Topic: Scharpling & Wurster / The Best Show On WFMU

[Crabwalk]

I thought he was on pretty good form on last week's show! A really funny call with Jon, some spirited rants against Steely Dan, and his version of Deacon Blues at the end was a lovely surprise. He keeps saying he wants this final iteration of the show to be great so I'm sure we'll see it developing over the coming months. This move to LA clearly signals a huge change in his life and it's no surprise that his work and personal issues over the past year or two have impacted his energy levels. I'm interested to see where he takes things.

Mike needs to come back ASAP though and he does need some better callers. So many of the men that call in are fucking dreadful.

[Paaaaul]

While I do enjoy this iteration of the show, the callers are a problem. On WFMU, he would have new listeners every week because it was being broadcast live on FM across New York, and that resulted in a wide range of callers. Now all the callers are already fans and already in on the joke. I would happily never hear about Oreos again.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Yes, the callers have been a problem for a long time now. Even the last few years that the show was on terrestrial radio it started to be dominated by boring "regulars" who would call in with nothing to say, and, more importantly, who Tom would always be indulgent towards and never mean to. Tom being mean to callers was a critical part of the show in the mid-00s/late-00s. When was the last time he actually GOMP'd somebody, does he even do that anymore?

And without the show in terrestrial radio you'll never get another Spike. They tried to do something like that with Avalanche Bob, but those calls were dreadful because they were way too manufactured.

[Dusty Substance]

I'm catching up with the Tom vs. Steely Dan episode and, so far, it's been most (all?) new callers with a good phone-in topic for Tom to riff on. Guests include Jon Daly and an out-of-character Gregg Turkington. A good episode with which to start the new iteration. No Mike, of course, which makes me a little sad.

[colacentral]

I'm catching up with the Tom vs. Steely Dan episode and, so far, it's been most (all?) new callers with a good phone-in topic for Tom to riff on. Guests include Jon Daly and an out-of-character Gregg Turkington. A good episode with which to start the new iteration. No Mike, of course, which makes me a little sad.

I thought there was a bit of tension with Gregg towards the end of that call. For one thing, I could sense Tom holding back when Gregg started to go off on one about Pavement, as many years ago Tom went on a long rant about Stephen Malkmus, but nowadays I think he shies away from slating people that could be tangentially in his circle, which Malkmus definitely is. I think you can kind of hear Tom biting his tongue at that point.

Then the next thing was about Sonic Youth, and I thought Tom bristled a bit at that. He obviously will know Gregg's history with Mr. Bungle, another subject of Tom's rants from years past, and I was on edge waiting for it to turn ugly when Gregg said he'd rather catch covid than listen to Sonic Youth. I was waiting for a retort like "I'm sure you'd rather listen to John Zorn" or something. I later wondered if Tom brought up Zappa just to bait him, assuming Gregg would be a fan.

[Crabwalk]

Despite Gregg being ostensibly out of character, I did think he was 'doing a bit' and being purposefully antagonistic at times (hence all the swearing, which I'm certain he knew would push Tom's buttons). Tom did ask for callers to bring forth better defences of 'The Dan' and Gregg certainly responded. It was a great call and I loved hearing Tom being pushed like that by someone even sharper and more opinionated than him. I think Gregg was playfully giving him a taste of his own medicine.

[Shameless Custard]

Blimey, you're not wrong about the Oreo woman. She's not even trying to make it fun or entertaining. Just a bore who's thought up a gimmick and is clinging to it. Tom tries to steer it into humourous areas, yet she always answers seriously. And she's the type who will definitely try to ring every week, despite being boring and shit

Glad this is back though. Can't wait for the new Wurster call!

[Dusty Substance]

Despite Gregg being ostensibly out of character, I did think he was 'doing a bit' and being purposefully antagonistic at times (hence all the swearing, which I'm certain he knew would push Tom's buttons). Tom did ask for callers to bring forth better defences of 'The Dan' and Gregg certainly responded. It was a great call and I loved hearing Tom being pushed like that by someone even sharper and more opinionated than him. I think Gregg was playfully giving him a taste of his own medicine.

I'm inclined to think that any tension was Turkington doing what he does best. Perhaps a little tension, especially after he started swearing and you could hear Tom clicking the pen like he does when he's frustrated, but he'd already said the previous week that there'd be cursing on the latest iteration of the show.

Big Mike shaped elephant in the room when the conversation moved onto The Grateful Dead and their cover of Good Lovin'.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

I've long wondered whether there will be (one-sided) tension between Tom and Tim Heidecker, and maybe Gregg by proxy, given that Tim has started doing a weekly call-in show that is sort of similar to the Best Show.

[colacentral]

I've long wondered whether there will be (one-sided) tension between Tom and Tim Heidecker, and maybe Gregg by proxy, given that Tim has started doing a weekly call-in show that is sort of similar to the Best Show.

I'm a recent convert to Office Hours, but what put me off it for years before was partly that it felt so much like a low rent Best Show. Every time I listened it seemed like Tim would get needlessly aggressive with the callers, and it felt to me like he was trying to inhabit the grumpy GOMPing personality of Tom, but in a way that was forced and not funny. Tom always has a fragility and sense of playfulness that makes his angry outbursts rarely feel nasty in the way that Tim's do. The nastiness of angry Tim is of course really well utilised in his On Cinema performance of course, but I don't find it funny when it's "for real." In every Office Hours I've seen this year though he's been consistently jovial and silly, even when things like technical issues annoy him, which I think is much better for that show.

Apart from that, it's interesting how many other interests of Tim's overlap with Tom - the Beatles, Alan Partridge, and alot of others that are escaping me at the moment. Even the way he tells a story is sometimes reminiscent of Tom. He of course also had Tom and Jon writing on the second season of Tom Goes to the Mayor, so it's clear he's been a long time fan. I don't think it gets appreciated just how much of an imprint Tom has made on him though, at least in my opinion.

[sevendaughters]

the Dan stuff reminded me of when he had callers ring in to the WFMU show to point him to a good track in the Zappa discog, all of which he had laid out on the console in front of him ready to go.

[Shameless Custard]

Blimey, Turkington was swearing like a trooper. I didn't get the sense he was doing it for a wind-up, mind. Bet Tom was wincing throughout

[kitsofan34]

Is there any clip or written explanation about Scharpling’s hatred of swearing?

[Paaaaul]

Is there any clip or written explanation about Scharpling’s hatred of swearing?

No, because he doesn't hate swearing. You can often hear him cussing on other podcasts

The lack of swearing on The Best Show originates from the WFMU years when he couldn't swear on broadcast radio, and he has tried to keep The Best Show relatively family-friendly since it came back too as he loved phone calls from kids.

[Dusty Substance]

Blimey, Turkington was swearing like a trooper. I didn't get the sense he was doing it for a wind-up, mind. Bet Tom was wincing throughout

I could hear Tom clicking his pen in the same way he did when Avalanche Bob would talk all over him.

Is there any clip or written explanation about Scharpling’s hatred of swearing?

I think it was just a continuation from the FMU days. Any curses got dumped when it was still a traditional radio show. I believe Tom's argument is that he wanted to keep the podcast-era show free from curses as there are already a million comedy podcasts filled with bad language and also there are a number of kids who listen to the show because they know of him from Steven Universe.

EDIT: (aka: What Paaaaul said)

[Dusty Substance]

No, because he doesn't hate swearing. You can often hear him cussing on other podcasts

It was so strange when I first heard him say "Fuck you guys" to Hayes and Sean on Hollywood Handbook.

[Crabwalk]

It’s also an excellent comedic device during Jon’s calls, where he has to use inventive methods to circumvent the rule. ‘S-hit’ became a favourite substitute in my house when my son was little.

[colacentral]

I could hear Tom clicking his pen in the same way he did when Avalanche Bob would talk all over him.

I think it was just a continuation from the FMU days. Any curses got dumped when it was still a traditional radio show. I believe Tom's argument is that he wanted to keep the podcast-era show free from curses as there are already a million comedy podcasts filled with bad language and also there are a number of kids who listen to the show because they know of him from Steven Universe.

EDIT: (aka: What Paaaaul said)

It's funny you mention the pen clicking thing, because I've been listening to a few episodes from 2003 recently, when he was GOMPing but only in extreme circumstances or when it was sort of an in joke thing to do with a regular caller, as opposed to a bit later when he started to show no mercy to tedious callers. I've noticed a few times that there have been callers prattling on about whatever they wanted to call about, nothing remarkably bad but not terribly interesting either, and I can hear what sounds like Tom scribbling something. I assumed it was him writing a note to someone (e.g. tell Jon to call now); but it could just as easily be annoyance with a boring call. It's funny to think that at a certain point he just decided "I don't have to sit here and listen to these people drone on about nothing."

[Shameless Custard]

He needs to bring back slowly fading out boring callers with Bad Company. There was something very funny about him seeming to be really interested, then "a companyyyy..."

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Haha, one week after Gregg trashing Sonic Youth and Kim Gordon is going to be the guest on tonight's show. #teamgregg #greggheads

[Shameless Custard]

Heh, that explains Tom's silence last week!

[Crabwalk]

That is amazing. Is it possible that Gregg knew?

[Dusty Substance]

Haha, one week after Gregg trashing Sonic Youth and Kim Gordon is going to be the guest on tonight's show. #teamgregg #greggheads

Haha! Excellent. That explains a *lot*! Tom must have felt so uncomfortable during that convo - Maybe she was listening in, to become (re)acquainted with the show.

Over 20 years of doing The Best Show, Tom's surely had his fair share of awkward run-ins with people he's slated on the show. I remember from back in the FMU days when a guest said he'd turned Weird Al onto The Best Show - Someone who Tom had definitely chastised on the show.

I do love Tom but one has to wonder why the likes of Paul F and Ted Leo end up falling out with him. Is it them, is it him or a bit of both?

He needs to bring back slowly fading out boring callers with Bad Company. There was something very funny about him seeming to be really interested, then "a companyyyy..."

Absolutely. I loved it when callers got Bad Companyed.

[Shameless Custard]

I thought the interview with Kim Gordon was a bit awkward at first, what with Zoom issues etc, and maybe Tom was a bit nervous, but it warmed up by the end

Another excellent call from Wurster too!

[Dusty Substance]

It's nearly five years since what I consider to be one of the all time greatest Best Show moments happened.

Tom Losing It Over The Creation Of Manchester Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4JmerMAeGU

I always love it when somebody corpses or loses it entirely but it's amazing to hear Tom, a man who built a broadcasting career around something of a grouchy persona, laughing his head off for a whole minute straight. 

[Shameless Custard]

Heh, I was watching that just the other night. Never fails to have me hooting

[Dusty Substance]

Last week's show (15/12/20 - SEQUEL MANIA! MERRILL MARKOE! DARREN FROM WORK!) was brilliant. A magnificent and knowing call from Wurster, a decent topic, great calls, mostly new callers, Tom on good form. A MUST LISTEN!!!!