Greatness.

Hey, Gang!

I’m upstate. New York. Thinking.

It’s been a rough few days. When we have to repost an episode in memoriam it's always rough. I was totally surprised that Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. I would never have expected that. I guess I didn’t really know him and even if I did you just don’t know what is going on in someone’s heart or mind. He seemed to have it all. His heart was in the right place. He was righteous and outspoken but very humble and giving. He did so much to bring people together and he seemed to always be so engaged in life and living it. Who knows what made him decide to do that. It’s terribly sad.

What I realized when I reposted the episode is just how many people loved him and found hope in what he did and were inspired by his journey. His many journeys--as a writer, eater, cooker, explorer of the human experience in all forms and a radical speaker of truth to power. I think it’s hard for people who build relationships with people based on their public persona when something like this happens. Remember, you only know of them what they are making available. Their struggles are sometimes profoundly personal and their own. Try to keep your hope, if you have any left, intact. Have empathy and feel the grief but don’t assume you understand and project and personalize it and take on your idea of their struggles and make it your own. Especially if you are sensitive and prone to spiraling. We didn’t know. Remember him for the greatness. The episode we did in 2011 was a beautiful representation of who he was. I liked talking to him.

I am in Upstate NY visiting with Sarah the Painter’s family for a couple of days. Weather is perfect, the first strawberries are here and I’m dodging deer ticks. Tomorrow we are heading down to NYC. I will be appearing on Good Morning America on Wednesday and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday. I bought some new clothes I’ll be wearing. I forget why I don’t have nice clothes. They’re a pain in the ass to travel with—garment bags and more than one pair of shoes in the duffle. I figure I can dress up a little on TV. I’ve done it before but I just stopped because of the terrible fashion choices I have made over the years. You can go see decades of them at wtfpod.com in the video section.

Today I talk one of my favorite actors, Bob Balaban. Great talk. On Thursday me and Holly Hunter hash some stuff out. It was a trip having her over. Very intense. Great talk as well.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Healthy.

Hey, Folks!

Exciting opening. Exclamation point and everything. Like I have something to tell you.

I got nothing.

Just slowly prepping my brain to having to adjust to living in an actual authoritarian country and what that means. Aside from that, just the same dumb everyday shit that most of us go through. Though that as a baseline tends to exacerbate other dumb aggravations. At least, just for today, there’s no lava, water or fire ripping down my street. Just in my brain. So, that’s nice.

I’ve been trying to get into some regular exercise habit. I generally work out a couple or more times a week but I mean, like, getting my heart pounding so it feels like I’m going to die. You know, feeling like I’m really doing something ‘healthy.’ I have been through this cycle so many times before. Some of you people have probably been through it with me. I guess I’m aging into being the guy that just cycles and actual change is very incremental and relative to slowly giving up a little at full loop. With me it’s always about food, weight, nicotine and relationships. Any prolonged period when I think I’m really growing or moving forward I eventually end up in very familiar territory and it becomes hand-to-hand combat with myself. But one side is tired now and that seems to be the me that doesn’t think he’s good enough or complete or worthy. That guy is getting tired of trying to convince the other one that he’s not that great and it’s a tough sell given how life has been lately. That’s all good but I wish I could get there without stuffing myself for weeks until I have to relent to dietary control or disappear into a dark void of sad self. I’ve been hitting the dumb cigars a bit too and I’m all nic-fitty and annoyed. Emotionally I think I am genetically incapable of trust or opening up in a relationship and staying open and just letting it be. But like I said, all these things are not as harrowing as they used to be because I’m ok. Been here before. Can deal. Not cancer. Not drinking. Not yet. Aware.

I have great guests this week! I’ve always been a fan of David Harbour and I always thought we might get along in a very specific and engaged way. We did. It was an exciting talk. That’s today. On Thursday I talk to comedian Vanessa Hollingshead. It’s a harrowing tale. We have a bit of history but I’m glad she is doing okay. Great comic talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

I'm Not Sure I Know.

Back home, People!
 
Finally. I’m going to be home for a stretch. I need to regroup and get grounded. I need to work on the new place. I need to get all the dings on my leased car fixed. I need to not eat garbage. I need to reconnect with the cats. I need to buy some plants. I need to… I'm just glad to be home. 

I'm getting reacquainted with my records. One snuck up on me. It has just been hanging out for years. I haven’t really paid attention to it sitting there. I haven’t really listened to it in years. I decided to download it onto my phone for my trip among dozens of others and I was listening to it on the plane and my mind just got blown. It was Dylan’s ‘Planet Waves.’ All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the stacks, it’s my favorite Dylan album and maybe one of the greatest records ever. I don’t hear anyone ever talking about it. I also didn’t realize that Dylan only did two ‘studio’ records with The Band and this was one of them. All of them are so in the pocket it’s crazy. The space between them perfectly filled by one or all of them. It’s just astounding to me. I like when this happens. Something out of the past, that I have known for years, rises up and changes my life. The songs run the range of emotions from grief to ecstasy. There was just a perfect symbiosis between the songs and the people playing them. Peak. Jesus, I’m talking about it like just came out. 1973. I’m a bit obsessed. It will pass. I bought five copies of the album just to have and give to people if needed. It’s not hard to find or that expensive and that just baffles me. It’s fucking box of jewels.

 I’m back from Alabama and I guess I can now talk about what was going on down there. As I assumed many of you guessed I was working on a little movie that we shot out in like two weeks. It was conceived and written by Lynn Shelton and Mike O’Brien and Lynn directed it. The film is completely improvised and it’s a pretty crazy little movie—well at least the footage is—can’t wait to see how it all comes together. It will. Shelton is a wizard. It’s called ‘Sword of Trust’ and it features me, Michaela Watkins, Jillian Bell, Jon Bass, Toby Huss, Whit Thomas, Dan Bakkedahl and Tim Paul. It was hot as balls down there and the shooting was pretty intense at times. Emotional and hilarious and odd. Improvising an entire film is exhausting but it’s a very honest path to discovery. I think I had a good time at least half of the time. That’s pretty good. It was awesome working with everyone and the crew was great. Amazing experience. What’s it about? I’m not sure I know. I do know my character owns a pawn shop and that at some point four of us get out of a truck and interrupt someone inseminating a horse. Enough said. 
 
Today I talk to Tom Papa. He’s a great comic and a guy I’ve known for years but didn’t really know and made assumptions about. I never had him on. We work through it. On Thursday Rachel Brosnahan and I talk about acting and her show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which I like. I didn’t think I would like as a comic but I do. It does something very interesting in retrofitting a woman with a defined comedic voice doing spontaneous long form bits onstage into the '50s. Great talks! 

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Understanding.

What’s up, People?

You don’t have to answer.

I’m in Birmingham, Alabama. I’ve been here for a few days. I’m doing some work down here. Not construction, show business. I’ll tell you about it when I’m done. I can’t right now. I can tell you about being here, I guess.

As many of you know I am always pleasantly surprised when I come down South. Almost always. After years of prejudgment and assumptions and stereotyping, I have grown to embrace and accept the South in bits and pieces, towns and cities, not as whole necessarily. You get what I’m saying. The point is Birmingham seems nice. It takes a lot for cities down here to work against the evil ghosts of oppression and terror that occupy the streets and buildings and fields and trees but they seem to be doing it. I like it here. Good energy, good food, nice people. I’ve been limited to a set and a couple square blocks but at least my judgments are leaning toward the good side which might be too idealistic. I don’t know.

On my day off I did take the trip to Montgomery to see the new National Memorial for Peace and Justice and The Legacy Museum. In all my life of wandering through memorials and monuments and museums dedicated to the legacy of horror of one kind or another I have never been so gutted by a work of public art and museum of history. From their website:

‘The memorial structure on the center of the site is constructed of over 800 corten steel monuments, one for each county in the United States where a racial terror lynching took place. The names of the lynching victims are engraved on the columns. The memorial is more than a static monument. In the six-acre park surrounding the memorial is a field of identical monuments, waiting to be claimed and installed in the counties they represent. Over time, the national memorial will serve as a report on which parts of the country have confronted the truth of this terror and which have not.’

The steel rectangles are suspended evenly from posts, seemingly hanging, as you walk beneath them, hundreds of them. The effect is devastating and elevating simultaneously. Oppressive. The entire monument is situated on several acres of property and it takes time to walk around and take it in. No matter what I thought I knew or understood I have to admit my ignorance of the impact and terror of the violent history for African Americans in this country. I really knew very little other than it was wrong and awful and a few bits and pieces of the history because some part of me didn’t want to know. It is almost impossible to claim empathy as a white person but that isn’t required. What is required is to understand and learn and to know in your heart and mind what happened and the effect it had and continues to have.

After the memorial I drove to the museum which takes you through the entire history of organized murder and institutionalized racism in America. I felt ignorant and shallow and wrong for not knowing it in any real detail. I do now. The museum is in an old slave warehouse and that port on the river in Montgomery was a major hub of slave commerce. You are there in the house with the ghosts real pain and unthinkable horror.

Because of that day trip I won’t be the same and my heart and mind won’t be the same and that is powerful. That is being schooled. It’s an important trip to make if you can.

Today I talk to Josh Brolin which was fun and deep and fast moving. Great talk, great guy. On Thursday Mary Steenburgen and I have a great time getting to know each other and talking about her journey as a person. Great talk.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Old Lady.

Hey, Folks!

Thanks for all of your input on the Marc Maron/WTF Ben and Jerry’s flavor that will never happen. I think the consensus was What the Fudge. There were some other clever mixtures that involved dark, bitter flavors and some involved the vanilla cut that I talked about on one of my specials. I wasn’t really even expecting it to be a thing but the suggestions came in.

Also, thanks for the commiserating and confirming emails about pooping on the road and while traveling. Glad to know it’s a common thing and we are all that close.

See, you all make me feel less alone too.

La Fonda is okay. She’s old, but she’s okay. I talked about her having a hard time. When I got home from Europe she was peeing blood. It seemed to start when I got home. When a cat is 14 years old and starts peeing blood you just prepare for the worst. Sarah got her into a carrying case and I immediately took her to the vet. It is no easy trip for my weird cats. They pee and shit all over the cage and howl the whole way there. It is very stressful and traumatic but I had no choice.

I did make a decision not to see my regular vet because I can’t deal with him anymore. I didn’t want a chipper morbid prognosis with an upselling of more tests. This guy, even if the cat is okay, will let you know that it’s only a matter of time before they get sick and die and there’s always time for more tests before that happens. I didn’t want to deal with that so I went to a new vet at the same place. She was great, thorough, earnest. We did all the tests. 

They knocked La Fonda out for a set of x-rays. Shot her up with some antibiotic and a steroid and told me it might be a UTI and I might need to give her meds. That’s a nightmare. There just no way to give my cats meds. Never has been. That made me nervous but I waited out the results. She called a couple of days later saying it was a UTI and the antibiotic she used would treat it. I was thrilled. La Fonda wasn’t dying yet. The vet did say that she had weight loss and it could be Lymphoma and I should get more tests. I asked her what the treatment was. She said, ‘Chemotherapy.’ I was said, ‘We’ll see. She’s 14. She’s an old lady. Let’s wait it out.’ I think the visit to the vet takes months off her life just from the stress. Bottom line, she’s okay for now. That’s the best any of us can hope for.

Today I talked to Rachel Bloom about her new movie ‘Most Likely to Murder,’ Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Jews and more. We got each other. On Thursday I talk to Melissa McCarthy about her new movie ‘Life of the Party’ and other stuff. Great talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Connected.

Heading home, folks!

The show at Vicar St. here in Dublin went great. It’s a great venue, we packed it out and the people here are an awesome audience. Martin Angolo opened for me and he did a fantastic job. We just got done packing up our stuff and we’re getting ready to head out. I chose this to be the city I end the tour in and spend the most time in. I did my show on Thursday, I’m writing this on Sunday. I love it here.

I’ve always felt connected to Ireland since I first came here. It has less to do with the people at first and more to do with the weight of the place. There’s an emotional density here that you can feel in the buildings and the hills. It’s hard to explain but there are plenty of poets and writers you can reference for better descriptions than mine. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s not unusual for certain kinds of people to feel connected to this place. You would think they would be Irish or have a bit of it in them. I do not. I just connect to the weight of the island.

I’ve had a tense relationship with the Irish in the past. I started my career in the Boston area and I made my bones in comedy performing in bad situations for New England Townies. Many were the Boston Irish. It was no easy task to find a middle ground with them as an angry, neurotic Jewish guy in his twenties but I was determined to do it and I did most of the time. I can’t say I was being my authentic self but I was in a kind of stage survival mode. I found the audiences to be tough and seemingly mean and judgmental. I thought the Irish didn’t like me. It was a generalization but it came out of insecurity not contempt. 

The American Irish I encountered a lot in Boston are different than the ones I encountered here in Ireland. Again, a generalization but maybe there’s something to it. Maybe the American Irish, not unlike the Jews or Italians that made their way to America a few generations ago, had to fight for their place as people and as communities and that gave them a bit of an edge. There’s a certain sense of surrender and kindness here in the old country. I may be romanticizing it but so be it. I guess what I’m saying is I like the people here.

We had tea at Bewley’s a lot. Scones, whatnot. I actually stayed away from the sausages somehow. We ate a lot at an old veggie place called Cornucopia which was good. We saw the Book of Kells and the long room in the old library at Trinity College. We took a day trip out to Howth and walked the cliffs. We saw Francis Bacon’s reconstructed studio at the Hugh Lane Gallery. We walked around the city a lot. I am going to come back here and spend more time in other parts of the country. Didn’t have time this trip.

The whole short tour was great. We had a good time.

Today on the show I talk to Scott Thompson. It was a long time coming. It was a good talk. I have two more KITH to talk to, Bruce McCullough and Mark McKinney. I also have a short chat with my old friend Tom Rhodes today. On Thursday me and Drew Carey do the talking and it was pretty enlightening. I didn’t know anything about him.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Fish.

Greeting from Scandinavia, Folks!

Wow, seems like a year since I’ve written. Time is weird when you travel. I’ve done a lot since last Sunday.

Before my show in London I got a shave. During that shave the barber pulled out a long piece of what may have been hanger wire with a little cloth at the end that apparent was soaked in kerosene or some other flammable liquid, lit it and proceed to carefully burn the little hairs in my ears off. I’ve never had anything like that done to me. Usually when you are laying down in a chair and someone lights something on fire and moves towards your head the response is generally, ‘I’ll talk. I’ll talk. Put it out’.

I said nothing. I held my mud. I got a great shave and my ears look niiiiice.
The show I told you I was nervous about last week went really well. I filled Royal Festival Hall, sat down and laid it out. It was intimate and funny. I really think one of the keys to it was having them drop the curtain over the wall-sized pipe organ that would’ve been the backdrop. There’s a subliminal expectation there. Somewhere in the minds of people watching they would be expecting to hear that thing. It’s like doing comedy in front of a blank movie screen. It’s never good. Deep down people are waiting for a movie.

Always better to hide an organ on stage. You don’t want it out during the show. It's distracting and sometimes wrong depending on the show.

Also, the audience was amazing. It was great that everyone came out. I think we all had a nice time and got a few laughs.

Sarah the Painter’s show was the next night at the Timothy Taylor Gallery and that went very well too. The work looked great on the walls and a lot of people came. There was a big dinner and a Peruvian Restaurant after. I’ve never had that kind of food. Another first. It seemed like 20 courses. I ate all of them. I can’t wear one of the pairs of pants I brought over. I guess I get back in shape stateside.

We flew to Stockholm on Wednesday. I liked it there. We saw some great art, a giant ship that sunk in the harbor a long time ago, pretty buildings and I ate some meatballs. I did a good show for a great crowd. I liked Sweden. It’s nice to be in countries where everyone isn’t armed.

We’re in Oslo, Norway now. I’m about to head to the theater. We saw a real Viking ship today and some more amazing art yesterday. We had high tea and I ate fish. I like the vibe here. Feels deep. No sure why. Maybe it’s the fjords. Maybe I have Viking in me. I should get that gene test. It’s a long shot but I’ve done some research. I think it’s possible. I just feel connected to this place. Maybe the herring and smoked salmon and rye bread just got me all genetically nostalgic, not really for here just in a general Jewy way. How did that stuff get into the eastern European Jewish diet? I have to do some more research.

Today I talk to Bradley Whitford about stuff back in the old garage. On Thursday I talk to Mandy Stadtmiller about her new book ‘Unwifeable.’ Good talks. Both of them.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Traveling.

Across the pond, People.

I’m here. London. I’m not freaking out like I usually do when I travel abroad. I usually feel detached and weird and alone in a stranded kind of way as I wander the streets of another country. Come to think of it, I feel that way wherever I travel if I’m alone. I am not alone. I met Sarah the Painter here.

I have a show tonight at the Royal Festival Hall and Sarah has a show Tuesday at the Tim Taylor Gallery. We’re doing the business.

I am nervous about the show tonight but I’ve been doing this a while. It should be good. It’s a big place. I sold it out. I should be thrilled but that makes me nervous. There is no winning in my head.

I’ve done a lot of travelling in the last few days. I flew into JFK last Wednesday and stayed at The Crown Plaza by the airport. Hotels by the airport, any airport, are a bit tweaky. I know it’s probably just travelers and flight crew but it seems like there is some shady doings going on. Maybe I’m projecting but it just looked like a few wrongminded folks doing some international dirty deals milling about. It could’ve just been some angry Russian guys waiting for an Uber. I don’t know. Is that racist? Probably.

I woke up Thursday morning to pick up a car for a night. I thought I had reserved one of those nice Infinity/Cadillac SUV things but when I arrived there was a giant black Escalade in my pick up spot. I got in it and realized this is something you get picked up in on someone else’s dime, not something you drive. I almost just took it but I felt ridiculous. So, because it was just overnight, I rented a Dodge Charger which is a whole other type of ridiculous. It’s important that I rent something like that once a year so I don’t rationalize buying one on some dumb, cock-driven impulse. It was fun. I drove four hours to Williamstown to do an ‘in conversation’ gig at Williams College about the ‘secular Jewish art of intimacy in conversation.’ Yeah, I didn’t know what it meant either but I rolled with it. It was me being interviewed by a Religious Studies professor named Jefferey Israel. Yup, it was pretty Jewy, but fun.

I stopped at MASS MoCA in North Adams on the way and it was spectacular. Go if you are in the area, or make a special trip.

Then I drove back, dropped the car off at Kennedy, and took the Airtrain to my terminal seven hours early. There just wasn’t enough time to do anything with the day really. There was plenty of time for me to justify upgrading to first class since I had just been paid pretty well to talk about being a Jew who really isn’t that Jewy anymore. I spent a few hours in the Concorde Room eating and spreading my post-its and yellow pads out to organize the thoughts I wrote down over the last, I don’t know, year. I was proud to be working from paper, old school. I looked like a lunatic but fuck it.

So, I got on the plane and had my bed made and slept for bit and I was in England. It was the illusion of sleep but it got me through. I’ll let you know how the show goes on Thursday.

Today I talk to Aisha Tyler who is going through a bit of a life shift. Also, I talk a little bit to Louie Anderson who has a new book out. He’s very funny. It’s always good to see him. On Thursdayme and manic Sam Tripoli talk about comic life, conspiracies and his dad among other things. Great talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

A Part of Who I Am.

I’m out, Folks.

I moved everything out of the garage into the new garage. It’s an odd feeling.

Odd is a broad word for a lot of feelings I’m having about the move. Some of them are just now starting to happen. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling alone and like I was lost somehow. In this flurry of transition, I’m not sure that I really took into mind just how much that garage was part of me. Just how second nature it was to be in there. It was complete symbiosis. We grew together. We were inseparable. Certainly, in the public’s eye, but also in life. Everything that I am now was somehow informed by that space.

I know it seems like I’ve been talking about it a lot but now it is really done and I guess I’m in a bit of shock. Look, I chose it and I’m happy I did but now I’m feeling it. Ryan Singer and I spent the day boxing up stuff and doing five or six trips to and from the new place. We loaded the books (I kept almost all of them) and book shelves into a rented pick up and did it. I wanted my hands on this move. All of it.

I set up the table and attached the booms. I set up the mics, mixer, hard drive and hooked up the monitor. I did a sound and equipment check and tried not to freak out. It felt good, new, exciting. I love the new space.

Then came the feeling of loss and weirdness. There is some part of me that really is not comfortable with change. I was in that old house for more than 13 years. That may not seem like a long time but it really is. A house becomes an extension of you. Part of your being. A haven. A home. A friend. A familiar. I guess no matter how slow I made the transition or how much I love my new place I’m going to feel a little heartbroken and lost for a bit. A little fragile. A little raw. That place was a big part of who I am and now I have to compartmentalize that somehow. 

Compartmentalizing is not my strong suit but I think it’s okay to feel the way I feel. It’s going to take however long it takes to build a relationship with my new place. It will be awkward at first as we learn to understand each other but we will settle in. I do find some solace in the fact that I felt like it was time to go for many reasons. No matter how hard part of my brain wants me to believe I should’ve stayed there forever I know in my heart it was the right thing. We had a good run, me and that garage. It was time for both of us to move on.

Today on the show I talk to Neil Patrick Harris about a lot of things. He’s a solid guy. It was great talking to him. I also spend a little time with Michael Imperioli talking about his new novel which is really quite dark and quite sweet. It’s a perfect balance. It’s a coming of age of story that takes place in NYC in the 70s and Lou Reed is a character in the book. It’s good read. On Thursday I talk to Jason Alexander and he is exactly how you think he is which is rare but good. Sweet guy.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

That's the Plan.

Now it’s real, people. 

Yesterday was the first open house. Apparently about three hundred people came by. I got the garage pretty stripped down, yet still functional for the showing. I know a few fans came by because they posted pics of MY garage on their Twitter and Instagram feeds. It’s cool. I think that’s why I left it in tact. I knew a few folks just wanted to see it. It’s also always humbling and good to know just how many people have no idea who I am. Obviously I don’t think I’m some huge celebrity but it's good know that podcasts are still special in a way and that the relationship I have with my audience is special and even secret in a way. So, don’t tell too many people that we hang out.

I believe the actual move of the equipment will happen at the end of this week. Should be recording in the new garage next week. It’s going to be a mess for a while and it might take a bit to get the shelves and books and posters and art and sound foam panels up but I will be sitting there at a mic next week. That’s the plan. It will be like the beginning of the podcast. Just me at a table surrounded by piles of stuff that was basically just being stored in the space. I guess it will be a little different but the same vibe.

I know this seems like a slow and very mediated separation from my old house but this is what is happening. I think the place will be sold by the end of this week. I’ve spent some meditative time in the new garage the last few days trying to figure out where to set up the table and the mics. I’ll miss the dogs and the choppers that sometimes made an appearance on the show but I think we’ll have plenty of yardwork noise to contend with and there seems to be a lot of birds around the new house. Doves, I think. Doves.

So, I’ve been watching Stranger Things. I should say I’ve been compulsively consuming it. Made it through all of season one and one episode of season two in a couple of days. I think that’s why I don’t watch most things. I kind of think I don’t care but I think the real truth is I won’t be able to get out or have a life if there are a lot of episodes of anything I get into (and I can get into to most things, really). I have that kind of addictive, completist disposition when it comes to most things that interest me or make me feel good. Also, it triggered some of my old ‘Shadow Government’ propensities to the point where I thought the first six episodes were completely possible. Now I have to finish it.

Today I have what is really a limited discussion with Sean Penn about his book and some other stuff. Intense guy. I also have a short fun talk with director Lynn Shelton about her new movie ‘Outside In.’ Great movie. On Thursday the fellas from They Might Be Giant come by for some lively chatting. Great talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Dismantling.

People!

Some things just aren’t getting any better are they?

I’ll keep talking to people and staying as human as possible without falling into myself or losing my shit entirely. There are still good things in the world. We have to protect them when and if possible.

I seek meaning through obsession with dumb stuff. I bought this odd mustard-colored Filson chamois shirt a couple of years ago on sale in Denver. I’d wear it occasionally but I didn’t commit to it. When I commit to something it becomes one of the three things I wear all the time. Whether it be jeans, boots or shirts. Well, the other day I felt myself finally committing to the shirt. The day after that feeling I wore the shirt to do some shows. I always know there is a possibility that I will stick an open pen in my pocket and stain the shirt in the obvious way that happens. I am aware and vigilant about it. Somehow, I managed to do that to my new shirt that I had just made vows too. I couldn’t handle it. I knew I could just let it go. It’s just a shirt and it’s not that big a deal but it’s all I can see on that shirt now. I was just going to grieve and let it go but I couldn’t. I got online and tried to find one. They don’t make them anymore so I didn’t know if I could. I did. On eBay. It’s supposedly unworn and still has the tags. We’ll see. I know one thing, when it comes, that other shirt is out. In a bag. I will take it to Goodwill and forget this heartbreak every happened.

Thursday this week is our 900th episode. I’ll spend a little time going through the garage as I am dismantling it. I guess I will be reflecting but I will also be assessing. I will be trying to access the feelings that have transpired in there between me and myself and me and other people. It is a special structure. A ritual space in a way. I think I’m either in denial about the move or genuinely excited to get started in the new space. It’s a garage. You all need to know that. It’s just a little bigger and has a bathroom. It has low ceilings and limited light and I think it’s going to be an amazing place to do the show. I have no doubt that no matter how much I tell myself that I am going to do a major house cleaning in terms of what I keep and what goes in the new garage that almost everything will end up in the new place and there will still be room for new clutter and STUFF. See, that might be the real reason I am moving. I didn’t feel I had enough room for the growing stacks of stuff on the floors and I needed more wall space for weird art and artifacts. I really think it will be good. I am excited. I’m ready to expand into larger garage and work on my hoarding.

Also on the 900th show I will be talking to Nick Nolte. It makes sense. He tells stories bouncing around from era to era like all the fragments are connected. That was sort of my experience going through my stuff in the garage. I guess all our minds and memories are sort of garages and storage spaces for stuff that means something to you or did at some point in your life and every once in a while you pick it up and look at it. 

Today on the show I talk to Nell Scovell about a life in TV comedy writing. Also today I talk to Bill Hader a bit about his new show Barry on HBO.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Resonating.

Yes, People. 

It is happening. I’ve started to box up the garage. It’s good. It’s actually a great experience for me. I’m spending some time with everything in there individually. Tchotchkes, books, notebooks, fan art, files of garbage, bits and pieces of bitter with things on them. All of the things have some connection to me. It’s wild. I’ll be throwing parts of me away. I can’t have too much of me around. Obviously, nothing amazing. Just parts of me that don’t resonate with me anymore. I think that’s reasonable. Who needs non-resonating parts of themselves around to remind them of times that perhaps resonated badly?

I think the reason I’m not freaking out entirely outside of liking my new home is that I have time. Even when I moved into the new house I did it a few boxes at a time over a few months. That is the way to move. Emotional transitioning slowly. Also, I just cant deal with the chaos and panic of moving everything at once. And it’s easier to decide what to throw away if you go slow.

Also, I’m doing all the things to make my house nicer that I never did while I lived there. It could’ve been better there for me but I guess I just want the next person to have that. I went with Ernie the handyman and picked up a new water heater, put that thing in. It’s nice and clean and works perfectly. I’m going to do some work on the sewer line that I’ve been putting off. The new paint and finished floors look great. Everything is clean. I had the windows washed for the first time EVER. In the entire time I lived there I never had them washed. I have a great view up there. I didn’t even know how great.

I am still more excited than sad and I think that is good.

Today on the show I talk to Ted Danson about Ted Danson stuff. Great guy. On Thursday I talk to David Mamet who I didn’t tell I was feverish and I think he may have though he made me sweat but actually it was just sickness. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Getting Emotional.

Hey, People!

I’m a little harried. I’m trying to watch a few minutes of the Oscars and write this and get ready to go do my shows at the Ice House. I’m in a spiral because I can’t figure out how to get out of the commercial on my streaming service. Maybe I’m just an old guy who needs cable because I’m too stupid or unfocused to understand how to stream.  Also, for some reason my space bar is double spacing spontaneously. So, before I edited this, you would’ve thought I was having a seizure. Small problems. I’ve just watched like 20 minutes of fucking commercials and all I want is to watch some celebrities winning and losing stuff in pretty clothes and watching Jimmy Kimmel be funny in what must be a fairly tough situation. Still commercials. I’m losing my shit. 

Ok, its back on.

I’d like to say that I’m not jealous. I am a little but in a different way. I got a taste. Getting a taste is not the best thing for an addict. I’m not even jealous of anything specific. Just being part of something I guess. I think I would feel like I wasn’t part of it even if I was sitting at the event. I have a dumb brain. Self-centered brain. A brain that isolates me sometimes.

I’m crying now.  No reason. Someone is getting emotional for winning something. I don’t know even know who they are. They are emotional. It’s making me cry.

Jesus.

Why am I not prepping for my shows? I need to do new shit and I napped and spun out today and now as I write this and watch the Oscars and am also trying to put together a set for tonight. WHY CANT I MANAGE MY TIME PROPERLY? WHY CAN'T I BE MORE DISCPILINED WHEN IT COMES TO CREATING MY SHIT?

Okay. We’re through that. Whatever happens will happens.

Today I talk to the intense and powerful Sharon Stone. It was intimidating but I relaxed into it. On Thursday I have a very lively chat with David Oyelowo. Great chats!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Sleep It Off.

Sicky,  People.

I’m fucking sick. I hate being sick. I know, who doesn’t? I always think I’m going to be the one that just doesn’t get sick, anymore, ever.  It’s ridiculous. I eat well. Take care of myself. Take the vitamins.

Then you start seeing people around you fall. Everyone starts getting something. Then you feel like you are getting something almost always. To the point that you don’t even know if you are making it up.

So, a few things coincided for me last week. My mother was planning to come out for four days and I felt something coming on and I’m trying to get new jokes together and I’m about to move the garage. So, my vessel was operating at full emotional stress levels on all fronts. I am a rock. I am an island (that sometimes yells). I’m just trying to move through my life and just deal. Just show up for the stuff. 

The night before my mother comes I feel great. I try to sleep it off. The next day I feel week and something is going on behind my face. Some kind of congestion. My chest feels tight. Energy low. I know there’s a flu out there that is killing people and I don’t really want to die with my mother in town but there is a sad sense of closure in that idea. Thursday I’m pretty ill. Just clammy and weak and the New York Times met me at the old house to cover the end of the garage. We are going through stuff. Memories. Artifacts. Taking pictures. My mother is there. The writer gets bonus content. 

That night I sleep the sweaty sleep and that feels right. Maybe it’s over. Nothing really changes with me physically other than I am weak and sneezy. Friday morning, I have to interview an important playwright. I’m nervous about it but canceling would have been tricky because he was coming from the Westside and it was an early interview so I sucked it up and did it. I felt bad. I didn’t want to get him sick but I thought I would be better. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t sneeze. I did start sweating rather obviously at the beginning of the talk to the point that I was dabbing my forehead with a dish towel.  He probably thought I was just nervous. I think it went ok. 

Friday night, my mother decides dramatically that she is leaving a day early, Saturday, because I’m sick and she doesn’t want to make it worse. I tell her not to go and even though I’m weak and shitty on Saturday we go see art and eat stuff with Sarah the Painter. I also need to say that my mother doesn’t really have a nurturing bone in her body for humans. Dogs, maybe. So her way of dealing with sick people is just to insist you aren’t sick and when she gets annoyed to tell you to rest. Then she worried that she might get sick. I bought her a pretty purse. She left today, Sunday. Now the illness has moved into my guts and I have no idea what it is.

What’s the point of all this? I don’t like being sick. I have work to do. It would have been better if I had all of my defenses working properly when my mother was here. I could’ve pretended better and behaved a little better. It was good to see her.

I don’t regret not having kids but I start to realize one of the reasons you have them is when you are older and your parents are still alive it gives them a reason to hang out with you and it isn’t about you. It can be a bit much to be just one-on-one with parents when you are older. I mean, what’s left to say? Four days is the max, sick or well.  Unless you have kids, then everyone gets what they want.

Today on the show I talk to Jennifer Lawrence about being Jennifer Lawrence. It was great. Love her. Thursday I talk to Bill Janowitz from the band Buffalo Tom. A old favorite of mine. Great talks!

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Lost.

How’s it going, Folks?

Hope everything is okay. Good enough. Not horrible. I miss status quo. This fanatical Christian racist authoritarian clusterfuck is exhausting most days. I hope the voting works when it's time.

Other than that, and the perpetual state of self-criticism I’m usually in, everything is pretty good. I know it sounds like a small sliver of a wedge of good in the Maron psychological pie chart but that’s generally what I am working with. Seems to help with my creativity, sadly.

I’ve been doing a lot of comedy. Right back into the bit-making process. After I dump an hour-plus into a special those bits usually just naturally die in my mind. I don’t think to do them anymore. At least not in the same form I had. Some ideas recur throughout my entire career it seems. They are parts of what I guess is my ongoing conversation with the world OR an indication that on some level, probably emotional and psychological, I am spinning my wheels. I guess if I spin them in new ways that feels like growth. Get that car rocking forward and back a bit to get out of the mud. Seems like that is my life’s work. Maybe eventually I will jettison myself out of this slippery hole and keep moving onward up the mountain. Fortunately, there is plenty going on around me so my perception is being hammered at daily and that gets me thinking and trying to make sense, trying to understand and make it funny.

I’m happy new bits are coming so I have them for upcoming dates in Europe and they can create a bed of material to work from as I develop the new chunks. I want to revisit some big bits that were never really released in the world and get them on the record so to speak. I also had some kind of mental breakthrough around how I approach material while I was dehydrated and lost on a hike the other day. I set out again to learn about the massive park by my house. I looked at a map of all the hikes and embarked on a loop which seemed manageable but there was no mileage scale. I put Miles Davis on in my head and got lost in that and then, before I knew it, I was in a no turning back situation in the middle of an 8-mile loop with a little bottle of water. I felt that jazz, the structure. Start with a phrase you can come back to and maybe some sense of an ending and just depart in between on the riffs. I have thought about it before but it never quite made sense to me in what I do with comedy in such a clear way.

We’ll see what happens. Oh, and I made it down from the mountain.

Today I talk to Heather Graham about her new movie ‘Half Magic’ and her career and a couple of bad situations. Plus, a short talk with the returning Sebastian Maniscalco. On Thursday I talk to Duncan Jones about writing and directing his new film ‘Mute’ and I try, unsuccessfully, not to bring up his dad too much. Also, my buddy Brendon Small stops by. Great talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

Aspirational.

Go deep, People!

Like every year, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. There was no malice or judgement in my decision.  I didn’t actively not watch it like I was thinking I wasn’t watching it. I don’t watch it or any other football ever. So, it just doesn’t register. I guess there are other reasons to watch like ‘amazing’ commercials or the halftime show but neither of those seemed that exciting either. I just didn’t do anything. Well, actually I went on a confusing hike and got scared. Then I came home to write this and eat air-pop popcorn in my gym shorts.

I understand that Super Bowl Sunday is basically a holiday in the USA. It certainly has more resonance than probably any other holiday especially at this juncture in history. It’s about winning and losing and tribal loyalty. Much like our political climate which is not about governing or belief in America or the Constitution. It’s about tribal loyalty and winning at any cost by any means possible even if it kills people or destroys the system and rule of law. That’s why Super Bowl Sunday is so powerful. It’s becoming aspirational in the sense that there are still rules and if a team loses they understand no one has to die unnecessarily or leave the country because of it and they can kneel at the beginning and not be fired.

I just went up to this park nearby which has some trails. I am not that familiar with it and I was heading up into the hills about a half hour before sundown. Half running, thinking that the trail would be easy. Then, no trail. Or, maybe trail. Seemed harder than it should be. I went up a ravine and something smelled bad, like death. So, instead of continuing I chose not to. As I scurried down the rocks I asked myself if I was being cowardly. What if there was a dead person up there? Then I thought, well, I couldn’t help them. I thought it was probably an animal and then I thought I don’t know what killed it and I don’t want to be next. 

I was listening to music through my headphones and I turned them off because I had gotten myself into a mountain-lion-or-crazy-person-in-the-bushes-with-a-knife-panic and the trail was still dubious. As I plodded down a dry creek I must’ve hit play with my keys in my pocket and Elvis Costello’s ‘Beyond Belief’ blasted into my head and in that second I thought it was a rattlesnake and I jumped and screamed alone in the setting sun. When I realized I was okay I put my music back on and Spiritualized's ‘Shine a Light’ came up on the shuffle as I walked toward the setting sun and back into the parking lot. Alive.

I stopped by Seafood City in Eagle Rock Plaza which I believe is a Filipino market. I had it in my head to get my cats some dried fish but all the ones they had there were salted. So I bought them some freshly defrosted anchovies and brought them home and they wanted nothing to do with them. They just played with them and spread fish germs all over the place. The market was intense. There was a lot of whole fishes and vegetables and fruits I had never seen before. I have to get out more. I have to buy a durian.

Today on the show I talk to Riki Lindhome about her show on Comedy Central, starting out in LA, Garfunkel and Oates and other stuff. Also, Laurie Kilmartin stopped over to talk about her new book. On Thursday me and actor/playwright Tracy Letts get into it about all the stuff. Love that guy. Good talks.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

A Blur.

Hello, Friends.

Weird way to open. I feel like I’ve never said ‘Hello, Friends.’ Feels like bad news should come after that or that I’m moving on from the company or the company is closing. Then after that some kind of forced gratitude that comes from having nothing else to say happens. None of that is happening. Just needed a new way to start. Seemed frank, up front. Hello. Friends. Now I regret it. I guess I could’ve just deleted it and gone with something else because now shit feels heavy.


Hey, People!

Shooting is done. The second season of GLOW is wrapped. It’s an odd thing. Having a job that is pretty all consuming for a few months and then it’s just done. Over. A shoot becomes a community, like a small town with one restaurant and everyone works at the same place doing a lot of very different things. Occasionally dozens of strangers come by to hang out. Then it’s just over and everyone goes their separate ways. I guess there’s some relief in it but it’s weird. I think it’s going to be a great season. I have no recollection of almost any of it. A blur. 

I didn’t really plan any time off. I just keep working. Getting back into the standup heavy so I I have some new stuff to tour with. Doing the talking to the people. Working on the houses. Trying to get the cat ranch patched up and looking good. Trying to get the new place looking like someone lives there. And trying not to spiral into panic every day for one reason or another. It’s working out ok. 

Maybe someday I will just feel at peace with who I am and my life. I have moments, hours even, that are then ruined by impending doom of all varieties and not only in my mind. Many are up there, though. I guess I can try to temper those. I do.

Obviously not a lot to say today. Tired.

Today on the show I talk Rita Moreno. A LEGEND. Great actress, great stories, great person. On Thursday I talk to singer and musician Ezra Furman. I really like his records and I was curious about him so I had him over. Also, I talk a little bit with David Wain on Thurday too about his new movie.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron

New Garage.

Folks! How goes it?

I’m writing this Sunday. I have to get dressed soon. I have to put on my fancy pants and go to the SAG Awards. I’m excited about this one. I am nominated for Best Male Actor in a Comedy Series and Alison is nominated for Best Female Actor. The entire ensemble is nominated for GLOW. So, we’ll all be there. I hear this one is a fun one. Classy. It’s still a long day but I think it will be good. This is a room full of peers and they are the ones that did the voting. It’s a community event. I will be doing my own hair and makeup.

Our last day of shooting is tomorrow and then it’s back to the boards in front of the mic at the comedy club. I have to find some new stuff, new angles, new through lines, new funny. The work never stops. Have to get into gear for my brief European stint. I feel a little rusty.

I also have to pack up the garage and move it to the new garage. I don’t know if I mentioned that. There is a garage at the new house. It has a bathroom and it’s bigger than the current situation. I just wanted to make that clear. WTF will continue to be a garage-based show. The new garage may even be older than the current one. I’m not sure though. The house was built in 1908 but I believe the garage was added later. I believe the plan is to record the dismantling of the garage on audio at least and maybe video. I will let you know.

Today on the show I talk to Macaulay Caulkin. He wanted to come on the show. I thought it would be interesting to hear his story and see where he is at now. I was happy to see him. Also, Cameron Esposito stops by for a short-but-good chat. On Thursday I talk to bass player and producer Don Was about music, The Stones, re-mastering, and Detroit. It was great.

Enjoy! 

Boomer lives!

Love,

Maron