CD Review
written by Ken Carlson
Marc Maron is one dissatisfied customer. Whether it’s the business of comedy, his track record with relationships, or his struggle from one day to the next, Maron’s natural state seems to be staring at the sky, his arms outstretched, crying out, “What the fuck was that all about?” For someone who doesn’t believe in God, Maron seems to speak to him frequently and angrily, with the same tone used if you were given bad directions back to the interstate [So I should go straight into comedy for twenty years and then turn right? What am I –Dennis Miller?].
We vote for politicians based on how their lies make us feel. Porn, poker, Ultimate Fighting, and reality shows are the core of our society. There are moments when Maron, the published author and radio host becomes preachy, but his method is less about telling people what to do, just maligning the absurdity of what we’ve done. While his method and balance differ greatly from the likes of Richard Lewis or George Carlin, he matches them for clarity in his message of hilarioius misery through satire. I’ll never forget the simple image of seeing Maron at COMIX last year when he suggested going to a mall during Christmas shopping season in a robe as a bearded Jew telling the shoppers, ‘This isn’t how it was supposed to be.’ And yes, Santa is a clown at Jesus’ birthday party. It was hardly prophetic, but it hit the nail on the head and was funny as hell.
“If you lose something you think’s been stolen, see where your head goes. See how many ethnic types you cast for that short mystery film. How many blacks and latinos do you go through before you say, ‘Oh fuck, here it is under the seat!’”
It would be an understatement to say this 2 CD set reflects a mid-life crisis. It’s also not whiny or nit-picky is commenting on where he is in his life in the way less-skilled writers convey their plight. Maron takes a long hard look at the road he’s on, covered with malls and the self-righteous who take themselves too seriously, breathes a sigh of despair, and tells some very funny jokes. While much of his material is personal, it’s also communal in that it’s not his experience, it’s ours.
As he said in our 2007 interview, “I don’t want to be up there soap boxing. I’m just trying to be as honest as I can. I’ve gone out of my way not to talk down to anybody because I don’t want to be that guy. I’ve just gotten to the point that they can either laugh with me or at me. I don’t care. If they laugh at me because I’m crazy, fine. If they laugh with me because they identify with me, fine. Either way it’s OK.”