Introductory call for the uninitiated.

[christine]

Hi!

So I'm making a mix for a friend and I want to tack an S&W track on the end, but I can't decide which to go with.  The friend in question knows nothing of the Best Show so I'd like to pick out something that doesn't need a lot of context or explanation to be funny.  He's a big music fan with classic rock leanings, so something along the lines of RR&R or the Music Scholar might go over well.  He's also a huge Mets fan, but I'm afraid Yankees v. Mets might be a great way to scare him away (also, you know, it's 2hrs long).  I was thinking about Conventions, Inc, mostly because it's my favorite call ever, but I feel like it might be too long and overwhelming for a first-timer.  So what, then?  Kid eBay?  The first Mother 13?  Something else? 

Ideas appreciated!

[TL]

I think beginning at the beginning with "Rot, Rock & Rule," then moving on to the one-two punch of "Gas Station Dogs"/"Mother 13" is always a great introduction.

[Deric W. Haircare]

I always start people off with Bruce Willis. It never fails to cause pants-wetting and it spreads like a virus from that person to many other people.

Besides being hilarious, the Bruce Willis call doesn't necessitate as much patience as most calls do. It's not quite so "slow burn". And I think it helps to ease people into those waters.

[Josh]

Zachary Brimstead, Esq.
Extreme Dad
The Depressed Office Worker series (you could scatter these through the mix)
Kid eBay
Shout! Network
Trent L. Strauss
Tony Torgvort, author of "The System" (or anything with a Geocities address -- never fails to kill me)
Gene Simmons Talks "Family Jewels"

[Omar]

Darren From Work from Hippy Justice -- to me, this is the ultimate example of the slow-burn/twist technique.  The first time I heard it, I had to pull off the road because I was so blown away.  Tip: never listen to an S&W call for the first time while driving.  Dangerous.

Music Scholar, TLS, Kid eBay, ZB (6/20/06) are all good choices, too.  Other possibilities: Andy from Lake Newbridge or the Keith Kincaid Newbridge CoS call. Is Timmy von Trimble too much for the unitiated?  (It was my initiation.)

[Omar]

Also, if you want to include more than one track, the fairly short Montgomery Davies call would be nice.  Hidden bonus track! 

[Deric W. Haircare]

Tip: never listen to an S&W call for the first time while driving.  Dangerous.

I would add eating and drinking to that list. I think Golf Nuts was the first call I ever heard. While funny, it wasn't necessarily hilarious. So, having been initiated and thinking I knew what The Best Show was all about, I thought it was safe to eat while I listened to Bruce Willis for the first time. But, no. I was in the midst of swallowing when he started screaming like an animal, and I almost died.

[moonshake]

I always thought Music Scholar was the way to introduce someone to the show- just love that call every time I listen to it.

The two Audio Guru calls are great as well.

[Deric W. Haircare]

The problem with calls like the Music Scholar is that I think a lot of the humor is lost if you aren't kind of a big music fan/snob yourself. Like, f'rinstance, 90% of the humor in the Giles Palermo bit is recognizing the fact that he's totally not playing what he says he's playing. If you aren't at least semi-familiar with Captain Beefheart, you're probably not going to laugh nearly as much when "You Can Leave Your Hat On" kicks in.

[buffcoat]

I think the Gorch is a good start.  The Gorch humor is pretty broad, and it's almost believable for the first few minutes.

[inajar]

I have tried to initiate several friends into the world of Newbridge and it usually goes:

RR&R
The Music Scholar
The Gorch
Gas Station Dogs
 and then either Gene Simmons or Marky Ramone or both.

If after that barrage of funny you aren't sold, then I don't know why we were ever friends in the first place.

[christine]

If after that barrage of funny you aren't sold, then I don't know why we were ever friends in the first place.

Oh, my god, seriously.

I've only been able to drag one friend down with me thus far.  I attempted to rope another recently, a huge music nerd who couldn't give an eff about comedy.  I guess an old boyfriend of hers once put RR&R on a mix but she never listened to it, so I sent her the first Mother 13 and baited her with lines like "Dude, it's Jon from Superchunk and the Mountain Goats!" and "You know that thing on the Hold Steady's passes?  That's from this show!"  But alas, no dice; I don't think she ever listened to the track.  I tried to lure another girlfriend in by pointing her to Ben Gibbard's call to PBR and the TL / Steinberg rap battle, but I don't think she ever listened, either.  What the hell is up with my friends??

I kinda like the idea of using Darren from Work on this mix!  It's got a really pointed joke and doesn't meander so much.  Might be easy to digest.  Hmm...

[christine]

OR WHAT IF I scattered the Bruce Willis calls throughout the disc?  Would that be awesome?

[Omar]

If after that barrage of funny you aren't sold, then I don't know why we were ever friends in the first place.

Oh, my god, seriously.

I've only been able to drag one friend down with me thus far.  I attempted to rope another recently, a huge music nerd who couldn't give an eff about comedy.  I guess an old boyfriend of hers once put RR&R on a mix but she never listened to it, so I sent her the first Mother 13 and baited her with lines like "Dude, it's Jon from Superchunk and the Mountain Goats!" and "You know that thing on the Hold Steady's passes?  That's from this show!"  But alas, no dice; I don't think she ever listened to the track.  I tried to lure another girlfriend in by pointing her to Ben Gibbard's call to PBR and the TL / Steinberg rap battle, but I don't think she ever listened, either.  What the hell is up with my friends??

Sounds like it might be a lost cause, but another great music-related choice would be the recent Power Pop Pop-Pop gem.  Maybe your friends are big fans of Ted Jacobs and The Now, The Rubinoos, or The Resistance?

I kinda like the idea of using Darren from Work on this mix!  It's got a really pointed joke and doesn't meander so much.  Might be easy to digest.  Hmm...

Go for it!

[Deric W. Haircare]

The sad truth is that The Best Show isn't for everybody. Like I said before, it takes patience, and patience is not something that most people are willing to give when it comes to comedy.

And then there are also those people who are afraid of laughter.