I've been pretty lazy when it comes to blogging lately. Partially because I've been busy with life off the web (is there such a thing anymore?), partially due to a 48-hour crusade to rid the world of as many vodka-cran's as my liver would tolerate. But it's high time I finished this goofy little top ten list so I can move on to other things.
So Chappelle's number three, which by default makes him number one of the current crop of comics out there. Obviously Chappelle has hit the point in his career where everyone and their mother knows who he is and what he does, so I'll spare you the recap. Suffice to say though there are few comics out there that can make me laugh until I cry, and Chappelle is one of them.
Sex with Monkey's (above) is one of favorites - one of a hundred. It's rare a comedian can pull off a joke about a subject as touchy as AIDS and not come off cruel or disparaging to any particular group or lifestyle, but Chappelle pulls it off brilliantly.
Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, suffers from a controversial mental condition and could use some couch time in a shrink's office, a team of researchers declared this week.
"He's suffering. And he's suffering from a disorder," said Dr. Eric Bui, a psychiatrist in Toulouse, France, who co-wrote a study that diagnosed one of the most villainous and heroic characters in the Star Wars canon as having borderline personality disorder. - Wired
It's times like these I almost wish Anna Nicole was back in the headlines.
"The overall theme for me is social satire because my setup is information. I start with the person making a dopey statement like former Senator Rick Santorum saying that gay marriage and homosexuality are a threat to the American family. Then I tell the real story: How is this a threat to the American people? It's a prejudice to believe that. It's the same thing as remarks about Jews drinking the blood of Christian babies during Passover."
"There's no such thing as soy milk. It's soy juice."
Along with Louis C.K., I'm a Johnny-come-lately to Lewis Black - what can I say, I rarely watch the Daily Show. I've been jonesing for a political stand-up ever since Dennis Miller went off the deep end. (What the hell happened there anyway? I can handle the change in politics but at least keep the humor, his last stand-up special felt like a recital of random Republican talking points...sure any audience will applaud when their views are being catered to, but where were the laughs? Further proof joining the Republican party lowers your I.Q.)
"You don't want another Enron? Here's the law: If you have a company, and you can't explain, in one sentence, what the fuck it does, it's illegal!"
Not to bring up Louis C.K. again, but I like Lewis Black for many of the same reasons - chiefly their ability to reinvent the wheel. There's a ton of political comics out there - always were, always will be - but it takes someone special to make it funny instead of just depressing. Off the top of my head I can think of only two - Bill Maher and Lewis Black.
Another reason I'm drinking Black's Kool-Aid is he's the first comedian since Kinison that can pull off rage without looking hokey or more angry than funny. Most comedians I've seen lately who attempt to pull off any kind of anger or aggression either look like their reading off cue cards or seem more like Michael Richards during his meltdown. To turn a real emotion like anger into comedy - and as a result getting your audience to think, turning it back into anger - is a rare gift.
"Hey, suck a bag of dicks!" ...And with those few words, Louis C.K. blazed his way to number five on my top ten comics list. I've only recently become familiar with C.K.'s work - caught him on a few late night talk shows and thought he was pretty funny, but when I saw his HBO sitcom, I just wasn't digging it.
That all changed when I tuned into Comic Relief late last year.
After what seemed like a hundred hours of mostly tepid comedy, Louis C.K. opened his act with the bag of dicks and within a few seconds blew every comedian who came on before him away. (As you may have guessed, his material is not safe for work, so if I were you, I'd watch the video above later, or at least wear headphones.)
It's funny, comedy about married life is pretty standard and tired, but hearing Louis C.K. talk about the saddest hand job in America brought tears to my eyes...the man has managed to reinvent the wheel and the world is a better place for it.
At any rate he had a special a few months back on HBO and given the cyclical nature of cable television, you should have plenty of opportunity to see it again down the road. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.
