• It would be a little crazy to start this thing up this week of all weeks and just make it about...me. This week was about all of us and the new future we chose together. So, to honor others (this is me making it about us), I’ll share a few of my favorite Tweets about the election from comics and include their handles listicle style (Follow them. They’re all fantastic!):
Joe, when you move in, open all the windows and wash the sheets- Will Purpura (@willpurpura)
I've become an old lady who sits around the house on a Friday night watching NBC and saying "I thought Biden was supposed to speak now"- Anna Paone (@annaphilomena)
The only time it’s appropriate to lose count is during a workout.- Igor Martinez (Iggysmalljokes)
Trying not to be smug about Trump losing but as a libtard snowflake it's the only thing I know how to be- Rebecca Kaplan (@rebeccatkaplan)
hi we are Four Seasons Total Landscaping and all we need is a one word suggestion to get started!- Ben Wasserman (@benwassertweet)
If Biden wins I will post Holes the award winning film starring Shia LaBeouf- Sarah Jane Dillon (@dillonsaur)
How is anybody supposed to respect Biden when he hasn’t played a single song by the Village People?- Dan Wickes (@dan_wickes)
I just realized I have to toss out my Trump jokes, and I've never been happier to retire material.- Genevieve Rice (@genevieverice)
The white people outside my apartment are clapping off beat in celebration- Randall Otis (@randallotistv)
Wow ok not to be a sap, but I forgot what it looks like when a President doesn’t make every speech entirely about himself- Ginny Hogan (@ginnyhogan_)
Yes, a little Twitter on Facebook. Following the election this week reading clever, funny and insightful takes on the twists and turns we took as a country from a.) not knowing what states were won (remember Wednesday when we thought Florida was a big deal this time around?), to b.) waiting for the counters to count and the c.) collective anxiety we all felt until the official announcement on Saturday morning, was the best entertainment I’ve had in a year of nonstop Twitter scrolling. If you have a Tweet of yours about this week I didn’t include- throw it in the comments. The comments are Democracy in action- they belong to all of us.
• OK, I will make this about myself for just a moment now. A month ago, I was asked by new friend Emma Jones if I would do her “After Hours Vibe” Zoom show in the future. I instantly agreed and she gave me a few different dates I could do the show. You better believe I chose the Saturday after the election way in advance. I am a bit of a complacent writer and decided to force myself to come up with a bunch of election material. None of it was super hard hitting but it was fun to take on Joe Biden texting us every day finally. Here’s a quick sample of some jokes that have pretty much already reached their expiration date that I did:
What a week. Already nostalgic for getting a text from Biden that said, “Hey, it’s Joe, I’m sorry to do this,” and I write back, “Then why don’t you stop?”
I CHIPPED IN $10 to Biden. You’re welcome for my campaign financing. I singlehandedly won Pennsylvania. My favorite part of donating was getting a follow up email saying can you chip in $3 a week? Some people say thank you, Joe. Also, I know you’re just going to use that $3 to text me again.
End of my jokes (there were more but this feels like more than enough).
Moral of the story here is that Emma runs a very tight, supportive comics-first show and if you’re looking to get some time on Zoom this coming winter, I’d recommend getting in touch with her. Follow her on Instagram @after.hours.vibe, reach out, be nice and send her a tape.
• My wife Anna Paone had a huge week herself. For those that missed it, Anna did the second installment of her three-part reading of her screenplay for her feature film “Booklove” this past Wednesday. If you’ve missed the first two installments and want to catch the grand finale, it’s this Wednesday at 8, a guaranteed good time and you can see how to properly write a third act (the hardest part of any screenplay).
Anna also took part in a pre-taped sketch show called Virtual Ringers this past Friday evening. It was sort of the first of its kind; this wasn’t a live Zoom show. The cast and crew rehearsed, had a “shoot” and then all the pieces were edited together. It was a bit like the “At Home” episodes of SNL from back in May but I haven’t seen anyone else attempt this kind of thing. In Anna’s sketch, she played a well-meaning news anchor who didn’t invite another anchor to her party and the bit gradually heightened as it was revealed she invited everyone else. Zoom is still thriving, baby.
• My friend, the tireless comedy raconteur, Sarah Kennedy, has a new weekly newsletter that you should certainly make a staple of your Gmail inbox. Called “Something to Celebrate,” Sarah shares uplifting things she’s found on the web (examples: Cameo potluck and Halloween cocktails) and EVERY SINGLE holiday that takes place during that week (November 6 celebrated Marooned without a Compass Day, National Nacho Day and Saxophone Day I learned) among other witty pieces worthy of celebration. I love it and think you will too. If this sounds like your thing, there’s a link in the comments that will lead you to a Google Form sign up. You’re welcome.
• Like millions of Americans (billions of people all over the world?), I consumed an unbelievable amount of television watching the results trickle in ever so slowly. NBC was my choice and I believe I heard Savannah Guthrie mention that she was from Arizona more times than I have in the seven years I’ve been in New York. So, I don’t have much for you this week in terms of what I saw and heard but I’ll give you as much as I can:
SNL with Dave Chappelle: The world watched with bated breath last night as we all clicked over to NBC at 11:27 only to find the Clemson vs. Notre Dame game. The hell? The show was postponed (I can’t remember the last time this actually happened; Anna told me it did during the 86 World Series) and I watched a wild double overtime game followed by a poorly socially distanced student section run onto the field to celebrate. Would be hard for SNL to top something quite as absurd as this. The local news raced through stories and finally, we got our beloved sketch show.
It started strong; the very first joke about how a CNN anchor’s fingers had melted off from spending a week touching an electoral college map made for a great, surprising and visceral sight gag. This was followed by your obligatory “clapter” where the crowd cheered wildly for Jim Carrey’s Biden (the more America sees Joe on TV, the less Carrey seems to be doing an impression) and Maya’s Kamala. It was fine. Baldwin as Trump mocking SNL’s choice to have Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton singing “Hallelujah” in 2016 was an excellent callback four years in the making. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t spoil what Baldwin sings. Hopefully, this is his final appearance as this “character.” Then, we got what we all came for. Chappelle.
Cigarette in hand, Dave took the stage to deliver a 16-minute monologue (many speculated on Twitter that this was the longest in the show’s history), where he proceeded to give an at-times master class in setting the tone for the national discourse kind of set. It wasn’t perfect and had the shaggy dog feel of his more recent specials (dare I call it “half baked”) but when Chappelle speaks the truth, he does it better than anyone else. Once you get to the 13-minute mark, we get exactly what we came for when Dave introduces his “kindness conspiracy.” The three minutes that follow are must see TV that is part advice on how to live one’s life, part powerful social critique and all tied up in a bow with a callback from ten minutes prior. Mic drop.
After this set, we went to commercial and came back to find Chappelle onstage to introduce the first sketch of the night in a rather somber tone. Then, we cut to an exit interview for Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. Literally the best misdirect of the entire season. I was excited at the prospect of a truly groundbreaking classic episode. Then, the show went on autopilot. The rest of the sketches were fun but harmless and didn’t have the Chappelle satirical edge we were all expecting. As much as I love the show, I wish they stuck the landing and actually commented on this week for 90 minutes rather than retreating into the silly.
WTF with David Cross: Every Monday, I check wtfpod.com religiously to see who the two guests for the week are going to be. I was incredibly giddy when I saw this week was going to be one of my all-time favorites in Mr. Tobias Funke himself (sorry, no “Arrested Development” or even “Mr. Show” stories to be heard here, folks). One of the great appeals of WTF is when Maron talks to someone from his distant past and there’s a lingering resentment. These men, now in their mid 50s, have mellowed quite a bit but the ribbing and grudges from years past are still simmering on the periphery. You can feel them walking on eggshells talking about their years as struggling comics which makes for great podcasting. Aside from that, there are some fantastic comedy nuggets embedded within. My favorites were about David Cross becoming a Dad to which Maron replied, “Sounds like your kid replaced drinking” (definitely paraphrasing here) and David Cross referring to his age as 56.5 and saying, “Yeah, I’m almost 57 but I still call it 56.5” (another paraphrase but really made me laugh). Loved that. As things wrapped up, Maron admitted he doesn’t miss standup and dropped the bomb on Cross that his newfound introvertedness might be a result of him becoming more comfortable with himself. From pettiness to truth. Love seeing the evolution of a friendship.
Hood Internet 1979-1994 Mashups: OK, this isn’t exactly comedy-related but I can't recommend the Hood Internet’s mashups enough. I fanboy out for these guys big time. You know when DJ Earworm puts out these year-end mixes with all the pop hits from the year and you’re like, “Yeah, that’s fine but I wish it was better?” That’s what this is. The Hood Internet, starting with 1979 and currently up to 1994, make 3.5-minute mixes with 60-plus songs all released in a certain year (each mix is titled by its year) that capture the vibe of that 365-day cycle perfectly. To put it succinctly, it’s like if your 80s (or early 90s) playlist all lived within one song. Yes, the link to a playlist of all of their tracks is below.
This is the first week in a long time where it feels like nothing insane is going to happen. That means of course it will. Can’t wait to see where we’re at in seven days. Hopefully, I’ll have listened to some podcasts.
Oh! Listen to Anna’s reading on Wednesday too. Will be worth your time.
I’m getting the light now
Links to things:
01.) Anna Paone’s Booklove Week Three Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/278595060192695/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22search_results%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22search%22%7D]%7D
02.) Sarah Kennedy’s “Something To Celebrate” Mailing List: https://us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=501bc819f947dad468598909d&id=aee00586fd
03.) Hood Internet 1979-94 Mashups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkBgmzocow4&list=PLqrkwSi3LHneR8zHLgCnuFLCE76Qwm2iE
