CDs

My two CDs arrived. Live 75 - Bob Dylan and Selma's Songs - Bjork. I have had a brief listen of both, and will post a review next week. I bought Live 75 from CD Wow saving myself a staggering £8 from the HMV price. It's even more amazing since it was sent all the way from Hong Kong!

Harry on TV

I love Harry Hill. My first encounter with the balding bespectacled comedian was on a standup show fronted by Lee Hurst (ex They Think It's All Over) on ITV about 6 years ago. He was a regular and only had about 10 minutes on each show, but he was vastly superior than everyone else, even the host (where is Hurst now?). He'd already developed some of his persona and some catchphrases by then too ("Mole, vole... GOAL!" "You gotta have a system!"). Next was driving to Worthing Pavilion and seeing him onstage, with over an hour of just Harry. It was joyous. Not wanting to sound like a free TV magazine, but "I laughed throughout", from the beginning reel "The Boy With the Big Face" to "Get away from the flats" and "Like the lining?". From there he went onto channel 4, a show constructed from the live standup show, mixed with comedy sketches and new characters, ("Savlon..." "Pork or lamb?" "Finsbury Park!") before Harry Hill's TV Burp.

On TV, Harry has never been as good as he was when I saw him live. I think his standup is pure gold, but the sketches often miss and are ill conceived or lazy. He is the Matt Le Tissier of comedy. When he is good, he is fucking great, when he is poor, it's crap. On Harry Hill's TV Burp, Harry provides his unique insight into his views on the weeks television. From Emmerdale, to Steve Erwin, Pop Rivals to The Bill. His commentary behind the desk is great "Crocodile Diaries: Today a man jumped on me and wrapped me in tarp, why he do that?" "Greg Dyke, I'll smash his face in!" but his sketches such as the one with Pop Rival's crew was poor and sometimes a bit embarrassing. But despite this, it's still great to watch. What other show has tries to wrap Roy Walker in tarp and gets Ainslie Harriot and Gary Rhodes into a food fight? As long as Harry keeps talking, I'll keep watching.