I think of this song every time some bastard takes away some (would be lucky) femme from me.
Cool vintage video! Man, I need to invent a time machine, so I can take girls with me back to the glorious days of The Ramones. And then after that we will journey to all of the annals of great Rock and Roll! In the meantime, stay tuned for more Rock and Roll.
“A choice between fear and love.” This is Bill Hicks at his kind, humane, gentle core. Gentle, an adjective one probably would not associate with Bill, an otherwise harsh, caustic comedian- albeit, brilliant. I think of this anytime I feel down and need something life affirming, despite its simplicity, the underlying message of love and brotherhood (or sisterhood lol) trumps any notion of ignorance.
So, the following is an old rant of mine entilted, “Why American Idol is Evil” that I posted on my (and a few other KLAYMERS’) old blog, Wakefield Etudiant about three years ago. I wrote it in a notebook in a matter of 5-10 minutes whilst listening to The Replacements’ Stink EP. Then a few months later, I came across it and posted the basterd. Much to my amusement it received various comments, mostly hateful! lol After that it was posted on a forum or two and garnered even more (negative) comments. People seemed to take it way too seriously. I found it hilarious that readers actually thought I invested time and energy into making some sorta “journalistic endeavour,” when it really was just a written translation of my views on the show and the music industry with some exaggerations and strong language. Looking back at it now, I realize this rant is not my best piece of writing, but it sure is one of my favorites; after all it’s always a delight to piss people off. If I had written this piece today it would probably be different, but at the same time the general position is the same. Ok, so here’s the damn thang:
Music or art for that matter always meant to me, playing from your fucking heart, with no regard for who you offend. Some corporate bithces like to destroy this legacy and sell out for more money and more pussy. Fucke em’ I say. When I see Alice Cooper doing Staples commercials, I shake my head in disapproval, screaming to myself, “What happened to the ‘Parent’s Worst Nightmare,’ what happened to the snakes, the gory, torn apart chickens, ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy,’ and ‘School’s Out For Summer.” Well, I hate to break it you Mr. Cooper, you (and countless others) are “nice guys” and are the parents’ perfect image.
Seriously, it’s like the fucking 80’s again where your parents like the same music you do. Where’s the rebellion? Fuck, the entire nature of Rock and Roll is gone. I mean, don’t get me wrong it’s been dead for a while. Disco took a huge toll on us, MTV melted our brains with intellectually dilute, unimaginative, videos (still does, but videos are even dumber, less creative, and worst of all safer) and of course the 21st Century has brought us the greatest, most unholy, derelict, stain on the music world, none other than… American Idol.
I don’t know where to begin with this fucking show! It is evil, morally incorrect, and worst of all: sugar coated bullshit, fresh fo children of all ages! “Warning! if you like to use your brain or think for yourself and would rather listen to true fucking rebels, please turn your televison off right now. Thank you and may God bless your soul!” This caveat should appear in big fucking bold letters before they air AI (acutally most TV shows for that matter) on Fox and bring their filthy, government approved, pussy, garbage into millions of American Homes.
People always say to me, “come on now Chris, AI isn’t that bad, it gives countless, young , aspiring artists a chance to make it in the big time and millions of people can witness them do what they love on national television…” Fuck that! it assists countless young singers (who are doing the same fucking shit we’ve seen for the past few decades) become even bigger corporate, little bitches; slaves to a machine, that they are sadly oblivious to. When these faggots hop around and do their stupid fucking dances I just want to strangle each and every last one of them.
If Rock meant rebellion, rebelling to “the man,” then AI contestants are sucking the man’s cock and letting his pearly black cum posion millions across the nation, whenever they open their mouths. All artists, whether they are singers or whatever must do it themselves and do what they feel like doing, not what three, dickhead, judges want them to do. I mean can you picture an AI in 1967. Lou Reed sings “Heroin,” I bet Paula would say, “Lou that’s not exactly a safe song.” Or Hendrix out of his mind on acid setting his instrument ablaze. The fat, black guy (shit, what’s his name?), oh yeah, Randy, can you imagine him telling Jimi to put out the fire, cause it may turn off some of our viewers. Now, of course that would have never occurred because those artists had balls. It seriously makes my blodd curdle when I hear that young kids yearn to be big stars on AI. It’s the fucking kiss of death! There’s nothing dangerous or controversial about it and it is a major sign of how we have lost our momentum, ultimately becoming complacent zombies, eager to chow down on the next, fresch crap they have to serve us. Bullshit! Never do we have to accept crap, just because it is popular or because all of our friends adore it. Do a little searching, broaden your horizons and you will discover numerous classic and contemporary artists that always play from their fucking hearts. The music/art I get the biggest hard-ons for, offer me insight and best of all, allow me to think for myself. If you or a loved one enjoy watching AI or even worse want to be on AI (yikes!) please seek help! You are already a sell out, you sold out to yourself.
Full Title: Bill Hicks: The Essential Collection
Year: 2010
What’s On It?: “Ryko is proud to announce the release of The Essential Collection, a four disc set (2 CD/2 DVD) that encompasses Bill Hicks’ short but influential career as a satirist, social critic and stand-up comedian. The package contains double DVD discs with over five hours of footage from Bill Hicks’ personal archives including rare, never-before-seen performances from the early 80’s, the cult short film Ninja Bachelor Party (starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth and David Johndrow), in-depth interviews with Hicks and a photo gallery from his family’s keepsakes. The 2 CD discs offer over two hours of his best stand-up material with never-before-released performance pieces from a San Ramon , CA show recorded by Bill Hicks that was found in his archives. The box set also features new liner notes written by family members as well as renowned figures (including Henry Rollins, Eric Bogosian, noted UK author Paul Outhwaite, and UK journalist/tv personality, Clive Anderson), and a download card containing original song recordings by Hicks (that were mastered at Abbey Road Studios – London, England) entitled, Lo-Fi Troubadour.”- http://www.billhicks.com/essentialcollection.html
Comments: I am a die hard Bill Hicks fan (if you visit the site frequently, you should know that- hence the “Hicks Vid of The Day” posts), so when I heard about this box set I knew I had to have it. First, I threw in the CDs only to be somewhat dissapointed that I knew all the material. Hicks fans should be warned (though it was advertised) that the CDs on here are essentially the same as those found on Rant In E-Minor, Dangerous, and other Hicks albums. I had the impression that this would be new material and already owning all of Hicks’ recordings pretty much made nearly half of this box set obsolete. With that being said, considering this is an Essential Collection, it should have his best material. So, I guess I can’t complain. Now, the DVDs are another story. With a few exceptions, I had never seen any of the live performances they offer us here. They truly are rare, never before seen shows. Mostly we see early Hicks, all the way back to his teen years (or close to it) mocking his parents, teachers, and the drinkers of the world. Then just a couple of years later he, himself is pounding them back and discussing his experiences with cocaine and acid; I’ve never seen Hicks talk about doing blow before and being a Hicksian scholar, I knew he did plenty of it, but this just goes to show you how obscure and old some of these performances are. With some exceptions out there, before this collection was released you would be hard pressed to find footage of entire performances of Hicks from 81-88 (the wild, drunken, drugged out Hicks era). Though, on this DVD, his sets are all comedy and there’s no hullabaloo a la audience members heckling “YOU SUCK!” and Hicks retaliating with verbal rape. His routines range from school/home life to his earliest forays into the realm of politics/society, jokes about the military and government, amongst other topics. Some of the material you have seen/heard before, but there is plenty on the plate I guarantee you have not. Besides performances, the interviews are fun to watch as well as the epic kun-fu classic, Ninja Bachelor Party, which I was already a big fan of. If you’re into Hicks, I recommend this and if you have never heard of him or are not that familiar with his work, then this is a good place to start.
In the spirit of Bill
Grade: 8/10
This really gave me a chuckle, being a (tiny) fan of trash talk shows and a (massive) fan of the work of Chomsky.
One of the more informative Anarchists I have heard.
Clips from the new Bill Hicks The Essential Collection DVD/CD Box Set!
“Making Marijuana against the law is like saying God made a mistake.”
“If you don’t think drugs have done good things for us, then take all of your records, tapes and CD’s and burn them. Cause you know what? The musicians that made all that great music that has enhanced your life over the years… REAL FUCKING HIGH ON DRUGS.”
“WHAT performer wants his audience DEAD?!”
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 