BONUS The Final Ask Marc Anything
Okay, folks, this is it.
The final Ask Mark Anything.
Here we go.
Thoughts on hairless cats.
I don't think much about hairless cats at all.
And when I do think of them, I think they're weird looking.
They make me a little uncomfortable.
I couldn't see them...
being, I don't, they skeeve me out.
What is your opinion on hot sauce?
I like hot sauce.
I like real hot sauce.
I like different kinds of hot sauce.
I've gone through different periods of my life where I sort of committed to using hot sauce a lot.
It's been different ones.
I remember I was really into that classic red hot.
Then I was into the other one, that Louisiana hot sauce.
And then, you know, I still like old school Tabasco.
I'm a big fan now, though I don't use it on every meal and I'm not one of those people that needs it for everything.
I do like the sriracha, but not the sriracha, the one with the seeds, that one, that Chinese hot sauce.
That's a little chunkier.
It's almost like a salsa-like hot sauce.
It's Chinese.
But I like harissa, if that's how you pronounce it.
Like really good, spicy, imported harissa, which sometimes I get at the Armenian store.
That stuff I like because you can almost use it as a spread.
Why doesn't anyone who used to do a lot of Coke ever talk about how much it hurts your nose?
Because Coke these days hurts if you do it for a few days in a row.
Maybe you just had the good shit.
Well, maybe you have a problem.
Yeah.
If you're wondering why we don't talk about how our nose felt after a three day run on blow.
I don't know.
I tend to believe that any cocaine will eventually irritate your nose one way or the other after three days.
Yeah.
I mean, there were definitely periods of time where my nose was so fucked up and it was constantly in pain or constantly running or constantly stuffed up.
Yeah.
Certain grades of coke would fuck your nose up.
Yeah.
That was all part of it.
Sometimes you're blowing blood out of your nose.
Yeah.
Well, that's not the fun part to talk about, is it?
And also maybe, you know, think about how much you're using.
Yeah.
Would you ever consider doing a commencement address for students?
Yeah, I guess.
You know, I don't know if I'm really good at those type of things because, you know, everything I say is tempered with the idea that it might not work out.
But that would be the title of my commencement address.
Hello, students.
Just know in your hearts that it might not work out and it's not going to be easy.
And it's probably going to be...
Good chance it'll be bad for a lot of the time, but maybe not.
There's my commencement address.
When you spend so much time filling your head with art and information, how are you able to form your own opinions and point of view as opposed to repeating what you've learned from others?
How do you even know the difference?
Well, I think that if you read critical stuff, if you read stuff about art or about film or about music, because you're curious about how to maybe understand it better, that it should be a point of departure for you.
You take in those opinions and you see where they take you with yours.
I mean, in terms of information or politics or stuff like that, it's kind of easy to know whether or not you're applying critical thought or you're being reactive or whether you're just saying what someone else is saying or the party line.
But in terms of art, you want to know where you stand.
You want to know how to contextualize something.
I think it's important to to figure out how.
how to contextualize something if you don't know where it sits in the history of whatever it is or why it was important or what it was pushing up against or moving out of.
I think all that stuff is information along the lines of informing yourself about what you're looking at.
And I think that kind of frees you up to sort of understand it fully as opposed to having an opinion that's not really rooted in a basic understanding of what you're looking at or listening to.
Did your mother see too Leslie?
What did she think?
She liked it.
It's hard to tell, you know, with my mom.
I haven't talked to her enough lately.
I got to go see her.
If you could relive any day of your life and not change any of it, which day would you choose?
Oddly, it was probably somewhere in the few days that I first started spending time with my second wife.
Mishnah, I just thought she was so amazing and so stunning and just so beyond anything I could understand.
And that was all tied in, too, with, you know, getting me sober.
And I just was... That first week or so of us happening was transcendent, really.
It was probably... I'd probably say that.
There were a couple of...
Nights running around drinking and partying that were pretty memorable.
Yeah, I'd like to say it's like my first Letterman or that kind of stuff, but I was so paralyzed with nerves.
It was not something I wanted to stay in.
But when it was pure, back when I first met...
Mish, it was unbelievable to me.
Yeah, I don't, you know, long time ago.
What are your memories of first seeing Kenison's Breaking All the Rules special from 1987?
It's my favorite special of all time.
Did you attend the taping and do you remember what Sam's thoughts were on it?
Well, I feel like I was around.
Was I around?
I remember going to its premiere at Carl LeBove's house and Kenison was there and.
And, you know, he was just always, you know, fully amped up and just, you know, force of nature.
I think he felt pretty fucking good about it.
I think he felt like a fucking rock star.
And I feel like I saw some of that being developed, but I can't remember if it was the first special or the second special.
But watching it...
And then also seeing him at that point in time a lot.
It was all pretty electric and electrifying.
I always think Sam just thought he was the fucking king of fucking rock and roll and the king of comedy and just balls to the wall party monster.
No one angrily enjoyed life as much as that guy.
Of the peers who came up with you, whose success surprises you the most and why?
Well, that's a tricky question because I don't want it to come from a bitter place.
But I've mentioned before how when we all started out, there were some people that really, we didn't know how to be funny.
We may have been funny people, but a lot of times you got to see people
become funny.
And I swear to God, when I saw early on, when I used to watch Jeff Lifshultz, who is now Jeff Ross, before he was the roast guy, I could barely watch him.
I just thought he was boring.
And then he just evolved into this major thing.
And he remains that.
And I'm happy for him.
And I'm proud of him.
But at the beginning, I just was when he had his little kind of Jewish mullet and his denim jacket.
And he was Jeff Lifshultz from New Jersey.
I just didn't see it, man.
But over the years, he's really figured it out.
And it's kind of amazing.
Yeah.
What song or songs do you want played at your funeral?
We were talking about this the other night in the car.
I don't think I want any songs played at my funeral, but I am sort of amazed that Do You Realize by the Flaming Lips can be played at a wedding or a funeral.
But I don't know if I do that.
I tend to think that it's probably better not to...
to have the music at a funeral.
Seems like you and I were around the Boston music scene at about the same time.
What were the bands you liked?
Not necessarily the ones that got huge, but the unsung heroes.
Well, I was around... I don't know if they were heroes...
But like, you know, I remember seeing Scruffy the Cat, the Dogmatics.
I remember I used to like Buffalo Tom a lot.
There was a band I think called the Primary Colors that I kind of liked, but that guy, I don't know, I think we had a tension.
There was a band that used to play down there at the lofts called Joe that I liked.
The Cave Dogs were sort of in my circle, and I thought they were a great band.
Yeah.
I remember seeing Steve Albini at The Rat once, and I thought that was kind of amazing.
And that's when I met Lauren, who was amazing.
Who else?
The neighborhoods were pretty good.
Yeah, I mean...
I think I was, that was probably more, that's a mixture of college and also when I went back after I was out here in LA for a year.
But those are sort of the bands I remember.
Oh, I love the fucking Titanic's.
Fucking love that guy.
You know, they kind of went on to do more novelty stuff, but I love that first Titanic's record.
Kind of sounded like Psychedelic ACDC.
What was that guy's name?
Nat Friedberg?
Was that his name?
Yeah, I used to like those guys.
Yeah.
How does music feed your creativity in ways podcasting or stand-up doesn't?
And how do you see music occupying your mind, body, and soul post-WTF?
Well, I feel like I can kind of lose myself in music.
It's completely outside of me in a lot of ways.
I find different things to do in my limited way with guitar playing.
I like I've always liked to sit around and noodling.
It's very meditative to me.
And, you know, I like to listen to music.
So there's a lot of stuff that happens.
You know, I like finding a groove.
I like finding a riff.
I like finding a rhythm.
I enjoy all that.
I like playing lead guitar when I can.
I don't know about soul, but I do like when I can create a feeling.
with music.
So I guess that's how it occupies it.
You know, a lot of times on those riffs at the end, I definitely spend a lot of time recording them over and over again to get where I want to go.
And I feel satisfied with those.
I like finding grooves.
It makes me feel good.
If you could obtain any guitar from a guitar god, whose guitar would you choose?
Oh, I don't know.
Well, you know, Peter Green's guitar, what's his name?
Hammett has it from Metallica, Kirk Hammett.
But that's like a Les Paul.
Les Pauls are pretty heavy, and I don't really play them.
I think Neil Young's guitar is a very interesting artifact.
And I'm also kind of fascinated with David Gilmour's Black Strat.
And I wouldn't mind having one of Keith's tellies, one of the old Telecasters, the blonde ones.
So those three, I really want to...
an old gold top, uh, but not anyone's in particular, but I would say, uh, probably Gilmore's black strat or Keith's, uh, a blonde telly.
Do you try to coordinate the feel of whatever guitar noodling you're doing with the content or feel of the interview on that episode?
Or are they completely independent and unrelated?
They're generally pretty unrelated.
A couple of times I've, I've done, uh,
I've done guitar things that are more connected to my feelings around what's going on in my world or the world at large, but not generally the interview.
What songs would you love to perform while both singing and playing guitar?
I do a lot of them now.
I do like playing Hey Joe.
I do like playing Going, Going Gone by Dylan.
We're playing Jumping at Shadows on tomorrow night, and I've been really listening to a lot of Peter Green, and I'm pretty excited about trying that.
The singing is a little tricky, and obviously the playing is, but I can mix some things that I learned from him with some of this stuff I already know.
So hopefully that'll go well.
What song sums up your journey with WTF?
I don't mean to be cheesy, but trucking always works pretty well.
Trucking by the Grateful Dead is pretty good.
What a long, strange trip it's been.
That's not nothing, that fucking song.
Would you ever consider organizing your thoughts on what is a good film and why into something, a book or a course or something like what Masterclass does?
I love when you get into film talk with guests.
And I think you have a lot to offer someone like me who needs direction and focus film nerd wise.
It's funny because I really I always feel like there's bigger film nerds than me.
And there's people that know much more about movies than me.
You know, I like certain movies, but my knowledge is not expansive.
So I don't know.
I mean, I guess I could teach a My Favorite Movies class and figure out something to say.
But I don't always have a bunch of organized things.
With My Favorite Movies, it's always an evolving sort of engagement and conversation about what it is.
But if you get something out of the movies I like, I'm happy.
But I think there are bigger, broader film nerds than me.
Which of Lynn Shelton's movies are your favorites?
Well, I really liked Outside In.
I thought that that was a fully realized movie.
I thought that Edie Falco and Jay Duplass were great.
I liked the story.
I like Your Sister's Sister, too.
But I don't know.
I really liked Outside In.
And I thought it was a perfectly compact, fully realized film.
And I really like that one.
How much time do we owe our parents?
I always seem to feel guilt that I'm not giving enough, regardless of how often I see them or call.
I don't know.
I've gone in and out with my parents.
There have been periods of time where I didn't talk to my father at all.
And my mom and I, we don't talk that regularly.
I really think it's up to you.
I mean, after a certain point, I do think it's important to check in on a fairly regular basis.
But I really think it's just what you can live with.
In terms of what you owe them and how do they feel?
And are you getting guilt from them?
I think it's a personal question, but I do think after a certain age, if you're able to, if you have a relationship with them at all, it is kind of on you to check in with them.
Yeah, man, or woman.
You've got to find the drive.
I mean, you've got to take the risks.
I mean, you can't sit in that idea.
If you're filled with passion, then realizing it or putting it into something is how you figure out
what that passion is and what you can do with it if you have talent or whatever it is.
But the drive thing, you know, that requires a certain amount of will and it's got to come from somewhere.
Either you fake it till you make it or you, you know, figure out a way to live with the fact that you're not going to realize your passions, you know, which is sometimes a bat that people want to beat themselves up with for life for whatever reason.
But you have to apply some will and,
And you have to try things, especially if you're passionate about it.
If you're not compulsive about your passion, then you got to find it within you to figure it out unless you just want to live in that place you're in.
Who came up with the title WTF and how did they think of it?
I did.
It was just a general thing because we didn't know what the show was and we, you know, it was sort of different segments.
And to me it was like, I didn't know how to frame the show.
So it was never a theme of the show really.
It was, it was just sort of an umbrella name, you know, for, for, for a lot of different things that we were trying and it just stuck.
Yeah.
Once the show is over, do you think there's even a minuscule chance you would go back and listen to a few old episodes?
I don't know.
I don't know.
It's possible, but given that most of them I haven't listened to at all other than the conversation I had, but I would say there's probably a chance that I will.
Why not?
Maybe that's all I'll do.
Of all your recent podcast appearances, which ones did you particularly enjoy and which ones do you particularly not enjoy and why?
Oh, with the last run of podcasts?
Well, I think that the guy, what's his name?
Josh...
Josh Horowitz, is that his name?
I think Josh did a nice job with the interview, but in terms of me having a good time, I always have a good time with Andrew Santino.
I always have a good time with Bobby and Andrew.
I felt that the one with Howie Mandel, which got me provoked a bit in terms of how I felt about things, and I don't know why that happened there necessarily, I found that to be...
the one I didn't enjoy the most just because it felt pointless in terms of its sort of structure and how they were as hosts.
But I do like Andrew.
I get a kick out of him.
And I did one with the editor of Esquire.
And I don't know if that's come out yet or where it's at, but that guy did a very thorough interview.
And I don't know where it lives.
I haven't heard whether it came out or not yet.
But look for that one.
I think it's Michael Sebastian.
I think that's the guy I could look on my phone.
Hold on.
Yeah, that's his name.
And that's a very thorough and interesting interview.
He took me places I had not been before.
It was long.
I don't know if they'll post it in full.
I don't know if it's on video.
I don't know anything about it.
But maybe you can track it down.
Maybe it's not out yet.
I don't know.
But I think in terms of a real...
Thorough interview that went different places than usual.
That's the one.
Which guest or guests have you connected with during an interview that was surprising or unexpected?
Look, you know, that's a hard question because these are usually most of them are first conversations.
So it's always under it's always unexpected.
It's always surprising.
It's always a lot more than I could ever imagine.
So it's very hard for me to to sort of.
I mean, there are people that I enjoy interviewing, you know, and I've become friends with Tracy Letts.
I always like talking to Josh Brolin.
I was very I for some reason, Mandy Moore always stands out to me as being a great conversation and very surprising.
Jessica Lange was I mean, look.
I'm always surprised.
There are some interviews where I sort of learn things and mostly that's in the acting zone or from somebody's story.
But I don't mean to be evasive, but they're always surprising.
How could they not be?
I've never talked to them before.
Do you and Brendan ever talk about what gets cut out of the episodes and what remains?
Yeah.
Yes.
There's not generally a discussion in terms of like, should we or shouldn't we?
A lot of times I say things and I'm like, you know, that's not going to make it in.
And a lot of times I'll ask him if it did and he'll be like, no.
And then sometimes I'll tell him like this.
I don't know if this is sensitive or not.
And he'll judge it.
So there's never an argument about it.
But sometimes there's a like I'll feel like something might not be comfortable for, you know, for them.
And there are conversations, but I don't want to let you down.
There's never sort of a fight or anything.
But most of the time I just trust him with it.
And I generally know what makes it in or I don't.
And most of the time I don't.
ever ask because I don't want to get into any, any sort of argument.
Are you going to miss regularly having in-depth conversations with talented people you've never met?
Or are you happy to not have the pressure that comes with those conversations?
I'm going to miss it.
There's no doubt I'm going to miss it, and I really don't know what impact that's going to have on my life.
I mean, there's pressure, but it's only pressure up until we have the conversation, and then generally it's not a lot of pressure.
So I'm going to miss it, and it's going to be a hard void to fill, but hopefully I'll figure it out.
What are you looking forward to most when the pod is all set and done?
Well, what I'm looking forward to and what I'm most frightened of is
is being myself with time is just seeing who I am when I don't have time.
all this work to do and you know, what's the baseline look like?
I'm also excited about that, but I'm, I'm more nervous and I imagine I'll scramble and somehow make myself just as busy with other things, but hopefully I'll find a way to, to sit with myself and, and, and be humble and grateful and proud of the achievement that I, I, I was able to, uh,
To accomplish.
Yeah.
But I'm nervous.