JCC Tim Hawkins

It takes a truly creative person to be funny without resorting to crude material, and Tim Hawkins is one of my favorite comedians today. Here's some samples; I hope you like them.

 

No

 

I like Kids Rock, very good song parodies.

 

The kids rock is good, Jaypes.

I like it when they say naughty words though.

 

Oh yeah, this is that harmless religious comedian who makes jokes about how climate change is false. Good times.

 

Never heard of him. Which means he's too obscure or simply not famous enough to otherwise have made a blip in my radar.

 

I just find it refreshing that there's still comics out there who can generate the same kind of applause without such an approach.

You'd have to cite an example; he's addressed it a few times in different ways.

There's also the possibility you're not among his target audience.

 

Why is that refreshing, in your opinion? Do you think it is more challenging to have a comedy act which doesn't use "crude material"? Why? And why do you think it's more creative--or different at all--to say "crap", for example, instead of "****"? Do you think that people laugh just because someone says "****"? Isn't saying "crap" the same exact thing? How is listing inane things that most people find inane creative? Is it more creative, in your opinion,to appropriate the music created by others and coming up with lyrics that sound kind of the same than it is to create your own songs with your own music and lyrics? What about this man's act, specifically, do you find so commendable? That he targets an audience which, because he "keeps it clean", feels they can bring their children along, thereby purchasing more tickets? Help me out here.

 

Yes, because it requires the performer to aim for more than the lowest common denominator.

It depends on the context. Some laughter results from nervousness, and some comedians aim for more than mere "shock value".

Creativity is expressed in a variety of ways; Weird Al's had a tremendous career as a parody artist for almost 35 years.

I don't think he does it solely for the money. I've seen him in person, and he genuinely thinks of his audience as more than strict "customers". He doesn't deliberately seek controversy, unlike others in his profession who do exactly that.

 

In my opinion, they are. I like some jokes from comics like George Carlin, but most of them are ones where he's not being vindictive. Its hard for me to enjoy comedians who are full of rage, and little else.

Fair enough.

 

Except that he's still making "jokes" about 1 Direction and The Kardashians. How is that not the lowest common denominator? The songs you linked, which are the only songs I've heard, are about things conservatives don't like or care about, stereotypes about middle class, middle age heteronormative men, stereotypes about old people, and a song about a tractor that is emasculating because it's pink and this threatens most of his target audience's masculinity somehow, on account of how "gay" that is. These are not lowest common denominator "jokes"?

You didn't answer my question at all. How is Crap different than ****? Why do you think "dirty" comedy makes people nervous? The only people "dirty" comedy makes nervous are the people who consider it dirty.

But why do you think that is more creative?

This is his career is it not? If so, he is doing it for the money. I don't mean to say he doesn't enjoy or love his job, but do you not think every comedian loves their job and to make people laugh? Louis C.K. sells his specials for less than five dollars, and Bo Burnham puts his on Youtube for free. Are this man's shows free? And who are you talking about that seeks controversy? Most comedians seek an audience. Who are these comedians who are super edgy and controversial? Most comedians I've heard are pretty mellow and non-offensive. Why is it more creative to target one audience than it is to target another? Because one comedian talks about how much he doesn't like Occupy Wall Street this makes him more creative than someone who talks about how much he enjoys smoking marijuana? Why is that?

 

There's an inherent separation between finding humor in differences, and being intentionally malicious.

That goes into a whole 'nother topic, which I will not debate here.Feel free to PM me if you want.

I didn't say parody was more creative in itself.

Notice, I said solely for money. Everyone enjoys getting paid for their work, but that's not the primary motivation for some.

Again, it has to do with context. Jeff Foxworthy once said, "its hard to convince your kids to refuse drugs, when your T-shirt has a marijuana leaf printed on it."

 

Well, there's Gilbert Gottfried and... um... Gilbert Gottfried...

 

Yes, because there's more constructive ways to express the same ideas. I like some of Chris Rock's material, but aside from swearing, I also think he plays the "race card" too much.

He was illustrating how some colors are more commonly associated with women than men; it had nothing to do with gays.

I didn't mention the Bible, nor will I debate it in this thread.

 

Hey, you don't like angry comics, that's fine. But saying that George Carlin is any worse than Bill Engvall(whose comedy is tremendously malicious--"here is your sign" indeed) because Engvall doesn't say **** is disingenuous.

You said this man's act was "truly creative" because he doesn't resort to "crude material". And, while you may find this funny--much like many have found Weird Al and others like that to be funny--there's nothing especially creative about taking music someone else has already written and changing the words. It's much less creative, actually. Good for him, good for Weird Al, for making a career out of what they do(and love, I presume), but he's not especially creative.

Who is it the primary motivation of? You realize many, many comedians are broke, or do it on the side, right? And most of them don't make it big until later in their careers, after countless hours on the road and on the stage--and even then, many of them never make it big or at all. I would say every comedian who gets up on the stage to perform is doing it for more than money, because it takes way too much dedication and too many nights sleeping out of your car because you can't afford to get a hotel room for it to be otherwise, and I think it's just totally ridiculous to think that this man is virtuous at all because he doesn't resort to "shock and awe". No one "resorts" to "shock value" to sell tickets.

I wonder what Mr. Foxworthy has to say about convincing your children not to drink alcohol when he and his cohorts glorify beer and things like that(he goes on tour with a man who smokes a highly carcinogenic cigar and drinks whisky throughout his act--what kind of message does that send to children?)?

 

The point is that Mr. Foxworthy associates with Mr. White, and just because "drugs" are illegal doesn't make things like alcohol and smoking any less dangerous to children, and he still endorses those things by doing so.

 

I don't think saying swear words and being funny are necessarily related. It was proven nearly forty years ago by Bill Cosby. No need to start doubting it now. Even Louis CK has said he'd like to do a show without swear words, and I'm sure it would be good. Talent is what makes a comedian funny or not, not whether or not he says ****.