So, is youtube the cartoonist's worst enemy? Was it a mistake buying a laptop? I should be working, but spend hours looking at clips, mostly documentaries or stand up comedy. After having watched lots of Eddie Izzard clips, I got the dvd box with all seven of his shows. The first four ones, Unrepeatable, Definite Article, Glorious and Dress To Kill are brilliant, the fifth, Circle, is quite good, with what is possibly his most well known sketch, the Star Wars Cantina bit. Unfortunately, the two latest ones, Sexie and Stripped, are less good, especially Sexie, where he just seemed to have an off night - lots of adlibs that go nowhere. My favourite bits of all his shows are probably Paul's Letter to the Corinthians and Cat, Are You Drilling?
Steven Wright is also very funny. I got his cd I Have a Pony. There's also a second one, I Still Have a Pony. Also brilliant. It must take him a long time to work up enough material for an hour, though. If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?
Robin Williams can be very funny. Shows like An Evening With and Weapons of Self Destruction can be found on youtube, but his best one is probably Live at the Met.
But my favourite comedian these days would be Louis CK. He's sort of a stand up comedy version of Ivan Brunetti. Funny but quite dark. His shows Shameless and Chewed Up can be found on youtube. He also has his own show on FX, Louie, but I haven't seen that one yet.
"Louie" is the funniest show on TV right now. I don't know if the DVDs are even available in France, so get on the torrents. The episode where Doug Stanhope shows up as his old friend, who's a failed stand-up, is a work of gut-wrenching genius.
ReplyDeleteThis is not hyperbole.
Season 1 is available on amazon. Will probably end up buying it.
ReplyDelete"Louie" is pretty amazing. Feels very much like some 70s movies. Sometimes it's like early Woody Allen, but more courageous. Watch it as soon as you can.
ReplyDeleteHey Jason, if you are enjoying finding new comedy on YouTube you should check out a British comedian called Stewart Lee. One of the greatest comedians around. Here is a sample. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n-UGQcG3Jw
ReplyDeleteI have grown up on the comdedy of Eddie Izzard and seen him live many times, but have to agree with you that his earlier work is by far his best - the cats drilling and cake or death? still get me every time :)
ReplyDeleteI must jump on the bandwagon of the above comment too and push the wonder that is Stewart Lee. He is the most wonderful British comedian and his incomarably sartorial look at the world should definitely appeal to you. He reminds me of Bill Hicks - though, well, less angry :)
Amy x.
Ah, yes, Cake Or Death? is funny. Also, Pavlov's Cat. For some reason Bill Hicks doesn't appeal to me. Maybe I've seen the wrong clips. Will have to check out Stewart Lee.
ReplyDeleteI just watched the first episode of Louie last night, he does feel like a stand-up Ivan Brunetti! There's a fantastic sitcom called Peep Show and as far as I know it was greatly inspired by Joe Matt's comics.
ReplyDeleteThe comedy youtube hole is dangerous, I spent the whole day watching Peter Cook clips once... And I love all Chris Morris comedy, his absurd radio shows like Blue Jam and On The Hour are great background material for inking and coloring, so this way one can combine cartooning & comedy! I've been recently inking to PG Wodehose audiobooks, it makes the whole thing more lively.
Hi Jason, yeah I commented back on July 5th about how good Eddie Izzard is.
ReplyDeleteI heard all his stuff on BBC internet radio a few times before ever actually "seeing" him which was a bit of a shock. With his lovely high heels and dress. He has been doing full shows in French lately.
You should get into the comedy on internet radio. BBC4 plus is really good, they have a bunch of shows and quite a bit of current stand up each week. That way you have nothing to look at and can concentrate on drawing or inking or whatever.
Also for some good old thrillers and drama here is a bunch of Vincent Price Radio files. My favourite so far is SUSPENSE - "Three skeleton Key" Some of the shows reminds me of some of your work without the humour.
http://www.vincentprice.org/audio/audio.html
If you are interested drop me a line and I will email you a list of links to lots of online comedy, drama, thrills...
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the advice, Robin!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Graphic Eye, Louie is a great show and that particular episode is easily one of the best episodes of a television show I've ever seen (The Wire, Breaking Bad, The Simpsons, etc... included). It resembles more minimalist, almost nihilistic, cinema than television. Definitely worth checking out. I'll have to give this Stewart Lee person a chance.
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