Ever since Mel Brooks thanked Adolf Hitler during his 2001 Tony’s acceptance speech for The Producers, most subsequent attempts at Nazi humor have been seig fail.
With his latest album, comedian Doug Stanhope picks up the gauntlet thrown by Mel, and shows he just might have the reich stuff to make National Socialism funny again. Stanhope’s latest live album Oslo: Burning The Bridge To Nowhere was recorded in an abandoned warehouse in Grünerløkka, Norway – a warehouse that formerly housed a nightclub for some of Norway’s MVNs (Most Valuable Nazis.)
Though the shock-comic claims not to have planned to record in this, or any, particular location, we have a hard time imagining that the salient detail slipped past the twisted comedic genius responsible for one of the most cringe-worthy scenes in 2005’s The Aristocrats. Stanhope is the type of comic to go straight for the jugular when it comes to taboos, so whether he intended to record in a former SS hideout, or not, you can be sure he won’t shy away from pushing buttons once he’s in there.
According to Doug:
“I didn’t know we would be filming in an abandoned warehouse, formerly a swanky hang-out for high-ranking Nazis. I never considered it would be in front of an English-as-a-second-language audience. Mostly, I never considered that I had nothing rehearsed. In short, it was like any other gig that actually happens out on the road, something you rarely see in a comedy release. So, fuck it. Here it is.”
As to whether recording in a Nazi bunker is good for the “artistic process,” we remind you that the last time an artist (some Austrian painter named Schicklgruber?) spent time in a Nazi bunker, he – to use the comic’s parlance – “totally died.”
Musta been a tough crowd.
Oslo: Burning The Bridge To Nowhere will be available for purchase on May 3rd.
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