BALANCE AND COMEDY DO NOT MIX
Aug 23rd, 2008 by Conor McCabe
This came out of a comment inspired by Worldbystorm. I was saying how the right-wing seem to have all the best jokes, and then I got thinking that, well, it’s really the neo-liberals and the anarchists/libertarians (left and right) who get all the laughs, while the Trotskyists are about as funny as an ice-pick to the brain.
Anyway, I thought I’d chart it and sure see what happens.
And now, for no other reason, here’s Dylan Moran talking about Germany. It doesn’t add to my thesis as such; it’s just very, very funny.
Enjoy.
Moran is playing down at the Flatlake festival this weekend, to which I am alas not going. As well, Tommy Tiernan funnier than Dara O’ Brian? No way. All he does is shout. A bit like Alexi, whom I saw (and enjoyed seeing) being interviewed by Mark Lawson last night.
It’s a valid point. I think Tommy Tiernan takes more risks - O’Brian is funny but he’s still coming from the more traditional side of comedy. Nothing too wrong with that - the first, and only, rule of comedy, after all, is to be funny - but I think Tiernan is more anarchic and, well, I prefer that type of comedy.
And a fair point back.
I think successful comedy is less about anarchy than it is about the semblance of anarchy. So that, when a joke comes off well, it looks as if the comedian has roped the punchline in from nowhere, has found an order were it seemed there was none. I haven’t thought about this longer than 10 minutes. But it’s evidenced by the success comedians find in idea that they might be a little bit (or a lot bit) drunk, an idea which Dylan Moran suggests both on stage and as a television character. And I think Tiernan fails, for me, because the anarchy is sometimes left a touch too anarchic.
Though that could just be a load of intellectual bollocks.
Ah, sure, that’s what blogs are for.
Someone was describing social democracy to me last night as fascism in slow motion. And where oh where’s Brendan Ó Carroll on this?
would you believe I actually wrestled with that one. Fuckit. I’m going to edit it and put him on.
You wrestled with Brendan Ó Carroll? Was he greased?
Is that something you think about often, Dan? A greased Brendan O’Carroll? Hey, whatever rocks your boat.
Stewart Lee
Is Ben Elton somewhere below the quality line at the bottom ??
Amways wondered - were there stand-up comics in former East Germany ?? Didn’t really notice if they were bringing over the comedy equivalent of ‘Allies’ to play giant Peoples Palaces and paying in Trabant spare parts but ye never know.. it might’ve been going on on the quiet.
yep. couldn’t fit his pc now reactionary arse onto the graph. watched a clip of him from the 80s. god. what were we thinking? he was just an irritating cunt.
[…] with a graph) on comics, their politics, their funniness and the correlations between the three ( Balance and Comedy do not Mix ) got me thinking on some of the comics missing from the graph. I’m sure Conor was re-cycling […]