Little Dum Dum Club- The top 10 of 2012

It has been a massive year for my favourite podcast "The Little Dum Dum Club" and its hosts Tommy Dassalo and Karl Chandler. They continue to go from strength to strength and get some of the best guests around. But if you're too time poor to listen to more than a few episodes of dickheadery then let me pick the cream of the crop from their last 12 months. All these episodes are available on iTunes and from their website for free.

 My criteria for these episodes is simple- did they make me laugh, and did they make me laugh during repeated listenings? There were very few episodes that failed to elicit any kind of chuckle from me but these ones stood the test of time.


10. Episode 107- Josh Thomas (9/10/12)

 Perennial favourite Josh Thomas makes his long-awaited debut on the podcast with this cracker. KC completely fails as a host when trying to get Thomas to say whether he is more or less popular than other celebrities. Thomas takes the whole thing in his stride and rattles off some pretty awesome anecdotes, but it's Dassalo who steals the show with his amusing story of how he was mistaken for a gay guy once.....

9. Episode 102 - Tom Ballard and Harley Breen (4/9/2012)

 If there is one thing I love about Karl Chandler it is his ability to tell a story. Almost every episode from day one includes at least one tale of Chandler being harassed on the street or Chandler doing, or observing, something stupid (or both). Yet this is the episode that possibly contains his greatest story ever. It starts innocently enough with a school friend of his catching up with him and rapidly descends into chaos. What makes this story epic is that it has more false endings than the Lord Of The Rings movies. Ballard and Breen also contribute with their usual comedic brilliance and Dassalo is also given some moments to shine- appropriate given it was his birthday when they recorded it. The coda of this episode- where Karl discovers a five year old list about Melbourne comics is a great way to cap off a stellar hour of stories.

8. Episode 88 - Mel Buttle (28/5/2012)

   Co-host of "The Minutes" podcast, Mel Buttle, makes one of the funniest debuts in Dum Dum history in a long time. Full of sass and with a great deal of added spunk, she takes to the format like a duck to water. Her banter with KC is especially noteworthy as she tries to get him to drop his current girlfriend for....well....her. Her return to the podcast cannot come quick enough.

7. Episode 87 - Greg Fleet and Bart Freebairn (23/5/2012)

 I suspect after the recording of this episode both Tommy and Karl needed a long nap. Bart Freebairn returns and is joined by Aussie comedy legend Greg Fleet. Anarchy ensues. Both comedians have a penchant for saying stuff that makes no logical sense yet somehow you find yourself laughing. At one point Tommy says "I feel like we're guests on someone else's podcast" and it's easy to understand why. You'll learn how to be creative in your jokes without swearing (both Bart and Greg are sin-binned for swearing early on) and this episode provides us with an insight into the domestic lives of our hosts who have to deal with, in one instance, a painter removing a window while the host is naked under a sheet and, in the other instance, with the consequences of playing your girlfriend Freebairn's own podcast "Something For The Drive Home".

6. Episode 114 - Live! Matt Besser, Dave Anthony, Armen Weitzman and Nick Cody (28/11/2012)

 It's not everyday you get two of the most popular American podcasters on your show and Tommy and Karl pull it off when Matt Besser and Dave Anthony both appear in this live show recorded in LA (in front of about 15 people and a lot of crickets if you believe Chandler). The two are immensely funny and have a clear rapport with each other. The only sour point (and what stops this from going higher up the list) is the way the two guests treat third guest Armen Weitzman from the get go. The poor bloke is trying to tell a story about Denzel Washington and the other two practically bully him off the stage. Nick Cody, however, brings a little more humour to proceedings and saves this one from being a dropout...

5. Episode 95 - Josh Earl and Tegan Higginbotham (17/7/2012) and Episode 96 - Luke McGregor and Geraldine Hickey (24/7/2012)

 I cannot separate these two editions because they are essentially volumes 1 and 2. In volume 1 the hosts announce that Luke McGregor has a "twitter policy" that means he doesn't respond to tweets, plug any shows or retweet anything. The hosts react as if McGregor has taken a dump on their front lawn and set it on fire. The next hour is an absolute riot and no matter what the discussion is, it somehow comes back to Luke McGregor. Also, Higginbotham innocently manages to coin the phrase "bat one off" early in the piece which is the cue for much juvenile sniggering- including my own.
 Volume 2 sees the man himself enter into the Dum Dum clubhouse to answer for his twitter crimes. The normally brilliant Geraldine Hickey realises early on that she will have little to do with this episode and just sits back and lets McGregor dig a very large hole for himself. It's priceless comedy even after repeated listens.

4. Episode 104 - Tom Gleeson and Xavier Michelides (18/9/2012)

Two returning guests make an appearance in an absolutely brilliant episode that sees Gleeson, especially, in absolute top flight. That's not to diminish the contribution of Michelides either. Both have an outstanding run of gags- from Gleeson's introduction to the dump button to Michelides introducing us to "Xavier's corner". It's manic, it's insane and will leave you gasping for breath.

3. Episode 111 - Wil Anderson (5/11/2012)
 If ever there was a title of "King Of Aussie Podcasts" then Anderson would be it (with Justin Hamilton coming in a princely second). Earlier in the year, Tommy and Karl recorded an episode with Anderson and somehow the episode got wiped (Dassalo did it apparently). This episode more than makes up for it. Anderson- sadly no longer recording TOFOP- revels in the chance to just sit back and cut loose in front of a microphone for an hour and Tommy and Karl are in absolute top form for it. Along the way we see the results of a prank that has massively backfired on Karl and one of the funniest messages you're likely to get on your mobile- although clearly none of them realised that "Sam and the Womp" is the name of a band and not the name of a radio show.... A great episode for repeated listenings.

2. Episode 100 - Live! Yumi Stynes, Dave Thornton, Nick Cody and Luke McGregor (21/8/2012)
  Narrowly missing out on the top spot is the celebration of 100 episodes of Dum Dum. Nick Cody (the first ever guest on the show) is in absolutely blistering form (especially when he's responding to other guests), Yumi Stynes takes "too much information" to a whole new level and Dave Thornton adds some class to the proceedings near the end. Finally, Luke McGregor arrives late and makes an entrance that needs to be heard. It's an amazing hour and a perfect celebration for the podcast.

1. Episode 94 - Live! Andrew Denton, Larry Emdur, Scott Dooley, Wil Anderson, Luke McGregor. (9/7/2012)

 In years to come, this will be the Dum Dum Club against which all other episodes will stand. Recorded live in Sydney, it showcases just why this podcast is brilliant. Never has anyone made silence so uproariously funny as Andrew Denton (and you can pretty much hear the hosts packing death as Denton sits there in silence). As funny as Denton is (and as star struck as Dassalo is), it is Larry Emdur who escalates this podcast to the stratosphere. Funny, engaging and a little potty-mouthed, this is Emdur "unplugged" proving he can be just as vulgar as Andrew O'Keeffe- and a whole lot funnier. Scott Dooley and the ubiquitous Luke McGregor also chime in for some hilarity but in the final 4 minutes, Wil Anderson makes a magical cameo that will knock your socks off. This is probably the closest to podcast perfection as it comes.

There are also some honorable mentions along the way:


Episode 72 - Josh Lawson (15/2/2012)

 Actor Josh Lawson brings a dash of class to the Dum Dum clubhouse. His relaxed banter and gentle manner underpin a really funny nature. Happy to belittle himself and his past projects he makes for a very charming guest. His insights into the world of Hollywood (as well as Australian TV) are worth the listen for sure, but it's Karl Chandler who takes this episode to a whole different level with not one but TWO stories that make him sound like a bit of a weirdo- one involving asking a teenage girl in an alleyway whether she's a lesbian and another involving sitting on a balcony nude whilst overlooking a school....Tommy is in seventh heaven throughout...


Episode 66 - Michael Chamberlin and Harley Breen (5/1/2012)

  The year kicked off in high style with the return of Harley Breen and with Michael Chamberlin making his first appearance on the show. The entire episode is spent taking pot shots at Tommy about everything from his girly voice, to his fake name through to his desire to lose some excess weight.

Episode 110 - Adam Hills (30/10/2012)

 One of Australia's funniest men makes a long-awaited appearance on the show. Whilst Hills is his usual affable self and tells some wonderful stories about working with the Muppets and other things, it is Chandler who manages to get the biggest laughs for the show when he tells us a cracker yarn about a wannabe comedian who is trying to get a gig with him over the phone by telling him a joke. All three of them make funnier ones with the same material proving why you should leave the comedy to the professionals....

Episode 98 - Tommy Dassalo (7/8/2012)

 I have always enjoyed the episodes where it is just Tommy and Karl. They do these a couple times a year and they are all great to listen to. This one is a little different in that Tommy is on the phone to Karl from London where he was shooting commercials for the Commonwealth Bank (He's the "C" in the "Can" that stalks James Magnussen if you didn't know). There's a lot of behind the scenes talk about the Olympics and a funny story about a woman breaking wind that appeals to my inner teenager. Well worth a listen.

Episode 118 - Tony Moclair (26/12/2012)

 The man behind Guido Hatzis reflects on his career and has his say on the Royal Prank Call debacle. It's an engrossing hour of wonderful anecdotes from all three participants and a perfect to round off the year.

Here's to 2013- seeeeeeeee ya maaaaaaaaaaaates!

Confusion

"Confusion," sang ELO,"it's such a terrible thing".

 Do you ever have one of those moments when you are totally and utterly baffled by how someone reacts to you? Someone who thought of as a friend?
 That's me at the moment. About ten years ago I met a person and we got on really well. We did a couple shows together, we did regular catch-ups and we seemed to get on fine.
 Without going into too much detail, somewhere along the line things changed. I have no idea what happened though. Suddenly this person defriended me on Facebook and blocked me on Twitter for no explicable reason.
 I don't know why I let it get to me but I have. It's easy to step back and say "oh well, move on" but in some ways I find this a hard one to walk away from for the simple reason that I have no clue as to what I have done to earn this kind of vitriol from them. It saddens me that a person I admired and respected as a friend and colleague has pretty much just abandoned me for no apparent reason- well, not apparent to ME anyway...
 I don't want to harass the poor person with texts and messages so I've let it slide for now but I recently wanted to congratulate them on a wonderful video they posted of their cabaret show and I found I had no way of contacting them to do it.
 I try not to go through life with a lot of regrets- as I have said in earlier blogs, I think those moments define who we are in life- but if I had a wish it would be that I could sit down and clear the air. If it served no other purpose then at least I could find out what it was that I had done. I'm not saying we will become best friends or anything like that (we weren't ever that close really) but at least I'll know.

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 On a much happier note, the year is almost at end. Like most years, it has had its ups and downs. I've been happy with my study this year and I enjoyed the success of "Hairspray" and the casting of "Phantom". My absolute highlight for me was going to Melbourne to see "South Pacific" and seeing a remarkable young lady deliver a knockout punch in a comedy show (see my previous entry). I've made some good friends, seen a couple great concerts, performed with Ennio Morricone and sang the first Lord Of The Rings film so I can't complain too much.
 Despite the down moments, I try and reflect on how lucky I am to have a wonderful support network around me.

 I have one more blog (which I've been working on since September) for the year and then it's onwards to 2013 (provided the Mayans weren't right, of course....)