On this day, May 12, in 1937; George Denis Patrick Carlin was brought into this crazy world. So today seems as good a day as any to set a little time aside and enjoy some of his exceptional and ground-breaking comedy. A fine day to raise a glass and have a few laughs if ever there was one.
So, firstly, who is George Carlin? Well you may be familiar with him from his roles in movies – the most notable and well-loved of which would be in the role of Cardinal Glick in Kevin Smith’s Dogma. The following clip is of the show stealing scene in which Cardinal Glick, spearhead of the Catholicism wow campaign, introduces us to the church’s new symbol:
And if you are still scratching your head wondering where you might have seen him or maybe you recognise his voice but can’t quite place it, perhaps this clip will jog your memory:
But really it is George the stand-up comedian that I want to focus on here.
He started performing in the early sixties, firstly as part of a double act with Jack Burns, before going on to stand alone. Caught up in the revolutionary spirit of the decade, Carlin’s material often possessed a topical edge which served to highlight and recognise the rapidly growing counter-culture of the time. This ‘edge’ quickly grew and would become one of many recurring themes that would resonate throughout his 40+ year career.
In fact, the clearest progression of this can be seen with a cursory look at the naming of his shows/albums: Starting out with the playful tone of Class Clown and Occupation:Foole which, by the eighties and nineties, had become the slightly more confrontational Playin’ with Your Head or Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics until finally leading to the outright aggressive You Are All Diseased and Life Is Worth Losing.
The naming of these albums is in no way a coincidence as we come to the second major theme to be found in his work: his propensity with and love of the english language. Indeed, a good portion of his act is often dedicated to twisting and exploring various terms and phrases that are used everyday without ever being questioned or critically examined. Never is this more evident than in one of his best known routines: Baseball vs. Football:
It was Carlin’s use of language which first got me hooked on his work; the way in which he used it for play and had fun with it. He often picks out the absurdities of certain words or sayings (whilst retaining a level of respect for the language) and shows how they can be exploited, mutated, misused or downright abused to garner different reactions.
He taught me a kind of ownership of the language which concerned itself less with the school-taught ‘proper’ usage of it but more with the flexibility, emphasis and impact of using the ‘right’ word for the situation at hand (or the wrong word at the right time). Linguistic Gymnastics I call it and George Carlin is the crowned king of it.
But no cursory study of language (or of Carlin for that matter) would be complete without pausing to look at those other words, the ones that have been excluded from polite conversation. In short, it is time to address those filthy words – actually I’m not going to, I’ll let George do that, in this famous routine which helped launch him away from the safe and secure television audience and set him onto the path of becoming a true icon of comedy. Please enjoy George Carlin’s Seven Words That You Can Never Say on Television:
[There is a slight, two-minute over lap between these two videos]
As Carlin matured, so too did his act and the scope of topics discussed. It broadened out to include all the major aspects of life: politics, religion, media, law, sex, marriage, family, death, humanity and just the everyday standards and practices of people in general. Also, as he became older (Carlin was still performing in his seventies) his style became more aggressive, his tone more embittered by a sense of injustice and despair at the ineptitude and shortsightedness of modern life. And if you can show me something funnier than watching an elderly man ranting and raving whilst in full possession of his faculties, then I’ll gladly watch it. Until then however, let’s just watch my personal favorite routine, called simply The Planet is Fine:
So I hope these videos have whetted your appetite for what is the ‘main course’ of this little document (I hope also that many of you who have never experienced George Carlin before are steadily being introduced to and won over to our side).
The following is an audio tribute which spans George Carlin’s career, stopping off at some of his funniest moments and routines. This is by no means a definitive compilation (for that you’ll have to do your own searching) but it does chronicle and contextualize the path of his career and serves to highlight his transition from a safe and goofy television comedian through to his outwardly hostile and cantankerous persona.
If you would prefer to view these videos as a complete playlist then please use this link. (But be aware that the full play length is a little over an hour long.) Otherwise, grab yourself a drink and a snack and settle in for a thorough workout of both your laughter muscles and your brain muscles. And don’t forget to raise a glass to the birthday boy.
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part I (1963-1973)
Carlin extracts from:
- Burns and Carlin at the Playboy Club (1963)
- Take-Offs and Put-Ons (1966)
- Class Clown (1972)
- FM & AM (1972)
- Occupation: Foole (1973)
Songs:
- “Come On” – The Rolling Stones
- “I Want To Tell You” – The Beatles
- “Stuck in the Middle with You” – Stealers Wheel
- “Dueling Banjos” – Eric Weissberg
- “20th Century Boy” – T.Rex
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part II (1974-1981)
Carlin extracts from:
- Toledo Window Box (1974)
- An Evening with Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo (1975)
- On The Road (1977)
- A Place For My Stuff (1981)
Songs:
- “The Joker” – Steve Miller Band
- “Listen To What The Man Said” – Wings
- “Pretty Vacant” – The Sex Pistols
- “Ghost Town” – The Specials
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part III (1974-1981)
Carlin extracts from:
- Carlin On Campus (1984)
- Playin’ With Your Head (1986)
- What Am I Doing in New Jersey? (1988)
Songs:
- “For Whom The Bell Tolls” – Metallica
- “The Way It Is” – Bruce Hornsby & The Range
- “People Are Strange” – Echo & The Bunnymen
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part IV (1990-1996)
Carlin extracts from:
- Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics (1990)
- Jammin’ In New York (1992)
- Back In Town (1996)
Songs:
- “I’m Free” – The Soup Dragons
- “Killing in the Name Of” – Rage Against The Machine
- “Breathe” – The Prodigy
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part V (1999-2002)
Carlin extracts from:
- You Are All Diseased (1999)
- Complaints & Grievances (2001)
- Carlin on Comedy (2002)
Songs:
- “Breakout” – Foo Fighters
- “Plug In Baby” -Muse
- “Clocks” – Coldplay
George Carlin Audio Tribute – Part VI (2006)
Carlin extract from:
- Life Is Worth Losing (2006)
Song:
- “Tran-4” – Fabio Stein
Random Insults to Sanity 