Quote: Oldrocker @ October 11 2011, 12:07 AM BST
Does he shag Katie Price as an encore ?
Alex Reid seems a nice guy on the reality shows and he's obviously hungry for some sort of credible fame, Jimmy Bond etc but as a fighter he's really bad, I was aware of him before the Jordan/Transvestite stunt and despite being so ripped up he's quite weak. Guys in the UFC or mixed martial arts would truly end his life. He's lost his last 7 fights, his head's never right. He took part in a UK Vs USA bout and got smashed up in round 1.
As for Rogan, Chappers, when you said you didn't like stand up a couple of months back I suspect it's because UK stand up is quite weak. Americans completely blow Brits out the water. American open mic-ers online are ten times the quality our polished seasoned circuit pros (that I've seen live) are. The gulf in quality, for whatever reason, is frightening. Everything's just so "Ha-Ha" naff. There's a distinct lack of point of view for some reason.
Maybe it's a population thing, cultural climate or a Brit-censorship thing, but really, it's a debate that needs to happen somewhere, the difference in skill and intensity of subject matter is depressing.
England likes to laugh at America's stupidity in general, yet, maybe because there's more of them, even though their stupid is a million times lower our stupid - Their shining lights burn a million times brighter than ours ever do.
We have our so-called heavyweights, Jimmy Carr, Lee Evans, Brand, Gilbert, O'Brian, Gervais, Mack, Kay, Bailey, McIntyre, all our other headliners, plus the rotating Apollo cast, all funny guys and gals, not always to my taste, but clearly funny to their own fanbase. Then there's the American headliners currently doing the rounds Joe Rogan, Louis CK, Mr. Douglas Gene Stanhope, Bill Burr, Jim Norton, Carolla, Benson, Tosh, Chappelle, Segura, Rock and so on and the difference in quality is staggering.
Depressingly staggering. Comparing headliners past is even more alarming, Izzard, Dee or Connolly or any our eighties "The Comedians" to the likes of Pryor or Bruce or Kinnison, Hicks, Murphy, Carlin and so on is frightening.
The same way England can't produce a great action film, or a great epic, for whatever geographical/budget/thespian reputation reasoning, it shouldn't apply to comedy. There's just this sheen of twee drama school crapiness to everything over here. People still twittering on about bloody Python or random club comics and double acts that makes us nostalgic for the past.
I wish things were different and we had an industry to be proud of. Our music f'cking rocks! Our bands have changed the history of music, our stars can easily rub shoulders with American rock icons.
I just wish we weren't so meekly second placed. As if we peaked with Shakespeare and everything since is just running on fumes and a rep no-one seems to live up to.
Anyway, Rogan is an absolute star of his craft. His podcasting and his Stand Up of 18 years are out of this world. Genuinely goosebumps kind of good. Even though the show's sold out and I regretfully wasted Gerry Mac's time posting about it, I hope a few of you get into him who aren't already.
There's a full gig online/youtube "joe rogan - reference copy" and convert it on a YouTube-mp3 site and you'll have a great great album in minutes.
*Sorry for the long post. Just thinking out loud.
