David Cross

As a co-founder of the fiercely lauded sketch comedy program Mr. Show, David Cross may be the only comedian working today who has the cult stature and intensity to not seem out of place on the indie rock label Sub Pop. It's Not Funny, his second album, has all of the venom and wit of his double-disc debut, Shut Up, You Fucking Baby!, and it's missing much of the shambling discursiveness that marred that album. Cross is a proud iconoclast and political activist, but, unlike most activists, he's also intensely funny.

Cross is still flogging the same scarred horse of George W. Bush and his war on terror, but he's continuing to get in some good licks and the damn thing isn't dead yet . . . not that Cross isn't trying.

The main problem with Funny is that, even though it was recorded this January, Cross is so topical that some of the bits have aged like milk. It's a little like watching a six-month-old episode of The Daily Show. With Cross' intense following and brief shelf life, Sub Pop might be better off streaming his concerts live on the Web rather than take the time to package them up.

(Be sure to wait for the hidden track at the end of the disc: a hilarious account of Cross meeting Creed singer Scott Stapp.)