Doug Stanhope (comedian)

[SlitheryDee]

I was going through netflix's collection of stand up comedy that is available for streaming and just sort of adding everything that looked unfamiliar when I came across Doug Stanhope. Never heard of him before, but I was blown away by the show netflix had.

This is the kind of comedy I like. He's really reminiscent of Bill Hicks in the way he tackles sensitive issues and really pounds home the utter dumbfuck stupidity of some of the things people do, beliefs they hold, etc. Sometimes it's hard to listen to as you squirm under the magnifying glass of his inescapable logic. Other times you get to laugh your ass of while he picks on someone else. This is what stand up comedy is supposed to be IMO. A stand-up comedian shows us ourselves in a way we never saw before, and in doing so can drive home real points where the most eloquent and involved debate might fail. Stand-up comedy is made infinitely better when, at the core of the funny, there is a message that is as serious as life itself.

After hearing Bill Hicks, Doug Stanhope, and a select few others I no longer have patience for the legions of comedians with no real message. Who make their living popping jokes about minor aspects of relationships or inoffensive unimportant aspects of life in general. These people are trying to entertain you without touching on anything that might offend you. Sure, they might have a repertoire of poo-poo pee-pee, ass, "racy", funny sexual position, "naughty" jokes, but always told in an "aren't people the darnedest" general type of way. They don't cut deep enough to even be potentially funny.

So really what this post is about is what I think comedy should be, rather than purely about Doug Stanhope. Stand-up can have some real meat if you can stand to hear it, and once you do you might lose your taste for anything else.

Video Links (NSFW)

Freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTOQhPd2Xh4&feature=related

Drugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI_yaifPIEU&feature=related

Sex and Shame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYA9DaSIddo&feature=player_embedded

Christianity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS5DaTIF1a0&feature=player_embedded

Medicating "Interesting personality traits"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZKH2PGA8g&feature=related

 

[Beev]

The first time I saw him was on the "new" man show. He was absolutely terrible and I doubt I will ever like anything he does because of it. Same for Joe Rogan.

 

[SlitheryDee]

The first time I saw him was on the "new" man show. He was absolutely terrible and I doubt I will ever like anything he does because of it. Same for Joe Rogan.

Hmmm. Maybe he had to tone down his act a bit for a comedy central bit. In fact I'm sure he would have based on what I saw. I don't think he would hold up very well if he had to adjust his material for prime time television.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The first time I saw him was on the "new" man show. He was absolutely terrible and I doubt I will ever like anything he does because of it. Same for Joe Rogan.

Yeah that show sucked. It was also my introduction to Stanhope. He agrees the show was terrible. Fortunately I heard him several times on Stern after the Man Show - he is really an interesting character and a strong standup IMO.

 

[robphelan]

when i had XM a few years ago, i really liked his earlier stuff on the comedy channel.. the later stuff got a bit depressing

 

[SlitheryDee]

What about thoughts on stand up comedy in general? Does anyone else really get into it more when they think the comedian is actually trying to communicate something they believe rather than just playing a character they came up with?

I listen more closely, think more deeply, and laugh much harder when I think the person on the stage is sharing a piece of a meaningful contemplation they have spent a great deal of time fleshing out as part of a larger, consistent philosophy. When someone is trying, in an imaginative and funny way, to make you see something that you may have previously been blind to, it like it's "real". As a result it's funnier and more rewarding on every level.

Obviously I'm rather passionate about my comedy...I just wonder if other people ever get the same thing out of it as I do.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Here's a clip of a whole show I found on Google video. It's not quite as good as the one I saw on netflix, but still pretty good.

Word of Mouth - 2002