Maria Bamford – Ask Me About My New God!

Maria Bamford is, in the not-so-humble opinion of this reviewer, one of the funniest and most amazingly brilliant comics working today.

Bamford is back with her new stand-up comedy CD Ask Me About My New God!  This is her fourth stand-up comedy album, and her eighth comedy special overall, if you include her direct-to-fans holiday special “Maria Bamford’s One-Hour Homemade Christmas Stand-Up Special.”

Although this is a “new” comedy CD, for the most part it is not new material.  Instead, it is largely the same material as her recent “The Special Special Special” that aired and was available as a download on Chill.com.  That is not meant in a derogatory manner, however.  The Special Special Special was largely a unique comedy experiment.  It was Bamford performing her act in front of an audience of two — her parents.  Now, with Ask Me About My New God!, the material has been refined and perfected, and delivered to a proper audience at a comedy club.

So, this begs the questions … if you have already seen The Special Special Special, should you purchase and will you enjoy Ask Me About My New God?  In a word, absolutely.  The material as delivered on The Special Special Special actually felt like an experiment.  It was funny, but awkward.  Here, on the new album, the listener is given the treat of pure, perfected stand-up comedy.

Maria Bamford frequently speaks about her own depression and other personal issues, and recounts several such stories here.  One of my favorite lines comes from her story about some guy who once commented that she must be schizophrenic.  Her response: schizophrenia is about hearing voices, not doing voices.  Perfect!

What else is there to say about this album?  Bamford is hilarious.  Her material is surreal, dark, and deeply personal.  It demands to be listened to multiple times, because you are undoubtedly going to miss a lot the first time through … either because you are laughing too hard, or quite simply because you didn’t “get it” the first time.

Maria Bamford Ask Me About My New God is one of those Comedy Central 2-disc releases. The DVD features the season 1 and season 5 Comedy Central Presents with Maria Bamford.

Ask Me About My New God
Maria Bamford
Stand-up Comedy CD with Bonus DVD
Comedy Central Records 2013

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