Day: November 17, 2010

Today is Nov. 17, 2010, which Jimmy Kimmel has dubbed "National Unfriend Day." And I don't know how what to do. On the one hand, I have firsthand anecdotal life knowledge that there's no way I have 2,372 friends — with 95 friend requests pending! — despite the fact that that's what my Facebook page clearly tells me. On the other hand, there's a button on my home page at The Comic's Comic telling readers to interact with me by becoming my Facebook friend. And I still haven't gone through the Facebook ritual of asking all of my Facebook friends to "like" The Comic's Comic. Which, for someone who wants to expand his readership to as many comedy fans as possible, seems like a triple-dog-dare of a conflict. I want my Facebook network to reflect my true friends and acquaintances in the worlds of comedy and journalism, but I need my Facebook network to include as many people to spread the good word about The Comic's Comic to their friends, and their friends, and so on and so forth. Hmmm. While I think it over, here's a new video from Jeffrey Ross for Newsweek/The Daily Beast trying to get New Yorkers to shed fake friends.   And here's the original missive from Kimmel that started this effort.   Related: You can find more National Unfriend Day videos on My...

Roadrunner Records announced today it's launching a comedy imprint called Roadrunner Comedy, with its first artist signing: Doug Stanhope. They even let Stanhope make a short video about it. Will there be profanities? What do you think? Roll the clip!   Stanhope's first Roadrunner Comedy release is slated for 2011. The label says signing Stanhope fits the spirit of the original record label, representing provocative hard rock and metal acts. "We look forward to welcoming a variety of like-minded comedians to the Roadrunner family‚Äînew artists with dynamic talents‚Äîthat will be making us laugh for years to come," said Roadrunner's CEO, Cees Wessels. Stanhope‚Äôs manager, Brian Henningan, added via press release: ‚ÄúWe needed to find a supportive partner who would let Doug Stanhope be Doug Stanhope. There are millions of people all over the world that Doug hasn't offended and with Roadrunner's help we should be able to reach them all.‚Äù Roadrunner Comedy joins an increasingly crowded field of record labels putting out stand-up comedy albums. Comedy Central Records has increased its output significantly over the past two years, signing many acts and releasing some albums as digital-only downloads, reflecting the global trend toward buying records online. Other labels producing comedy records include Warner Bros., Relapse, Sub-Pop, Stand Up!, Uproar, Rooftop Comedy, A Special Thing, and multiple independent...

After performing for 1,100 people on Broadway, the star of new musical "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" did what you might not have expected: Ben Walker headed downtown to perform stand-up for a couple of dozen spectators in the back room of a bar in Alphabet City. Walker (photographed by Mindy Tucker at left) took the stage at Luca Lounge during Thursday night's "Lasers in the Jungle" show hosted by Sean Crespo, and after commenting on what Crespo had just said onstage, he began his 13-minute set by saying: "Yeah, I'm Ben. Hi guys. This is nice! I was just uptown in a beautiful Broadway theater, 1,100 people. I've got to say this is much nicer. (laughs) A, because you guys are awake, and B, because those are some amazing boots you're wearing. Yeah. I don't have a joke about it. It's an issue that I have." Walker then got into his prepared material, earning laughs fairly consistently as he joked about the messages corporate America tells us through advertising, and didn't hold back on the meme regarding Sarah Jessica Parker, showing an ad for her perfume which carries the tagline, "Lovely on the inside." "I'm not saying she's not sexy, she's sexy, just in a very equestrian sort of way," he quipped. "I'm an actor. It's a bullshit job. It's absolute bullshit. I can't believe we get paid for it....