(no subject)

[wickedflea]

George Carlin is gone. :( George was one of my big three artists who had the most to do with my sense of humor and worldview in general. (Hunter Thompson and Charles Schulz were the others.) He was the only stand-up comedian I've ever given two shits about, and I've been listening to him since I was probably 12 or so. I know his stuff, especially the '70s albums, backward and forward, and I can't even tell you how often something reminds me of a Carlin bit--in fact, I've been known to tell people that I can relate anything in life to either a Peanuts strip or a Carlin routine.

I was thinking about him last night as I was going to sleep, actually--wondering how he was doing with sobriety since his rehab stint a couple of years ago. I hope he was sober and content, or at least as content as the cantankerous old fuck could be. =)

(P.S. -- I owe some o' y'all e-mails. I'll rectify that post-haste, I promise!)

Comments

[buscemi.livejournal.com]

I forget when I first got into Carlin's stuff, but I remember how cool it was to hear someone say things that I thought/talked about. Of course, he was also one of those people that made me say, "Hey, I never looked at it that way." I wish I'd seen him perform when I had the chance.

[theodicy.livejournal.com]

Wooooonderful WIIIIINO!

:sniff:

Oh, George.

[mipplet.livejournal.com]

I was shocked when I heard the news this morning. I adored George Carlin. He was lewd and crude, but I adored him. I'm really sad that I never got to see him perform in person.

One good thing about stand-up...

[hah-sone.livejournal.com]

Is that live performances do not really differ that much from recorded performances, aside from an increased probability of bad seats and of course, the severely increased expense.

Recorded comedy concerts have the benefit (usually) of skilled camera work so that you can see mannerisms and facial expressions in detail. It's almost the opposite of live music, where you're mostly there to hear the nuances and tweaks of the music itself.

Being in the presence of the performer only makes an impact on the sycophantic sorts, I would guess. The clinical wacko fans who would freak out even over a terrible performance.

Comedy is a medium of ideas, really. I can be just as pleased with an audio recording as I can a video (excepting more physical acts), because I'm mainly interested in point of view.

---

As for the death of the man: I knew ol Chris was going to be ill about it. I do believe, Mr Heller, that my introduction to Carlin was a gift from you at some point. Way back when, A Place For My Stuff. Round about the same era as the infamous 'dictionary of terms'. I wonder if there was a connection there? ;)

While it sucks that a bright mind has departed the realm, we can at least be pleased that Carlin has finally sorted out his issues with religion.