Bill Hicks

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hey guys this video was sent to me by a friend whom i told i had been reading about JFK:

Video
:P

Added: thanks for moving me
 
Bill Hicks - It's Just a Ride

I just wanted to share one of my favorite clips from comedian Bill Hicks. This clip was filmed at his live show in London in the early 90's (he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32). I watch this whenever I start feeling frustrated or down on myself and always picks me up by reminding me that life is just a ride. It's also what inspired me to select the avatar on my profile.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUiwTubYu0
 
Re: Bill Hicks - It's Just a Ride

suelarue said:
I just wanted to share one of my favorite clips from comedian Bill Hicks. This clip was filmed at his live show in London in the early 90's (he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32). I watch this whenever I start feeling frustrated or down on myself and always picks me up by reminding me that life is just a ride. It's also what inspired me to select the avatar on my profile.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUiwTubYu0
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Truth be told, this ride feels very real to me and to most people i know. But, yes, to this:

Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride:

Take all that money we spent on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding, clothing, and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and WE CAN EXPLORE SPACE, TOGETHER, BOTH INNER AND OUTER, forever ... in peace.
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Just watched this great documentary about Bill Hicks personal and comic live.

The Censoring of Bill Hicks [full lenght] Outlaw Comic Documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h1TluoZrDw

Similarly to George Carlin, I think we have lost with Bill Hicks a great and brilliant voice of sanity and truth in this world that is greatly missed...
 
You might enjoy this http://www.americanthemovie.com/
 
Great thread, one of my heros and inspirations.

I did my first standup gig the other week, as it happens... :)
 
lewis_86 said:
Great thread, one of my heros and inspirations.

I did my first standup gig the other week, as it happens... :)
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Cool :cool: How did it go?

I've done a few myself but struggled with trying to make the truth 'funny' - Bill Hicks was a phenomena in that regard. What angle were you going for?
 
It went ok! To be honest - I had been playing harmonica at my mates gig (he usually plays solo). Anyway, the gig finished, and while he was putting his guitar away, we started cracking jokes (we always do). The mic was still on, so I just went for it! I was drunk. I made people laugh which was nice, but got off the stage about about 5 or 6 gags because I didnt want to out-stay my welcome :)

I don't really know what I was going for, I have a daft sense of humor - everything from Bill Hicks through to daft stuff like Reeves and Mortimer. I didn't really go for much "truth" though - maybe I will later down the line. Thanks for asking though :)
 
lewis_86 said:
(so yeah, not a "proper" gig, but it was still fun and good practice... )
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Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Standup is a science in some ways. The professional comics work exceptionally hard and there is a distinct process to follow to be successful. They didn't get to the top by getting drunk and telling a few impromptu gags. To do 'proper' gigs or just to make serious progress working on yourself at all, the drinking has to go.

Initially I found the process of trying a few open mic spots at proper standup comedy nights terrifying (and fun) but very useful in terms of becoming more self-aware - by videoing performances, cringing watching my automatic, mechanical postures and repetitive filler phrases. It is good for gaining public speaking confidence, being creative and getting into the habit of writing too. In particular I found the methods presented in this article really useful for putting ideas onto paper _http://johnbeuhler.blogspot.de/2010/03/how-to-write-stand-up-comedy-like-nazi.html. Finding your true 'comedy self' is a useful process in itself, requires self-reflection and is a form of recapitulation in a way. I did enjoy the experience but I could see that I was wasting a lot of energy and time which would be better channelled into more productive avenues.

Going back to Bill Hicks, I enjoyed reading Love all the people because you get a good indication of how his routines developed and the resistance he came up against: _http://www.amazon.com/Love-All-People-Essential-Hicks/dp/1593762011/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367521344&sr=1-1&keywords=bill+hicks

Love All the People, a collection of controversial comedian Bill Hicks’ stand-up routines, notebooks, journals, and letters, traces his evolution from brilliant conventional stand-up to something far more interesting and dangerous: a comic speaking without fear. The result is a radical philosopher masquerading as a comedian, plumbing the American psyche with challenging (and side-splitting) conclusions. Hicks, who died of cancer in 1993, didn’t go the easy way with his humour. He attacked the lies that justified the carnage of the Gulf War, the preposterous power of the mainstream media to confuse and corrupt, and the demeaning cynicism of the marketing culture. In Love All the People, that renegade comic artistry that made Bill Hicks an iconoclastic social commentator is recorded, celebrated, and revealed as true genius in this expanded edition that includes additional routines and other writings.
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Kniall said:
You might enjoy this http://www.americanthemovie.com/
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I can't watch it in my country. But I found another source wich works:
http://vimeo.com/43817111
 
Cheers for the link Pob. Your right to an extent regarding "they didn't get to the top by getting drunk and telling a few gags" - but I've gotta say, for me at least - it's a start. It was nice knowing I felt totally comfortable and my mind didn't go blank. Not really sure if I want to pursue anything more at this stage; music is my main thing, playing in bands. It could be said that noone made it in music by playing a few songs, while intoxicated, in a pub. But in reality, many starting this way eventually did go on to acheive a lot more. Of course its takes work, I would never doubt that. It's a fine art, and at the moment, I'm a child throwing a few colours around - enjoying the chaos. I've written a load of scripts for standup stuff, but at this stage, don't feel like I'm ready. I can incorporate the odd gag when I'm gigging with music though, which will do for now. Not quite ready to knock the drink on the head either...
 
lewis_86 said:
I'm a child throwing a few colours around - enjoying the chaos. [...]. Not quite ready to knock the drink on the head either...
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How long are you planning to drift around in drunken chaos?, cause times a wasting...
 
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