“What if I gave this topical thing a shot?”
September 22, 2024 9:07 AM Subscribe
On his YouTube channel stand-up comic Josh Johnson has released nearly a full day’s worth of stand-up videos. They are generally topical routines, so it might make sense to start with the latest one, about the Harris-Trump debate. In a couple of recent interviews, with Vulture and the Los Angeles Times, Johnson explains why the Daily Show writer and correspondent decided to start releasing his material immediately.
cool. this guy is definitely pretty funny and he's cute as a button!
posted by supermedusa at 9:33 AM on September 22 [6 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:33 AM on September 22 [6 favorites]
Oh, and if you don’t want topical, Johnson does do random stuff too, inspired by stuff he’s read or watched.
posted by Kattullus at 9:37 AM on September 22 [2 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 9:37 AM on September 22 [2 favorites]
I’ve been watching a video a night for a while now, and sending links to my friends. I hadn’t known he was on the Daily Show though till recently. (In fact, in the other FPP here about Diddy, I mainly knew about that awful stuff because of Josh explaining it for white people in his own brilliant way.)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:28 AM on September 22 [5 favorites]
posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:28 AM on September 22 [5 favorites]
I got a chance to see him (in Montana of all places) and he's great.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:36 AM on September 22 [2 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:36 AM on September 22 [2 favorites]
Really enjoyed his Drake vs. Kendrick Explained for White People bit.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:52 AM on September 22 [9 favorites]
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 11:52 AM on September 22 [9 favorites]
Josh Johnson is by far my favorite currently active comedian.
posted by tdismukes at 1:01 PM on September 22 [7 favorites]
posted by tdismukes at 1:01 PM on September 22 [7 favorites]
Big fan! I got turned on to Josh via facebook reels of all places. Didn't know he was anything other than a stand-up, but I immediately was drawn to his more laid-back energy and conversational style, compared to many other stand-up people. Not sure if he's as young as he looks, but he seems to have sort of a wise perspective for his age if so.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:45 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:45 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
To give a different perspective, a great deal of stand-ups I know personally are kinda baffled by Johnson. All the information they were given, everything they were trained for, is brevity and efficiency. How quickly can you get from one point to other, how many jokes can you pack in 10 minutes, how long can you keep the ball in the air, and how hard can you hit with those jokes to where the audience is gasping for breath most of the show.
Johnson's approach is the extreme opposite, which I find equally annoying and cool. He spends a lot of time, IMO way too much from a mechanical perspective, setting up a joke. In ten minutes, there might be four, five laughs. It's not an ironic exercise in being pedantic ala some of Stewart Lee's work, but more in line with youtube essayists, whose main focus is information with jokes on the side, or early Last Week Tonight where the purpose of jokes was to bolster the central point. Almost a combination of the two. A long line of information to set the central point, and then a joke to reinforce the point. It's certainly easier to make 24 hours of standup in a couple years if the number of jokes you have you actually write is very minimal, as that's often the hardest part.
Not at all discounting anyone who enjoys him. Stand-up can be really aggravating and exhausting to watch as everyone stitches C- jokes together with hyper-efficient wording to build something flimsy and tiring. Taking the inverse is really cool, I just wish I didn't personally find it so uncomfortable.
posted by Philipschall at 3:27 PM on September 22 [7 favorites]
Johnson's approach is the extreme opposite, which I find equally annoying and cool. He spends a lot of time, IMO way too much from a mechanical perspective, setting up a joke. In ten minutes, there might be four, five laughs. It's not an ironic exercise in being pedantic ala some of Stewart Lee's work, but more in line with youtube essayists, whose main focus is information with jokes on the side, or early Last Week Tonight where the purpose of jokes was to bolster the central point. Almost a combination of the two. A long line of information to set the central point, and then a joke to reinforce the point. It's certainly easier to make 24 hours of standup in a couple years if the number of jokes you have you actually write is very minimal, as that's often the hardest part.
Not at all discounting anyone who enjoys him. Stand-up can be really aggravating and exhausting to watch as everyone stitches C- jokes together with hyper-efficient wording to build something flimsy and tiring. Taking the inverse is really cool, I just wish I didn't personally find it so uncomfortable.
posted by Philipschall at 3:27 PM on September 22 [7 favorites]
The writing output of this guy is prolific. I guess that is the daily show beat. I got wind of Josh Johnson on the daily show podcasts.
Wise of him, after cold winds blew for Hasan Minhaj and Roy Wood Jr, to develop his own thing outside of TDS. So Happy it worked!
now there is more funny to go around!
posted by eustatic at 3:31 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]
Wise of him, after cold winds blew for Hasan Minhaj and Roy Wood Jr, to develop his own thing outside of TDS. So Happy it worked!
now there is more funny to go around!
posted by eustatic at 3:31 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]
Almost a combination of the two. A long line of information to set the central point, and then a joke to reinforce the point.
To me, Wyatt Cenac paved this path, but where is Wyatt now?
posted by eustatic at 3:34 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]
To me, Wyatt Cenac paved this path, but where is Wyatt now?
posted by eustatic at 3:34 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]
What he does so incredibly well is invite you in. Many comics make it feel like they are joking AT you. You need each other but there is a clear separation. Josh just feels like he’s chatting with you. As though it could be a few of you at lunch or a whole venue and he doesn’t really care, he’s just got a thing to say. And so many jokes are a slow burn. You know where he’s going to arrive, more or less, but the ambiguity about the route and timing m and he still catches you off guard. I’m really enjoying every clip.
posted by meinvt at 3:43 PM on September 22 [23 favorites]
posted by meinvt at 3:43 PM on September 22 [23 favorites]
Thank you, Katullus! I have been noodling on making this exact same post for a few weeks, after connecting with his stuff and then GORGING on all those weekly sets. I am really impressed with his work, and heartened by the kind and supportive comment-community that has built up around it on YouTube.
Philipschall, Stewart Lee is the very first comedian that came to mind for me when watching Josh’s material (I, for the most part, ADORE Stewart Lee’s comedy). I am not a standup myself, nor do I know standups, and appreciate hearing your perspective as someone with a more inside perspective on the mechanics of his comedy. I’d love to hear more, if you feel like sharing.
For me, a huge proportion of the appeal of Johnson’s comedy *is* the relaxed rhythm, which affords rich descriptions and characterizations (which he mostly pulls off *without* affected voices or sight gags). His stories feel personal, compassionate. Even though there aren’t a lot of ~jokes per set, he peppers his stories with so many sly word choices, incisive comments, and quick little moments of physical comedy - I usually find myself laughing the whole way through. As an ex theater-kid who did a lot of improv, I have way more respect for someone who isn’t scrambling from joke to joke to Make ‘Em Laugh - most comedians get first uncomfortable and then desperate and then straight-up aggressive if the audience isn’t giving them the response they want, and I’ve never seen that dynamic in his sets.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 5:27 PM on September 22 [9 favorites]
Philipschall, Stewart Lee is the very first comedian that came to mind for me when watching Josh’s material (I, for the most part, ADORE Stewart Lee’s comedy). I am not a standup myself, nor do I know standups, and appreciate hearing your perspective as someone with a more inside perspective on the mechanics of his comedy. I’d love to hear more, if you feel like sharing.
For me, a huge proportion of the appeal of Johnson’s comedy *is* the relaxed rhythm, which affords rich descriptions and characterizations (which he mostly pulls off *without* affected voices or sight gags). His stories feel personal, compassionate. Even though there aren’t a lot of ~jokes per set, he peppers his stories with so many sly word choices, incisive comments, and quick little moments of physical comedy - I usually find myself laughing the whole way through. As an ex theater-kid who did a lot of improv, I have way more respect for someone who isn’t scrambling from joke to joke to Make ‘Em Laugh - most comedians get first uncomfortable and then desperate and then straight-up aggressive if the audience isn’t giving them the response they want, and I’ve never seen that dynamic in his sets.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 5:27 PM on September 22 [9 favorites]
Omg eustatic, I was JUST thinking that yesterday! Where the hell did Wyatt go, he was everywhere for a while now, poof….??
posted by tristeza at 6:06 PM on September 22
posted by tristeza at 6:06 PM on September 22
Stewart Lee is the very first comedian that came to mind for me when watching Josh’s material
Lee is my personal favourite, so I’ll have to check Josh out - although Lee’s approach is famously much slower paced, though in some ways just as intense - he starts with the bones of a set written quickly, but then performs it close to daily until it’s tourable, takes it on the road for a bit, records it, then retires it. It’ll be interesting to compare the two!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 6:22 PM on September 22 [2 favorites]
Lee is my personal favourite, so I’ll have to check Josh out - although Lee’s approach is famously much slower paced, though in some ways just as intense - he starts with the bones of a set written quickly, but then performs it close to daily until it’s tourable, takes it on the road for a bit, records it, then retires it. It’ll be interesting to compare the two!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 6:22 PM on September 22 [2 favorites]
Man I love this guy. It's also cool to look back through this stuff and see whatever was topical at the time.
This American Life included one of his bits on a recent episode.
posted by dearadeline at 6:36 PM on September 22
This American Life included one of his bits on a recent episode.
posted by dearadeline at 6:36 PM on September 22
I'm so happy Josh is really breaking out as a stand-up comedian. I've been enjoying his very topical sets since last year, when my dad was in the hospital. It was so surprising how funny he could be with seemingly no time to prepare.
I hope he becomes the new hot thing, because I love his slow delivery and very low-key vibe. But of course, he always brings the laughs.
posted by honey badger at 7:53 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
I hope he becomes the new hot thing, because I love his slow delivery and very low-key vibe. But of course, he always brings the laughs.
posted by honey badger at 7:53 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
> timing
He's so, so good at this. The little pauses to give the audience time to catch up. I learned some of his tells after watching a bunch, but they went from bothering me a bit to no big deal. I imagine that in-person, having everyone getting where it's going before the big payoff must be great.
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 8:15 PM on September 22 [1 favorite]
He's so, so good at this. The little pauses to give the audience time to catch up. I learned some of his tells after watching a bunch, but they went from bothering me a bit to no big deal. I imagine that in-person, having everyone getting where it's going before the big payoff must be great.
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 8:15 PM on September 22 [1 favorite]
Yeah, he’s fantastic. All the sincere lead-up storytelling can end in absolutely hilarious moments of release when you realize where he has been going for so long. I far prefer him to the pack-in-the-jokes approach.
posted by umbú at 8:44 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
posted by umbú at 8:44 PM on September 22 [4 favorites]
A long line of information to set the central point, and then a joke to reinforce the pointIt was also Garrison Keillor's act, before he turned into the Midwestern grumpy uncle, anyway.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 10:06 PM on September 22 [3 favorites]
All the sincere lead-up storytelling can end in absolutely hilarious moments of release when you realize where he has been going for so long.
This bit of his is my favorite example of that, and really demonstrates his skill at keeping the audience along for the ride; not to spoil it, but he's basically able to get the entire audience to deliver a punchline without them realizing that's what they're doing until the moment afterwards. It's brilliant.
posted by mstokes650 at 11:47 PM on September 22 [9 favorites]
This bit of his is my favorite example of that, and really demonstrates his skill at keeping the audience along for the ride; not to spoil it, but he's basically able to get the entire audience to deliver a punchline without them realizing that's what they're doing until the moment afterwards. It's brilliant.
posted by mstokes650 at 11:47 PM on September 22 [9 favorites]
His piece about the Trump Harris debate is some of the best analysis I have seen about it. For a stand-up comic, I imagine that going for speed of delivery and frequency of laughs must feel like the easy path. So -to put so many pauses and material for thought rather than laughs - is a bold strategy.
posted by rongorongo at 1:56 AM on September 23 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 1:56 AM on September 23 [2 favorites]
I love standup and have recently discovered this guy. Still figuring out where he fits but so far I like him.
further to comments made by a couple of fellow travellers above:
- my favorite bit of stewart lee: slyt
- my favorite bit of wyatt cenac (although i wish there was more to find): sylt
posted by hearthpig at 4:57 AM on September 23 [2 favorites]
further to comments made by a couple of fellow travellers above:
- my favorite bit of stewart lee: slyt
- my favorite bit of wyatt cenac (although i wish there was more to find): sylt
posted by hearthpig at 4:57 AM on September 23 [2 favorites]
Youtube just started to promote his videos to me this week. I don't watch a lot of comedy or current events stuff so it kind of stood out to me as an oddball recommendation, but I gave it a shot and didn't regret it. I've been working through the videos off and on for a few days.
I might just watch the Trump v Harris one now - I can barely stomach any election-related stuff but y'all say it's good, so.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 5:45 AM on September 23 [1 favorite]
I might just watch the Trump v Harris one now - I can barely stomach any election-related stuff but y'all say it's good, so.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 5:45 AM on September 23 [1 favorite]
Oh man I loved his Debate routine and laughed all the way from laundry to the clothesline. Thanks and subscribed.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:17 AM on September 23 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:17 AM on September 23 [1 favorite]
I love him to death and follow him on every platform he's on. I just gotta know tho, how many grey zip up hoodies does this man have?
Like, for real.
posted by teleri025 at 9:37 AM on September 23 [4 favorites]
Like, for real.
posted by teleri025 at 9:37 AM on September 23 [4 favorites]
I adore Josh Johnson! Oh God the Hot Pocket woman!
posted by epj at 2:37 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
posted by epj at 2:37 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
The hair salon review. "We are not currently taking new clients." Really?
The tourist getting mugged, and the bystander who jumped in to save the day. The mugger got more than he bargained for....
Johnson has a view on the world, and he's not shy about sharing it. It's a southern "sweet tea on the front porch" visiting style, and I like it.
posted by TrishaU at 3:10 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
The tourist getting mugged, and the bystander who jumped in to save the day. The mugger got more than he bargained for....
Johnson has a view on the world, and he's not shy about sharing it. It's a southern "sweet tea on the front porch" visiting style, and I like it.
posted by TrishaU at 3:10 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
He was recently on Senses Working Overtime with David Cross (youtube). A case where two casual styles collide.
posted by john at 3:45 PM on September 23
posted by john at 3:45 PM on September 23
From the first time I saw a Josh Johnson video, I felt like he is so dialed in. I so want him to perform somewhere near me. He's on his way to becoming a singular sensation.
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:12 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:12 PM on September 23 [1 favorite]
I feel like I kinda OD'd on 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' around Y2K. It was so funny it almost hurt, but it felt like it was just empty calories, and I mostly got away from watching or listening to joke-after-joke comedy.
I find Josh quite appealing, and I think it's because he is telling stories rather than jokes.
They're funny and heartfelt, but it's (more or less) real stories.
posted by MtDewd at 3:35 PM on September 24 [2 favorites]
I find Josh quite appealing, and I think it's because he is telling stories rather than jokes.
They're funny and heartfelt, but it's (more or less) real stories.
posted by MtDewd at 3:35 PM on September 24 [2 favorites]
I loved this.
On a side note derail I want to point out that, for the bulk of the membership, Thanksgiving is a month away. So, in order to prepare yourselves for a productive conversation that evening, may I present the following training-video-by-example:
Can 1 Woke Teen Survive 20 Trump Supporters?
posted by y2karl at 9:55 AM on September 25
On a side note derail I want to point out that, for the bulk of the membership, Thanksgiving is a month away. So, in order to prepare yourselves for a productive conversation that evening, may I present the following training-video-by-example:
Can 1 Woke Teen Survive 20 Trump Supporters?
posted by y2karl at 9:55 AM on September 25
I love him to death and follow him on every platform he's on. I just gotta know tho, how many grey zip up hoodies does this man have?
I'm pretty sure he wears the same top for each performance for ease of video editing.
On another note my GOD is this man beautiful. Whew.
posted by tristeza at 1:59 PM on September 26 [3 favorites]
I'm pretty sure he wears the same top for each performance for ease of video editing.
On another note my GOD is this man beautiful. Whew.
posted by tristeza at 1:59 PM on September 26 [3 favorites]
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posted by meinvt at 9:24 AM on September 22 [4 favorites]