Today a very funny comedian friend of mine(Sean Quinlan or @seanquinlan17 on Twitter - follow him!) posted a video on Facebook that inspired this post. The video contains clips from Bill Hicks and George Carlin linked together through auto-tune in an inspiring song that should be heard by all.
First some background on the video for some context before the main event. The video was produced by John D. Boswell AKA melodysheep(@musicalscience) who produces YouTube videos aimed at hitting the viewers soul. This video was posted one week ago and has garnered over 53,000 hits and with a good word of mouth campaign we can make this his most viewed yet.
The first clip is from Bill Hicks' comedy special "Revelations"(1993) in which he closed the show with the bit "It's Just a Ride".
The second clip is from George Carlin's comedy special "Jammin in New York"(1992) in which he is talking about how the planet is fine and will continue to be fine long after the human species is gone.
Finally Mr. Boswell added some inspirational music and wonderful scenes from around the world to complete, in my opinion, one of the best videos on YouTube.
There is not a single living human being who can say that they know with 100% certainty what is waiting for us on the "other side". It is foolish to think otherwise. We need to treat each other with love and respect today, not because some book told us to, but because it's the right thing to do.
Okay, now I get it. I'll start with a small confession before I go too far into my review of "Bill Hicks: Love All The People". Truthfully, before I started reading "Love All The People", I knew very little of Bill Hicks. He had become something of a mythical creature to me because I could never seem to find any recordings of his at the local record store. His name, while often mentioned as being a "Legend" in the comedy world, is rarely highlighted to the same extent of say a Carlin, Pryor or even Bruce. All I really knew about him was that he was considered a "Legend" and that he had a no-nonsense approach to comedy and getting his message across.
"Love All The People" opens with a brief foreword/biography of Hicks life that is incredibly beautiful and moving. Although I had just started learning about the man, by the time I had reached the description of his death there was a tear in my eye. I realized at that moment this book was going to do more than just make me laugh. "Love All The People" is essentially a collection of transcripts highlighting some of the more memorable performances of Bill Hicks career. As someone who was diving head first into my first exploration of Hicks style of comedy I found it to be incredibly satisfying. Although you do miss out on his timing and delivery the words themselves force you to understand where this man was coming from.
"Love All The People" has only one major flaw and that is it can be repetitive. Often times two shows that are transcribed as back-to-back chapters may contain only a single "joke" that appears to be different or that the order of the material is now being used differently. While the idea of being able to see how a comedian(especially someone of Hicks status) evolves his material and performance was fascinating for myself as a comic I'm not sure how much the average reader would enjoy this.
"Love All The People" truly shines when Hicks is responding to questions from fans or interviewers, it is at these moments where he is speaking from the heart and with passion that you get the sense that this man was not operating on the same level as the rest of us. He had a vision for the world and all it's surroundings that speaks to your inner voice as being sound and reasonable requests from humanity. You may not agree with everything he said or the manner in which he chose to say it but you cannot disagree with the overall theme of his comedy, his writing or his life: Love All The People.
Lewis Black is probably best known for his work on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and his popular "Back in Black" segment where he rants on something that is bothering him and hurting society. If you have never seen a Lewis Black comedy special before it is very much a unique experience compared to what you are used to and he warns the audience of this before the show gets started. First off, Lewis does not move around much while on stage. With the exception of his occasional "outburst" of anger it is very much just a man with a mic. Secondly, Lewis is not simply up on stage telling a "traditional joke" with a set-up and punchline, no, Lewis is a truth teller and his aim is to make you use your mind.
In "In God We Rust" Lewis tackles everything from Valentine's Day to iPhones and nearly everything in between touching on the War on Terror and Facebook. Watching Lewis share his thoughts, ideas and experiences is as captivating as it is funny. He keeps the energy up and slams home emphasis where it's needed. However this special will not be for everyone. As I eluded to earlier this is not a traditional comedy special. You will not be laughing with tears in your eyes and quoting it later with your friends. You will be a better person for seeing it though and your brain will thank you.
I found writing this review to be incredibly challenging for the simple fact that there are so few comedians like Black performing these days. He is an original. In "In God We Rust" Black comes across as much as a preacher or prophet as he does a comedian. Are there other comedy specials out there that will make you laugh more? Sure, but I'll doubt you'll find one that makes you think and feel more. In the vein of Hicks and Carlin, Black simply tells truths and forces you to laugh at the absurdity of the world we live in.
As I'm sure you have all heard by now we lost another clown this week. I found out while on a break at work and I have to say it affected me for the rest of my shift. Whenever we lose someone who makes people laugh the world, as a whole, suffers.
If Rodney Dangerfield was the King of self-deprecating humor Phyllis was surely the Queen. Her style of comedy was straightforward and pure. Her humor was quick one-line punches that always felt fresh and could entertain for hours.
Since her passing all the major media outlets have had pieces run about Phyllis and while all have put emphasis on her place in comedy history and have been informational I have found that the best article/quote on the matter has come from TMZ. TMZ spoke with Joan Rivers who said " The only tragedy in [Diller's] entire life is that she was funny in an era when you had to look funny to be funny."
The pioneers of modern comedy are slowly passing away and with each one the world becomes a sadder place. All we can hope for is that with the advent of YouTube their images, their words, their thoughts and their ideas continue to live on and inspire generations of clowns for years to come.
There are few people in North America who have not heard of Jerry Seinfeld. He was a wildly popular stand-up comic during the stand-up comedy boom of the 80's and early 90's. He found his way to success the way every comedian dreams of - he honed his craft in the clubs, he got on the tonight show and then got his own sitcom - during those boom years this was every comedians goal. Seinfeld just did it better those before him and it's arguable that no one has done it better since.
During the early stages of his incredibly successful sitcom "Seinfeld", Jerry capitalized on his fame and released a book filled with his material.(This also became a common step in the stages of success for comedians, Drew Carey, Jeff Foxworthy and Chris Rock to name a few put out books when their popularity hit a certain level). I was only nine years old when this book came out and while I was familiar with Seinfeld the show, I was not familiar with Seinfeld the comedian. When I finally reached that peak age of obsession I decided this would be a book that I would one day own and read however this turned out to be a rather exhausting experience. Trying to find a book that was initially published in 1993 in a genre that the bookstores do not generally offer much shelf space to even the new releases proved to be difficult. I did manage to find a copy in a downtown Toronto bookstore and I promptly read the hell out of this book.
"SeinLanguage" is as exactly as I described it earlier, it's a collection of Seinfeld's material in written form. If you are even remotely familiar with Seinfeld the comedian, many of the bits will be familiar but there are tons of material that you will likely have not heard. Based upon how many jokes are based off of antiquated technology it's not wonder much of this book felt like fresh material to my eyes. He jokes on answering machines and car phones and these bits do not hit as hard today as they would have when people still used answering machines and car phones. Regardless, "SeinLanguage" is at it's best when Seinfeld is talking about the mundane and ordinary. It's what Jerry has made his career off of and its those bits that still have an element of truth almost twenty years later that will make you laugh out loud or lol. So be forewarned if you plan on reading this on the subway or in a crowed cafeteria.
Many(or all) of these bits have since been retired by Jerry in his comedy special, "I'm telling you for the last time." and his return to stand-up with all new material was wonderfully documented in the movie "Comedian." I have since had the opportunity to see Jerry perform live and loved his new material. It's very family oriented and geared toward the "joys" of having a family and family responsibilities.
SeinLanguage is one of the easiest reads I have ever had and truth be told, because I was so excited to read it, I plowed through it which I know affected the timing and delivery of the jokes in my mind. So my recommendation would be to find yourself some time when you can read it slowly and hear Seinfeld reading the book to you. Unless of course you have enough money then just hire him to actually read it to you.
An excerpt from the introduction of SeinLangauge:
"But the pressure is on you now. This book is filled with funny ideas but you have to provide the delivery. So when you read it, remember - timing, inflection, attitude. That's comedy. I've done my part. The performance is up to you."
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.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Seth MacFarlane
Release Date: June 29th, 2012
I have a saying I used to like to pass along to my employees when I was in a position of power and that was, "They don't always respect that smartest guy in the room but they generally respect the hardest working." After watching "Ted" I get the sense that Seth MacFarlane is always both. There is no denying his work ethic(voice actor, writer, director, animator, producer and singer) or his quality of work(numerous Emmy nominations and wins as well as a Grammy nomination for his debut album) so it should come as no surprise that his debut film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in years.
MacFarlane writes, directs, produces and stars in Ted the story about a man and his teddy bear. What happens when an eight year-old boy has his wish come true and his teddy bear comes to life to be his best friend? They both grow up, they get jobs, they meet women and they experiment. And as in every man and teddy bear relationship there comes a time when Man(Mark Wahlberg) must choose between the love of his life(Mila Kunis) and his bear(Seth MacFarlane).
If you are familiar MacFarlane, you will be familiar with his style of comedy. It can appear random, it can be biting, edgy or shocking, it will be no holds bard and no topic will be off limits, but most of all, it will be funny. Right from the opening scene MacFarlane sets the tone for the movie getting the audience it's first belly laugh and it just continues from there. Ted is wonderfully animated and feels right at home on screen with the his two "A list" actor co-stars. It may seem odd but the chemistry between the three is remarkable. The surprising thing to me is that the shock value of seeing a teddy bear curse and drink(along with several other things) never really wears off.
However MacFarlane does not rely solely on Ted to carry the movie. He develops a solid love story/triangle with Wahberg and Kunis and this movie does have moments where it felt a bit like a romantic comedy. He keeps the pacing brisk and the laughs coming.
Over the years I've seen a lot of comedies and even the worst screenwriter can string together some cliches and get a laugh that's why so many of my reviews start off positive but usually end with a form of criticism However this movie does not get that from me. This is a star studded, finely written, well directed and niccly paced comedy that deserves your time and money.
