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Just discovered George Carlin

post #1 of 30
2/22/08 at 2:25pm
Thread Starter 
I've spent the last couple of hours watching his stuff on Youtube. Sweet Jesus, funniest shit I've ever heard

I wanna order some DVDs, what's considered his best material?

--
H
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post #2 of 30
2/22/08 at 2:39pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Where have you been hiding? Carlin is classic but I have seen his last HBO special and he seems bitter now, don't know if it is because he is clean or has just run out of material. Anything other than that one and you'll be ok.
Off the top of my head, the best routines are a place to put my stuff and comparing football and baseball.
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post #3 of 30
2/22/08 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by mylan
Where have you been hiding?
I expected similar remarks and debated addressing them in my post. I guess I should have: As I've had to (depressingly) stress countless times on this forum (and elsewhere), we didn't (and don't) all grow up or live under the same latitudes and/or cultural spheres. I could make countless cultural reference that will fly right over your head. It's a big world .

I much prefer Carlin when he is addressing larger issues, politics, religion, consumerism, etc...

e.g.,



or that: YouTube - George Carlin: What Am I Doing in New Jersey? 1988 (2 of 6)

So that's the sort of stuff I am looking for. The smaller, everyday stuff, not so much (so maybe there is a compilation featuring what I like?)

--
H
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post #4 of 30
2/22/08 at 3:01pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

You may have already seen it, but "Seven Words" is great.

YouTube - Seven Words
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post #5 of 30
2/22/08 at 3:10pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I thought you lived in the US Holadem?
Anyway, the older his stuff the better. I can never forget his "cheer" that he repeated for the people that wanted to memorize it. He only had to say it twice for me to remember it 25 years.

By the way, he has been in a few movies. Bill and Ted's Exellent Adventure, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back come to mind.
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post #6 of 30
2/22/08 at 3:19pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
I can never forget his "cheer" that he repeated for the people that wanted to memorize it.

Oh, I had forgotten about that bit. Here it is:

YouTube - George Carlin Cheer
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post #7 of 30
2/22/08 at 3:32pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I have always enjoyed his work and still like today's cynical version of GC.
I was fortunate enough to see him perform in the 80's in Atlantic City. The highlight for me was the 'new' 7 words bit. The 7 words had evolved into a list that was so long that it had to be written on a roll of toilet tissue.
GC spent 15 minutes reeling off sheets and words.
By the time he was done, I was in tears, my sides ached and I needed oxygen.
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post #8 of 30
2/22/08 at 3:39pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holadem
I much prefer Carlin when he is addressing larger issues, politics, religion, consumerism, etc...

So that's the sort of stuff I am looking for. The smaller, everyday stuff, not so much (so maybe there is a compilation featuring what I like?)
He's always combined the two, ever since he gave up the clean-cut image that played on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (long before your time, H-man ).

I don't think HBO has issued a truly definitive collection of Carlin's shows for them. It would be hard to do, because Carlin has been a staple of HBO since the days when standup was their only "original" programming. I've seen all or most of the HBO broadcasts, and this collection looks worthwhile:

DVD Empire - Item - George Carlin Collection, The / DVD-Video

M.
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post #9 of 30
2/22/08 at 4:00pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Carlin shows up on Bill Maher from time to time.
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post #10 of 30
2/22/08 at 4:31pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

George Carlin also narrates Thomas the Tank Engine. Here is one of the best:

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post #11 of 30
2/22/08 at 5:41pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Holadem, you sir, are in luck, provided you have HBO. George Carlin has a new special on Saturday, March 1 at 10:00 entitled " It's Bad For Ya". From the sound of the title it looks like classic George C.
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post #12 of 30
2/22/08 at 5:59pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I'm looking forward to this latest special. Carlin's last HBO show wasn't very good. He seemed tired and off his game, and as it turned out, he was -- major cardio-pulmonary problems will do that to you! After some surgery and some rehab, he wants to let everyone know he's still got it. Can't wait!

M.
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post #13 of 30
2/22/08 at 7:19pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Check out "You Are All Diseased" if you can find it. The rant on airline security alone is worth the listen. George "off his game" is still better than 90% of what's out there. As John Stewart put it, he is a member of the comic holy trinity.

1) Lenny Bruce
2) Richard Pryor
3) George Carlin

I would also add Eddie Murphy to the list.

John
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post #14 of 30
2/22/08 at 9:40pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

In this week's Entertainment Weekly (Will Ferrell's on the cover), there's a half-page on George Carlin broken down in decades as to which concert title to check out.
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post #15 of 30
2/22/08 at 9:49pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holadem
I wanna order some DVDs, what's considered his best material?
I still have tracks from the old vinyl "Carlin on Campus" slotted into my jukebox in the form of converted mp3s. It is, I feel, the essence of George Carlin distilled into one set. It was filmed for an HBO special, but none of the DVD releases have the same set list as the audio version:
  1. Opening Sequence
  2. The Prayer
  3. First Leftfielders
  4. A Moment of Silence
  5. Second Leftfielders
  6. Breakfast Wine and Who's Boss
  7. Third Leftfielders
  8. Baseball and Football
  9. Fourth Leftfielders
  10. Cars and Driving
  11. An Incomplete List of Impolite Words
However, Amazon.com sells the whole thing as one 47 minute mp3 for $0.99. I highly recommend it.
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post #16 of 30
2/23/08 at 12:42am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I too recently got into Carlin. Aside from his rants on politics and religion (which we can't get into here), I also love his stuff on euphemisms. "Seven Words" and the follow-up non-stop litany of dirty words is of course a classic.

I'd agree, whilst his earlier work seemed more joyful and irreverent, his later work, in particular in the late 90s/early 2000s, seemed more angry and bitter. Yet his latest work seems back to the old irreverence.
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post #17 of 30
2/23/08 at 4:02am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I remember the "FM & AM" album as being the definitive Carlin.

Edit: Actually, I just looked and I have this album. I listened to it and it's still pretty good. But not as good as I remember some of those early HBO specials.
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post #18 of 30
2/24/08 at 8:19pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Carlin is the best! He's probably the most articulate and supremely intelligent speaker i've ever heard and he's drop dead hilarious while he does it! Even his religious stuff like the one Holadem posted utterly kills me and i'm a Christian lol!
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post #19 of 30
2/25/08 at 5:43am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Inspector Hammer!
Carlin is the best! He's probably the most articulate and supremely intelligent speaker i've ever heard and he's drop dead hilarious while he does it! Even his religious stuff like the one Holadem posted utterly kills me and i'm a Christian lol!

Same here. I love his work because he is so intelligent and articulate. Sure he uses profanity and mocks religion, but he never panders or resorts to shock humor like so many of the more contemporary comedians do. I learned a long time ago that I don't have to necessarily agree with something to find it funny.

John
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post #20 of 30
2/25/08 at 6:54am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I love Carlin's early stuff. If you want an excellent sampling of those years, check out Classic Gold, which is a 2-CD set containing the albums Class Clown, FM & AM and Occupation: Foole. Class Clown was always a favorite of mine.
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post #21 of 30
2/25/08 at 7:18am
Thread Starter 

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Thanks for the recommendations folks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Dirk
Same here. I love his work because he is so intelligent and articulate. Sure he uses profanity and mocks religion, but he never panders or resorts to shock humor like so many of the more contemporary comedians do.
I don't know... while as I said above, I enjoy the political/social commentary most, he is certainly not above the occasional descent into gutter humour.

I mean, he started one of his segments with the following (paraphrased) gem (after a period of silence):

(You've been warned, the following line is some seriously tasteless stuff!)

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
No one is willing to discuss pussy farts any more.


Not exactly a paragon of sophisticated wit. But fuuuuuuuuuuny. Heck, I used variations of the same line at a get together over the weekend to great effect (doesn't that make you want to hang out with me?)

--
H
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post #22 of 30
2/25/08 at 8:10am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

To me, that's just George being George. He isn't doing it for shock value, he just likes it. Most great comedians have a sick and twisted side. Just like Eddie Murphy. No matter how rich and famous he gets, he just can't resist a fart joke. Most of his films contian at least a few.

John
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post #23 of 30
2/25/08 at 8:38am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Get a copy of 'The Aristocrats' Carlin is one of the first to appear and his is one of the best versions of the joke (IMHO).
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post #24 of 30
2/25/08 at 3:27pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Dirk
To me, that's just George being George. He isn't doing it for shock value, he just likes it. Most great comedians have a sick and twisted side. Just like Eddie Murphy. No matter how rich and famous he gets, he just can't resist a fart joke. Most of his films contian at least a few.

John

speaking of fart jokes... nobody here is into thomas the tank engine I can see...
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post #25 of 30
2/26/08 at 8:56am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I always liked Class Clown. I first heard it when I was about 11 or so and have been hooked ever since. I saw him twice in the late 80s or early 90s and was not disappointed either time. I rarely miss an HBO special either. Thanks for the heads up.
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post #26 of 30
2/26/08 at 9:43am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

I love all of his works but the diatribe about he and Richard Pryor are hilarious. He was going on about how their lives paralleled so much. Richard had a heart attack, George had a heart attack, etc. "Then Richard set himself on fire and I said 'F*** that, I'm having another heart attack"....
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post #27 of 30
2/27/08 at 6:21am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Check him out in the History Channel's "History of the Joke" hosted by Lewis Black.
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post #28 of 30
2/27/08 at 6:43am

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

You're a lucky man with a lot of material to explore. I saw Carlin live 2 years ago and he was side-splitting. I'm always on the hunt to find new stuff and when you find somebody like Carlin that you did not previously know about, it's like finding a treasure chest.

I much prefer Carlin when he is addressing larger issues, politics, religion, consumerism, etc...


If you like comedy that covers these issues, then you really need to check out Bill Hicks. He's my favorite comedian of all time, by a considerable margin. His material is definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you are open-minded and love to listen to somebody that questions EVERYTHING from politics to religion to consumerism, then Hicks is your man. Dennis Leary and Lewis Black both ripped off his material and his persona following Hicks's death in 1994.

There are a few samples on this link:
RYKODISC :: BILL HICKS :: SALVATION SOUNDBOARD

There are also countless videos on youtube.
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post #29 of 30
2/27/08 at 4:29pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Dennis Leary and Lewis Black both ripped off his material and his persona following Hicks's death in 1994.
Along with Dennis Miller...

Quote:
1) Lenny Bruce
2) Richard Pryor
3) George Carlin

I would also add Eddie Murphy to the list.
I'd put Redd Fox before Eddie Murphy...
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post #30 of 30
6/27/08 at 2:32pm

Re: Just discovered George Carlin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holadem
I've spent the last couple of hours watching his stuff on Youtube. Sweet Jesus, funniest shit I've ever heard

I wanna order some DVDs, what's considered his best material?

--
H

I hope you've been getting to watch HBO this week!
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