How Steven Wright Writes Jokes | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I'm thinking of your famous joke I want. you to do it but I went into a. restaurant that said they serve. breakfast anytime so I ordered French. toast during the Renaissance. [Laughter]. I have this always had this theory that. a good joke actually has weight like the. way an element does like it has you can. almost feel the weight of it in the palm. of your hand it's fascinating the. details of it all. you know not connected to time but that.

French toast joke that was one of the. only jokes I ever re ever adjusted. because usually when I think of. something and I think of the word and. then that's it it's never changed but. that joke it wasn't first it wasn't the. Renaissance it was something else I. don't remember it was another reference. to time right but it wasn't the. Renaissance and then I thought well I'll. change it to the Renaissance and then be. connect the France French it connects. more yeah so it's just like it's.

fascinating the details but what was. your method you'd sit would you sit and. and like I mean I'm fascinated by how. people do it do you sit with a a legal. pad. typewriter what were you doing I mean. and and you know you think I'm making a. joke with typewriter I actually do write. stuff on a typewriter because I don't. know I like yeah I have some old. typewriters and I just love the. mechanism of it and I love the kind of. um I think I think a little harder when.

I'm working on a typewriter because it's. being put on paper and it feels like oh. it's more of a so it's like physical. combination of thing rather than a. computer yeah it doesn't little there's. an F physical F effort. I would in the first six months I would. get the newspaper out and look through. it and see if something would click like. to write. find a joke but then after like six or. eight months my mind became because it's.

all based on what you notice right all. the comedy is noticing so my mind just. became noticing I didn't no longer. looked at the paper it was just like you. go out and you just notice and uh. it was uh like I have one of my favorite. jokes I ever did was I looking through. the paper and I saw electrolysis you. know an ad for electrolysis and I. thought what a word. the sound of that word is interesting.

and what it means is interesting it's. not in my mind later came up with the I. lived in a building they allowed pets. and I had a pony I had a Shetland pony. named Nikki and he was involved in a. bizarre electrolysis accident all all. here was removed except for the tail now. I rent him out to Hari Krishna family. picnics. but you know I drew a lot before growing.

Elementary School High School drawing. and painting. before I ever wrote anything and uh when. you draw something you notice. realistically if you like change to. abstract in my 20s but before that it. was real like so you really noticed. stuff like if you're gonna you're gonna. draw this glass in this bottle the shape. of the glass and the shape of the bottle. but the shape in between it is also a. shape and that helps you get it accurate.

you know yeah to make it look real and I. think that. exercised my maybe my noticing abilities. like because it's just like all the. comedies from noticing you know in the. in the in the tower in the airport you. know the the tower they have with the. with the uh with the uh with the radio. the radar yeah so the radar sweeps like. this and then this little. dots of the planes so my subconscious.

was scanning was scanning I'm not. walking down the street me I need. another joke I need a new joke I'm just. walking down the street but the scan is. going like this and it would just see. something a word or something. oh oh that's something yeah that could. be something I know that you're into. music and you're a musician and I think. it's such a there's such a connection. between comedy and music what I've. always heard is when I read about great.

songwriters they just say that they're. doing the same thing they're scanning. and something hits them and I think it's. there and it can be anything but they're. reading the paper and then they see a. story and especially when you get doing. it enough where you you're making a. living even if you're just barely paying. the rent you're making a living from the. comedy you know a hundred dollars a week. that's three you know 300 400 Pages the. rent even less than unless so you have.

time you have time you don't have to go. somewhere and do this this so you're. wandering around you know like a. four-year-old just wondering and to me. what you just said to me the world is. made up of like oh it's a giant Mosaic. painting it's little tiny fragments that. make up everything you know and he's. like here's that guy who died and that's. that's like a that's a tiny thing you. know and I've I've noticed things. where I combine oh this could be.

connected this thing that has nothing to. do with this does have a common. denominator maybe in the in the word or. something then you combine I'm I'm not. thinking when I make it up I'm not going. like I'm not doing what I just said to. you. it's happening it's like oh that could. mean that it's a bang right thing yeah. it's really uh. cracks me up that my dad's a scientist. and he said once that um he's not a good. one. um.

he's a shitty scientist we don't even. think he has a degree. walks around with a microscope that he. founds. around his neck like Mr T with a. medallion and he said I'm a sign and. then he just hang out at the train. station. eat grilled cheese sandwiches we were. like no he's a scientist but yeah but he. said like the job of your brain the. thing that's happened in evolution. that's supposed to Keep Us Alive is our.

brain Making Connections that make sense. like huh he's got a fire here and I've. got meat here when I cook the meat it. actually tastes a little better I'm. going to start doing that and I think. there's something with the comedians I. really admire like you. there's almost something a miswiring. that that wouldn't work in evolution but. we're connecting things that shouldn't. be connected and my dad once said to me. and you know I've said it before but he. looked at me once and he said it's. interesting because he's very honest and.

he's also very smart and he said you're. making your living off of something that. probably should be treated. and I realized he's not wrong that's. hilarious it's taking you know you can. have breakfast anytime or you know the. electrolysis joke you're taking things. and putting them together and they live. on completely different synapses that. aren't supposed to cross they're not. supposed to be touching each other yes. but something's either wrong or right in. a beautiful way and that's what happens.

somehow you see a connection.