Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaSwing
He did develop over time but I also think he had a lot of that in him but knew that he had to break in with the simpler comedy.
His podcast was beyond awesome and I feel like his best work overall. He had no apparent limits and touched on a lot of stuff that comics are shying away from these days to great effect. While the Netflix version is very good, it didn't have the magic of the podcast.
I believe it has more to do with trial and error and figuring out what worked best. In the clip about Sinbad that I posted, he mentions how early on he would memorize every word and how he no longer did that. There are some comics (and writers, songwriters, etc.) that do their best work early on, but then there the ones who work super hard at what they do and figure out new ways to make things work. Some of the insights he shared made it clear that he thought really deeply about comedy.
There's an essay of sorts that he wrote on Twitter where he talked about how stand up comedy as it's primarily done is a craft and not an art. Art can be a part of it but that comes later. The idea is that you have to make something happen; say something and get the entire audience to laugh at the same time. It's like building a good chair. The most important thing is that it's functional; it's comfortable, the legs are even, and it won't fall apart. Adding intricate details are of secondary importance. Then he talked about how stand up comedians don't actually come up with laughs. The idea is that a comic tells a joke and the audience does what it's going to do, but neither the comedian nor audience decides what is funny. Funny just is. It's like building a chair from a set of instructions. Great read. If I can find it, I'll post it here.
Norm Macdonald Live was great.