The SeedSing 2016 Year in Pop Culture: The Best, and Worst, in Podcasting

For my final best of list this year, I am going to go very niche, and I'm going to give you all my top 5 podcast moments, or just flat out episodes of the year. Some of these are compilations, or random appearances on certain podcasts by people I like, or just straight forward episodes. Also, all mine are comedy podcasts, except for one, because that is what I like. I do not have anything from NPR, ESPN, The AV Club, Cracked, nothing like that. Also, there is no "Serial" or anything like that on my list. That was a one hit wonder type deal, and I think the second season of "Serial" proved that very point. Anyway, lets get to it. 

At number 5, I have all of the "Doughboys" episodes during their "Tournament of Chompions". This was when Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell, and one guest for each episode, went around to various fast food type restaurants and put the burgers in a tournament. They had franchises all over the US, places like Five Guys, Hardees, Burger King and Wendy's that they judged. But, they also went to places that some people around the US don't have, like Shake Shack and In N Out Burger. Look, I knew form the beginning of this tournament that In N Out was going to make the finals. Wiger, ever since the birth of "Doughboys", has talked about how In N Out Burger is the best place ever. He legitimately loves this place. There is no mistaking that. Mitchell knew this, so he tried to game the system by having friends of his that dislike In N Out on to "beat" whoever they matched up against. It finally happened, when John Gemberling appeared, and picked Burger King as the winner over In N Out. Wiger was audibly upset and Mitchell was audibly thrilled. But, like a whiny baby, near the end of this tournament, look, the whole thing was convoluted from the start, as I said, the matchup was going to be In N Out versus Shake Shack no matter what happened in each previous episode, they all but said this at the start, Wiger got In N Out back in, and they "won". But, what I liked about this whole series was how much Mitchell just got on Wiger's nerves. This is their whole setup for the podcast. Wiger is Mitchell's whipping boy, and he took that to a whole new level during the "Tournament of Chompions". It was funny, uncomfortable and everything I want from any episode of "Doughboys". It is a really good podcast.

At number 4, I have "The Bill Simmons Podcast" when Michael Rappaport was on the first time this year. This was one of the better episodes of "The BS" podcast, and it was all because of Rappaport. He is so lively and talkative and funny and has stories for days. When Simmons brought up the Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis, that was when this episode became great. Rappaport loves the Knicks, and he loves Porzingis even more. He really, really likes this Knicks team, but Simmons, and myself for that matter, do not think this Knicks team is that good, but do not say that to Rappaport. He went on and on and on about how they can compete, especially in the East, and talked about their potential "greatness", which involved Porzingis mainly. He loves this dude. He kept calling him the "Lativian gangbanger". He talked about how he was the next great NBA super star. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode because of Rappaport's lively conversation skills. His own podcast is great, but when he shows up on other people's stuff, it is must listen for me, especially when you talk about something in his wheelhouse, like the Knicks, or who the greatest "stick men" in Hollywood may be. Rappaport is a delight.

At number 3, I have any episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" that Neil Campbell is on, playing his loved character, the Timekeeper. This is one of the funniest things on podcasts right now. He is so weird, and sounds so odd, but I cannot help but belly laugh whenever the Timekeeper shows up. He is hilarious. Campbell is such a great improviser and so good on a podcast like "CBB". "CBB" is the perfect show for the talents of someone like Neil Campbell, and the Timekeeper is his greatest character. His performances are great, and any time he is on, I get giddy with excitement and listen, hoping that he will bring in the Timekeeper at some point. He was just on their holiday episode, and it was one of the funnier episodes all year of "CBB". This is always a wonderfully hilarious performance.

At number 2, I have the episode of "How Did This Get Made" where they cover the Village People movie, "Can't Stop the Music". The episode has Jason Mantzoukas and Paul Scheer, but no June Diane-Rapheal, but, they do get Cameron Esposito and Pete Holmes, and they are great substitutes for this live episode. First of all, "HDTGM" is one of the best podcast hands down, but when they do a movie this insane, and try to figure it out, it is laugh out loud funny. Mantzoukas seems legitimately confused the entire show, trying to explain this movie. Scheer is just dumbfounded the whole time, never stopping to ask any question that pops in his head. Esposito does her best to try and explain, but even she has a hard time trying to figure stuff out. At points she thinks she has something figured out, but then someone will give a counterpoint, and then she is questioning her theory. It makes for great podcasting. But, the star of this episode is Holmes. He, instead of trying to figure how this movie got made, he did what he does best, and just riffs the whole 90 minutes. He goes from doing impressions, to bad dad jokes and ends up doing some terrible, but also extremely funny, puns. Holmes is so god damn funny, and that is on full display during this 90 minute "HDTGM". I do not always love the live episodes, but this is one of their best of all time.

Finally, at number 1, I have the episode of "I Was There Too" when Matt Gourley had Marc Maron on to talk about his bit role in "Almost Famous". This was another live episode, but this was such a great, great podcast. First off, I vividly remember Maron in "Almost Famous", his catchphrase for "WTF" comes from that movie, and I loved his role as the angry club promoter. He went into this role. He talked about auditioning for the role, getting a call back, and reading with Cameron Crowe. I love these stories. Then he talked about set life. I love these stories too. But, after deep diving into his 3 minutes or so on screen, the talk divulged into stuff like cats, how he prepares for his own show, writing jokes and talking to the crowd. This is the perfect medium for Maron, and Gourley was great at letting him go on any tangent that he wanted. I really loved this episode so much,  I have listened to it 3 times, and it has never gotten old. It was far and away the best podcast of 2016, in my personal opinion.

As far as the worst podcast episode of the year, it was anytime that Bill Simmons got on his soap box and complained about his show got cancelled, and how it was not his fault. His show was bad, I know, I watched it, and it was because of him. He is not a TV host. He is a writer and a podcaster, and he is damn good at those 2 things. He doesn't need a TV show too. But, for him to blame everyone else became very tiresome very fast. I would fast forward through these 10 minute whine fests because it was so grating and uncomfortable to hear. His show was bad, and that is that. It got cancelled, and that is what it deserved. Simmons has gotten better about it lately, but anytime it is brought up, I groan because I am fearful that he is going to get into why he was great and why everyone else was wrong. He needs to get over it and let it go. It's so childish and ignorant of Simmons to whine this much.

That's it for 2016. This has been a crappy year, but at least we have the good things on these lists, so that has to be some kind of consolation. Thanks for reading.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The number one podcast in his heart is anything he does on the X Millennial Man. Check out his new one ones every Saturday. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty's Mount Rushmore of Comedy Greats

I was pretty funny back in the day

I'm a huge fan of stand up comedy. I go to a ton of shows, I own a lot of comedy records, I watch specials on Netflix, Comedy Central, Showtime, basically any channel that puts comedy specials on and I listen to, primarily, comedy podcasts. I just love comedy and I devour it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what four comedians would make my personal Mount Rushmore of stand up comics. A lot of people have crossed my mind. I'm a bit too young for guys like George Carlin or Bob Newhart. I like their stuff a lot, but it was well before my time. Some people my age really like guys like Adam Sandler, Dane Cook and David Spade. I used to like all three of these guys, mainly Sandler, but as I've grown up, their comedy does nothing for me now. It's hackneyed and tired. I'm a humongous fan of the alternative comedy scene that's blowing up right now, but, guys and girls like Doug Benson, Jen Kirkman, Maria Bamford, John Mulaney, Pete Holmes and The Sklar Brothers, just to name a few, have a long, long way to go to be on anyone's Mount Rushmore. I also love improv comedy. I really like people that can make you laugh by simply using a suggestion from the audience. People like Matt Besser, Eugene Cordero, Jon Gabrus, Amy Poehler and Lauren Lapkus are super, super talented, but they don't make my cut. I love all of these comedians, but there are four that stand head and shoulders above the rest, in my opinion. I'll count them down from four to one and tell you why they made my Rushmore. Let's get started.

Coming in at number four is the wonderful Tig Notaro. She's a comic genius. Her delivery is so perfect for her style of comedy. She's has a monotone, slower delivery that, when she hits that punchline, it totally pays off. She's silly without acting silly. She has a very calm demeanor while on stage. Her new special was fantastic, but I always go back to her album "Live". This was the album she put out right after she was diagnosed with cancer, she had a very rare, very intense disease that was literally eating her insides, her girlfriend just broke up with her and her mom unexpectedly died after hitting her head. She had all these terrible problems going on and she went on stage and let it all out for the audience that night. It's sad, it's heart breaking, it's devastating, but she makes it funny. She is such a tremendous comic that is finally getting the respect that she deserves. Tig Notaro is a powerhouse and everyone needs to check her out. She's awesome.

The third head on my mountain is Hannibal Burress. He's the youngest one on the list, but he is an absolutely hilarious stand up that is totally blowing up right now. He's part of the alt scene, but he's also a huge sports fan and a fan of rap music. That's not very common in the alt scene right now. He has some great bits about the NBA and when he makes fun of rap lyrics in his live shows, it's some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen. He also talks about the problems with meeting people and being young in Hollywood. He has some great bits about things I'd never think was funny. Talking about pickle juice or his first name or searching for jobs, he makes these everyday problems hilarious. I've seen him twice the past two years and each time, he absolutely destroys. I know he's gained a lot of notoriety for his Cosby bit, but he was up and coming well before that blew up. He is also a very funny writer and actor. He wrote for "SNL" and "30 Rock" and his stuff was great. He's also got his own show on Comedy Central, which I've written about, and he's fantastic on "The Eric Andre Show". Hannibal Burress is only going to get bigger and bigger. He's on his way to super stardom.

Number two was my introduction to the world of stand up comedy, Brian Regan. I was given his first stand up album by a friend of mine and I listened and laughed at that record so much, I had to buy three more copies because I kept wearing them out. He is also a "clean" comic. That means he doesn't swear during his live sets. In this day and age, that's incredible. He is a show man in every sense of the word. He is constantly moving on stage, his facial and body expressions add so much to his shows and he is the master at delivering a punch line. It's been said, in the comedy community, that he's one of the hardest comedians to follow. He crushes so hard, that the audience is all laughed out by the time the next comic comes up. That's the highest compliment a stand up can get, if you ask me. I've seen Regan five times live, and each show is better than the last. He sells out arenas and theaters no matter where he goes and his fans adore him. He's the only stand up that I've seen that does encores. He comes out and does one of his many famous jokes and the audience eats it up. I'm so glad that I was introduced to Brian Regan, He literally changed my life when it comes to stand up comedy. I had to find more people that did this because it was so funny and so great. Without Regan, I may have never gotten into stand up comedy.

Which brings me to the only comedian that surpasses Regan and that's Louis C.K. I mean, he is literally a genius. He's one of the hardest working people, not only in comedy, but in show business. Not only does he star in the best show on TV, "Louie", but he writes, directs, edits and produces it. That's so much work and he does it so very well. He also releases a new special every year with brand new material. Imagine how hard that must be. To come up with an entire new hour in comedy has to be one of the hardest things to do. I hear other stand ups talk about how it takes them 18 months to 2 years to come up with a new hour. Louis C.K. does that every single year, while doing his show and acting in movies and other TV shows. In his stand up, he talks about everyday life and it's completely relatable. He talks about kids, work, family and friends and he does it very vulgar and very, very hilariously. Go back and watch any one of his specials and I guarantee you will love it and laugh your ass off. There is nobody better in the comedy game right now than Louis C.K. I cannot end this blog without mentioning that he wrote and directed one of mine and out editor's favorite movies, "Pootie Tang". Next time you watch "Pootie Tang" think about that and you will fall in love with the movie. Louis C.K. is a true comedy genius and he's a once in a lifetime legend that I will always hold in very high regard. He's the best.

So, that's my Mount Rushmore of stand up comedians. I love these four people and I love that they are all still producing new material. It gets no better than these four comedians.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His current source of high comedy comes from the jokes his three year old hears in pre-school. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.