Jim David "Live from Jimville" CD

Now out on Stand Up! Records, Jim David's ''Live from Jimville'' is a chance for the casual listener to reconnect with his inner curmudgeon. When you begin to lament the youths and their inability to navigate a library with its books and papers and librarians and whanot, David's got a riff on Beowulf that'll have you ready for knee-slapping good times. Dismayed at Britney Spears, less for her outfits and more for her inability to carry a tune in a paper bag? Jim David's your man. And still tickled pink by the droning pronouncements of a train announcer on the commuter line (not drowned out by your iPod, because you've never figured out them thingamijiggers)? Hop on, next stop's Ronkonkoma!

But just when you've been lulled into thinking you're in store for a series of hilarious but accessible one-liners to share with friends and family, Jim David will take a sharp left turn and shock your knickers right off it's just one of the many joys of Jimville. With a slow, charming North Carolina drawl, David nudges you right up to the edge... and then pushes you off with nary a warning. Handling even his missteps with aplomb, David skips right through a derailed joke with a blithe, ''What? I think I just had a stroke!'' Perfectly, charmingly aghast and declaring that he doesn't care, David even requires three takes on one joke, but manages to keep the audience laughing long enough to segue into a new routine so deftly you'd never have noticed the mistake in the first place. Clearly in command of both his repertoire and his audience, Jim David's both a skillful comedian and a welcoming host here in Jimville. Now if it weren't for these damn kids these days...

Buy from Amazon

Rick Shapiro "Unconditional Love" CD

Nothing quite captures the full experience of Rick's performance artistry like seeing him live. But if you can't do that, the album...is the next best thing. Rick Shapiro is not merely a stand up comedian. He doesn't really have a routine, per se. Really he just gets up on stage and explodes into a sort of stream of consciousness rant. During his performances, Rick unleashes the many characters living in his brain in a rapid fire purging that almost comes across as an assault. The former junky/prostitute turned actor-comedian has been called the Lenny Bruce of the East Village and it's a name that suits him. Fortunately for Rick, though, he is not living in the repressed age that censored and eventually ruined Lenny Bruce. Rick's act is so obscene and raunchy that it makes his predecessors look like girl scouts. But his humor doesn't just rely on obscenity. It's quick witted social criticism... with the occasional reference to fisting. 5.0 out of 5 stars...Rick Shapiro RULES!!!!

Buy from Amazon.com

Patton Oswalt "Feelin' Kind of Patton" LP

Patton Oswalt watched a man shave his balls, and he's fixin' to tell you about it. Reminiscent of the arrival of legendary shockers like George Carlin and Bill Hicks, Patton Oswalt's first CD (available for the first time in vinyl LP format), 2004's ''Feelin' Kinda Patton,''� put him on the radar as a standard-bearer for the new generation of comedians. Oswalt counts among his peers David Cross, Sarah Silverman, and Jim Gaffigan - the sort of young comedians who, as Oswalt illuminates with a surreal and utterly brilliant monologue stolen verbatim from Dr. Pepper (a drug-addled open mic night standout from Toronto), once thought they were the ultimate in envelope-pushing, until they were faced with flat-out crazy.

Of that group, Oswalt may have found the most mainstream entertainment success, thanks to a stint on the sitcom King of Queens and a turn as Remi the Rat, lead character in the Oscar-winning animated film Ratatouille, but ''Feelin' Kinda Patton'' reminds listeners that not even adults should be left alone in a room with this devious and tainted little man. For all the spit-polish producers can put on him when the spotlight beckons, raw Patton is stunning here from the opener to the very last howl of the set.

Oswalt's particularly on point when he takes on impressions; without aiming for mimicry, his send-up of the ambient insanity of the pop-culture in which each and every one of us is steeped is enough to take down even the most stoic listener. Mining hilarity in the everyday, Patton Oswalt, elfin filth-monger, steers clear of politics in this exuberant leap over the edge, skillfully taking each bit to its illogical conclusion and beyond and deftly handling distractions by simply following the tangent off the deep end. If that isn't enough wait until you get a load out of the new LP cover art, a six color silk-screen by Mike 2600 of Burlesque Design, featuring a cut out playset of characters pulled straight out of Patton's performance. What are you waiting for? This limited edition of 500 is sure to go out of print quickly.

Buy from Amazon.com

Jim David "Eat Here and Get Gas" CD

Listening to the remastered version of Jim David s record Eat Here and Get Gas (originally self-released in 2001), now out on Stand Up! Records, is a lot like coming home from a hard day, slippin' into a cozy pair of pajamas, and turning around to notice that the ass is missing. Soon, of course, you discover that the new, easy access PJs are better than ever; heck, they're downright refreshing. David's subversive, witty routines start off at a comfortable pace, but when he slips into an English accent and a falsetto, watch out! You're about to have an image of the Queen Mum's nether regions - and her entreaties to enjoy all of their amenities - burned onto your retinas, whether you ve signed up for it or not.

With over 20 years of stand-up comedy experience under his belt, along with work in theater and on the toughest stage of them all, a high school classroom, David can clearly work an audience in front of him night by night or listening at home, in their cars, or wherever fine comedy records are sold. He's at his finest when he's on the attack, but don't worry, David's an equal-opportunity mocker. Be you from Maine or Mississippi; black, white, or yellow; the matriarch of a revered royal family or a Wal-Mart greeter, wait your turn. Never mean-spirited, David peppers his set with wry observational humor, like a twisted Jerry Seinfeld, and serves as your tour guide on a journey into a world that can happily post signs outside truck stops reading, Eat Here and Get Gas. When the world is this funny on its own, it's a great surprise to look at it through Jim David's lens.

Buy from Amazon

Sean Rouse "Spilled Milk" CD

Describing himself as a "little feller" with a close resemblance to "Dennis the Menace all grown up," a crippled, arthritic hand he occasionally refers to as Slackjaw, a balding pattern attributed to his father's penchant for grabbing him by the hair to deck him in the face as a kid, and a coke habit that would make Keith Richards a little (more) twitchy, Sean Rouse of the Unbookables clearly has what the kids call a face for radio or at least recorded comedy. It's a good thing, then, that he's taken the plunge with his new CD "Spilled Milk"... and that he's got the shock and awe to back it up.

Filthy, depraved, and always clever, the verbal assault on "Spilled Milk," in fact, is so immediately arresting that it makes every future listening more rewarding. Once the utter surprise at the horrific things spewing forth from Rouse's drug-addled brain wears off, you get to the holy grail: the famed second and even third layers of funny wherein you find that often his asides to the audience are as witty and well-turned as the backbones of his routine. Seemingly gamboling about his set in a tangential manner as though the audience is being treated to the podcast of his inner monologue, Rouse's call-backs are masterful, building the crowd's familiarity with his stand-up language quickly, only to appall his listeners anew each and every time. Don't let the smooth twangy accent fool you, the title Spilled Milk is clearly a warning: listen up, and don't cry, sissy.

Buy from Amazon

Doug Stanhope "Deadbeat Hero" CD

Doug Stanhope’s Deadbeat Hero thrusts you into the twisted, brutally funny world of this acclaimed comic. In a performance that serves up everything from graphic perversion to stinging social criticism, Stanhope proves himself to be one of the few comedians around with a gift for making the ugly truths of modern life downright hilarious. Topics like abortion, liberty, war and vasectomies get filtered through his raw, uninhibited comedy, and the result is an unforgettable show guaranteed to entertain, offend and enlighten.

Buy from Amazon

Drinking with Ian "Season 1" DVD

Like so many torrid affairs that have come before, your liaison with Ian will begin in a dark, smoky rock club, and it will be fueled by booze, so very much booze. He ll sweet talk you, regaling you with tales of absurd nightlife in this city of his; impress you with his vast knowledge of as-yet unknown bands just on the brink of brilliant stardom; and ply you with exotic shots, about which the most you will ever know is that they are full of alcohol, supplied gratis by a bartender who seems to know Ian like his own brother, and are only too easy to drink.

You'll love his wit, his cartoonish coif, his comfortable manner, even his friends, and soon you'll find, you'd follow him anywhere. Be it into the basement of Minneapolis famed 7th Street Entry (kid brother to its better known half, First Avenue) for a zombie makeover, like the volunteer in the first episode; into the back of an ambulance to yell over the loudspeaker while trolling rich neighborhoods and drinking warm beer, a la the episode wherein our rag-tag band of misfits is ejected from their erstwhile home; or even out onto a street corner to wave protest signs at passers-by and Hard Rock Cafe patrons in an attempt to drum up attention for your lothario, oh, you'll happily accompany your host on his adventures. Along with his improvisational chanteur, rotund bartender, sage-like haiku master, and an array of local yokels, beauties, weirdos, and geniuses, Ian Rans invites you to join him for Season One of Drinking with Ian, the public access sensation which invites you to sit back, have a drink on the house, and enjoy the show.

Buy from Amazon

OTHER RELEASES FROM STAND UP!