By A.D. AMOROSI
The late, legendary comedian George Carlin was renowned for his love of language: censored, like the famed "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" from his Class Clown album (1972), and commonly used and manipulative words and phrases that bugged him. Carlin was also known as a bit of a hoarder whose unused material is being divvied between the National Comedy Center (opening in Jamestown, NY in 2017) and the MPI label who, on September 16, will release I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die, a new album of never-before-heard Carlin routines
The new album spans Carlin's career, reaching back to his pre-stage start (homemade recordings from 1957), and forward to his HBO stand-up special, Complaints and Grievances, filmed the day before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This performance features a particularly dark routine about mass fatalities that was, for obvious reasons, cut before the program aired. It also presented prescient, socially relevant material on police brutality: "I love the crooks," Carlin jokes during his "Rats and Squealers" routine." I don't give a shit if they come to my house and kill my entire family. I'm on their side."
As always, Carlin is caustically funny and wise in a way that makes you wish you had thought of these things first. It’s all brilliant, but our favorite thing about I Kinda Like It When a Lotta People Die is simply hearing Carlin's voice again, alive and crackling with electricity.
For more info visit GeorgeCarlin.com
Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2016
