Late last year, Janeane Garofalo dropped If I May, her latest stand-up special – or “talk” as she prefers to call it – exclusively on Seeso, but on Jan. 6, Comedy Dynamics released the album version of the show and now comedy fans everywhere can enjoy her thoughts on everything from politics, to genetics, to the state of modern television. After starting things off with “A Little Housekeeping,” the comedian proceeds to find humor everywhere throughout the hour-long show.
Garofalo begins the album by picking apart her choice of introduction music, hair and wardrobe with a hilariously self-deprecating approach. She explains how her uncomfortable, flared pants had to be cut to length specifications before sharing the reason why her shirt was inside out. “Surly t-shirts are a young man’s game,” she said, adding her first of many pearls of wisdom for the next generation, “Sow ye wild t-shirts while ye may.” Later, she apologizes that the youth are inheriting such an aggressive society, citing the many wars – including “Cupcake Wars” and “Storage Wars” – in which citizens across the U.S. fight every day.
Garofalo’s incredibly intelligent and well-crafted jokes hit the bullseye throughout the album, but are especially enjoyable when she takes time out to dissect the broadest form of entertainment – reality television. “Don’t take a minute to comment on the Kardashians and then blame them for it,” she said, describing the often irresistible urge that strikes convenience store shoppers as tabloid magazines catch their eye on their way to the cashier. “Look within – that’s your fault.” She added that the “Keeping Up with the Kardashian” stars are just being themselves, as they would with or without the presence of cameras. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri, and his wise and inspiring quotes, also provide a seemingly endless supply of laughs on If I May.
Garofalo constructs several big ideas, with an overall analysis of new societal norms, in really unique and hilarious ways, but many times, the biggest laughs come from her subtle sentence additives. When describing her love of Febreze and her hatred of the company’s condescending advertising campaigns – which the comedian calls out for the obvious use of fake garbage in “real life” scenarios – her casual remark that “any fool can see” the truth of the situation, and the way that she lightly delivers the line, provokes the type of giddy giggling that is hard to control.
Ideas for new companies like eco-friendly adult diapers and a utopian bead store – which, of course, plays the music of Tegan & Sara, Father John Misty and Tame Impala on the stereo – also serve as inviting pathways into the unique and hilarious mind of Garofalo. Comedy fans looking for a smart, silly listening experience – full of audience interactions and unpretentious examinations – will love If I May.