After trying and failing to record this episode where he meditates (don’t get weird, it’s his bedroom on a wooden chest (wait, that IS weird)), Matt is back at the dining room table for a new episode. This week he tested and failed to book a third pilot, got low-grade “Belushi-ed,” startled some kids while hiking, and invented the term “Lunchboxing.” Tune in to learn what it all means on this 45th episode!
Ding-Donger #45: Lunchbox that Motherf*#er!
To jog my brain at school, I typed a long list of notes on Ding-Donger, or anything/anyone I listen to. May as well post them here and pretend it’s a review.
*For the most part, the things that annoy me annoy Braunger the same way. For example, he admits to drunk driving in the past, which is very irrational, dangerous, stupid and several other awful things.In both this forum and his Tumblr, he says he wrote a script about the events his DUI set in order. He feels the same discomfort I do, careful to say the DUI wasn’t the part that was funny in the script or his life, and describing it in a tone of, “Jesus, Matt, what the hell is wrong with you?”
*A lot of times he says that, or something along those lines. Doing the whole show in (seemingly) one take, means he’ll get sidetracked or slip on his words or tell dumber jokes. None of these are particularly worth swearing at yourself, I think, but it almost makes me like it more knowing he’s either hard on himself (I have the same issue) or tries to keep it in.
*The short length is the best part. I listen before bed sometimes, but mostly, I listen at school. I’m alone a lot, and when I get to use the school’s computers, I’ll look up “Ding Donger Libsyn” (Nerdist is blocked, but Feral isn’t? Do they KNOW what goes on in Duncan Trussell’s podcast???). I hate not being able to listen to a full podcast, and I never manage to with any others, even if the episode takes place in less time than my class takes.
*Episodes tend to play like the opening of most of his Nerdist sibling podcasts (especially The K-ohle), where the host announces the dates and may tell a story, but longer. He’s personal and accommodating, trying to go into more comedy, but also feeling a form of loyalty to the listeners, not wanting to, “lie,” to them. Most episodes end with Braunger saying “I love you” in the end. Some end with variants (ie: “you’re awesome”), some end with Braunger telling a goofy joke or story and proclaiming, “I’ll end on that.” He sounds more like a friend than a host, a nice change of pace, and frankly the only way he could come off in the given medium.
*It feels like someone talking to me. In the classes I use computers most (Comp and Marketing), I don’t have many people who talk to me and at least one empty desk in my vicinity. Ding Donger feels like Braunger is sitting in the empty desk, whispering about the shows he went to and what happened in his last therapy session.
*I manage, roughly, 3 episodes a class, and go in descending order. I hear him say how he’s in, say, Detroit, then hear him say how he’s about to go to Detroit. I’ll hear him say why he’s sad, then he’ll imply strongly what happened in famous last words. (I’d say, but he’s not supposed to talk about it, apparently) It’s fascinating to go backwards in a person’s life. He even goes backwards in time, talking about @midnight and The Pete Holmes Show before they came out.
*He mentions Kyle Kinane, Matt Dwyer, Johnny Pemberton, or Ian Karmel every episode. I like when comedians mention their comedian friends. Name-dropping is cool to me. Does this make me a sucker? Yeah, probably.
*Just so we’re clear, this is a positive review