Keith and The Girl

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Keith And The Girl

Host(s) Keith Malley
Chemda Khalili
Website http://keithandthegirl.com
Update schedule Random (most weekdays)
Launch date March 2005
Genre Comedy

Keith and The Girl, abbreviated KATG, is a popular comedy podcast that began on 7th March 2005. It is hosted by comedian Keith Malley and singer Chemda Khalili, an unmarried couple living in Queens, New York. In the show, which usually has a length of an hour or more, they talk about their lives and current events in humorous and unrestrained fashion. As described by Keith and Chemda themselves, "Keith and his girlfriend talk shit."

Keith and The Girl has consistently been the 1st- or 2nd-ranked podcast at Podcast Alley, often reaching the #1 ranking based on user votes[1]. The show is hosted on Libsyn.com and receives in excess of a hundred thousand monthly downloads[2]. Due to Libsyn's privacy policy the actual number is uncertain.

Keith and Chemda's stated aim for the podcast is for it to become their main source of income. Currently they get regular work as children’s party entertainers, and sell show merchandise through the show site. Items such as t-shirts, Keith’s standup CDs and DVDs, as well as music CDs that Chemda has appeared on, can be purchased.


Contents

[edit] Features

Some of the regular features of Keith and The Girl include:

  • Prayer: Shows traditionally open with a prayer taken from the the Somerset Daily American. The Daily American is the newspaper of Keith's hometown, Somerset, Pennsylvania. If the show has a guest or guests, they will usually read the prayer. It is closed with the Hebrew exclamation "L'Chaim" ("To life").
  • Guests: Some of the celebrity guests that have visited the show include Jani Lane and C.C. DeVille. Comedians, famous and less-than-famous, make live or phone-in appearances. Friends and relatives of Keith and Chemda also make appearances, and occasionally some notable listeners.
  • Strange News: Keith reads (or sometimes plays audio of) unusual news and events.
  • Clown Monday: Stories from the hosts' day jobs at children's parties. Parties are usually on the weekends, hence a Monday recap.
  • Suck-A-Dick Wednesday: A derivative of Opie and Anthony's "Whip 'em Out Wednesday", where if a woman sees the "WOW" sticker, she is supposed to flash her breasts. Keith one-upped the idea so that if a female encounters another listener wearing a KATG shirt, she is supposed to give him a blow job. Since the original show, Suck a Dick Wednesday, many listeners have called or written in relating their personal stories. These include a 15 year-old who was the inspiration for another show's title: Baby's First Blow Job.
  • Gossip Thursday: Regular guest Patrice visits the show every Thursday to bring the latest celebrity gossip.
  • Live shows: Friday shows are broadcasted live, and they usually feature guests, phone calls, and instant messages from fans. The number of live shows has been increasing, with advanced notice given on the show site. Starting March 2006, live shows have also had a web camera feed via Paltalk.
  • Songs: The show closes with one or more tracks, either songs or comedy tracks, somehow related to the content of the show. Rarely the track has been one of Keith or Chemda's own. In July 2006 the show began closing with songs submitted by independent artists, not related to the show content; recently (October 2006) the shows have ended without songs.

Less-frequent show elements include relationship advice to listeners' letters, mail and calls from listeners and other podcasters, road shows from on location (or reports afterward), prank calls, and comedy clips for review and discussion. Very rarely, Keith plays "Lick My, Suck My," a dirty word puzzle.

The show has recently experimented with both prerecorded and original advertising, including ads for a television show, a film, and a loan company- which featured a dramatized argument about money(see shows 282 to 297). These short ads have been bumpers at the beginning or end of each show.

[edit] Recurring themes

Some frequent topics of the show include:

  • Keith's upbringing: Keith and company discuss his childhood in a small town, with a religious father. Mention of Chemda's upbringing is much less frequent. Sometimes guests offer their upbringings in comparison.
  • New York stories: Happenings, personal and impersonal, in New York City. Includes Keith's early life after arriving from Somerset, working as a waiter.
  • Showbiz stories: Aside from Gossip Thursday, the show often discusses podcasting, comedy, music, television and movies, and the state of their respective industries. Industry guests often provide significant contributions.
  • Relationships: The relationships of Keith and Chemda, Keith when he first moved to New York, guests, pertinent listeners, and relationships in the news.
  • HUAR (Humans United Against Robots): News and discussion of advancing robot technologies and their implications.
  • Ding: A sound/concept brought up to suggest that the topic move on to something else (i.e. the person or issue currently at hand isn't favorable), originally suggested by guest Victor Varnado on Show 201: Couples Therapy (25:50)
  • Race, sexuality, and religion: The show has a controversial take on issues such as race, sexuality and religion. This includes the game ‘name the race’ (introduced in Show 2: Introduction to Racism) where Keith reads a news story, often a crime, and invites guests or callers to name the race of the alleged perpetrator. A casual listen could easily take offense to these aspects of the show and a number of listeners have written either to the show directly or on the forums complaining of racism and homophobia. Supporters of the show would point out that the much of what is said is an ironic take on stereotypes and parodies simple prejudice (this form of performance can be found in a range of current podcasts such as Fox in the City). The show also features a number of Black guests and regulars such as Patrice who occasionally defend Keith and Chemda’s personal stance on these matters.

Dentistry, computers, and personal finance become recurring topics when Keith and Chemda have issues with them.

[edit] Guests

[edit] Regulars

mostly on "Gossip Thursdays," which are named after Patrice's big contribution: celebrity gossip.
A comic artist originally from Texas who now resides in New York with his ex-girlfriend Amber. Spooky has in the past helped Keith and Chemda with home repairs and become a fairly regular guest since Show 193: Spooky Visits. He has also hosted his own impromptu show on the KATG live feed, known as "The Secret Spooky Show". These are not recorded or released officially, but can be found posted by fans on the KATG Forums or on the Super Secret Backstage Show, an unofficial spin-off show. His real name is Chad.
Indie film maker, cyclist and technical consultant to the show; produces the video for the live shows.
Actor and magician who works with Chemda and Keith doing kid's parties.

[edit] Other guests

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Top Rated Podcasts. Top 50 Rated Podcasts (6/2006 - All). Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
  2. ^ Libsyn Soundoff. Libsyn Report: State of Podcasting Q1 2006. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
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