Would he be having a field day ripping apart all the *beep* politics, global warming hypocrisies and appalling TV shows that permeate our culture?
Or would he kill himself in abject despair at what the human race has become?
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Oh yes! the last eight years with bush would've been a goldmine and this election he'd probably he would call McCain a spawn of satan, Obama full of hot air, and lest we forget how much fun he would have with Palin. He might've gotten a few good ones in with how much of a kook Ron Paul was. Bill Hicks RIP Comedy's dark poet your words ring true.
shareif hicks were alive today, he would be a shadow of his former self, which admittedley wasn't that great to begin with. And I DO know comedey. befor any of you say anything. George Carlin was the best American stand-up ever
If anyone out there is watching/has watched the entire top 250, please could you PM me.
Heh. You may 'know' comedy but you sure don't know how to type it.
Sorry, dude. It's a cheap laugh at your expense, but your unintentional set-up was too perfect to pass up. Forgive me.
And, yes...Hicks was that great, and even greater, to begin with. And he gets to rest on his laurels forever because he died too soon. Better than Carlin? Well...that is up to personal taste. Hicks was a RESULT of the legendary Carlin, that's for sure. But, there are others who would see your Carlin and raise you a Pryor in terms of Best American stand-up ever. It's endlessly debatable.
All this talk of comparisons and influences and not one *beep* mention of probably the greatest influence on Hicks' early development as a stand up - Sam Kinison. Jus' sayin'. Kinison may not have been as PC as Hicks but, boy, he sure knew how to leave an audience in stitches.
sharehicks act was basically a massively watered down version of carlin. less funny, less technical, less intellectual ...etc. he might have meant good, but overall he was rather mediocre. The question is rather if his schtick would have become boring to his fans as time would have passed by. considering his portfolio after his hardcore drunk phase, it was basically all the same and i doubt that he would have improved over the years.
As for Kinison, he was more promising, but seemed to be on the wrong way.
ref "And I DO know comedey"
Just not how to spell it.
just because you can name drop carlin doesn't mean you know comedy.
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Its pretty silly to argue about who the best stand-up comic was, totally a matter of personal taste. All I know is that Bill Hicks was and is by far my favorite comic.
Does anyone know when this will be available in the states? This is the first I've heard about it.
I just watched it on netflix. It's available there. Brillant documentary, and I'm not one for them.
sharepuuhleease. bill hicks is your god. you must have been one of the ones he screamed at and made fun of at his shows that the rest of us laughed our asses off at!
Please Don't Bother Me, I'm Watching Something Else Now.
If you can laugh then you know "comedey." Don't dictate to people what's funny and what's not. For example your spelling skills are *beep*ing hilarious to me - and no one can take that from me.
Vile123 said "He might've gotten a few good ones in with how much of a kook Ron Paul was."
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epic fail
For me, if i had to choose one person to come back it would be him. He has been such an inspiration and a helper for me. Bill is like a modern Nostradamus. The things he said is so actual today, and will be for a long, long time. I´ve have NEVER seen a stand up and or "public guy" tell his jokes and take stand like Bill did. He was here to send a message to us all that you have to say whats on your *beep* mind. Have always did that thanks to him. And i always will. Life is so much easyer when you do. He is the best performer ever. And it will be never anyone like him again. He saw the world like it is, before things even happened. I show all his things for every new person i know. I agree on all that he says. It is so spot on. Good thread!! I´ts just a ride...Peace!!
share Bill Hicks IS alive today. Let's see if people are doing tributes to ANY other comedian every 5 years on the anniversary of their death!
2009 brings us "BILL HICKS LIVES" a series of WORLD WIDE simultaneous tributes (& one a day late in Camden England) on Feb 26th in Portland, Austin, Oklahoma City & more. Check around for one near you or start your own. For more info go to billhicks.com or billhicks.org
Yes, Carlin is one of the greatest to have walked the stage but he got old & bitter near the end, losing some of his edge.
If Bill were literally alive today (Jan 20, 2009) he'd be celebrating that Bush II is leaving office. "The elephant is dead... again"!!
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I honestly think had he lived he would have HATED the eight years of Bush and might've even moved out of the country to escape those Fundamentalist right-wingers he was so passionate against in a lot of his material. I don't think he would have killed himself I think he would have done his best to use his comedy and influence to make the world a better (or at least a funnier) place...
He would have HATED the fact that Bush "won" and probably would've talked as much about the 2000 Election fraud as he did about the Kennedy Assassination and I almost guarantee he would be one of the ones to question whether 9/11 transpired the way the government said it did...
If he had lived the world would have been a much brighter place, too many of the voices of reason have died out, first Hicks at a very young age, now Carlin is gone too...
"Shepherd Book once said to me, 'If you can't do something smart, do something right' "
I believe if Bill were still alive he would have moved to the UK around the time of Bush's re-election in 2004 (if he hadn't already). That would have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.
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He probably would've moved to France, like Robert Crumb did.
sharevery interesting question.
He`d prolly do both. Like a combo thing. He would rip up Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, then take a gun to the head and say:"I want my rock stars DEEAAD!!!" KABLAAM
Peace
Bill would call Ron Paul a kook? Bill would agree with Ron Paul on many issues. He may have been aware on Ron when he was alive as Ron Paul was involved in politics in Texas as a Libertarian.
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I just finished reading "American Scream"...sheeesh. I almost couldn't even read the last few chapters when he found out about his cancer...soooo sad. He was one of the greats, not just in comedy, but in humanity. His work was far from being done, I would give anything to hear him do a bit about Sara Palin. Maybe someday, if there is a Heaven. Heaven to me would be a never ending Bill Hicks set...
Here's one for you, Bill:
(to be read in Hicks' voice/cadence)
What has happened to comedy today? Bill Hicks...DEAD George Carlin...DEAD Larry the Cable Guy...selling out venues all over the *beep* united states. Pitiful, just pitiful. We need to find a way to make cancer contagious. Stick with me, here. We need to find a way to make cancer contagious, and then soak every sleevless, flannel shirt in the *beep* nation with it and then just sit back and watch SAT scores begin to skyrocket in the next five years.
It's been agreed the whole world stinks, so no one's taking showers anymore.
I just finished too. It was a well written, and very interesting to know the details behind the censoring of Bill Hicks. I too was sad when I read about his cancer, it was devastating, but at the same time, he went out with family around him, in a peaceful way it seemed.
If Bill Hicks were alive today? Seriously? Too easy.
First he'd laugh for a couple minutes in that Bill Hicks laugh of his, then he'd say "IIIII *beep* told you so" in that Bill Hicks tone of voice, and then he'd remind us ONCE AGAIN that we all deserve to die with our planet as we the human race are nothing more than "a virus with shoes".
I have quite the Bill Hicks collection,in fact I'm listening to Rant in E Minor right now, never knew they did a documentary until today....can't wait to get my hands on it.
I first heard Bill in 2002, and it's kind of sad in a way that what he was saying then is even more true now.
There's been quite a few times that I swear I can hear him turning in his grave.
*There's a difference between women and girls, and it's not age*
*We are the wierdos mister*
Fantastic, just marvelous. You've captured his attitude, opinions, and style exactly! I could hear his very distinctive voice saying that over and over again in my head. Bravo!
shareHe was one of the greats, not just in comedy, but in humanity
Bill would call Ron Paul a kook? Bill would agree with Ron Paul on many issues.
First of all, everybody agrees with (almost) everybody on "some issues." Yet, if you think Hicks would have anything but contempt for Ron Paul, then you either know nothing about Ron Paul, Bill Hicks or both.
True True, i actually think Bill didn't trust any politicians. But as far as mainstream politicians goes, i think Bill would be bashing tons of other politicans before he starts hating on Ron Paul.
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Like Lenny Bruce there was always more to his routines than just jokes. Think it would be harder than you'd think to guess at what he'd be saying if he was still with us.
I'd suspect he'd be as abusive to the Michael Moores/Alex Jones of the world as he would be to the Bushes/Obama's. He'd of most likely had a field day at the Catholic church saying sorry about not being open about suspected child molesters in their flock.
Looking at 3 UK comedian's paths Rickey Gervias, Mark Thomas & Christopher Morris... (I'd of picked US comadians but the one's I currently know are pure entertainers)
Gervias went for the massive pay checks, box office movies, mega media onslaught and celeb status.
Thomas went down a more political route his style now being anti-establishment lectures that almost completely ditched comedy.
Morris went more at picking apart media hypocrisy, his last project the film Four Lions was about fundamentalists.
Hicks could of gone down either one of these paths or even all but whoever thinks they could second guess Bill more than likely never got his magic in the first place.
"Censors tend to do what psychotics do,they confuse reality with illusion"David Cronenberg
I think if he were alive today, if he'd still be doing stand-up, he'd be doing material similar to Carlin's last special, "It's Bad For Ya" and Christopher Titus' current "Neverlution" material. He'd be talking about Obama, Bush, Katrina, the conspiracy of 9/11 and so forth.
shareYeah, I would have loved to see him tear into the Tea Party right-wingnuts' crazy a**** and all the crazy s*** they say and do---that would have been at least 6 months to a year's material right there---it would also have been interesting to see what kinds of jokes he would have made about Obama and these crazy-a@@ birther idiots. Nice to see that a current doc is out about him---I suspect that if he were still around, he might have just moved to the U.K. seeing as he got way more love there---the way this country's currently swinging to the right, he might have gotten run up out of here anyway because the Tea Party freaks would have branded him a unpatriotic traitor, and probably tried to get him blacklisted or some other crazy s@@t. It's like, God forbid, you should actually tell a Tea Partier that they're a bunch of right-wing Koch brother-funded lunatic fringe psychos, and they'll scream, tear their hair out,throw a fit and pass some quick bill to cut off funds to whatever you happen to donate to (NPR & Planned Parenthood),especially if you're a liberal, then they go on an all-out attack on you or anybody who dares to challenge them and call them out for the cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs psychos that they are!
shareI think he'd be screaming, "Help! Get me out of this coffin!"
Seriously, though, I wonder if Bill would have aged like Carlin...I mean getting MORE angry as he got older?