I'm a stand-up comedy junkie - with rock-n-roll festering in yet another slump, stand-up comedy is one of, if not the only, avenue left for performance art. I could rant for hours about the homogenization of rock-n-roll but all you need to do is look at the Billboard charts or turn on the radio and see for yourself.
At any rate, I thought I would compile a list of my top ten favorite comics - with the exception of the first three slots, this list is subject to change according to whim.
And without further adieu...number ten, Henry Rollins.
Sure, Rollins bills himself as a "spoken word" artist, but for the sake of argument I'm including him here. I've seen Rollins stand-up spoken word live twice, each time I've laughed myself to tears. There's serious (read unfunny) material in his act as well, but that the beauty of single-mic action, just as the best rock-n-roll communicates directly to your naughty bits, the best stand-up hits you on multiple levels.
(Of course, the best I could find on youtube was a bit on scallops which, while funny, isn't indicative of his act. Check out a cd or dvd to get a better idea of his material, you'll be glad you did.)