Of Their Time

[poliphilo]

Brian Logan in the Guardian has been asking young comedians what they think of the late Bill Hicks- and it turns out they aren't hugely impressed. For one thing they're inclined to go "Who?" For another, his rock and roll stylings- the cowboy hat, the chain-smoking- are no longer remotely cool- and neither is the angry man persona. "If someone came on stage with that energy," says Chloe Petts, " You'd think, Oh my God! You're an arsehole." His act, she continues, " Is like mansplaining from start to finish. And we're a bit bored nowadays of that." 

Around the time I read the article I also came across a photograph of another famous controversialist of the Hicks era- a writer not a comedian- well, Christopher Hitchens if you must know- and he was gazily moodily into the lens with a cigarette in his fist and the collar of his raincoat turned up- as if against the raw winds of Chandler's mean streets- even though he was indoors- and I thought, "Oh , dear, oh dear, oh dear..."

These guys belong to our very recent yesterdays (well, they seem very recent to me) and in their time were hailed as brave and cutting edge- and now we're inclined to laugh at them- but not in any way they wanted us to.  

You can say, "Well, they were of their time"- and that would be very kind and understanding- but it doesn't get the dry bones up and dancing. 

Comments

[shewhomust]

It's recent past which dates so badly, of course - in time they may come round again. (Or we'll discover someone who was less successful at the time, who speaks to us more clearly...)

[poliphilo]

All this is true- but I doubt these two guys will ever climb back onto their pedestals. I don't think there's enough substance in either of them.

[oakmouse]

The fact that they were "of their time" doesn't mean that they weren't abrasive asses; one can have a time full of lousy human beings who do and say lousy things. I'm not familiar wth Bill Hicks, but Christopher Hitchens certainly doesn't rank high on any list of people who deserve to be remembered for the right reasons.

[basefinder]

I didn't realize Bill Hicks was popular on your side of the pond until just now.

He was not one of my favorites but since my own dabbling in stand-up was in Texas in the early 1990s, I've certainly heard of him.