What Is Your Favorite Song About Laughter?

We are laughing our heads off for a full hour this week on WAIM Radio. What's your favorite tune about laughter and smiles?

I have been drawn to the art of stand up comedy since I was a boy who was far too young to be soaking up the ideas and vocabulary of giants like Robin Williams and George Carlin. The high wire act of one man and a microphone forced to get laughs was always fascinating to me. For much of my life I have even secretly longed to be up on the stage trying it out for myself.

While I felt that I could certainly craft the necessary jokes, the idea of going up on stage naked with nothing more than a microphone and a few punchlines seemed utterly terrifying. I was able to get my stage time in as a musician and left comedy to those more passionate and qualified than I.

Now a good portion of my solo shows are based around storytelling that has humor built into it. It is certainly not the same as the art of stand up, but it is an outlet for me to build the occasional joke or weave a humorous tale into my work as a performer. That said, I would never claim to be a stand up or a comedian of any sort. Because I am incorporating these stories and jokes into my musical act, I have a ballast upon which to lean whatever comedic material that I might formulate. There is hardly the same risk as standing there with no net and hoping the audience laughs along with you.

I have seen bad musical performers, but a rough band can largely be ignored. Comedy is a different matter altogether. For comedy to work, the audience must be engaged and at least tangentially invested. After the setup, the story and the eventual punchline there is either a laugh, or there is not. The eerie quiet of a bombing comedian is one of the loneliest sounds that I’ve encountered in my time on this Earth. Watching a brilliant stand up comedian like Patton Oswalt or Kyle Kinane in person is one of the most joyous experiences I’ve had in my time.

I sure would love to get the perspective of Robin Williams and George Carlin at this moment in American history. We could use their voice and we could sure as Hell use the laughs.

Do you have a favorite song on the subject of laughter? We’re not shooting for funny songs or novelty numbers, but songs about the actual act of laughter. Maybe you have a special love for a song about a smile? Tell us all about it.

Be sure to tune in Friday live at Noon Eastern on Suburbs Radio to hear the show live as it airs. New episodes are also archived here at WAIM each Tuesday. Feel free to go back and listen to any of our episodes at any time in the WAIM Radio archive.

Cheers,
Matty C