David Cross: “I Play the Who and Run Around Naked!”

“MOST OF THE MUSIC I have is criminally underappreciated,” says comedian David Cross, inspecting the extensive CD collection that lines the hallway of his apartment in New York’s East Village. The same could be said of Cross himself, who, despite having co-created and starred in the groundbreakingly surreal HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show, is unlikely to earn Adam Sandler–size paychecks anytime soon.

Maybe if he spent more time playing the Hollywood game and less time seeing live gigs… “I do see a lot of shows,” admits Cross, who grew up not too far from music-crazed Athens, Georgia. “Over a hundred a year. Obviously, if I’m on a movie set and have to get up at 7 in the morning I can’t go… But I do anyway.”

Cross exhibits his determination to do (and certainly say) whatever he wants on his new live double CD, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, which finds him satirically skewering everything from the Old Testament to post–September 11 patriotism.

“About three or four weeks after it happened, I was doing a college show,” Cross says. “I asked the audience, ‘Hey, can I make fun of Bush again?’ And they went fuckin’ nuts. I was like, ‘Oh, cool.’ I think Bush is a really bad man. I think he really is. Mean, selfish and dangerous.”

Today, however, Cross reserves his harshest words for purveyors of what he describes as “any kind of pseudo-alternative music.”

“What’s that band’s name? Creed!” he spits. “It’s just bullshit. Manufactured angst. And you’re listening to that from a guy who takes his shirt off and oils his chest before every photograph! You know, he may fool tens of millions of people. But he ain’t fooling me!”

The Who, Quadrophenia
MCA, 1973
“When I was 15, I was an angry, insolent, idealistic kid living in Roswell, [Georgia], hating everybody, not able to get a girlfriend or even make out with anybody, feeling like a freak. I’d go in my room, shut my door, slam everything around and put on Quadrophenia really, really loud. When I’m fucked up, I’ll come home, crank it and run around my apartment naked, breaking shit.”


The Flaming Lips, The Soft Bulletin
Warner Bros., 1998
“All their stuff is great, but this is such a beautiful album. It’s so pure and organic and smart and beautiful, and no one is saying the things they’re saying. I think a lot of people, unfortunately, would listen to this and like it but dismiss it as cute, a novelty, quirky. But it’s so much more than that. A stunning album.”


Betty Blue, Original Soundtrack
Alliance, 1977
“I love the movie, but the theme, ‘C’est le Vent, Betty,’ is one of my favorite pieces of music. Really moving. It’s a whole movie in a four-minute song – drama, comedy, pain, loss, reunification. And dude, you can’t deny that Beatrice Dalle is fucking hot. And she’s all French and shit.”


You Am I, #4 Record
Ra, 1998
“They’re from Australia. I’ve got everything they’ve ever recorded, I think. I hope. This is their fourth record, obviously, and it’s great power-pop rock. It’s very Who-ish. The drummer is clearly Keith Moon–influenced. They’re really good songs. I’m telling you, if you ever get to see these guys live, that’s what rock & roll is about. They’re having fun. They kick ass.”


Nebula, To the Center
Sub Pop, 1999
“I like all Nebula. The last one [Charged, 2001] is even better – I wanted to hear it on the jukebox at 7B [an East Village bar], so I gave it to them. They’re just a three-piece, but you get bathed in this music. I’ll stand right in front of the speakers. It’s like having a really cool dream. I always have notebooks with me and let my mind go when I see bands. It’s like skydiving after the ’chute opens.”


Crooked Fingers, Bring On the Snakes
Warm, 2001
“Crooked Fingers is Eric Bachmann, who fronted Archers of Loaf – which was a great band, but this is nothing like it. He’s very much in the vein of Tom Waits. If you like Tom Waits, Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen, you should definitely get this album. Even if you don’t like that shit, get this, because it’s better.”


Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane over the Sea
Merge, 1998
“This is just brilliant. Jeff Mangum, who does all the music, is really expressive and poetic. He’s part of that current Athens scene: Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control – [the label] Elephant 6 kind of stuff. They all rotate in and out of their bands. It’s beautiful music. Is there anyone I could compare them to? No. There’s a lot of…trombone.”


Cheap Trick, Cheap Trick
Epic, 1977
“They’re a criminally underrated band. They didn’t make one bad album. Rick Nielsen’s amazing. They’re all so tight. They competed with Van Halen and Journey, but this is so much better, man. This is driving, good, solid pop-rock. Lots of beautiful, tasty hooks. They don’t get their due as far as how great and influential and ahead of the curve they were.”


Björn Olsson, Instrumentalmusik
Omplatten, 1999
“There are a handful of record stores where I just trust the staff when they say ‘Get this; it’s great.’ This place on [Manhattan’s] 4th Street, Other Music, is one of them. This is one of their things. It’s very soundtrack-oriented. I walk around with a Walkman, and there are so many occasions where you want to listen to something other than some asshole talking on a cell phone.”


Cat Power, Moon Pix
Matador, 1998
“Chan Marshall – she’s from Atlanta. I was hosting this thing for Matador’s tenth anniversary celebration. When I asked her what she wanted for an introduction, it was, pathetically, like love at first sight. She’s beautiful, but her personality is beautiful as well. Then she does a cover of ‘Satisfaction,’ and it’s one of those rare moments when you know everything’s a little bit different now.”