Arj Barker’s first standup release since creating the off-Broadway show The Marijuana-Logues isn’t as pot-centric as his fans might hope, but it proves that his repertoire can be inspired by more than the demon weed.
LYAO pulls its inspiration from video games, the Internet, and global warming, and while that last topic may not seem stoner-friendly,
Barker’s reasoning to blame the sun instead of humanity most certainly is (“When I burn my toast, I don’t blame the bread!”). The comedian is great at playing it dumb (“I respect Native Americans, but I’m little irritated at them because they come to this country....”) and there’s a traditional side to his set that’s appealing in the age of indie and character comics. Check “BFF” (all the tracks are named after common Internet abbreviations) for an extremely gross and horribly funny closer that lives up to the album’s title. The rest of the set is more LOL, although Marijuana-Logues fans might go as far as ROFL. ~ David Jeffries