FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: yesno on August 20, 2008, 01:39:28 AM
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I think that Jon from Maplewood's idea is pretty good. But there doesn't need to be a whole second podcast per week.
A lot of the clips that are already on friendsoftom.com and other places... Martin would be helpful... could be put out as a podcast. They could be kept around, so that new people can download the archives (the way you can with Jesse Thorn's podcasts), instead of expiring in a few weeks the way the current podcast's archives do.
This intro, baby steps podcast, in addition to having the funny phone calls, could also have Tom rants, interviews, GOMPs, etc-- the whole flavor of the show. A couple of clips would be added to it per week, but the purpose would not be to be a normal podcast, but just to get people hooked, like special powder on funnel cake. Also, this is something that the FOTs could put together, although I don't know what bandwidth might cost.
I think it would be a pretty good way to increase people's awareness of the Best Show and move it a few steps closer to its inevitable ascendence to the top of the mountain (in popularity... in quality it got there long ago). As it stands the Best show is sort of like the Ulysses of radio comedy, and a lot of people are scared off by the depth of the thing, or they listen to a random episode, don't get it, and move on, not really understanding what it's supposed to be. (I'm not sure I would have been able to get into the show before the advent of the People's Theme, which at least gave me an idea that the show was really deep, had a weird community and a lot of stuff it would take me a while to get my head around. Luckily I was exposed to the show at a time in my life when I was willing to do just that.)
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I think this sounds great. I am sure a lot of people are willing to help, but aren't sure in which way to help. I think we need someone knowledgeable in computer/internet things to oversee everything.
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Before Tom heave ho'd me (or is it heaved ho?), I was going to offer to help. I have Soundforge, love the show, and would completely help in this type of project. As the fourth Ghostbuster said, "We have the tools, we have the talent!"
But the reason I thought Tom would reject the idea outright - more so than the effort - was that perhaps he wouldn't like the idea of putting the show into "children's chewable" form. If they can't handle 2.5 hours of Best Show, then screw 'em. If he doesn't feel that way, then I am more than willing to help.
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I also think this is a good idea. It takes a particular kind of listener to jump right in to the deep end of the swimming pool.
Tom's "Heave Ho" had my wife giggling for about fifteen minutes.
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I think this is a great idea. I wanted to call in to console tom; he shouldn't be upset that he's not up there in the list of podcasts because i think most people who love the show love to listen live. and if they miss the show, theyll listen on the podcast maybe, but the problem with the current best show podcast setup is that they only go back to last year. people probably figure, "why get the podcast on itunes if i can just go to the archives and listen to any show i want?".
i think yesno has a great idea of adding clips and stuff to the podcast to get people hooked on the show. the biggest thing keeping people from the show (in my opinion) is when people hear that it's three hours of talk radio, they think there's no chance of it not getting boring. what got me into the show, of course, were the wurster calls, and once people get that, then it's a lot easier for them to listen to the show. when i first started listening to the whole show live, i was always waiting for wurster to call in, and that made me listen, but then the whole feel of the show takes you over and you start to love EVERYTHING about it. the problem is getting people into it, because once you're into it, you can't stop. at this point, i probably know more about newbridge's history than my own city's.
so over all, i think it's a great idea to try to get ALL of the episodes in podcast form, or at least put up clips of stuff that will help people learn more about the "in-jokes" and the history of the show, since it IS a little hard to just turn on any given best show and know what's going on.
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
Sure, but people still need a way in. Something easily digestible that will give them an idea of the way the show works.
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i'm fairly new to the show, i've been listening religiously for about a year and a half now, and i've been through most of the archives and am now sufficiently schooled in everything best show, but towards the beginning i found it very intimidating looking at how long the archive page was, and i was so excited to find out about fotpedia, but then i got there, and it looks like it hasn't been updated or anything in a long time. i'm sure it gets a bit tedious putting every detail in there, however, i have to say...it would be a CRUCIAL element in getting people into the show, because they could be listening to a show and then look up anything they're not sure about.
i mean, if people were going to go to the trouble of flyer-ing and putting up stickers, we might as well put our energy into making fotpedia really awesome and organized. i really think it could be a huge help to pull in new listeners.
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
Site banners and the little image thingies people put in their signatures on message boards would be nice and easy way to get word out too.
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
Site banners and the little image thingies people put in their signatures on message boards would be nice and easy way to get word out too.
yeah, im not saying it's the only way. but it would be a nice way to get people to the site, which will inevitably feature a link to this new site that is being cooked up.
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yeah, im not saying it's the only way. but it would be a nice way to get people to the site, which will inevitably feature a link to this new site that being cooked up.
Oh I was absolutely agreeing with you. I only mentioned the web stuff because A. I would use those images on sites/message boards if they existed and B. I'm too lazy to make one for myself so hopefully some enterprising young FOT'll do it for us ;)
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The iTunes rankings are definitely not a great gauge of legitimate popularity- most of the top things are corporate crap that really doesn't count, and I would imagine that The Best Show has a lot more listeners who listen via methods other than iTunes Podcasts (live, WFMU archives, other podcatchers, etc.) than most shows that are podcast-only.
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The iTunes rankings are definitely not a great gauge of legitimate popularity- most of the top things are corporate crap that really doesn't count
A lot of the popular podcasts are advertisements of popular things (the Comedy Central stuff, anything Disney). I wish they had a better way showing what is decent, but I guess it is impossible when you have a million kid subscribers not realizing that the Miley Cyrus podcast they listen to is crap.
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This is the official home of The Best Show On WFMU World Domination Scheme Phase One brainstorming. Please put all idears for the WDS in this thread.
I am not yet sure how this will be configured, but I am starting to warm up to the notion of a shorter non-weekly podcast that would be for beginners. Someone called it 'Baby Steps', and that is pretty good.
I also love the Podcast Alley thing. Thank you for that.
Let's keep the idears coming. And thank you! It's very flattering and much appreciated.
Tom.
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yeah, im not saying it's the only way. but it would be a nice way to get people to the site, which will inevitably feature a link to this new site that being cooked up.
Oh I was absolutely agreeing with you. I only mentioned the web stuff because A. I would use those images on sites/message boards if they existed and B. I'm too lazy to make one for myself so hopefully some enterprising young FOT'll do it for us ;)
Here are some old Best Show-related animated gifs that I made that I guess could be put into forum signatures and whatnot. Feel free to download and use if anyone wants.
(http://www.kickthebobo.com/marky.gif)
(http://www.kickthebobo.com/presidentbaseball.gif)
(http://www.kickthebobo.com/softserve.gif)
there's also a banner over at The Million Zimbabwean Dollar Homepage (http://zimbabwe.arrove.com/) that I think ended costing me $1.38.
One idear I had awhile back was to maybe put together a flickr stream where people post photos of TBSOWFMU/ FOT stickers that they put up/ come across in the wild. Like "here's one above the toilet tank at Enid's - who woulda thunk it?".
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Baby Steps podcast is a fantastic idea. I downloaded a podcast of the Best Show about a year before I got into the show and I didn't get it at all. My first thought was why is there two theme songs in a row. And I felt like the show had to justify being so long (I didn't think about it as a radio show so much as a podcast).
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I am not yet sure how this will be configured, but I am starting to warm up to the notion of a shorter non-weekly podcast that would be for beginners. Someone called it 'Baby Steps', and that is pretty good.
Coincidentally, I was going to update the Vault today with some new clips, but it turns out that the Vault's visitors have exceeded the allowed bandwidth for the upload service I use, DivShare, so they shut down the account. So as of now the Vault is on ice, and I would be happy to permanently discontinue it at the drop of a (hard) hat should this idea move forward. I can sure help out. "Best Show Baby Steps" is a great name.
Maybe it's an omen.
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I'm a really new listener (about two months in) and loved it from the start, but it did take some time to go through the archives and read the recaps in order to have enough history to really appreciate what's going on. For someone who is interested but bewildered, a Baby Steps podcast might be a good way to ease into it. Maybe it could be the best of both worlds--some people will be happy with a highlights podcast and others will move on to the full show.
I found Best Show through the Sound of Young America and AST podcasts. The interview with Matt and Jouster on AST was what helped me over the edge--for some reason, hearing Tom and Jon talk about the behind the scenes stuff made it all come together.
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I hate the idea of spoon-feeding the show to people. I think everyone should have to go through the early period of confusion that gradually blossoms into understanding and appreciation, followed by compulsive immersion in the archives.
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the internet is great but i feel we should not stop there.
we have concentrations of FOT in every major city in the country.
we need to organize some kind of massive grassroots campaign or something. try to work the best show into everything we do in our lives. get large groups of FOT out to major events clad in S&W shirts. use whatever connections we have to get the word out to large groups of people.
also i think local FOTs need to work together to figure out what they can do in their local areas to get the words out.
tell everyone you meet about the show!
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I hate the idea of spoon-feeding the show to people. I think everyone should have to go through the early period of confusion that gradually blossoms into understanding and appreciation, followed by compulsive immersion in the archives.
Having invested many hours learning about the show, I can also see this side of it, because I enjoyed tracking things down and making the connections. It kind of feels like being in a secret awesome club. But I guess "secret awesome club" doesn't really lend itself to "world domination."
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Maybe we can all wear a uniform, or at least some kind of insignia. And perhaps it's not too early to start designing special camps where we'll be able to sequester nonbelievers.
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compulsive immersion in the archives.
Would be helped if you didn't need to go through contortions to get TBSOWFMU archives into a Zune-friendly format. bookem dann-o already has the archives with the music removed, I hear. If some of those were readily available it would save a lot of redundant threads on the boards-- but that would only be interesting to the already-converted.
I of course think spoon-feeding people the show is a great idea. There's a lot of really great stuff that I only got into after people crammed it down my throat, or bands I only got into after listening to a "greatest hits." A successful world domination project would result in lots of casual fans who don't really get the show or care to, but a small percentage of those people would become diehard fans who listen to the complete archives. And maybe some of those would actually start ponying up to WFMU, or would have connections with those 33 1/3 goons.
The S&W CDs are what really got me interested in the show, but it's Tom rants and stories and interactions with regular callers that really got me hooked. Even just a "Best of Tom Scharpling" album might be a good start.
Also, a Best Show FAQ that isn't full of jokes might be helpful.
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tell everyone you meet about the show!
this always turns out badly for me.
i completely agree with you, Colin. i'm going to the radiohead show in SB next thursday, then i'll be in LA until monday (during f yeah fest dates). maybe that would be an opportunity for some name-dropping ("i know Jason Grote", "listen to the Best Show"), and if i can get some amateur flyers together i will.
i could place current BS info on there for now: BS archives, FOT website, scharpling myspace, BS facebook?
i'm probably getting ahead of myself.
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I love the idea of an archive podcast, or a Best Show Vault podcast. Generally I try to talk up the show wherever I can, but it is an acquired taste, which (cf. Sarah) is part of what makes it so awesome.
Alternately, maybe we could do an "Ultimate Best Show," where we trash the last decade's worth of continuity and start at zero - Ultimate Tom, Ultimate Clontle, Ultimate Philly Boy Roy. Where's Wes?
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Alternately, maybe we could do an "Ultimate Best Show," where we trash the last decade's worth of continuity and start at zero - Ultimate Tom, Ultimate Clontle, Ultimate Philly Boy Roy. Where's Wes?
"Uh, yeah... uh, y'know get off like my blue tooth!"
(horrible Bendis impersonation)
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I love the idea of an archive podcast, or a Best Show Vault podcast. Generally I try to talk up the show wherever I can, but it is an acquired taste, which (cf. Sarah) is part of what makes it so awesome.
Alternately, maybe we could do an "Ultimate Best Show," where we trash the last decade's worth of continuity and start at zero - Ultimate Tom, Ultimate Clontle, Ultimate Philly Boy Roy. Where's Wes?
In the Ultimate World Hot Rocking Ronnie was Tom's Call Screener.
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How about a battle royale between all call screeners/associate producers in the show's history?
(For the record, I think Associate Producer/Hall of Famer/Future Newbridge Mayor Mike is the best).
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mike and mike, imus, howard stern. what have these monoliths of radio in common? video. video i say.
take a gander at the other top itunes comedy programs. video again.
costs are always an issue, but you have to make a sacrifice to get to the top.
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There are videos of Tom...
[youtube]vhy4yZ_k3yk[/youtube]
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I guess this would be complicated (otherwise you'd do it for the regular podcast), but I think if it could be possible, including some music in the Baby Steps podcast would be a great idea. The music Tom plays is a big part of the appeal for me.
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This is the official home of The Best Show On WFMU World Domination Scheme Phase One brainstorming. Please put all idears for the WDS in this thread.
I am not yet sure how this will be configured, but I am starting to warm up to the notion of a shorter non-weekly podcast that would be for beginners. Someone called it 'Baby Steps', and that is pretty good.
I also love the Podcast Alley thing. Thank you for that.
Let's keep the idears coming. And thank you! It's very flattering and much appreciated.
Tom.
Vindication for Jon from Maplewood.
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What about some paper or digital Beginner's Guide to the Best Show? We could throw together some type of print out, zine or something. post it here and whomever could print off however many copies and leave them around town. Getting into the show with the currently available resources was the ideal way for me and others to get into it but not everyone is wired to put that effort into it. If the history of the Best Show was condensed into some easily digested format, it may bring a lot more people over.
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ALERT
When you filter out the dumb video "podcasts" and look at audio only, The Best Show is #39 of comedy podcasts. Not where it should be, but at least in the top 100.
However, the Smodcast is #6.
The popularity of You Look Nice Today shows the influence that internet bigwigs can have on the minority of a minority that listens to podcasts. It's kinda funny, but come on. It's a tiny and self-referential world where Andy Baio and Merlin Mann are kingmakers.
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
I think flyers/posters are a good idea; it would be cool for them to leave an air of mystery about the show, something that makes whoever sees the thing want to find out more.
Here's what I envision in my mind grapes: Each Wurster character has his own flyer - there would be a Timmy Von Trimble, a Philly Boy Roy, etc. The flyer would have a large illustration of the head of the character - sort of a cross between the Rogue's Gallery and this:
(http://www.zachgalifianakis.com/images/zgposterlg.jpg)
Directly below the head, we put a quote that both encapsulates what the character is about AND is bizarre/hilarious enough to stick in the viewer's mind and give them a good chuckle. The hard part would be finding the right quote for each character, but I'm positive we intrepid FOT could do it. At the bottom of each flyer, there could be either the Friends of Tom URL or the Best Show logo* - or BOTH! Maybe the logo could be in one of the bottom corners of the flyer, like an official seal or something.
* Which one is the official Best Show logo - the bomb image that comes with the podcast, or the helmet and skull thing on the homepage?
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My world domination 2 cents: Each Podcast should have a brief "name" instead of just the date. Kinda like Omar's recaps have an unofficial name for each show. So this last week was Broadcast of the Official Newbridge Mayubenatorial Debates or something, the week before Tom Trains the H-man to take his place. Basically the same as the archives which (used to) have those descriptions on them. I think it might be too intimidating for people to pick up a three hour podcast that has no description of the contents therein. I wouldn't mind doing this, but I don't know how it would work w/r/t access to internet things. I realize this might cause a bunch of work, and it's not meant as a criticism, but it could help to get the uninitiated to be less intimidated by the show. When I first started listening, wanting to find out what was up with "Philly Boy Roy" and all the other characters named in the little descriptions was a big part of that.
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I don't know if people have been/started to do this, but I think we should all subscribe to TBS on iTunes, (no matter how they get the show) just to help it get up in the ratings.
I hope this wasn't too obvious of a statement...
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From my understanding, the best way to get the word out publicly is to oversaturate. something that can be very easily done, and very cheaply done, would be flyers, stickers, etc. and post them all over town with the BS or FOT website on them.
I think flyers/posters are a good idea; it would be cool for them to leave an air of mystery about the show, something that makes whoever sees the thing want to find out more.
Here's what I envision in my mind grapes: Each Wurster character has his own flyer - there would be a Timmy Von Trimble, a Philly Boy Roy, etc. The flyer would have a large illustration of the head of the character - sort of a cross between the Rogue's Gallery and this:
(http://www.zachgalifianakis.com/images/zgposterlg.jpg)
Directly below the head, we put a quote that both encapsulates what the character is about AND is bizarre/hilarious enough to stick in the viewer's mind and give them a good chuckle. The hard part would be finding the right quote for each character, but I'm positive we intrepid FOT could do it. At the bottom of each flyer, there could be either the Friends of Tom URL or the Best Show logo* - or BOTH! Maybe the logo could be in one of the bottom corners of the flyer, like an official seal or something.
* Which one is the official Best Show logo - the bomb image that comes with the podcast, or the helmet and skull thing on the homepage?
i love this idea. although, one of the best parts (for me) is not knowing what wurster characters look like. i hardly ever envision jon on the other side of the radio waves when philly boy, TVT, or brimstead call in. BUT i do think Tom's head in the same fashion would work, with Tom quotes using the same template you described; we need a quote that informs people of the humor and content they can expect.
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tom needs a war room filled with the best minds he has access to in order to get cracking on this best show world domination scheme (phase one.) i'm talking about your ted leos, your paul f. tompinkses, your dave from knoxvilles... he's gonna need some of the less stable/more nuts characters associated with the show too - like james or that lady who wants east villagers to get out the vote in oklahoma. the top minds around are good for drawing up the blueprints and noodling with this scheme for best show world domination (phase one,) but there's got to be pawns and all other manner of devious folk who never consider the consequences of their actions to help roll this thing into play. maybe a think tank is more what i'm talking about here.
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I guess this would be complicated (otherwise you'd do it for the regular podcast), but I think if it could be possible, including some music in the Baby Steps podcast would be a great idea. The music Tom plays is a big part of the appeal for me.
Yeh, listening on the podcast, one of the first things Tom does is back announce music we didn't hear. I imagine the music is stripped out due to RIAA restrictions or ludicrous royalty demands or whatever, so maybe in addition to stripping out the music they could strip out the back announcing (although I've since come to regard the back-announcing as a comical reminder of how much the RIAA sucks).
I am not necessarily quick on the uptake but would agree with the general sentiment - on first listen I didn't really 'get' it, but after going back I came to really like the show. Sometimes bands are like that too...it's just difficult maybe to translate that into stadium-filling popularity...ellipsis...
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One word: Tribunals
Just putting that out there.
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You can always give it a good review at iTunes. The Best Show Street Team was a good idea also.
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A weekly podcast along the lines of this Jouster compilation would be unstoppable:
The Best of the Best of The Best Show on WFMU Vol 1
1. 'The Tommy Song' by The Hinterland Probabilities
2. Tom Gets His Life Threatened By A Co-Worker
3. Julian From The Strokes Calls The Show
4. Sountrackappella - Live at Maxwell's
5. An Enraged Perry Farrell Fan Checks In
6. An Excerpt From 'Get On The Rascal', The Gorch's Audio Tour Diary
7. Samson Is Looking For Love
8. 'You Are The One' by Jon & Jon
9. 'The Tommy Song' by Petey
10 Philly Boy Roy's ''Twas The Night Before Christmas, Philly Style'
Also, I defy any rational adult to listen to the call-in segment of "the order of everything", with no prior knowledge of the show, and not fall in love.
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Also, I defy any rational adult to listen to the call-in segment of "the order of everything", with no prior knowledge of the show, and not fall in love.
amen to that. one of the strangest and funniest things i've ever heard. the placement of the items on the list was so random and arbitrary, yet made perfect sense when you took a step back and look at the whole big picture. amazing.
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A weekly podcast along the lines of this Jouster compilation would be unstoppable:
The Best of the Best of The Best Show on WFMU Vol 1
1. 'The Tommy Song' by The Hinterland Probabilities
2. Tom Gets His Life Threatened By A Co-Worker
3. Julian From The Strokes Calls The Show
4. Sountrackappella - Live at Maxwell's
5. An Enraged Perry Farrell Fan Checks In
6. An Excerpt From 'Get On The Rascal', The Gorch's Audio Tour Diary
7. Samson Is Looking For Love
8. 'You Are The One' by Jon & Jon
9. 'The Tommy Song' by Petey
10 Philly Boy Roy's ''Twas The Night Before Christmas, Philly Style'
Jouster didn't put that compilation together, son. That was one of the marathon premium CDs from a loooong time ago. Petey did the artwork for it.
Tom.
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Also, I defy any rational adult to listen to the call-in segment of "the order of everything", with no prior knowledge of the show, and not fall in love.
amen to that. one of the strangest and funniest things i've ever heard. the placement of the items on the list was so random and arbitrary, yet made perfect sense when you took a step back and look at the whole big picture. amazing.
especially, a tie between: that which cannot be said and the guy in short shorts looking for tiny tim records and clipping fingernails on subway.
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A weekly podcast along the lines of this Jouster compilation would be unstoppable:
The Best of the Best of The Best Show on WFMU Vol 1
1. 'The Tommy Song' by The Hinterland Probabilities
2. Tom Gets His Life Threatened By A Co-Worker
3. Julian From The Strokes Calls The Show
4. Sountrackappella - Live at Maxwell's
5. An Enraged Perry Farrell Fan Checks In
6. An Excerpt From 'Get On The Rascal', The Gorch's Audio Tour Diary
7. Samson Is Looking For Love
8. 'You Are The One' by Jon & Jon
9. 'The Tommy Song' by Petey
10 Philly Boy Roy's ''Twas The Night Before Christmas, Philly Style'
Jouster didn't put that compilation together, son. That was one of the marathon premium CDs from a loooong time ago. Petey did the artwork for it.
Tom.
I still have many miles to go. Ughh.
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I think I have it solved. Since it seems to work for so many other folks nowadays, how about a Best Show sextape?
Now hear me out...
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Best possible scenario -
Over the course of an entire month, a fake rift develops between Tom & Teddy Rock Star. This results in "The Gomp Heard Around the World." A Jay-Z/Nas battle of zingers play out in the ensuing weeks, using indy rock websites to promote their hatred for one another. Eventually, they come down to one solution: There can only be one! Teddy challenges Tom to a no holds barred rock battle broadcast live from Maxwell's. Tom accepts, vowing to assemble Von Scharpling one last time. The Danielson family, Yo La Tengo, and Death Cab open. Between each act, the proud people of New Bridge beg of Tom and Teddy not to destroy the planet in an all out scorched earth rock assault. But it's too late. Von Scharpling kills it. Teddy kills it. They eventually come to their senses and make amends by playing "The World is in the Terlet".
The only way you can get into this star studded show is by being on a podcast subscription list.
At the show we pass around a petition to get Tom's 33 1/3 books published.
Good guys win! Bad guys die in a car fire plummeting to the bottom of the hate pit.
Let's make this happen.
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There seem to be a lot of prominent people out there (Patton Oswalt, Bill Hader, Jason Woliner, PFT) who love The Best Show. Maybe some youtube/myspace videos that somehow tie into the show are in order?
I know I first got into The Best Show by listening to archives of shows that had guests like Tim and Eric, Patton, Zach, etc. So grabbing people that way might not be such a bad idea...
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The S&W CDs are what really got me interested in the show, but it's Tom rants and stories and interactions with regular callers that really got me hooked. Even just a "Best of Tom Scharpling" album might be a good start.
I agree with Yesno and was planning on pitching something along those lines. I was thinking of a Sterolaffs CD entitled "Scharpling Rants: The Mayhem of the Best Show", or something like that. This CD would contain all the glorious rants that Tom goes off on, whether it be on Billy Crystal's "Jazzman", the Beatles record fair, Juno, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Seinfeld/Bee Movie, LOTR, Clerks/Kevin Smith.... so on and so forth.
I am aware that there's quite a good chance that S & W don't have the rights to these people and their likenesses, and I'm also aware that this S & W CD isn't Wurster-prominent, but be that as it may, if this sort of CD would be possible it would DOMINATE!
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How about a collection of Spike calls called "You Got SPIKED"?
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This CD would contain all the glorious rants that Tom goes off on, whether it be on Billy Crystal's "Jazzman", the Beatles record fair, Juno, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jerry Seinfeld/Bee Movie, LOTR, Clerks/Kevin Smith.... so on and so forth.
I am aware that there's quite a good chance that S & W don't have the rights to these people and their likenesses,
You don't need Billy Crystal's permission or any kind of "rights" to make fun of him.
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I was thinking of a Sterolaffs CD entitled "Scharpling Rants: The Mayhem of the Best Show",
This should be called Scharpling On...
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I disapprove of this whole project--you know, power corrupts, absolute power, etc., or, as I phrase it, anyone who wants power shouldn't have it--but a Scharpling on . . . would be great.
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What about some paper or digital Beginner's Guide to the Best Show? We could throw together some type of print out, zine or something. post it here and whomever could print off however many copies and leave them around town.
I love zines. I'd love to put together a Best Show zine if people would help me with it.
There could be biographies of important callers, articles on the history of Newbridge, and reviews of places and events in Newbridge.
A zine isn't really about _world_ domination, it dominates on the level of maybe a couple people at a time. And would it be redundant if we all just invested more in updating the Fotpedia?
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maybe people could assist non best show fans in 'passing on' in fot-tastic ways (hoagie assault, barging, something in a dungeon?) and for everyone who does 'pass on' you could win points, and then you could use those points to win prizes. these prizes could then be donated to the united way or catholic relief fund or something like that, but you would donate them in the best shows name! which would be good press!
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I hate the idea of spoon-feeding the show to people. I think everyone should have to go through the early period of confusion that gradually blossoms into understanding and appreciation, followed by compulsive immersion in the archives.
exactly.
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Zoopaced.mp3:
http://tinyurl.com/69kh37
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Zoopaced.mp3:
http://tinyurl.com/69kh37
oh my god
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I hate the idea of spoon-feeding the show to people. I think everyone should have to go through the early period of confusion that gradually blossoms into understanding and appreciation, followed by compulsive immersion in the archives.
Zoopaced.mp3:
http://tinyurl.com/69kh37
Best Show quality at Morning Zoo pace. A potent brew.
I am torn. On the one hand, Sarah has a darn good point. It was the pacing that pulled me into the Best Show orbit in the first place. But on the other hand, Lemke's clip had me laughing like a braying donkey.
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Quote from: Sarah on August 21, 2008, 02:51:19 PM
I hate the idea of spoon-feeding the show to people. I think everyone should have to go through the early period of confusion that gradually blossoms into understanding and appreciation, followed by compulsive immersion in the archives.
Zoopaced.mp3:
http://tinyurl.com/69kh37
Best Show quality at Morning Zoo pace. A potent brew.
I am torn. On the one hand, Sarah has a darn good point. It was the pacing that pulled me into the Best Show orbit in the first place. But on the other hand, Lemke's clip had me laughing like a braying donkey.
There are several funny non-sequiturs here, but the Best Show packs the biggest wallop in a long form format. The first time someone takes the time to hear a memorable win top to bottom, they'll be hooked.
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Check out what I saw on iTunes today. Sorry for the tiny image. It was in the "What We're Listening To" section.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2818800086_8dac1fb68f.jpg?v=0)
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Yeah, I checked the podcast directory for the first time in who knows how long, and what did I see but a huge banner ad at the top of the page for TBSOWFMU. I was moved to write a review! I'm the one-star guy who says the 87 other reviews are planted*.
*not really
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Check out what I saw on iTunes today. Sorry for the tiny image. It was in the "What We're Listening To" section.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/2818800086_8dac1fb68f.jpg?v=0)
Its also now #43 in the top 100 comedy podcasts and #14 when ya exclude the video ones!
Top ten is within our reach. Lets do this.
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Will giving negative reviews to other podcasts help The Best Show get on top? I hope so, because making fun of Smodcasts sure is fun!
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It'd be awesome if Tom did a live remote Best Show from a venue like Maxwells, Comix, or the UCB Senior.
Book a couple guests, introduce a topic for callers AND audience members, and videotape the crap out of it.
Or webcast it! I'm sure it would be easy to wrangle up volunteers for that kind of thing, and it could help expose the show to a larger audience.
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It'd be awesome if Tom did a live remote Best Show from a venue like Maxwells, Comix, or the UCB Senior.
Book a couple guests, introduce a topic for callers AND audience members, and videotape the crap out of it.
Or webcast it! I'm sure it would be easy to wrangle up volunteers for that kind of thing, and it could help expose the show to a larger audience.
A good idea, but I'm not sure if Tom's up for it. He's said in the past that he's more comfortable in the studio than in front of an audience.
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It'd be awesome if Tom did a live remote Best Show from a venue like Maxwells, Comix, or the UCB Senior.
Book a couple guests, introduce a topic for callers AND audience members, and videotape the crap out of it.
Or webcast it! I'm sure it would be easy to wrangle up volunteers for that kind of thing, and it could help expose the show to a larger audience.
A good idea, but I'm not sure if Tom's up for it. He's said in the past that he's more comfortable in the studio than in front of an audience.
and it takes away from the concept that is the lost art of radio.
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I have a couple of ideas:
- Setting a world record might get attention - maybe something like Philly Boy Roy trying to eat as many hoagies as possible in three hours?
- Or having the first annual Best Show day where on a specific day FOTs take over the internet and talk up the Best Show on their blog, vlogs, message boards, facebooks, myspaces, etc. I can see it starting out slowly but gaining more and more support until it becomes a worldwide phenomenon. Kind of like that christmas thing.
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I like this Best Show Day idea. I just participated in a group book review project at a site called The Valve, and it was pretty cool. I bet our aggregate web presence is pretty sizeable. When should we do it?
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What's Tom's birthday? Or Dogmo's?
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I also like this Best Show Day idea. I'll fire up the blog, twitter, whatever.
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What's Tom's birthday? Or Dogmo's?
According to Facebook, February 9. Do we want to wait that long?
I'm going to brag about something that no sane person should care about: Thomas Frank linked to my little blog poot about The Wrecking Crew. So this might somehow be forget it it's totally irrelevant!!
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Thomas Frank of Baffler/What's The Matter With Kansas/etc fame? Nice.
What's Tom's birthday? Or Dogmo's?
According to Facebook, February 9. Do we want to wait that long?
I'm going to brag about something that no sane person should care about: Thomas Frank linked to my little blog poot about The Wrecking Crew. So this might somehow be forget it it's totally irrelevant!!
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Yep! Though it was probably just the work of an intern or assistant googling for links. Still kinda neat.
So I am serious about this Best Show Blitz. Any more date ideas? Should I call the show Tuesday and ask Tom about a good date for it?
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yes
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OK. I will probably be out and abou t during the pretopic portion of the show, but I will try to call in.
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Yep! Though it was probably just the work of an intern or assistant googling for links. Still kinda neat.
So I am serious about this Best Show Blitz. Any more date ideas? Should I call the show Tuesday and ask Tom about a good date for it?
No idea for a specfic date but maybe having it on a Monday or Tuesday so that people can tune into the show soon after the blitz?
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So I am serious about this Best Show Blitz.
I was also thinking of making a cd with 2-3 representative, unreleased calls from past shows with kind of a one-sheet for the Best Show as the artwork and passing it out to friends or leaving multiple copies of it at local record stores and whatnot for customers to grab as kind of a DIY promo item for the show, if it is ok with Tom and anyone whom would have to ok something like this.
If you find a date for the Blitz, maybe a week or two before that date I could start passing them out in a wider arc, adding some info on the Blitz.
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On the show on September 2nd, Tom complained the TBS was behind the podcasts Frosty, Heidi, and Frank and Never Not Funny on the iTunes top 100. While it hasn't really moved up in position (it is currently at 16th) it is beating those two podcasts with Frosty, Heidi and Frank at 18th and Never Not Funny at 36th.
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For what it's worth, I've created a Twitter account for TBSOWFMU:
http://twitter.com/tbsowfmu
Follow it!
There's a lot of fans of S&W on Twitter, and since Twitter tends to slant towards the nerderati and popculture fetishists (Jesse Thorn, for example), it can be a great way to get out the word about the show...or at least to keep all the non-FoT-board members updated about the show.
I'll be posting updates about the podcast, links to Omar's recaps, and possibly even a weekly link to a "Best of the Best Show on WFMU" mp3 download on my drop.io Best Show clips archive (over 3GB!).
I'd like to somehow be involved with a "Best of" side-podcast, if it ever happens...since I actually suggested this idea to Tom the first week of the podcast, but alas it wasn't the right time for it.
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And I thought I was special for being followed by The Best Show...
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Does anyone else think that the front page and forum need an overhaul? The forum looks a little generic and it wouldn't be a ton of work to give it a nice theme.
The friendsoftom front page hasn't had an update in some years! Also the forum should be more prominently linked since it's where the bulk of the activity happens.
My track record aside, I do know html/php/css/flash in enough capacity to spearhead or at least contribute.
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This is a sad state of affairs indeed.
JAMES is stepping up to redesign the website.
I am sick to my stomach over this but I think he might be the man for the job.
Not sure what to do.
Tom.
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This is a sad state of affairs indeed.
JAMES is stepping up to redesign the website.
I am sick to my stomach over this but I think he might be the man for the job.
Not sure what to do.
Tom.
Maybe you could post the threats he made towards me in the chat. If I described young Jeremy as unstable, that could only be construed as charity.
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This is a sad state of affairs indeed.
JAMES is stepping up to redesign the website.
I am sick to my stomach over this but I think he might be the man for the job.
Not sure what to do.
Tom.
This can only backfire. Don't do it, Tom!
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This and that are two different animals Stan.
It wouldn't be much work to update the links and give the front page a new feel, as well as creating a means of letting Tom update the front page in a more simple manner(the previous code seems like maybe he had to rely on Gord and Chris to do this).
It's really no skin off my back to not do this, just thought it could help the cause.
Also saying I'll call in as you is a pretty thin "threat."
Edit: I'd be more than willing to have Jason or whomever act as an intermediary. I wouldn't need admin privileges or login info, and he could go through everything with a comb to make sure everything is dandy. I'd actually rather work with others who are willing to give input as it makes the process a great deal easier.
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Listen I'll just withdraw the offer. It's a good idea nonetheless.
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I'll offer to help redesign the thing then, just so I can say I Jamesed James.
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I would gladly let Jeremy do it.
My only worry would be that Jeremy would transform, not unlike the Wolf-Man, into James midway through designing the page and turn the whole thing into a JamesFest.
Tom.
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You can't let him do it, Tom.
It's about principles.
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(http://childrensbookshop.com/images/bookimages/68/68842.jpg)
It's like that time Superman needed Lex Luthor to come up with the cure for kryptonite poisoning. Or when Reed Richards had to ask Doc Ock to help cure Sue of her radiation poisoning - and Otto finally agrees - but it was too late because Sue had a miscarriage anyways.
Quite the dilemma Tom.
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Start by putting a sticky on this/giving it it's own forum.
When I search "best show" in iTunes it's the 9th hit. This needs to get fixed. They must have tagged their casts with those words as well.
(http://www.gunpowderlove.net/bsreview.jpg)
There are only 56 reviews! We can do better!(Never Funny has over 250 and it hasn't been around as long)
Also the website for the podcast should link to FOT so people can get a better feel of the show. Is adding a sample clip possible?
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Have you considered putting up a sample? Maybe a spike call? The mirth and mayhem come full steam 10 minutes into the show, but by then most people just casually looking for podcasts have checked out. Also only one new review since my last post. There are more than 57 of us FOT's, reviews really make a difference. Now searching for "best show" in iTunes doesn't find the show until the third page. Change your tags!
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Look at all your stars, James! Are they new? Or have I just been oblivious (as is often the case)? Either way, fancy!
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I noticed that the S&W wikipedia and Wurster got a shoutout from John Hodgeman who's been blogging on BoingBoing. I hope his appearance gets a plug from there.
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Hey. New poster/long-time fan here, and I have an idea for the World Domination Scheme.
I have a friend who's liked everything Best Show-related that I've suggested: PFT, Patton Oswalt, TLRx, etc.
That said, I hadn't gotten him from "Yeah, I should check that show out" to "You were right; it is indeed the best show." I've been working on him for over a year. Nothing.
So, I started pushing some sound clips together, and eventually:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/c73m8r (http://www.sendspace.com/file/c73m8r)
I made it with that one friend in mind, and it worked. So, despite some tough edits (sorry, Jesse Thorn and AST Radio), it finally did the trick. Another friend heard it; two for two.
Seems that friends turn other friends onto The Best Show. Would a short, inbox-friendly audio explanation be helpful to anyone?
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That was fan-effing-fucking-tastic, Mike A.D.!
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on a different, but same, note, listening to that clip makes me realize i wont be nearly as funny as Tom until i get older and wiser.
i thought i already was a wise guy, but alas....
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Hi,
I don't know if this has been done before, or mentioned. But I know people have talked about how sometimes they're on the bus or something listening to The Best Show on headphones, and they have a huge smile on their face - like while everyone else around them is just acting normal.
So this morning I was walking down the street & this guy in a suit (not PFT) walked by with headphones on, and he had this HUGE smile on his face, so I jokingly thought to myself "ah,.. he's listening to the Best Show".
Soooo... I thought of this idea for a commercial for the Best Show. Where you'd see people on their commutes (buses, trains, planes) or in their back yard raking leaves, or in their kitchen washing dishes, or just walking down the street - wearing headphones or near a radio- with a HUGE smile on their face. Maybe while other people around them are just going about their business not smiling, or even like arguing or complaining about something.
And there wouldn't be any real audio playing while you saw these clips, or maybe Tom's bed music or something, but then at the end it would play some audio of Tom and it would say "The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling, Tuesdays 8pm, WFMU"
maybe there would be an additional catch phrase or something.
anyway just a though. figured I'd share in case anyone feels like making it.
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maybe there would be an additional catch phrase or something.
"The Best Show on WFMU. Giving birth to smiles."
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That was fan-effing-fucking-tastic, Mike A.D.!
Thanks, Martin! I'm thinking seriously of re-purposing it into something you could send to someone with only a minor setup: "You know that show I'm always talking about it? This attachment sort of explains it."
If there's any other interview audio out there where Tom explains and/or talks about the show itself, I'd love to know where it is.
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I agree, well done Mike A.D.! I am going to send this to everyone I know, as a courtesy.
-Ajax
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That was fan-effing-fucking-tastic, Mike A.D.!
Thanks, Martin! I'm thinking seriously of re-purposing it into something you could send to someone with only a minor setup: "You know that show I'm always talking about it? This attachment sort of explains it."
If there's any other interview audio out there where Tom explains and/or talks about the show itself, I'd love to know where it is.
here's a link to an interview of Tom & Jon talking about the show:
http://astradio.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=231533
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How bout all the FOT's arm themselves with Best Show stickers at all times and if anyone spots a celebrity they can try and "papslap" (to coin a term) a sticker on their back. Extra points for hate pit members.
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i endorse the idea, i veto the term "papslap"
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Oh Boy: A Memoir of Mirth and Mayhem
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A literal domination of the Billboard Hot Singles Sales Chart, and perhaps the Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart as well. GOMP (Crystal Castles Re-mix).
Thoughts on the idea? I think it would get a lot of coverage on a cornucopia of channels: Pitchfork, Brooklynvegan, AV Club, etc. Plus, we could donate the profits to a charity.
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Another tag-line:
The Best show on WFMU. If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand.
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Couldn't figure out where else to put this, but it seems to apply; Tom Scharpling got 2 nice shout outs from Jimmy Dore on this week's Comedy and Everything Else
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I think world domination would start with Twitter, and in that case, I would say that we should get FOTs competing in every Shorty Award offered. Ted Leo is racking up the music category. Let's get Scharpling, Wurster, PFT, Hogman, Mike, et. al. on there.