Thursday, January 26, 2012

University Times article - Remember, You Are Unique; Just like Everyone Else

Robert Grant
Staff Writer


In a now famous stand-up routine, Bill Hicks, the viciously articulate comedian, begins a section of his show with an unusual imperative to all those involved in marketing and advertising. His advice? “Kill yourselves”. Of course, the audience laughs along, assuming this to be just another piece of shocking rhetoric Bill is known for. But he goes on:

Seriously though, if you are, do. Ah, no really, there’s no rationalisation for what you do and you are Satan’s little helpers. Okay – Kill yourself, seriously. You are the ruiner of all things good, seriously. No this is not a joke, you’re going “there is going to be a joke coming” there’s no fucking joke coming.

At this point one begins to suspect that Bill’s routine is descending into a rather mean, hate-filled rant. However, as with all great comedians, he averts this danger by revealing a piercingly perceptive critique of contemporary society. He continues:

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

WTF - Ralphie May talks about opening for Marc Maron & Bill Hicks

Stand up Ralphie May appears on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and talks about opening for Marc and Bill.

Monday, January 16, 2012

APPETITE FOR DISRUPTION: A TRIBUTE TO BILL HICKS ON HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY

Tribute Article posted on www.fastcocreate.com

In the '90s What’s Up With That? Seinfeld era of pre-#firstworldproblems observational humor, Bill Hicks was a bristling outlier. What was up with Bill Hicks, really, was his rage. He railed against the evils of corporate greed, was outraged over consumer complacency, fought vehemently for the freedom of expression, and was deeply offended by the criminal unfunniness of Jay Leno. (No doubt, 20 years on, you can relate to one, if not all, of these trangressions.)

Much of his work has been made available over the years, but Rykodisc just released a new EP of previously unreleased material, in honor of his 50th birthday today, with plans for the definitive box set in mid-January.

While alive, his charged diatribes (which made up for in passion what they sometimes lacked in cohesion) were aggravating and off-putting to mainstream audiences, as evidenced by an infamous appearance (or rather, non-appearance) with on David Letterman that was rectified years later by the late-night host.

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Foxes - Bill Hicks

The official music video to The Foxes 'Bill Hicks' This is a humble dedication to a man we love and respect. We miss you Bill! This video was made with our own money and the love and support of the Hicks family, who we thank.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Life is like a ride by Dimitris Ladopoulos



Beautiful little animation using Bill's It's just a ride" speech. Not sure why he used David Icke quoting Bill to switch back and forth, I think it works though.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Classic article from The New Yorker: The Goat Boy Rises

ANNALS OF COMEDY
THE GOAT BOY RISES
by John Lahr
NOVEMBER 1, 1993

Original article

On October 1st, the comedian Bill Hicks, after doing his twelfth gig on the David Letterman show, became the first comedy act to be censored at CBS’s Ed Sullivan Theatre, where Letterman is now in residence, and where Elvis Presley was famously censored in 1956. Presley was not allowed to be shown from the waist down. Hicks was not allowed to be shown at all. It’s not what’s in Hicks’ pants but what’s in his head that scared the CBS panjandrums. Hicks, a tall thirty-one-year-old Texan with a pudgy face aged beyond its years from hard living on the road, is no motormouth vulgarian but an exhilarating comic thinker in a renegade class all his own. Until the ban, which, according to Hicks, earned him “more attention than my other eleven appearances on Letterman times one hundred,” Hicks’ caustic observations and mischievous cultural connections had found a wide audience in England, where he is something of a cult figure. I caught up with Hicks backstage on a rainy Sunday last November at the Dominion Theatre, in London, where a record-breaking crowd of two thousand Brits was packed so tightly that they were standing three deep at the back of the dress circle to hear Hicks deliver some acid home truths about the U.S.A., which to him stands for United States of Advertising. Hicks thinks against society and insists on the importance of this intellectual freedom as a way to inspire others to think for themselves. “To me, the comic is the guy who says ‘Wait a minute’ as the consensus forms,” Hicks told me as we climbed the stairs to his dressing room. “He’s the antithesis of the mob mentality. The comic is a flame—like Shiva the Destroyer, toppling idols no matter what they are. He keeps cutting everything back to the moment.”


Friday, January 6, 2012

Marc Maron and Bill Burr talk about Bill Hicks and tanking

Appearing on Marc Maron's superb comedy based podcast "WTF", Bill Burr and Marc discuss hecklers and angry comedy.

Marc goes on to say that Bill Hicks "went on stage and angrily tanked in a brilliantly and inspired way all the time.", He also states that he believes that Bill got away with it because club owners "innately knew this guy was special, that there was no one like him".

Thursday, January 5, 2012

BBC Radio 2 , Documentary (Dark Poet, 2007)

Dark Poet: 10.30pm on Radio 2 on August 21, 2007

Phill Jupitus, hour-long documentary about Bill Hicks for Radio 2.

A BBC spokesman said: 'This documentary charts Bill's fascinating life: his love/hate relationship with America; the continuing censorship of his act; his quest for spirituality; his popularity in Britain; his battle with drink and drugs; and, finally, his battle with cancer.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Carrot Top talks about Bill



Some interesting discussion about Bill in this episode of Marc Maron's fantastic comedy based podcast WTF.

I highly recommend the Full Episode here - WFT Episode 221 - Carrot Top

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Bill at the First Annual Houston Outlaw Comedy Special



Bill doing early stand-up for the 1985, first annual Houston outlaw comedy special.