I don’t necessarily enjoy Marc Maron’s comedy. I’ve seen most of his show too and it’s basically the RC Cola of self-centered stand-up comedian slice of life fare. Most people I know tend to agree with me.
Still, the best thing he’s brought into this world is his podcast “WTF”. One of the most popular and influential in the genre, Maron interviews comedians, politicians, musicians, directors etc. Some are light-hearted and straightforward, others are depressing and with obscure people.
What I’ve compiled for you today is a list of a few in-depth interviews Marc Maron has done on his show “WTF”. Some will be funny or sad, but all will be interesting.
This is the episode that made the show popular. Not only is it with one of the most popular and celebrated comedians of our time (*gag*), it’s with one of Maron’s estranged best friends. Louis confronts Maron about being a bad friend and Maron confronts Louis about not being there for him when he was getting divorced. Both seem to get some closure. It’s interesting if you like comedy, but it’s interesting from an emotional level because you hear two friends argue about their friendship.
This interview is just OK. Obviously, the interviewee is noteworthy, but Maron doesn’t prod too deeply. This one is interesting though because Obama sits down in a quiet garage and discusses real topics concerning his childhood and his personal life. If you’ve read his book, then this isn’t exactly illuminating. But if you haven’t, you may learn a few things about how unabashedly realistic Obama is about how he grew up (at least for a president).
A comedy legend. The interview is wry and Newhart has a bunch of funny stories about the “old days” that he would spend with his comedy buddies. Interviews like this or with Rob Reiner let you live for a moment in a different time period. This faux existential time machine lets you absorb information from the truly talented comedians of a golden age. At the very least, they make fun of Al Brooks a lot.
The very first guest to walk out of a “WTF” interview. Absolutely hysterical. Gallagher is not just a delusional comedian but he also seems to live in an entire world where his comedy is influential and important. After mincing words with Maron about how he isn’t “right-wing”, Gallagher walks out. If you like prop-comics, you might be sad. But if you are like everyone else you’ll just say, “that’s totally what you expect Gallagher to be like.”