[kj] OT: Bill Hicks

[Leigh Newton]

Leary gets a free pass for life all because of the TV show Rescue Me. 

 http://www.nightruiner.com
http://www.myspace.com/thesunthroughatelescope
http://www.myspace.com/lauderdale




________________________________
From: Brendan Quinn <bq at soundgardener.co.nz>
To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!) <gathering at misera.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 4:25:05 AM
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       

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