Road Trip Album Picks: Todd Glass' "Vintage Todd Glass and Other Crap"

WHAT: Collection of random material from a really funny comic/podcaster
LABEL: Self-published, mid-2000s
GOOD IF YOU LIKE: Comedy and Everything Else podcast
WHERE TO FIND IT: Second-hand CD shops. At this time ToddGlass.com is out of stock of it and the site does not presently reflect this. (We asked.)

"Hi, this is Todd Glass, thanks for buying my CD. Fifteen bucks, what a ripoff." How's that for the start of track 1? With a name like Vintage Todd Glass and Other Crap, it sounds like you're going to be getting a grab bag of stand-up, novelty songs, and what seems to be a virtual resume of a future radio personality, or rather, a Podcaster. The album starts off basically berating you if you don't like the CD, and there's a little more of that as the album goes along. To have the product criticize the audience is certainly a fun twist.

Kicking off with a number of jokes recorded in clubs, it seems that the producers hand-picked various bits which went well and fade each one in and out as they go. It's very different from most comedy CDs, which tend to be a complete performance or are bits edited to be a full hour of comedy culled from one or two performances. The first several are great. Heck, most of it is pretty funny, as is Glass, but it's just so strange to see an album that includes a multiple course meal of comedy-- it goes from stand-up to jingles and songs.

Five tracks in the middle, which comprise a "Mad About Nothing" set, seem like they were cultivated as radio spots or something you send a club promoter as a sample of what Glass' style is like. They're great, but it seems odd to include on an album like this, which was originally sold by the comic via mail order/the web.

"If four out of five people suffer from diarrhea, does that mean one guy enjoys it?"

Glass' podcast, Comedy and Everything Else, is really the logical evolution of this album. While a skilled performer and funny guy, it's clear that this guy wants to make sure you're having a good time. As such, it's good he got to scratch that itch, because this doesn't seem like a CD that would be something for frequent listening so much as it is something you pull out on a road trip or hand to your friends if they ask you who Todd Glass is.

The track "Blackout Jokes" sums up the album well-- Glass goes on about how this is a stupid, silly album and if you haven't shut it off yet that's your problem. Bravo, sir. It seems that the only way to get this right now is to find someone to loan you their copy, or if you're willing to pay through the nose on Amazon ($30 and up at press time.) Good luck finding a copy-- if you can get one cheap ($10 or less), and you're already a fan of his material, this is definitely worth a listen.

Oh-- and the packaging is pretty funny, too. On the back he calls out numerous radio stations as it reads: "Special thanks to the following radio stations for their support and air play. Some have not even played the CD yet but once they see this they might eel like they have to." Brilliant.