PT Grimm's Online Sanctuary

The Public Sucks: A Tribute To George Carlin

"How are you folks doin' tonight? Good, well fuck you!"

My phone started ringing at 8:45 this morning. I ignored it. It rang again seconds later. I woke up and cursed the caller, trying to fall asleep against the protests of my ringtone. When the phone rang a third time, I sat up ready to bitch out whoever was on the other end. I grabbed the phone and looked at the face to identify the caller. It was Jeremy (Alien Poop), and I knew that he wouldn't be calling me this early unless something terrible had happened.

"I'm always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I'm listening to it."

I feel bizarre as I type this. George Carlin is dead. I've lost a hero, and I'm deeply saddened that his body of work will not grow any larger. I've never felt this way before, because I've never savored and admired the work of any artist as much as I relished the words of George Carlin.

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

Most news sites have posthumously summed up George Carlin as "The comedian famous for his use of dirty words," but George Carlin was so much more. Among other things, Mr. Carlin was a brilliant wordsmith, a faithful husband (twice), a modern philosopher, a drug addict, a champion of free speech, an Air Force outcast, a talented court jester, a devoted father, an unstoppable rebel, and my personal hero. If all artists are "Kicking against the pricks," then George Carlin did it best, and with the most infectious flair. Imagine if he's been president…

"I think people should be allowed to do anything they want. We haven't tried that for a while. Maybe this time it'll work."

In a world of fat contention and unbelievable stupidities, it's easy to see why Jeremy and I were so immediately drawn to George Carlin's work at a young age. Mr. Carlin took the emotions of the disappointed idealists and worded them in the most immediately accessible of ways, combined with a healthy dose of biting humor that acted as the sugar which made the medicine of his philosophies go down just that much easier.

"Standing ovations have become far too commonplace. What we need are ovations where the audience members all punch and kick one another."

Whenever a new George Carlin special was to air on HBO, my friends and I (Jeremy and I especially) would prepare for the event as if we were about to witness proof of the paranormal, giggly phone calls the night before, excited high fives and favorite quotes all day, watching the whole of whatever shitty movie proceeded the special to make sure we didn't miss one second. We were NEVER EVER let down by what Carlin delivered. He was quite simply a gifted thinker and a master entertainer.

"The public sucks, fuck hope."

Sometimes Jeremy and I would put on a George Carlin record and just sit listening until someone else hit pause and asked, "What the fuck is wrong with you? Let's put on some music." They didn't understand, and today when they asked me and Jeremy what was wrong, they still didn't understand. Ask any band who their influences are and you can almost guarantee that Pink Floyd, The Beatles or the Doors will be mentioned. Ask any member of PT Grimm that same question and George Carlin is almost always mentioned first. George Carlin was a 71 year old stand up comedian who inspired a group of kids to start an insanely weird metal/punk/goth band. His audience was as varied as the myriad of amazing performances he's given because he reached the common denominator inside every cynic, presenting his ideas with clarity and humor.

"I think he's down there right now, screaming up at us."

I'm thankful that I was able to meet George Carlin and tell him just how much I admired his work. Most times he was able to voice my feelings much better than I ever could have. Two of his routines stick out in my mind as I type this. The first being his routine on 9-11 immediately after 9-11 occurred, and the second being his routine on why people don't get offended when Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor use the word 'nigger.' With such sensitive issues, any other artist would have had their audience turn against them, with full media backlash, but George Carlin walked away having pleased his audience while still making a valid point about society…That's how fucking amazing he was.

I don't have much of a closing for this, so I leave you with one final quote from George, "Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time."

With Love,

Mike Nashanian and PT Grimm