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Only answer if you've seen standup from both. If you're a Louis CK fan and you haven't seen Burr I suggest you check him out. I never thought I'd find another comedian I like as much Louis but I'm really not sure which one I like better. Probably Louis, he has some of the best and most creative jokes ever, but man, Burr nails it too.
| Louis C.K. | 87 | |
| Bill Burr | 177 |
I don't really think either is that great. I am gonna have to vote George Carlin.
Personally I think Carlin is very overrated but to each his own. I know he's a huge influence on Louis and probably Burr too (though Louis has got to be huge influence on Burr too) along with pretty much every other comedian so I do I have respect for him. If I'd been the age I am now when Carlin first came out I'd have probably loved him but his jokes seem a little dated for my generation. IMHO Louis took what Carlin did and made it way better, but that's just me.
Oh no, he's a character in "the king of comedy". An early Martin Scorsese film about a mentally disturbed wannabe stand up comedian.
Everyone should see it, there's really nothing like it. It was confusing to people back in the day, but is quite relevant now. Knowing your type of humour I thought you'd probably get it better than most.
"Largely misunderstood upon its release, The King of Comedy today looks eerily prescient, and features a fine performance by Robert DeNiro as a strangely sympathetic psychopath."
Who's Billy Burr? Any relation to Aaron?
Richard Pryor was my hero who, after a life threatening disaster, said that when you're on fire, people get out of your way.
Both great comedians. I'm going with Burr though. I remember a joke about him going to an arts and crafts fair with his gf and seeing a table of homemade muffins. He talked about the vendors hypothetical reaction if he just went up and started smashing the muffins with his fists. The look of complete shock and bewilderment as he pummeled the baked goods. It was something I could identify with as my mind often travels to such places. I found it relatable and hilarious. From memory I can't describe the joke as well but it was good shit.
I know right? At first I was leaning towards Louis but now I'm going more towards Burr, though I think it might just be because I've already seen all of Louis's bits a hundred times. If you compare one their jokes that's very similar though, like they both do stuff about suicide, I think Burr's version is way funnier (and I think it came out first?) but that's just one example. Also I think Burr has the timing and delivery down slightly better than Louis and Louis has been doing it for way longer. But when Louis is sloppy he totally just owns and makes it part of his charm, in fact those are some of my favorite Louis moments so yea I have no fuckin idea lol. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah indeed.
Do you really believe that? How much of his stuff have you seen? I generally find him to be highly intelligent and insightful, despite the often crude nature of his humor (let's be honest, what comic isn't?)
All he's saying is that most white people have had it way easier than most other races for most of history, and most of us take it for granted. Which you have to admit is kind of true. At least in America, anyway. Nothing he says is hateful towards any race. People just misinterpret the humor. After all, these are jokes, not meant to be taken too seriously.
Perhaps you should learn what jokes are before you come to such a conclusion. You see, when comedians say stuff, they are saying it because it's funny, not always because it's completely like your username. Also, you should learn what a poll is too. If you don't like Louis CK that's fine whatever but this post clearly isn't meant for you
Wait, did I just get a troll to shut up?? Wow, I'm proud of myself. Or maybe I'm dumb and you were just saying it 'cuz you know it'll piss off a Louis fan. But if you were serious I have faith that someday you will develop a sense of humor. I don't know why I'm not just ignoring him in the first place, I just like feeling like I'm smart sometimes lol
I don't really like either. But then they both fall into a type of humour that doesn't work well in Britain. Many American stand-ups seem to be angry and dismissive. Like they're always telling anyone who is different than them to go fuck themselves. It doesn't really appeal to us unless it's so overblown that it becomes funny again (Sam Kinison, for example). The American comedians that the British really took to their hearts are a bit different (Bill Hicks, Rich Hall, Reginald D. Hunter, Will Durst).
I often say Americans and the British share most of a sense of humour but nowhere is the difference more evident than in stand up. I'm a big fan of Stewart Lee and I don't think most people would really count the following as humour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP39lZ1nxw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4HKIzftp2k
Probably because there isn't a gag in it or a punchline. It like it because he's playing with the format rather than blindly going along with it. Changing the parameters of something and seeing how it bends often says more about something than just stating the obvious.
I enjoy dry and subtle humor like that too, used to be the main style of comedy I would watch but I just needed something different after a while so I have a newfound love for morbid humor. But yea, I suppose it helps to be an American to understand comics like Louis and Burr.
Personally, I think Bill Hicks is the worst offender of telling people who are different than him to go fuck themselves and he goes a little too over the top for my tastes. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like he is actually being serious with some of the hateful stuff he says, whereas when Louis says something awful it's usually just 'cuz he doesn't care and is just being funny, not because he actually means it.
Yeah, that's the thing. I can't say they're not funny. It just doesn't work for me as a non-American. Both comedians do both say things that amuse me, by the way, but I did pick on the going fucking yourself thing for a specific reason.
I also genuinely thought twice about putting Hicks in the list because I knew I was leaving myself open. Hicks definitely is being serious, by the way. It's not a joke. The thing is, I always agreed with him. The people he picked on really should go and fuck themselves. He didn't say it to make us laugh. He said it because he was pissed off.
Whereas I saw Burr talking about how he doesn't understand something (it was something sciencey) and he said some clever people had tried to explain it to him but they should just fuck off with their "magic". I know he was joking and I wouldn't take any offence to that. It's just that nagging feeling that they don't deserve it and that he was plugging in to people's irritation at those who either achieve or are clever. It just seemed an odd target although I do understand the joke and that it's not offensive and isn't meant to be.
You could have really skewered me with Stewart Lee, by the way. He is incredibly outspoken and leads savage personal attacks on other British comedians and public figures. He's generally right, though, and we do put up with mediocrity. It's actually a miracle anything of Lee's stuff is funny because he's generally being very negative about the things that annoy him. It's also lost me friends that I like him so much because it makes people think I secretly hate everyone and am too polite to say it. Which obviously isn't true. I'm one of the biggest moaners here (and in real life). I'm always on my soap box.
That's why I'm not a fan of Hicks, I don't think that's real comedy if you are just getting up on a stage and ranting and preaching, even if some of what he says has some truth to it. Being totally honest all the time is not the point of comedy, the point is to make people laugh. In my opinion, that is. But what makes some people laugh makes others cringe. 'Cuz yea, Burr is totally aware that he's the one who's stupid and insecure, but can't help but express his opinions anyway. That's why I like it, I can sort of relate to it but that's probably an American thing. I think he actually doesn't give himself enough credit though, because he'll talk about how dumb he is yet the stuff he says about American celebrities and athletes is very smart and I agree with him completely. But that's obviously totally an American culture thing so that wouldn't translate well in other countries.
And I don't actually know anything about Stewart Lee, I just thought some of the stuff from those links you posted were kind of funny. Louis is also way overly negative about the things that annoy him but he does it mostly for the effect
Actually, I might have to take that last part back. Louis hasn't really been very negative lately, quite the opposite if you see him in interviews where he's not just doing a bit. When people are open to him he's actually become much more open to what other people have to say than you'd think, he just doesn't let it change his opinions. I think the people who call him a philosopher based on his standup are missing the point, but if you watch the narrative parts of his show there's actually some really profound underlying messages in some episodes, and he works his ass off on that show. Gives you a clue to the kind of person Louis really is these days.
I actually found out about Reginald D Hunter from Would I Lie to You, in which he claimed that the D in his name stands for "Delicious" and defended his claim beautifully. His stand up is interesting to me, because he's based in the UK now, so it's comedy by an American, but you can tell that it's for a British audience.
Do you like Demetri Martin? I don't know how well his comedy translates, but I really like him, and he's pretty much the least aggressive American comedian I can think of. I'm really strange and obsessive in a lot of the same ways he is, though, so I find him very relatable.
I like Demetri Martin very much indeed but he hasn't been on TV here for at least five years. If you know about him, I'm guessing he's forging a career for himself back in America.
Kind of a shame (for us) because his humour works very well in Britain. I saw him live at the Edinburgh fringe one year and he was astonishingly good. And I mean *astonishingly* good. Actually, come to think of it, he won the Perrier Award that year. This is a big deal indeed. Other winners are Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Sean Hughes, Dylan Moran, Rich Hall (another American). And people like Noel Fielding, Eddie Izzard, Johnny Vegas, Lee Mack, Sean Lock, and Reginald D. Hunter were only ever nominees and not winners. That kind of shows how highly the British think of Demetri Martin. Can you send him back over here? We miss him.