Spotty Outlet. Not providing enough amps?

So we've got an outlet in our living room that's acting really, really strange. A few weeks ago our lamp started flickering a little but. Nothing much, just a little now and then. Next, the outlet wouldn't power our laptops. I realized though, as soon as I turned on the lamp, the outlet would immediately provide power to our laptops. It's like the lamp completed the circuit or something. Now, it's like, completely dead, and can't power either. It provides just enough power to turn on the little led on the power brick for a few moments, then fizzle out. I'm baffled. Besides one-line answers telling me to be safe and call the electrician, any tips or ideas what's wrong?