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William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 ñ February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist and musician. His material, encompassing a wide range of social issues as well as religion, politics, and philosophy, was controversial, and often steeped in dark comedy. He criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culture, which he characterized as oppressive tools of the ruling class that "keep people stupid and apathetic."
-from wikipedia.
bill hicks on LSD.
i first became aware of bill hicks in high school, at which point he had been dead for 6 years or so. as a young man into drug experimentation, revolutionary thought and punk rock, his work seemed tailor made for my enjoyment. in fact, i remember hearing him once on acid and being amazed that someone had had all the same thoughts i did before i even knew i had thought them (sidenote: LSD can make you think some fantastic shit). what amazed me about his work was that, like other comedy legends like george carlin or mel brooks, he used humor to make his audiences face truths in their lives and the world around them. you could laugh and laugh at his routines while also being provoked to think.
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I loved when Bush came out and said, "We are losing the war against drugs." You know what that implies? There's a war being fought, and the people on drugs are winning it.
-bill hicks, 1990.
hicks on marijuana use.
hicks on marketing.
You know I've noticed a certain anti-intellectualism going around this country ever since around 1980, coincidentally enough. I was in Nashville, Tennessee last weekend and after the show I went to a waffle house and I'm sitting there and I'm eating and reading a book. I don't know anybody, I'm alone, I'm eating and I'm reading a book. This waitress comes over to me (mocks chewing gum) 'what you readin' for?'...wow, I've never been asked that; not 'What am I reading', 'What am I reading for?' Well, goddamnit, you stumped me...I guess I read for a lot of reasons ó the main one is so I don't end up being a fuckin' waffle waitress. Yeah, that would be pretty high on the list. Then this trucker in the booth next to me gets up, stands over me and says [mocks Southern drawl] 'Well, looks like we got ourselves a readah'...aahh, what the fuck's goin' on? It's like I walked into a Klan rally in a Boy George costume or something. Am I stepping out of some intellectual closet here? I read, there I said it. I feel better.
-sane man, 1989.
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there's an old quote: 'scratch a cynic and you'll find an idealist underneath,' or something along those lines. basically, though, it posits that those among us who are cynical misanthropes (it doesn't look so bad on paper, but it kinda hurts to be called one, particularly since most people can't fucking pronounce misanthrope) were at one point filled with hope and optimism, and that the daily stupidity that one is exposed to in the world is enough to ruin that. yes, we still hope there's hope, but every day we're shown something else to doubt that.
bill hicks' final performance on the david letterman show.
understandably, bill hicks courted controversy rather regularly. the above video was taped for letterman but did not air on the show. theories abounded that it had to do with the bit about crosses at the end, or maybe the segment on pro-lifers. letterman himself stated that the final decision to not air the segment was his, and that, upon re-viewing the segment, it should have been allowed to air.
hicks on non-smokers.
They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. I haven't seen the stats on that yet.
-1991.
bill hicks is goatboy.
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You see, I think drugs have done some good things for us. I really do. And if you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor. Go home tonight. Take all your albums, all your tapes and all your CDs and burn them. 'Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your lives throughout the years were rrreal fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fucking high they let Ringo sing a few tunes
-1992.
hicks on pornography.
Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally on our planet, serves a thousand different functions, all of them positive. To make marijuana against the law is like saying that God made a mistake. Like on the seventh day God looked down, "There it is. My Creation, perfect and holy in all ways. Now I can rest. [Gives shocked expression] Oh my Me! I left fuckin' pot everywhere. I should never have smoked that joint on the third day. Hehe, that was the day I created the possum. Still gives me a chuckle. But if I leave pot everywhere, that's gonna give people the impression they're supposed to Ö use it. Now I have to create Republicans.""Ö and God wept", I believe is the next part of that story.
-1991.
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I asked that question once ["Are there actually women in the world who do not like to give blowjobs?"] and a woman yelled "Yeah, you ever try it?" I said "Yeah. Almost broke my back." It's that one vertebra, I swear to god it's that close. I think that's the next thing to go in our next evolutionary step. Just a theory, and a fervent prayer! And now all the guys are going, "Honey, I have no idea what he's talking about," ...but guys, you know what I'm talking about. I can speak for any guy here tonight: guys, if you could blow yourselves? Ladies, you'd be here alone right now...watching an empty stage. ...Boy, my parents are proud of me! "Bill, honey, you still doing that suck-your-own-cock bit?""Yeah, ma.""Good, baby, that's such a crowd-pleaser."
-1992.
hicks on rock'n'roll.
They're putting the cart before the horse on this pornography issue. Playboy doesn't cause sexual thoughts. There ARE sexual thoughts, and, THEREFORE, there is Playboy. Don't you see? I know these sound like deep philosophical questions, "What came first, the hard-on or the Madonna video?" and "If a hard-on falls in the forest, do you go blind?" and "What does an atheist scream when they come?"
1991.
hicks on desert storm.
I was walking through Central Park, and I saw an old man smoking. Nothing makes a smoker happier than to see an old person smoking. This guy was ancient, bent over a walker, puffing away. I'm like, "Duuude, you're my hero! Guy your age smoking, man, it's great." He goes, "What? I'm 28."
in 1993, bill hicks was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. he kept it to himself, mostly, only letting family and a few close friends know, though he started beginning every performance by telling the audience it was his last show. people just thought maybe he was getting burned out from being on the road for so long, maybe? he performed his final show at caroline's in new york city on 6 jan 1994 and then moved back in with his parents in little rock, AR. on 14 feb, 1994, he quit speaking and on 26 feb, 1994, he died.
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p.s. Hey. The honorable Rewritedept will get you through the weekend via the story of -- and some works by -- the late, beloved comedian Bill Hicks. Please chime in with your thoughts, reactions, and so on, and let the guy in charge know, okay? Thanks, and big thanks to the Department of Revision himself. Okay, so it's Friday night as I type this, and I just got back from a very long but very productive days of auditions, and my brain is quite fried, but I'm going to do the best I can to get to the comments I can from Thursday and Friday. Forgive my inner/outer space and my inordinate speed please. Any comments I don't get to today, I'll get to on Monday. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris. You can't sleep and I'm falling asleep. This should be interesting. Country music ... yeah, some for sure, Townes Van Zandt is great, I totally agree. There are a few people from more or less his generation whom I like a lot, but I can't bring their names out of my temporary wasteland of a memory, I guess I also like the old school country guys, like, you know, George Jones and Tammy Wynette and those guys. Of course I love some of the early country-meets-rock maestros like Gram Parsons, Gene Clark, and others. I don't know. I'll think more when my head isn't toast. My pleasure about those movies. So glad you liked them too. Awesome to see you, man. Hope breakfast did its job. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. Cool, cool, about that show. Yeah, Paul Curran lives in Tokyo. Paul Curran, Did you see Tosh Berman's comment from Thursday? He has an art show in Tokyo that he recommends to you. Check it out. ** David Ehrenstein, No, not that Elias. This Elias (singing). ** MyNeighbourJohnTurtorro, Hi, man. Oh, no, that festival is in LA, shit. Fuck, maybe I can get there. That looks just incredible. For my blog, oh my God. That's crazy. I'm so excited. Yeah, I'll think up questions, and try to make them interesting, smart questions because he's easily prickly and bored, for sure. Anyway, that is so amazing. I'm blown away. Thank you so much, wow! Thanks for your email address. Mine is: dcooperweb@gmail.com. More soon. ** Sypha, I think I saw that Oscar drawing or one of her drawings for your book. It was beautiful. Cool reading there. I'll note them when I'm not so brain dead. Thanks. ** Will C., Hi, Will. That's a great idea, the online publishing platform. I would love to learn more when the time is right. ** Steevee, Ah, you reviewed his thing. I'll go read it tomorrow. Everyone, Steevee reviewed that Lars von Trier's guy's new/first Nymphomaniac thing. No, I have no interest in seeing it. His films gotten as many chances from me as I have in me. Oh, well, that's interesting that part 2 wasn't so good. Why? You're right about 'The Terrible Twos'. Reed seemed to clean out his fiction a bit after the first few novels. I don't know why, but I think something gets lost. ** Cap'm, Hi, Cap! Cool! Sorry to have to meet and greet you with such a burnt out brain. I haven't read any of those books except 'Zen and ... ' when I was, what, a teen? Huh. I'll write their names down and think about them tomorrow. Thank you! Really, truly good to see you! ** Heliotrope, Mark! Buddy! First, warning about my hugely diminished brain power at the moment. Yeah, we've been all over the place indeed. I promise stories as soon as I can construct adjectives. We're gonna mostly stay in Paris for a while 'cos we have a bunch of projects to work on, apart from very short trips probably to the UK and maybe Germany. Next big trip will quite possibly be an Iceland/Greenland combo. Nice guess. We're talking seriously about that. Perth, wow, maybe. Why Perth? So sorry about the cluster attacks. Wish I could do non-invasive brain surgery via vibes and help. Really great that things are going so well with J. at the Mouse place. That doc sounds cool. I watched that doc about Gene Clark last night. That was inherently really interesting, duh. I want to see the Robert Wyatt doc. I don't think I even knew there was one. Okay, I had better fly onwards to get through this, but, man, so sweet to see you, my pal of pals. Tons of love. ** les mots dans le nom, Hi. Will Alexander is really something. Oh, gosh, thanks! ** Paul Curran, Hi, Paul. There you are. See my thing up above about Tosh's comment. Blake's thing on 'LH' was really nice. Things are happening, man. ** James, Hi, James. The Mikesch book is really good. I'll look for your email, thanks. Love back to you. ** Misanthrope, Hi, G. We all have those weird things we do and think secretly that no one else knows about, don't we? Or maybe it's just you and me. Oh, shit, what a mess with LPS and the dreaded mom. Sorry. Oh, Phelps, yeah, I don't know. I have no problem within him being dead, that's for sure. ** Rewritedept, Hey. Thanks again so much for this weekend, buddy! 'Witch Piss' is good, yeah. Oops, about your sister sorry. 'Swing Kids', weird. My friend is in that. I can't remember much about it. I changed it to 'Weekend', as you see. Roughish draft, okay. Those No Wave pix on the Wire's site? Yeah, very cool. ** Kyler, Oh, sure, all that waiting and frustrations, sure, that's how it goes, that's the story. Patience, I guess, or as much as you can. Oh, no, no audition sharing. Definitely not, sorry. This is very not that kind of thing. This is a situation where there needs to be a lot of trust and privacy and stuff. Anyway, yeah it's not a porn film. Early on, that was the idea enough for me to use the characterization, but it's not that anyone. It's not trying to be a full-on, simple titillation fest at all. ** White tiger, Hi! Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds complicated. I did go to the Paris Chipotle. It looks and is pretty much the same as in the States, just much more expensive. Very popular. Long line. Delish burrito. A pleasant experience. I'm sure I'll be back there regularly. Secret menu?! What's on it? How can I access its food? Love, me. ** Pilgarlic, Hi, P. Ha ha. Great crow story. It's not really a porn movie anymore, but it has explicit sex in it. The auctions went great. We have four or five guys we're really excited about and want to cast, and a couple of strong maybes. So pretty good for one day. One more day to go. It's exhausting, though. All of the guys we definitely want to cast will be naked happily. Four of them say they'll have sex on film. We'll see. ** Empty Frame, Thanks. Weird, you grew up near there? You did make it sound like a place I would love to visit. Maybe when we go to the UK. I don't think I know Polly Morgan's taxidermy, but I am really tired right now. I'll find out for sure tomorrow. Thanks again! ** Bill, Hi, Bill. Ha ha. I have seen the fantasy animal taxidermy. Or some. It might make for a post of its own, I thought. So far, we just explained the project, had them read something, filmed them walking around, asked about their willingness re: nudity and/or sex. In the second round, it'll get more detailed. Cool temples. Any links/pix? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi Ben. Auditions are going really well so far, thanks. How was 'Under the Skin'? ** Gary gray, Hi. I'll look for your email. Thanks, man. ** Okay. That's as far as I could get before completely crashing. Sorry for my rush and for any other problems. Be with Hicks/Rewritedept. I'll go audition some folks. Enjoy your weekends. See you in Monday.