Comedy Albums I'd Like To Hear
Submitted by dgeiser13 on Wed, 02/20/2002 - 11:20
Tags:
- Comedy
- Woody Allen - Standup Comic
- Jim Breuer - Smoke 'n' Breu
- Dane Cook - Retaliation
- Bill Cosby - Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow Right!
- Bill Cosby - I Started Out as a Child
- Bill Cosby - Revenge
- Bill Cosby - To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With
- Bill Cosby - Why Is There Air?
- Bill Cosby - Wonderfulness
- Margaret Cho - Drunk with Power
- David Cross - It's Not Funny
- David Cross - Shut Up You F**king Baby!
- Andy Dick & The Bitches of the Century
- Jimmy Fallon - The Bathroom Wall
- Mitch Hedberg - Mitch All Together
- Mitch Hedberg - Strategic Grill Locations
- Bill Hicks - Arizona Bay
- Bill Hicks - Dangerous
- Bill Hicks - Rant in E-Minor
- Bill Hicks - Relentless
- D.L. Hughley - Notes from the GED Section
- George Lopez - Team Leader
- Steve Martin - Comedy Is Not Pretty!
- Steve Martin - Let's Get Small
- Steve Martin - A Wild and Crazy Guy
- Bruce McCulloch - Drunk Baby Project
Who's Bill Hicks?
Ah, Bill Hicks.
Did you enjoy those spots Denis Leary did for MTV way back before he was famous? He ripped that style off Hicks, and frankly, he'd probably admit it.
Hicks was great. He could mix social observations with comedy like Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor at their best. He also grew very bitter, and his rapid-fire attacks on everything that ticked him off could have you rolling on the floor in no time.
He is also very obscene, so put the kids away before spinning one of his discs.
Dare I say that Hicks, who died way too young in 94, was one of the very last true stand-up masters? One of the last night-club comedians to matter?
I just did.
Rant in E Minor is highly recommended. It is Hicks at his most ticked, though Arizona Bay may be a bit funnier, if it is the humor you're truly after.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Cool, thanks! I do enjoy Denis Leary quite a bit. Based on your praise, I did a bit of research, and it seems Hicks wasn't too happy about the similarities. Several accounts indicate that Hicks was quoted as saying he stole all his material from Denis Leary, but just to throw people off, he wrote it first.
I'm tempted to buy a copy of Rant in E-Minor, but I know from my past experiences with Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay (who both seem to be mentioned--along with George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Leary--in the same breath as Hicks) that I'll probably love the social commentary but by turned off by the vulgarity. So I'm reluctant to own. I'm guessing the chances of finding copy at my local library are slim. Alas. Wish there was a try-before-you-buy somewhere out there on this one.
Hey, while I have your attention, you still owe me (if you're willing) some enlightenment on Jackie Brown.
Actually Bill is not that vulgar. At least he doesn't come across that way to me. He is abrasive like Denis Leary but I always felt Denis was abrasive just to be abrasive but Hicks' stuff is abrasive and there's whole heaping swaths of truth underneath what he rants about. I'd say he's in my top 5 favorite comedians
Bill Hicks is probably one of the best barely known comedians to grace the comedy stage in late 80s - early 90s. You might know him by face and voice if not by name. He did alot of stuff in his day but since he died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the ripe old age of 33 people have sort of forgotten about him, at least outside of comedy circles.
www.myspace.com/dementiashow
I was just thinking "Bill Hicks has got to be on this list" i did not expect 4 times though, good stuff! Arizona Bay is my Favorite of his. "Officer nigger hater", "Dinosaurs and the bible", "Hooligans", love it.
Having just heard it, I have to *highly* recommend David Cross' latest, Shut Up.... Maybe the funniest comedy album recorded in the last five or ten years. The best since Bill Hicks?
It's possible. I think it very well might be.
Heck, I'll put my money on the line and say YEAH...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
That's funny. I just added the new David Cross album to my Amazon wish list before I saw your comment. I actually have a bunch of stuff I need to put on here. If the album is anything like either of his comedy specials I'm sure it's great. :-)
I hope Santa brings it and that you enjoy it!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I'm not sure if the Bill Cosby stuff would still hold up today. As a child of the 1960's, I grew up with his records and was a MAJOR fan, but then I got Richard Pryor's "Is It Something I Said" for my 17th birthday (little did my mom know!) and I could never go back.
I think a person would have to identify at least a little with the "Leave It To Beaver" show before they could fully enjoy the old Cos.
I finally got to see Bill "live" a few years ago and had a great time, but the old records were his prime.
I'll have to disagree with you on whether comedy that was once funny is still funny. Comedians can lose their touch but an album that was recorded 35 years ago it still the same album it was back when it was originally recorded. If anything it's just the listeners life-view that has changed. The album itself hasn't changed one iota.
I use that same argument with music. If a song comes out and you really like it and over time you grow to hate the song as it gets overplayed then nothing about the song has changed. It's still as good as it ever was. You've just started to factor in your own life into the quality of the song. That doesn't hold water with me.
Thank you for your comments.