Favorite Comedians

I think Bill Hick is the epitome of black, sarcastic humor. I wouldn't say he went for the absurd, if anything it was a little too real, to the point in which you have to start wondering should I be laughing? or should I shoot myself in the head?

 

Bill Hicks performance where he reenacts man as evolving from an ape by eating mushrooms is possibly the most profound and amazing 'cross-over' moment to appear on a stage that I'm aware of; it's one of the very few instances in which I find myself at odds with Plato's list of ignoble characters to be censored from public mimesis. Typically I loathe this form of imitation and it instantly lowers my respect for a performance artist but in this case Bill was using his body and humor to drive a point home that is otherwise not easily appreciated by most people. In particular it speaks to a gradation of intelligence and experience within a largely absent audience and I sincerely doubt that the one present grasped just how funny and brilliant that man truly was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baeT3g7udho"]bill hicks - evolution - YouTube


It's always pained me somewhat to watch his performances and see his facial expressions of utter disgust and disappointment and to hear him have to dumb down his material. This is ultimately what makes the difference between a comedian and a philosopher though, and to quote Oscar Wilde, "“If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.” Bill repeatedly referenced Terence Mckenna's work through symbolism or direct acknowledgement and being that Terence, as a 'reincarnation' of James Joyce, is among my very top favorite people of all time, this elevated my appreciation for Bill Hicks greatly when I was first introduced to his work.

Another personal favorite, keeping in step with the pattern in this thread, is George Carlin, another absolutely brilliant genius who mastered the arts of both spoken work and black humor, the man was among the best poets of the 20th CE and his talent grew increasingly as he aged to the point where nearly everything he said on stage was of the darkest, bleakest and most deranged sort. And yet, somehow he managed to appear alarmingly personable and kind; this is the source of his talent, in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W33HRc1A6c"]George Carlin - Saving the Planet - YouTube


Beyond these two who represent the pinnacle of the art form for me, I also greatly respect and appreciate certain aspects of the work of Joe Rogan, a man with whom I find myself often in disagreement if not astounded at the inane remarks he casually and callously speaks regarding some of the more interesting subjects he is interested in discussing at great lengths. Despite this more brutish side to his personality, a peculiar trait that is prevalent in large quantities of men by default, I like him very much because he has developed an interest in psychedelia and alternative history and he gives a relatively large platform to openly speak without commercial interruption or guided programme scripting the likes of people such as Graham Hancock, for example, a man who shares similar views and holds in similar regard the immense curiosity surrounding shamanism and botanical medicine as I do. He is one of the very few living proponents of psychedelics that I have any amount of respect for, as the rest tend to either appear to have suspiciously disingenuous motivations or simply parrot the work of giants and make a living by stagnating the pool.

Bill Murray is up there among my favorites, as is Dave Chappelle, and a few others, but the current, few decades old wave of absurdist humor especially disappoints and depresses me, Zach Galifianakis, the Tim & Eric world, &c. They were relevant and on point initially but what is disturbing and saddening is that it appears to me that either people don't apprehend the vacuous nature of this realm of supposed 'art' or that they do, and they desire it tremendously, to the point that it becomes obsessive and pervasive; it has dominated the approach that amateurs have taken to make YouTube videos and is crossing into the mainstream film and television world as well. Absurdism as it exists within what is considered the avant-garde is not inherently a bad thing, take the original cartoon series that appeared in the nineties on MTV's Liquid Television, Aeon Flux (which was a gorgeous display of imagination, dream imagery and absurdist aesthetics) but when it is applied to humor it lacks any true sense of depth, replacing it with 'inside joke' style references that give the impression of belonging and importance but in reality are just exclusive and dull.

 

There is just something about this guy that gives me an instant dislike to him. Which by default makes me get annoyed instead of humored.

 

Ha! I was going to post the exact same thing about Ricky Gervais.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FArZxLj6DLk"]Flight of the Conchords Ep 3 Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros - YouTube

 

don't have any. nothing against them. just not that interested.

trees, trains, computers, and little furry creatures with big sharp teeth interest me.

most things to do with humans don't.

other then i wish they'd stop screwing everything up for each other, including me.

nothing wrong with comedy and comedians.

just mass entertainment is not particularly on my radar.

 

His intelligence?

 

Why do you have to say the exact same thing on every single thread?

We get it! You like trains and are a furry! You don't like people and what they do!

Say something new!

 

Gabriel Iglesias :2thumbsup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3vmTAhsSE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3vmTAhsSE

Adam Hills too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpBYnL5fAXE

 

currently it is probably Louis CK. I have a soft spot for doug benson, but i doubt most people would find him to be very funny.

 

WhAt aBoUt tHe HoT PoCkeTs GuY????

 

also in agreement with whomever said Sarah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfxzmdJHPs8"]Sarah Silverman from "Jesus is Magic" - 2 - YouTube

 

Intelligence never annoys me.

 

He hasn't released anything recently but he's pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbVhbQPblNY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbVhbQPblNY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhfZTtrdGrE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhfZTtrdGrE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZWZZRZDcSQ"]Dylan Moran - French - YouTube