Giant of the Week

Bill Hicks

A brilliant guy, who also was occasionally funny, particularly early in his career. I can't say that I'm the biggest Bill Hicks fan, probably the main reason being he was just way too angry. And his anger is justified; he's right on pretty much every point. But who wants to listen to an angry comedian? As time went on, and Bill became more disillusioned with life and the idiocy of other humans, he became less of a comedian and more of a preacher talking down to the fools (see also, Bill Maher). A possible consequence of fleeting psychedelic transcendence that isn't translated into fulfillment, acceptance, or irony. But he was a genius, just less so as a comedian later in his life. But you be the judge. The documentary on his life, American: The Bill Hicks story, is a tremendous movie. It features probably my favorite description of the psychedelic experience:

A bit longer clip of that scene is here, check out Bill's description of the psychedelic experience towards the end.