We are a mere 3 days from Loudon Wainwright III’s Portland performance (Monday, September 17th at the Aladdin Theater), so in honor of this great—and tragically underrated—songwriter coming to town, we’re posting one song a day, all the way up until showtime. Yes, even on the weekend! If you are already a fan, you won’t mind hearing these songs again, but if you are not familiar with his work, consider this a crash course.

In this ongoing tribute to LWIII I don’t want to ignore a large part of his lengthy catalog—his humorous songs. While I tend to prefer the more somber material, there is something very charming about the man’s painfully self-deprecating songwriting style.

MP3:
Loudon Wainwright III - Talking New Bob Dylan

Here LWIII rags on himself as just another in a long line of Dylan clones, tosses a couple jabs at Dylan’s weaker material (Self Portrait), and worries about hearing “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” (with the classic lyric “Everybody must get stoned!”) coming from his daughter’s bedroom.