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comedy special

Chapter Guides for the New Special!

Chapter Guides!

Did you notice that my new special has helpful chapter markers? The times are listed in the description and they’re linked so you can click them and jump to that section!

Or, even easier, when you’re on a computer you can hover your mouse over the timeline to view the chapter names and a preview screen. On mobile the chapter names will show as you scrub the timeline.

And below I’ve made a handy table of contents with links to the different sections if you want to get to your favorite section right this very minute! It also makes it easier to send your favorite part of the special to your friend! Think they’ll like the cowboy song? Boom, link straight to it! Want them to hear the background on William Miller and his failed Bible prophesy predictions? This link is here to help!

And please do keep sending the special around to your friends and colleagues! It’s truly the best way to get the word out on the special and for more people to know the weird backstory of things like Muscular Christianity or how much Henry Ford hated jazz!

Song Genre Subject time
Prologue intro 0:00-1:30 link
Were Those Really the Days? Brill Building Pop Nostalgia and revisionism 1:30-3:45 link
Satanic Panic intro The Satanic Panic 3:45-6:04link
Satanic Panic Heavy Metal The Satanic Panic 6:04-9:34 link
William Miller & Prophesy The Great Disappointment of 1844 9:35-12:35link
The Great Disappointment Emo The Great Disappointment of 1844 12:35-16:06 link
National Anthems Star Spangled Banner 16:06-18:37link
Alternate Anthem National Anthem Burning of the White House in 1814 18:37-20:55 link
Adam Smith and economics 20:55-21:43link
The Invisible Hand Spy Movie Theme Laissez-faire Capitalism 21:43-24:46 link
Henry Ford and Jazz Henry Ford’s anti-jazz anti-semitism 25:00-26:51link
Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! Early Jazz Henry Ford’s anti-jazz anti-semitism 26:51-29:12 link
Stephen Foster “Plantation” Songs 29:12-30:58link
Plug Your Ears and Sing! Stephen Foster White Fragility and Education 30:58-33:28 link
The Frontier Myth The Frontier Myth 33:28-34:26link
The People Who Were Already Here Western/Cowboy Song The Frontier Myth 34:26-37:24 link
Sunshine Pop! 37:36-38:00link
Corporations Are People Too! Sunshine Pop Corporate Personhood 38:00-40:34 link
Muscular Christianity masculinity crises 40:34-42:57link
Work That Bod Disco Muscular Christianity 42:57-46:45 link
1990s Nostalgia 46:45-48:51link
The Ballad of Lou Pearlman 90s Boyband Pop Lou Pearlman’s Ponzi Sceme 48:51-52:12 link
Remember it Better Heartland Rock Closing Credits 52:12-56:53 link

The New Special is Here!

The new video special is out! It’s available on YouTube right this very second and I’m super excited for you to see it!

It’s just over 2 years to the day since I first performed this set of songs to see if there was anything to this idea of doing a whole show of satirical comedy songs based on U.S. History and culture. The show went well and inspired me to do a fully-arranged studio album of the songs and to create a solo theater show around them.

Taking that show to the Edmonton Fringe last summer allowed me to really tighten and punch up the monologues and to perfect the overall flow of the set. At the end of the fringe run I knew I had to create a version of the show that could live online for everyone to see.

And now, it’s here!

Using the full arrangements of the songs from the album and some fun animation, graphics, and live action, I have what I think is a really solid comedy special. It’s not a live concert video like most standup specials, but being a musician in the comedy world has always led me to do things a little differently. A friend who’s a huge movie and TV buff said it sounds like it’s my Elephant Parts, which was a sketch/music/video comedy film by former Monkee Mike Nesmith, and if you know it, it’s a perfect comparison.

Give it a look, I think you’ll like it! And if you know any comedy and/or music nerds, pass it along! Word of mouth > algorithms!

New Special Premieres May 22!

We have a date!

My new comedy music video special The American Songbook: Redacted will be premiering on YouTube May 22! At 9pm eastern the new special that’s part Schoolhouse Rock, part The Daily Show, and part Friday Night Videos, will premiere on YouTube with an online watch party kicking off an hour earlier.

The night before, Tuesday, May 21, there will be an in-person premiere party where we’ll watch the special, have a few beverages, and enjoy some swag at Crystal Lake in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The party starts at 7pm and we’ll start the screening at 8.

I’m really excited to present this project in this form, it’s the culmination of the work on the album, the live shows, and a few of the individual lyric videos from the album. I think this video and format is the best way to experience these songs and stories, and it’s the perfect distillation of two years of work. I can’t wait for you to see it!

In fact, here are a couple of trailers I made to give you a feel for what’s on the way:

© Paravonian