kuranes
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So I was watching Comedy Central the other night and was pleasantly surprised to see some new comedians ( new to me ) who were actually funny. I've been kinda disappointed in what I've been seeing ( with little exceptions here and there like Jim Gaffigan, who is not so new anyway ) when I check out new voices for years now.
The guy that was most popular ( he even had bodyguards, shit ! ) was this Dane Cook, guy. A crowd as big as a turnout for a prizefight or a fairly big name rock act had turned out to see him. I wondered what the fuss was about. He was a good mime, I'll give him that. He did a great job of imitating the postures/stances of men and women while they are evaluating something. In fact ,that seemed to be the focus of his act, the whole "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" kinda thing. He also looked a little bit like an athletic Dennis Quaid, and kept running around the stage like he thought he was a rock star. He wasn't UNfunny, but he wasn't a naturally funny either, IMHO, like Jonathan winters.
This guy Daniel Tosh was funnier than Dane, I thought, although of the mostly vitriolic vein.
Daniel Tosh -
YouTube - Daniel Tosh
I probably got the biggest laughs that night from Bill Burr, though. He was acidic also, but a bit more cerebral with his political incorrectness.
YouTube - Bill Burr on Letterman - June 2007
I wonder if that's what humor boils down to today, is saying things that are politically incorrect. I suppose there are some comedians that still get to people in a different way, but that almost seems "old school" now. You don't see so many Martin Short types and ( should I include him ? ) Dana Carvey's nowadays. Some people would consider the active or most crucial part of their act to be "impressions" versus humor anyway.
I was going to add a multiple choice poll to this, but I honestly don't know who all the leading lights are nowadays. Maybe some of you can add some, and mention why you think they're funny. We can create a delayed action poll, maybe.
So one question you can focus on if you respond to this thread is "does good humor require some acidity? Do you have to be politically incorrect to be funny most of the time ?" Somebody like Jay Leno isn't really "funny", IMHO, but rather "clever" ( or his writers are, anyway ) and neither is Conan O'Brien.
So is Dave Chapelle funnier than Chris Rock ? Why ? Is he more politically incorrect ? Take more chances that way ?
YouTube - Dave Chapelle -- Killing Them Softly
What do you think ?
Edit - I looked these guys up on Youtube to show some examples of their stuff and I chuckled to see that they were mostly using the same jokes that I saw that night. Here I was thinking they were coming up with new material like that every time they appeared somewhere. You'll probably chuckle yourself to see me refer to Bill as "cerebral", but....I'm comparing him to Daniel Tosh, remember.
Who are "the new comedians" to you ?
The guy that was most popular ( he even had bodyguards, shit ! ) was this Dane Cook, guy. A crowd as big as a turnout for a prizefight or a fairly big name rock act had turned out to see him. I wondered what the fuss was about. He was a good mime, I'll give him that. He did a great job of imitating the postures/stances of men and women while they are evaluating something. In fact ,that seemed to be the focus of his act, the whole "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" kinda thing. He also looked a little bit like an athletic Dennis Quaid, and kept running around the stage like he thought he was a rock star. He wasn't UNfunny, but he wasn't a naturally funny either, IMHO, like Jonathan winters.
This guy Daniel Tosh was funnier than Dane, I thought, although of the mostly vitriolic vein.
Daniel Tosh -
YouTube - Daniel Tosh
I probably got the biggest laughs that night from Bill Burr, though. He was acidic also, but a bit more cerebral with his political incorrectness.
YouTube - Bill Burr on Letterman - June 2007
I wonder if that's what humor boils down to today, is saying things that are politically incorrect. I suppose there are some comedians that still get to people in a different way, but that almost seems "old school" now. You don't see so many Martin Short types and ( should I include him ? ) Dana Carvey's nowadays. Some people would consider the active or most crucial part of their act to be "impressions" versus humor anyway.
I was going to add a multiple choice poll to this, but I honestly don't know who all the leading lights are nowadays. Maybe some of you can add some, and mention why you think they're funny. We can create a delayed action poll, maybe.
So one question you can focus on if you respond to this thread is "does good humor require some acidity? Do you have to be politically incorrect to be funny most of the time ?" Somebody like Jay Leno isn't really "funny", IMHO, but rather "clever" ( or his writers are, anyway ) and neither is Conan O'Brien.
So is Dave Chapelle funnier than Chris Rock ? Why ? Is he more politically incorrect ? Take more chances that way ?
YouTube - Dave Chapelle -- Killing Them Softly
What do you think ?
Edit - I looked these guys up on Youtube to show some examples of their stuff and I chuckled to see that they were mostly using the same jokes that I saw that night. Here I was thinking they were coming up with new material like that every time they appeared somewhere. You'll probably chuckle yourself to see me refer to Bill as "cerebral", but....I'm comparing him to Daniel Tosh, remember.
Who are "the new comedians" to you ?