Published by Suzy Soro on 01 Oct 2008 at 01:30 pm
God I Miss Ye Olde School
Rodney Dangerfield has punchlines.
Jerry Seinfeld tells stories.
Roseanne Barr has punchlines.
Dane Cook tells stories.
Jim Gaffigan has punchlines.
Zach Galifinakis tells stories.
Two different ways of delivering jokes. The story tellers have punchlines; it just takes them more words to get there.
Punchlines come fast and furious with very little downtime between them. Extra words are edited out so that you’re left with just The Setup and The Punchline. Punchline comics do better on TV. I’ve mentioned before that with Johnny Carson at the helm of The Tonight Show, you know, when it was good, you had to have 4 punchlines per minute.
Stories demand more attention from the audience. Order a round of drinks during a story-teller’s act and you could miss most of the premise of the joke. Listen to D.F. Sweedler’s set, who’s been on Letterman. Even though the set is very funny, at one point it takes him 35 seconds to get to the punchline. If he asks any one of you for my phone number or address, play dead.
I’m going to quote my friend and fellow comic Brad Slaight. He did a show and had a younger newer comic come up to him afterwards and say, “Hey, you’re Old School.” To which Brad replied, “If by Old School you mean I have punchlines, then yes, I’m Old School.”
Comedy has drifted more towards story telling and uncomfortable lags and pauses these days. So I was thrilled to hear of this guy, who was on Last Comic Standing this year, Adam Hunter. He’s young (the bastard) and is Old School. And I’m Old School. Which means he’s a genius because you know I’m always fair and never biased. Shut up.
Who is your favorite comic and what category are they in?
CYA this Friday.
Traci Skene on 01 Oct 2008 at 4:42 pm #
Brian and I are both Old School so we’re still suckers for the set-up/punchline guys/girls… the late Mitch Hedberg, Bonnie McFarlane, Lord Carrett, Brett Leake, Dave Attelll, to name just a few in the modern ear.
But the comics who can combine both punchlines and storytelling are geniuses… Larry Miller, the late Dennis Wolfberg, Tom Rhodes, Brian Reagan… man, I wish I wasn’t drawing a blank right now because there are a bunch I love. Oh well, you get the idea.
Jenn @ Juggling Life on 01 Oct 2008 at 8:39 pm #
All time? Chris Rock. Or was that Suzy Soro?
Bee on 01 Oct 2008 at 9:03 pm #
I will always answer George Carlin. I guess he’s a story teller. I also love Eddie Izzard but I think it has more to do with my shoe fetish.
Beckie on 02 Oct 2008 at 6:34 am #
This is a trick question right??? The correct answer is Suzy Soro! See how well trained I am. Ha
My favorite, as I’m sure you know by now, is Lisa Lampanelli. I’m pretty sure she falls into the story telling category.
If you would drag your ass to the east coast and do a show, I’m sure I could bump her down a notch.
Brad on 03 Oct 2008 at 1:21 pm #
Old school is still alive and well and showing up all over the place, including the “Comedy Central Roasts” that some find offensive, but others, like me, find hilarious. Lots of setups, punches, and often times TKO’s.
Whether it’s a joke machine, alternative comic, or a monologist, what I look for most in a comedian is if they are funny. A mediocre comedian has a much better chance of getting a laugh if they have rapid fire and well written material. There are a few comedians who aren’t basically funny people who have made pretty good careers by hammering their clever jokes and hitting the 4 punches per minute meter. There are other comics who could entertain an audience by reading a phone book because they are just plain funny people. Ed Wynn once said that a comedian isn’t a man who opens a funny door, he’s a man who opens a door funny. (And by “man” I hope he meant comedian of either gender.) I agree with that to a point, but if you open a really funny door quickly and then have a lot more funny doors to open after that, you’re going to do pretty well in the comedy business.
Changing the adage to fit the topic: When it comes to comedy…There’s no school, like an old school.
Brad