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Brick Wall Comedy

Napalm and Silly Putty

George Carlin

HighBridge Audio · Album · 2001

A two-disc studio recording of essays, observations, and complaints.

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A studio recording of a comedian reading his own text alters the typical dynamic of a comedy release. Adapted from his book of the same name, the 2001 audio version of Napalm and Silly Putty removes the theater acoustics and the laughter of a crowd, leaving just the performer and his cadence. The title sets a specific tone, pointing out that humanity is a species capable of inventing both a harmless toy and a deadly chemical weapon.

Released the same year as his televised hour Complaints and Grievances, the two-disc album captures a professional leaning heavily into late-career misanthropy. The material is organized into short essays and rapid-fire lists covering airport security, the fear of germs, and airline announcements. He lays out the practical benefits of sun worship, details the terror of encountering a four-foot woman driving a Cadillac, and suggests structural improvements to professional sports. The project served as a successful pivot in medium, earning a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album the following year.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Sun worship versus traditional religion

    Argues for worshipping the sun instead of an incompetent deity because the sun provides warmth, does not ask for money, and never calls anyone unworthy.

  2. Rethinking capital punishment execution methods

    Suggests turning executions into television spectacles featuring catapults, slow-motion replay beheadings, or an 'electric couch' in a living room setup.

  3. Critique of golf as a sport

    Lambastes golf as an arrogant, mindless, and racist activity while connecting it to land waste, war, and homelessness solutions.

  4. Critique of pro-life protesters

    Contrasts anti-abortion demonstrators with Vietnamese Buddhist monks, mocking their lack of personal sacrifice and failure to adopt crack babies.

  5. People I can do without

    Rattles off an inventory of specific untrustworthy or annoying people, including pilots wearing mismatched shoes and people making air quotes.

How it plays

Tone
Irreverent, acerbic, profanity-laden, harshly satirical, and dark.
On stage
An acerbic, cranky, laser-targeted cynic and self-described detached spectator viewing humanity from an outside perspective.
Pace
Rapid and episodic, bouncing erratically from topic to topic, broken up by rapid-fire one-liners, short quips, and satirical lists.
About
religion, politics, sports, capital punishment, death, language and euphemisms

What the critics said

Generally lauded by reviewers as an intensely funny, thought-provoking, and irreverent collection of observations, though some conservative critics argued its relentless profanity and attacks on religious targets felt gratuitous or dated in print.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: vs-uc.com, musicbrainz.org, en.wikipedia.org, allmusic.com, psucollegian.com, januarymagazine.com, brothersjudd.com, thereadingarmchair.blogspot.com, cbsnews.com, transcripts.cnn.com, cnn.com.

Backstory

Released as the follow-up book and audiobook to his 1997 best-seller 'Brain Droppings', adapting his stand-up comedy material, rants, and observations into written and spoken-word formats.

Details

Released
Where
HighBridge Audio (album)
Honors
New York Times Best Seller list (20 weeks)Grammy Award (February 2002, Audiobook edition)
Topics
Before
You Are All Diseased (1999)
After
Complaints and Grievances (2001)

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