I Rant, Therefore I Am

Dennis Miller’s 2000 audio release strips away the visual framing of his late-night television show to focus entirely on his signature format: the rant. I Rant, Therefore I Am relies on Miller’s hyper-literate wordplay, marrying mundane observations with heavily structured analogies. He compares astronauts to people riding giant deodorant spray cans into a vacuum, and points out the irony of fashion models spending their days waiting for hideous people to call them.

Released as a two-disc comedy album corresponding to his third book, the recording arrived at the peak of his run on Dennis Miller Live and right before his stint on Monday Night Football. Without a live theater audience to pace his delivery, Miller moves methodically through his premises. He targets the American education system by arguing that student loans shouldn’t be repaid unless a graduate lands a job in their chosen field, and admits he can’t hear the television title Touched by an Angel without assuming a professional baseball player is being sued.