I haven't seen the new Louis C.K. digital thingy yet but damn well plan to, because his standup is state-of-the-art. I'm not at all fan of his brutal crushing downer of TV show, but the man is funny.
A lot of hay is being made about the nerdy and financial aspects of the thing, but I don't care so much. Here's something: did you catch that the material on "Live At The Beacon Theater" was developed just for that show and will never be performed again?
Can you imagine working for months creating and refining jokes that are only going to be told once? I find that weirdly inspiring. Not just the caliber of the work, but the willingness to fling it aside and start again from nothing. Thinking about it actually makes me feel a little nauseous, because as a songwriter guy I know how hard it is to sit down and try to write something good, anything good, where "good" is that nebulous region between hit song! and anything that doesn't make one feel like a no-talent fraud1 who'd be better off doing something else that makes gobs of money instead.
But unlike a musician, a comedian can't tour on his greatest hits package.
I've developed a huge amount of respect for standup comedy over the past few years -- listening to podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron and TSOYA has contributed to that. It's probably the last remaining profession that you can't buy your way into with money or good looks. I mean, you can try, but eventually you have to open your mouth and say something at least as funny as the last time you opened your mouth. You're constantly woodshedding and workshopping, or you're dead. U2 could've stopped at Achtung Baby2 and would still have their private jet today. Rock stars have it waaay too easy.
Where was I going with this? Anyway, note to self3: keep trying to make good stuff. But don't be afraid to burn the ships.
1 not as self-effacing as it sounds, as I firmly believe that an artist who doesn't occasionally feel like a no-talent fraud is either delusional or an artist in name only. 2 and I kind of wish they had. 3 this!