Bill Hicks? Overrated or underrated?

Gold TV now showing "It's Just a Ride" about the career of Bill Hicks.

As his name constantly features on comedian threads, maybe it's time he deserves a thread of his own.

What's your take on him?

Personally I always found him to be overrated as a comedian, he just wasn't my idea of hilarious...but underrated as a polemicist and a political commentator, his attack on the US government after Waco was direct and relentless, as was much of his stand up routine.

enfant terrible

Bill Hicks never died and in fact changed his identity the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, its a well known fact.

The King of Moo

I personally don't think he was funny and find him quite annoying, but respect that others like him.

Joe_ Public

I didn't like him. I loved him. Bill Hicks on the evils of marketing...just genius. "You think there's a joke comin? There's no fkcin joke comin."

Icaras

Very funny at times, not funny at all at times. He was razor sharp with a lot of observations I just found sometimes his way of expressing them poor.

I _genuinely_ have no idea who you are talking about.

So as a test for over or under rating you could suggest two or three clips for me.

And I will tell you my response.

Littlehorny

Way overrated, i thought he was ok when i first saw his videos when i was seventeen but i am in my early forties now and his act has not stood the test of time. Not funny and nowhere near as clever as he thought he was. George Carlin was much funnier and much cleverer, i think he was only copying Carlin anyway.

uch

About as funny as Tuberculosis, Yanks dont do Funny

Littlehorny

Littlehorny wrote: »

Way overrated, i thought he was ok when i first saw his videos when i was seventeen but i am in my early forties now and his act has not stood the test of time. Not funny and nowhere near as clever as he thought he was. George Carlin was much funnier and much cleverer, i think he was only copying Carlin anyway.

Interesting, I'd be the opposite in that I remember seeing him 20 years ago and thinking "it's not funny". But as I got older I appreciated his political views a bit more...albeit I take your point about Carlin.

boobar

I personally didn't find him very funny.

But he was interesting and quite good at expressing political views.

His take on marketing has stood the test of time, but like many things much of his other material now appears quite dated.

FortySeven

boobar wrote: »

I personally didn't find him very funny.

But he was interesting and quite good at expressing political views.

His take on marketing has stood the test of time, but like many things much of his other material now appears quite dated.

To be fair, he did die. Hard to stay current really.

Spoilers!

Littlehorny

Deleted User wrote: »

Interesting, I'd be the opposite in that I remember seeing him 20 years ago and thinking "it's not funny". But as I got older I appreciated his political views a bit more...albeit I take your point about Carlin.

I just watched him again as i got older and thought "not funny at all" and instead of being clever he just looked really smug and so proud of himself. Also whenever he was talking about how great smoking weed or smoking in general was, these musing are his own views and he's entitled to them but the man died in his thirties from smoking so his observations kinda ring hollow in this case.

Rothko

I like him but I think he's overrated to an extent. Some people treat every word he said as gospel but there are a few things on which I'd strongly disagree with, especially in relation to smoking.

LightsStillOn

uch wrote: »

About as funny as Tuberculosis, Yanks dont do Funny

Richard Pryor, Dave Chapelle, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin etc etc.

Yanks don't do funny?

Internet Ham

Littlehorny wrote: »

I just watched him again as i got older and thought "not funny at all" and instead of being clever he just looked really smug and so proud of himself. Also whenever he was talking about how great smoking weed or smoking in general was, these musing are his own views and he's entitled to them but the man died in his thirties from smoking so his observations kinda ring hollow in this case.

I am not a biology student but last time I checked you don't inhale cigarette smoke into your pancreas.

I personally think the guy was a genius with the exception of the ''goatboy'' schtick. Never found that entertaining. Carlin did have almost thirty years experience over Hicks so of course Carlin was more proficient. Carlin himself found Hicks' work worthy of praise. A more qualified arbiter than Carlin you will not find.

Yamanoto

The guy may have had a talent for calling out hypocrisy and the emptiness at the centre of modern consumer culture, but he rarely said anything that really cracked you up.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Seems to me any comedian who expresses political views as part of their act gets overrated as an actual comedian.

I remember hearing some of Lenny Bruces stuff and although he spoke a lot of sense I never felt the compulsion to laugh.

Tigger

Comedy is timing
Bill was brilliant when he was current
Goatboy was ****e tho

Dolbert

Overrated as f*ck. Being ranted at for an hour by a smug, self-righteous arse is not my idea of comedy.

Your Face

He can't wrestle.

Realt Dearg Sec

Littlehorny wrote: »

I just watched him again as i got older and thought "not funny at all" and instead of being clever he just looked really smug and so proud of himself. Also whenever he was talking about how great smoking weed or smoking in general was, these musing are his own views and he's entitled to them but the man died in his thirties from smoking so his observations kinda ring hollow in this case.

He died of pancreatic cancer.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Hugely overrated.

Carlin pulled off the social commentator and comedian act. Hicks's never came close to replicating it in my eyes.

Cathy.C

Overrated for me. Can't understand what anyone found funny about him.

People always cite the marketing thing but to me it just was stating the obvious. For example at one section he says that advertisement companies would use hardcore porn to sell an item if they could, which is true, they would, but he says it as if it was a profound thing to say but sure we are all more than aware that they would do that if they could. Hence why some ads get pulled occasionally over the years for being to sexually graphic.

I also think there was an element of heading off the critics at the time when he mocked at one point during that material that his own agent / management might congratulate him on calculatingly going for the whole anti corporate, non conformist market with his act and he screamed (yet again) for them not to do that, because that wasn't what he was doing.

Wasn't it?

Realt Dearg Sec

Cathy.C wrote: »

Overrated for me. Can't understand what anyone found funny about him.

People always cite the marketing thing but to me it just was stating the obvious. For example at one section he says that advertisement companies would use hardcore porn to sell an item if they could, which is true, they would, but he says it as if it was a profound thing to say but sure we are all more than aware that they would do that if they could. Hence why some ads get pulled occasionally over the years for being to sexually graphic.

I also think there was an element of heading off the critics at the time when he mocked at one point during that material that his own agent / management might congratulate him on calculatingly going for the whole anti corporate, non conformist market with his act and he screamed (yet again) for them not to do that, because that wasn't what he was doing.

Wasn't it?

No.

fatknacker

The God of every 20 year old weed smoker.
"He's like, so right on...maaaan"
Or however young stoners here talk these days.

Littlehorny

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

He died of pancreatic cancer.

Ok, he may not have died as a direct smoking related cancer but being a heavy smoker doubled his chances of getting pancreatic cancer, besides my point was he tried to go on about how right on smoking was.

Guy:Incognito

FortySeven wrote: »

To be fair, he did die. Hard to stay current really.

And thats the attitude that will stop you getting to the top. Let NOTHING get in the way of success.

Dying is for the weak.

Cienciano

LightsStillOn wrote: »

Richard Pryor, Dave Chapelle, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin etc etc.

Yanks don't do funny?

They're not funny. Give me Brendan O'Carroll, Hector, Brendan Grace, June Rogers, Sil Fox and Maeve Higgins any day of the week

Flint Fredstone

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I didn't like him. I loved him. Bill Hicks on the evils of marketing...just genius. "You think there's a joke comin? There's no fkcin joke comin."

Yeah, see I like comedians to tell jokes.

Internet Ham

Flint Fredstone wrote: »

Yeah, see I like comedians to tell jokes.

What comedians do you like? No better way to get a sense of someones taste than that.

lertsnim

A poor mans Denis Leary

Tigger

lertsnim wrote: »

A poor mans Denis Leary

I take it you're being ironic

Flint Fredstone

Internet Ham wrote: »

What comedians do you like? No better way to get a sense of someones taste than that.

Humour is subjective so reeling off names is not productive here. The poster I quoted seemed proud that there was no joke. Call me old fashioned but I like my comedians to tell jokes and be funny, not preachy.

MRnotlob606

Very Underrated in my opinion. These days great iconic comedic greats are often forshawdowed by politically correct Live at the Apollo comedians and all of the Russells.

I have a friend from Texas actually that has never even heard of Bill Hicks !!

Bill Hicks was never mainstream, he only became really famous posthumously,His biography is called Love All the People and reveals some very interesting stuff about him, including the fact he much preferred preforming in the UK than the United States.

Internet Ham

Flint Fredstone wrote: »

Humour is subjective so reeling off names is not productive here. The poster I quoted seemed proud that there was no joke. Call me old fashioned but I like my comedians to tell jokes and be funny, not preachy.

Fair enough. I was really trying to get an idea of your taste. The segment the poster spoke of is sandwiched in between four or five extremely good pieces of comedy if I recall. It wasn't a ninety minute show of Hicks standing on a stage, pontificating with no humour. Your point is facile if you are saying you prefer a comedian telling jokes when one twenty to thirty second segment was not a joke - even though it was delivered in a comical style.

Humour is subjective, I agree but I am curious to know your standard of funny. It's just one poster asking another what he finds more enjoyable than Hicks.

I am hoping Michael Macintyre gets a mention...

furiousox

Some comedians make me "lol" but Hicks is the only one who makes me laugh until my ribs hurt and tears roll down my face.
His take on the LA riots, the first gulf war, and sending terminally ill people to make movies with Chuck Norris is priceless.

The King of Moo

He never feel through an open half-door in a bar though, did he?

bodhrandude

Denis Leary I always found to be overrated, his No Cure for Cancer show is a complete rip off of Bill Hicks stand up routine. I like Hicks, I like the fact that he brought the deep South into comedy.

lertsnim

Tigger wrote: »

I take it you're being ironic

Of course.

Internet Ham

bodhrandude wrote: »

Denis Leary I always found to be overrated, his No Cure for Cancer show is a complete rip off of Bill Hicks stand up routine.

This led to someone asking: Why is Denis Leary better than Bill Hicks?






Because there's no cure for cancer.

bodice ripper

SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HIM PLAY.

catbear

MRnotlob606 wrote: »

......including the fact he much preferred preforming in the UK than the United States.

It think this says most about him. His cutting perceptions of his own consumerist instant gratification society never got the same traction as when performing to audiences outside the bubble who could look in with him.

He's far from the funniest comedian I've seen but I think comedy was only half his act.

Joe_ Public

Internet Ham wrote: »

Fair enough. I was really trying to get an idea of your taste. The segment the poster spoke of is sandwiched in between four or five extremely good pieces of comedy if I recall. It wasn't a ninety minute show of Hicks standing on a stage, pontificating with no humour. Your point is facile if you are saying you prefer a comedian telling jokes when one twenty to thirty second segment was not a joke - even though it was delivered in a comical style.

Humour is subjective, I agree but I am curious to know your standard of funny. It's just one poster asking another what he finds more enjoyable than Hicks.

I am hoping Michael Macintyre gets a mention...

Seeing as I appear to be the "poster" being impugned, I'd better explain that, as you said, I just quoted a familiar line from a very familiar routine for no particular reason only it just popped into my head at the time. Nor am I "proud" of Bill Hicks or any stand-up comedian for that matter. I just like his particular brand of satirical/observational humour and don't mind if others don't share that opinion. It's the nature of the beast.

Anyway the best comedy routines for me are more about observation or interpretation rather than jokes. I doubt George Carlin has ever made me roll round the floor in stitches, but the cleverness/verbal dexterity of his routines still thrill me. Not that I have any issue with jokes/sharp one-liners, some of them can be "crackers" and it's the way they tell em.

Realt Dearg Sec

Cienciano wrote: »

They're not funny. Give me Brendan O'Carroll, Hector, Brendan Grace, June Rogers, Sil Fox and Maeve Higgins any day of the week

Now THAT'S funny.

Debil

He's very shouty.

smurgen

Joe_ Public wrote: »

I didn't like him. I loved him. Bill Hicks on the evils of marketing...just genius. "You think there's a joke comin? There's no fkcin joke comin."

I actually thought that was retarded.I just don't get him at all at all and I'd big into stand up.he was a try hard which is everything his persona and act was geared against.

MadDog76

Hicks was an intelligent comedian, ie. if you're an intelligent person then you will have found him funny/entertaining and generally just "get" him ........ if you don't like him ......... well ...........

Cathy.C

You see that's what annoys me. People think that if they get Bill Hicks, they're intelligent, as if what he said was really profound or something.

It wasn't. It really really wasn't.

smurgen

MadDog76 wrote: »

Hicks was an intelligent comedian, ie. if you're an intelligent person then you will have found him funny/entertaining and generally just "get" him ........ if you don't like him ......... well ...........

I forgot that intelligent people all like the same things.he was an angry,fat,whiney **** who's achieved cult status when it really isn't merited.there's literally dozens of comedians better than him

bodice ripper

Cathy.C wrote: »

You see that's what annoys me. People think that if they get Bill Hicks, they're intelligent, as if what he said was really profound or something.

It wasn't. It really really wasn't.

As opposed to all the people on thread who think they are intelligent because they don't like Hicks? Pfft.