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Promotional art for Halfway Closer to Dead
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

Halfway Closer to Dead

Katie Goodman

Comedy Dynamics · Album · 2017 · 61 min

A cynical cabaret-style comedy album tackling aging and political anxiety.

Katie Goodman built her brand of musical comedy on the realization that getting older means you no longer have to pretend to care about what younger people think. Instead of treating middle age with quiet dignity, she leans into the looming anxiety of the grave with genre-hopping musical satire. She jumps from rap to folk ballads to target hypocrisies on both sides of the political aisle, directing her barbs at right-wing politics and reluctant feminists.

Released in February 2017 via Comedy Dynamics, Halfway Closer to Dead is Goodman’s second full-length comedy record. It was written in collaboration with her husband and longtime creative partner, Soren Kisiel, and recorded at Jereco Studios in Bozeman, Montana.

Tracks like “Sorry, Babe but You’re a Feminist” offer a pointed critique of celebrities who distance themselves from the movement while reaping its benefits. Elsewhere, “Nazis Get All the Pussy” reacts to the rising political tensions of the early Trump era, while the title track centers on the physical realities of turning 47 with lyrics about memory loss and midlife crises. Goodman plays acoustic guitar and piano, delivering these rants with a musical-theater showmanship that turns midlife decay into group sing-alongs.

The set list

7 bits
  1. Halfway Closer to Dead

    Explores turning 48 and how older women are often viewed as obsolete, emphasizing confidence, sex-positive aging, and happiness

  2. If You’re Homophobic, You’re Probably Gay

    Her viral YouTube musical track lampooning homophobia

  3. Boobs Look Funny When You’re Having Sex

    Humorous exploration of body realities and sexuality during intercourse

  4. Give Me a Man Over Forty

    Celebrates the appeal of dating older men who have their lives together

  5. It’s All Gonna Be Okay

    A sarcastic satirical song about environmental destruction suggesting people just ignore it and watch TV instead

  6. Move Some Shit Around

    A song inspired by Sigourney Weaver operating the mechanized loader in 'Aliens' addressing misogyny and intergenerational feminist hope after the election

  7. Nazis Get All the P—-

    Satirical comedy song featured on the album

How it plays

Tone
Feisty, smart, political, personal, sarcastic, and sex-positive
On stage
Described as 'a female Tim Minchin'; feisty, outspoken, and NSFW musical comic combining smart political satire with personal sex positivity
About
Aging, Feminism, Politics, Sex positivity, Climate change denial

What the critics said

Described as 'a female Tim Minchin' by The Observer, while Punchline Magazine praised Goodman as 'on par not just with any woman in modern comedy, not just with any music act in modern comedy but, categorically on par with anyone working the current comedy scene.'

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedydynamics.com, hoopladigital.com, 800poundgorillamedia.com, brooklynpaper.com, msmagazine.com, katiegoodman.com.

Backstory

Reflects Goodman's perspective as a 48-year-old feminist comic, confronting themes of aging as a woman, sex positivity, and political topics such as the Tea Party, fake news, and climate change in the post-election landscape

Details

Released
Runtime
61 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics (album)
Topics
Before
I Didn't F**k It Up (2016)

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