Album of the Day — August 10
Drew Michael — Drew Michael
Drew Michael — Drew Michael
10.August.2020
Drew Michael
Drew Michael
2019
Stand-up comedy comes with a variety of different styles. There are prop comics, observational ones, political ones, etc.
My preference with comedy leans less (much much less) towards relatable comedians like Larry the Cable Guy and more (much much more) towards the sardonic Bill Hicks.
You may never have heard of Bill Hicks, and that’s OK, but you should listen to Drew Michael.
There are two primary components of stand-up comedy:
Relatability — the audience must be able to relate to it in some capacity
Funny — it goes without saying, it should be funny
Drew Michael is loaded with both …for the right kind of person.
And like Bill Hicks, his comedy isn’t going to be for everybody, although everybody should listen.
He had a stand-up special on HBO in 2018; that’s more than just one guy standing in front of a live crowd with a microphone. The special is Michael walking around a black-stage directly talking to the camera (you).
The running thread throughout is his struggle with intimacy, so his stage prowling is inter-cut with a loose narrative about a relationship. Fellow stand-up comedian Jarrod Carmichael directed the show, and the comedy contains elements of Spalding Gray and the aforementioned Bill Hicks. The whole piece has a touch of a French New Wave vibe to it.
The Drew Michael HBO special is not your typical stand-up show.
Elements of this “album” (I was unable to find it in physical form) are taken from that HBO special. Where the HBO special is Michael and director Carmichael working on a black stage without an audience, this is performed live.
Michael explores some slightly uncomfortable subjects and peels back a part of his emotional curtain. The thing with many stand-ups (at least the better ones), is that a peek behind that curtain is often hysterical (thanks to the comedian’s craft), …but also not always pleasant. Drew Michael is one of the better stand-ups in that sense, which is to say, this stuff is still funny, but sometimes quite awkward.
Take “Hearing Loss,” which is a look at the comedian’s id. What begins as an exploration of his loss of hearing, hearing aids, drifts into wanting his 85-year-old grandmother to die, the callousness of friends, and close-captioning music — “I wanna see when the acoustic music is playing.”
Drew Michael gives voice to that inner voice we have …the one we’ve been conditioned to keep silent.
Following “Hearing Loss,” he goes into “Dark Thoughts,” which is both frightening and hysterical.
“You don’t know your thoughts are fucked-up until you say them out loud. And that look of horror overcomes people.”
“Dark Thoughts” is a terrific precursor to “Suicide.”
This isn’t Jerry Seinfeld observational stuff, Michael’s thoughts on suicidal ideation are hilarious, but they are not going to be for everyone. The idea of a person who goes to a water park climbs to the top of a water-slide and shoots themselves in the head just before they slide down isn’t a bit that’s going to have mass appeal, regardless of how funny it is (and it’s funny).
Of course, it’s a horrible image …but it’s also hysterical. And rather than explore any comedic psychological distress that may have led to the act, Michael goes for the absurd. He focuses on why the person was wearing goggles.
Now, you’re either going to find that beautifully funny or you’re not. If you stick with it long enough, you’ll see what the bit was about all along. It’s wonderfully nuanced.
Correctly, he doesn’t ignore the sensitivity of the subject matter. Michael addresses that everyone has their kind of comedy that they like. Some like comedy about marriage and the strife that can accompany it, and others like their comedy about darker topics. Ultimately, it boils down to likeability and relatability.
Immaturity, failure at intimacy, and self-deprecation are traits many comedians share. Drew Michael, at least his comedy, emphasizes these. For example, his state of arrested development:
“Remember when we were kids, and Brussels Sprouts were the worst thing, and now we all love them? Sellouts.”
Or his struggle with intimacy and how therapy helped him:
“I dunno, she’s kind of boring. Oh! My parents never showed me what love looked like. I thought she was bad at telling stories, it turns out I have no foundation.”
If you’re too sensitive or easily offended, I don’t think Drew Michael would be for you. If you have an open mind, don’t mind turning over some rocks, peeking behind some curtains, and, most importantly, understanding that what you’re listening to is funny, you will enjoy Drew Michael.
CRITICS:
HBO marketed his special by saying: “His darkly comic, stream-of-consciousness monologue raises questions of identity, narrative, self-awareness and the limits of the medium itself.”
GQ — “The past and future of stand-up comedy.”
In his review of the HBO special (again, this material is from that special), Jason Zinoman said: “This is a heady special whose insight is that intellect divorced from emotional engagement can be corrosive. At the end, Mr. Michael tells the camera that he’s just trying to be honest.”
Like all of the better comedians in history (at least my favorites), his jokes are delivered with the sardonic grin of someone who is letting you know everything he is talking about is just a joke.
However rooted in truth, it may be, everything is crafted to make you laugh.
In the last bit, “Honesty,” he goes to great length to point out that it’s all just comedy.
It’s just comedy …and it’s just life, so strap yourself in, put on your helmet, and enjoy the fuckin’ ride.
The erudition of George Carlin and Bill Hicks has influenced so many comedians, but only a few can claim to be on the same level.
Drew Michael is on their level.
You can see Drew Michael on HBO or stream this live recording on Spotify.
Bill Hicks:
“The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round.
Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question: ‘Is this real, or is this just a ride?’
And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, and they say:
‘Hey, don’t worry, don’t be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.’
… and we kill those people.”
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