The Stand-Up Comedy Discussion Thread!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Rapidly Going Deaf > The Stand-Up Comedy Discussion Thread!

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

I was originally introduced to PFT on Never Not Funny and I always like him on that podcast but when I investigated his actual material I discovered I just don't get it.

He seems to play so much of what he does for irony including his whole physical appearance. He didn't have that ironic mustache 5 years ago when it wasn't hip to have ironic facial hair.

Is there something I'm not getting or do you have to love ironic/I'm-not-trying comedy to enjoy Paul F Thompkins?

# ¿ May 6, 2012 06:46

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:42

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

nadabolt posted:

Paul F Tompkins is free of irony. He dresses that way because it makes him feel comfortable.

You're making GBS threads me right

Here's PFT in 2007 when he was doing Best Week Ever, looking like a normal comedian:

Click here to view the full image

And here he is now, trying very hard to deliberately cultivate an image:

Click here to view the full image

# ¿ May 6, 2012 08:33

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

ibntumart posted:

He likes suits and now that he's not on TV, he can sport a mustache if he feels like it. What exactly is ironic about any of this?

We're all familiar with the fact that hipsters intentionally dress stupidly for the sake of irony.

# ¿ May 6, 2012 08:40

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

nadabolt posted:

I don't think you understand irony or why people do things they enjoy.

Do you not live in a place where they have hipsters? I think most tuned-in people are well acquainted with this concept.

# ¿ May 6, 2012 09:22

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

nadabolt posted:

Why does PFT (or anybody) pursuing his esoteric interests and aesthetic taste upset you?

Disingenuousness as a tool for comedy bothers me. The best comedy is sincere and genuine in my opinion.

# ¿ May 6, 2012 09:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:42

Kaptain K: Nov 2, 2007; I must admit, I am fond of you humans.

May you enjoy serendipity,

And may the Age of Fire perpetuate.

DerbyTime!!! posted:

PFT aside this is a pretty pretentious sounding thing and while your honesty is awesome I don't know if I support making GBS threads on people because their style is not your favorite - it's somebody's favorite. Not everything has to be meant for you. Some of the best comedy is sincere and genuine I agree, but there are plenty of things which are hilarious and insincere.

I don't think I was ever making GBS threads on PFT or saying he looks dumb; the very first thing I said was how much I like him. I don't like any standups who play a character of themselves and I feel like that's the cornerstone of Paul's material.

nadabolt posted:

If you like sincerity I highly recommend his You Should Have Told Me special/DVD. That one may be more up your alley than his absurd/riff based stuff.

I've listened to all of PFT's albums and it's far from bad - the core of his jokes are excellent - I just constantly have the distinct sense that there's something I don't "get". I understand that absurdism is part of his act and persona and for me personally that's never been something I've been able to find funny.

Kaptain K fucked around with this message at 09:58 on May 6, 2012

# ¿ May 6, 2012 09:54

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Rapidly Going Deaf > The Stand-Up Comedy Discussion Thread!