Icono-classic
Jun. 14th, 2006 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penfieldAbout seven years ago, George Carlin did a show at the University of Rochester Palestra. I was so excited to see him; Carlin had been one of my idols since I was old enough to understand swear words. I particularly enjoyed his observational mind and admired his mastery of language; he is the ancestral precursor to Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Wright. His Baseball vs. Football and A Place for My Stuff (NSFW video) are still among the best stand-up bits ever written.
But he was not really on his game that night in the Palestra. Maybe the material was raw, maybe the energy was off, maybe my expectations were too high. He was not only sortof unfunny, but he took time out of his set to (A) chastise the audience for not laughing loud or often enough at his jokes and (B) shamelessly hawk his book.
Ever since then, even in his popular HBO specials, I've found his work disappointing. His trademark counterculture irony seems to have been replaced with virulent anarchic rage and his monologues have become more political than societal. He's like Dennis Miller on PCP.
That said, I will be watching tonight when he appears on Jay Leno -- and I never watch Jay Leno unless I want to hear the latest Monica Lewinsky joke -- because he'll be appearing on the same stage as noted conservative political pundit Ann Coulter. And if he doesn't use the opportunity to savage conservative politics and tear Ann a new Coulter, then we'll know that Carlin isn't Carlin anymore -- he's just some guy selling the newer, louder version of the Carlin Product.
And that would be some sad sh!t.
But he was not really on his game that night in the Palestra. Maybe the material was raw, maybe the energy was off, maybe my expectations were too high. He was not only sortof unfunny, but he took time out of his set to (A) chastise the audience for not laughing loud or often enough at his jokes and (B) shamelessly hawk his book.
Ever since then, even in his popular HBO specials, I've found his work disappointing. His trademark counterculture irony seems to have been replaced with virulent anarchic rage and his monologues have become more political than societal. He's like Dennis Miller on PCP.
That said, I will be watching tonight when he appears on Jay Leno -- and I never watch Jay Leno unless I want to hear the latest Monica Lewinsky joke -- because he'll be appearing on the same stage as noted conservative political pundit Ann Coulter. And if he doesn't use the opportunity to savage conservative politics and tear Ann a new Coulter, then we'll know that Carlin isn't Carlin anymore -- he's just some guy selling the newer, louder version of the Carlin Product.
And that would be some sad sh!t.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Carlin's Washed Up
Date: 2006-06-17 04:04 am (UTC)