When we need comedy most

How 9/11 made us funnier: A decade of honesty in comedy

Louis CK's groundbreaking sitcom "Louie" has set a new mark in true-to-lifecomedy for the last two years. A season one scene featured an imaginary sit-downwith "like, the worst guy ever," himself, Osama Bin Laden.
Before 9/11, comedy wasn't necessarily seen as a barometer of truth. Theattacks would force a new sort of comedic honesty to emerge in the decade thatfollowed.
"The Daily Show" returned on September 20th, 2001, with a heartfelt and tearfulmonologue from host Jon Stewart. His editorial voice would grow more sincereand engagingly exasperated with each subsequent year.
The Onion returned on September 26th, 2001, with a widely acclaimed issue thatidentified many of the irrational but hilarious sentiments in the aftermath of9/11.
"Saturday Night Live" premiered as scheduled on September 29th, 2001, with acold open featuring Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York City police andfirefighters blessing the comedy institution in its task to make the city laughonce more.
Comedy Central's "South Park" aired an episode entitled "Osama Bin Laden HasFarty Pants" on November 7th, 2001. It ridiculed the infamous terrorist leaderin the spirit of Bugs Bunny befuddling Elmer Fudd- with a healthy dose ofcreators Matt Parker and Trey Stone's foul-mouthed brand of satire.
British director Chris Morris's Four Lions was released to critical acclaim in2010, but found difficulty finding a wide audience at first because of itsoutrageous, humanizing but hilarious look at wannabe suicide bombers.

“The truth is funny. Honest discovery, observation, and reaction is better than contrived invention.” -Del Close, Truth In Comedy

When comedy touches on global tragedies like 9/11, the most common reaction is a knee-jerk "too soon!" jeer. Certainly in the decade since that fateful day it hasn't been encouraged, nor has it been common, for any sort of popular entertainment to make light of those events.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the country came together in such an earnest, sincere way that many wondered whether comedy in general would having trouble keeping up with the times. The same question was raised a few years ago when Obama took office on a platform of sincere hope and change.

But by then comedy had already found a way: honesty.

The first indications of the way 9/11 would influence our national sense of humor can be seen in the early reactions to it from New York institutions. Mayor Rudy Giuliani made a special appearance on the "Saturday Night Live" premiere, alongside New York firefighters and policemen. He was asked point-blank by producer Lorne Michaels, “Can we be funny?” Guiliani gave comedy his implicit blessing with the reply “Why start now?”

Even as "SNL" has weathered criticism in the last decade, the strongest part of the show has remained the Weekend Update segment, in which the cast members serving as anchors drop character and make jokes about real-world events in a relatable way. A recurring part of Weekend Update is titled simply with the exasperated inflection “Really?”

The Onion has long been famous for embracing the absurdity of truth by essentially reporting real news with specifically-phrased headlines. The first post-9/11 issue embraced the raw emotion that everyone was experiencing with headlines like "Not Knowing What Else To Do, Woman Bakes American Flag Cake," and "God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule," a piece that ended with God himself openly weeping.

Jon Stewart also fought back tears when Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" returned, noting that “there were no jobs available for a man in the fetal position under his desk crying." That speech, perhaps the most memorable of all the late night show hosts' remarks, accelerated "The Daily Show's" ongoing transformation from a less consequential news parody to an engrossing hybrid of commentary and razor-sharp satire. Like a stand up comedian taking down a heckler, every comedy program needed to address the elephant in the room before it could move on.

After taking a deep breath and starting over, comedy eventually started taking its shots at the architects of 9/11 itself. That season, the cartoon "South Park" aired an episode entitled "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants" that spoke to a juvenile impulse in us all to ridicule the enemy. Creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone would amplify this spirit into the epically absurd film Team America: World Police in 2004, a wildly ridiculous takedown of the war on terror which is screening as a quote-along tonight at the Alamo Ritz. As the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan continued, people sought such ways to laugh away the frustration.

British filmmakers might have an easier time getting past 9/11 sensitivities: Chris Morris's debut feature Four Lions, which screens at the Alamo Village tonight, represents an achievement in brutal, satirical honesty akin to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. It depicts five British Muslim men as they stumble hilariously on a quest to become suicide bombers, with recognizable human foibles and petty bickering along the way.

Even though it was fully nine years after 9/11, Four Lions still had trouble finding a US distributor until the Drafthouse Films arm of the Alamo stepped in last fall, and it's patiently growing success as a modern cult favorite. Another British satire, Armando Iannucci's In The Loop, found much more success going after an easier target in the controversial run-up to the Iraq war, fictionalizing a subject covered with much humor (and a contested amount of truth) in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The ongoing conflicts stirred deep emotion and debate throughout the world, but comedians and filmmakers have been pointing out the absurdities that bridge the gaps between sides.

Now, even when not tackling politically charged subjects, it seems like comedians have less time in general to roll their eyes and play to the sort of cynicism that one might expect. FX's recent breakthrough hit "Louie," is an experimental sitcom from the mind of New York comedian Louis CK, which utilizes agonizingly uncomfortable truths like unrequited love, or a paralyzing fear of strangers, to get some of the biggest laughs in the history of cable television. It tells fractured, deeply personal stories that would have been unheard of in pre-9/11 sitcoms. The first season featured an episode where Louie, under anesthesia at the dentist, dreamt about running into Osama Bin Laden and simply convincing the mass murderer that killing innocent people “is a bullshit move.”

This was obviously well before the May 1st raid and killing of Bin Laden this year in Pakistan. Tellingly, when the news broke, the jokes from the majority of the comedic world came from the tension inherent in rejoicing in the death of another human being. Instead of thumbing our nose and laughing in spite, we've started looking in the mirror and laughing knowingly at ourselves.

9/11 is obviously a defining moment for any generation old enough to understand what it meant at the time. Our world was suddenly was filled with terror and fear, and it echoes in the way we consume and laugh at many facets of the entertainment world. And in a decade marred by war, partisan debate, and a volatile economy, there just hasn't been as much time to indulge artifice and irony. The loudest laughs and the best jokes have been the ones that we can relate to, the people and the stories that speak to an underlying truth that we're always seeking to grasp. We live in the memory of 9/11, and the months afterward when everyone came together in an unprecedented way. As our lives go on and we drift apart from others, we've found in comedy reminders that we're never alone.

After such an incomprehensible tragedy, it couldn't have come soon enough.

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Let the Records Show

Waterloo Records continues North Lamar legacy with move and new owners

Caryn Noel Photography, LLC

From left to right: Caren Kelleher, John Kunz and Trey Watson.

Few surviving Austin businesses embody the towns identity as much as Waterloo Records & Video, which on January 2 announces a new era after 35 in its current location, including new ownership and a move.

The new location will be at 1105 North Lamar Blvd., less than half a mile north of the current location on the same road. The new owners are Gold Rush Vinyl founder Caren Kelleher and Austin entrepreneur and Armadillo Records CEO Trey Watson.

Almost since its inception, Waterloo Records has been owned by John Kunz, who joined founder Louis Karp the same year that the business opened. He became the sole owner five years later, in 1987.The sale of the store represents a relief for Kunz — now Chair Emeritus — in several ways. It seems that the business is saved from the precarious position it was thrust into in 2019, when the retail location it was leasing changed hands.

“My decades-long hope, dream and endeavor, has been for Waterloo Records & Video to live on forever, continuing to promote Austin’s vibrant music culture and community,” said John Kunz in a press release.

He continued, “Now with this transition, all of my boxes are checked: a new larger home, just five blocks away; Caren andTrey buy in as my new, talented, local music industry partners; all of my team are retained and they will gain the opportunity for store ownership; all of the Waterloo Records hallmarks and traditions continue on, including innovation; and now as a minority partner and not sole proprietor, I get to work less, and play more. So thank you Austin!”

According to the release, it was Kunz who decided Waterloo would move to this new location, which is bigger than the current location by half. Waterloo fans can enjoy more space for events, better parking, and continued easy access to downtown, which helps fold record shopping and in-store events in with visitor's other musical endeavors around town.

Any record store in Austin is afforded some level of local mythology, especially considering that many are longtime institutions. Waterloo Records stands out because of how in touch it remains with the local scene, including a large and deep selection, knowledgable staff, and cool events like meet-and-greets with popular artists — both local and otherwise.

Kelleher and Watson also bring new expertise to the veteran business. Kelleher has lead an important shift in record pressing at the helm of Gold Rush Vinyl, which was named among Fast Company's10 most innovative music companies of 2020. The factory has pressed records for both local and internationally famous artists including Fall Out Boy, Rüfüs Du Sol, Tom Yorke, RuPaul, Charley Crockett, and many more.

“John, Trey and I recognized this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to guard and grow an iconic music business and to get to do so in a town we all love,” said Kelleher in the same release. “John was one of the first people to welcome me to Austin when I moved here to start Gold Rush Vinyl and his friendship has been so important over the years. It means so much to me that he and his wife Kathy Marcus trust me to be part of the next chapter of Waterloo.”

Watson has several music industry ventures under his belt. In addition to his role at Armadillo Records — which opened in 1969 and was foundational in Austin's music scene — he also acts as president of photo archive custodian Globe Entertainment & Media Corp, and music and sports documentary studio 153 Studio Group.

”Austin has a soul about it that attracted me to move here over 25 years ago and continues to draw people here today,” said Watson. “Since 1982, Waterloo Records has been a large part of the fabric of that soul as a small business and as a place where people gather as a community to celebrate music. I’m honored and grateful that John Kunz has entrusted our team with guiding Waterloo into the future. We have great things planned for all to experience.”

Although the sale of legacy Austin businesses often creates anxiety or alludes to hard times, Kunz's message seems entirely hopeful.

“Waterloo is my baby — I always wanted the store to live on and have a life beyond me, and it is happening with these new partners,” he said. “I am confident that the new energy and innovation from Caren and Trey, along with the entire Waterloo Records & Video crew, will fulfill the dreams I have always had.”

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