Marc Maron Happy Sad Confused

February 26, 2023 9:21 AM

There's a point close to the end of Josh Horowitz's interview with Marc Maron for his Happy Sad Confused podcast, right around the one hour point, where over the course of about 45 seconds the entire gamut of human emotions from joy to grief flow like a tidal wave. This moment of transparency comes after a conversation about love and loss and life that is dark, hilarious, and ultimately affirming. Marc Maron talks FROM BLEAK TO DARK, TO LESLIE, WTF, AVATAR -- HAPPY SAD CONFUSED [1h3m]
posted by hippybear (12 comments total)

I'm about 40 minutes into A Good One's episode with Maron. Maybe I'll abandon that one and start this one!
posted by stevil at 9:48 AM on February 26, 2023

A couple of weeks ago, Marc Maron took on answering letters for Dear Prudence on Slate.
posted by ShooBoo at 9:54 AM on February 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

We saw Maron perform live a couple of months ago. He spoke candidly about Lynn's death and about his father's progressing dementia. And was hilarious. Highly recommend.
posted by neuron at 4:19 PM on February 26, 2023

Maybe it's the mustache, maybe it's because I just finished the second volume of Gary Scharnhorst's biography of the man, but whenever Josh said "Marc" I kept autofilling the wrong surname.
posted by AdamCSnider at 4:41 PM on February 26, 2023

I heard a good portion of his recent interview on Fresh Air and was really moved. Part of me is inclined to think that he's caustic enough to keep at arm's length, but every time I spend more than ten minutes listening to him I'm struck by his authenticity, compassion and the wisdom afforded by his lived experience. Netflix's stand up specials are hit and miss at best, mostly miss in my humble opinion, but I'll check out his for sure.
posted by vverse23 at 5:29 PM on February 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

I am a huge Maron fan, regular podcast listener and have greatly enjoyed his books.

That said, vverse23, the one maron special that is on netflix, "End Times Fun" is probably his weakest of the 5 or so that are you there. i would say "Thinky Pain" and "More Later" are his two best.

If you have never tried the WTF podcast but like open-wide interviews from a very skilled practitioner, you should give it a shot. Be aware the first 10 min or so are more standup harangues that can be tiresome, even to a fan, and are also almost always very much of the moment. But find an interview with an artist you love, and THEN listen to an interview with someone you have never heard of, and I'd say it is at least an even bet that you will love one and like the other.
posted by hearthpig at 5:44 PM on February 26, 2023 [7 favorites]

Thanks for this. I listened to the Fresh Air interview, and it was stellar. I'm also a huge fan of Marc Maron - his ability to find the humanity in his interviewees is astounding. And I like the first ten minutes of his podcast; true, it's sometimes a bit performative schtick but I often find it to be an interesting reflection on life.
posted by bluesky43 at 5:47 PM on February 26, 2023

I was watching this and debating whether to post it or not. I mean, it's mostly Maron being Maron, even in the midst of his book and standup special promotion. But that one moment I mention... it is so utterly powerful... I felt it pushed it all into "this is worth sharing" territory.
posted by hippybear at 5:53 PM on February 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

But that one moment I mention... it is so utterly powerful... I felt it pushed it all into "this is worth sharing" territory.

Fully agreed, and kept wondering if this would appear on the blue. I first heard about this from a ScreenRant tweet about the Avatar 2 anecdote, and - having not seen, nor having any interest in, any part of the Avatar franchise - I thought "huh? Maron ended up in Avatar 2?" and I thought it would be a fun story to hear Maron tell.

(spoiler : IT IS! But, no, he didn't take the job)

I left it on in the background after that while doing some other things and the moment described above really does hit you in the parts that feel and he handles diving into it and coming out of it in a short period very well and it's just *chef's kiss*.

Quick side-story : he used to work out material at this old theatre in LA (maybe... 6-7 years ago?) and they had a great sound system hooked up to a record player and - prior to taking the stage - he said something over the intercom about loving the audio in this space, so he brought his own records. When I saw him casually walking around, I made a quip that "I think you're just doing shows here because you wanna listen to your records on this sound system" and he laughed and said "ha... maybe!"

I like how much more comfortable he's become with embracing his vulnerability, his past as being a bit of a dick (the cliché of his podcast is asking guests he knew prior "are we good?" at the end), and I'm glad his later-in-life fame hasn't turned him into an entitled "see? NOW you understand my ignored genius!" dickhead.
posted by revmitcz at 3:29 AM on February 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

His new stand up special, From Bleak to Dark, is on HBO and it's very good. It's the same show neuron saw, where Marc talks about his dad and dementia and Lynn's death. Highly recommended.
posted by ceejaytee at 5:53 AM on February 27, 2023 [2 favorites]

You can always download the most current WTFs for free here: http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast

I save them on my phone and listen via Bluetooth during long drives.
posted by hypnogogue at 10:30 AM on February 27, 2023

"End Times Fun" is probably his weakest of the 5 or so that are you there. i would say "Thinky Pain" and "More Later" are his two best

Managed to get around to watching this interview last night, along with From Bleak to Dark, and I think it's the best hour he's done since Thinky Pain. It's really, really good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:38 AM on February 28, 2023 [2 favorites]