Records
Mar252008
Filed Under Records, Sitcom
Even before winning a comedy Grammy for their EP “The Distant Future”, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords were at work on their self-titled debut album.
If they can wake up not-with-it Grammy voters to award them for an EP, what will they get for a full length CD? Here’s a preview track which might be familiar to those who watch their HBO sitcom, as it was featured in Episode 10. It’s called “Ladies of the World.”
“Flight of the Conchords” will “drop” in stores on April 22. More info available at the SubPop site.
Feb252008
Filed Under Records, Stand-Up Comedy
Here’s a quick look at an album forthcoming from Todd Barry. “From Heaven”
is Barry’s third album and was recorded in front of a very raucous and appreciative crowd at Boston’s The Comedy Studio.
This track features Barry sharing how this some information he does not need to know about his partner’s anal sex history and why you should plan to sleep in if you have sex with him.
“From Heaven” hits stores on March 4th.
Feb122008
Filed Under Awards, Records
When the 2008 Grammy nominations were announced, I was happy but skeptical about the Flight of the Conchords (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) chance to win. Alternative stuff is rarely nodded in the comedy category so I was just pleased that their EP “The Distant Future”
got that far. I also kind of thought that a record with only five songs - five brilliant songs, but five nonetheless—would be at a disadvantage.
Well, it turns out they did pull out the Grammy, beating my favorite Steven Wright, who after more than 25 years performing, had only released his second album last year. Apparently 22 years between albums is trumped by 24 years between Grammys for New Zealand, home to the Conchords. Hopefully Wright will be more prolific in the future. Not to win Grammys, but just because it’d be nice to have more of his work on my stereo, or rather, ripped from the CD and encoded as mp3s in my iTunes playlist.
Bret and Jermaine have another album coming later this year - this one the full-length “Flight of the Conchords”, including songs from the first season of their also self-titled TV show.
Which they promise:
finally renders pointless all the inexpert fan-made audio transfers (the modern day equivalent of holding a microphone up to the television speaker and shouting at your mom to be quiet), which have bloated hard drives the world over.
The release date is only two months away: April 22, 2008. Something to look forward to, eh?
Dec062007
Filed Under Awards, Records
So, the nominees for the Comedy Grammy Award were announced. Here they are:
First off, I’m glad the Flight of the Conchords are in there. Awesome. While I think they have no shot of winning (but would be happy to be proven wrong), it’s still nice to see a nominee in a more alternative vein. I think that’s the first time something in that spirit has been nominated in that category since David Cross’s “Shut Up You Fucking Baby.” Considering we’re in a resurgence of the comedy album, it’s a little bit of a bummer to not see Patton Oswalt get a nod, his “Werewolves and Lollipops” release being one of the most highly anticipated this year. The man is prolific and at the top of his form. Though I don’t believe in awards for comedy, if we’re going to have awards one of ‘em should be put in Patton’s paws.
My choice to win: Steven Wright. The man’s practically a legend and this is only his second album. The amount of jokes of his that have been lost because they were never recorded almost bums me out when I think about it. Give him the Grammy, if only to encourage him to make the follow-up album “That Pony? Yeah, I still have her.” I think he will win too, but I got a funny feeling about George Lopez…
Dec062007
Filed Under Funny 2.0, Records
Comedy Central Records is experimenting with putting out some albums digital only. The lead off for this is the EP “God’s Pottery: Live from Comix” from the faux Christian group God’s Pottery. With songs like “A Brand New Start with Christ” which asserts the superiority of Christianity over Judaism and Islam, God’s Pottery plays against them with some aggressively cheerful patter that’s just as judgmental. A friend of mine once wondered if the pair could actually play at an Evangelical event and the attendees not know. Well, they might get tipped off the word “shitstorm” in the fourth song “Jesus I Need a Drink.” If you like the comedy to be sacrilegious in disguise, this is for you.
Normally, I’d give a track here, but the EPs is less than $4. Do I really need to tease one track out of four? In lieu of that, however, here’s a little video snippet which catches the group in the process of mixing their CD:
Comedy Central Records has got a couple of more digital releases coming up before the end of the year. On December 18, Comedy Central takes Hard ‘n Phirm‘s previously released album “Horses and Grasses” online and also gives us a single from Mike Birbiglia entitled “Medium Man”, which should be familiar to any of those who saw his college tour.
Like a few people, sometimes my first exposure to a comic is their TV special. The first time I saw Dov Davidoff was through his Comedy Central Presents special. A lot can be lost with transferring a comic from the club to the TV, but there was an amazing energy with Dov that gave me that moment where I move to the edge of the couch, leaning forward to make sure I catch it all. The folks at Comedy Central were impressed as well, as his first CD entitled “The Point Is...”
comedy.com | 
Digg |
del.icio.us |
Stumble It!
But for those who enjoy Swardson’s relaxed stand-up, a more absurd version of their best bud, will be thrilled to hear that a live performance takes up a bulk of the album.
