One of my favorite pass times is watching stand up comedy. If you don't know what that is I'll explain in short words. Dude comes up the stage and he talks about his life, or any number of topics in a funny way. Some of them write jokes for years and when they are popular enough they release their specials, around 1h worth of material filmed in some theater and released to the public. It is a big industry in America. The rest of the world still needs to catch up. Now, this people talk about a lot of controversial topics and they do tend to get into trouble for that, but people forget that it is a comedy, you can make any topic funny. If you love this kind of entertainment there are thousands of great comedians out there for everyone, but i have to pick my favorite 10 for this list.
There are so many great ones so it is hard for me to chose, but here goes.
1. George Carlin
Hands down the best stand up comedian. Not only that you could drop dead from laughter from his jokes, also sometimes his sharp wit could make you think about life and society. He had the most HBO specials and I've watched them all many times. He was still great in his old age and will forever be remembered as the best.
2. Richard Pryor
What can I say about Rich, he was funny as he was troubled. 1st time when i watched his "live in concert" I almost died from laughter. No comedy movie, no sitcom, no real life situation made laugh as that stand up special.
3. Louis C.K.
Louie Louie Louie Louie.. A jingle from his Television Series Louie. Louis C.K. is like a vine, as he is getting older he is getting better. Every special he releases is easily my favorite moment of the year.
4. Bill Burr
Bill is one crazy SoB, the way he performs and talks on that stage makes him one to watch, just like Louis C.K. he is getting better all the time. His rants about women and relationships are consistently funny. He was single most of his life but he also got married, figures..
5. Jim Jeffries
Ausie Ausie Ausie! He is one of my favorites cause he talks about topics that are interesting, like religion or guns. He is one of those rare comedians that can make anything funny and is still young so we will have years and years of his comedy.
6. Daniel Tosh
Daniel Tosh is one of the crazier ones, he is a host of one of the most controversial tv shows Tosh.0, something like Jerry Springer but internet audience. He talks a lot about minorities, women troubles and what not. Your typical american comedian but sharp and witty.
7. Bill Hicks
One of the best comedians ever, he died very young and his genius could never be fully uncovered. He was also one of the activists against his government and religious kults that were rampant in Usa back then. Life is just a ride.
8. Chriss Rock
Chriss Rock is one of my favorites because he is sharp and can point out exactly the problems with society and struggles of African American people. His sharp voice can make you laugh even if he talks about accounting.
9. Pablo Francisco
When he was on he was the best, lately he is not producing any material but back in the day his voice impressions were the best. His vocal capabilities reminded me of Michael Winslow from police academy movies. Funny funny Dude.
10. Eddie Murphy
Eddie before he was a huge movie star was a huge stand up comedy star. His specials "Raw" and "Delirious" are easily the best specials ever. It is a shame that he went full mediocre movies actor instead of great stand up performer.
Carlin was funnier back in the day. I saw him back maybe 8 or 9 years ago and the whole audience was pissed. He was terrible. All he could talk about was suicide...it wasn't funny at all. And i have a sick sense of humor. Now Pablo Francisco is super funny.
Wish i could of watched Carlin live. Like everyone i'm sure he had his bad days.
Pablo took a break, no new material in years.
Eddie was the comedian of the early mid 80s. Richard pryor was the father of most of them. I love me some standup. Thank you.
thanks, I needed a laugh!
No problem ;)
doug stanhope! but I love the fact that you have Bill Hicks on here. Tom Segura is extremely funny as well! There are so many good comics. DAVID CROSS! @moon32walker
Yeah, I like Tom Segura and David Cross. How come you went so far in the past to find this blog from 9months ago?:)
I was looking for other people interested in stand up comedy. Your blog popped up. There's not many of us apparently on steem, unfortunately!
Stand up is baller
I actually have a friend who is a stand up comedian, that is a very hard job to do in Croatia, he is mostly doing it for fun. We watched almost every stand up special ever released, so I'm covered there :)
Yeah, my cousin is trying to break into stand up currently! It definitely is a hard medium to write for. Some comedians take decades to truly catch their stride: Louis CK and even Carlin (well at least in my opinion).
If you haven't checked out Louis' web series Horace and Pete you should definitely check it out my friend! It is straight genius! Extremely insightful dark comedy with light touches. @moon32walker
Yeah I've seen Horace and Pete. It's a weird one for sure, but I had fun watching it.
There's a great WTF with Marc Maron episode about the development of the show and its execution. Louis took a huge risk making it and I think it's absolutely unique and trailblazing!