chesterdouglas

This is such a good concept for a podcast that in retrospect I'm shocked that no one started doing it earlier. My only suggestion would be this: I know he's a busy man, but for the love of God, try to get Andy Daly to appear on the show as often as possible. That guy is so preternaturally funny that I almost find it disturbing.

It's funny because it's true.

This was a great episode.

Now that I've gotten that admission out of the way, I guess I ought to submit my catchphrase suggestion: Yetis are horrifying.

Great competition. In my view, the better podcast certainly won, but both of them are very good programs.

Great competition. In my view, the better podcast certainly won, but both of them are very good programs.

I do enjoy the Little Dum Dum Club, but I don't feel as though the episode presented here is the best showcase for the strengths of their podcast. Honestly, I feel like it may come down to having too many people in the room at once. Although the Little Dum Dum Club does occasionally venture into the territory of talking to multiple guests at the same time, their podcast ordinarily centers around the two hosts speaking with one other person. However, in this case the four-guys-hanging-out-and-shooting-the-shit aesthetic devolved into a bit of a clusterfuck at points. It reminded me of the basic logic underlying the number of villains typically appearing in sequels to superhero movies -- if one villain is good, two villains ought to be fantastic. Except that it almost never actually works out that way. - Having said that, however, these are obviously talented guys, and I wish them the very best of luck in the competition.

I do enjoy the Little Dum Dum Club, but I don't feel as though the episode presented here is the best showcase for the strengths of their podcast. Honestly, I feel like it may come down to having too many people in the room at once. Although the Little Dum Dum Club does occasionally venture into the territory of talking to multiple guests at the same time, their podcast ordinarily centers around the two hosts speaking with one other person. However, in this case the four-guys-hanging-out-and-shooting-the-shit aesthetic devolved into a bit of a clusterfuck at points. It reminded me of the basic logic underlying the number of villains typically appearing in sequels to superhero movies -- if one villain is good, two villains ought to be fantastic. Except that it almost never actually works out that way. - Having said that, however, these are obviously talented guys, and I wish them the very best of luck in the competition.

Wonderful episode. Zach Galifianakis is always an entertaining guest, and Paul F. Tompkins is his usual, brilliant self. Seriously, how does that guy so consistently hit podcast appearances out of the park? It's unreal. Only Andy Daly is in the same league as he is. Plus, who doesn't love Yo La Tengo?

Wonderful episode. Zach Galifianakis is always an entertaining guest, and Paul F. Tompkins is his usual, brilliant self. Seriously, how does that guy so consistently hit podcast appearances out of the park? It's unreal. Only Andy Daly is in the same league as he is. Plus, who doesn't love Yo La Tengo?

I really enjoyed today's exhibition of the Totally Laime podcast. I think that it displayed that program's strengths (which are considerable) quite nicely. Well done.

I really enjoyed today's exhibition of the Totally Laime podcast. I think that it displayed that program's strengths (which are considerable) quite nicely. Well done.

Andy Daly is a genius.

Andy Daly is a genius.

Left Handed Radio's defense of itself was pretty solid, but at the end of the day I still feel like they had what was by far the weakest submission. It simply wasn't either funny or inherently interesting (though, admittedly, these qualities are subjective). You could make a pretty compelling case that this week's contest was fundamentally misguided and shouldn't have occurred at all, but given that it did, I think that the correct decision was made.

Left Handed Radio's defense of itself was pretty solid, but at the end of the day I still feel like they had what was by far the weakest submission. It simply wasn't either funny or inherently interesting (though, admittedly, these qualities are subjective). You could make a pretty compelling case that this week's contest was fundamentally misguided and shouldn't have occurred at all, but given that it did, I think that the correct decision was made.

I think one element that hasn't been acknowledged enough around here is no matter whether or not you think that the nature of this week's challenge was biased against Left Handed Radio, the fact is that their submission wasn't very funny. I don't think that I'd even use the word "amusing." And yes, the same might be said about Totally Laime's submission, but at least that was a conversation that held my interest. Not being funny is a cardinal sin in the sketch format, because there is very little else to fall back on. Comedy sketches are rarely inherently interesting if they are not genuinely humorous.

I think one element that hasn't been acknowledged enough around here is no matter whether or not you think that the nature of this week's challenge was biased against Left Handed Radio, the fact is that their submission wasn't very funny. I don't think that I'd even use the word "amusing." And yes, the same might be said about Totally Laime's submission, but at least that was a conversation that held my interest. Not being funny is a cardinal sin in the sketch format, because there is very little else to fall back on. Comedy sketches are rarely inherently interesting if they are not genuinely humorous.

To me, Totally Laime presented what was by far the most compelling segment of the podcast, which means that they fully deserve their certain victory. Was it the funniest thing that I've ever heard? Perhaps not, but I was a hell of a lot more interested in listening to that conversation than I was in sitting through the other material submitted this week. Nice work, Totally Laime podcast.

To me, Totally Laime presented what was by far the most compelling segment of the podcast, which means that they fully deserve their certain victory. Was it the funniest thing that I've ever heard? Perhaps not, but I was a hell of a lot more interested in listening to that conversation than I was in sitting through the other material submitted this week. Nice work, Totally Laime podcast.

I think that perhaps a few people have unduly focused on my earlier comment about how "singing is just singing" and bypassed the underlying point of what I was trying to say. First, yes, I am sure that I over-emphasized the degree to which a proficient singer in one genre can transition smoothly into another genre. Fair enough. What I was getting at, however, is the fact that it strikes me as exceedingly odd that this competition consistently calls upon podcasts to do things that lie entirely outside of what they ordinarily do, and then judges them based on their performance. I suppose that the underlying issue is this: What is it that is being judged here? Is it that 1) this competition is designed to uncover which of these podcasts is the best, and therefore worthy of an earwolf contract wherein it will appear in a form roughly conforming to its current incarnation, or is it that 2) this competition is designed to uncover which podcast hosts are the most gifted and versatile across a wide range of skill-sets, and therefore well-qualified to have a future podcast on the earwolf network that may or may not reflect what they are currently doing? If #1 is the case, then it seems to me that this competition is doing a pretty poor job of determining which is the best currently-existing podcast due to some underlying flaws in the way in which the contest is being conceived and executed. However, if #2 is the case, then there isn't necessarily a problem, although I must say that this version of the competition does not conform to the impression that I was left with at the start of the contest. Anyway, I'm just saying....

I think that this week really went a long way toward revealing an underlying fundamental flaw in the entire concept behind this "competition," which is that there are far too many instances of podcasts being forced to do things (produce sketches, use "guests," generate recurring segments) that they would never otherwise do. In effect, this forces these podcasts into a situation where they are judged based on elements that are completely foreign what they ordinarily engage in. It's great that the Totally Laime podcast was not eliminated this week, for instance, because they are clearly among the best in the contest, but they never should have been put in a position where they were forced to come up with something so far outside of their wheelhouse. The same can be said for other podcasts that have already been eliminated. When this subject comes up, Matt likes to refer to the fact that American Idol will sometimes force country music singers to sing rock music or vice versa in an effort to get them outside of their comfort zones and see what they can do. However, that is not an apt analogy. Singing is still just singing, no matter what the style is. Compelling interview-based podcast hosts with no significant background in sketch comedy to produce a sketch out of thin air would be more like asking a country music singer on American Idol to paint an abstract watercolor landscape. It's ludicrous.