot kinder than I remember without as many characters who are '_____ the (some physical deformity)' and just there to be mocked. Its not exactly to my taste but its not bad enough for you to be judging others about it (especially if you listen).
As far as converting your friends to Tom, it sounds like your friend likes among the best of a certain kind of radio style where someone is always talking and theres a party atmosphere while the main host gets on his soapbox and rants. There are similiarities between that and Tom, but the fact that he is alone really changes things. The rhythm of the Best Show is pretty different and the style of humor is very different. It's not going to be everyones taste.
The fact that the Best Show is the phenomena it is despite all odds being against it is a testament to the fact that the show is great. Share the show with your friends, but its finding people anyway, so if they don't like it, c'est la vie.
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I was speaking with a friend of mine in L.A. recently and found out that he had come across the show. I asked him what he thought of the show and he said, "He seems really funny but I don't like how he loops the music in the background; so I don't listen."
What!?
my sentiments exactly.
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The Best Show is a state of mind. An "otherness" that probably shoudn't exist in this world.
But it does!
Trying to tell people about the Best Show is like talking about how great Jesus is. What's the point? It doesn't exist unless you want it to.
-Ajax
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i have a friend at work
There's your problem. My theory is that you only have "workpals", the forced sociality of being in the same environment for most of your day. If you're still friends with them a year after you leave, then you're "friends". And then, they should be punished for not liking The Best Show.
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i have a friend at work
There's your problem. My theory is that you only have "workpals", the forced sociality of being in the same environment for most of your day. If you're still friends with them a year after you leave, then you're "friends". And then, they should be punished for not liking The Best Show.
i can appreciate this theory. i'll keep it in mind.
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I usually start by lending some of the Stereo Laffs CDs to people that I think would appreciate the show, if they are interested then Ill recommend some choice cuts or segments that they might personally relate to (aggressive tall bikers, angry Mr. Bungle fan, etc).
Also i find that the Marky Ramone Erotic Fiction is a good starter bit (palatable to the uninitiated, but also typically bizarre of the Wurster segments).
The Best Show is Hot! Some folks need time to ease themselves in.
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I'm curious how all of you found the show. WFMU fans? Word of mouth? Internet/magazine/newspaper articles? Via other comedy outlets?
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Liking Sarah Silverman -> TSOYA interview of her recommended on Salon.com -> Never Not Funny -> AST -> Best Show.
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Fluxblog.
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I've been a WFMU listener on and off since 1990 and generally sort of a comedy dilettante. With high-speed internet and podcasting, I really started listening in earnest to everything except Dave Emory, pretty much.
I didn't get TBS at all at first, and the length was tough for me, tougher than anything else, really (though now I wish it was six hours long instead of three). I found an open door in the form of Rock, Rot, & Rule, and I was hooked. It didn't take very long for me to become a full-fledged sycophant.
The other thing is, part of what makes the show so funny is that Tom is so good at staying deadpan all the time. It's really hard to tell when he's kidding. This becomes really hilarious and rewarding with repeat listening, but it becomes a little bit of an obstacle. It's kind of like modernist literature in that way - you have to work at first, but it gets easier with time, and the rewards are big.
My wife loves the show, but interestingly, I don't think she quite gets most of the Wurster calls - her favorite parts are Tom's rants and interactions with callers.
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The Radio Free Yo La Tengo podcast.
I think there may have been a thread about this before.
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I think there may have been a thread about this before.
Right here. (http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,1174.0.html)
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From AST.
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The other thing is, part of what makes the show so funny is that Tom is so good at staying deadpan all the time. It's really hard to tell when he's kidding. This becomes really hilarious and rewarding with repeat listening, but it becomes a little bit of an obstacle. It's kind of like modernist literature in that way - you have to work at first, but it gets easier with time, and the rewards are big.
My wife loves the show, but interestingly, I don't think she quite gets most of the Wurster calls - her favorite parts are Tom's rants and interactions with callers.
both are reasons why ive always liked it. i never had to ease into TBS- i immediately found it appealing. im not bragging.
(im just saying)
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Knowing about WFMU since forever (I'm from NJ though I haven't lived there for 10 years). Liking talk radio generally. Liking podcasts, and trawling through iTunes every few months for good ones. Liking other WFMU podcasts enough but never enough to keep up with-- until I actually listened to the Best Show.
Unlike a lot of you, the Best Show has led me to get into other comedy. I was totally unfamiliar with most modern comedy except for a few TV shows until the Best Show led me to the good stuff.
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NJ resident and long-time WFMU fan. (I know he gets a mixed reception but I volunteered when Glen Jones broke the DJ record, which was cool to be around.) In 2002, my wife and I lived in a tiny, tiny apartment, I could not regularly listen to the TBSOWFMU most times because it would interfere with either the TV or wife's sleeping. (I only had dial-up -free from my grad school). One night when the wife was away, I listened when Tom was declaring Billy Joel Artist of the Year. That was funny enough, especially the authentically angry callers, but then a caller (JW) called up pretending to be a drummer in a Billy Joel cover band (named Glasss Houses, I think). That was real good. But then another caller called in claiming to be from another Billy Joel cover band on Long Island. I still have no idea if this second caller was authentic but the stuff that went on betwen the two was hilarious. I don't remember the fine details from so long ago but I still remember the feeling that I found something rare and authentic and original. I have not been able to listen live regularly but I finally got an ipod and am so happy that it is podcasted.
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Brother got me into WFMU
Listened randomly for years
Got into Joe Frank and 7SD while trying to kill audio time at boring office job.
Also, Terre T's show.
Listened to my first TBS because I was intrigued that he was going to interview Neil Young's biographer. Didn't know what I was getting into, wasn't in on the "jokes", thought Kevin was real.
I think it's the best when you listen once and you don't know that the calls are fake. You're intrigued to come bacck and it's an exciting voyage of discovery.
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WFMU listener for years eventually I was turned on to the Best Show by my girlfriend at the time.
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I believe, but I'm not sure:
TSOYA interview ---> TBSOWMFU
Or maybe:
AST talk about a Zach interview on TBSOWFMU ---> TBSOWFMU
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Aquarius Records(staff recommendation)--->Stereo Laffs--->TBSOWFMU--->WFMU---> a new found zest for life. ;D
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It's been tough getting friends to dig The Best Show. I don't think they have the patience.
It sucks because I really want them to like it.
I know almost everyone dreads taking long car rides with me now.
Especially my wife.
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I have actually always thoroughly enjoyed Howard Stern's news segments. That is the one part of the show (and, frankly, I think he saves up for it) where he actually shows his comedic talent.
While I love every bit of Tom's shows, I think we all know where the true, deep comedy lies. So I say, send the friend this link...
http://www.scharplingandwurster.com/index.php?cat=7
Of course, one must have a semi-deep grasp, and cynicism, of pop culture (and society) to really 'get' TBSOWFU.
If they do not get it, just know it's not you--accept that they need to keep skimming the comedic surface for awhile, and maybe one day they will catch on.
P.S. I must admit I probably have a special appreciation for Tom's show because "I" discovered it, and not because someone told me it was great.
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i found out about the show and wfmu in general while looking up jon benjamin on imdb, and seeing links of some of his appearances in the message board area
this was around 2004
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I wish more of my friends listened to the show because my girlfriend and I quote it all the time and we keep having to explain ourselves to those who don't listen. Some friends of ours in Boston listen and we bandy Philly Boy Roy quotes back and forth. It's fun. I used to give a long explanation of the show to the uninitiated, now I just say: "It's a really funny call in show on the free form station WFMU. You should check it out...or else."
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my fiance (roommate at the time) showed me TBS.
i think its great Tom can bring people around the radio. we're going back to basics:
(http://www.pbs.org/jazz/images/exchange/portugese_family.jpg)
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Japanese noise music in the 90's => Bananafish Magazine => "Experimental"/Improv Music in general=> WFMU Sun City Girl's cd => stumbled onto Best Show one hilarious and amazing night when Tom was reviewing the "festival Express" DVD. The Following week was Tom's hour long take on Clerks II, I think.
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i know - if given the chance - my friends could totally get into TBS, but i doubt they have the patience to give it enough listens to allow the magic to take hold (definitely not love at first sight/hear for me - i just didn't get it.)
i got into it via a pal who played me a bunch of philly boy roy clips. he figured i'd get a kick out of them on account of that being my hometown and all. he was right.
i've been a stern listener most of my adult life but get turned off by a lot of the lousy music, reality tv chat, negativity and overall meanness of it at times. popped in a disc of the podcast the same person who introduced me to the show gave me that i'd been holding onto for a while one day when i needed a break from howard. i was floored and darn near crashed my car listening to tom rip on steely dan (they might be good and whatever - but it's NOT jazz, people!) and PBR talk about "snakes on a steak." brenner's street soiree? i lost it..
even got my wife howling with laughter a few times when i put it on in the car. she likes the show ok, but prefers the wurster bits over listener calls. i'll make a slob out of her yet.
since getting the podcast and the scharpling and wurster discs, i haven't listened to howard in 4 months and counting.,
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Japanese noise music in the 90's => Bananafish Magazine => "Experimental"/Improv Music in general=> WFMU Sun City Girl's cd => stumbled onto Best Show one hilarious and amazing night when Tom was reviewing the "festival Express" DVD. The Following week was Tom's hour long take on Clerks II, I think.
That Festival Express review is pretty amazing. I'm not sure if it's from the same show, but I like when Tom keeps playing the hideously out-of-tune clip of the Mamas & the Papas from the Monterey Pop DVD and cracking himself up.
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I'm curious how all of you found the show. WFMU fans? Word of mouth? Internet/magazine/newspaper articles? Via other comedy outlets?
Fluxblog via a search for Ted Leo on The Hype Machine. It was Ted Leo's cover of "Rock N' Roll Dreams Will Come Through" that introduced me to the show.
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Trembling Eagle -
Let me qualify something. I haven't heard the Howard Stern Show in well over ten years. I used to listen a looooong time ago but stopped because I was bored to tears by the show and got turned off to the meanness of it. I hate anything where an innocent person with problems is used as cannon fodder to fill the time. Hate it.
So if you look sideways at anyone who listens, don't look sideways at me. Look sideways at the man in the mirror, son.
Tom.
word. I'm a hypocrite
I just need SOMEthing to take up the soul crushing hours.
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Spillover from SSD
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I'm sure if you sat down with Stern and had a beer or ate noodles or something like that, he'd be a funny guy. He probably isn't a shit 100% of the time, but there's a difference between comedy that makes the Big Joke and comedy that makes the Smart Joke. I have the patience to sit through the work it takes to make the Smart Joke, but I know that not everyone does and that's fine.
I have alot of friends who are Stern fans and we regale each other with highlights and joys of our comic heros, and none of of them are alike. It saves me the trouble of having to sit through hours of titty jokes to get to the Pat Cooper meltdown, and they don't have to listen to Spike to hear how things are in Newbridge. How well-rounded we slobs are.
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Tom's execution hooked me to TBS immediately. it resembles a face-to-face conversation, at which point, there is a lull until someone says something new, or calls back to something originally said. dead air seems to be what friends find pain stakingly boring. it moves too slow, they say.
this isnt the jerry bruckheimer radio hour, its the best show!
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Whoa! For a minute there I thought Tom got executed.
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I always ask them how could they watch that terrible Angel show on TNT instead of a Seinfield marathon in the middle of a Atlanta Braves rain delay.
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the Stereolaffs cds have definitely converted a few friends of mine.
as for those who don't get it... they suck.
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Matthew Fluxblog turned me on to the Best Show c. 2004. I'd kinda glossed over the bits he posted on the site for whatever reason, but he knows my sense of humor so he sent me a couple of CD-Rs worth of brilliance and I gots hooked.
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Spillover from SSD
(http://www.laterisersmovie.com/stills/Springa.jpg)
Sorry. I can't help myself.
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First heard "Darren at Work" when it played on the Sound of Young America, maybe in 2004? Listened every week since then.
The only person I've even semi-converted is my brother. He definitely got it but I don't think he listens to the show on his own. If we're in the car together I'll play some stuff and I can tell he really likes it, but he hasn't taken the next step yet.
It's a hard thing to get people turned onto especially if you're trying to do it be sending an email and just talking about the show. There's a lot to take in and it definitely takes time to see the bigger picture. So it's kind of like The Wire, I guess.
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So it's kind of like The Wire, I guess.
Except not in the least overrated.
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So it's kind of like The Wire, I guess.
Except not in the least overrated.
So you've actually watched an episode now, Dave?
As for the Best Show, I think people sometimes have a hard time getting into it due to the copious drug use and slang in Newbridge.
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Wire sidetrack: I'm really glad I started watching it from the first episode in season 1, five years ago, when all the hype had not yet begun (well, it may have begun, but it certainly hadn't reached me in Lubec). It would be terrifically difficult to give it a fair chance now, what with all the hyperbole.
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So it's kind of like The Wire, I guess.
Except not in the least overrated.
zinger from knoxville
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Hi. I like this topic because I can talk about three things.
1-I definitely think the Stereolaffs CDs help people at least get into the Scharpling/Wurster calls, and lending this to someone or playing it for people on a road trip always results in at least a few favorites. One of my favourite moments on the tour I was just on with my band was getting them into the Andy From Lake Newbridge call, which they initially dismissed as soon as they heard "I'm a carp". As far as getting people into the show itself, it's just a question of getting them to listen regularly.
2-I like Tom & I like Stern. The latter has 'matured' to the point where he seems almost embarassed of his kindergarten racism and meanness...unfortunately the stripper stuff is still there at times, but it's a really entertaining show. Both Tom and Howard S have really excellent "get off my phone" moments.
3-Found a mixtape in milk crate that had Rock, Rot and Rule, which I found awesome. Then I realised I could podcast the show, "et voila".
OK, bye.
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I don't even try converting other people to TBSOWFMU, because I know that this is my thing, and my friends are never gonna get it if I force it on them. It's like when my friend tried to get me into Black Adder. Perhaps if I had come across it on my own, I might have liked it. But having this friend push and push, I felt like the first victim in "Seven"...getting force-fed all the dog food.
How did I get into The Best Show? I got into The Best Show while driving home from my food coop shift on Tuesday nights back when I lived in Cocaine Slope, Brooklyn. Thought to myself, "Who is this guy on the radio who is talking like there is no rush at all?" What a breath of fresh air to have a DJ not talk like he's getting paid by the word. And funny as hell! I get the sense that Tom and I are roughly the same age (82), so the references are right in my wheelhouse.
-JFM
P.S. I also stopped listening to Howard about a decade ago, when he started relying more and more on the people around him to carry the show. The cavalcade of bozos just got bigger and stupider. That guy was a master when he started. He was truly terrifying. And I'll be honest...when the Stuttering John interviews *first* started happening, I thought it was a stroke of entertainment genius (Don't judge).
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So it's kind of like The Wire, I guess.
Except not in the least overrated.
So you've actually watched an episode now, Dave?
As for the Best Show, I think people sometimes have a hard time getting into it due to the copious drug use and slang in Newbridge.
I have seen about half of season one. I am beginning to suspect a mass hoodwinking, akin to the recent "Huck Finn is our greatest novel"-ing I took at the hands of my otherwise still beloved George Saunders. I am hoping it gets better, but so far, for me, it's nowhere near The Sopranos. Or, to be honest, even Prime Suspect.
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I have seen about half of season one. I am beginning to suspect a mass hoodwinking, akin to the recent "Huck Finn is our greatest novel"-ing I took at the hands of my otherwise still beloved George Saunders. I am hoping it gets better, but so far, for me, it's nowhere near The Sopranos. Or, to be honest, even Prime Suspect.
I had to watch the first half of the first season twice before I was interested at all - and yes, nothing holds a candle to Queen Mirren in Prime Suspect. I'm FINALLY getting around to watching The Sopranos and wondering what the hell I've been doing for the past ten years.
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Another sidetrack: I watched the season finale of State of the Union last night and was very impressed by Tracy Ullman's impersonation of Helen Mirren. Not long ago I watched a little "Making of . . ." thing after viewing the last installment of Prime Suspect, so I'd just seen Mirren in interview mode and thus could recognize all the little idiosyncrasies Ullman packed into her short performance. It was pretty remarkable. Plus she made Mirren likable, despite having to make fun of her penchant for getting naked, and since I have a great soft spot for Helen Mirren, this made me glad.
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I don't even try converting other people to TBSOWFMU, because I know that this is my thing, and my friends are never gonna get it if I force it on them. It's like when my friend tried to get me into Black Adder. Perhaps if I had come across it on my own, I might have liked it. But having this friend push and push, I felt like the first victim in "Seven"...getting force-fed all the dog food.
over the course of six months, i offered three random shows...and no bites. ive left it at that, let it ferment inside their brain.
it is what it is.
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I have had very little success explaining my love of the Best Show to friends. Actually, apart from my wife, no success.
But last Sunday at church I was standing around the refreshment table in the "fellowship hall" and I introduced myself to a stranger who said, "I think you and I have the same taste in radio entertainment." My first chance FOT meeting. She said she is friends with Herbie in Philadelphia and that he feels bad for whatever it was that earned him a six month ban.
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But last Sunday at church I was standing around the refreshment table in the "fellowship hall" and I introduced myself to a stranger who said, "I think you and I have the same taste in radio entertainment." My first chance FOT meeting. She said she is friends with Herbie in Philadelphia and that he feels bad for whatever it was that earned him a six month ban.
It terrifies me to think that Herbie has operatives everywhere trying to get him back on the air. It sounds like Lost. You're just strolling around the park and someone strikes up a conversation with you, then after a short time starts talking about how you have to tell Tom to let Herbie back on the show.
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I found the show through being a fan of Upright Citizens Brigade/Matt Walsh and Jon Benjamin. The first thing I heard was the Matt Walsh "interview" promoting his Hawaii Special on the Daily Show. It immediately became one of my favorite things ever. This led me to listen to the show more and fall in love with it. The Wurster calls and the Stereolaffs CDs won me over immediately. It took a little while before I started listening to the whole show every week - but now I have been religiously for 6 years.
I think it's easier to love the show when you discover it yourself...that said, I also think it takes most people a little while to warm up to the tone/format/length. Some people won't ever have the attention span to listen to a 30-45min Wurster call, much less a 3 hour radio show.
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I think it's easier to love the show when you discover it yourself...that said, I also think it takes most people a little while to warm up to the tone/format/length. Some people won't ever have the attention span to listen to a 30-45min Wurster call, much less a 3 hour radio show.
this is true. a lot of people have a hard time with the 3 hours, the "dead air", and when i describe how funny it is, ive come to understand that theyre expecting jokes- like stand-up or something. however, i wouldnt be surprised if they dont get how funny it is because they dont get the geographic, social, cultural, or music/movie/book references.
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yeah, the length is definitely the hardest part about getting people to listen. not only that, but the fact that the show has been on for at least 8 years is also a setback for getting new people to listen. in the case of my room mate, he likes being able to listen to something from the very beginning. he feels like he's missing out if he hasn't heard the whole history of something. now, i know there's the archives, but i got into the show about a year and a half ago, and i still haven't made my way through all of those episodes yet. i really wish that i had known about tbs from the beginning, but i also keep telling him not to worry about it, and that the more he listens to it, the more he'll WANT to look into the archives and get a sense of the history of the show.
a lot of the humor is very inside, and for people who really get tom. i think a lot of people today, if they don't get something RIGHT AWAY, they give up.
that said, i HAVE successfully recruited my girlfriend, and about 5 of our friends, and we now have a kansas city best show listening party every week since like last october. it's easy to get musicians into the show if you give them some good music-based calls or shows to listen to, like barry dworkin, barry levitz, marky ramone, old skull, etc. or play some of the more absurd calls for people at first, like timmy von trimble or pbr or andy from lake newbridge.
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i dont know anyone who listens to the show.
listening parties sound like a lot of fun. and FOT meetups.
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My only successful conversion so far is my wife - and that's because she was more or less forced into prolonged exposure.
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Same here. She started making fun of me for my occassional use of a Best Show phrase ("holy moly" usually). It hurt my feelings so I don't point it out now that she says "I don't like it, I love it" more than Tom ever did. I think she is still not that interested in the calls from Newbridge but she likes the music and Tom, especially when he isn't grouchy. Mostly I think she likes hearing me laugh out loud and spending Tuesday nights sitting in front of our old radio.
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My fiancee accused me of stealing Tom's material about a couple things that I have always thought. All NJ natives have a grudge against NY, for instance. I always have.
The things I really do steal from Tom, she doesn't notice.
She kind of likes TBS, though. She just doesn't understand the level of obsession I apply to almost everything in my life.
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I found the show through an interview in The Onion AV Club. I saw the rave reviews from some of the funniest people ever, and in a fit of spontaneity, purchased all three (at that time) of their albums. That was SUCH a great move. I didn't actually start listening to the show until much later, when I just went through the archives a bit at a time.
My fiancee is a fairly big fan of the show, and I've played some of the S&W stuff for friends/family with about a 50% like/dislike rate. My father once really enjoyed an episode I was listening to when I was driving with him in the car. But it's harder to get people to enjoy the show itself. Part of it is length, part of it is that a lot of them think Tom is a bit too angry. I can't say they're wrong, but I do think that you have to hear for a bit before you start to recognize that it's part of the joke.
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my wife has brought to my attention that i speak about philly boy roy, and the entire ziegler clan for that matter, as if they're actual people who live around the corner. she put her foot down when i suggested celebrating new year's eve this year by blowing up 16 trash cans with fireworks.
that said, we have spent quality time over many a car ride cracking up at the stereolaffs discs.
i also know almost no one who listens either. my wife and the friend who introduced me to it - that's it. most people i know have a good sense of humor, but maybe not the patience it takes to let TBS grow on them. their loss.
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Philly Boy Roy is very real.
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I first got into TBS through iTunes and I had listened to a couple of episodes and didn't really like it. I thought it was weird to have so many pauses and have no structure to the show. I guess I thought it would be like a regular radio station. I also thought the episodes I had listened to were very negative (which happened to be right before the episode Tom decided to be positive"). I later went back to it and loved it. I however didn't at first understand/like the whole PBR thing. I thought they were too long and I thought it was weird that Tom didn't realize that the same person was calling in with different names. I later realized through TSOYA interview that they were on purpose and started liking those skits ever since.
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Philly Boy Roy is very real.
yeah, well.. try telling my wife that.
i sometimes go out of my way to drive down the roxborough strip in hopes of a PBR siting.
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But last Sunday at church I was standing around the refreshment table in the "fellowship hall" and I introduced myself to a stranger who said, "I think you and I have the same taste in radio entertainment." My first chance FOT meeting. She said she is friends with Herbie in Philadelphia and that he feels bad for whatever it was that earned him a six month ban.
It terrifies me to think that Herbie has operatives everywhere trying to get him back on the air. It sounds like Lost. You're just strolling around the park and someone strikes up a conversation with you, then after a short time starts talking about how you have to tell Tom to let Herbie back on the show.
operatives? nope. just good friends!
hi jed! thanks for the kind words!
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But last Sunday at church I was standing around the refreshment table in the "fellowship hall" and I introduced myself to a stranger who said, "I think you and I have the same taste in radio entertainment." My first chance FOT meeting. She said she is friends with Herbie in Philadelphia and that he feels bad for whatever it was that earned him a six month ban.
It terrifies me to think that Herbie has operatives everywhere trying to get him back on the air. It sounds like Lost. You're just strolling around the park and someone strikes up a conversation with you, then after a short time starts talking about how you have to tell Tom to let Herbie back on the show.
operatives? nope. just good friends!
hi jed! thanks for the kind words!
Herbie,
Just to be clear, it was your friend who said you didn't deserve the ban. I'm sataying out of this. But I'm sure you are a nice guy and I will take this opportunity to give you some nice words. Maybe you should try calling back sometime and redeeming yourself. The worst that could happen is that you would get gomped and make all of us laugh. Where do you live in Philadelphia (my favorite city)?
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south philly/east passyunk!
i'm working on a little project that i think the man might dig. i'm not worried.
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I find that my friends just don't have the patience to get to the good stuff.
Also, The Best Show is really hard to listen to in a group of people. They are always talking over the show. So I stopped inviting them over to listen to it with me. I like to actually listen to the show. haha.
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I find that my friends just don't have the patience to get to the good stuff.
Also, The Best Show is really hard to listen to in a group of people. They are always talking over the show. So I stopped inviting them over to listen to it with me. I like to actually listen to the show. haha.
Ha. I get into trouble all the time back home when listening to the Best Show live, because fiancee will start talking and it must be pretty clear from my expression that I don't like it.
And whenever I'm listening to something talky on headphones, same thing-- I think she just finds it rude that I pause the thing I'm listening to, take them off, talk, and then put them back on. She says she doesn't want to "bother" me.
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I'm used to having friends who don't share a lot of my somewhat weirder interests. I do have one friend with similar taste in nearly everything who likes the Scharpling & Wurster bits but not really the rest of the show in general.
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September 6, 2005. I turned on WFMU out of boredom, which turned to utter fascination. I had a dull office job at the time, which allowed me to plumb the archives.
My Joe Frank fandom led me to 'FMU, which I've listened to, on and off, for a decade. As I got familiar with TBS, I noticed connections to a lot of my other interests, particularly Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. I still have fairly irresolute tastes in comedy - TBS has been more of an on-ramp to that than vice-versa.
I've never tried to convert anyone. TBS has such a complex internal logic that I wouldn't think any less of anyone who just didn't have the time. I stopped listening for about a year, and completely lost track, particularly with all of the chat and message-board infighting that spills over into the show. Nevertheless, I've found that a lot of my old friends listen, too, and I always enjoy discovering that bit of common turf.
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Addendum to my previous post: That same friend is also as obsessed as I am with Tom's rendition of "Under Pressure-" to the extent that we both know the entire song mostly from listening to it, since neither of us actually has the original song.
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Addendum to my previous post: That same friend is also as obsessed as I am with Tom's rendition of "Under Pressure-" to the extent that we both know the entire song mostly from listening to it, since neither of us actually has the original song.
That is such a great moment. I listen to it a lot, too. I never really paid much attention to the lyrics before, but you can't help but do that with Tom's version. He's right. David Bowie wins.
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Is it too much to ask for someone to edit the name of this post to remove the e from youre?
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Add three apostrophes to your username and we'll talk, chief...
...would be a good comeback had I started this thread.
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Addendum to my previous post: That same friend is also as obsessed as I am with Tom's rendition of "Under Pressure-" to the extent that we both know the entire song mostly from listening to it, since neither of us actually has the original song.
I'm that way about Tom's rendition of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". I can no longer hear that song without breaking out into a grin. That and, of course, the opening bars to "Wise Up".
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I was listening to a couple of old episodes while on a long drive with my parents yesterday and my mind was completely blown when my dad (who is a fan of your typical corny dad humor) couldn't stop laughing at all of the Wurster calls. This is especially confusing since all of my friends that are comedy fans don't care much for the show. Guess it really is hardhat radio.
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Is it too much to ask for someone to edit the name of this post to remove the e from youre?
It's driving me crazy too, but if I were Jason, I'd change it to "you're" out of spite.
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yeah it's been driving me nutso too
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One of my co-workers is a Ted Leo fan, so I got him to listen to "The World Is A Turlet," but I don't think he's made the leap into checking out the rest of the show.
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One of my co-workers is a Ted Leo fan, so I got him to listen to "The World Is A Turlet," but I don't think he's made the leap into checking out the rest of the show.
I got into the show because of Ted Leo. It was the rap battle episode, and I've never looked back. But yeah, I tell my friends about but they don't care.
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Who needs friends? Trade them all in for an orange crate.
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My boyfriend doesn't like the show so I stopped inviting him over on Tuesdays. Now I have to work on Tuesday nights. I listen to the podcast when he's not around. I like listening to the show alone because I can follow it closely. When other people are around, it's harder to pay attention.
I had to listen to the show for a couple months before I got into it, before I started to understand it. I heard about it through The Sound of Young America. I thought it was something I was obligated to like, and so I invested a good amount of time into starting to like it. Now I don't like it, I love it!
I don't recommend it to people unless I think they're in it for the long run.
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The next logical step, of course, is to dump that humorless boyfriend.
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Seriously. Hand him the keys to the street.
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alright, you goons- so i got a little crazy with the 'e'...at any rate, apologies all around.
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Addendum to my previous post: That same friend is also as obsessed as I am with Tom's rendition of "Under Pressure-" to the extent that we both know the entire song mostly from listening to it, since neither of us actually has the original song.
I'm that way about Tom's rendition of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". I can no longer hear that song without breaking out into a grin. That and, of course, the opening bars to "Wise Up".
Can someone post links to these? I'd appreciate it!
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I find that my friends just don't have the patience to get to the good stuff.
Also, The Best Show is really hard to listen to in a group of people. They are always talking over the show. So I stopped inviting them over to listen to it with me. I like to actually listen to the show. haha.
Ha. I get into trouble all the time back home when listening to the Best Show live, because fiancee will start talking and it must be pretty clear from my expression that I don't like it.
And whenever I'm listening to something talky on headphones, same thing-- I think she just finds it rude that I pause the thing I'm listening to, take them off, talk, and then put them back on. She says she doesn't want to "bother" me.
My boyfriend doesn't like the show so I stopped inviting him over on Tuesdays. Now I have to work on Tuesday nights. I listen to the podcast when he's not around. I like listening to the show alone because I can follow it closely. When other people are around, it's harder to pay attention.
I can totally relate. Because I don't always get to listen to the show while it's going live, it really bugs me when people interrupt. I invited a friend over to listen with me once, saying, "we're going to have a blast." I don't think that he had a blast as I kept shushing him.
It seems totally justifiable that you would ask for time to listen without interruption. Likewise, I wouldn't interrupt my roommate while he watches Law and Order.
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youre a better person than i, Liz.
i interrupt every chance i get when i catch someone in the act of watching any of that filth: Law & order, CSI: whatever...
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youre a better person than i, Liz.
i interrupt every chance i get when i catch someone in the act of watching any of that filth: Law & order, CSI: whatever...
Hahaha!
It's literally the only thing he uses his gigantic television for so I couldn't do that. I use the television for far more terrible shows. Swingtown, anyone?
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youre a better person than i, Liz.
i interrupt every chance i get when i catch someone in the act of watching any of that filth: Law & order, CSI: whatever...
Hahaha!
It's literally the only thing he uses his gigantic television for so I couldn't do that. I use the television for far more terrible shows. Swingtown, anyone?
i'd never heard of this show until this weekend when my family started to speak of it (very nonchalantly). i thought they were referring to real people.
ew buoy....
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My roommates wonder why I'd shut myself into my room every tuesday night. It worked to my advantage when it came time to throw one of them under the bus on-air.
They would rather watch HOUSE then listen to the radio. In fact, they would rather watch any shitty television show that's on during the evening.
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Likewise, I wouldn't interrupt my roommate while he watches Law and Order.
You must speak rarely.
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Addendum to my previous post: That same friend is also as obsessed as I am with Tom's rendition of "Under Pressure-" to the extent that we both know the entire song mostly from listening to it, since neither of us actually has the original song.
I'm that way about Tom's rendition of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". I can no longer hear that song without breaking out into a grin. That and, of course, the opening bars to "Wise Up".
Can someone post links to these? I'd appreciate it!
I don't know about those specifically, but a lot of the time Omar posts that sort of stuff at the Best Show Vault- I think my "Under Pressure" is from there.
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The next logical step, of course, is to dump that humorless boyfriend.
Okay, okay. It took a couple of months, but I did it.
New qualifications for boyfriend in order of importance:
1. Likes Best Show.
2. Not a mutant.
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New qualifications...in order of importance:
1. Likes Best Show.
2. Not a mutant.
that's all you can ask for.
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New qualifications...in order of importance:
1. Likes Best Show.
2. Not a mutant.
that's all you can ask for.
3. Has all his parts.
Oh wait does that count as "not a mutant"?
nevermind.
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Since people are talking about how they found out about the best show:
A mention of Yo La Tengo doing covers for WFMU fundraisers on TSOYA -> checking out the podcast directory on iTunes (comedy) -> being drawn to the WFMU part of the name -> something to listen to on my iPod during a very long car ride from South Vermont to the Northeast Kingdom
So I decided I like it. I haven't tried to convert anybody yet, but occasionally will relay something that amused me to my wife who will agree said thing is funny (random example: Harrison Ford ringtones: 'Give me back my family! Give me back my family!').