I’m starting a new series on this here blog called THINGS WE LIKE devoted to things that aren’t related to music that we’re into over here at CFB HQ. One of these such things is Marc Maron’s ridiculously awesome WTF Podcast. For those not knowing, Marc Maron is veteran comedian that’s been around for the better part of 20 years and is good buddies with folks that are a lot more famous then him (but not significantly funnier then him). He basically uses this podcast as an excuse to interview a rich variety of comedians–most of which he has personal relationships with–and conducts really personal, insightful, engaging, and often times touching interviews with these folks. Maron isn’t interested in being a journalist in the classical sense so he interjects himself and his own issues into the interview very frequently, but this isn’t a shortcoming at all. In fact, Maron’s insistence on interjecting his own mania and issues into each and every conversation is primarily what pushes these conversations in such interesting directions. He really has a gift for this type of interview and it’s pretty clear that he’s in his element when conversing with these folks: riffing, exploring, postulating, proselytizing, cracking stupid jokes, and even flirting with the variety of female comics he interviews that he’s clearly in love with. Anyway, I can’t get enough of this podcast and highly suggest you check it out. I’ve posted links to some of my favorite interviews below, but even the interviews with comedians you’ve never heard of before are really awesome.

Conan O’Brien
This interview just went up yesterday and is a really interesting talk with Conan who comes across as a really intelligent, compassionate, interesting guy.

Carl LaBove
Really interesting interview with Sam Kinison’s best buddy Carl LaBove. LaBove tells a bunch of stories about coming up with Kinison and reveals some really crazy personal stuff about their relationship. Heart-breaking stuff really.

Mike DeStefano
Speaking of heart-breaking, this interview with the recently deceased Mike DeStefano (RIP) is not for the faint of heart. In this interview DeStefano reveals his struggles with being HIV Positive, taking care of his HIV Positive wife in her dying days, growing up a wanna-be wise guy in the Bronx, and a bunch of other stuff. This is truly one of the most heart-wrenching interviews I’ve ever listened to, but DeStefano is inspiring in his positive, hilarious approach to life in the face of it all. If you listen to just ONE of these interviews, make it this one.

Louis CK (Part I) (Part II)
Maron and Louis were buddies back in the day. Somewhere along the line, their friendship fell apart. This two part interview is basically the two of them working things out… which sounds boring, but it’s not because their both goofy and hilarious.

Hope y’all enjoy this stuff as much as I do!

-e