It’s probably because I’ve gone too far down my
own personal rabbit hole but I just realized I may
be becoming irrelevant.
I grew up on Monty Python, Allan Sherman,
Nichols and May, and Spike Jones, among others,
for the sketch and musical side of the comedy equation.
Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield, and
Pat Paulsen, and then some, for the stand-up side.
That’s my foundation, the impetus to collect a rather
vast comedy collection that I have built upon to be
the material for Comedy 101 Radio.
Recently I was in a conservation, a couple of them
actually, where I happened to mention some of the
comedy sketches that have impressed me over the years.
To my astonishment, and sadness, not one of the folks
that I queried had seen any Monty Python material at
all and had only a slight recognition of the group itself.
Please keep in mind that I have gone WAY down the humor
path and collect any and all current mirth that is worthy of
radio play, I am very much up on the newest and coolest.
Still, not knowing anything about the greatest comedy sketch
group of all time was a bit of a shock to me.
What really hurt though was what the current favorites are
for comedy preferences in this country.
For various reasons I will not include here a list of subpar
comedic sources that I find unappealing, I have always
opted for the “don’t like/ don’t play” approach on the show.
There’s no reason to give a thumbs down to anyone, I play
the best stuff out there, that speaks for itself.
What took the wind out of my sails, to use a nautical idiom,
was when I played The Argument Clinic to someone who had
never seen it before their response was “It was okay, too cerebral
though”.
Before that I hadn’t cried in years.
At this point I’m just ranting, I can numb the pain with the
appropriate medication and all will be tolerable again.
But still…