James Hutchinson

Did you like Wizard People, Dear Reader the unauthorized “book on tape” narration of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Do you still think it’s one of the most hysterically absurd and gutmunching pieces of content you’ve ever listened to (or preferably “watched”) even though it’s been 10-15 years since it first pleasured your earholes? Well, I have tremendous news for our tiny small audience: this is like Wizard People, Dear Reader but 10 hours long if you listen to Neely’s audiobook. *10 hours* of hilarious wordplay, purposefully purple prose, weird extended metaphors that collapse in on themselves, descriptions that verge on abstract art, titillating anachronisms, odd fixations, even odder islands of insight, and, perhaps above all else, Neely’s utterly transfixing vocal performance as the “narrator” which probably remains one of my favorite comedic performances/characters of the 21st century. Gosh, even the 19th century. Neely is something of an underground comedy creator that prospered on Youtube years ago producing deceptively crude but in actual fact inventive and fiendishly smart shorts like The Professor Brothers etc. that are god’s gift to plebs like us. He had a show on Adult Swim called China, Il based on some his Youtube characters that ran for two seasons. It was funny and frequently brilliant. He is a completely unique creator and probably some kind of genius that the internet allowed us to enjoy. I allow that he might not appeal to all tastes but neither does Monty Python.