The world of comedy is a wacky world indeed.
\nOn the show I play the three basic types…
\nMusical, Sketch and Stand-up.
\nThe first is the most common, there are many reasons for this
\nbut the basic one is that musicians of all genres can, and do,
\ndabble in the humorous.
\nEven the most serious have produced a funny piece or two.
\nJohnny Cash, Hank Thompson, Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie,
\nBobby Bare, Tom T. Hall and Oscar Brand are some of the
\nmultitudes of great artists that have made me laugh.
\nSketch comedy is the rarest of the lot.
\nThere are a lot of skits but they have been created by a rather
\nsmall group of performers…Monty Python, The Frantics, The
\nRoyal Canadian Air Farce, The Dead Alewives, Landry and Biener,
\nand a few others, comprise the vast majority of what’s out there.
\nSad but true.
\nThen you have the stand-up folks.
\nAn argument can be made that there are more of them than all the rest.
\nI would respectfully, but strenuously, disagree.
\nThere are a lot of them to be sure, but not all are pure stand-up
\ncomedians.
\nStanding on a stage, in front of a crowd, mic in hand does not a stand-up make.
\nAnd I’m not even talking about the quality of the material.
\nDelivery is everything…rambling, pissing and moaning and profanity laced
\ndiatribes are not the stuff of comedic legend.
\nThose attributes would guarantee you a place in my family but exclude you,
\nin my humble opinion, from the ranks of the stand-up comedy hall of fame.
\nThe following gentleman is a pure stand-up comedian, and one of the most
\nunderrated of all time.
\nDon’t be confused by his delivery or his rather unique usage of paraprosdokians.
\nHis wording may very well be the smartest of any comedian ever.
\nThis is a video of his older E=MO2 and Live at the Hasty Pudding Theatre material.
\nThere is nobody quite like…Emo Philips!<\/p>\n