Coyle and Sharpe

Posted on January 30, 2008 at 07:32 PM

If I had a baby, I'd trust Jesse Thorn to hold it. He's the host of the Sound of Young America, and not only does he have a wonderful, soothing voice, but he just seems like such a gosh-darn nice guy.

Even though I trust Mr. Thorn well enough to let him hold my non-existent child, it still took me a long time to listen to a podcast that he highly recommends (and distributes), Coyle and Sharpe: The Imposters. As Jesse puts it:

In the early 1960s, James P. Coyle and Mal Sharpe roamed the streets of San Francisco, microphone in hand, roping strangers into bizarre schemes and surreal stunts.

Earlier this week I listened to the most recent episode, "French Festival." It's amazing. I don't want to give anything away, because part of the joy for me was listening to the bit unfold into greater and greater levels of ridiculousness. So I'll just tell you: go listen.

Tags: comedy audio tsoya podcast coyleandsharpe

The Comedy Archive I've Been Waiting For

Posted on November 17, 2007 at 06:26 PM

I think if you like something (rock music, sketch comedy, eggs), it's a pretty good idea to understand where it came from (blues, theater, chickens). A couple of days ago, someone recommended the comedy of Nichols and May to me, and in searching for samples, I found an online archive of the public radio show Comedy College. Holy crap. Each half-hour episode, hosted by famous comedians such as Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, features the material and story of a different classic comedian. It's fantastic. Take a listen.

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this, Comedy College let the registration run out for the site that holds their audio files. Hah. Hopefully that'll be back soon.

Tags: nicholsmay stevemartin audio radio comedy