George Carlin Dies at 71

[ParanoiA]

I can't imagine anyone in the US not aware of George Carlin's passing.

 

I remember listening to his albums, yes actual vinyl records, growing up. I caught every single HBO special and I even watched his sit-com, if anyone remembers that. I adored him and his humor from my early teens to the present. The same stupid shit that pissed him off, pisses me off too. It felt like he was vocalizing all of my complaints, and doing it humorously.

 

I don't know why I started this thread. I guess I just wanted to know if anyone else had any particular appreciation for the fella. I was quite fond of the old dude.

[john5746]

I learned about his death at the dentist this morning. The twenty year old assistant didn't know him.

 

I love stand up and Carlin was one of the best. I found his political humor of late to be bordering on crazy, but maybe I have just changed. Still funny though.

[iNow]

Yeah. He was totally brilliant, and histerical. He would start talking about government or corporate america with the seething venom that could make your hairs curl and your appreciation of logic sensors go off the charts, all while making you wet yourself from laughing so hard.

 

Hopefully they will re-air much of his work. He was a very insightful dude, and it's too bad he's gone.

[Phi for All]

I can still recite some of his early album bits from memory. One of his characters, Al Sleet, the Hippy-Dippy Weatherman, had a Cold War piece that used to crack me up (when it wasn't giving me the chills):

"The radar's picking up a line of thundershowers that extends from a point eight miles SSE of Secaucus, New Jersey, along a line and five miles either side of a line to a point nine miles SSW of Fond du Lac. Of course, the radar's also picking up a squadron of Russian ICBMs, so I wouldn't sweat the thundershowers!"

 

The man's a legend in comedy, and so many stand-ups owe a lot to him for widening the crack in Freedom of (Comedic) Speech that Lenny Bruce had chipped away at. Carlin had a natural way of shocking people that had nothing at all to do with shocking people, and everything to do with holding a mirror up to our faces and encouraging us to stick out our tongues.

 

George will never be gone as long as we can remember that it's not ourselves we need to take seriously.

 

Now hand me that piano....

[Sisyphus]

I was a bit obsessed with Carlin as a teenager, and he's still probably my favorite comedian. His brand of unapologetic, gleeful rage has been widely imitated but never equaled.

[ecoli]

He will be missed greatly by me.

[bascule]

In Honor of Carlin: Shit. Piss. F*ck. C*nt. Cocksucker. Motherf*cker. Tits.

 

( censorship)

[Pangloss]

Carlin's classic comparison of Baseball and Football, from ESPN this morning:

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8272482/Carlin%3A-The-difference-between-baseball-and-football

[swansont]

Carlin's classic comparison of Baseball and Football, from ESPN this morning:

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8272482/Carlin%3A-The-difference-between-baseball-and-football

 

That's one of my all-time favorites.

 

I remember seeing him in concert when I lived in Orlando. Sometime after "A place for my stuff" had come out; I remember that in his routine.

[ydoaPs]

He had AWESOME standup AND he did Thomas The Tank Engine.

[Phi for All]

That's one of my all-time favorites.

 

I remember seeing him in concert when I lived in Orlando. Sometime after "A place for my stuff" had come out; I remember that in his routine.

A place for my stuff, funny because it's so true.

 

I'm reminded of his Difference Between Dogs and Cats routine, especially after just watching one of our new kittens step on an edge of paper on my desk and fall gracelessly to the floor. She sauntered off haughtily, as if to say, "I meant to do that!"

[iNow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

[ecoli]

He had AWESOME standup AND he did Thomas The Tank Engine.

I know you mean "Shining Time Station" (the actual name of the show)

[Pangloss]

He had AWESOME standup AND he did Thomas The Tank Engine.

 

Here's a Thomas the Tank episode narrated by Carlin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTVAD_-jjLk&feature=related

 

I have a little nephew who has some Carlin-narrated Thomas episodes on DVD, and insists on showing them to me every time I'm over. It actually took me a while to realize I was hearing George Carlin there, but I realized at some point I was subconsciously picturing the narrator say "What is this sh*t?" between takes.

[iNow]

Here's a good one considering the context:

 

 

 

 

And another just for fun:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright... one more. This one had me in tears I was laughing so hard:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LdFKYADp94&feature=related

Edited June 24, 2008 by iNow

[ParanoiA]

I was a bit obsessed with Carlin as a teenager, and he's still probably my favorite comedian. His brand of unapologetic, gleeful rage has been widely imitated but never equaled.

 

Absolutely. Definitely my all time favorite. Something about his voice...he could say just about anything mundane and make it sound funny. But he was also brilliant, so you add the two together and you have an unbeatable combination. Thank goodness there's plenty of material from over the years to enjoy.

 

He had AWESOME standup AND he did Thomas The Tank Engine.

 

I'm convinced he's the best standup ever. He was alright in movies and stuff, but nothing compares to his stand up comedy, to me.

 

Alright... one more. This one had me in tears I was laughing so hard:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LdFK...eature=related

 

Thanks, I haven't heard that material in a while. I always enjoyed the "legally drunk" bit. Too bad I didn't try that when I got arrested for public intoxication.

[iNow]

It seems not everyone is so saddened by his loss:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd0dtyr3ifw

[ParanoiA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMIEW8Sg4b4&feature=related

 

Since we're sharing...

[iNow]

Ah, the sweet taste of hypocracy in the morning. Sharing is caring.

[ParanoiA]

yeah, I thought you'd appreciate that.

[Pangloss]

NBC ran the very first episode of Saturday Night Live last night, which was hosted by Carlin, who opened with a version of his football/baseball routine. The recording was in very poor (seemingly telecine) state, but it was cool to see it.