As the catalog of comedy albums expands every Tuesday, the traditional format of the one-hour live stand-up show as an album fades away-- to the delight of comedy fans and nerds everywhere (or at least this reviewer). Though there's been a handful of non-traditional comedy...
Most people in the entertainment industry acknowledge that it's harder to do comedy than drama. But when you're used to being funny, sometimes it's hard to be serious-- or to be taken seriously. Richard Belzer crossed over successfully in his work on television as Det. John...
A few weeks off-air seems to have done good for the crew at Saturday Night Live. Not since this season's premiere with host Alec Baldwin has the show delivered such a competent episode. Last night's effort found underdog Charlie Day -- co-star of FX's ensemble cult hit, It's...
Comedian Andrés Du Bouchet's Naked Trampoline Hamlet is one of the most innovative comedy albums of the last few years. Conan staff writer Du Bouchet has gotten to where he is in the comedy world through his mastery in absurdist humor, which fleshes itself out beautifully on...
Hal Sparks is easy to like. He's an animated, good looking dude who's clearly committed to making a room full of comedy goers laugh their asses off. He also appeals to a desirable age group-- the folks that appreciate references to the Luck Dragon from The Never-ending Story, or...
When Mike Stanley made a fat joke in Ohio, a woman stood up and scolded him. Stanley responded, “Lighten up.” His debut album Tough Luck Chump is littered with jokes like these: occasionally mean and cruel, and definitely downright raunchy. So if adult humor like this is...
If you showed up at the Bell House in Brooklyn last night for the live taping of writer and comedienne Julie Klausner’s How Was Your Week? podcast expecting Teddy Leo, cat photos, the JCPenney Facebook page, drunk Maya Angelou, the most hated man on Billy Eichner’s iPod...
An album titled Wildly Inappropriate arouses some expectations. Mostly, it prepares the listener for nonstop offensive humor or an otherwise edgy act that will draw out laughs from highly uncomfortable topics. Daryl Wright's debut album, however funny, may be ever-so-slightly...
How to describe Rory Scovel: think Bert Kreischer meets Anthony Jeselnik. That is, picture a storyteller, philosopher, and absurdist, whom you can’t quite decide whether he's a nice guy or a huge asshole. Either way, he’s pretty damn funny. And if that description sounds...
