Of all things considered entertainment, comedy is the hardest to explain. Whether you spell it humor or humour (being based in the UK we will go with the latter), to my satisfaction no one has ever defined what makes something funny in one sentence.
I believe humour is like cancer, it is not just one thing but many.
The previous sentence is an example of “tasteless humour,” a bottom feeder in the comedic ocean that observes no standards of decency. Even so, it’s a relatively tame version of the things we say only to our closest friends, to which they smile against their better angels and say you are “sick” and/or “evil.” You know what I’m talking about; I know you do.
Yet I find such to be funnier than I do any of the lame television commercials that are trying to be funny yet are painful to watch. Sometimes unfunny ads can lead to hostility. America features cellular plan series of ads starring a jocular asshole who is a condescending prick. My feelings toward him are similar to my mother’s absolute hatred of Jerry Lewis. She really despised Jerry and his mugging and “weird goddam noises.” I believe that if she was driving and saw Jerry in the crosswalk that she would not have hesitated “mistaking” the accelerator for the brake and taken her chances with the Law. Same goes with me and the Consumer Cellular creep.
I must agree with Mom (a rare thing, even though she is years dead) about mugging. It is something that should be illegalized. Bill Cosby used to do it a lot (insert your own Cosby Kool Aid joke here; there are as many of those as there are boxes of jello pudding), and so did all the members of Van Halen in their videos (but since they were obviously drunk, they catch a break).
But even in mugging and the aforementioned “weird noises” there have been exceptions to the rule. There used to be a TV comic named Charlie Callas whose entire act was mugging and weird noises, and there was that one guy in the Police Academy movies who pretty much did the same thing, and I found both of them to be very amusing. It’s hard to define tastes because I find laconic Steven Wright as funny as silly Charlie Callas.
The toughest forum to be funny in is print. You can’t lean on strange faces and fake flatulation to help you out. No laugh track either. We have stated it before: labeling a story as humour is a bold move and is usually a suicidal one as well. Unfairly, I admit, it causes something in my mind to get stoney.
But a lot of the writers, including you, yes you, are pretty funny. And although we are no closer to discovering the true nature of humour, it may be an idea to understand why some things that are said to be funny are not. Four come to mind:
Profanity as the punchline: Richard Pryor was as profoundly profane as he was funny (as was George Carlin and to a lesser extent Robin Williams), but never once was the dirty word the punchline. Look up (if you can stomach it) an Andrew Dice Clay “performance” from the late 80’s to see the other side of that coin.
Picking on people who cannot help themselves: This should not appear as an example because, allegedly, we are more sensitive and know better about such things. But it remains in jokes about mental illness, addiction and aging. Some of us seem to need someone to hate.
Topical humour: This stuff has the shelflife of a mulberry. Just look back at a Bob Hope monologue from fifty, sixty years ago and see if you understand more than half the references. This also plagues Talk Shows, and is one of the reasons why you seldom see the opening monologues from old Tonight Shows–the stuff spoiled long long ago.
Potty Baby Humour: A hanging offense.
One oddity, for me, is I have no favorite joke. In fact I seldom remember them for long after being told, no matter how funny. But I do have favorite funny moments in real life. One involves walking home from school in the 8th grade with my brother and his friend (whom we will call “Bubba”). Bubba had gotten into trouble at school that day (it involved a cherry bomb and a toilet, if I remember correctly), and he wondered if the school had called his mother. He usually went through the kitchen door into his house and as my brother was saying something like “see you tomorrow,” Bubba opened the door and was greeted by an apparently well thrown raw potato that bounced off his head and rolled into the yard. It lay near my feet and I saw that it was peeled. More potatoes and screams of reproach followed. But we didn’t hang around long enough to see more.
“Guess she knows,” I thought. And although Bubba did not appreciate the humour of his situation, at school the next day I had a very good time telling everyone about it because he was my brother’s friend and always a bit of a jerk to me. So, I guess humour is a matter of context.
None of this week’s run of stories is strictly humour per say, but there is wit within each, and with such there must be intelligence.
I would be off the mark if I failed to mention the Sunday Rerun, Sign of the Times by our Hugh Cron. I think the story’s high quality and relevance warrants an extra mention in an effort to nudge people to it who have yet to read it.
Monday began the regular week well with The Lost Voice by Brooke Gilbert. It is a fine mixture of innocence, manipulation and a lesson learned. This sort of thing has been going on since day one, and most likely will on one level or another as long as there are human beings. But human nature isn’t always a down thing, after all it is in us to write well about the experience as Brooke did here.
Simon Steven gave us The Stork Delivers Such Joy. The MC’s conflict between guilt and doing the right thing by the baby is perfectly struck. She also tends to hide from things by burying herself in work, which is another trait of the species. I do not consider it too much sharing to state (because I do not care) that I have two half-siblings whom I’ve never met because my mother finally realized that she really didn’t like children all that much; she’d tend to the ones she had but, well, but–anyway unless they wound up adopted by the Manson family, I’m certain they turned out terrific. Another human trait! Simon hit it perfectly.
Geraint Jonathan returned Wednesday with his wonderfully enigmatic A Certain Vood. I say enigmatic because it is amusing, a bit of a fairy tale and telling of xenophobia all at the same time. All done with Geraint’s light, effortless touch (“effortless” requires many hours of work).
Coincidentally, it was the first of two coal centered stories to appear this week…
The other being Warm Thoughts in the Drumochter Pass by another fine frequent contributor, none other than Michael Bloor. It’s difficult to relate good memories of times gone by without getting squishy. Mick, like Tom Sheehan, has a wonderful way of bringing the past back alive, without shitting all over it (pardon the crudity, but I can’t think of anything better). Beautifully set up and executed.
Somethin’ to Croon About by newcomer, Carly Berg, is, in my mind, like a John Waters’ movie. It’s hugely told and is the verbal version of primary colors. This is a sort of thing that needs to be handled carefully. There are ironies in writing, in which the previously mentioned “effortless” is the result of hard work–and here where something seemingly careening wildly all over the page is actually well planned and brilliantly presented.
I sincerely hope that everyone will have a look at any of these they have missed.
Big News Alfie 2.0
Before we go to a list that has nothing to do with anything discussed in this little massive, I present an update on the name for Alfie 2.0 (who is indeed now a member of Team Leila, as far as Outdoor Cats go). In the USA, this time of year is referred to as March Madness due to a college basketball tournament that is heavily watched and betted on via brackets. Such became the model for the “name off” that began two weeks ago because we had a fifteen way tie of one vote apiece. Instead of casting a tie-breaker, I used random chance to trim the deadlock to four. This was performed in a scientific manner that involved eeny, meeny, miney and mo, in six first round one on one battles and one with three in it, in which two survived. That cut seven and the eight went through four matchups reducing it to the Final Four, which I will now present as the four surviving choices:
Darby
Caliban
CeeFur
Ozzy
Please cast your vote and maybe 2.0 will finally have a name to completely ignore.
Bonus Unrelated List
I attempted to make a list of funny things, but it was unwieldy and highly subjective, and, frankly, a goddam mess. But I have this list handy:
I’ve been lamenting the loss of the story song in popular music (unless “bayabee girl” in autotune is supposed to mean something); so instead of trying to think of a list of humour, I’ve decided to go with a list of my favorite story songs and I invite you to add to it. I believe that story songs are probably the oldest form of songs, used as means of spreading news via a perhaps lascivious lute, as was unavailable to Dick Plantagenet due to reasons likely more related to his personality than physical deformities. The only problem here is there are so many to choose from. These are just ten from what might become an ongoing topic.
- Leroy Brown-Jim Croce (a barroom classic)
- Stagger Lee-Lloyd Price version (the original barroom classic)
- The Ballad Lucy Jordan-Dr. Hook and Marianne Faithful
- Ode to Billie Joe-Bobbie Gentry
- Lola-Kinks (My favorite of the group)
- Whisky in the Jar-Thin Lizzy rock version /Dubliners for traditional Irish folk music (Metallica does it well too)
- The Killing of Georgie-Rod Stewart
- Sunday Morning Sidewalk-Kris Kristofferson
- A Boy Named Sue-Johnny Cash (this one and Lucy both composed by Shel Silverstein, along with Kris K, a royal in the world of story songs)
- And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda-The Pogues (many versions, my favorite)
And….
Leila
literally stories 
Interesting and honest – I enjoyed this and you echoed many of my thoughts. forced humour is oftentimes boring but now and then there is something that makes me laugh out loud and I have a loud laugh. We have just watched series two of a brilliant Irish thing called Bad Sisters. It has much to recommend it, not least the scenery. There are two series linked, you need to watch them in order and they are crime – murder and evil doings. But there is one part in the very last episode involving a car boot and honestly I was in pleats (as they say in my part of the world)
For the list I reckon Down to the River by Bruce Sprinsteen could be a favourite but also that Highway Patrolman by Johhny Cash. Thanks for this – dd
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Hi Diane
Even the world of crime can be funny.
The sight of the character’s (played by Steve Buscemi) leg being used to tamp down the rest of that character in a wood chipper always makes me laugh. So sick and ridiculous. (Springsteen excels ar story tunes!)
Thank you again,
Leila
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Hi Leila
Fascinating topic. Humor is a strange thing. A saving grace or the bellows that incite murderdom. Just made that up. I think it’s a saving grace 95% of the time. Unless its meant in a vicious way then were back to “Murder, She Wrote.”
Loved Richard P in “Moving.” He could not escape Randy Quaid and his gigantic howling mowing contraption. Another funny guy is Mitch Hedberg
I hate all cell phone commercials, too, can’t find the mute fast enough, even though I’m not quite sure where it is on the remote.
I could use a good laugh, Purdue Lost. F-word.
Christopher.
PS Love ole Thorogood
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Thank you Christopher
Moving was funny, I think King Kong Bundy was in it. Also around the time Pryor was diagnosed with MS.
Purdue the only school with a name for a hard core drink!
Leila
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Hi Leila,
Nothing is harder than TRYING to be funny, and worse yet on the written page. I have a deep admiration for authors who can make me laugh out loud. If I see someone laughing whilst reading a book, I instantly want to know what they’re reading.
Horror is easier than humour. And Sci-Fi, Spec, almost anything. Humour is so damn subjective. I remember someone telling me that they laughed out loud seven times while reading one of my stories. I strutted around with that huge compliment for the better part of a week.
Thanks for this week’s post.
Marco
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Hi Marco
You certainly have published much funny stuff, which comes off effortless. Although non frightening people can write effective horror, I believe that it takes a person who is naturally funny (to some extent) to write humour.
It’s like Bukowski said, “Don’t try”!
Leila
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Hi Leila,
Hank was funny. Damn funny. I don’t think I’m anywhere close to ‘naturally funny.’ Goofy, sure, I’ve got that in spades.
Maybe in my dreams I could be as funny as Bukowski.
m
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ooops – Forgot to vote for Darby
I vote for Darby
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Yes! That is two for Darby (my vote went that way too. Just fed him about an hour ago.)
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With the precincts coming in we have votes for Darby, Ozzy and Caliban. Although Darby leads there’s a case to be made for “Doc” to use all the names
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Leila
Tell all Feline Creatures I say hi!
I vote for Caliban so he can say:
“The clouds methought would open and show riches / Ready to drop down upon me…”
More soon!
Dale
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Hi Dale
Good thing about Shakespeare names is everyone gets something cool to say. Iago would be a good name for Ferret. (I believe Disney used it in Aladdin.)
Thank you!
Leila
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With apologies, there’s far, far, too many wonderful story songs to chose just one. After much pain, and an agonising decision to omit all Scottish traditional ballads, will limit myself to a measly eleven. Four of Leila’s list: The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Lola, Whisky in the Jar & One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer (great clip). Plus Diane’s Down to the River. And a mere additional six:
Dylan’s The Ballad of Hollis Brown
Dylan’s Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Dylan’s If You See Her Say Hallo
Tom Waits’ Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
Tom Waits’ Putnam County
& Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road
Still voting for Ozzy, Mick
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Hi Mick
I agree with that. As a form they are still the best, better than simple rhymes and goofy hooks.
Bob has a lot! And so does Joan Baez including the bit of sharing “Diamonds and Rust.”
thank you again!
Leila
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Leila
Regarding your fascinating topic of story songs, I want to throw a shout out there for Dylan’s long song “Joey” off his DESIRE album. This is an epic song that Dylan himself described as “Homeric” 40 years after its release when he won the NP.
Lester Bangs wrote a bad review of this song when it came out, but I’m afraid the brilliant Lester (a genius of a rock critic) got it wrong this time. That’s ok, we all nod, as Harold Bloom used to point out.
I saw Dylan perform this song with the Grateful Dead in the late ’80s. I was ripped on LSD (AND cocaine) but I remember it well…(Yes, I used to double up on both those substances at the same time…an entire novel could be written on the effects of said experiments…I would not recommend it for the unwary.)
Since tomorrow is my twins’ EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY!! I also want to recommend a story-song by one of their (and their friends) very favorite artists: Eminem.
Eminem is also one of my favorites. At his best, he’s nothing short of Dylanesque, just in a rap mode. And many of his best songs are more rock than rap; he’s especially influenced by great 1970s rock.
The song is “Headlights,” off The Marshall Mathers 2 LP (5 minutes and 44 seconds long).
It tells the tale (in barely fictionalized form) of Eminem’s tangled, tortured, and twisted, yet loving, relationship with his estranged mother.
The opening lines are:
“Mom, I know I let you down / And though you say the days are happy / Why’s the power off, and I’m f-cked up? / And, mom, I know he’s not around / But don’t you place the blame on me / As you pour yourself another drink, yeah…”
The last line of the song is: “I want a new life.”
Truly a beautiful story-song filled with complex, turbulent, realistic characters and which confronts head-on the fragmented nature of modern American family life, as well as the stresses and strains of coming from the socio-economic class sometimes referred to colloquially as “white trash” (at least one half of my own family comes from this class so I feel like I can use the term with impunity).
Lyrically, this song displays the fact that sometimes Eminem is, truly, as great as Bob Dylan…He can really touch those heights, amazingly enough. (And he’s a stated enemy of our current El Presidente and is not afraid to say so repeatedly and in very many ways, INCLUDING his music, where he resurrects Dylan’s protest spirit in a new, “now” mode.)
Thank you, Leila!
Dale
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Hi Dale
You and Mick (and several hundred millions, if not billions) are right about Bob. He never writes vacuous stuff and he is why the Beatles stopped writing Love Me Do sorts of stuff.
I hope to get to your other comments in a bit
Thank you!
Leila
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Leila
I think one reason advertising humor is so unfunny and STOMACH TURNING is because it’s so INAUTHENTIC – it has designs on the viewer, of course, other than just laughter of whatever stripe. It’s like watching Amber Heard testify at the Johnny Depp trial – the LYING (including the fake tears) is so forced, fake, and obvious that anyone with an ounce of authenticity in their soul will feel gagged by this…
Thorogood is amazing!
Also want to mention that my soon-to-be 18s have always loved “A Boy Named Sue” since they were tiny little ones…Thanks for mentioning!
Dale
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Happy birthday to the twins!
Ah to be eighteen again. Yes it is amazing that Amber didn’t burst into flames on the stand. Every person like her sets causes back.
Leila
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A fun Saturday post and good roundup as always. I’ll vote for Darby. Story song: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Steven Wright and Pryor are two of my favorite comedians. You don’t hear much about Wright, but Google tells me he’s become an award-winning producer of short films.
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Hi David
Wright is amazing “Some people have a fear of heights, not me I’m afraid of widths.”
thank you!
Leila
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Leila,
I’m doubling up humor with story song — LOLA by The Kinks.
Several years ago, we picked up a male cat from the Boy Cage at the animal rescue. When we took ‘him’ for his first vet visit, he was a she so we called him/her Lola.
I still have her and she is still confused, not that it matters. She is fixed beyond repair. This was a fun post, as always.
Oh. For anyone undecided on the evilness of Jerry Lewis, try watching Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy!” — Gerry
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Hi Gerry
That is the only Scorsese film I haven’t seen. I think it’s because of my inherited disdain for Jerry.
For the record, Mom and I liked Dino!
Leila
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L
It was good of you to slam Bob Hope for all his lame-a– topical references.
Such things head straight for the dust heaps of history where they belong, you are exactly correct!
D
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Hi Dale
Bob annoyed me something awful. He did entertain the troops and was smart enough to know that they wanted to look at people like Joey Heatherton than him. And the thing with the golf club made zero sense. Dunno if he was a violent drunk as the old Bingaroo was portrayed as, but he was pure corporate through and through.
Leila
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L
Bob Hope was Ronald Reagan’s favorite comedian. And surely Nixon’s too. Enough said!
D
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Dale
Hope actually traveled with a pack of writers everywhere he went. That is really lame considering very funny Billy Connolly usually made up half his act as he went along on stage. He would go on with some ideas and just start talking.
Leila
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some excellent suggestions here for the story songs and of course Dylan is a god. But I was just talking to the hubby about it as we had our afternoon aperos and Sam Baker popped up on his playlist and so I had to come back and just Sam Baker – many many of them. Favouite if I had to Waves. Oh and Yes Dale – I love me a bit of rap and Eminem has to be up there. Mind the Hubb has been playing French and Spanish Rap lately and tbh. I canna unnerstan it!
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Just to add to the list of funny folk: the great and much missed Irish comedian, Dave Allen. Not so much for his sketches, which can now seem a bit dated but just him in his chair, with a glass of ‘whiskey’, telling a story – absolutely brilliant.
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Hi Steven
I have heard of Dave Allen more than once recently. I have to check him out, I like story telling humor.
Thanks for stopping by!
Leila
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Music – my random brain came up with a couple of Connie Francis favorites while I was semi-conscious. “My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own” and “Many Tears Ago”. Elderly decrepit man still listens to Gene Vincent (Race With The Devil) and Larry Williams (You Make Me Dizzy Miss Lizzy covered by the Be-at-les I think), Carl Perkins (Honey Don’t …).
Mel Brooks said it best – something like Tragedy is me stubbing my toe, Comedy is you falling into a manhole.
Dylan – “Masters Of War” (sad that is still relevant), “Knocking On Heavens Door”, and particularly “My Back Pages”. Of course all sound better from someone else’s mouth.
Humor has been replaced by grim politics.
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Hi Doug
I almost put Heaven’s Door on my list. Connie Francis “Lipstick on your Collar” is a good story song– a “It’s My Party” sort of thing with a stronger attitude.
keep rocking,
Leila
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Hi Leila,
Ahhh HUMOUR!!!
It is as individual as Dyslexia which is as individual as a human!!!
I agree, unless it is dark or sick (Nothing wrong with that!) don’t categorise. But when I think on that, it can cause confusion for a reader and may traumatise whilst commenting!!
Scots very seldom do wacky or gentile humour, we prefer sarcasm, black and profane.
Connolly is a God. I see Steven mentioned Dave Allen and he was one of the best story tellers as is a cracking English Comedienne called Mike Harding. (I think he holds the record for the longest ‘punch-line’ joke??
Man, you really do come up with some thought provoking lists. Only two of yours was in my initial list (The Killing Of George and Whiskey In The Jar) and I love the breakfast list of Mr Thorogood!!
I would add in:
In The Ghetto (Presley) / Up The Junction (Squeeze) / The Green Fields Of France (The Fureys) / Mama Teddy Bear (Red Sovine – It’s fucking hysterical!!) / No Charge (Can’t think but it’s hysterical too!!) Honey (Bobby Goldsboro -It’s also funny but I do like the line…My life is just an empty stage where Honey danced and Honey played) and Ernie – The Fastest Milkman In The West.
Brilliant as always Leila!!
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Hello Hugh
Ah the shameless Red Sovine. He did even worse than Teddy Bear “Giddy Up Go” probably exposed whatever musicians and engineers on hand at its recording to lethal amounts of radioactive sentimentality.
I mentioned Billy in a reply to Dale. How his act is having a general idea and infusing it with his imagination while Bob Hope read cue cards.
Thank you!
Leila
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Can’t recall when I last read such a fine piece on that most tricky of subjects. In a word: brilliant. As for Jerry Lewis, his performance in The King of Comedy is a revelation, & the film itself more zeitgeisty now than it was 43 years ago. I’d add to the list of story-songs the trad ballad from the 1890s, Jesse James – particularly as covered by The Pogues. Also Brecht’s batch of songs from his first play Baal – particularly as recorded by David Bowie in 1982. Great read, Leila.
Geraint
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Thank you Geraint
Coincidentally I heard Bowie’s rendition of Whiskey Bar a couple hours ago. I think Jim Morrison admired Brecht as well.
Thanks again!
Leila
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Hi Leila. Yep, Jim Morrison was pretty enamoured of Brecht & Weil, & The Doors’ version of Alabama Song more familiar to me than the Bowie rendition. Those bitingly storied songs from the Threepenny Opera also worth a mention, Mack the Knife being the most famous – though a song drained of menace in so many English versions.
Geraint
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Story songs: Taxi, by Harry Chapin…. a classic! Another would be “The River” by Bruce Springsteen. Then there’s “Come A LIttle Bit Closer” by Jay and the Americans. Humor: When I was younger I laughed crazily, wildly, without control …so my stomach and ribs hurt and I felt like throwing up or sticking a pin into my thumb. Bill Cosby and his stories complete with facial expressions were sometimes a catalyst. And you know, the humor could be pretty tasteless. Not so much, if ever, do I laugh out loud now, more into darker humor and the laughter is mostly inside my head.
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Hi Harrison
Yes, Taxi is a great one, more involved than the popular and good Cats in the Cradle. It’s long but so is American Pie. I believe that I have only heard the song, late at night on the radio.
Forgot to mention that I still find WC Fields, Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton (especially The General) very funny.
Thank you!
Leila
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Thought-provoking post on humour, and on first reading I figured I’ll share the last joke to make me laugh, but then thought better of it, then thought of listing a few things that make me laugh, then thought better of that, and figured humour has to come naturally, with perfect delivery and context of course, and so borderline impossible in an online comment perhaps. As for the story songs, I wholeheartedly agree with you on Lola – a song that never gets old for me. I’d add (if it hasn’t been in the comments above) The Gift by The Velvet Underground.
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Hi Paul
Thank you!
I first heard Lola at age eleven when it came out. After having it explained to me by an older mind, I was scandalized (as much as that age can get), but I always turned (still do) up high thereafter. Kinks “Come Dancing” another good story song.
Leila
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