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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Funhouse

Dana Gould

Stand Up! Records · Album · 1998 · 50 min

Storytelling and pop culture obsessions from the alternative comedy boom.

Dana Gould uses his delivery like a precision instrument, stretching syllables and punctuating his rants with sudden drops in volume. Funhouse captures his hyper-articulate brand of neurosis as he spirals through the absurdities of his own life. He turns a bizarre medical emergency (a hospital trip to extract a live moth from his ear) into manic theater, and elevates mundane complaints about auto insurance into frantic storytelling. The set is heavily anchored by his specific vocal work, trotting out impressions of Frank Sinatra, Don Knotts, and a cat in heat.

Recorded in November 1997 and released in 1998 on CD, the 50-minute album serves as an early artifact of the alternative comedy boom. At the time, Gould was a veteran of The Ben Stiller Show and the voice of video game mascot Gex, a few years prior to starting his long run as a writer for The Simpsons. The tracks move rapidly through his pop culture fixations and weirdest thoughts, featuring bits in praise of Vincent Price and a Morrissey tribute titled “Clown Fucker”.

The set list

4 bits

  1. A visit to the hospital to extract a live insect

    A bizarre autobiographical story detailing a trip to the hospital to get a live moth removed from inside his ear.

  2. Celebrity and political impressions

    Performing impressions including Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra, a cat in heat, and Don Knotts as Barney Fife.

  3. Seeking fair auto insurance

    Exploring the mundane intricacies and frustrations of searching for auto insurance.

  4. Thanksgiving with family

    Recounting family gatherings and dynamics during Thanksgiving with the Goulds.

How it plays

Tone
Rollicking, twisted, and self-deprecating.
On stage
Captivating, high-energy storyteller, described as self-deprecating, light, and loose.
Pace
High-energy cadence, ricocheting and bouncing from one topic to the next.
About
Working-class Irish Catholic upbringing, Life in Los Angeles, Life as an entertainer, Politics, Family and relationships, Autobiographical stories

What the critics said

Editorial reviews praise it as a rollicking, high-energy performance driven by captivating storytelling and strong impressions, with theseriouscomedysite noting there is nothing like it out there.

In the room: Kept the audience engaged from start to finish on a wild ride.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: uproarcomedycd.com, qobuz.com, audible.com, teton.wyldcatalog.org, amazon.com, en.wikipedia.org, dead-frog.com, nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com.

Backstory

Reflecting on his working-class, Irish Catholic upbringing as preparation for his life in Los Angeles.

Details

Released
Runtime
50 min
Where
Stand Up! Records (album)
Topics
Before
HBO Comedy Half-Hour (1995)
After
I Know It's Wrong (2015)

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