Talk:Bill Hicks

Legendary Status

Does anybody else think that this legend is possibly the greatest person to have ever been on this Earth?

suggestions for improving the article

Bill Hicks was not a comedian he was a genius. <-- this comment is dumb because the two are far from mutually exclusive.

I was interested in the posters' opinion that Hicks wasn't funny. This is missing the point of Hicks altogether. I have discussed this with others and I still say the beauty of his art was that people didn't get it. Even the condensed version of a truth was so far from their belief that it became too abstract for many. For someone who has been told their whole life by authority figures that drugs are bad as are people who curse to be confronted by Hicks could really be a shock and when some of the things he said made a lot of sense that created the paradox to force new thought. Once people realize some of their truths are wrong that opens the can of worms and that is what Hicks was really after. The Message - Here is the truth... the truth will set you free.... freedom and truth can change the world.

His friends all say he could be hilarious when he wanted to. His work and these quotes need this point explained to allow for a better understanding. Hicks work was using controversial topics and language to prove that learned beliefs and sacred cows can be wrong and should be challenged in a cathartic way to provoke free thought and perhaps arrive at a better truth. He did use enough humor to keep the performance light but not so much that his serious discussion become a circus. Every topic is condensed in his method. Smash a perceived truth, present an alternative. Every quote here uses this formula I believe. Pot is better than alcohol and I'll prove it. Pornography is in your head not in the magazine. He said that his definition of porn was money spent on weapons and keeping the masses poor and uneducated. The government uses lies and propaganda with symbols to create a false truth hence the Iraq sketch. To cite Hicks being hysterically funny when he wanted the bit about Hussein being a Hitler was mostly cut from Shock and Awe but included fully on the Oxford release. He mimics Bush talking to a hillbilly about the government having intelligence reports that prove Hussein was like Hitler because he liked to boil and eat puppies. When the hillbilly says he's not sure yet Bush says " you like kittens? " yeah. Well we also have intelligence reports that say he pulls the spines out of kittens to use as toothpicks. To this the hillbilly says- Let's go kill this guy, I had no idea he was that much of a maniac. That's the kill humor he had but seldom used.

My fave Hicks quote is not included here: "If anyone here has a problem with my smoking I suggest you take a look around at the world in which we live....... and shuttin your fuckin mouth. " And another " I'm like Chomsky with dick jokes" I know nothing about wikiquote so use this information as you can. I've studied Hicks for sometime so I doubt you'll find any errors. Just be true to Bill and "the message". Thanks, T

I have not watched the show "Sane Man" recorded in Austin, TX (1989), but... in the show: "Revelations" recorded in London (1992 or 1993) he says exactly the sam words. Odd? I suggest moving first two quotes down to quotes from Revelations. (Unless he really says the same words in 1989), but its not my article, so...

his best quote is missed: the one about the toyota truck, the floating iron fortresses in teh see and cowardice - intentional?

Perhaps the link should be to wikiquote:stand up ?

Might be worth splitting this page into separate albums/shows/themes?

Perhaps someone should edit this for formatting. Also, nearly all of the quotes listed under "attributed", I can pretty much confirm were said by him. At the least, they were released on CDs bearing his name. Perhaps I'm missing something, though. --24.95.234.22 22:18, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

I agree with the above user. The article really needs to be cleaned up. I.. don't really want to do it, though. Not at the moment, anyway. If the article is still in this state of disorganization next time I find myself looking at it (rather often, actually) and I have time (not very often), I'll start looking at editing it for formatting. (I DID just edit the talk page a bit to make it a bit friendlier to new comments; if this is frowned upon, I apologize and someone can certainly revert the changes.) --Jacques 23:26, 18 October 2005 (UTC)

Wow, this article teaches me nothing at all about the man's life. Talk about needing serious work!

^^ Well, it's just a collection of quotes, you're not supposed to know anything from that. Go use Wikipedia for a biography. And one of the things I found was the incorrect placement of quotes. Quotes from one album are under the heading for a different album. This should be fixed.

Random comments on Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks was thought-provoking and funny. I haven't seen another comedian that could evoke the cerebral laughter that he could. Except for Maynard James Keenan.

Bill Hicks was as much a philosopher as a comedian. He should go down as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century. The greatest geniuses are the ones that challenge our view of the world and look at it differently. He's a great, great man.

Bill Hicks is the psychedelic jesus, he had the balls to tell the truth and spite all that 'war on drugs' propaganda.

Im downloading all this guy's stuff right now.... cant wait to listen.

What a fucking genius.

Hicks was a vile man?

I'd just like to start by saying Bill Hicks was an incredibly intelligent man with opinions that only offended the socialogically conditioned, unfree thinkers whose views have been shackled and contorted by the various governments of the world. Open your mind to some of the brilliant philosophical statements he puts forward in several of his shows and then maybe you will understand just what a fantastically bright, logical, realistically thinking man he really was. If you consider him so vile then i wonder why you are taking the time to see if his 'life is as vain as his jokes'. Surely you have better things to do than investigate the life of somebody you apparently hate so much. I don't know, you may not. I will be quite pleased if you don't reply to this comment, as a lack of response on your behalf carries with it the chance that you may have found something better to do with your life than go to sites about people you do not like and openly disbarage them on the message board. However if you do choose to reply i will be equally happy to discover whether your opinions have changed by reading up on this mans life or if you are still adamant that he was a 'vile' man.

Funny thing is Hicks and Jesus were kind of similar (spelling) hated and despised by the masses for his ideas. His ideas were different, and humans dont like what is different.

Yeah Hicks is a vile man. And it's funny. So what if he's vile? If vile's out there, why not see it? You're here, so you're interested, so it's interesting. Maybe it could be good--wait a second--HE'S FUNNY. AND INTERESTING. AND-OH MY GOD-YOU MAY LEARN SOMETHING! The man has a lot to say, and if you disagree with it, argue against it. Don't wince and hate-that's emotion. Reason is stronger. If you argue against it at least you can formulate a rational opinion of it. Then once you practice practice practice, you'll form enough strength of reason, agree with him and have a ball. Haha. No seriously though, argue against it, it'll do you good.

Repeat jokes

Could someone clean up the repeated jokes. Some are just short versions of a longer joke.

Somebody Knight That Man

Bill Hicks was one of the greatest comedians in history: Fact. The fact that his ideas and opinions caused so much controversy was his entire point: People dont think, if they dont hear what they want the dismiss it and come up with reasons why it cannot be right, or its "vile". However, you have absolutely backed up what Bill Hicks was talking about in every hilarious and mind expanding show he did, so from his point of veiw: Thank You.

From my point of veiw: Shut the fuck up and think about things more you dumb shit.

The point, if you missed it.

Towards the end of his life, Hicks admitted on stage that he had finally quit smoking after years of vehemently supporting it. Some members of the audience heckled him or booed. He had to point out to them that it had never been about smoking or not smoking, it was about freedom of choice.

Because Hicks used things like smoking, drugs, pornography, anti-government sentiment or questioning religion, a hell of a lot of people thought he was cool cos he was a rebel or they thought he was blasphemous and immoral or they thought he was simply trying to shock. They missed the point.

The reason Bill Hicks used those subjects to get his message accross was becuse they were subjects in which he could go against the accepted norm and try and challenge people to think for themselves. And also because they made a lot of people laugh. He was a comedian. There was a big slice of philosopher in him but the Jesus comments are a bit much.

For those that think he was vile, you're entitled to. But take a look at his life if you're so interested, his biography is out there and it's interesting to say the least.

I personally think the reason so many people get so vicously opposed to what he says is because his arguments are articulate and well thought-through. But then again they're his arguments, he's not just unquestioningly following accepted beliefs.

I also think he'd be very pissed off if he thought people were unquestioningly following the things he said.

Wow, this article teaches me nothing at all about the man's life. Talk about needing serious work!

It's not supposed to, this is just for his Quotes, the proper one is on the real wikipedia 124.157.91.91 22:31, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Umm not sure how to do this.... don't want to step on anyone's toes here... I just want to comment on the comment that the Jesus comments are a bit much. Perhaps so. But then, maybe comparing Jesus with God might be a bit much too. Or even thinking there might be a God in the first place?

I think talking to Bill; listening to Bill; might have illuminated some folks' lives in much the same way that exposure to Jesus was said to have done. And, at least in Bill's case--because I can speak about that from experience--it wasn't that he (I'm talking about Hicks here) was some God it was just that he had some sort of sympathetic vibration with truth--that he was maybe some touchstone to a better vantage point, and that that had a profound effect on many folks. It certainly did with me. I have more thoughts on this, but I don't know the Wiki Way very well so I will stop now. Peace

RIP, Hicks

His humour sucked, but freedom of choice is a good thing to point out, and I'm especially interested in how he's understood the use of media to control the people. Here's to hoping many more in the future can learn from you, Hicks.207.210.29.71 03:27, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

His humor rocked. There is no other comedian to use that format- razor sharp beratement of accepted ideas. It would be one thing if he just poked fun at, and destroyed each subject; but he stays on subjects for up to 25 minutes, covering so many witty and sarcastic angles. He was on stage 250+ days a year. The man did not use comedy as a stepping stone to fame, but reveled in it.

Dates?

Hicks died in 1994. He hasn't produced any material since then. Why are there quotes dated 1997, 2005?

Those dates are when the newspapers/sources containing those quotes were released I believe. — RyanCross (talk) 06:08, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

Actually, they are posthumously published recordings. ~ Ningauble 15:25, 31 August 2010 (UTC)

It really took 11 years for a recording of Salvation to be released, then? Somehow I don't buy it. In any case, would it not be more accurate to note the date of recording in cases such as that? You wouldn't attribute something e.g. to Hitler as "2011" upon the discovery of his real diaries or whatever... 77.102.101.220 02:06, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Date of publication is best for clear, verifiable citations to the published source. I have added annotations to help clarify the posthumously published works. ~ Ningauble 15:25, 31 August 2010 (UTC)