John Mulaney

John Mulaney’s debut album, The Top Part, concludes with the track “The Salt And Pepper Diner,” a hysterical, winding telling of the time Mulaney and a friend established a state of panic in a Chicago restaurant using only a jukebox, $7, and two Tom Jones singles. The routine encapsulates the comedian’s persona as a consummate Midwestern smartass. When Mulaney’s not making collaborator Bill Hader lose his shit during their “Stefon” pieces for Saturday Night Live, he’s using his keen eye and dry wit to tweak absurd, taken-for-granted patterns. The crux of Mulaney’s comedy is in the details, whether he’s riffing on rude drag queens, Law And Order, or Windy City diners who’ve heard “What’s New Pussycat” 11 times too many. 

Updated 05/31/2011