[kj] OT: Bill Hicks

Brendan Quinn bq at soundgardener.co.nz
Mon Feb 2 06:37:50 EST 2009


http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=Kpmb0SYRGhE

Wow...Superletterman actually had the balls to apologise and question his
own actions in cutting Bill. And be honest about it being him who did it.

Hate it when people do that atonement shit and make it harder to be pissed
off at them.

-----Original Message-----
From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] On
Behalf Of Brendan
Sent: Monday, 2 February 2009 11:59
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)
Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

You'll need half a pound of hash, a hot summer's day and several trips in
order to make that test scientific.


>

> Inspired by all this, I've ripped both HATE RANTS IN E-MINOR by Bill

> Hicks and NO CURE FOR CANCER by Denis Leary onto my iTunes/iPod. Will

> listen to both in their respective entireties this week for a decent

> re-appraisal.

>

> Alex in NYC

>

>

>

> On Feb 1, 2009, at 7:25 PM, Darren A. Peace wrote:

>

>> I think my favourite Aristophanes line is about how rain is God

>> pissing through a sieve. Either from "Frogs" or "Clouds", can't

>> remember which.

>>

>> And I'm thankful that the "comedy is the new rock & roll" nonsense

>> was euthanised. Horrible idea, aggravated by working a while back

>> with a Jongleurs zombie who insisted on using the phrase

>> "observational comedy" in every sentence and then explaining what it

>> means, as though I were both 7 and unable to speak English. Still,

>> he liked the Steve Miller band, and I got him to go to a non-fancy

>> dress board meeting dressed as Roy "Chubby" Brown, so all ended well.

>>

>> Like Hicks (mainly for religious diatribes rather than right-on

>> boredom), think Leary is a weasel-faced also-ran who made the grave

>> mistake of involving himself in that appalling fireman TV series. Meh.

>>

>> Darren

>> Hungerford, UK

>>

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of Brendan Quinn

>> Sent: 31 January 2009 09:25

>> To: 'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)'

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>> I think people taking comedy seriously has something to do with the

>> ancient role of the court jester, poking fun at the King etc. Like

>> Jaz & BPF mentioned in that brief interview that went around a while

>> ago. We expect them to amuse us, but there's also that angle of

>> social critique. Challenging values and challenging authority. With

>> the better comedians that is.you're not really gonna get it from

>> Larry the Cable Guy, or Seinfeld (but you *might* from Larry David).

>> Christ if I remember back far enough (Classical Studies at school in

>> '91) there was a Greek slave comic playwright who took the piss out

>> of those in power, Aristophanes.and even though he was a slave who

>> viciously & publicly ridiculed those in power, he got away with it

>> because he did it with great humour. It's hard to feel outrage about

>> something when an entire auditorium is cracking up about it...

>>

>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophanes

>>

>> So elevating a comic who challenges the status quo to heroic

>> proportions isn't anything new.

>>

>> Hicks always said he attacked things that offended his sense of

>> reason, and after hearing that and going back over his stuff, it's

>> quite a theme. Not that it's anything unique in comedy. But the

>> extent to which he's worshipped, I stand by it - hence the staunch

>> defence, 15+ years after the event. No one has ever made me laugh as

>> hard and at the same time articulated a sense of outrage at the

>> primitive state of civilisation. Basically take your peak

>> experiences with whatever art or literature or whatever that has

>> really elevated your consciousness, that's how it felt for me,

>> listening to Hicks for the first time. So yeah, he's up there with

>> Hendrix and Robert Anton Wilson and Soundgarden and my other heroes,

>> but not because of some cult of personality or posthumous popularity.

>>

>> And I can forgive the bits where he goes over the top, to the same

>> extent I forgive Jaz for the same. Seems to go hand in hand with

>> 'being out there'.

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of Brendan Quinn

>> Sent: Saturday, 31 January 2009 19:44

>> To: 'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)'; 'Alex Smith'

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>> Oh no how'd we get into this? I thought I was raising an in joke

>> between Ade and me re SG vs STP to a) illustrate how I felt about

>> Hicks vs Leary, and b) make sure that it was taken light-heartedly.

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of ade

>> Sent: Saturday, 31 January 2009 08:40

>> To: Alex Smith; A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>> > PS: Soundgarden is, was, and e'er shall be LIGHT YEARS better than

>> STP.

>>

>> I'm sure they are mate, but how do I *make* myself like Soundgarden

>> & not like STP ? What I actually said was that I preferred STP is

>> all. I'm supposed to be wrong, how?

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ]On Behalf Of Alex Smith

>> Sent: 30 January 2009 21:09

>> To: ade; A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>> I saw Leary perform 'No Cure for Cancer' live in a tiny club in the

>> West Village, thanks.

>>

>> Hicks is funny, but has since become deified to ridiculous degrees.

>> Also, Hicks had a tiresomely sanctimonious quality to his work which

>> made me enjoy it less than Leary's.

>>

>> My opinion.

>>

>> Alex in NYC

>>

>> PS: Soundgarden is, was, and e'er shall be LIGHT YEARS better than

>> STP.

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: ade

>> Sent: Jan 30, 2009 3:30 PM

>> To: Alex Smith , "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)"

>> Subject: RE: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>> I get the feeling you've not actually seen the material that I argue

>> (amongst many others) Leary

>> clearly ripped from Hicks. In that case, how can you pass judgement?

>>

>> I loved Leary's 'No Cure for Cancer', until I got into Hicks. I

>> couldn't believe I was hearing the

>> same jokes VERY DISTINCTIVE jokes being repeated right back at me -

>> that totally destroyed

>> No Cure for cancer for me.

>>

>> Keep your fingers in your ears, it's only my opinion.

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ]On Behalf Of Alex Smith

>> Sent: 30 January 2009 18:38

>> To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!); 'A list about

>> all things Killing Joke (the band!)'

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>> The perils and ramifications of smoking aren't really "niche"

>> material. You may not like Dennis Leary -- fair enough -- but to

>> accuse him of ripping off Hicks in that capacity is pretty unfair.

>>

>> Alex in NYC

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: Brendan Quinn

>> Sent: Jan 30, 2009 12:46 PM

>> To: "'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)'"

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>> We were comparing them because they covered similar material, that

>> I'm pretty sure Hicks came up with and Leary stole. Specifically the

>> voicebox gag. I could be wrong, but that's the accusation.

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of Alex Smith

>> Sent: Saturday, 31 January 2009 03:59

>> To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!); 'A list about

>> all things Killing Joke (the band!)'

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>> You seem to be equating them merely on the fact that they're both

>> "angry" comedians. That's not much to go on. I mean, why not toss

>> Don Rickles into the mix too, then?

>>

>> Alex in NYC

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: Brendan Quinn

>> Sent: Jan 30, 2009 10:31 AM

>> To: "'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)'"

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Not a fair comparison.because?

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of Alexander Smith

>> Sent: Friday, 30 January 2009 23:15

>> To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>>

>> Dennis Leary is rarely as earnest and sanctimonious as Bill Hicks

>> was capable of being. I love both, but it's not really a fair

>> comparison.

>>

>> Alex in NYC

>>

>>

>>

>> On Jan 30, 2009, at 1:34 AM, Brendan Quinn wrote:

>>

>>

>> Let Hicks=Soundgarden, and Let Leary=Stone Temple Pilots

>>

>> If Soundgarden=TotalGodheadOnEarth and STP=BigFatYawn, then Leary=?

>>

>> Please show working.

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of ade

>> Sent: Friday, 30 January 2009 07:24

>> To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>> LOL, don't forget Denis Leary ;)

>>

>> From wikipeedo: 'an industry joke began to circulate about Leary's

>> transformation and subsequent success (roughly; "Question: Why is

>> Denis Leary a star while Bill Hicks is unknown? Answer: Because

>> there's no cure for cancer"'

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ]On Behalf Of Brendan Quinn

>> Sent: 29 January 2009 04:57

>> To: 'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)'

>> Subject: Re: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>> The only other comedians I'd put in that category (and none as good

>> as Hicks) would be George Carlin, and lately, Joe Rogan, who's a

>> surprising find actually.

>>

>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grcqs9cDuN8

>>

>> PS: I haven't watched this in ages so apologies if it sucks, but

>> from memory it's pretty cool.

>>

>> From: gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net

>> ] On Behalf Of Bette Dillinger

>> Sent: Thursday, 29 January 2009 12:34

>> To: gathering at misera.net

>> Subject: [kj] OT: Bill Hicks

>>

>>

>> Hey everyone!

>> Strange, angering, yet I am still gonna try to catch it. In the

>> US David Letterman will be showing on Friday, the 30th, 11:30 EST

>> the routine of Bill Hicks' that was never aired by Letterman in 1994

>> because it was considered too "controversial". The routine that

>> sullied his relationship with the media to a degree.

>>

>> His mother Mary will also be a guest (the irony that the legal

>> executor of the estate is the ex attorney for Billy Ray Cyrus, but

>> then you can't make this shit up.).........

>> Damn, it has been 14 years! Are there any comedians that are flying

>> under the radar that should be checked out? I am still looking for

>> one whose voice is so resonant with truth and humour.

>>

>> Bette

>> size=2 width="100%" align=center>

>> Windows LiveT: E-mail. Chat. Share. Get more ways to connect. Check

>> it out.

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