Place for My Stuff! [Rhino]

Released after his first flush of 1970s fame had died down but before his revival as curmudgeonly elder statesman, George Carlin's ingenious 1981 LP, A PLACE FOR MY STUFF, plays like a demented television program. Carlin's standup is broken up by bizarre and hilarious parodies of commercials, PSAs, game shows, and interviews. The title rant may be one of the noted diatribe artist's most genteel speeches, but its increasing delirium as he dissects our odd attachments to things elevates it into Carlin classic territory. The rest of the record switches off from delightfully mundane ("Fussy Eater") to rapid-fire absurd (see "Join the Book Club").