Archive for the Comedy Category

Billionaire Bloat on a Boat: European Cruise With Sax Player Dave Koz Costs Up to $17,698.60

Posted in Comedy, Essays with tags , , , , , , on 01/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Feast your eyes on that lovely smile. Those pearly whites. The jacket made out material that could probably fund health care coverage for 100 Americans. (That’s conjecture, but you get the drift.) Meet Dave Koz, the prolific jazz saxophonist who, since launching his career in 1990, has never won a Grammy. Don’t get him wrong, though: He’s a hard “worker,” in that he appears to have had a lot of cosmetic work done to his physical appearance.

Don’t knock The Bad Penny for pointing this out; The Kozman is proud of his accomplishments. In May 2020, he raved to no one in particular about his beauty in a textbook-oblivious Facebook post, saying, “Well, it’s been 3 years since I actually saw my full face. Today was the day to shave. 😊 Not sure if I’ll keep it this way, but man, my face feels like a baby’s bottom…SO good! What do you say, beard or no beard?!”

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Another Oxymoronic Creed News Headline

Posted in Comedy, News with tags , , on 11/13/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

It only took Creed less than two months to confound us once again with a self-owning update:

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On Tyranny: David Cross Scolds ‘Heroes’ Louis CK, Bill Burr for Playing Saudi Arabia Comedy Fest

Posted in Comedy, Features, News, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , on 10/02/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Well, at least someone in the now-ludicrously successful world of comedy is standing up for human rights. David Cross, in a Monday newsletter to his fans, expressed disappointment that many of his peers are performing for the “depraved, awful people” attending the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, whose authoritarian leadership mandates observance of Sharia law and carries out mass executions despite condemnation by international human-rights groups.

Notably, Cross pointed out the hypocrisy of comedians who regularly bemoan so-called “cancel culture” for participating in a comedy festival staged by a royal family that bans free speech in the country they rule. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman infamously directed the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in October 2018.

The Riyadh Comedy Festival began Friday and concludes a week from today. Other participants include Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Carr, Russell Peters, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Tom Segura, Andrew Schulz, Bobby Lee, Sam Morril, Jo Koy, Gabriel Iglesias and Kevin Hart, among others.

Burr said on his Monday Morning Podcast that at least the festival’s attendees were “happy,” and called performing at the festival “one of the top three best experiences I’ve had,” according to Rolling Stone.

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The Most Oxymoronic Album Title in Recent Memory Is …

Posted in Comedy with tags , , on 09/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

From the press release issued Tuesday:

“The first collection to feature stadium-shaking anthems from all four Creed albums, including ‘One Last Breath,’ ‘Higher,’ ‘With Arms Wide Open’ and ‘My Sacrifice.’ Digital edition out today; vinyl and CD available November 21 via Craft Recordings. Band closes out a triumphant 2025 with five-date CREEDMAS tour.”

Lord have mercy.

Much, much worthier of a listen is David Cross’ unforgettable bit on Scott Stapp, which appeared as a “hidden track” on Cross’ It’s Not Funny album:

Did David Yow Tell His Version of ‘The Aristocrats’ on The Jesus Lizard’s ‘Lady Shoes’?

Posted in Comedy, Essays with tags , , on 09/05/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

If you’re even fairly familiar with raunchy comedy, “The Aristocrats,” an ever-evolving running joke so dirty that comics used to only tell it to each other behind closed doors, probably rings a bell. The jape varies in length, vulgarity, structure, plot and tone, depending on whichever comedian is telling their version of it. But baked into the joke are, unwaveringly, graphic scenes of a family engaging in scatological, sordid and smutty behavior during an audition in a misguided effort to win over an agent to book their stage act. And the punch line always remains the same, with the family revealing at the end of the audition that their stage name is “The Aristocrats.”

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Doppelgängers: Louis CK’s and David Cross’ Nearly Identical Jokes on Male Rollerbladers

Posted in Comedy, Doppelgängers, Essays, Features with tags , on 08/31/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Louis C.K. and David Cross were roommates in the ’90s, so it’s not shocking that they came up with nearly the exact same bit on men with mustaches rollerblading in public with a sense of superiority to those they passed on the sidewalk.

From David Cross’ comedy album Shut Up, You Fucking Baby (2002):

From Louis C.K.’s first full-length broadcast special, Shameless (2007):

This post is dedicated to Dan Stevenson.

3 Youngish, Anti-Bro Comics You Should Know: Jack Tucker, Connor O’Malley, Chris Fleming

Posted in Comedy, Videos with tags , , , on 08/30/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Jack Tucker (Zack Zucker):

Connor O’Malley:

Chris Fleming:

Thanks, Mudvayne, for Making This Week Even Shittier

Posted in Comedy, News with tags , on 08/29/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

This week alone:

• RFK Jr. effectively sentenced millions of Americans to potentially die thanks to his contested decision to roll back critical, effective vaccines that (sigh) do not have microchips or tiny aliens in them.

• Trump announced plans to expand the U.S. military presence (i.e. martial law) into Seattle and Portland, in addition to L.A., Chicago and D.C.

• Another preventable school shooting resulted in the deaths of Catholic children in Minnesota and inflicted trauma on an indeterminate number of kids and families.

• ICE unlawfully arrested a bunch of firefighters in Washington while they battled a blaze.

• ICE detained Kilmar Abrego Garcia again, apparently with plans to send him to human-rights-abuse-lovin’ Uganda instead of a gulag in El Salvador this time.

• Israel killed five more journalists in yet another bombing in Gaza.

And to cap it all off, now we have to tolerate the return of Mudvayne. That’s right: fucking Mudvayne.

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Hulk Hogan, We’ll Never Forget You—Or Why You Chose Wrestling Over Singing

Posted in Comedy with tags on 08/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

And, to prove that Hulk Hogan, never for a second, was Definitely Was Not a Racist – no-ifs-ands-or-butts-about-it – there was this:

Dear Hulkster, make the heavens sing for all eternity, brother. And don’t forget to take your vitamins because word on the street has it that they can extend your life for decades to come.

Oh, wait ….

Spinal Tap Get the Last Laugh in Mockumentary Sequel

Posted in Comedy with tags , , , , on 08/02/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
(L-R) Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer)

We thought another Spinal Tap reunion would never happen. Well, we were pretty sure. Whatever the case, such reckless reasoning should’ve confined us to an inescapable Hell Hole for the rest of our wretched lives. Lives that cnly experience a brief respite from ceaseless, agonizing misery when a mischievous sprite throws on This Is Spinal Tap before the firebreathing sentries catch wind of it.

Anyone even tangentially familiar with dry, British wit should’ve seen from a few kilometers away that Nigel, David and Derek – all Americans, let the record show – could maybe muster yet one more victory lap (their fifth, by our count), despite their their brittle bones. (Guest and McKean are 77 years old, while Shearer is four years their senior.)

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