Thursday, August 2, 2012

George Carlin: On Comedy - A Review


George Carlin on Comedy
Release Date: March 12, 2002

    Some years ago when I first began to start taking comedy seriously and was thinking about giving it my first go at an "open mic" I stumbled across "George Carlin on Comedy"(GCOC). "George Carlin on Comedy" is an audio CD that was released on the Laugh.com record label and it's website boasts "You'll find out how Carlin became a star, and how you can be one too." As an aspiring comedian, who better to learn from than the person I idolize most I thought?

    I can remember listening and re-listening to this CD back then as I prepared and practiced my routine and this week as I was preparing to go back on stage for the first time in five years, I found it, dusted it off and gave it a listen for some last minute inspiration.

  What I found was some interesting insights from arguably the greatest comedian of all time. The interview is conducted by Larry Wilde over the course of several separate interviews that were edited together to produce something comprehensive and helpful. In the liner notes it states "This interview was recorded long ago on analog tape in the subject's office, home or dressing room and therefore may contain background noise, tape hiss and other anomalies associated with early recording equipment." Which does help explain why the interview appears, broken or scattered and there are times when the sound is far from ideal.

    GGOC is divided into two parts: Part One is mostly a brief biography of George's life and his take on growing up and how it affected his future on stage. Part Two is mainly his take on the industry, his habits, routines and his advice for a new comedian. Part One is for the comedy nerd in all of us. Part Two is for those of us who dare brave the blinding lights and risk hearing crickets after spending hours crafting a joke that we believe will change the world like Carlin's "7 Dirty Words".

    It's hard not to recommend listening to Carlin do anything let alone provide some candid insight into what he feels are prerequisites to becoming a comedian and how the industry works. Will you find out how to become a star comedian as the website claims? No, because as with anything the only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice but if your looking to aide your motivation along, this is as good a place to start as any.


This is normally where I would put a clip of some kind from the said item being reviewed however finding any additional information about this CD proved to be very difficult instead I have chosen a clip of Carlin being interviewed by Jon Stewart. Two of my idols on the same stage. 






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