''I Am Not Homer'' is a 2002 comedy album by actor and comedian

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

, with additional input by his wife

Deb Lacusta Deborah Lacusta (born March 15, 1958) is an American television writer and actress. Personal life Lacusta is married to ''The Simpsons'' star Dan Castellaneta (who voices Homer Simpson among many other characters). They met at an improvisationa ...

. The album is a collection of comedy sketches written and performed by Castellaneta and Lacusta, and was the follow-up to Castellaneta's previous all-music album ''Two Lips''. The title of the album is a reference to

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

's first autobiography, ''

I Am Not Spock ''I Am Not Spock'' is Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography. Published in 1975, between the end of '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'' and the production of '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', the book was criticized by some fans because of the per ...

'', and a majority of the sketches were material that the pair had used before in their careers, but no longer performed live.

Production

A majority of the sketches had been written and performed before the CD was recorded, and Castellaneta thought that it would be a good idea to preserve them "since e and Lacustadon't perform them much anymore." Some came from their sketch series on a local radio station in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and had to be lengthened from the "two-minute bits" that they were originally, while several others were stage sketches performed in a comedy club in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. Additionally, "Citizen Kane", a sketch in which two people discuss the film ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' with different meanings, was something the pair had performed at an art gallery. Castellaneta noted that "we already knew that these skits were funny, utsome of them we polished and tightened." The skits were principally written by improvising from a basic point, transcribing the results and then editing them to the finished scene. Castellaneta chose the title ''I Am Not Homer'' as a parody of

's famous first autobiography ''

'', as well as to show that most of the comedy featured "is not the typical

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

comedy." It was also a reference to the fact that many people do not know anything about Castellaneta's comedy career away from ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''.

Reception

Canadian writer, Jenny Yuen, gave the CD a mixed review, noting "some funny moments", but "the sketches barely match annoying bickering one could listen to on an episode of ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

''". She did, however, praise the final track, "So Dumb", which features Castellaneta singing a song as his main characters from ''The Simpsons'': Homer,

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the List of animated television series, animated television series ''The Si ...

Abraham Simpson Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled " Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on ...

Barney Gumble Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is the to ...

and

Groundskeeper Willie William MacMoran MacDougal, better known as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the head groundskeeper and Janitor at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is almost feral in nature ...

. Bradley Torreano found that there are "a few very funny sketches, but in the long run this is a very average comedy album that only inspires the occasional chuckle".

Track listing

All skits are performed by Castellaneta and Lacusta, except for "So Dumb" which is a solo monologue performed by Castellaneta. # "AM Therapy" – 8:04 # "Badger Baseball" – 5:00 # "Elvus" – 5:28 # "Rocks Off" – 6:48 # "Horoscope" – 2:16 # "Dynamite Sales" – 8:14 # "Drive Time" – 10:19 # "Citizen Kane" – 4:54 # "So Dumb (Homer's Lament)" – 7:20

References

External links

I Am Not Homer ''I Am Not Homer'' is a 2002 comedy album by actor and comedian Dan Castellaneta, with additional input by his wife Deb Lacusta. The album is a collection of comedy sketches written and performed by Castellaneta and Lacusta, and was the follow-u ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{Authority control 2002 albums Dan Castellaneta albums Oglio Records albums