Bill Hicks Anniversary

So I am a few days late here, but I really meant to do a little homage to the greatest comedian the world has ever seen. February 26 marked the 14th anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks, at the age of 32. The brilliance of this man cannot be overstated. I was introduced to Hicks when I was 22. I remember it pretty vividly because it was a few months after September 11th, and I was dating this ultra-hip to the point of irritating broad named Cameron. She might have poured it on a little heavy with the home-made clothes and crew of gay male friends who wore jeans tighter than she did, but I'll be damned if she didn't change my world by introducing me to Bill Hicks.

The album was Dangerous, Hicks' first, originally released in 1990. Cam thought I would dig it, and I remember listening to it all the way through, then immediately listening to the whole thing again. It was an eye opener. At the time, I was a fan of Chris Rock, Richard Pryor - pretty standard stand up. But this was more than stand up, it was a treatise on politics, religion, patriotism, and drug use interspersed with deeply blue ribald material. Hicks himself would say "Chomsky with dick jokes." He was a revolutionary, and maybe the most impressive social critic of the 90's in any medium. Lenny Bruce is really the only other guy you can compare him to. He blows everyone else out of the water. After his death from pancreatic cancer, his mother released a bevy of recordings, Rant in E-Minor, Relentless, Arizona Bay - they are all worth checking out. His sagacity on the evils of consumerism, the pitfalls of religion, and the paradoxical ways most of us go about our lives - they are all genius.

No one is ever going to always agree with Bill Hicks. That's not the point, really, because even if you don't buy into his philosophy, the engagement mentally that is bound to occur when listening to him is going to force reflection and new thought patterns on subjects never before even considered. That was his goal. He didn't give a damn about money, publicity, The Tonight Show, or a development deal to crank out a disgusting sitcom. He cared about spreading the gospel as he saw it to as many people as possible, with no filter and no compromise. That, for better or worse, is the difference between a performer, an entertainer, a singer, a musician, a writer - and an artist. It's the differebce between Jack Johnson and Tom Waits, or James Patterson and Thomas Pynchon. It is a crying shame that he isn't around anymore, I for one could really use him in my life.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? It's like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a sniper rifle pendant."

"Children are smarter than any of us. Know how I know that? I don't know one child with a full time job and children."

"We gotta come to some new ideas about life folks ok? I'm not being blase about abortion, it might be a real issue, it might not, doesn't matter to me. What matters is that if you believe in the sanctity of life then you believe it for life of all ages. That's what I hate about this child-worship syndrome going on. "Save the children! They're killing children! How many children were at Waco? They're killing children!" What does that mean? They reach a certain age and they're off your fucking love-list? Fuck your children, if that's the way you think then fuck you too. You either love all people of all ages or you shut the fuck up."

"I was in Nashville, Tennesee last year. After the show I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm alone, I'm eating and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: " Hey, whatchoo readin' for?"
Isn't that the weirdest fucking question you've ever heard? Not what am I readING, but what am I reading *for*? Well, godammit, ya stumped me! Why do I read? Well... hmmm... I dunno... I guess I read for a lot of reasons, and the main one is so I don't end up being a fucking waffle waitress."

"You ever noticed how people who believe in Creationism look really unevolved? You ever noticed that? Eyes real close together, eyebrow ridges, big furry hands and feet. "I believe God created me in one day" Yeah, looks liked He rushed it."