grammys

anthony anderson, cannes, emmys, grammys, greta gerwig, kenny deforest, lena dunham, netflix is a joke fest, trevor noah

1. Truly, deeply rest in peace, Kenny DeForest. A wondrous human being and great comedian taken from us all far too early (as you can see in the outpour of tribute and grief in his name). For now, what might be best would be donate to his Memorial Fund that was formerly a Recovery Fund and also watch his latest special, Don’t You Know Who I Am?, which came out just a few months ago (again, Kenny was on the path doing many a great thing in comedy).

2. Netflix Is a Joke Fest makes its first announcement of many about the hundreds of big time comedians and dozens of venues that will be happening in and around LA come May 2024. Go peep the schedule and get tickets here.

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3. Trevor Noah is back at the Grammys, Anthony Anderson is stepping up to the hosting plate for The Emmys, and Greta Gerwig, riding high off of Barbie, will be the Cannes Film Festival Jury President all next year. Come to think of it, we would be thoroughly intrigued at the prospect of Greta Gerwig hosting an awards show, especially since she also can do this.

4. Lena Dunham has an ex-pat rom com going at Netflix that’s set to star Meg Stalter (Hacks) and Will Sharpe (White Lotus S2) (Variety). Having Meg Stalter as the star of series/movies is definitely where the future of comedy should be headed.

5. We’ll leave you with this: Shout out to every comedy album and special that’s coming out right now and won’t be able to be considered for “2023 Best Of” lists.

TCB Debriefing 11/13/23: Best Comedy Album Grammy, Sometimes I Think About Dying, Tom Segura, Call Chelsea Peretti, Rachel Mac

November 13, 2023

best comedy album, chelsea peretti, grammys, sometimes i think about dying, tom segura

1. The 2024 Grammys Nominees for Best Comedy Album are:
Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would
Wanda Sykes: I’m An Entertainer
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
Dave Chappelle: What’s in a Name?

In case you haven’t done so already, you can disregard the Recording Academy‘s opinion on comedy as this is their most blatant display of a popularity contest (even if there’s huffing and puffing about them getting “cancelled”) in the history of the Best Comedy Album category for The Grammys. Also, note that every one of these “albums” were promoted and consumed as a “special” and they didnt’ even try to pretend to throw some slightly less famous comedian a chance at winning.

2. Sometimes I Think About Dying might be the driest dark comedy in recent memory as well as a well earned pivot from Star Wars for Daisy Ridley and a break out role for the absolutely hysterical Dave Merheje. Take a gander for yourself with the official trailer here.

3. Tom Segura will be on the road all across the world for probably most of 2024 for his Come Together tour. It’s so big that he has only announced the first leg of the tour. Tickets go on sale 10AM local time with code TOMMY at tomsegura.com/TOUR.

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4. Damn. Call Chelsea Peretti has returned (i.e. one of the greats, Chelsea Peretti, has also returned). IHeart letting Big Money Players kind of do whatever they want (considering they usually wheel and deal in Top 40) is still kind of unbelieveable. Get into new episodes of Call Chelsea Peretti wherever you get your podcasts now.

5. We’ll leave you with this: Rachel Mac’s Teacher of the Year is more deserving of a Grammy than the rest of that 2024 lot.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 138: Ep. 138: Ariel Elias & Having a Kimmel Debut Because of How You Handled a Heckler with Grace

November 16, 2022

ariel elias, dave chappelle, grammys, jimmy kimmel

Ariel Elias has been steadily worked her way up through the comedy scene in NYC for several years and was well on her way on the strength of her jokes. Then, a funny thing happened when playing a club in South Jersey that happen to go viral and then resulted in her having network TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live. We talk to Ariel about that whole amazing blaze of a journey and where she is now for this week’s TCB Field Report.

Also, actually hot takes on Grammy comedy noms, Chappelle on SNL, and more.

Follow Ariel across platforms @ariel_comedy

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT
Photo by Jordan Ashleigh @jordanashleighf

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 106: Helen Levenson & Figuring Out a Comedy Scene

April 6, 2022

grammys, los angeles comedy, louis ck, nyc comedy

Helen Levenson, a rising person in the inner-workings of comedy, might be the freshest LA from NYC transplant we’ve ever had on The Comedy Bureau Field Report. As such, we catch her perspective on the LA comedy scene (and LA in general) in the very first days of living in the City of Angels. Helen herself works at one of the biz’s top management companies and is an intrepid fan of comedy (as it should be). In fact, we caught two shows back-to-back before we recorded this past midnight.

Also, of course we get into Louis winning his 3rd Grammy and how all sorts of wrong that is.

Follow Helen @helenisawkward across platforms.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

Who Else Could Have Been Nominated (and Maybe Win) for Best Comedy Album at The Grammys Besides an Undeserving Louis C.K.?

As much as we’d love to dissect C.K.’s lack of a proper mea culpa for being an admitted, repeated sex pest, how that has soured his comedy since his return, and how he’s wholly undeserving of his third Best Comedy Album Grammy win (he’s artistically regressed with his last couple of hours), we’re pretty sure that such words would only be affirmed by those already demoralized by his latest success or tossed to the metaphorical curb by his diehard acolytes. We could even spend hundreds of words on how The Recording Academy, the governing body responsible for The Grammy Awards, has long since been out of touch with what would supposedly be the “Best Comedy Album” having largely succumbed to Netflix and HBO and the like putting out audio versions of highly produced and promoted specials that end up edging out other purely audio comedy albums from ever even getting nominated.

Hmph. We digress.

Rather than delve into that endless rabbit hole or go into the systemic issues at The Recording Academy that reduce this particular Grammy category, amongst others, to mostly a popularity contest (the voters for this category, like any major awards, have no real incentive to listen to every single album and often just go with what they know ahead of time), we’ll instead show you the folks that met all the qualifications to even be in the running to be nominated (ostensibly, who was left out of the equation against C.K.’s lackluster Sincerely Louis C.K.)

You already know that the other nominees for Best Comedy Album were Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given, Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American, Lewis Black: Thanks For Risking Your Life, Chelsea Handler: Evolution, and Lavell Crawford: The Comedy Vaccine. One could make the argument, if you’re already OK with CK returning to stand-up, that he is most definitely in the running against the five other nominees (especially Kevin Hart’s very tone-deaf special done in his basement that’s bigger than most apartments anywhere).

However, there are plenty of folks that, because of lack of fame, prestige, etc., were already doomed to not get any recognition from the Recording Academy despite their comedic prowess (and explicit lack of sex crimes). Amongst those that could have been nominated for Best Comedy Album this year were Beth Stelling, Rory Scovel, Michelle Buteau, Chad Daniels, Sean Devlin, Ester Steinberg, Ziwe, Tim Minchin, Atsuko Okatsuka, Ben Roy, Robin Tran, Tim Heidecker, Ian Edwards, Lisa Curry, Chris Gethard, Dan Soder, Sam Tallent, Dave Helem, and Lil’ Rel. Those names represent some of the very funniest people in comedy right at this moment, but only a fraction of who could have been nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy this year (and possibly beat out Louis CK).

Thanks to an industry source, we’ve got a list of pretty much everyone else that was in the running for a Grammy nomination this year, but ultimately was left out for the aforementioned reasons above and many others. Even though you might think major awards ceremony are largely overly self-important and indulgent, we hope that you can get some perspective on who is left out (and much more likely has the actual Best Comedy Album of this past year).

Nicole Burch: Never Been Kissed
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia
Colin Cook: This Won’t Work
Affion Crockett: Mirror II Society
Lisa Curry: Alive for A While
Chad Daniels: Twelfth Night
Sandy Danto: Daddy Boy
Jim David: Gay Jokes for Straight Cruisers
DC Benny: Adrift in Predicaments-Stories of Shoulda Known Better
Mark DeMayo: Bangers
Sean Devlin: Airport, Animals
Eleanor Kerrigan: Lady Like
Paul Kim: The Lion Kim
Raul Kohli: All My Heroes Are Dead, in Jail, or Touched Up Your Nan
Nish Kumar: It’s In Your Nature To Destroy Yourselves, Parts 1 & 2
Preacher Lawson: Get to Know Me
Lewberger: Live at Lincoln Hall in Chicago
Orlando Leyba: Adorable
Lil’ Rel: Humbly Vulnerable-I Said What I Said
Joe List: I Hate Myself
Ignacio Lopez: EspañYOLO
Jonny Loquasto: The In 3-D
Levin McCachen: Illuminati
Ed Hill: Candy and Smiley
Melinda Hill: Inappropriate
Katie Hughes: Queen of the Castle
London Hughs: To Catch a D***
Taylor Hughes: Chasing Wonder
Katie-Ellen Humphries: Ladyfinger
David Huntsberger: Big Nothingness
Eddie Ifft: Sweet Home Malibama
Ryan James: I’m Fine
The Jerky Boys (self-titled)
Maz Jobrani: Pandemic Warrior
Danny Jolles: Six Parts
Jamie Kaler: Homeschooled
Noah Gardenswartz: New Fodder
Arthur Gaus: Nice Jokes for Smart People
Chris Gethard: Half My Life
Harrison Greenbaum: Live at Madison Square Garden
Nick Guerra: Love Me at My Worst
Joey Guila: Ringleader
Nathan Hansen: I Was Supposed To Get Married Today
Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given
John Hastings: Float Like a Butterfly, John Hastings Like a Bee
Tim Heidecker: An Evening with Tim Heidecker
Dave Helem: D.J. the Chicago Kid
Amy Hill: Shades
Kevin Yee: One Boy Band
Ziwe: Ziwe-A Famously Iconic Soundtrack
Kevin Doyle: 30 Year Old Virgin
Scout Durwood: Comedy Electronica Vol. 1
Jeff Dye: Dumb Is Gooder
Mat Edgar: Take the L
Ian Edwards: Bill Burr presents IanTalk-Ideas Not Worth Spreading
Mark Ellis: Dog Stepfather
Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions
Matt Falk: Optimistical
Randy Feltface: The Book of Randicus
Adam Ferrara: It’s Scary in Here
Glen Foster: Unchecked
Jen Fulwiler: The Naughty Corner
Jerry Garcia: It’s Not My Weekend
Tryf Da Comedian: Symphunny, Vol. 1
Bill Burr Presents the Ringers
More Funny Women of a Certain Age
Ron Vaudry: Talking on Thin Ice
Joey Villagomez: Jokes, Drugs, Rock & Roll
Paul Virzi: I’ll Say This
Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
Jeremiah Watkins: Family Reunion
Daniel Webb: Hoe’s Parade at The Rose Bowl
Aaron Weber: Shirts and Skins
Jacob Williams: Unemotional Roller Coaster
Lance Woods: Undeniable
Glenn Wool: Viva Forever
Heather McDonald: Juicy Scoop
Harmony McElligot: The Struggle Continues
Michael McIntyre: Showman
Sean McLoughlin: Hail Mary
Doug Mellard: I’m Worried About Me
Garrett Millerick: Smile
Tim Minchin: Apart Together
Ginger Minj: Gummy Together
Daniel Muggleton: Unprecedented
Atsuko Okatsuka: They Call Me Stacey
Natalie Palamides: Nate – A One Man Show
Brian Parise: Last Wishes
Eddie Pence: The (Un)Special Comedy Special
Rojo Perez: Words
Nick Rado: On-Trend
Adam Ray: I’ll Take It From Here-The Crowd Work Album
Brian Regan: On The Rocks
Erica Rhodes: La Vie en Rhodes
Erik Rivera: Super White
Shayla Rivera: It’s Not Rocket Science
Darrin Rose: Wearing a Suit
Ben Roy: Take the Sandwich
Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities
Amber Ruffin: The Amber Ruffin Show-Music from the Original Series
Marc Ryan: The Clean Album
Brendan Sagalow: Not Now More Than Ever
Andrew Schulz: Brilliant Idiot
Rory Scovel: Live Without Fear
Harry Shearer: The Many Moods of Donald Trump
Dan Soder: Son of a Gary
Gianmarco Soresi: Shelf Life
Ester Steinberg: Burning Bush
Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy
Fatimah Taliah: Nice to Meet Me
Sam Tallent: Waiting for Death to Claim Us
Erik Terrell: Live at Helium Comedy Club
Robin Tran: Don’t Look at Me
Jesus Trejo: Stay at Home Son
Steve Treviño: I Speak Wife

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 87: Carl Tart & Indie Improv Days Again

November 24, 2021

carl tart, grammys, sf sketchfest, taliban

Long form improv comedy was free flowing pre-pandemic with dozens and dozens of shows filled by so many teams it was often hard to keep track of all of their names. On this side of the pandemic, long form improv is coming back, but like everything else, it’s not the same. We get improv and podcast star Carl Tart (also co-starring on the upcoming Grand Crew on NBC) to break down the state of improv in LA and how it’s reminiscent of the days when he was coming up.

Also, actually hot takes on The Grammys nominations for comedy and the Taliban banning comedy where people are humiliated.

Follow Carl @dammitcarl on IG

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).

Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

Tiffany Haddish Wins a Grammy and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Gets 2 Oscar Noms

March 15, 2021

borat subsequent moviefilm, grammys, oscars, tiffany haddish

Though the Grammys and the Oscars aren’t anywhere nearly dedicated to celebrating comedy in any really big way, there was some good news from both for the art form of comedy.

First off, Tiffany Haddish won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album for the audio version of her Netflix special, Black Mitzvah. Haddish is the first black woman since Whoopi Goldberg won in 1986, a fact that gets adorably revealed here during a taping of Haddish’s current gig as host of Kids Say the Darndest Things. Of the big comedy specials that get Grammy consideration for Best Comedy Album, Haddish definitely earned her Grammy.

How I found out I won a Grammy while working on @KidsSayDarndest I am so Honored to share with the kids. Full situation is on my YouTube page. pic.twitter.com/pYzmt4nIgo

— Tiffany Haddish (@TiffanyHaddish) March 15, 2021

Earlier this morning, the nominations for this year’s Oscars were revealed and while there is a lot of talk about the amount of diversity and inclusion throughout all of the nominees. It should also be noted that Borat Subsequent Moviefilm‘s breakout co-star Maria Bakalova earned herself a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination alongside the film’s Best Adapted Screenplay nomination (going to Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, and Lee Kern). It’s sort of wild to think of something like Borat Subsequent Moviefilm given the still crowded field of heart-wrenching prestige dramas, yet, here we are.

So, even though awards season presents a bunch of the entertainment biz congratulating itself, it does seem like it’s getting marginally better.

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 35: Chris Gethard & Community Building

November 25, 2020

beautiful anonymous, best comedy album, chappelle's show, chris gethard, dave chappelle, grammys, netflix, planet scum

Chris Gethard has not only built his career in comedy on his own terms, but Gethard has also built beautiful communities around so much of his work. From his public access days to the cable days of The Chris Gethard Show all the way to his current podcast, Beautiful Anonymous, there is something special about the folks that rally around Gethard and his endeavors. This includes devoted fans as well as other comedians that Chris wants to shine a light on.

Gethard zooms with TCB’s Jake Kroeger for a deep conversation about the crucial importance of community during 2020 in comedy and especially with Beautiful Anonymous, a show uniquely equipped to offer connection at a time in history where we’re more isolated from each other than ever. Also, they dish out “hot” takes on 2021 Grammy nominees for Best Comedy Album and Dave Chappelle not getting paid over streaming of Chappelle’s Show.

Follow Chris at ChrisGeth.com, listen/subscribe to Beautiful Anonymous wherever you get your podcasts, check out Planet Scum here, and get tickets to Chris Gethard’s Live Improvised Special on 12/4 here.

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).
Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

And Here Are Your Grammy Comedy Nominees for 2021

November 24, 2020

comedy grammys, grammys, jerry seinfeld, nominees, patton oswalt, tiffany haddish

You might have seen that the nominees for the 2021 Grammys were announced this morning and, with that, there is just a handful of comedy folks that get the expressed distinction of being nominated for said Grammy. Usually, with how distribution of comedy specials work (i.e. most big time comedy specials get released as comedy albums somehow), comedy specials take up the bulk of the nomination slots and this year is no different (even though they were plenty of worthy stand-up albums that were released only as albums).

This year, the nominees for Best Comedy Album are:

Tiffany Haddish-Black Mitzvah
Patton Oswalt-I Love Everything
Jim Gaffigan-The Pale Tourist
Bill Burr-Paper Tiger
Jerry Seinfeld-23 Hours to Kill

All were specials on a big time streaming service and, four of out of the five were on Netflix. Still, Haddish and Oswalt offered up really uplifting specials and Burr got more introspective than he ever has with Paper Tiger.

Usually, the comedy category for The Grammys gets overshadowed by the dozens and dozens of other categories, but we’ll be watching closely for who wins on the CBS telecast of The Grammy Awards on Jan. 31st.

2019 Comedy Grammy Nominees Are Jim Gaffigan, Ellen DeGeneres, Aziz Ansari, Trevor Noah, and Dave Chappelle

November 20, 2019

comedy album, grammys

The nominees for all of the Grammys were announced this morning covering dozens and dozens of categories including one for comedy.

Thus, the nominees for Best Comedy Album are as follows:

QUALITY TIME
Jim Gaffigan
RELATABLE
Ellen DeGeneres
RIGHT NOW
Aziz Ansari
SON OF PATRICIA
Trevor Noah
STICKS & STONES
Dave Chappelle

For “Best Comedy Album”, the Grammys deem that their consideration for the award must contain “…at least 51% playing time of new recordings. It would also seem, from this field of nominees for 2019, that you have your album derived from a highly publicized and televised comedy special and have to be amongst the most famous comedians working right now.

All these specials (and do remember that these were specials first and albums afterwards) certainly sparked a lot of conversation (both good and bad) and have a lot of notoriety that way. With that in mind, is this the way to be in contention for a Comedy Grammy these days?

Right now, actually just recording a great comedy album isn’t enough.

This Year’s Grammy Nominations for Comedy All Go to The Most Famous Comedians with Netflix Specials

November 29, 2017

comedy, grammys, stand up

The 2018 Grammy nominees for “Best Comedy Album” are as follows:

The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas — Dave Chappelle
Cinco — Jim Gaffigan
Jerry Before Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld
A Speck Of Dust — Sarah Silverman
What Now? — Kevin Hart

It’s no secret that the Grammys have largely been a popularity contest for quite a long time. In music, there seems to be a whole world outside of what the Grammys pay attention to that gets as much, if not more, critical praise (and commercial success thanks to the Internet) than what charts and gets nominated.

The same goes for the Grammys’ comedy category, which hardly pays attention to the plethora of brilliant of comedy albums released every year that don’t have the advantage of getting extra exposure beforehand with having been a special on a network or major streaming service. This year’s nomination made that dichotomy more glaringly clear than ever.

Yes, there are many reasons that Chappelle, Gaffigan, Seinfeld, Silverman, and Hart are all household names in comedy and some of these hours are pretty good. Still, know that there were better albums released this year from Jackie Kashian, Shane Torres, and Myq Kaplan.

Unlike with music, there aren’t other, alternative, respected awards that other comedy albums made by people who haven’t had successful TV shows that bears their name can get in on. Sure, we and other comedy sites/blogs do our due diligence, but we can only reach so far.

So, with all of that said, please buy/listen/relisten to I Am Not the Hero of This Story, Established 1981, and No Kidding.

Patton Oswalt and Carol Burnett Win at 2017 Grammys

February 13, 2017

a special thing, ast records, audiobook, best comedy album, best spoken word album, carol burnett, grammys, in such good company, patton oswalt, talking for clapping

From last night’s Grammy Awards, Best Comedy Album went to Patton Oswalt’s Talking for Clapping off of A Special Thing Records and Best Spoken Word Album went to the audiobook version of Carol Burnett’s In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox off of Penguin Random House Audio.

While you’re still pondering Adele vs. Beyoncé, go and enjoy both the album and audiobook if you haven’t done so already.

Get the full list of the 2017 Grammy Award winners here.

David Cross, Amy Schumer, Tig Notaro, Patton Oswalt, Carol Burnett, and Margaret Cho Get Grammy Nominations

December 6, 2016

carol burnett, david cross, grammys, margaret cho, nominations, patton oswalt, tig notaro

*comedy nominees in italics

BEST COMEDY ALBUM
…America…Great… — David Cross
American Myth — Margaret Cho
Boysih Girl Interrupted — Tig Notaro
Live At The Apollo — Amy Schumer
Talking For Clapping — Patton Oswalt

BEST SPOKEN WORD ALBUM (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling):
The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo — Amy Schumer
In Such Good Company: Eleven Years Of Laughter, Mayhem, And Fun In The Sandbox — Carol Burnett
M Train — Patti Smith
Under The Big Black Sun: A Personal History Of L.A.Punk (John Doe With Tom DeSavia)— (Various Artists)
Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink — Elvis Costello

It’s almost expected to see Tig Notaro, Patton Oswalt, and Amy Schumer here in this year’s Grammy nominations for comedy. David Cross getting a nod for his album that specifically stands against Trump and one for Carol Burnett’s audio book are also good, big name choices.

Still, given how wide the field is in the Grammys, we wonder if there would ever be room for, let’s say, Best First Comedy Album or Best Podcast, etc. etc. to allow room for works from critically acclaimed comedians that are just on the brink of breaking out into the national spotlight.

See the full list of Grammy nominees for 2017 here, then see who wins at the ceremony set for February 12th.

Kristen Wiig Dances For Sia’s Chandelier at The Grammys

February 10, 2015

grammys, kristen wiig, maddie ziegler, sia

A lot of crazy things happened at The Grammys last night, most of them planned. One of the great, planned things was Kristen Wiig dancing, as only Kristen Wiig can dance, with Maddie Ziegler, Sia’s recent go-to interpretative dancer, for a live performance of Chandelier.

Watch it here.

Weird Al, Tenacious D, Grand Budapest Hotel, and Joan Rivers All Win at This Year’s Grammys

February 9, 2015

alexandre desplat, grammys, grand budapest hotel, joan rivers, mandatory fun, tenacious d, weird al yankovic

In the gigantic crowd of Grammy nominees, finding the comedy winners might be a little difficult, especially since they’re never all announced during the telecast.

So, we’ve hunted through all them and found 2015 Grammy winners in or somehow connected to comedy.

Best Comedy Album-Weird Al Yankovic “Mandatory Fun”
Best Spoken Word Album-Joan Rivers “Diary of a Mad Diva”
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media-Alexandre Desplat “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Best Metal Performance-Tenacious D-“The Last In Line”

Honestly, there are no surprises here and we’re glad to see Yankovic cap off his 2014 Billboard #1 album with a Grammy win.

Now you can go enjoy the rest of your evening with Better Call Saul and Last Week Tonight.

Here Are The Comedy Nominees for The 2015 Grammys

December 5, 2014

everything is awesome, grammys, jim gaffigan, joan rivers, louis ck, mandatory fun, obsessed, oh my god, patton oswalt, sarah silverman, tenacious d, tragedy plus comedy equals time, we are miracles, weird al yankovic

The Grammys have just announced the majority of the nominees for their 83 categories, which include Best Recording Package, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, Best Album Notes, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, and Best Comedy Album.

Of course, we’re only concerned with comedy here rather than how an album is packaged or what music is playing in your local chapel’s gift shop, so the nominees for Best Comedy Album are:

“Mandatory Fun”-Weird Al Yankovic
“Obsessed”-Jim Gaffigan
“Oh My God”-Louis C.K.
“Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time”-Patton Oswalt
“We Are Miracles”-Sarah Silverman

Honestly, it’ll be hard to tell who’s going to win as Silverman has an Emmy for We Are Miracles, Yankovic scored #1 Billboard spot with Mandatory Fun, and Oswalt, C.K., and Gaffigan are critically and commercially amongst the top tier of funniest people in comedy right now.

Also, we’d like to note that Joan Rivers got nominated posthumously in the Best Spoken Word Album category for “Diary of a Mad Diva”, Tenacious D got nominated for Best Metal Performance for covering Dio’s “The Last in Line”, and Tegan & Sara and The Lonely Island’s “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie got nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

See the full list, if you dare, of nominees here.

Stephen Colbert Wins Best Spoken Word Album at The Grammys

January 27, 2014

Stephen Colbert Wins Best Spoken Word Album at The Grammys

grammys, stephen colbert, win

Despite what you might have seen online, The Grammys were more than just Pharrell’s hat.

In fact, Stephen Colbert’s America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t took home the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album.

Then, they were some other things that weren’t Pharrell hat related, but Colbert’s win is the main thing that happened for us.

Grammy Nominee Tig Notaro Chats with Grammy Nominee Craig Ferguson

January 16, 2014

They discuss who is going to win in her appearance on The Late Late Show last night.

craig ferguson, grammys, late late show, tig notaro

Both Craig Ferguson and Tig Notaro have their comedy albums nominated for Grammys in the same category.

Tig Notaro, Stephen Colbert, Carol Burnett, Billy Crystal Nominated for 2014 Grammys

December 9, 2013

billy crystal, carol burnett, grammys, nominations, stephen colbert, tig notaro

The latest Grammy nominations have been announced and we’re happy to hear that one of our favorite comedy albums in recent memory, Tig Notaro’s Live is nominated for Best Comedy Album.

In the Spoken Word category, Stephen Colbert, Carol Burnett, David Sedaris, and Billy Crystal also do well to represent comedy at The Grammy Awards.

Morning Debriefing 2/14/12

February 14, 2011

comedy, comedy crawl, grammys, la, mike o'connell, morning debriefing, open mic run, rejectedcandyhearts, serene branson, tiger lily

1) 2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1: Best #Grammys and #RejectedCandyHearts Tweets from yesterday from LA:

“@pauljaycomic Arcade Fire won the Grammy for Best Album. Does this mean the Grammys are suddenly relevant, or that Arcade Fire are suddenly irrelevant?” Paul Jay

“@ChelseaVPeretti I’d like to watch a singer who is a single threat: good at singing.” Chelsea Peretti

“@WendyLiebman In lieu of watching the #Grammys, I sang karaoke while balancing an egg on a spoon.” Wendy Liebman

“@moshekasher WHO IS ANYONE IN MUSIC? I literally do not know any of these white people! #grammys” Moshe Kasher

“@FrankConniff If Lady Gaga was "born this way” did doctor tell her parents, “Congratulations! It’s a 9 pound publicity whore!” #Grammys" Frank Conniff

“@paulcibis 500 ft. Away At All Times Is Just A Number #rejectedcandyhearts” Paul Cibis

“@Kabelion I’m going to kill you and your family (turn over) if you break up with me. #candyheartrejects” Jeremy Paul

“@TesstifyBarker This is made of birth control pills I haven’t been taking. #candyheartrejects” Tess Barker

“@scott_bowser D-FENS #rejectedcandyhearts” Scott Bowser

“@teamyasumura Get in the car. #candyheartrejects” Robert Yasumura

“@mrseanpatton At least this ain’t cum #rejectedcandyhearts” Sean Patton

2) WIN A DATE at WHAT’S UP TIGER LILY? TONIGHT If anything, a date with a comedian will leave you with a great story. YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO LOSE (well… perhaps your innocence depending on who you go out with)

3) OK, every Big Trouble in Little Tokyo is fantastic, but, with all gravity I can muster, this week we have none other than Ron Lynch AND Sean Patton!!! I’m not going to bother saying anything else other than sign-up is at 6:30PM/start is at 7PM/@Señor Fish-address is 422 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA. Really, that’s all I need to say.

4) Misery is a Self-Centered Wanna Be: A Cautionary Tale to Comics on Valentine’s Day (just in case you didn’t want to scroll down four or five posts)

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL-Yes, comedy is the right choice for Valentine’s Day.
Just for Laughs Sketch Showcase @ UCB Theatre 5PM FREE
Just for Laughs Showcase @ Jon Lovitz Comedy Club 8PM $5/2 drink min.
Harland Williams @ Irvine Improv (Special Valentine’s Day Event) 8PM $65 dinner special
What’s Up Tiger Lily?: The Wigmaker’s Son @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Are You F*#king Kidding Me? @ Puka Bar 8:30PM FREE
Stand Up Saloon @ Old Towne Pub 10PM FREE
Keep It Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE

6) OPEN MIC RUN 2/14/11
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/one item min.
HARLEM PLACE CAFE 124 W. 4th St. (in alley between Main and Spring St.)/Starts 8PM/e-mail speakeasyopenmic@gmail.com for spots
GROUND ZERO CAFE 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA (USC on campus nestled in between dorms near intersection of Figueroa and Exposition)/USC student Sign-up 9PM/Non Student Sign-up 9:15PM/Starts 9:30PM
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 Cover/Free coffee & water.

7) Recently: Local LA Reporter Serene Branson literally spoke gibberish on TV last night in a post Grammys report, perhaps taking a cue from Mike O’Connell.

8) Yes, mr. or ms. bad crowd work comic, I came here alone and perhaps I’m too good of a person as I will not engage with you, but seriously, tell a damn joke or quip or just a line that first off makes sense and then strive to be actually funny. More importantly, leave me alone like I already am.

Report 00115

THE COMEDY BUREAU/@thecomedybureau

Post Brunch Update 2/13/11

February 13, 2011