Right after he died, Carlin threads abounded. In order to conduse a Merry Xmas, I rented the four-DVD set of his stuff. It was quite a revelation.

For one thing, he seems older in his early stuff than in his later stuff--I attribute this to the drugs he used early on, before he cleaned up.

But what was really interesting was the light shed on societal attitudes. The set included his very first HBO special--circa 1977--and the producers were obviously scared shitless of public reaction to his "dirty" language.

The DVD started with a preface from Shana Alexander--this hoity-toity woman from PBS--comparing him to Aristophanes, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. Then towards the end--and his famous words you can't say on TV bit--they stopped it and ran a warning, saying that "you might not want to watch this."

which is why he was so good. He did things that other comics didn't (or still dont) for that matter. What comic today talks about social issues?? None that I can think of. Better yet, what comic talks about social issues and makes you laugh? None.

I had the good fortune of seeing George Carlin twice before he died. They were, perhaps, the two greatest nights of my life. I almost died laughing

which is why he was so good. He did things that other comics didn't (or still dont) for that matter. What comic today talks about social issues?? None that I can think of. Better yet, what comic talks about social issues and makes you laugh? None.


Bill Hicks.

Okay so he's also dead but he was very similar to GC with the things he talked about.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vX1CvW38cHA

Funniest man to ever walk the fucking earth.
Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits

^Yes, but let us not forget, that is the OLD list. Motherfucker was dropped, following the objections of an English teacher who pointed out that it was duplicative--keep that in, you should by rights include other variants such as fuckeroo, fuckerino, fuck-tard and so on.

For some reason I never really got why he was so popular, but this thread inspired me to check him out again and now I can't think why I didn't love him in the first place.

I've never liked him. If someone links me to whatever they consider his best stuff I'll watch it, but I doubt it'll change my mind.

Damn english teachers, always fucking shit up.

He's been my favourite comedian for a long time now.

Bill Hicks and George Carlin are easily my favorite comedians.

Eh, Carlin peaked in the mid 90s for me, and went downhill after that (comedy-wise, not referring to health issues). Even with a few noticeable bits he stole/borrowed. His last couple of HBO comedy specials sucked ass when compared to his earlier work. But then again, he did set the bar pretty high for himself.

Some of his later skits are comparable to Bill Hicks but I'm glad you've reconsidered him. Carlin is one of the greats and his sheer volume of work is not to be scoffed at. Everyone should give him another chance.

Bill Hicks.

Okay so he's also dead but he was very similar to GC with the things he talked about.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vX1CvW38cHA

Bill Hicks was like listening to a very liberal college professor who smokes weed, entertaining and slightly insightful yes but funny? Not really. I love Bill Hicks but he wasn't much of a comedian.

Carlin could tell the same joke as another stand up but word it in such a way that it'd split your sides, thing is he didn't have to tell rehashed jokes because that man made more material than a sweat shop and delivered it like a pizza guy on crank.