Rob Auton: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
For the amount of time I spend on my phone, I don’t actually have that many memories of looking at my phone. Maybe I’m on it so much that it’s like trying to have a memory of breathing. The memories I do have of looking at my phone are mostly watching videos that made me laugh enough to create a lasting memory. Weirdly, sometimes I will really corpse laughing at a video, then watch it again a couple of weeks later and find that the magic of the moment is gone. I hope you are seeing some of these videos for the first time. Some of them have done the rounds for a reason.
1. Christopher Guest: ‘Where’s your bass?’
I am a big fan of Spinal Tap and this story from Christopher Guest about a band he saw in a Los Angeles hotel makes me bow down to his brilliance.
2. Bob Einstein’s joke about moths
Bob Einstein is up there for me as one the best joke tellers. Not a word wasted. Just boom, there you are. In and out. This joke in particular made me laugh a lot and I enjoy telling it to other people. His character in Curb Your Enthusiasm is up there for me as my favourite character in anything.
3. A man trying to describe OJ Simpson
This makes me laugh a lot. I think the use of the word “actual” is absolutely bang on from the lady who is guessing. Actors could try to recreate the dialogue and actions here but I don’t think the real-life frustration could ever be recreated. The camera caught the magic for sure.
4. Viagra Boys live at Glastonbury
I love the band Viagra Boys and this video made me laugh a lot when
I saw it. I’d been watching the very polished performances and people having quite a civilised time at Glastonbury – then this came on on the Sunday and it looked like proper mayhem. Never have I wanted to be at a gig more. That last throw of the dice show at a festival, where the people are just going for it – it is by no means hilarious but it made me laugh and feel great.
5. A lady slowly falling into a picnic table
I love this because it looks as though she just settled into what was happening and went with it: “OK, well, it looks like I’m going to faceplant into this table then.” It’s as if everyone there knew it was going to happen.
6. A very muddy walk
A young lad is on a walk with his parents. He is not dressed for the occasion. He starts slipping and it goes from there. This video is a proper postcard from the UK. The weather, the fact that the mum is up ahead and that feeling of, “We really didn’t expect it to be this muddy but we’re here now we have to keep going.” Every now and again, when
I feel at rock bottom, I think of this guy.
7. ‘You can’t grow concrete’
I find England’s raging TV presenters very funny. They get so wound up. When I came to Australia for the first time in 2023 I realised how powerful the sun is and how much we miss it in England. I didn’t realise that just a little bit of vitamin D can stop people acting like this guy.
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm bloopers
This particular set of Curb bloopers are a go-to for me when I’m feeling particularly despairing at the state of things. I could have chosen a hundred clips from Curb but these are the bloopers that make me laugh the most.
9. This Country – ‘Get your mum to say tomato’
This Country was the best TV show I’d seen for a long time. I return to this scene often. I think this was an episode where they had ran out of budget and had to film everything in the kitchen. It really works though. They look as though they are having a lot of fun. They must have been so happy when they watched it back.
10. Ivor Cutler – Life in a Scotch Sitting Room
This is a piece from my hero Ivor Cutler. He makes me think and look at the world in a different way. I laugh at this because I am always surprised by his brilliance – and laughing is what I do when I don’t really know how to react to something out of the ordinary or unexpected.
Rob Auton is performing The Rob Auton Show at Melbourne international comedy festival, 28 March to 21 April 2024