Prog Com or "Is the new..." Is the New "Making a Joke"

As a fairly busy comic, I rarely get to see the work of other comics. When I do, it’s a treat to come across material that matches my exacting standards. You see, I like comics to be funny rather than making me feel like the jury of 500 hundred Athenians felt about Socrates.

Fortunately, there’s a new wave of upper middle class, white, male comics here to save all the upper middle class, white, male comedy fans from the unfunny and offensive material that all too often passes for humor. The closed circle is now a safer space.

A good comedy show that doesn’t drag society backwards with every laugh is a veritable ivory billed woodpecker. But the bird has been cited more and more, and it’s now safe to say that we’re enjoying a new wave of progressive comedy, or as I just decided to start calling it, Prog Com.

These comics include(d) Mitch Hedberg, Dmitri Martin, Mike Birbiglia, and Myq Kaplan. Actually, those are just the ones I know. (See sentence #1.) The LNP had the pleasure of opening for Martin, catching Birbiglia’s act last night, going to school with Kaplan, and will perhaps meet Hedberg when our van crashes into an oncoming semi.

These comics actually cook up new jokes rather than rehashing the old “men leave the toilet seat up but women use all the toilet paper” bit or delighting us with advancements in the art of “_______ is the new _________.” And when they say "fagott," you can tell by their messy, hipstery hair that they're actually making fun of people who say fagott. Or they're talking about burning sticks.