A Quick Glimpse of the 2008 Comedian (and One Comedienne) Grammy Nominees

In 2003, the Grammy Awards brought back the nomination for the best comedy album, which was won that year by Weird Al Yankovich. Jon Stewart, Chris Rock and Lewis Black followed as winners for 2004, '05 and '06. With so many humorous and talented comics on the market it seems to me to be a disgrace to have only one sole winner for the entire year.

It is hardly the case that comics are lazy and haven't done anything worthy of a Grammy. The opportunities for a serious career in comedy have been plundered with free speech being belittled on a regular basis. Many professional comics have been relegated to the underground while the slew of reality shows continues to hurt the eyeballs with "comics" who don't know a punch line from a beeline. Seasoned comedians have released enough new comedy albums and tours have managed to sell out, so there really should be a Grammy for best male comic, best female comedienne, best spoken-word comedy and best musical comedy. Comics just never get any respect.

Here's a brief moment of this year's Grammy nominees for the Best Comedy Album (comedy recordings, spoken or musical):

George Lopez

America's Mexican, Comedy Central Records

A fellow San Fernando Valley, California native, George Lopez is best known for being America's favorite Mexican comic. He went through some beef where comic Carlos Mencia accused Lopez of stealing Mencia's comedy material for the HBO special of this nominated album but that has never been proven. In a world where criminals are given substantial news coverage and famous sluts are rewarded with millions, will the alleged stolen moments of comedy be worthy of another award?

Visit him on the web or download America's Mexican at www.georgelopez.com

Lisa Lampanelli

Dirty Girl, Warner Bros.

She has been dubbed as being "the Queen of Mean" by the media and could probably kick my ass with her cigar. Lisa Lampanelli is notoriously funny for her Friars' Club roasts and has popped out some clever lines cooking up William Shatner, Jeff Foxworthy and Pam Anderson to a crisp.

Dirty Girl is her second full-length CD and can be sampled at www.insultcomic.com

The Distant Future