Tim Minchin

Today's post is about a brilliant musician-comedian who even though has toured the world, still doesn't get as much recognitionas as we think he should in the big US of A . His name: Tim Minchin.

Who he is: Tim Minchin is an Australian musical comedian, actor, and poet. With his dark comedy he covers all, from taboos to religion. He has been touring the world with his sold-out shows in Europe and Australia. But even though he gathered a sort of "cult following" after living in New York City, he failed to hit popularity in America. We think that this is because he is a self-proclaimed atheist and tends to heavily criticize organized religion. However, even though Tim Minchin does critique a lot, he does not think that he himself is perfect and pokes fun at himself as well (as seen in the song "Rock n' Roll Nerd").

Mr. Minchin has won numerous comedy-awards, including Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He's also been on several comedy television shows in Britain - where most of his fans reside - such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Mock the Week, as well as playing the title roles in the plays Amadeus and Hamlet. He has (very) recently gotten his show Rock + Roll Nerd: The Tim Minchin Story put on the air, however it is currently only showing on ABC1 (in Australia).


Why we love him: Don't let his looks frighten you, children! Though he does wear mascara, has chemically-straightened hair and his usual choice of clothing is a Bohemian coat, underneath all of that, is an intelligent funny, and a slightly shy man. To the stage he brings a combination of satire, "biting lyrics" and some serious pop.

We had a chance of seeing Tim Minchin on stage in London when he was part of the "9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People" show. There, he performed a brilliant "9-minute beat poem" which he has recently dubbed as "Storm". He is first a musician and then a comedian, this can be seen straight away as he sits down to play the piano. However, it is commonly overseen because we are not able to process that the man isn't just telling jokes, but he's put it into a brilliant song backed up by his incredible piano playing.


Notable Tours/DVDs:

• Dark Side (2005) - considered as one of his "break out" shows.
• So Rock (2006)
• Ready For This? (2009)

Our Recommendation: If you have never seen or heard of Tim Minchin, we would recommend his songs "Rock n' Roll Nerd", "Inflatable You", and "Bears Don't Dig On Dancing". Tweet us (@Music_Is_Free) for the free downloads.


Coming Up Next: An American band we hope you will enjoy.