Title: Chunks
Who's it for?: Comedy fans
Who made it?: J. Elvis Weinstein
Where is it?: 800 lb Gorilla Records, Amazon
Length: 46 minutes
A pre-emptive note ahead of my review: J. Elvis Weinstein pronounces his name to rhyme with Albert Einstein and he added the Elvis because he likes Elvis Costello and so his initials would become the acronym JEW. He had to do this because there was already a Josh Weinstein when he joined the Writers Guild, and neither he nor the Simpsons writer have any connection to Harvey Weinstein who pronounces his name with "steen" as differentiated from "stine" at the end. Don't confuse him for that predator guy because both Josh's are gentlemen and professionals I presume seeing as they stay out of news about social machines that hurt women.
When I first met J. Elvis Weinstein I asked him if he had a standup album because I wanted to know who he was individually among the Mystery Science Theater 3000 writers who had regrouped into Cinematic Titanic at live shows where I could meet them. He didn't, but he'd been writing and performing standup at Acme Comedy Club in Minnesota for nearly his whole life. Didn't he think it would be a good idea to archive something so important and key to his existence? He told me he hadn't really thought about it much but supposed he might get around to it eventually. Ten years later his first album shows me I was right about him and there are great mental depths to be discovered that just weren't convenient for a lot of people until now.
Chunks is J. Elvis Weinstein's first comedy album, but it's not a beginner effort at all. I had been excited about him as an individual comedian because I could tell from his blogs on the now defunct Cinematic Titanic website that he is possibly the tightest joke writer on that team. He improvised effectively in the KTMA episodes of Mystery Science Theater, and his Twitter jokes are well structured, and there are many fun surprises in the order of ideas to be presented found in Chunks. For example, he writes a great sexual harrassment joke wherein he is both the perpetrator and the victim because he is talking to himself about being his own boss, thereby taking the reactionary gendered witch hunt out of the debate leaving only the situation to be avoided by everyone. He is a master of assessing and then manipulating perspectives. I can only conclude that he had a long queue of other projects as a producer as on Freaks and Geeks, America's Funniest Home Videos, and the Greg Kinnear show, and enough gigs doing standup and playing live music, that he actually had a huge time buffer before he could get around to this album.
Chunks is a time capsule of Mr. Weinstein's finest standup. He discusses his mixed faith marriage and interprets Judaism in comparison to Christianity in a way I don't hear from random sampling of Jewish standup comedy but do hear regularly from him with Andy Kindler on Thought Spiral. Unlike a lot of Jewish comics, they don't hyperbolize escaping from Judaism like many standups do as they escape parental control and childhood. They like Judaism at least in part, and they make it sort of inviting and show that they get comfort from it as a family foundation. Even while Josh says he doesn't get the symbolism of either Easter or Passover and that Christianity has more miracles than Judaism, I remember on Thought Spiral that he memorized the Ten Commandments movie during Passover and I think he actually likes it whether ironically or seriously because he returns to it almost as much as to The Boys From Brazil and Dr. Josef Mengele's scientific experiment war crimes which are less endearing and not in this routine. And his slight chagrin at Christian miracles is a softer critique than, say, Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic routine.
Edgier chunks contain Josh's many times serving jury duty, which he says he gets because he must have "resting justice face." He compares jury duty in Los Angeles to community theater-- "You watch a bad play, and if you don't like it you send somebody to jail." If the Explicit tag on the album isn't enough for you, I will give a trigger warning for you that there are many descriptions of violence from both humans and animals. Josh describes in graphic detail the most violent court cases he was in the jury for or read in the headlines. He was also in at least one fight in his life that he was called to and stayed in somehow. He prefers animal violence to the true crime stories his wife enjoys. I think his overall perspective is a healthy one that surveys other people's violent moments as theater with consequences that can easily be avoided. He doesn't focus on the rush of being in a fight so much as the character analysis of everyone involved, and his low energy deadpan delivery leads me to believe that he holds skepticism about fighting and talks himself out of it.
MST3K and Cinematic Titanic fans should note that none of his music jokes, the earworm medley pop hits radio station break, or his Steve Perry impersonation from the Cinematic Titanic shows made it on to the album. He didn't play bass or keyboard either, though his music is regularly on Thought Spiral with songs also from his wife Allison MacLeod and cohost/comedian Andy Kindler. This album is a self introduction to people who have managed to not know who Josh is for this long, and briefly mentions he has a lead role in a movie also just now because even after suggesting the people calling might want an actor and not a standup comedian/producer, the people calling demanded it because the role is one he is perfect for and he is too good to ignore for The Fiddling Horse.
He hasn't been Tom Servo since he was a college student, but his wry delivery doesn't entirely eclipse a good heart and healthy psychology which has been with him for life. Aside from producing and music, standup is his best expertise and you won't find a better first standup album to study and learn from than Chunks by J. Elvis Weinstein on 800 Lb Gorilla Records and Amazon.
Sunday
Monday
Rob Delaney: Survivor. Town crier. Disability-knowing empath. Child creator. Platonic example. Bon vivant. Bandage.
Title:
Who made it?: Rob Delaney
Where is it?: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081299308X/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=081299308X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Length: 208 pages
I've been following Rob Delaney on Twitter since maybe 2010 and I saw some of the tweets in this book when they dropped or got retweeted, so there's a great "I was THERE, man!" feeling and also some great motivation to write my own book and find a way to fit some of my own tweets in. They are the best microblog time capsules that show how the author thinks and reacts to subjects both topical and timeless. For reference, these tweets were written during the Obama presidency.
Mr. Delaney's book is so much more than just these intercalary tweet sections between the topical parts, however. There are twenty great comedic essays about his childhood, travels, recovery from addiction, and transformation into a loving and responsible father who still loves to write jokes. Despite a near self-destruction, he retains an epic jois de vivre to be envied by people who would have an easier time stopping themselves from bungee jumping off a bridge.
Though surviving wild oat sowing is not sufficient proof to try any of these stunts at home, Mr. Delaney has been living a vivid life and responsibly explains what was at stake and could have gone worse in the adventures without consequences, and he is bluntly honest about the ones that hurt the most. He's very lucky to be alive and we as an audience are lucky to get a percentage of his experiences in the reading to shake ourselves out of mundane existential ennui and depression.
He also spent some time in France studying art and French and theater. Though some of these stories read like fraternity pranks, Mr. Delaney is sharply intelligent and an emotive illustrator of moments both ephemeral and life-changing. I think to appreciate his comedy you have to detach yourself from a need to apply the same social rules to everyone. Also it helps to know that comedians have a tone of voice they use to look at negative subjects at a safer distance than the one in which they have experiences. The tone one uses to tell a joke is not the one used to apologize to parents and teachers or address cops at traffic stops. We have free speech just so we can indulge in theatrical interpretation of important matters and keep our self-worth separate from the theatrics enough to control our own emotions and make the outcomes better for those listening to us.
My favorite part of this book is Mr. Delaney's literary voice which is similar to his Twitter feed in its brazen balance between bluntness, devil-may-care optimism, and mock outrage and condemnation toward violations of his actually quite sound ethics system. In my own comedy writing I sometimes get bogged down in the emotional weight of the subject I want to cover and am so overwhelmed and verklempt I have trouble getting back to the light riffing attitude that comedy needs in order to connect with an audience. Or I imagine I'm going to be attacked by socially defined people for being too careless with the feelings of sensitive people who aren't even being targeted by the jokes (why do they lurk my head without showing themselves? nobody ever @s me on Twitter to say I'm an insensitive monster but I still have a brutal inner critic that never seems to manifest).
Mr. Delaney's book probably shouldn't be my writing warmup, but if I'm trapped under a heavy mood or sensing a condemning socially defined lady ghost trying to control me with her pre-emptive psychological constructs, just a few minutes of Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. will leave said ghost gobsmacked and incapable of torturing me any further, since this kind of malevolent spirit is generally too afraid to learn life-saving information about STDs and fecal incontinence and rehab. It's really the loss of that ghost and her sycophants that they aren't able to use comedy to make these subjects approachable enough to take action on when life happens. Anyway, I feel indebited to Rob Delaney, his book, and also his fun television show Catastrophe for giving me a mix of fun and hard experiences to envision and be prepared for if I ever find myself in closer proximity to them in my life or with friends.
This book is staying on my Kindle for as long as Kindle exists and if that's not my whole life I might buy it again.
Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.
Who's it for?: Comedy fans who appreciate @robdelaney, fans of Catastrophe on TVWho made it?: Rob Delaney
Where is it?: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081299308X/ref=x_gr_w_glide_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_glide_bb-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=081299308X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Length: 208 pages
I've been following Rob Delaney on Twitter since maybe 2010 and I saw some of the tweets in this book when they dropped or got retweeted, so there's a great "I was THERE, man!" feeling and also some great motivation to write my own book and find a way to fit some of my own tweets in. They are the best microblog time capsules that show how the author thinks and reacts to subjects both topical and timeless. For reference, these tweets were written during the Obama presidency.
Mr. Delaney's book is so much more than just these intercalary tweet sections between the topical parts, however. There are twenty great comedic essays about his childhood, travels, recovery from addiction, and transformation into a loving and responsible father who still loves to write jokes. Despite a near self-destruction, he retains an epic jois de vivre to be envied by people who would have an easier time stopping themselves from bungee jumping off a bridge.
Though surviving wild oat sowing is not sufficient proof to try any of these stunts at home, Mr. Delaney has been living a vivid life and responsibly explains what was at stake and could have gone worse in the adventures without consequences, and he is bluntly honest about the ones that hurt the most. He's very lucky to be alive and we as an audience are lucky to get a percentage of his experiences in the reading to shake ourselves out of mundane existential ennui and depression.
He also spent some time in France studying art and French and theater. Though some of these stories read like fraternity pranks, Mr. Delaney is sharply intelligent and an emotive illustrator of moments both ephemeral and life-changing. I think to appreciate his comedy you have to detach yourself from a need to apply the same social rules to everyone. Also it helps to know that comedians have a tone of voice they use to look at negative subjects at a safer distance than the one in which they have experiences. The tone one uses to tell a joke is not the one used to apologize to parents and teachers or address cops at traffic stops. We have free speech just so we can indulge in theatrical interpretation of important matters and keep our self-worth separate from the theatrics enough to control our own emotions and make the outcomes better for those listening to us.
My favorite part of this book is Mr. Delaney's literary voice which is similar to his Twitter feed in its brazen balance between bluntness, devil-may-care optimism, and mock outrage and condemnation toward violations of his actually quite sound ethics system. In my own comedy writing I sometimes get bogged down in the emotional weight of the subject I want to cover and am so overwhelmed and verklempt I have trouble getting back to the light riffing attitude that comedy needs in order to connect with an audience. Or I imagine I'm going to be attacked by socially defined people for being too careless with the feelings of sensitive people who aren't even being targeted by the jokes (why do they lurk my head without showing themselves? nobody ever @s me on Twitter to say I'm an insensitive monster but I still have a brutal inner critic that never seems to manifest).
Mr. Delaney's book probably shouldn't be my writing warmup, but if I'm trapped under a heavy mood or sensing a condemning socially defined lady ghost trying to control me with her pre-emptive psychological constructs, just a few minutes of Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. will leave said ghost gobsmacked and incapable of torturing me any further, since this kind of malevolent spirit is generally too afraid to learn life-saving information about STDs and fecal incontinence and rehab. It's really the loss of that ghost and her sycophants that they aren't able to use comedy to make these subjects approachable enough to take action on when life happens. Anyway, I feel indebited to Rob Delaney, his book, and also his fun television show Catastrophe for giving me a mix of fun and hard experiences to envision and be prepared for if I ever find myself in closer proximity to them in my life or with friends.
This book is staying on my Kindle for as long as Kindle exists and if that's not my whole life I might buy it again.
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