WTF with Marc Maron (it's a podcast)

Got the Attempting Normal audiobook from the library - kind of shocking how many stories are repeated on 'This Has To Be Funny,' 'Thinky Pain,' the book and his TV show - the book fleshes them out and has some other stories, but big chunks are verbatim from his albums and/or show. Still funny but it might be time to work on new material.

he has material?

He focused more on "material" back in the old days (Not Sold Out is one of my favorite sets ever to be released as an album), but in the years since—after doing radio and then a podcast—it feels like his standup is just an extension of (or a brainstorming session for) how he wants to write his autobiography.

i love harmony korine so much

I've enjoyed the run of Maron as kind of an amiably decent show without huge ambitions, but the two-part season finale (particularly the final episode) was kind of great. The storyline diverts from the semi-autobiographical tone of episodes past into a tale of Maron getting hooked on oxycontin in the lead-up to filming a talk show pilot. Hilarious and a little harrowing. It's nice to see Maron's comedic chops outside of just saying stuff that Maron would say. Written by Jerry Stahl, definite Permanent Midnight vibes.

Just noticed the WTF archives are now on a $3.99/month subscription. Bright sides: most episodes are also bootlegged on YouTube; subscription also includes a Spalding Gray performance archive.

Just now listening to the Bateman interview from a couple weeks ago. I'd forgotten his start was on Little House on the Prairie!

Just noticed ... (31 minutes ago))

Midroll only launched Howl at midnight.

the WTF archives are now on a $3.99/month subscription.

Only for new subscribers, not previous WTF subscribers, and it includes everything else on Howl Premium and Howl Originals tbf (two new Lapkus shows would be exciting if With hadn't been so spotty.)

Bright sides: most episodes are also bootlegged on YouTube

Fuck anyone who wishes to have rights over what they make.

so many lol Maron-isms in today's episode--

thinking Frank O'Hara was the Poet Laureate

freaking out about some NOBODY criticizing Bill Maher

congratulating himself for not following the news for the third time this month

I don't know if my heart could handle a full WTF segment of Maron and McGowan

Richard Thomson this Thursday, sounds good.

Thompson

today's entire episode belongs on the Free Speech & Creepy Liberalism thread

uh oh. who?

Bob Guccione Jr.

so many lol Maron-isms in today's episode--

great one from the Bogdanovich episode: being startled and aghast to learn that Orson Welles did not have a decades-long career of Hollywood hits. "What?!"

whenever I hear Guccione's name I think of GNR's stupid 'Get in the Ring' rant

he mentioned that to Maron

basically called Axl a pussy who wouldn't actually fight him

rmde

from his blog today about his Dublin visit - "I did spend some time in the black neighborhood. It’s basically a statue of Phil Lynott downtown." That's the first time I've heard Grafton Street being described as a black neighborhood.

but that's a joke rite?

yeah probably

really sweet phaser/flanger combo on marc's guitar at the end of the guccione episode

xxp - That wasn't 'a joke,' that was 'the joke.'

Haven't heard the Guccione episode, but the interviews with Richard Thompson and Lemmy were both great for completely different reasons.

Loved how Sweeney glossed over the Zwan period.

Find it weird the Armisen episode went undiscussed here. It's mostly pretty interesting and Armisen seems like a really positive and enthusiastic guy (and he's had a hand in lots of stuff I love from the past - I mean, has Nation of Ulysses ever been mentioned on WTF before? I would certainly pose that Candy Machine is the most obscure band ever mentioned on the show...)

Then at the end when it quickly and awkwardly gets into Armisen's personal demons, and Maron seems afraid to explicitly talk about Armisen's rep at first, obliquely alluding to that old Gawker piece - it turns gross. Maron starts getting worked up about how nobody could possibly blame Armisen for his promiscuity and starts getting off on their shared history of divorce and even shared history of some women (does Maron talk about having dated Eleanor Freidberger, and Fred did too?) and Maron starts saying things like "there's worse things than having too many vagina options!(throaty cackle)"

I mentioned the episode on the Gawker thread--yeah, it was weird. (I guess EF was the long-distance relationship Maron talked about a few times? Kinda gross that he kept her name off the podcast until he got to high five another of her exes.) FA was in this weird zone somewhere between admitting to a sex addiction and trying to figure out a way to keep chasing fans while dating/marrying famous women.

Korine one was good. Feel like that's the first interview I've heard of him where he isn't fucked up and/or dicking around. Surprisingly articulate about his work and the stuff he likes.

Maron aside (if i was being charitable, i would say his douchey bro-iness was his way of drawing FA out), i was glad it got into what a bizarre and unsettling dude he is. there was another exchange early on in the episode, something about trying to improve at being a human being and how he suspects he's ok at it because he has friends, where if you had no idea what he's talking about it would sound even weirder. he does seem oddly willing to talk about it though.

also, while i'm aware that i don't actually know either of these people, i get the vibe that Maron's relationship issues come from a place of being overly emotional & needy, where Armisen seems more like an alien trying to figure out how humans work.

I meant to read the Fred Armisen one but work got too insane and then I never got back to it.

Also, for whatever reason, I'm getting selective about which WTFs I listen to.

Matt Sweeney episode was fun.

Not interested in listening to Fred Armisen talk at length about anything.

idgi what is Armisen's rep apart from being a "shitty husband" to Scientologist Elizabeth Moss (which I can only imagine would test any sane person's patience)

From what I understand, Elizabeth Moss is one of those 2nd gen scientologists. She was born into it because of dumb parents, but isn't really a practicing member.

being a "??? husband" to Mekon Sally Timms?

I did enjoy learning more about Sweeney's background - he's one of those guys whose career always seems so big and weird.

Yeah, I was shocked that Armisen was married to Timms and played with her and Langford's non-Mekons projects in Chicago.

The best argument for Armisen not being a horrible person is his friendship with Carrie Brownstein, tbh. Hard to imagine her being best buds with the predator that Gawker article made him out to be.

I'm not putting Armisen and Cosby on the same level, of course, but the very awesome Phylicia Rashad refused to disbelieve his behavior until she no longer could.

what amazing wording!

...refused to disbelieveed his behavior until she no longer could.

oh so we're talking about gawker reportage nm

sweeney had nothing bad to say about corgan but he wrapped up the zwan discussion with "that's enough nice things to say-"

salivating over the 100 unreleased songs they recorded

idgi what is Armisen's rep apart from being a "shitty husband"

reputation for being a slut, fucking fans

in the interview, he talks about being a slut who fucks fans, and not being a good husband

I think the rumors suggest it's more than just "being a slut, fucking fans" - it's more the repeated accusations of manipulation, dishonesty, infidelity, getting people pregnant and peacing out, non-communication, etc. - I don't think it's just, like, slut shaming or whatever. All of which he sort of cops to in the interview, so credit there I guess - I was just more grossed out by Maron's "we've all been there, bro" stuff (which didn't sound to me like a clever interview technique)

FA's MO is probably similar to a lot of Famous & Semi-Famous men. What's notable is that he at first appears to be something different--oddball, indie, hangs with Carrie Brownstein--and probably uses that "nice oddball" persona as a means to snare women, when in reality he's aspiring to be David Lee Roth or Gene Simmons.

Is DLR known for being an actual jerk though?

well Armisen mentioned him (and Simmons) as an ideal of dude who bangs lots of groupies with no consequences.

Not sure if that's accurate