Records
Sep042008
Filed Under Records, Stand-Up Comedy
The much anticipated album from the late comic Mitch Hedberg takes one of his final shows and ultimately shows a bit more of the depth and speed of his comic mind, demonstrating that the man was more than just a joke machine. My favorite track involves some impromptu work with a friendly heckler who has all the answers, but you’ll have to hear that for yourself when the album is released next week.
But here’s some snippets from some of the other tracks that demonstrate how sweetly and smoothly his joke machine did work.
Here’s a great ecard that’s a wonderful way to introduce Mitch’s album to folks who aren’t necessarily the comedy nerds you and I am. It has most of the material you hear here.
“Do You Believe in Gosh?” arrives in store September 9th.
Jul102008
Filed Under Records, Stand-Up Comedy
Many of Mitch Hedberg‘s fans are looking forward to the release of the comic’s posthumous album. Mitch’s widow Lynn Shawcroft, who’s been putting together the tracks, yesterday let me in on the title for the album. It’ll be called “Do You Believe in Gosh?”, a phrase taken from one of Mitch’s notebooks. “Do You Believe in Gosh?” will be released on September 9th.
To give you an idea of what Mitch’s notebooks look like, here’s a page my friend Ian Lendler sent me that they handed out at the Mitch Hedberg tribute at the 2007 San Francisco Sketchfest. Here you see a couple of jokes and then a set list for a Letterman appearance.
Update: Get a preview of the album and listen to some sample bits from “Do You Believe in Gosh?”
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…
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comes out on the CC Records label just next week.
