The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Patton Oswalt

Werewolves and Lollipops | Sub Pop
By RYAN STEWART  |  July 23, 2007
3.0 3.0 Stars
072707_inside_PATTONOSWALTComedian Patton Oswalt has long embraced the idea that he’s unlikely to achieve mainstream success (his role in Ratatouille notwithstanding). True to form, on Werewolves and Lollipops, Oswalt takes aim at Middle American targets — fast food, the GOP, tabloid celebrities, backwards-thinking small towns — in a conversational manner that suggests he knows he’s among friends (it’s probably not a coincidence that this was recorded in Austin). The too-cool-for-school attitude would grate if Oswalt weren’t so self-depreciating: he refers to himself as a “bridge troll” and claims “my geekiness is getting in the way of my nerdiness.” Oswalt’s comedy is best when he combines his intelligence with his nerdy leanings and his rage, as in his considerations of how to travel back in time to prevent the Star Wars prequels from existing, or when he explains the liberal-arts gut-course standard “Physics for Poets.” His riff on writing a movie will send listeners to their Netflix accounts to find Death Bed: The Bed That Eats People, and his bit about the KFC Flavor Bowl will be quoted by American college kids everywhere — the geeks, not the jocks.
Related: Interview: Robert Siegel, Jump right in, ID Check: Louis Scheele, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Culture and Lifestyle, Food and Cooking, Foods,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

[ 11/27 ]   Pixies + Jay Reatard  @ Wang Theatre
[ 11/27 ]   They Might Be Giants  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 11/27 ]   Legends In Concert  @ Fox Theatre @ Foxwoods
[ 11/27 ]   John Fogerty  @ MGM Grand @ Foxwoods
[ 11/27 ]   Fat Angus  @ Steve’s Backstage Pass
ARTICLES BY RYAN STEWART
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   PREP YOURSELF!  |  October 14, 2009
    So the economy sucks, you’re in a miserable rut at work, and you’re not getting any younger. What are you going to do about it?
  •   ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALLZ?  |  September 17, 2009
    These days, thanks to Internet-related information overload, football fans are more educated than ever. So why, exactly, do we need idiotic TV commentators telling us what we already know about how talented Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson are, or that the game all comes down to turnovers?
  •   INTERVIEW: JASON SCHWARTZMAN  |  September 15, 2009
    "Three seconds into reading one of Raymond Chandler's books, I want a whiskey and a cigarette."
  •   BIG SLEEPY  |  September 16, 2009
    If television is indeed a reflection of society, then to judge from what's on the screen these days, we're all surrounded by people leading seedy double lives.
  •   GOING STEADY  |  August 05, 2009
    Whenever Drug Rug come up in the press (which is happening more and more lately), writers seem to find it hard to separate the band from the relationship between founding members Sarah Cronin and Tommy Allen. Cronin and Allen are not crazy about this.

 See all articles by: RYAN STEWART

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group