OK, two things. The first one is this:
Right now, there's about a 70/30 chance of my being music director/band leader for VCRP. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Anybody wanna be a trumpeter? Hee.
The second: Man, George Carlin's new disc reeks. I have been a fan, I have been indifferent, I have been a casual enjoyer. I have spent the last several years repeating his witticisms and enjoying the fun that can be had in feeling as clever as he often is. But, man, I just got what seems to be the newest CD. It's called Complaints and Grievances, and it's the griping of an old, old man. Whereas he has always had a profane streak to him, this time there's no sparkle behind it.
The disc opens with a little fluff talk about September 11th which amounts to "The Government is dumb, 'letting the terrorists win' is a stupid cliche." Sure, there's a point there, but hasn't it been made a thousand times? Then there's a bit which is absolutely clever about traffic accidents, at least for the first few minutes of the bit. Track 3 is gross body humor, and sure, that's fine. Then it goes absolutely down hill. The next 18 tracks go by the following formula without varying at all:
1. Here's a [group] who should be [killed horribly].
2. People who [do normal things]. I hate them.
3. Fuck!
4. They should [be violated and killed in a particular and horrible way], as should [their children or spouses].
5. Fuck!
Just insert a series of more and more horrible deaths and violations, and a series of more and more banal offenses, and you've got most of the disc. His complaints include people who carry cell phones, those who pay for small purchases at grocery stores with credit cards, singers with one name, and rich people who go around the world in hot air balloons.
Ending the show is a bit about the ten commandments condensed into two which either is very witty and clever or is a huge relief after hearing him suggest that people who send pictures of their children with Christmas cards should be hit in the face with heavy mining equipment.
Now, I like Lenny Bruce, I like Bill Hicks, I even like George Carlin, but I'm afraid this comes across as technophobic bitching by a man who seems to feel that the world has left him behind.
Or maybe I just miss grammar jokes. Whatever.
2 comments:
(Ah HA! Your frameset thwarts Blogger's login form, which is why I couldn't log in to leave a comment from your blog, and may contribute to your feeling that you have a low comment count. Make the "Post a comment" link have a target="_blank".)
Uh, anyway, what did I come here to comment on...? Oh, yeah, VCRP. When I was driving yesterday on... some road... that may have been Lamar or maybe Burnet or maybe something utterly else, I saw a Violet Crown SomethingElse. Are they both named for the same cultural reference I don't get, or is something else going on?
Yup. It's an O. Henry thing.
He called Austin the "Violet Crown of Texas." Since Austin can't be the River City, despite the large river which we call "Town Lake" in the middle of it, and we can't be Capital City 'cuz there are better than forty-nine others of them around, many of us latch on to O.Henry. Maybe he ain't a lot, but he's what we got.
OK, silliness aside, that's really where it comes from. The story goes that he said this because of the vast, purple sunsets for which the city remains blissfully unfamous.
Live music capital my fanny. What we got is the best sunsets in Texas, every day, at least according to an inveterate punster.
I'm gonna go look at fixing that tag right now.
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