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78th out of 131 books
—
58 voters
Love All the People: Letters, Lyrics, Routines
by
Bill Hicks,
John Lahr
In 1993, network executives abruptly cut the final appearance of comedian Bill Hicks - a scathing tirade of digs on the Pope and the pro-life movement - from an episode of The Late Show with David Letterman. His banning from the show, along with a profile in The New Yorker by veteran writer John Lahr, catapulted Hicks to national prominence. Just months later, at age 32, h...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
by Constable
(first published 2004)
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Apr 28, 2010
Anita Dalton
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
books-we-own
So it was disappointing as hell not to love this book. In fact, it was disgusting to realize that during large sections, I was bored. The problem is not Bill. The problem is the editing. The idea behind the book was to show Bill’s comedy routines as he performed them throughout his career so that the reader can see how Bill’s routines evolved over time. The problem with this approach is two-fold:
First, Bill Hicks had the same message throughout his career. Bill Hicks’ message stayed on point mor...more
First, Bill Hicks had the same message throughout his career. Bill Hicks’ message stayed on point mor...more
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Whether or not your are a fan of Bill Hicks is unlikely to change the fact this book swiftly becomes a chore to read. The idea is sound: provide excerpts from Hicks' routines over the years to show their evolution, and the book is open about the fact this will necessitate some level of repetition.
However the minimal editing, with huge routines quoted verbatim, offers no real sense of evolution at all. The result is that there is little point to re-reading the same jokes and the whole affair beco...more
However the minimal editing, with huge routines quoted verbatim, offers no real sense of evolution at all. The result is that there is little point to re-reading the same jokes and the whole affair beco...more
Frequently hilarious--but quite repetitious (duplication of monologues). Bigger problem (than the relentlessly commie tone as well)--is the contradictions: we learn that Bill is a misanthrope who thinks people are basically good; and his Message of Love is a bit out of phase with all the people he wants to kill. And this Voice of Reason stuff was pretty Tom Paine-ish--jeez, maybe you should act as if the intervening two hundred years had occurred. And the thing about the Letterman censorship was...more
This book is absolute rubbish and I will vote it the minimum of one star on Goodreads . The content does not work as a book and it is the worst book I have ever read. Love All the People never moves on because it is so shallow in content. Bill's stand up routines are repeated time and time again as an account of each venue is replayed. His routines revolve around the war on drugs, how musicians have used drugs to become creative, magic mushrooms, smoking, the Kennedy asassination, the Waco seige...more
I had had no idea who Bill Hicks was until some years ago when I picked up Tool's "Aenima" CD. Buried in the liner notes is the dedication to the genius of Bill Hicks. So I started Googling and discovered that I, who loves stand-up comedy and who grew up on Carlin and Martin, had somehow missed out on the subversive, abrasive and relentless Hicks.
One reason for this is that he died in early 1994 of pancreatic cancer, just as he was gaining critical mass in America's "comedy scene". Another was...more
One reason for this is that he died in early 1994 of pancreatic cancer, just as he was gaining critical mass in America's "comedy scene". Another was...more
I loved Bill Hicks's stand-up routines when I saw them on TV (never got to see him live), so I was looking forward to reading this book. It was good initially, but as it provided a transcript of what seemed like every gig he ever did, it quickly got repetitive and stale.
So much of the power of Hicks's performance was in his delivery that the words on their own don't convey his message that well, even when you can picture him in your head. What's missing from this recitation of Hicks's routines i...more
So much of the power of Hicks's performance was in his delivery that the words on their own don't convey his message that well, even when you can picture him in your head. What's missing from this recitation of Hicks's routines i...more
Like almost all anti-establishment figures who died before their time, Bill's premature death served to seal his reputation as an almost godlike figure. Easy to be cynical about that of course, but also worth remembering that to be timeless you need a special something in the first place. Bill was no saint, no genius, and his arguments were not always as watertight as they might at first have appeared. But reading his material 16 years on - and reflecting on everything that's happened since - he...more
"I left in love, in laughter, and in truth and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit."
-Bill Hicks 1994 (Within a month of his death)
While one may dismiss Bill as a cynic who had a wretched disposition toward humanity, this sentence dispells such perception and accurately reveals Hicks' true character. He was a funny and loving individual who left this world far too soon. With heightened intellect, he sought truth and through the art of comedy, he boldly delivered his find...more
-Bill Hicks 1994 (Within a month of his death)
While one may dismiss Bill as a cynic who had a wretched disposition toward humanity, this sentence dispells such perception and accurately reveals Hicks' true character. He was a funny and loving individual who left this world far too soon. With heightened intellect, he sought truth and through the art of comedy, he boldly delivered his find...more
I'm fascinated by Bill Hicks' story so I picked up this book expecting to learn a little bit more about Hicks the person. I didn't get that, which is fine, but it was filled with transcripts of his hilarious and well before it's time stand-up act.
Perhaps it had a little too much of his acts, as it tended to repeat itself often, since it's a line by line transcription of actual live shows Hicks did at the peak of his career. The book could of used a little more editing, cutting off the repetitiv...more
Perhaps it had a little too much of his acts, as it tended to repeat itself often, since it's a line by line transcription of actual live shows Hicks did at the peak of his career. The book could of used a little more editing, cutting off the repetitiv...more
Genius isn't a word to be thrown around lightly, but with Bill Hicks, it's the only word that applies. More than a stand-up comic; he was a stand up philosopher. George Bernard Shaw said "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not." Bill did both - he asked why with wicked humor, and told us his dreams with wonderful and starry-eyed language.
The book consists of transcriptions of some shows from 1985 to 1993. There is some repeated material, but l...more
The book consists of transcriptions of some shows from 1985 to 1993. There is some repeated material, but l...more
Rating is for the execution, not the content. As far as the content goes, it seems to contain more-or-less complete transcriptions of all of Hicks' albums, but it doesn't say that anywhere in the book. I wonder if they actually transcribed the albums or just used other live tapes with the same basic material so as not to technically run afoul of anyone's copyright.
Aside from the general quick-buck, cash-in vibe of this, it kind of drove me nuts that, in one place on the back cover, it says "Hic...more
Aside from the general quick-buck, cash-in vibe of this, it kind of drove me nuts that, in one place on the back cover, it says "Hic...more
It's hard not to hear Bill Hicks narrating this inside your head as you go along. Perhaps this is due to the fact that large portions of material in the book are repeated, most of which you would have already heard. While it is interesting to watch how routines evolved over several shows, the sense of deja vu can be overwhelming.
That said, if reading the same material over and over feels like a problem, skip the transcripts and move straight on to the rest. It's no reason to miss the rest of the...more
That said, if reading the same material over and over feels like a problem, skip the transcripts and move straight on to the rest. It's no reason to miss the rest of the...more
As a non English-native-speaker it was quiet good to have Bills remarkable views on modern life written down. In this short summary of Bill Melvin Hicks you don't only experience him as a comic but also as highly evolved human being - what still makes him unique. The biggest problem with the book was that as a interested reader you are forced to go a couple of times through some of the same/similar live-gigs.
Nevertheless this book gave me a greater insight to this extraordinary person and that...more
Nevertheless this book gave me a greater insight to this extraordinary person and that...more
There' s no doubt that Bill Hicks was a groundbreaking comedian who's still relevant today - maybe even more so than he was 20 years ago.
That said, the book presents some problems to a more casual reader. During the five or so years when he was *really* cooking, Bill tended to adjust and develop his program gradually while still keeping the main thrust and a lot of the individual pieces intact. Anyone who has listened to more than one album or watched a couple if DVDs will have found some - wel...more
That said, the book presents some problems to a more casual reader. During the five or so years when he was *really* cooking, Bill tended to adjust and develop his program gradually while still keeping the main thrust and a lot of the individual pieces intact. Anyone who has listened to more than one album or watched a couple if DVDs will have found some - wel...more
Nietzsche once said of Dostoevsky that "he is the only psychologist from whom I have anything to learn". I repeat these words here to say that Bill Hicks is the only comedian from whom I have anything to learn.
Billy is probably the only person who, without ever having met, I love with all of my heart.
This book was mostly composed of transcripts from his shows. I liked the footnotes, which clarified some of the popular references with which I wasn't always familiar. I also enjoyed, generally, se...more
Billy is probably the only person who, without ever having met, I love with all of my heart.
This book was mostly composed of transcripts from his shows. I liked the footnotes, which clarified some of the popular references with which I wasn't always familiar. I also enjoyed, generally, se...more
Bill Hicks needs a compendium of his words, writings and thoughts, similar to Kafka's "Parables and Paradoxes," or the collections of the great rock critics of the 1970's (specifically Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer & Nick Tosches). This is not that collection. Sure, it has the texts of all his commercially available recordings, as well as numerous interview transcripts, noteboook entries and correspondence from various parts of his life, and his jarring insight and furious zeal for enlighten...more
What's there to say?
Bill Hicks is a fallen, dark poet. Maybe the dark poet, who didn't like labels on anything. And he certainly didn't like governments sticking their fingers in things, as well as christians, non-smokers, homophobes, rednecks... Endless list.
And he did love the search for truth and the debunking of lies, which - as he states in the book - was once Noam Chomsky's definition of what lays the base for being an intellectual. I think Bill hit the nail straight on its head when he de...more
Bill Hicks is a fallen, dark poet. Maybe the dark poet, who didn't like labels on anything. And he certainly didn't like governments sticking their fingers in things, as well as christians, non-smokers, homophobes, rednecks... Endless list.
And he did love the search for truth and the debunking of lies, which - as he states in the book - was once Noam Chomsky's definition of what lays the base for being an intellectual. I think Bill hit the nail straight on its head when he de...more
It was great to be able to get to enjoy so much of Bill Hick's work in one place. Never has such an independent minded person walked the earth. He would say anything as long as it was true. He tapped into a vein that had never been touched and kicked open the door for a new approach to comedy. While his views weren't always popular they always seemed to be right. He would speak the truth no matter how many were against him. If I had one criticism of this book it would be that you end up hearing...more
Jul 21, 2008
Johan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Drug users, Hicks fans
Shelves:
biographic
As it says on the front page, this book is a collection of routines, letters and lyrics by the great philosopher and stand up comic Bill Hicks. There’s transcriptions of a number of his shows all through his career. I’ve listened to the shows so many times that it wasn’t really necessary to read through them on paper, although there’s some nice explanations in foot notes to some of the people and events Bill refers to in his acts.
This one really gave me a greater insight into the personal philo...more
This one really gave me a greater insight into the personal philo...more
Depending on your point of view, Bill Hicks was a comic genius or a crass boor. To his admirers, Hicks was a stand-up comedian in the tradition of Lenny Bruce - smart, direct, uncompromising, using humour to sugar his bitter invectives against hypocrisy, injustice and wilful ignorance. His detractors saw only a shock-comic who used free speech as an excuse for bad language and bad behaviour. It's unlikely that this book will bring the twain closer together, but it may help those who loved or loa...more
Jun 25, 2007
Richard
added it
In 1993, network executives abruptly cut the final appearance of comedian Bill Hicks — a scathing tirade of digs on the Pope and the pro-life movement — from an episode of The Late Show with David Letterman. His banning from the show, along with a profile in The New Yorker by veteran writer John Lahr, catapulted Hicks to national prominence. Just months later, at age 32, he died of pancreatic cancer.
Now available for the first time are Hick's most critical and comic observations, gathered from h...more
Now available for the first time are Hick's most critical and comic observations, gathered from h...more
This is a great read to get to know more about Hicks. His letters and stand-up segments are so funny and so clever and then at some point he's aware he's dying and it becomes heart-wrenchingly poignant. Not only was he desperate to spread his vision he was also in search of enlightenment. Comedy was just his tool. And it appears he was a great writer too. Cleverly the book is complied with perspective around Hick's extracts so we can always feel the impact.
Dec 15, 2008
Aaron
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
philosophy-religion,
life-story
I would certainly recommend that you listen to his albums or watch his videos before you read this. So much of his humor is in the delivery of his jokes, that you really can't do him justice on the printed page. With that being said, this contains pretty much everything done by Bill Hicks that you'll ever need or want. It contains transcriptions of several of his acts, getting just about everything I've heard him do at one time or another. Also included are his open letter to John Laher in respo...more
Reading this book makes me really appreciate the last comic genius we had to grace the surface of this planet. Nobody (yes Dennis Leary, I'm talking about you, you rip-off merchant!) comes close to the dry, eccentric and political humour that Hicks delivers. This is a mashup of routines (JFK conspiracy etc.) and interviews and is a nice companion to his DVDs like 'Relentless'. Definitely a worthwhile read for comedy fans.
I'm thrilled that this book exists, but it's a lot like one of those jazz box sets that incorporate the complete recording sessions for an album - it's interesting to follow the evolution of a song in the studio, but all of them? In a row? It takes some serious OCD to listen to that, and it does here as well. In addition, this has the issue that trying to transcribe a spoken word performance to paper is like reading sheet music. Lots of subtleties are lost. That said, if one reads the non-transc...more
One of the funniest books I have ever read.
The transcripts of his routines are just amazing, even without him there to deliver them, they work just as well on the written page.
I remember nearly falling off the sofa, I was laughing that hard. If you like your humour uncompromising in any way, sometimes dark, and very very direct, this is for you!
The transcripts of his routines are just amazing, even without him there to deliver them, they work just as well on the written page.
I remember nearly falling off the sofa, I was laughing that hard. If you like your humour uncompromising in any way, sometimes dark, and very very direct, this is for you!
Possibly the most thought provoking, contriving & controversial stand-up genius of my time, funnier than Eddie Murphy, cursed way more than Richard Pryor, smoked more than a chimney & drank more than Amy Winehouse but he made MORE sense than any politician in any cabinet that I've ever heard;...
His only rival was his own inspiration, Lenny Bruce;....
His only rival was his own inspiration, Lenny Bruce;....
Just being excerpts from Bill Hicks' (whom I adore) life, I enjoy every aspect of this book noting all his live stand-ups and small pieces about him and his life. Though his 'comedy act' is similar throughout his life so be ready for some repetition, which is easily ignored when watching his stand-up, but not so when reading them.
Bill Hicks was a fantastic comedian with a very important message and reading this you realise how little has changed and how relevant that message still is.
Reading his letters and interviews gives a great insight in to the man behind the routines and for an Hicks fans the book is worth reading for those alone.
The only problem with the book is that the rest of it, which is the bulk, is transcripts of his routines over the years. These do not vary a lot and it does become very repetitive which is...more
Reading his letters and interviews gives a great insight in to the man behind the routines and for an Hicks fans the book is worth reading for those alone.
The only problem with the book is that the rest of it, which is the bulk, is transcripts of his routines over the years. These do not vary a lot and it does become very repetitive which is...more
Mar 04, 2009
Colin Mckenna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Hicks fans, stand-up comedy, scathing humor, truth seekers
Shelves:
nonfiction,
humor
The only drawback to this book is that it is repetitious in parts. But there is a point to it - it shows the evolution of comedian who tweaked his material on the road in the moment. His status among comedians to this day is legendary and that is what drew me to learn more about this guy. Some say he held the torch of Lenny Bruce. He is praised by the likes of Richard Pryor, Bill Maher, and Denis Miller (who has obviously lost his mind and is now a regular on FOX).
Hicks is at once way out there...more
Hicks is at once way out there...more
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| hicks | 3 | 18 | May 03, 2013 09:00am |
William Melvin Hicks was an American stand-up comedian.
Finding moderate mainstream success in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hicks tended to balance heady discussion of religion, politics and personal issues with more ribald material; he characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes."
More about Bill Hicks...
Finding moderate mainstream success in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hicks tended to balance heady discussion of religion, politics and personal issues with more ribald material; he characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes."
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“I believe everyone has this fuckin' poem in his heart.”
—
41 people liked it
“...I just want to be free of the fears and anxieties and the superstitions of religion. An 'avenging GOD'? One who created Hell for those who don't believe? I thought we were the perfect and holy children of GOD? How could any limits possibly be put upon us? Hell.. really? I'm sorry, but... no. Wrong. You're wrong. That's an insane GOD and therefore not mine. Because, see, GOD would be very sane, don't you get it?”
—
37 people liked it
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