Jay Leno on Neal Brennan's The Blocks

July 25, 2023 10:19 AM

Neal Brennan's interesting, introspective podcast The Blocks recently had Jay Leno as a guest [1h23m]. Brennan's podcast is focussed around discussing what the guests feel are things that have blocked them, held them back. I found this to be full of insights about Jay Leno that ran really counter to my assumed attitudes toward him, and I appreciated it.
posted by hippybear (25 comments total)

I've been enjoying this podcast. The one with Howie Mandel explained OCD better than anything I've ever heard.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:42 AM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I just can't commit an hour and a half to listen to podcasts. Is there a text version I wonder...
posted by Czjewel at 10:48 AM on July 25, 2023 [5 favorites]

I'm with you -- reading a transcript is so much quicker than sitting through a podcast.
posted by y2karl at 10:53 AM on July 25, 2023 [8 favorites]

I don’t mind longer podcasts, but an hour and a half is about an hour-and-three-quarters longer than I am interested in listening to Jay Leno. I like the concept of this podcast, but this instalment seems like a very long drive for a very short day at the beach.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:00 AM on July 25, 2023 [6 favorites]

For those who are not opposed to AI-generated summaries, here's the auto-generated summary for this episode: Summary of Jay Leno | The Blocks Podcast w/ Neal Brennan | FULL EPISODE 26. It breaks the 90 minutes down into 5-minute chunks and summarizes each one (for example, "In this section, Jay Leno discusses his belief in low self-esteem being the key to success and the importance of seeking out constructive criticism.," and "He shares a technique he uses on stage, where he recites the Pledge of Allegiance while thinking about his jokes, giving the illusion of spontaneity").

(Also, Czjewel, tools like yt-dlp and Transcript Downloader - Evo can save transcripts for you, or you can just view them in lots of cases by clicking the " . . . " under a Youtube video and choosing "Show Transcript.")

I find it hard to set aside time for long podcasts these days, too, but I really appreciate knowing about this - both this episode and this podcast - and I've saved the link for later.

Thanks so much for posting this, hippybear! I really appreciate learning about interesting interviews from you!
posted by kristi at 11:19 AM on July 25, 2023 [6 favorites]

Hello, I am here to complain that the content in this post is not delivered in a way I personally enjoy, and is also about a person I don't care for.
posted by Billy Rubin at 11:51 AM on July 25, 2023 [57 favorites]

I set the speed on my pods to 1.5x or 2x - really saves time!
posted by tristeza at 11:55 AM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

I just rent a Tesla and go on a long drive. Problem solved.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:13 PM on July 25, 2023

As a child of the 70s who grew up into the golden age of standup, I've always known there's a Real Jay Leno in there somewhere. He was ill-served by every piece of Tonight Show drama (not to mention its writers), so because there are glimmers of Good Jay in his "...Garage" installments, I'm v. interested to listen to/read this.
posted by rhizome at 12:57 PM on July 25, 2023 [8 favorites]

discussing what the guests feel are things that have blocked them

I presume in Leno's case this would be "other people had shows that I wanted".
posted by star gentle uterus at 1:21 PM on July 25, 2023 [5 favorites]

This is a great podcast and I recommend it to everyone I know. Note also, that the first guest Brennan had on was David Letterman.
posted by wabbittwax at 1:21 PM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I set the speed on my pods to 1.5x or 2x - really saves time!

Or just simmer in silence: the Thanksgiving Dinner Option.

But that A Face in the Crowd is one of his favorite movies is to Jay Leno's great credit. That movie was Andy Griffith's finest achievement as an actor. Ron Howard would seem to agree. And also Spike Lee.
posted by y2karl at 2:27 PM on July 25, 2023 [1 favorite]

I crossed paths with Jay Leno several times when he was starting out in in Boston. Everything he says here about those days is true. You couldn't talk to him for two minutes without seeing that he was absolutely obsessed with standup. And yes, it's true, there were no other stand ups out there. He actually did play strip clubs in the combat zone. He even opened for my band once at a college gig. We were kind of embarrassed for him, because at that time, nothing could be less cool than being a comedian. Very nice guy, though. Everybody liked him. I personally felt sorry for him because I thought there was no way on earth he could make it in show business with that big chin and (at that time) extreme working-class Boston accent.
posted by Modest House at 2:53 PM on July 25, 2023 [14 favorites]

A little off topic, but Michael Nesmith recounted an interesting story about A Face in the Crowd in the last book he wrote. As a newly hired Monkee, the producer sat him down and made him watch A Face in the Crowd. He thought, Why is he showing me this old movie about a guy who gets a big head and thinks everyone loves him, when they just hang around him because he's popular? A couple years later he showed up at the house of someone from the crew of the Monkees TV show for a party. The guy wouldn't let him in the door. "I'm here for the party," Nesmith said. "Don't you get it? I hate you," the guy replied before closing the door. The movie came flooding back to him and, indeed, he finally got it.
posted by jabah at 3:34 PM on July 25, 2023 [7 favorites]

Noted, hippybear, and I will refrain from posting summaries in any of your future threads. For what it's worth, though, one benefit to me of those summaries is that, if you don't have time for the full hour and a half, it at least points you to some possible places to jump in.

For me, those summaries are tools to help me confirm whether the content is likely to be worth my time, and to help me find a starting point or return to something I liked later. I agree that a summary is not a substitute for the thing itself.
posted by kristi at 4:22 PM on July 25, 2023 [5 favorites]

I've heard Leno on a couple long podcasts before, Maron and another I can't remember, and he always came across as a pretty straight up guy who treats the craft like a professional. I am aware some others in the business don't like him for reasons, but it usually doesn't demand my involvement. So I don't. Anyhow, this is a good post and an interesting podcast.
posted by 2N2222 at 4:35 PM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

And those of us not inclined to spend what precious moments we have left in our lives in watching the whole damn thing are more than happy to spend a few of those seconds on being extremely grateful for your help.
posted by y2karl at 6:17 PM on July 25, 2023 [2 favorites]

Jay Leno didn't get covered by Johnny Cash.
posted by y2karl at 8:08 PM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

kristi’s comment helped me to make an informed decision about whether to spend any of my precious time and energy listening to Leno’s story. I was grateful for that input, and I’m troubled to see it being policed so heavily.

Jay Leno built a whole career on upstaging and undermining his more-talented peers. There’s a reason so many of his colleagues can’t stand him.

Low self-esteem? Most comedians have low self-esteem! Good ones have the sense to channel it into humility. Show me someone whose low self-esteem is their motivation for throwing other people under the bus, and I’ll show you a schoolyard bully.

Yes, that style of comedy is certainly popular with a certain audience. There’s a certain kind of fan who identifies with a guy who never makes himself the butt of the joke, and who’s only “nice” to people who he’s sure won’t outshine him.

I’m sure there are nuances that would only come through if I listened to the whole interview with a totally open mind. But Leno did long-term damage to late night by repeatedly demanding a degree of attention/control that his talents frankly couldn’t match. That makes me hesitant to be part of his audience.

If more information confirms that hesitancy, so be it.

Thanks again, kristi.
posted by armeowda at 8:22 PM on July 25, 2023 [4 favorites]

I've been posting long form interviews to this website nearly daily for months. I should go back through and figure out which posts have gotten this treatment and which have not because that might be elucidating.

If it helps, I've just been quietly following and clicking thru any transcripts if the summation sounds interesting because they're all generally referring to somethings I have no immediate connection to and I also don't have time to go thru the actual interviews. I suppose for the deaf and hard of hearing mefites even all this is moot.
posted by cendawanita at 9:50 PM on July 25, 2023

I may or may not want to listen to an hour and a half of Leno's self justifications, but holy cow Neal Brennan gets an absolute murderer's row of comedians as guests. Thanks, hippybear!
posted by whuppy at 7:07 AM on July 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

This is a REALLY good interview. While I was firmly team Cocoa during the great Leno/Conan Tonight Show fight, I never had the strong dislike of Leno that others had (apart from his incredibly shitty treatment of Monica Lewinsky ); I was too young to have seen Letterman during his pre-Late Show days and found him off-putting and grating on Late Night, so I tended to watch Leno while waiting for Conan as a kid. My sense of Leno was that he's a stand-up more focused on the craft then the content. He loves the artform, but doesn't really have anything to say. This interview really digs into that in an interesting way. He really comes off as someone who enjoys the granularity of stand-up performance, but is very mailable in terms of persona and content to the perceived needs of the audience or venue. It's a different take on comedy than I think most are comfortable with, but I don't necessarily hate it.
posted by UltraMorgnus at 9:06 AM on July 26, 2023

For what it's worth, my remaining minutes aren't remotely precious and not likely to be spent on anything much more valuable than a podcast, so thanks for this! I blew through my usual week's podcast stash on a long train ride last weekend and could use a re-up.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:11 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Neal is an amazing interviewer - another notch in his belt!! (ps leno sux)
posted by tristeza at 12:11 PM on July 27, 2023

I will be tying more onions to my belt.
posted by y2karl at 1:13 PM on July 27, 2023 [1 favorite]