The Best Show on WFMU

It got way less scary when he did 90% of the talking at the beginning! I shouldn't have read twitter after tho.

I've avoided the urge to call for twelve years, which is probably for the best.

How do you feel about these newish Best Show trends:
* Charley Morgan calls
* accusing the last caller of the night of being a peeper

Also how did you feel about AP Mike's Sun Kil Moon parody?

CM: at times really funny mostly due to Tom's response, at times I completely phase out and stop paying attention because it feels like it's not going anywhere.
Peeper: Funny every time, even though it took me until this week that he does it to EVERY last caller. how did i miss that?
APM vs SKM: I was amused.

Also some other things that are newish (i think? at least new to the new best show):
- everything has two horns, utter classic
- lists are a bit of a crapshoot
- bowling alley confessions a bit of a crapshoot too
- i guess the whole thing with a live 3-hour call-in show is that it's all going ot be a crapshoot anyway
- mapleface must come back

just hearing the two horn sounds makes me laugh now

Oh yeah two horns was instant classic.

I love the two horns. Everything else I'm unfamiliar with because I'm about two months behind (because I'm in the home stretch of finally listening to all of the WFMU shows...just heard AP Mike's "Hi, I'm Dennis!" in context and nearly died).

The Half Hour of Power rules. The word is tomorrow's is all time hysterical.

I love that Charley Morgan has nothing to say and yet keeps calling.

I'm already getting a little weary of Charley Morgan, but him getting drawn into AP Mike's world this week was promising. Also dropping the f-bomb made his long story worth it.

I find the lists pretty entertaining. Bowling alley confessions is mainly funny because it's supposed to offer absolution but Tom just ends up getting pissed at people.

really loving Gary the Squirrel's Hollywood aspirations tanking so badly that he's just burning bridges right and left. His appearance with Patton Oswalt/Lisa Jane Persky was an all-time classic. The recasting of the "Trejo" sitcom with Jim Gaffigan had me in tears.

would imagine the issue with bowling alley confessions is that the people have been on hold for 30+ minutes and weren't calling for that.

also, the hang-up on Brad two hours into the YLT episode is just so glorious to hear.

I like all of these new trends a lot.

I really hate it when Tom gets down on himself/the show though. He's probably ambivalent about doing the show, but his hand wringing is kind of lame.

I dig how purposeless the Charley Morgan calls are. They're just him wandering around, thinking out loud. I imagine him calling from a dark room, three Scotches in, just rambling.

oh and the AP Mike blood story was amazing

I really hate it when Tom gets down on himself/the show though. He's probably ambivalent about doing the show, but his hand wringing is kind of lame.

I hear you on this but he's been doing it as long as I've been listening to the show, it's just part of the deal. Like how after his dad died he said he might do the show less frequently, then I think he took one week off and has done every single week since then.

That stretch in 2010 before he took his long break was the only time that it was seriously overwhelming. Like, he was clearly pretty much hating the show and the fun ground to a dead stop.

I like this show best when it moves rapidly between the smart and the stupid, and the last few episodes have been great for that. Charley Morgan is maybe a good example of that -- he's not got a lot to say and says it and is kind of a joke of a non-celebrity, except that the tiny handful of roles he's had have been solid bits in amazing projects. I thought Scharpling and LJP brought out the best in Patton Oswalt, too.

Oh also the Half Hour of Power is killer

Definitely.

I lost it a few times during this half hour of power. mike is straight fire right now.

he might need to get a promotion to p mike.

I would buy a Free AP Mike t shirt

So, I wrote this:

http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Best-Show-comes-to-S-F-with-song-born-in-6469137.php

Tom's two interviews with Marc Maron are great. He talks a lot about the "theater" of radio. Makes me think the show's not doing too bad, which I was worried about.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aZL6lcmUpnY
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HJIA_uo7AwI

I'm on Zing, but if those are videos from the Seattle show, someone screengrab & MSPaint circles & arrows round the back of my & Mackro's heads

Those are years-old interviews with Marc Maron.

1/2 Hour of Power rather low energy doing it before rather than after the main show...also, not to pander and it's end of summer, but good to have at least one woman in there in the future

Mrs. Dudio has been on board pretty consistently. Would love to hear more Terre T., but I suspect she has scheduling issues.

Mrs. Dudio has been on board pretty consistently. Would love to hear more Terre T., but I suspect she has scheduling issues.
--Three Word Username

She is, and she is very funny indeed. The show always gets better when smart funny women are involved, and it's clear that Scharpling knows that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MiF7m_v8U

I saw their show dead dad's club in mtl after I called the show and Tom told me I have to and my god, they are just two of the most talented, funny, touching performers and also are insanely kind and gracious and they're the best.

Therese is the only talk show/call-in host that has never made me scream at the radio.

Therese has such a great on-air personality--totally winning.

Therese is a great off-air personality as well.

This is a little esoteric, but I just discovered through work-related means that the Society For Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing of America (S.E.B.S.Q.S.A. for "short"), which was mentioned in one of the first Zachary Brimstead calls and which I always assumed was a Wursterism, is an actual organization. I felt like the walls of reality were dissolving when I read that.

I feel bad that the show hasn't taken off more. I hope he is able to keep it going.

has it really taken off that little? or does he play that up for comedy? i mean, he's also not reaaaallllly monetizing it either.

he really needs to start charging

the uhh yeah dude guys got like $10,000 a month when they started their patreon, kind of a good model maybe?

I think the "3 listeners" thing is a little bit schtick, but long-time listeners know Tom struggles with depression when the days get shorter, and I also think he's writing on a sitcom and just overworked in general, so every little indignity feels huge. So he uses it.

https://twitter.com/scharpling/status/706385459065315328

I have never called but maybe I should keep my 5-year-old up late to call in tonight.

It happens so infrequently but I love when kids call in. Particularly the one kid (who I presume Tom knew) who called in as Molly Molesworth and a dying old man.

I have never called in either, because I'm already pretty good at the self-administered variety of masochism.

I've only ever listened live once or twice but yeah I would need a really good on-topic story before I'd even think about calling.

feel like you can call without an agenda/story tonight with a baby or Grammy

Reminder: Tom and Jon on The Simpsons tonight.

Thank you for reminding!

I've been trying to find a particular Wurster call for a while now but haven't been able to manage (even searching through the detailed recaps): guy calls and says he's taking Oldzonareveren to prematurely age to get back at his dad? Feel like he called himself a Yearlie maybe? Think the call was from the last few years of the show (think the call ended with either a bomb or someone falling asleep after some Blue). Does this ring a bell for anyone?