Adam Hunter: Being Adam Hunter

by Emma Kat Richardson

What is it like, to be Adam Hunter? Only one man on Earth can be absolutely certain, but if the young comedian’s most recent album, Being Adam Hunter, is any indication, it’s an experience something akin to heading up a frat house with extra Ritalin prescriptions to spare.

Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily. The album’s 14 tracks are a killer dosage of cocky laced with cheeky, and it’s Hunter’s manic, kinetic style that gives Being Adam Hunter a sporadic sense of charm that an album like this would otherwise be lacking.

With lightning quick subject changes, Hunter calls to mind a sloppier, boorish version of Steven Wright. Barely any topic is left untackled as Hunter plows through 42 minutes of sex, violence, religion, politics, drugs, music, and, well, he wouldn’t be much fun if he didn’t swing right back around to sex again.

But rather than offending, the album is guilty of being charming when, by all rights, it should be off-putting. Tracks like “GILF” and “Sooo Broke” are downright hilarious, sparking more than just a scant few laugh-out-loud moments. (“I work for this nonprofit company,” Hunter professes in “Sooo Broke.” “It’s called my career.”)

The best thing about Being Adam Hunter, really, is the comedian’s uncanny ability to punctuate bouts of gross-out humor with surprisingly astute observations. It’s all well-worn territory here, but being young and contemporary only works in Hunter’s favor. If anything is proved, it’s that sex jokes don’t need to remain stale and stagnant – these days, they can be spiced up with Facebook and Twitter references.

Perhaps Hunter himself sums it up best in a track called “Myspace, Facebook,Twatter”: “I used to smoke pot and take Ritalin. Made me focus really hard on nothing.” Being Adam Hunter may not be the most dignified position in the world, but it sure is a helluva lot of fun.