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The best standups on Spotify: David Cross – It's Not Funny The best standups on Spotify: David Cross – It's Not Funny
(2 months later)
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David Cross, best known in the UK as the star of Channel 4's The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and as Arrested Development's never-nude Tobias Fünke (and let us not forget those Chipmunk movies), has three albums of standup available on Spotify. There's Shut Up You Fucking Baby (2002), Bigger and Blackerer (2010) and this 2004 set, which perhaps serves as the best entry point.David Cross, best known in the UK as the star of Channel 4's The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and as Arrested Development's never-nude Tobias Fünke (and let us not forget those Chipmunk movies), has three albums of standup available on Spotify. There's Shut Up You Fucking Baby (2002), Bigger and Blackerer (2010) and this 2004 set, which perhaps serves as the best entry point.
Tellingly released by Seattle indie label Sub Pop (Nirvana, the Shins, Flight of the Conchords), It's Not Funny was recorded over a run of gigs at Washington DC's Improv club. The album finds Cross holding forth on a distinctly mid-noughties selection of topics such as the failings of the Bush administration, the Iraq war and the evils of cheesy rock bands like Evanescence ("I would rather listen to the death rattle of my only child"). Not all of it has dated well – some political and pop culture references will baffle younger listeners – but on the whole it remains hugely entertaining 10 years on.Tellingly released by Seattle indie label Sub Pop (Nirvana, the Shins, Flight of the Conchords), It's Not Funny was recorded over a run of gigs at Washington DC's Improv club. The album finds Cross holding forth on a distinctly mid-noughties selection of topics such as the failings of the Bush administration, the Iraq war and the evils of cheesy rock bands like Evanescence ("I would rather listen to the death rattle of my only child"). Not all of it has dated well – some political and pop culture references will baffle younger listeners – but on the whole it remains hugely entertaining 10 years on.
Much of its staying power is down to Cross's Hicksian rage, which has helped secure his position as one of the best live comics around. His relaxed delivery belies a sharply focused anger, directed in turn at bigoted politicians, lazy-thinking patriots, religious hypocrites and faux-sincere grief tourists. The closing skit re-imagines Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech as delivered by George W Bush.Much of its staying power is down to Cross's Hicksian rage, which has helped secure his position as one of the best live comics around. His relaxed delivery belies a sharply focused anger, directed in turn at bigoted politicians, lazy-thinking patriots, religious hypocrites and faux-sincere grief tourists. The closing skit re-imagines Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech as delivered by George W Bush.
Cross's ear for the absurd and the grotesque, and his heartfelt attacks on the stupidity of both the left and the right, ensure It's Not Funny retains plenty of resonance, and is far from being a museum piece.Cross's ear for the absurd and the grotesque, and his heartfelt attacks on the stupidity of both the left and the right, ensure It's Not Funny retains plenty of resonance, and is far from being a museum piece.
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Leo Benedictus wrote about Cross's 1999 show The Pride Is Back for Comedy Gold. Mr Show, the exceptional sketch series Cross created with Bob Odenkirk, is available on Amazon (head to YouTube for a taster). You might want to snap up his 2010 bestselling book I Drink for a Reason and the DVD of Todd Margaret, which he co-wrote, produced and starred in. He's recently turned to directing, with the Alexander Payne-esque Hits debuting at this year's Sundance. Leo Benedictus wrote about Cross's 1999 show The Pride Is Back for Comedy Gold. Mr Show, the exceptional sketch series Cross created with Bob Odenkirk, is available on Amazon (head to YouTube for a taster). You might want to snap up his 2010 bestselling book I Drink for a Reason and the DVD of Todd Margaret, which he co-wrote, produced and starred in. He's recently turned to directing, with the Alexander Payne-esque Hits debuting at this year's Sundance.