If comedy had a self help genre section, Joe List’s new album, Are You Mad at Me? would be on the shelf. The tracks read like chapter titles, “Meditation,” “Sobriety,” and, “Parental Tips.” List comically addresses a variety of his anxieties and follows each with equally funny resolutions. He assesses what is not working while unveiling shame and embarrassment. The second album from the comic drops Friday, July 15th.
List opens with vulnerability and self consciousness, literally asking the audience, “Are you mad at me?” His tone is pleasant, not whiny. The awkward laugh in response is the first of many to come. He riffs on his physical appearance, diet, panic attacks, drinking, sex, and family. The Last Comic Standing alumn contextualizes the bad decisions with analogies, hypotheticals, and hyperboles. He compares his McDonald’s eating to cocaine, “I only do it late at night, or if someone else is buying.” The shame is spot on, and it is revealed again later. He explains his problematic drinking which resulted in waking up with an actual stop sign from the street in his bed. This could be an exaggeration, but it also sounds believable and embarrassing enough for a good laugh.
Much of the jokes revolve around embarrassing moments. He is the guy who books the early flight to Aruba, and cannot check into his hotel. Thusly, he is walking the white, sandy beach dragging a suitcase while wearing a Northface jacket and jeans. Joe List is the guy who has a one night stand with a woman who fetishizes sleeping with “nerds.” He is the guy who “cries in the fetal position on a first date.”
Joe List’s conquest for resolutions does not disappoint either. To become more zen, he becomes Buddhist and follows the Dalai Lama on Twitter who does not follow back. He starts doing yoga with two gay men and 25 of the hottest women. This is difficult since he “can’t be publicly horny, homophobic, and relaxed all at the same time.” These situations lead to more conflict, more punchlines, and invariably more laughter.
The wordplay and callbacks are sprinkled throughout. From the beginning, he mentions his teeth insecurities. Within the set, his dental flaws are revisited. They remind the audience this is a guy at the end of the day who is not comfortable in own skin. It’s relatable and ok to make fun of. Sometimes his wordplay is something he has constructed, such as meditation can be another word for naps. When his mother calls and asks what he has done all day, he can say he meditated, ie napped. Sometimes though, his wordplay is an observation, such as “put the baby down” versus “put the dog down.”
Joe List is a little bit awkward, but who isn’t? He is also capable of being honest, witty, and observational, a rare mix of traits from someone lacking social graces. Are You Mad at Me? takes great cracks at the everyday stuff, and while the solutions aren’t always exactly on point, the punches are.
You can order Joe List: Are You Mad at Me? here.
