George Carlin told funnier jokes, but Carlson IS a joke. If I were strictly interpreting the meaning of your question, I would say that while Carlin's jokes were definitely funnier, Carlson's existence, as a joke of a person and a failure in just about every sense, is funnier.
There is nothing funny about Carlin's being; he was one of the last working philosophers and is no longer around to help us make sense of the world around us. And he doesn't wear a hilarious bowtie.
Seeing that this thread addresses his act more than his life/impact (I'll leave it to Wells to play contrarian to the recently dead), it should be acknowledged that death of his wife Brenda back in '97 had a very bitter affect on his routine. There was a sense of hopelessness for people to make any changes in their lives or governments, so why bother? Preferring to remember the decades of previous material, I stayed away from his last HBO specials.
Not that I begrudge a man clearly grieving over the loss of his life-mate. For a man so seeped in 60's counter-culture (albeit arrived at already in progress), it came as surprise to many to learn he remained married to the same woman for his entire adult life.
Am I the only person who agrees with just about everything George Carlin ever says in his stand up (i.e., I'm right on with him on nearly all cultural/political viewpoints), yet finds him to be almost unwatchably unfunny? I never understood why he didn't just become a political commentator, because he has a horrible sense of humor. Or perhaps it's just a generational thing; the facial mugging he does makes me feel like I'm in the Catskills in 1957.
And in addition, I think the generational thing might apply to the cursing angle as well. I think a lot of older people/baby-boomers still get a charge out of hearing him curse and really feel like he's sticking it to the man, but for someone under-30, raised in a culture of South Park and worse, it just comes off as kind of lame - and old man trying to be shocking when there really is no shock value anymore.
And yes, I'm aware of the fact that this state of affairs is largely BECAUSE counter-cultural icons like Carlin made it possible to relax standards of decency, and that's appreciated. It just doesn't translate into appreciation of his art.
I don't know what to say over this untimely passing. I just wish death could take a break from taking our heroes and instead take those that are rushing our world to the end times.
Hey BroadStreet, Carlin wasn't "trying" to be anything other than exactly what and who he was; that's why he managed to stay relevant as a comic and agitator into his seventies. Carlin was a wordsmith, an artist, qualities sorely lacking in most comics today.
There are *plenty* of people under 30 who enjoyed Carlin's material. I imagine the people who don't probably look up to Michael Bay and Judd Apatow for laughs.
No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy.
Edward - the irony is the only guy who could have carried on the torch for Bruce, Pryor & Carlin actually died before Pryor or Carlin over 14 years ago.
His name was Bill Hicks. And so far NO ONE has come close to replacing him.
I'm old enough to remember George Carlin's first few appearances on Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson when Carlin was still wearing a suit, a tie, and a short haircut.
There were things that were great about the 50s and early 60s, and in some ways American culture is poorer now than it was back then. But no kidding, American culture was in a very confining straitjacket as recently as 1965. You couldn't appear as a stand-up comedian on TV without looking like Jack Lemmon's eager-beaver young junior executive in The Apartment.
Even the black stand-ups, like Dick Gregory and Godfrey Cambridge, looked like that. And boy, were they a novelty back then. Look, a Negro comedian on Ed Sullivan!
I'm a big fan of Carlin and sad to hear of his passing but in this clip he's off his rocker. His appeal was always his ability to cut through the bullshit, not feed into it.
I wonder if he noticed the irony of a man railing against a shadow government that oppresses dissent...on national television. And now a blog is transmitting the rant to the rest of the internet.
Sad to say, but Carlin looked sick on his last HBO special. Granted, he beat his body up badly for years, and was 70 years old when the special was taped, but I just sensed something was amiss.
Goodnite George. Even though you were bitter and angry, I thought you had every right to be. This is not an easy world we live in.
"No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy."
I am 24, personally love the humor of guys like Ricky Gervaise, Steve Coogan and Bill Bailey, I doubt i'm what you'd call "middle-brow" and I rarely drink (and when I do, it sure as hell isn't Budweiser) and I can say without a doubt, that at his worst George Carlin was funnier than the lot of them combined at their best.
"No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy."
This is the stupidest fucking comment I've read online in over a month, and that's really saying something. Carlin was so respected because he didn't go for the cheap joke, his humor was based on logic and intelligence and calling out bullshit.
Man, they sure don't make comedians like they used to. Of course, calling Carlin a comedian feels sort of cheap - he was really more of a social and cultural analyst. He will be missed.
I wonder if he noticed the irony of a man railing against a shadow government that oppresses dissent...on national television. And now a blog is transmitting the rant to the rest of the internet.
He would probably say that those in power don't need to oppress dissent, because they exercise their power more subtly than that.
I sometimes wonder if the current power structure is the result of active conscious agents, or just systems and patterns that transcend any individual humans. Or maybe there really is a room where all these guys meet once a month and smoke cigars. Who knows.
comment #1
Edward
says ...
Good stuff. Who'll carry George's torch now that he's giving the Almighty a hard time?
Posted by Edward
at June 23, 2008 9:41 AM
comment #2
tommysunshine
says ...
Was George Carlson really funnier than, say, Tucker Carlson?
Just askin'.
Posted by tommysunshine
at June 23, 2008 10:09 AM
comment #3
tommysunshine
says ...
What I meant to say was George Carlin funnier than, say, Tucker Carlson?
It ain't libellous to ask a question.
Posted by tommysunshine
at June 23, 2008 10:10 AM
comment #4
Devin Faraci
says ...
tommysunshine: yes.
Posted by Devin Faraci
at June 23, 2008 10:55 AM
comment #5
Bocephus
says ...
George Carlin told funnier jokes, but Carlson IS a joke. If I were strictly interpreting the meaning of your question, I would say that while Carlin's jokes were definitely funnier, Carlson's existence, as a joke of a person and a failure in just about every sense, is funnier.
There is nothing funny about Carlin's being; he was one of the last working philosophers and is no longer around to help us make sense of the world around us. And he doesn't wear a hilarious bowtie.
Posted by Bocephus
at June 23, 2008 11:12 AM
comment #6
CinemaPhreek
says ...
Seeing that this thread addresses his act more than his life/impact (I'll leave it to Wells to play contrarian to the recently dead), it should be acknowledged that death of his wife Brenda back in '97 had a very bitter affect on his routine. There was a sense of hopelessness for people to make any changes in their lives or governments, so why bother? Preferring to remember the decades of previous material, I stayed away from his last HBO specials.
Not that I begrudge a man clearly grieving over the loss of his life-mate. For a man so seeped in 60's counter-culture (albeit arrived at already in progress), it came as surprise to many to learn he remained married to the same woman for his entire adult life.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at June 23, 2008 11:20 AM
comment #7
broadstreetbully
says ...
Am I the only person who agrees with just about everything George Carlin ever says in his stand up (i.e., I'm right on with him on nearly all cultural/political viewpoints), yet finds him to be almost unwatchably unfunny? I never understood why he didn't just become a political commentator, because he has a horrible sense of humor. Or perhaps it's just a generational thing; the facial mugging he does makes me feel like I'm in the Catskills in 1957.
Posted by broadstreetbully
at June 23, 2008 11:23 AM
comment #8
Monument
says ...
Yes sir, I believe you are in a small minority.
Posted by Monument
at June 23, 2008 11:25 AM
comment #9
broadstreetbully
says ...
And in addition, I think the generational thing might apply to the cursing angle as well. I think a lot of older people/baby-boomers still get a charge out of hearing him curse and really feel like he's sticking it to the man, but for someone under-30, raised in a culture of South Park and worse, it just comes off as kind of lame - and old man trying to be shocking when there really is no shock value anymore.
And yes, I'm aware of the fact that this state of affairs is largely BECAUSE counter-cultural icons like Carlin made it possible to relax standards of decency, and that's appreciated. It just doesn't translate into appreciation of his art.
Posted by broadstreetbully
at June 23, 2008 11:27 AM
comment #10
Mumbleboy
says ...
I don't know what to say over this untimely passing. I just wish death could take a break from taking our heroes and instead take those that are rushing our world to the end times.
Posted by Mumbleboy
at June 23, 2008 11:29 AM
comment #11
Monument
says ...
Hey BroadStreet, Carlin wasn't "trying" to be anything other than exactly what and who he was; that's why he managed to stay relevant as a comic and agitator into his seventies. Carlin was a wordsmith, an artist, qualities sorely lacking in most comics today.
Posted by Monument
at June 23, 2008 11:55 AM
comment #12
broadstreetbully
says ...
"Carlin was a wordsmith, an artist, qualities sorely lacking in most comics today."
I couldn't agree more. I just don't think he was much of a comedian, that's all.
Posted by broadstreetbully
at June 23, 2008 12:01 PM
comment #13
D.Z.
says ...
There are *plenty* of people under 30 who enjoyed Carlin's material. I imagine the people who don't probably look up to Michael Bay and Judd Apatow for laughs.
Posted by D.Z.
at June 23, 2008 12:03 PM
comment #14
broadstreetbully
says ...
No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy.
Posted by broadstreetbully
at June 23, 2008 12:09 PM
comment #15
CinemaPhreek
says ...
(forgot to add this)
Edward - the irony is the only guy who could have carried on the torch for Bruce, Pryor & Carlin actually died before Pryor or Carlin over 14 years ago.
His name was Bill Hicks. And so far NO ONE has come close to replacing him.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at June 23, 2008 12:31 PM
comment #16
nemo
says ...
I'm old enough to remember George Carlin's first few appearances on Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson when Carlin was still wearing a suit, a tie, and a short haircut.
There were things that were great about the 50s and early 60s, and in some ways American culture is poorer now than it was back then. But no kidding, American culture was in a very confining straitjacket as recently as 1965. You couldn't appear as a stand-up comedian on TV without looking like Jack Lemmon's eager-beaver young junior executive in The Apartment.
Even the black stand-ups, like Dick Gregory and Godfrey Cambridge, looked like that. And boy, were they a novelty back then. Look, a Negro comedian on Ed Sullivan!
Posted by nemo
at June 23, 2008 12:37 PM
comment #17
Mjs
says ...
"I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy."
And you're basing that on what? Your vast experiences of seeing Carlin in concert?
Idiotic statement.
Posted by Mjs
at June 23, 2008 12:41 PM
comment #18
bb
says ...
I'm a big fan of Carlin and sad to hear of his passing but in this clip he's off his rocker. His appeal was always his ability to cut through the bullshit, not feed into it.
I wonder if he noticed the irony of a man railing against a shadow government that oppresses dissent...on national television. And now a blog is transmitting the rant to the rest of the internet.
Posted by bb
at June 23, 2008 12:46 PM
comment #19
rr3333
says ...
Sad to say, but Carlin looked sick on his last HBO special. Granted, he beat his body up badly for years, and was 70 years old when the special was taped, but I just sensed something was amiss.
Goodnite George. Even though you were bitter and angry, I thought you had every right to be. This is not an easy world we live in.
Posted by rr3333
at June 23, 2008 12:47 PM
comment #20
bents75
says ...
"I wonder if he noticed the irony of a man railing against a shadow government that oppresses dissent...on national television."
It's not television. It's HBO.
Posted by bents75
at June 23, 2008 3:20 PM
comment #21
LOTGA
says ...
"No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy."
I am 24, personally love the humor of guys like Ricky Gervaise, Steve Coogan and Bill Bailey, I doubt i'm what you'd call "middle-brow" and I rarely drink (and when I do, it sure as hell isn't Budweiser) and I can say without a doubt, that at his worst George Carlin was funnier than the lot of them combined at their best.
Posted by LOTGA
at June 23, 2008 8:13 PM
comment #22
Jay T.
says ...
"No, I look to Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Bailey, and others. I think anyone under 30 who finds George Carlin to be funny tends to be a very middle-brow, Budweiser-drinking kind of guy."
This is the stupidest fucking comment I've read online in over a month, and that's really saying something. Carlin was so respected because he didn't go for the cheap joke, his humor was based on logic and intelligence and calling out bullshit.
Man, they sure don't make comedians like they used to. Of course, calling Carlin a comedian feels sort of cheap - he was really more of a social and cultural analyst. He will be missed.
Posted by Jay T.
at June 23, 2008 9:29 PM
comment #23
bluefugue
says ...
I wonder if he noticed the irony of a man railing against a shadow government that oppresses dissent...on national television. And now a blog is transmitting the rant to the rest of the internet.
He would probably say that those in power don't need to oppress dissent, because they exercise their power more subtly than that.
I sometimes wonder if the current power structure is the result of active conscious agents, or just systems and patterns that transcend any individual humans. Or maybe there really is a room where all these guys meet once a month and smoke cigars. Who knows.
Posted by bluefugue
at June 24, 2008 6:26 AM