In Stereo Press

Three years ago today comedian Mitch Hedberg died. Originally this news was announced on The Howard Sern website April 1st. I had just seen him at Caroline’s in New York City a week prior to his death. He was amazing. I don’t remember a single joke he told, all I remember from the show was laughter at all angles.

I first saw Mitch Hedberg on David Letterman. His casual stage-fright-smile and mannerisms were just as inviting and vulnerable as his delivery. I was instantly hooked. I got my hands on his first CD recording before it officially came out. The recording is one continuous track, an hour or more of Hedberg jokes leaning on a walking bass line. I fell in love with his playful attitude towards language, “I haven’t slept for ten days, cause that would be too long”. His observations are whimsically childlike and sophisticated, “I’ve seen a human pyramid before, it was very unnecessary”. Some of my favorite moments in his act are when a joke would go down in flames. Mitch knew how to keep his cool and turn a moment of silence into yet another punchline, “If you lost your wallet it’s hard to dance; Hey, I just lost my wallet, this song is funky; Fuck it! That shit’s no good boy, This is a CD called Hit and Miss”. I was, I am, addicted to his diction and syntax, his semi dark shades and long hair. He was more than a comedian, essentially he was a poet, “I drank some boiling water because I wanted to whistle”. My friends and I memorized his jokes like our favorite songs. Much of the day I would look like I was talking to myself, just laughing out of nowhere; at anytime anything could remind me of a Mitch Hedberg joke.

Mitch Hedberg, this generations Lord Buckley.

When the news spread about his death, my friends called me all day to pay their respects. It was as if he was apart of our everyday lives, hanging out at parties, lounging lazily around the house till noon, taking long drives, and in a sense he was, and in a sense he still is. Today we remember the genius that is Mitch Hedberg.