When Neil Hamburger bills himself as "America's $1 Funnyman," he's inviting audiences to stay away, knowing that they'll come back for more. Gregg Turkington's self-consciously pathetic stand-up persona pushes the same buttons that Andy Kaufman's alter-ego Tony Clifton did 30 years ago; both look like lounge singers and are prone to anxious bouts of belligerence. In recent years Hamburger has found favor among the twentysomething set, releasing several so-bad-it's-good comedy albums on Drag City. He tours with a full band behind his latest release, Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners, a surprisingly cohesive record that hijacks country music's tendency for bathos to hilarious effect.
– Max Goldberg