My (BSWFMU) Story (how I got over the learning curve)

[not that James]

I'm pretty new to the show... so I'm still all obsessed with it and giddy.

I was searching the vast system of tubes for Patton Oswalt material (I was deep in the throes of "discovering" Patton at the time) when I saw the EP he did to raise money for WFMU.  I thought, "Weird... 75 bucks for an EP?  Who the hell is this Tom guy?"  The only other time I'd heard of FMU was from an in-studio live cut on the Peelander-Z album "P-Bone Steak", which earned major coolness points with me.  I also found a link to "Rambocky" on Patton's myspace site.  While I could tell that there was a whole lot of inside-joke going on there that I wasn't getting, being a Philly boy myself, I loved it.  I said, "EAU MY GAWD! NEM GUYS IS HILARIOUS!"

From there, I started goople-ing PBR, which led to Wurster/Scharpling, which led to my downloading a few shows to listen to during some horribly long drives between Philly and Rochester, NY (5.5 hours each way).  I was thrilled to discover that Wurster does PBR pretty frequently, and since then, I've downloaded all the S/W albums from Rhapsody and have been working my way through them as well as the archives.  I can't believe these guys aren't a bigger phenomenon.  I don't know if I'll ever learn to enjoy some of the callers (I'm talking to you, Julie from Cincinnati), but that's a small price to pay.

BTW - If you haven't yet heard "Hippy Justice", it's ALL KILLER, NO FILLER.  Kid E-Bay is one of the most bizarre ideas for a comedy sketch I can imagine, yet somehow, it comes off feeling almost natural.  To me, that's as good as it gets. 

[Grosse_Douceur]

The first episode I heard was the one in which Tom kept hanging up on kids from Goshen. I didn't know the back story yet, but hearing him GOMP those callers, one after the other, had me sold for good.

He also did the thing where he asks the caller to repeat himself, and then hangs up mid-word.

As in:

"Where did you say you were from?"

"Gosh-"

[Tedstud]

I got hooked from Ted Leo.  I'd heard of WFMU and how cool it was but Ted posted on his website that he called in during the Unfunniest Funny people segment.  I figured I'd check it out to here what he had to say.  When Ted called, Tom didn't even realize he was talking to a rockstar!  Anyways, I heard Bryce, a few GOMPs and a great topic.  After listening I didn't know what to think except that I should keep listening.  Three years later people keep telling my to shut up about the Best Show and how good it is.

[pigasus]

I heard Kid eBay on TSOYA, then subscribed to the podcast. The first show I heard was February 7, 2006 with Superbowl Champ Troy Renfro and the Puppy Bowl Referee. These are facts.

[buffcoat]

There's an old seven-page thread on this, too:

http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,1174.0.html

[CurtBlair]

I heard the great "Music Scholar" call sometime back in 2001 or 2002, but the link was sent to me without the proper context of "Hey, this guy has a hilarious radio show on which they do stuff like this all the time ...." So I didn't discover the Best Show then. So many wasted years!

Then, in early-to-mid 2007 I read a positive review of Art of The Slap, which led me to the S&W albums on eMusic, which led to the realization that these were the guys who had given me that half-hour of "Music Scholar" joy in my younger and more callow days, which also led to a week of playing "The Gorch" for anyone who would listen and, of course, to the Best Show itself and the treasure trove of the archives.

Never had too much of a problem with the learning curve. At first the adjustment from Tom's bemused straight man persona (during the JW calls) to the full might, fury, and wisdom of The Kid (during the rest of the show) was a bit jarring, but by the fourth or fifth GOMP I was giggling like an Ewok. 

[AllisonLeGnome]

If I can plagarize from myself on the TSOYA board for a minute:

The first time I remember hearing them was the really old TSOYA where Jesse played tracks from one of their CDs. I didn't get it at all at first (I think the call in question had a particularly slow buildup) and never really listened to it, but when I went back later and actually listened to the whole thing I realized it was genius. I had a similar experience with the podcast- I didn't hate it at first but I wasn't particularly enthused until I listened to like four of them in one week and I was hooked. (Also I started listening to the Best Show Vault [first from the TSOYA blog and then on its own] in between those two things but I guess I didn't write that before.)

[Richard_From_CHI]

There's an old seven-page thread on this, too:

http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,1174.0.html

At least my answer is consistent.

[ChronoMojo]

Like quite a few people my age, I used to watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force on adult swim.  I saw the episode, "The Shaving" in 2004 which Tom guest starred in as Willy Nelson, a "monster" who lived in the attic.  After the episode, in one of their bumps, they mentioned that Tom was a guest star and promoted The Best Show.  When I got to work the next day, I started listening to the archives, and had a blast.  Though it's not one of Tom's, my favorite episode was the one at the end of '04 where the callers finally drive Tom crazy enough that he popped in a best of Elton John CD and wound up singing along with most of it... twice.  He did this until the show was over.  If you haven't heard it, his rendition of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is absolutely fabulous.  We were in the middle of a conversion at work then, working a lot of late hours.  I would play that episode for anyone who would listen, and crank it up during the Elton John parts.  Shortly after that, the overtime wound down, and with a new company came stricter rules on computers at work... As in "no streaming media."  So, since I didn't have a computer at the time, I fell out of listening to the show. 

In 2005, I got my first iPod and got into podcasting pretty quickly.  I had completely forgotten about The Best Show until Mid-2007, when something, I don't even remember what, reminded me of the show.  I searched iTunes and saw that it was available as a podcast and got excited pretty quickly.  The first show I listened to sounded like quite a different show.  Were there really three theme songs on every episode?  What's this about a 30-second clock during the pre-topic portion of the show?  What's this about a pre-topic portion?  There are topics now?  Anyway, I fell in love with the show again and haven't missed a podcasted episode since.  I've listened live a couple of times.  During the marathon back in March, actually.  I was blown away and humbled that Tom took the time to thank every one who donated individually by name.

Hatch:  Daniel from Whitesboro just pledged...
Tom:  Thanks, Dan.

So cool!

A couple of times, I came close to calling, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Fear of the GOMP, I guess. 

I'm surprised no one else started listening because of Aqua Teen!

[Jimmy]

I made my glorious on-air debut a few months ago and was promptly banned for 11 years.

What prevents banned callers from calling back after a significant amount of time has passed?   Does Mike have a list of people that have been banned?  Is it the social humility the banned people feel?

[yesno]

I made my glorious on-air debut a few months ago and was promptly banned for 11 years.

What prevents banned callers from calling back after a significant amount of time has passed?   Does Mike have a list of people that have been banned?  Is it the social humility the banned people feel?

Since Tom pays out of pocket for each call ($500 or so, I think), if you call during a ban you're trespassing and he'll haul your ass to court.

[Phil]

The first two episodes I checked out were good, and kept me coming back for more. The third time had me struggling to stop laughing. I wish I could remember which shows they were. All three episodes seemed equally funny in retrospect. I think I finally felt at home in the TBS universe and *got it* after the third try.

[JonFromMaplewood]

I wrote this in some other thread, not the one linked above, but...

When I lived in Brooklyn, I used to have a Park Slope Food Coop shift on Tuesday nights. On my drive back to my apartment in Sunset Park, I used to listen to WFMU. The sound would go in and out along 4th Avenue.  But this weird voice was coming through, with abnormally long pauses in between utterances. I thought "Who on earth is this? He is in NO rush. Has he ever listened to radio before actually being ON the radio?"  I appreciated his slow presentation.  Most DJ's sound like they are being paid by the word, and that if they let a moment of silence occur, death will follow shortly thereafter.  Then, when a Wurster call came in one night, it added another dimension that totally got me.

But, I was not yet hooked enough to seek it out.  I never found out the DJ's name and when I moved to NJ and left the coop, I did not tune back in.

Then a friend of mine told me he went to see The Mountain Goats in concert, and John Darnielle kept lauding some WFMU DJ and this caller impersonating "The Gorch" who was apparently the inspiration for the Fonz, but was in real life much more violent.  In between songs, Darnielle would blurt out "And then I hit him widda chain."  THEN I was compelled to seek out The Best Show and listen to the archives.

My first call was to inform Tom of The Mountain Goats love for the show. 

That was about two and a half years ago, and I still adore it.

We happy few...

[masterofsparks]

Then a friend of mine told me he went to see The Mountain Goats in concert, and John Darnielle kept lauding some WFMU DJ and this caller impersonating "The Gorch" who was apparently the inspiration for the Fonz, but was in real life much more violent.  In between songs, Darnielle would blurt out "And then I hit him widda chain."  THEN I was compelled to seek out The Best Show and listen to the archives.

My first call was to inform Tom of The Mountain Goats love for the show. 

Was the "real" Gorch behind the drumkit for that show, I wonder? That would've made the story even weirder/funnier.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Then a friend of mine told me he went to see The Mountain Goats in concert, and John Darnielle kept lauding some WFMU DJ and this caller impersonating "The Gorch" who was apparently the inspiration for the Fonz, but was in real life much more violent.  In between songs, Darnielle would blurt out "And then I hit him widda chain."  THEN I was compelled to seek out The Best Show and listen to the archives.

My first call was to inform Tom of The Mountain Goats love for the show. 

Was the "real" Gorch behind the drumkit for that show, I wonder? That would've made the story even weirder/funnier.

I think this was before The Gorch was drumbing for MG. But I sometimes fantasize that my call got The Gorch in touch with Darnielle, and led to the future pairing.  Sigh.