Margaret Cho’s new comedy music album “Cho Dependent” was released this week. I’m a huge Margaret Cho fan and it takes guts for any artist to step outside their comfort zone and try something new and different. If you’ve cultivated a following that loves the performer rather than the art, they’ll follow you wherever you go. And I’m sure that will be the case here.
That being said, comedy music is one of the most difficult forms of writing. Not only is the best stuff musically solid, but you have to take into account the intricacies of comedy as well. Surprise has to be paramount and, unfortunately, that’s a big part of what’s missing on “Cho Dependent”.
Musically speaking, the collection is top notch. When you work with Brendan Benson, Ani DiFranco, and Grant Lee Phillips, you’re sure to get some good tracks. According to Margaret’s interview with Punchline Magazine, she concentrated on the words and let others design her soundscapes. And this one ends up with plenty of serviceable indie rock, country, and folk. Even a little 70′s style rock.
Lyrically, Margaret makes the same mistakes that beginning comedy songwriters make. I made many of the same mistakes in the past myself. A comedy song is like a 3 minute stand-up bit. You set it up and then you either have to keep adding tags or evolve the story to bring new setups (and therefore punches) into the mix. Many of these songs have funny concepts, but there’s no evolution of the story during the song, which makes it sounds like listening to the same joke over and over for 3 minutes.
Songs like “Intervention” and “Your Dick” make plenty of references, but there’s never the turn in either the story or the word play to really elicit a big laugh. “Intervention” even almost sounds like an earnest song. “Lice” comes closer in that the word play is funny, as are some of the situations she presents, but there’s still just one level to the song.
“Gimme Your Seed” is my favorite on the album. What starts out sounding like a gratuitous sex song, like “Your Dick”, flips the story upside. We find out it’s actually a lesbian couple who just need the seed to have a baby and aren’t interested in they guy at all. Great concept and execution! Do more like this Margaret!
Two other songs on here are gimme’s… “Eat Shit and Die” is your typical comedy breakup song. Many have been done and much funnier. Chris Valenti’s “See You Next Tuesday” comes to mind.
“My Puss” is a funny romp through Yo Momma style vagina jokes. Definitely middle school level humor, but a solid genital joke can always be appreciated in moderation. 
I’m glad she didn’t go all serious and pull an Eddie Murphy on this one. And I think her next attempt will prove better. It’s hard to be a beginner at something when you already have a large audience watching your every move. So good for her for jumping in with both feet.