Remember that plucky, prepubescent energy that compelled you to question everything? Remember that barefaced amusement with the world that you left behind along with bug dissections and cartoon reenactments?
Likening Demetri Martin to a kid is the most flattering comparison I can offer the 30-something stand-up comic. With the release of his first comedy CD/DVD, These Are Jokes, Martin reminds us of a time when our own imagination was enough to make us laugh.
With whimsy and wordplay as his trademarks, Martin is smart and sophisticated in his approach to comedy. Swearing and somersaulting on stage aren't Martin's gig. With jokes about the pointlessness of pajama pockets, washing machines pulling one over on you and having "Cottonballs" as a nickname, Martin expects a lot from his audience. His signature pause after a one-liner is as much a space for humor as it is for reflection. The uneven laughter that follows Martin's jokes is a testament to their cleverness:
"There's a store in my neighborhood called 'Futon World.' Love that name, 'Futon World.' It makes me think of a magical place... that becomes less comfortable over time."
In These Are Jokes, Martin stays clear of the common sources of today's comedy: sex, drugs and politics. Instead of finding funny from worldliness, Martin settles for those idle musings that come to him while walking down the sidewalk or trying to fall asleep. How else could he have written a joke about holding a cocktail umbrella on a rainy day, warning passersby, "Watch out! There's a wizard back there. Yeah, this was large and I was Korean. He's pretty mad."
Martin's brand of comedy depends on imagination rather than waiting around for a politician to screw up or a girlfriend to bail. With this approach, it makes sense that none of Martin's jokes are told as long-winded narratives with a punch line at the end. For him, setting the scene is superfluous; a punch line under Martin's hand can stand alone:
"A secret admirer is the same as a stalker with stationery."
"Every fight is a food fight when you're a cannibal."
"If I ever saw an amputee being hanged I would just yell out letters."
When Demetri Martin's breakout performance on Comedy Central Presents aired, the comic not only introduced a new face to stand-up comedy, but props and music as well. A microphone and a spotlight aren't enough for the restless artist's spirit in Martin. More than half of the These Are Jokes tracks are accompanied by musical instruments -- usually Martin on guitar, with the help of a glockenspiel or keyboard presets -- and this doesn't even take the discs' three full-length songs into account. Granted, Martin's music skills are laughable, but they compliment his jokes -- jokes that take themselves as seriously as Martin takes his harmonica solos.
Even without the use of obscenities or controversial subject matter, Demetri Martin's joke about a heart attack during charades or drowning when thirsty may cause a parental "Shame on you!" in your head. Don't worry about it -- in the track "Sames and Opposites," Martin makes up for it with this poignant grown-up message:
"To live is the same as to dream. If you do both long enough, you'll see. But you have to work in between..."
Oh, wait: "... unless you have narcolepsy."
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