"By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself".
Okay, that's a non-joke that you'd expect from a 13 year old. But he's setting the context, and maybe the best foot was not forward, so let's keep listening...
Okay, he keeps at that theme for awhile, repeating himself, and then uses the phrase "Satan's little helper" which I'm pretty sure he got off the simpsons, which he presumably was familiar with.
(I could be wrong, as the vid isn't dated.) He then repeats himself a few more times and then says, "There's no joke coming" which I suspect is true. He then repeats himself a few more times adding the word "fuck" which is a word that stopped being daring on the stage right around Tennessee Williams' mid-career.
He then reiterates the past theme, as well as correctly stating again that there is no joke involved.
But then he gets to the first joke, about how the marketing people in the audience are probably interpreting his anti-marketing bit as in fact being pro-marketing. Okay, not funny, but at least it's a joke. He then performs several variations on that theme. End of bit.
.......
It doesn't do much good to critique comedy, but the point is: He's repetitive, he has an anti-establishment shtick that I find trite and unconvincing, his jokes are punctuated with gratutious vulgarities which are as informationally valuable as "hmm", "uh", "umm", "whu?", etc., and I sit there watching...and not laughing...ever. Which is the final test. It is possible to do blue comedy right, you know.
he has an anti-establishment shtick that I find trite and unconvincing
If you're immersed in a world of pro-establishment suckers, then his comedy provides some validation and relief. I remember what it's like to be a young kid and feel like my life is controlled by idiots, but I no longer feel that way. If you've been hanging around with worldly people who have read a little bit of history, or a little bit of anything really, then this kind of comedy just misses. I still know there are a lot of idiots in the world, but I no longer feel oppressed by them, so Bill Hicks seems beside the point.
Fair enough. Not everyone thinks Hicks is funny. I've watched some number of clips and videos of Hicks, and there are certainly low spots and repetition. Over all, though, I find him pretty entertaining. But the "Fuck! I'm angry!" tone can get grating in large doses.
Some of this reminds me of watching a George Carlin HBO special near the end of his life. There was one point where it seemed he was just ranting, just livid. He wasn't trying to be funny; it was like he just slipped out of the comedian role and into some raging maniac role. I have to figure that's just how he worked. It was personal, and deeply heart-felt, and sometimes that gets wild.
You seem to have the idea that he's a blue comedian which although some of his material is, Hicks is mostly known for his political rant comedy.
I'm sympathetic to your point of view though. When I first heard some of his routine I thought "This isn't funny at all, he's just shouting about stuff he dislikes". His style does grow on you. Also it's hard to get an impression of a comedian like Hicks through youtube videos. His comedy doesn't lend itself to one-liners and the top videos tend to be lowest common denominator stuff of what one-liners he did do.
"By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself".
Okay, that's a non-joke that you'd expect from a 13 year old. But he's setting the context, and maybe the best foot was not forward, so let's keep listening...
Okay, he keeps at that theme for awhile, repeating himself, and then uses the phrase "Satan's little helper" which I'm pretty sure he got off the simpsons, which he presumably was familiar with.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22satan%27s+little+helper%22...
(I could be wrong, as the vid isn't dated.) He then repeats himself a few more times and then says, "There's no joke coming" which I suspect is true. He then repeats himself a few more times adding the word "fuck" which is a word that stopped being daring on the stage right around Tennessee Williams' mid-career.
He then reiterates the past theme, as well as correctly stating again that there is no joke involved.
But then he gets to the first joke, about how the marketing people in the audience are probably interpreting his anti-marketing bit as in fact being pro-marketing. Okay, not funny, but at least it's a joke. He then performs several variations on that theme. End of bit.
.......
It doesn't do much good to critique comedy, but the point is: He's repetitive, he has an anti-establishment shtick that I find trite and unconvincing, his jokes are punctuated with gratutious vulgarities which are as informationally valuable as "hmm", "uh", "umm", "whu?", etc., and I sit there watching...and not laughing...ever. Which is the final test. It is possible to do blue comedy right, you know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H94jAkaTqQ