We here at Racket revel in cuss words, discomfort and satire, so you can imagine how devastated we are when an icon of all of these things falls. Below we have three separate eulogies for Mr. Carlin from the Racket Staff. We’ll miss you, man.
There are a lot of comics out there who are known for their specialties or specific routines; George Carlin however was known for his controversial topics such as his “7 dirty words” routine. Mainly his political and dark humor, which made everyone not only scowl, but laugh their asses off.
He was a funny sonnofabitch who knew how to piss people off but tell it like it is. He saw the world and the inhabitants for what and who they really are.
George Carlin joins his friends Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor wherever the hell they are tonight.
As a fellow comedian he was like a teacher to not only me but many others.
George will be missed by his fellow comedians and family.
You’re one funny fuck you old sonnofabitch!
For more of his history check him out on Wikipedia.com
-The Reverend Rex Worth (rev @ racketmag.com)
Surprise Surprise.
George Carlin. George Carlin was the first stand up comedian I ever heard that I believed had any sense of humor. I don’t mean that others weren’t funny, but I genuinely believe that George Carlin could take a joke, too. You can’t tell me that Jerry Seinfeld would find it as funny if you pantsed him as Ol’ George would have. As many a celebrities have found out, I do not get star struck, and I rarely care when a celebrity goes to jail, has a kid, does drugs or even dies, but when I heard today that George Carlin has died, I was immediately bummed out.
Now, along with Steve Irwin, there are just two “celebrities” that I have actually written about upon news of their passing. Just this last Friday, I was discussing America, and said that the two worst things about this country is 1) no one calls each other out on their bullshit and 2) America, as a whole, is losing it’s sense of humor. Carlin probably realized this before I was born, and if it hadn’t been for my parents allowing me to actually watch his HBO specials and playing his albums for me, I probably would have grown up as a miserable excuse for a human. Now, I am surprised that his heart gave out on him. Well, that is until I think about the amount of drugs that man’s done. But he died a legit death, and not some pussy, stupid shit death like a speed overdose. Thanks George, I hope you’re wherever you wanted to end up.
-Jonathan Yost (jonathan @ racketmag.com)
Seven Words you can never say in Heaven:
When I was young kid, I mean a young kid, I used to not be able to sleep at night. One night, I snuck into the living room, while my parents slept and turned on the television. What appeared on HBO was a George Carlin’s 1996 stand-up, “Back in Town”. A lot of the jokes I never got at the time, sure, but there was something about his stage presence that was more captivating.
You see, when we’re all younger…we all whine and complain for change. We do it now with a farcical presidential candidate. We hope we have enough money in the bank; we hope, hope, hope something changes for the better. Eventually though, it seems we all kind of just get tired of hope, or things change just enough to where once when we would have called, “bullshit” we barely even pay any mind. A lot of the time this is referred to “growing up” or “maturing”. We all seem to “grow up” and “mature” just enough where we don’t pay any mind to the younger generations complaints, yet just old enough to get offended when they say or do something the disrupts what we’ve become comfortable and numb with.
George Carlin never “matured” or “grew up”. When most of his generation settled for taking it easy, and riding out pension plans in Florida, Carlin went the route he always went: his own.
Throughout his career he was often labeled as a purveyor of filth, indecency, and a beacon for “counter-culture”. Fighting religion, the Supreme Court, and often times his own audience, these actions defined Carlin through and through, with enough integrity to never settle, to never accept the status quo, and to always say what was on his mind.
In a country that’s history is muddled with witch-hunts, and blind patriotism, one that seems reluctant to let go of the Puritanical past over days prior; George Carlin said what many were thinking, but were too timid to say. Sometimes it takes a funny man to subtlety inject the world with a serious way to perceive reality, and what happens around us. George Carlin would often refer to his purpose of life to “entertain”. But it was his context and presentation that influenced so many others, in many aspects of life.
Maybe humanity is doomed, and maybe life is worth losing after all. Maybe it’s more than that, or…it could be nothing at all. Maybe we were never meant understand why it is we are here, or what it is we’re supposed to do, period. Maybe that’s why we all feel a calling, and mistake that for destiny. Many people feel that comedians in general, are nothing more than just jokesters. I believe they’re here for the social commentary, and breaths of honesty we may never get in any other facet.
They say all the worlds a stage, and if that’s true, well…we all have a curtain call to answer at the end of the show. Whether you’re met with roses or boo’s, one thing is for certain: No one gets an encore. It matters only what you say during your time in the bright lights, and how you want to say it. You just have to say it, and you have to say it with no fear, and sometimes no regard. That’s what makes lasting impressions; that’s what shapes the world and saves lives. Carlin never had an ounce of fear in him, for better or worse. He truly was a pioneer of his craft and natural born limit-tester, and line crosser. We all lost something great, but we’re left with something greater:
1. Shit – The bird shit on the statue.
2. Piss – I have to piss like a race horse.
3. Fuck – Fuck you.
4. Cunt – She has a nasty cunt.
5. Cocksucker – Go to hell, you cocksucker.
6. Motherfucker – You are a motherfucker.
7. Tits – Hey, nice tits.
-Aaron Hale (aaron @ racketmag.com)
“It’s the quiet ones you’ve got to watch. You know that one, eh? Every time you see a story about a serial-killer on TV, what do they do? They bring on the neighbor. And the neighbor says “well, he was always very quiet”. Someone in the room says, “it’s the quiet ones you’ve got to watch”. This sounds to me like a very dangerous assumption. I’ll bet you anything that while you’re watching a quiet one, a noisy one will fucking kill you! Suppose you’re in a bar and one guy’s sitting over the side, reading a book, not bothering anybody and another guy is standing on the front with a machete, banging on the bar, screaming “I’ll kill the next motherfucker who comes in here!” Who are you going to watch? You’re goddamn right.” – George Carlin