On today's new edition of Marc Maron's WTF podcast, Maron sits down with Dane Cook -- and Cook apparently has video footage of this, which may or may not see daylight, too -- you get to hear Maron be an asshole while accusing Cook of being an asshole. It makes for an interesting listen. Both guys seem to have an agenda. Both guys seem to have an understanding of the other person that fits while at the same time doesn't fit. In between bits of verbal sparring, you get to hear Cook talk about his childhood and school life, his father's alcoholism, and about his outlook on life.
Happy ending? Listen to the whole thing (including Maron's opening monologue about his battles with nicotine):
It's not like Marc Maron is known for being a sweet little bunny rabbit. :)
Posted by: Miss | June 28, 2010 at 02:53 PM
Marc's well aware that he can be an "a$$hole"
Most interviews start with Marc's apology to the comic for some stuff he did or said to them years ago.
You've got to admire that.
Posted by: spleenal | June 28, 2010 at 03:37 PM
just listened to the whole interview and i don't really hear marc being an asshole. i think he dealt with him in a straightforward manner, maybe going a bit over the top with the 'essence' comments, but overall it seemed like a fair interview. not sure what specific part of the interview suggested him being an asshole. if anything, i expected far worse given his first few minutes describing nicotine withdrawals.
Posted by: chris | June 28, 2010 at 04:03 PM
LOL, Marc was kind of an Asshole with the "Essence" stuff. Every time Cook tried to move on, Marc kept coming back to it.
Apart from that, pretty fair interview. I doubt they will be best friends after this, but like Sean said, they seem to have an understanding of where each other fits.
Miss leading Title though, I was expecting more fireworks based on what the title said Sean.
Posted by: Toheeb | June 28, 2010 at 04:16 PM
I also disagree, I don't think Marc Maron acted like an asshole in that interview. I actually think he's a good interviewer; especially with comics. It's interesting how Dane Cook doesn't drop his guard with Maron who's not really out to get him. He seems very defensive in a sad way(he brought his own camera!).
Posted by: Gee | June 28, 2010 at 04:27 PM
People can disagree with me if they want to, but it sure sounded to me as though Maron had a different tone in this interview than in past podcasts. Usually, yes, there's a pattern of the comedian reminding Maron of how he had been an ass to him or her in the past, and it's all jovial from there. In this case, Maron seemed pretty intent on pushing Cook's buttons -- even before the "essence" part. How much of this was a result of Cook surprising Maron at the start by setting up a video camera? I don't know. But Maron definitely made much more of a deal about the very-old-at-this-point allegations over three premises that Cook and Louis CK both had several years ago. I talked to Cook about this in 2007, so I guess I feel like that's the least interesting thing to explore, and it just made Cook defensive.
And in an amusing coincidence, I got a publicity email today about Steve Byrne's upcoming stand-up special. I wonder if it captures his essence or not!
Posted by: Sean | June 28, 2010 at 05:28 PM
People can and they will disagree with you, which is the beauty of putting stuff on the internets. :)
I've listened to every episode of WTF, am pretty perceptive, and I don't notice the significantly different tone you do.
Posted by: Miss | June 28, 2010 at 06:22 PM
I noticed a different tone. This may be the Marc that Marc is always apologizing for.
Posted by: Slim | June 29, 2010 at 01:38 PM
Wasn't trying to pee on the article, quite the contrary thanks for posting it.
One other difference from his previous podcasts was Cook initiating the interview, I assume. Maybe that was responsible for the 'different tone'? Honestly the interview was reminiscent of the Mencia interview (scorned comedian comes on to be interviewed to clear his name), except that Cook actually came off better and not a hack. Broad and ego-centered? Sure, but not the petulant hack that Mencia appeared to be. I hate to say it but my opinion of Cook slightly grew a bit after this interview. No offense intended to any of his fans here.
Thank you again for the link. I for one would have missed the show without it.
Posted by: chris | June 29, 2010 at 06:17 PM
Yeah I think Dane came out of this pretty much unscathed.
Seems to e a genuinely nice guy too. I don't think he is particularly funny but I always taste some sort of envy/disbelief about his success.
In the end, it's him who is laughing all the way to the bank.
Posted by: Tony | June 30, 2010 at 03:48 PM
I think the fact that Cook solicited the interview is a huge deal with regards to the "a$$hole" nature of the episode.
If Marc would've called Dane and asked him to come on the show, you'd expect him to be far more congenial and even-handed in the questioning. But as it stands, Dane is the one that said, "Hey, I want to be on your show." And to me that's almost more of a PR move... his attempt to get on the good side of the 'real' comedy fans that listen to WTF.
And for at least the first half, this was barely even an interview. There was no flow of conversation, and hardly any questions answered. Cook clearly had a goal in going on the show, and that was "Tell my sob story about my childhood, about making it as a comic, and get some sympathy." There was hardly any initiation of half the things he talked about... he just started telling his story as if that was what he was there to do. Then when Marc made some pointed comments (which were either jokes or disguised as jokes), he was incredibly defensive. A lot of the asshole comments Marc made, especially with the 'essence' thing and the 'asshole' thing, were clearly setting up Dane to play along, to fire some jokes back, win some points for himself. But instead he got defensive, and Marc was just left thinking, "What the fuck? He is not getting it."
I think if Marc would've solicited the interview, it would've gone very differently. As it stands, I think it was a very frustrating episode, and it didn't better my opinion of Dane Cook one bit.
Posted by: steve | July 04, 2010 at 02:03 AM
I agree with Steve above, as far as Cook being overly defensive. Usually Marc can fuck around with his guests -take the piss out of em'. Because hey, they're all comedians. Cook seemed really touchy about the 'essence' thing. I thought the wizard line was funny, but not mean. I never hated Cook and I don't now. I kinda like him more actually, but that's probably because my mom just died of cancer and he talked about his parents. Can't help it. He's definitely not as nuts as Mencia -that dude has issues. Also, he's a big hack.
Posted by: erin | July 07, 2010 at 06:09 PM