Comedy That Rocks!

Some of the best comedy comes from pain. A great comedian knows how to build tension around life’s hardships and release it for a cathartic laugh.

This intersection between comedy and pain is at the heart of a new album by Tim Heidecker, an actor and comedian better known as half of the duo behind Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Featured on Adult Swim, this show was a hallmark of absurdist comedy. Featuring quick sketches that usually didn’t make any sense, intentionally shoddy animations, and buffoonish characters, the show dared you to pass it off as cheap, meaningless drivel. But dig deeper and absurdist humor says quite a bit more than it lets on. Subverting your expectations that what you are watching will eventually make sense, you are left asking what it means to mean anything, to begin with.

That’s what Heidecker pulls off in Fear of Death, a surprisingly moving album tackling the comedian’s deep existential dread. Embracing a 70’s singer-songwriter aesthetic, the music has a jovial spirit even as the lyrics go dark. On “Property,” for example, Heidecker imagines the grim future of cemeteries being sold off for property: “They buried those bodies with the best intent…but those boxes could be turned into rent.” It sounds like a downer, I know, but songs about life’s golden opportunities also compliment the album’s fearful take on death. On “Come Away with Me,” he pines for country living, “The city’s hot and it stinks, I don’t care what everyone thinks, heaven could be here on earth, in the green hills and the golden fields and lakes that were made for swimming.” The album rides the line between finding meaning and imagining that nothing means anything at all. The music here is terrific, with Heidecker accompanied by the heavenly vocals of Weyes Blood, lending a Sonny and Cher vibe to what sounds like a classic rock album.

While on the topic of musical comedians, did you know that Conan O’Brien, the one-time host of the Tonight Show and Late Night, is also a musician? He hasn’t ventured into becoming a “recording artist” per se, but he is an avid guitar player and has infused his love of music into years of hosting up-and-coming artists on his talk shows. On his hilarious podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, he brings his signature playful, silly banter to long-form interviews that are never boring. Some of his best interviews are with musical legends (Willie Nelson, Dave Grohl) and fellow comedians (Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris). His wide range of interests allows him to connect with almost any guest, and he often digs deep. Many of his guests open up about their sorrows and pain, but Conan is always there to steer the conversation back to goofy laughs if it treads too dark. This is my favorite podcast for long car rides and hard days digging in the garden. Worth a listen.