Get ready to surf the web, because the WiFi waters are getting crazy! Welcome to “Downward Trending”, the podcast and column where we break down the vast subcultures of the internet. Whether it’s influencers, edgelord shitposters or prank-stars and social experimenters, we’re here to analyze, cover, critique and riff on them.
This week, freelance writer Luke O’Neil, comedian and Hard Drive editor-in-chief Jeremy Kaplowitz and fellow comedian Luke Taylor join the podcast to talk about everything from satirizing gamer culture, to battling the alt-right online, to the powers of corporate social media accounts, plus more.
I. Jeremy Kaplowitz Dreams of The First Gamer President
Long Island native Jeremy Kaplowitz is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hard Drive, a satirical video game news website that branched off from The Hard Times, it’s punk rock focused parent. In addition to having a decent presence in New York’s comedy scene, his writing has also appeared in comedy websites such as Click-Hole. Jeremy has been picking up a lot of steam this past year. He recently went viral for his stand up set he preformed at Brooklyn venue Knitting Factory’s annual Halloween show, Shtick or Treat. Jewish arts & culture publication HeyAlma.com described it best in their write-up of the event:
Comedians take the stage not as themselves but as a fellow comedian and perform a set in character. As Vulture reports, this year’s show, which took place on October 28, featured some truly excellent comedians in disguise, including a “Bernie Mac Sanders” mash-up.
That night, Jeremy took two stage as Jerry Seinfeld in 1993, when Seinfeld was 39 and dating a 17 year old girl. The set went viral, garnering over 50,000 likes and eight thousand retweet’s on Jeremy’s twitter.
One of the other viral endeavors that he’s embarked on would be acting as the “campaign manager” for Ace Watkins. Played by Hard Times contributor Phil Jamesson, the fictional presidential candidate who hopes to be elected America’s first gamer president.
Writer Joe Amendola and I spoke to Jeremy via Skype about the Ace Watkins project, the hard realities of working in media, why The Hard Times works as a company, and how Netflix’s business model may be backfiring on its creators. You can also listen to Jeremy and fellow Hard Drive editor Mark Roebuck’s podcast, “The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Show” on The Hard Times Podcast Network, as well as on any other platform you get podcasts.
II. Luke O’Neil Talks About FOX News, Independent Media and Activism in Journalism.
Luke O’Neil is a freelance writer and musician from Massachusetts. In the twenty-something years he’s worked as a writer, he’s accumulated bylines in publications such as VICE, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and Esquire. Over the past couple of years, however, Luke has made the transition to independent media. He’s started his own substack publication called Welcome To Hellworld, where he covers the United States’ decaying social and political landscape. When he’s not doing journalistic work, he can sometimes be found preforming with emo band, No Hope/No Harm, for which he is the lead singer and songwriter.
Luke was cool enough to hop on a Skype call with us back in July, 2019. We talked about his backstory, his early love for Rolling Stone, the relationship between activism and journalism, why he threw his hat into the newsletter arena, and his beef with Tucker Carlson.
III. Comedian Luke Taylor Talks About Alt Comedy, Making Short Films and Corporate Mascots
Luke Taylor is a L.A. based comedian who currently acts in the sketch group "The Shrimp Boys" and also does preform aces in Helltrap Nightmare, a live comedy show hosted by Sarah Squirm (Sherman). For anyone who keeps up with the alternative comedy world, Helltrap Nightmare may be a familiar name. It’s aesthetic is pure gross out and horror; if you’ve ever seen a Troma movie, then you have an idea of what I’m talking about.
Luke also went soft viral last year after writing a VICE article in which he recounted being banned from Twitter for threatening to kill Mr. Peanut. Since then, Luke has been able to sneak his way back on the social media platform.
Luke joins the podcast to talk making YouTube videos, doing live comedy with Helltrap, why Chicago is the best place to learn how to be a preformer, and what it's been like being banned from Twitter.
Luke Taylor photo by Sarah Larson.
