When long ago I was an adolescent with lofty aspirations of comic stardom, much of my study time was spent reading up on my favorite funny folks, studying their hilarious hyjinks on hours of videotape and listening obsessively to their albums. For all of the attention I confess to paying many lesser artists, Steve Martin always captivated my attention like no other. His approach to comedy strayed far from conventional yet for me played like one hilarious joke that his audience was in on. I still find myself listening to his albums Let's Get Small, A Wild and Crazy Guy and Comedy Is Not Pretty! while laughing along with the absurd genius which kept me doubled over as my turntable kept endlessly spinning all those years ago.Recently, while spending some time in Target while locked out of my car, I picked up a copy of Born Standing Up, Martin's memoir of his stand-up days. While Martin has been an avant-garde performer of comedy, a musician and an actor, he may first and foremost be considered a brilliant writer. With numerous books, plays, short stories, essays and screenplays to his credit, he has followed with an intimately engaging account of his rise to stardom and the decision to exit the platform which elevated his celebrity. After reading the book's Forward, I decided I should probably settle up and officially add this piece to the home library. As I quickly tore through the remainder of Born Standing Up, what I found most interesting among the details of Martin's stories of early relationships and his struggles into showbiz was the deeply emotional influence the relationships within his family have had on his evolution as an artist. Throughout the book, he shares candidly about the role in which his parents' passions and shortcomings alike had played in the decisions he made throughout his early career. It is the heart of this story. It is heartbreaking and true. Steve Martin is a brilliant writer and has rarely seemed so vulnerable. It's often strange and humbling when someone allows a peak behind the curtain to their true self. In Martin's case, there has suddenly emerged an entirely new dimension to his comedy.
MP3: Grandmother's Song - from Let's Get Small
MP3: The Cruel Shoes - from Comedy Is Not Pretty!
