The Adam Buxton Podcast

[Braintree]

The bit where Adam is describing his dad's novel had me chuckling like a loon on my evening stroll.

Same, Nigel Buxton had such an odd approach to his priorities. The bit with the letter from The Sunday Telegraph was horrific.

[PaulTMA]

He lives in a shed in Norfolk and occasionally goes on a train to interview people. I think his problem is actually with people and this is the only place he encounters them. Also he is comically repressed from refusing to argue with his wife or ever comfortably enjoy a shit. He can't even watch sex scenes without closing his eyes and sucking a boiled sweet

I love Buxton and will be eternally grateful for most of what he been involved in, but I'm on C9 and finding this a bit of a slog

I still loved the book but found the wife argument stuff weird as fuck.

[phantom_power]

I completely identified with the wife argument stuff, up to chapter 10 which is where I am at the moment at least

[Wet Blanket]

I really enjoyed the Wife Argument log but found it too weighted towards arguments that he won.

I'd like him to release the excised chapters about his professional relationship with Joe as bonus content.

[popcorn]

I think the petty chapters - the train and wife arguments - could easily have been cheap filler, and that kind of thing comes so close to the sort of tiresome "so imagine my surprise when..." Comedy Rant that Mark Kermode fills his books with. What makes them work is the fact they're a repeated motif between the more serious narrative chapters, so they end up feeling like a momentary reprieve, or supporting structures, or something. There's something zenlike and reflective about them too.

[PaulTMA]

I got the feeling that a lot of these bits made me a bit uncomfortable for precisely the reason that he was attempting to make them 'funny' and take the piss out of himself in the process, as some kind of excuse to document matters (in his own autobiography, no less) which I would surmise do bother him beyond what is actually healthy.  'Cheery aggressive' is definitely a specific form of passive-aggressiveness which can be encountered in the wild...

I know full well what it is like to be irritated by and overthink the insensitively of strangers in public, or to feel enormously slighted upon accidentally overstepping the mark in some way (i.e. his

Spoiler alert

folding bike

[close]

story) - but it did feel a bit like his head is a cauldron of this stuff, simmering away.  I always did enjoy his 'Travelling Tales', which appeared to become more amusing the more you realised he had such a bee in his bonnet about such matters - just never expected his memoir to treat them with such prominence.

The wife stuff just felt a bit weird to me, perhaps I'm the only one who thought so.  He states they did

Spoiler alert

go through a rough patch

[close]

and states that things have improved a lot, so personally I'm surprised he spent the vast majority of what's written about her in the book airing these irritations, which appear to relate closely to the train stories in terms of how he processes conflict.

[jimboslice]

I signed up for Adam's book. You get one free credit. Tempted to fork out for an extra month to hear Limmy's autobiography while I'm here

If you threaten to cancel they'll either give you another month free or a few months at half price. The website is a bit shit though so you may end up having to go through customer service (online chat though).


But anyway, can someone point me at Buxton's spotify? He mentions his username early on but I couldn't easily search for it. Interested in what his playlists look like.

[Ferris]

I signed up for Adam's book. You get one free credit. Tempted to fork out for an extra month to hear Limmy's autobiography while I'm here

Ooh is Limmy's audiobook any good?

[Dewt]

YES WE'VE GOT A VIDEO

[GenericPie]

He lives in a shed in Norfolk and occasionally goes on a train to interview people. I think his problem is actually with people and this is the only place he encounters them. Also he is comically repressed from refusing to argue with his wife or ever comfortably enjoy a shit. He can't even watch sex scenes without closing his eyes and sucking a boiled sweet

I love Buxton and will be eternally grateful for most of what he been involved in, but I'm on C9 and finding this a bit of a slog

I bloody love Buxton but felt much the same way.

The dad stuff is interesting and heartfelt and there are some great little moments here and there but some chapters are just so...inconsequential. A lot of it amounts to "I got high once" or "I went to a bad party". The way he looks scornfully down upon at his youthful self for having the nerve to drink a bit too much genuinely made me quite sad - he's so desperate so uphold some imaginary standard that he really does start to sound as uptight as his dad.

In the bonus podcast with Joe he mentions that he actually had a lot of other chapters written about working on the A&J show and how his editor suggested that he leave all that out for thematic reasons - better to focus more on his youth and his relationship with his dad. I suspect they were thinking of "How Not to Be A Boy" which completely ignored Peep Show and was framed around Robert Webb's life prior to fame but that only worked he was extremely candid and explored his relationships, sexuality, addiction issues, etc. In Adam's case once you get through the Baaad Daaad anecdotes, the story of his fairly run of the mill upper-middle class upbringing and a blow-by-blow account of his Bowie-love simply isn't that interesting (he honestly just should've written a separate Bowie book for the enthusiasts). I would've much preferred to hear about the making of his TV stuff and his relationship with Joe than how he once pissed in a can of beer on a coach.

Oh well, I suppose there's something lovably "Buckles" about the entire thing - it's bland in a way that only he could be bland.

[popcorn]

I suspect they were thinking of "How Not to Be A Boy" which completely ignored Peep Show and was framed around Robert Webb's life prior to fame but that only worked he was extremely candid and explored his relationships, sexuality, addiction issues, etc.

Is that any good?

[phes]

I bloody love Buxton but felt much the same way.

The dad stuff is interesting and heartfelt and there are some great little moments here and there but some chapters are just so...inconsequential. A lot of it amounts to "I got high once" or "I went to a bad party". The way he looks scornfully down upon at his youthful self for having the nerve to drink a bit too much genuinely made me quite sad - he's so desperate so uphold some imaginary standard that he really does start to sound as uptight as his dad.

In the bonus podcast with Joe he mentions that he actually had a lot of other chapters written about working on the A&J show and how his editor suggested that he leave all that out for thematic reasons - better to focus more on his youth and his relationship with his dad. I suspect they were thinking of "How Not to Be A Boy" which completely ignored Peep Show and was framed around Robert Webb's life prior to fame but that only worked he was extremely candid and explored his relationships, sexuality, addiction issues, etc. In Adam's case once you get through the Baaad Daaad anecdotes, the story of his fairly run of the mill upper-middle class upbringing and a blow-by-blow account of his Bowie-love simply isn't that interesting (he honestly just should've written a separate Bowie book for the enthusiasts). I would've much preferred to hear about the making of his TV stuff and his relationship with Joe than how he once pissed in a can of beer on a coach.

Oh well, I suppose there's something lovably "Buckles" about the entire thing - it's bland in a way that only he could be bland.

I also was hoping there would more detail on the stuff I love. I 100% understand why A wouldn't wish to focus too heavily on A&J as it's no bigger a part of his life than has been moving on from A&J. It is painful to hear about how attached Adam gets and how much he has struggled to move on from relationships. As a listener A&J made me feel that I was allowed into that friendship each week and I was devastated when their careers and friendships diverged. That must be a fraction of what he feels. Still, i'm single, child-free, live alone and moved away from my home-town after almost everyone chose lifestyles similar to that of Buckles, so these losses come to many of us one way or another. Thankfully he has found a niche and one I also enjoy.

It's hard to see, outside of his family, where the more recent material is coming from. A trip to the supermarket, a ride on the train, a video night with his wife. He's had a good shot at mining it for humour, but his life is so small and mild that he doesn't have much to work with. I know i'm a hard sell, he's describing the minutiae of everything I chose to leave behind. But still, it felt lacking. Yes, i'm a selfish twat who wants to write Adam Buxton's autobiography for him! I'm still only about 3/5 of the way through and i'm going to finish it.

If i had my way A, J and Theroux would be in suspended animation larking about on the radio at the same time every single week pretending they still enjoyed it

[GenericPie]

Is that any good?

I quite enjoyed it. It's very honest and self deprecating - he really grapples with his masculinity and goes to some quite dark places at times.

In some quarters it seems to be lauded as some pioneering critique of 'toxic masculinity' or whatever. In reality I'd say it's refreshingly candid but nothing too special.

I definitely preferred Limmy's.

[GenericPie]

I also was hoping there would more detail on the stuff I love. I 100% understand why A wouldn't wish to focus too heavily on A&J as it's no bigger a part of his life than has been moving on from A&J. It is painful to hear about how attached Adam gets and how much he has struggled to move on from relationships. As a listener A&J made me feel that I was allowed into that friendship each week and I was devastated when their careers and friendships diverged. That must be a fraction of what he feels. Still, i'm single, child-free, live alone and moved away from my home-town after almost everyone chose lifestyles similar to that of Buckles, so these losses come to many of us one way or another. Thankfully he has found a niche and one I also enjoy.

It's hard to see, outside of his family, where the material is coming from. A trip to the supermarket, a ride on the train, a video night with his wife. He's had a good shot at mining it for humour, but his life is so small and mild that he doesn't have much to work with. I know i'm a hard sell, he's describing the minutiae of everything I chose to leave behind. But still, it felt lacking. Yes, i'm a selfish twat who wants to write Adam Buxton's autobiography for him!

I suspect this is part of the reason he's taken so bloody long to write the thing. In an ideal world he could be utterly frank and honest about all of his relationships - it would be fascinating to hear him delve deep into his creative struggles with Joe and (because I'm a nosy bastard) his marital issues. However, as he even noted in the book, he doesn't want to taint those relationships simply to provide some entertainment for comedy nerds. He's probably spent years pining over what he should and shouldn't put down on paper and has ultimately chosen to play it safe.

The 'small life' thing is an interesting one. I think it's easy to assume that all celebs, however big, are just a goldmine of salacious anecdotes and raunchy tales waiting to be unleashed. In reality, aside from a few showbiz pals and some choice moments in the late 90s/early 2000s, Adam's non-creative life probably isn't too exciting. When you're quite a pleasant, agreeable fellow like him living an idyllic rural life, confrontations on trains probably do take on a kind of distorted, heightened value. In a nobbish way I found myself thinking "hell, I'm not that interesting, but even I've got plenty of far better anecdotes than these" quite a few times while I was reading.

[selectivememory]

It's weird. I definitely think on paper someone like Limmy has a far more interesting backstory than Buxton, but I enjoyed Buxton's book a lot more than Limmy's. I kind of enjoyed the low-keyness of Adam's book, and it was all written and performed with his characteristic humour, whereas I don't remember Limmy's book being that funny at all[nb]I did enjoy reading about how Limmy got into showbiz because I think he had a pretty unique path, but the stuff about his early life was written very plainly and I just wondered why I was reading it at times.[/nb]. The stuff about the petty arguments with his wife and the arguments and annoyances on the trains were funny because pretty much no one else would include those in their autobiographies. I think that's the point of his including them. It seems like a very self-deprecating book. I think it would be a bit silly to treat it as a serious autobiography.

Though I don't think I would have read Adam's book, it probably is elevated by being read by him, with all his silly voices and jingles and whatnot. Anyway, did enjoy it a lot, and the last couple of chapters are pretty poignant. Could have done with considerably less Bowie chat though, as someone with barely any interest in the man or his music. 

[Excellent_Biscuits]

Is there a lot of Bowie chat?

That's dissapointing. Why is someone as creative as Adam so obsessed with another artist? He should think of himself higher in my view.

[phes]

Is there a lot of Bowie chat?

That's dissapointing. Why is someone as creative as Adam so obsessed with another artist? He should think of himself higher in my view.

It's mostly there as context for his development so it's more background than chat, but you're right, A&J in particular and then A have contributed a lot creatively. Hoping there is some tasty morsels in the last few chapters

[Excellent_Biscuits]

I can't wait to devour this.

I think he's one of the funniest and most creative people for a long time. Even though sadly it's quite sporadic.

He's also someone who I would like to be my dad, if he'll have me?

[phes]

Some nice nibbles in the podcast. So was Joe serious when he said there should have been several more chapters about Adam and Joe, before backtracking when Adam recounts the hot tub story?

Theroux and Joe have very similar voices, haven't noticed this before

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

So I take it Buckles has never actually seen Threads? During the bit where he talks about his typical '80s teenage fear of nuclear armageddon, he mentions When the Wind Blows, The Day After and that infamous QED documentary (which was directed by Mick Jackson,  who went on to direct Threads).

He says that he decided not to watch Threads when it first went out, but the admiring way he talks about The Day After suggests he still hasn't seen its harrowing British counterpart. The Day After is a decent film, but it's a breezy walk in the park compared to the utterly relentless horror and hopelessness of Threads.

I suppose I'm just a bit surprised that a pop culture savvy chap such as Buckles hasn't watched that famous cult film. Then again, I've never seen Dark Star, which he loves, so I'm talking out of my arse as usual.

[phes]

The bit where he was describing being awfully embarrassed by the opening of Superbad in front of his Dad wife, caught me off-guard, as it also did Joe (I think it was Joe). Did he think boisterous, crude teenage boys reflected badly on...him?!

[Satchmo Distel]

'Threads' was a bit late to arrive - September 1984 on BBC 2 (repeated August 1985 BBC 1) whereas the main debate about nuclear weapons had been in 1982-83. I could imagine someone having nuclear dread fatigue by the latter half of 1984, when the big issues were the Miners' Strike, the Orwellian state and Ethiopia.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I know, but I assumed that Adam - with his interest in this sort of thing - might've watched Threads as an adult.

[andy33]

Here's some more Adam & Louis, in case you missed it the first time (I did). It's a bit less "mates dicking about" than the podcast, but a live audience at the Southbank Centre will do that. https://southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/southbank-centre-book-podcast-louis-theroux-conversation

[phes]

Listened to the Louis Auto bio using the free audible listen that someone upthread mentioned would be offered when cancelling. Just to mention that there is some brief crossover with Louis discussing his perception of Buckulysses and Cornballs, and his involvement with them in early artistic enterprises. He lavishes praise on them as his young self and really it adds to the frustration that Buckulysses took advice to can several chapters looking in depth at peak A&J years. Theroux's bio is more concerned with his career with background context, somewhat the reverse of Buxton's

On the bright side, perhaps Buxton will consider a smaller The A&J years project in future

[popcorn]

Finished this.

Spoiler alert

This might seem a bit OTT, there were also a few very brief moments of writing near the end where I think it transcended the "fun and functional" prose style and became really literary-style good. One moment really stood out, with the gun:

There was a gun inside. A Luger.
"It belonged to an SS officer," said Dad, and I dunked a Hobnob.

Out of context not so amazing, but in the book it's a perfect confluence of the huge and the banal, the discovery of the gun, the WW2 connection, the uncovering of his dad's history, the fact that he had just brought his dad Hobnobs, the fact that the Hobnobs were weighty with sadness because of the situation, the juxtaposition of all these elements. It moved me!

Loved the ending to the letter to his dad, perfect. "I love you. Bye."

[close]

Though I don't think I would have read Adam's book, it probably is elevated by being read by him, with all his silly voices and jingles and whatnot.

I couldn't imagine engaging with it as a book instead of an audiobook.  It's chatty, conversational, informal, it's based so much on the listener's familiarity with Buxton as a broadcaster/podcaster. It trades in all the language he's built up over the decades, the jingles, the voices. It's The Adam Buxton Podcast: The Movie, it has to be an audio thing.

Could have done with considerably less Bowie chat though, as someone with barely any interest in the man or his music.

I only have a passing interest in Bowie myself, but I did enjoy his musical musings because I they informed his personal life and thoughts so much. With that said I was surprised he didn't cover Bowie's final album, the one he made when he knew he was dying, as that seems like it would be so relevant for obvious reasons.

[Wet Blanket]

Found Laura Marling a bit patience testing. Sounded to me like Buckles had been cajoled into interviewing her, as he admitted he'd never really been into her stuff and seemed to be struggling to find something interesting about it. One of his rambling questions amounted to 'so you don't mind not doing anything original then?'

Louis was on much better form than Ad with Helena Bonham Carter. I know they joked about it but I wonder if he does feel a bit like his toes are being stepped on with Theroux entering the podcast game, considering he admits to a certain level of professional jealousy when it comes to Joe.

[phes]

Louis stepped on his toes and had the nerve to be very funny about

[Sin Agog]

It must feel a bit weird how Louis' pod with Buckles' microphone gets a BBC article every episode.

[Nice Relaxing Poo]

Same, Nigel Buxton had such an odd approach to his priorities.

I haven't listened to the audiobook but just Buckles description on the podcast about how much in debt his dad got into just to send his son to one of the poshest schools in the country really boggled my mind. He could easily have sent him to a cheaper school and have got a decent quality education for his son. I take it Adam discusses how his dad felt about what he made of that education in the book? I can only imagine how my dad would feel if I'd dropped out of uni after he'd blown a load of money on a private school. Luckily for him, I dropped out of uni after he'd spent absolutely fuck all on sending me to the local comprehensive.