The “advice” podcast of three generously-spirited brothers from West Virginia doubles as a kind of comedy art that embraces life's joys and absurdities.
I mean, the initial reason I got so into the McElroys and their various comedy products is because @riseofthecommonwoodpile and @goodbyemisery and @laughterkey and others kept posting really incredibly funny stuff until I succumbed, but this article does an excellent job capturing some of the reasons why they’ve been such a necessary listen for me in the hellscape that is 2017.
Jesse Thorn said, “When [you] do something that makes people feel bad—most people’s including my reaction is a defensive one. That’s just the reality of being a performer and a comedian, you want to defend your territory because you’re putting yourself out there. But their first reaction is always to say, ‘Okay, thank you all. I’ll try and understand how to do better next time.’”
On the one hand, Justin’s right when he says, “It shouldn’t be that big of a deal. It’s confusing to me that it is, it’s literally the least I can do.” On the other hand, among not only comedians but also all creators of entertainment or art, this radical openness to criticism is just that: radical.
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I asked Griffin, who’s been making this podcast for basically his entire adult life, if giving advice for an hour every week had made him a wiser person. He said no. “Learning not to be shitty with comedy has made me grow as a person way way way way beyond podcasting and this career. Interacting with folks who care so much about this thing, and trying not to let them down or make them feel unwelcome? That has been a way that we’ve all grown.”
Yes, the McElroys will tell you what to do when your roommate won’t do dishes, or you tear your pants at work, or a local goose is harassing you on your bike rides. But what they’re really offering is a way to live in the world. It’s a way that embraces joy and absurdity, and never chooses the mean joke over the kind one, even when mean is easier. It calls for humility and open-mindedness—a soul-deep “yes-and” that you can practice with every strange, wonderful person that you meet in the world.
