The sheer amount of standup specials, YouTube/IG/TikTok stars, etc. oversaturate our brains, and I think it dilutes our experience. This is surely true of music for me lately - I need breaks from new things pretty often. I think another symptom of it being so abundant is the more you've seen, the harder it is to be surprised by new styles and personalities. I've been a life-long standup fan for as long as I can remember, and gimmicks and fads have always been a thing. But still, every year, something new grabs my attention. It just takes some digging to find the people that tell the kind of stories that make you laugh. Here are some ones I really liked recently:
Kyle Kinane - Dirt Nap
Jacqueline Novak - Get On Your Knees
Sheng Wang - Sweet & Juicy
Brian Simpson - Live From The Mothership
Chris Fleming - Hell (As mentioned in other responses, just the best kind of weird)
Taylor Tomlinson - Look At You
Nate Bargatze (any of his many on Netflix)
Related Recs
Your 90% figure is something I use to describe how much art media is basically not good – tv, movies, music, etc. But the particularity of standup as an art form – the bizarre mutual expectation of a specific response (laughter) – means that it can “fail” more obviously. Mediocre music can be shrugged off, and pretty easily tolerated by most; it doesn’t come with the same expectations. But when someone’s jokes don't land, it immediately lays bare a devastating rift between performer and audience.
Most people just want to laugh, though, and they’re ok with laughing at anything that purports to be funny. You make a joke about the difference between men and women, I laugh, everyone goes home happy. So there’s a lot of trash that ends up getting elevated because it’s “good” enough to fulfill this social contract for enough people.
But there’s always good stuff out there!
I’ll 4th Chris Fleming and throw in Conner O’Malleys recent special.
Sorry but they both yell, lol.
If you want a very different, bizarre, highly personal, often uncomfortable, avant-garde, and of course, funny rec: Natalie Palamides’s Nate: A One Man Show which was out on Netflix a few years ago.
Jun 21, 2024
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I love standup so much. I started hitting open mics when I was still in high school. I completely love the journey comedians need to take to become good in this particular medium and I feel very comfortable in rooms of comedians.
Totally agree that specials online are totally ass now, but that’s because these comedians are getting internet famous before they’re actually good enough at stand up to put out quality specials.
My best examples would be Matt Rife and Ralph Barbosa. These guys are kinda funny, no doubt, but they’re not nearly good enough to be doing stadiums yet. However, they’re poppin online so they can sell the tix to fill the stadiums. SOCIAL MEDIA LIKES DOES NOT MEAN GOOD JOKES. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE REALLY STADIUM ACTS. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY HAVE POLISHED HOURS. And this case can be translated to almost any stand-up comedian you’re thinking of that’s under the age of 50. Plus the whole Joe Rogan universe of guys have lost their spunk. And the Kill Tony-sphere is wack as hell. Podcasting is too convenient and completely numbing specials consumed virtually. I hate it all.
the best stand-up will always rise to the top. Shane Gillis is on a much deserved run right now and is definitely the people’s champ. But he got GREAT at standup outside of the digital media cycles. That’s the difference and it shows.
And legends will be legends for that exact reason, legendary performances. Not everyone is legendary, most comics kinda suck still. Praise god for comedy.
Jun 20, 2024
Great jokes, even better delivery
Other good ones I watched recently:
Taylor Tomlinson: Look At You
Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American
Wanda Sykes: I'm An Entertainer
Tom Segura: Sledgehammer
Feb 19, 2024
Top Recs from @theclack
The perfect lil snack for when you don’t want a big snack
Apr 3, 2024
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We're long overdue in thrusting "What do you do?" into the sea forever. It's time we collectively get down to what people are interested in instead of minimizing their vibrant existence by asking how they make money.
Mar 22, 2024