George Carlin recorded 14 live comedy stand up specials for HBO, over the course of three decades.
HBO will air Carlin’s most recent live comedy special, "It’s Bad for Ya," at 9 p.m. Friday, June 27.
Tonight and tomorrow, HBO2 will air 11 of those earlier shows:
Wednesday, June 25th
8:00pm George Carlin at USC (1977)
9:00pm George Carlin Again! (1978)
11:00pm Carlin at Carnegie (1983)
12:00am Carlin on Campus (1984)
1:00am Playin’ with Your Head (1986)
Thursday, June 26th
8:00pm What Am I Doing in New Jersey? (1988)
9:00pm Doin It Again (1990)
10:00pm Jammin in New York (1992)
11:00pm Back in Town (1996)
12:05am You Are All Diseased (1999)
1:00am It’s Bad For Ya (2008)
Also, this weekend, NBC will be running the very first ever 1975 Saturday Night Live, hosted by none other than George Carlin. Its a must TiVo show.
Those of you who may not be all that familiar with Carlin’s earlier
works should especially catch the 1970’s and 80’s work. Its probably
tame compared to what you are used to today, but Carlin was groundbreaking. Most modern comics owe a huge debt to Carlin.
For those of you without HBO, there’s always the complete set: All My Stuff
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Previously:
George Carlin (1937 – 2008)
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/06/george-carlin-1.html
Already got ’em all queued up on the DVR!
“tame compared to what you are used to today, but Carlin was groundbreaking.”
Well, of course because that was the point right? He pushed the envelope past what was decent then (and in my opinion still indecent) so that they no longer seem indecent today. Personally, I don’t agree with most of the praise for Carlin. He merely contributed to the coarsening of the culture.
The early work may be “tame,” but it’s also Carlin at his most genius. “Playin’ with Your Head” is my personal favorite.
I don’t care a fig about “coarseness”; I’m more concerned with the dumbing down of our culture. Carlin’s innocent in that department.
The excessive use of obscenity, the uplift of those arts that cater to our baser nature, and a genberal “dumbing down” of all things academic and cultural usually are to found in unison. So no, Carlin is not blameless.
I had an album of his as a kid. My parents didn’t know how dirty it was. I wasn’t allowed to play it, but of course did. Over and over again until I had all the bits memorized!
I’m with both Walter and JAA: I detest the increased courseness of our culture; I also detest the dumbing down. Increasing disappearance of personal courtesy really drives me crazy.
But I look at the evil that has been/is being foisted upon ordinary folks under the guise of really smooth PR lines from Wall Street, Government, Banks, and the Elite of this country.
And I then come to the conclusion that maybe the “coarseness” is what’s required to see through the mountains of BS that are poured out daily by Washington, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and the MSM.
TomD
>> The excessive use of obscenity,
“Excessive”? Or is it “appropriate” to convey justifiable disgust/anger on certain issues, especially issues he discusses in his later work?
Okay, I know that’s a subjective assessment… And, yes, sometimes it seemed gratuitous. So, I guess you’re right after all.
Why do I want to argue the point only to partially concede? Hmmm…. Okay, I’ll admit it. I cried when I read the news. I f***** loved the guy.
…
My faves:
1:00am Playin’ with Your Head (1986)
10:00pm Jammin in New York (1992) *
Life is Worth Losing
and to a lesser extent:
12:05am You Are All Diseased (1999)
(* Supposedly Carlin’s personal favorite, because “it also represented a newfound sophistication in his writing”, among other reasons.)
I was disappointed with:
1:00am It’s Bad For Ya (2008)
because (based on HBO’s promo for it before it aired) I expected George to expand on a much shorter (but hysterical) marketing/advertising-bashing routine aired only 1-2 years earlier. (I think that was aired along with an interview on program celebrating his birthday.)
What a great man. I miss the works he’ll never create.
By the way, apparently Google has some full-length videos.
Having observed Carlin critique our society over the past 5 decades…..
I have noticed that the likelihood of a person taking exception to the manner in which Carlin’s criticisms were delivered was in direct proportion to the probability that they embodied the very characteristics which were the object of Carlin scorn.
But, gee….it’s just a shame about Tim Russert huh?
“suggested we put the vice president on Meet the Press, which was a tactic we often used. It’s our best format, allowing the administration to “control the message.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert#CIA_leak_scandal
Carlin held a mirror up to society and said “Not only are you naked, but you’re fat too.” He wasn’t the one who made us that way though.