Published on Dec 18, 2000
Back when I was a teenager, my father used to read these
compilations of jokes published under the title
Truly Tasteless Jokes. My father probably knew that I was
swearing like a drunken sailor by that time, so he eventually let
me read them so I would know what he was laughing his ass off
about. And I, too, laughed… and tended to tell the wrong joke at
the wrong time. (And I wonder why Princeton never returned my phone
calls after that one incident.)
For Jackie Martling (best known as “The Joke Man,” one of Howard
Stern’s faithful sidekicks), there
is no wrong time to tell a tasteless joke – thank God. His
latest CD,
F. Jackie, takes 77 minutes of obscenity, filth and
slander… and makes it pretty damned entertaining.
In a sense, Martling is a living
Truly Tasteless Jokes book. He’s able to put a voice behind
the words someone would read, usually on a spotty photocopy that
makes the rounds under the desks at the office, and demonstrates
just how funny some of these lines can be – and you might be
surprised at some of the gags you find yourself laughing at.
Oh, it’s not that Martling is constantly on fire during this set
at “The Comedy Palace” in Andover, Massachusetts. It feels like
Martling needs a little time to get his motor running at the start
of the show, spending his time ripping the audience (who eat up
every single insult) before going into his “A” material. And I’d be
lying if I said that everything in Martling’s act this particular
show had me rolling in the aisles – but then again, I’d tend to
think that Martling realizes that everyone will react differently
to each joke, and tries to structure his act to please everyone at
least some of the time.
That all said, there are moments on
F. Jackie, even after repeat listens, that still have me
laughing out loud. Some of these moments are old
Tasteless Jokes stand-bys (such as the Helen Keller material
– I
loved these jokes as a kid), some of them are modern-day
(including a few jokes at the expense of President Clinton and his
escapades a few years back), and some of them are good
ol’-fashioned ethnic jokes that are incredibly non-P.C. today.
Well, you know what?
Fuck
being politically correct. If you can’t laugh at yourself (and
Martling even includes some self-depracating humor to prove this)
and each other’s foibles, then you may as well be dead.
One thing which surprised me, though, was the age of some of the
jokes. I gleamed one joke involving Superman and Batman and told it
to my father – and he was able to tell me the punchline before I
could get to it. (I should note that my father has never heard this
CD – yet, since I know his taste in humor is as sick as mine – and
isn’t a regular listener to Stern’s show.) Does this bother me? Not
at all; I’m just surprised that if they’ve been around this long, I
haven’t heard them at some point. The people I hang around with
have the same sense of humor I do – an admission which should worry
my neighbors and lower the property value of my house.
Two words of advice, though. First, don’t bother trying to
follow the track names to figure out what these jokes will be
about. Martling works on a stream of consciousness, which actually
helps keep the material constantly fresh. Second, even though
Martling humorously hints at it, this disc most definitely isn’t
for the kiddies… unless you live in a liberal household, in which
case anything goes.
I actually thought I saw one or two of the
Truly Tasteless Jokes books in a store a few weeks ago, but
otherwise these things have become scarce in the age of political
correctness. What Martling is effectively doing is keeping the
irreverent spirit of these books alive with his stage show, trying
to elicit some type of response from you. In general, my response
to
F. Jackie is this: keep ’em coming. I may not laugh at
everything, but I like the cut of your jib.
2000 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault”. All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Off
Hour Rockers / Oglio Records, and is used for informational
purposes only.