• Lewis Black: Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues LP

It's tragic because it's true, but it's funny because Lewis Black is at the mic. 2005's “Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues” finds Mr. Black stalking the stage and attacking pop culture and politics in equal measure. Like the jolt from a cup of good, strong coffee, the world-weary Black is bracing and just a little bitter (okay, maybe a lot bitter), and absolutely bound to leave his listeners wanting more as he takes on the ludicrous spectacle of Superbowl Halftime Shows past (including the memorable 2004 show, the aftermath of which taught Lewis Black the phrase “nipple clamp”), segueing into diatribes on gay marriage, acid trips, and the comparative merits of KFC and MTV along the way. Transitioning from the lighter fare of the first half of the record, Black positively eviscerates the current administration in the closing boot-party, “Iraq, an Idiot's Delight,” going for the jugular with the likes of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld squarely in his sights and pausing to remind any conservatives in the audience that, well, if the liberals were in charge, they'd be at the top of his list instead. Always equal opportunity in his disparagement of the world around him, Black declares, “My problem is with authority.” Never has it been more apparent than on the Grammy-nominated “Burbank,” re-released here in limited edition vinyl with a newly redesigned “bootleg” cover from Stand Up! Records.