This post is very pretentious.
Stewart Lee
- Thread starter Alwyn
- Start date
Aye, that's a brilliant book.
The follow up which covers the 'Milder Comedian' tour came out in January.
The follow up which covers the 'Milder Comedian' tour came out in January.
Posted this quote in another thread about him years ago. It was this sequence, which I saw on DVD, that made me realise he was more than just funny, he was touched with genius.
Now she was a real historical figure, that French princess. But at the time of the death ofWilliam Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero, she was only 4 years old. Now, Glasgow, Im not saying that William Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero,didn't have sex with her. You know,he probably did. If I look at my own background there's a lot of sexual opportunism involved. Im not saying he didn't have sex with her but if he did, and he definitely did, it would have been a far less romantic scene than the one enacted by Mel Gibson in the film Braveheart. It may have happened in a tent but it would still have been not a romantic scene. Because that would have made William Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero, a paedophile. A Scottish paedophile. The worst kind of paedophile that there is.
Now she was a real historical figure, that French princess. But at the time of the death ofWilliam Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero, she was only 4 years old. Now, Glasgow, Im not saying that William Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero,didn't have sex with her. You know,he probably did. If I look at my own background there's a lot of sexual opportunism involved. Im not saying he didn't have sex with her but if he did, and he definitely did, it would have been a far less romantic scene than the one enacted by Mel Gibson in the film Braveheart. It may have happened in a tent but it would still have been not a romantic scene. Because that would have made William Wallace, Braveheart, your national hero, a paedophile. A Scottish paedophile. The worst kind of paedophile that there is.
Can't believe it took you so long to respond to that post. As someone has said in this thread, it's as if he seems himself as an artist rather than a comedian. Didn't he even have a joke about something to do with not finding him funny means you're stupid? Or something to that effect?More than just funny?
That's not even funny.
Humour is totally subjective and not all stand-up translates well to the written word but is that really a good example of him at his best? The French princess was very young when William Wallace died. Ergo the Hollywood depiction of events could only be true if he was a paedophile.
My aching sides...
So yeah, I don't really get him either. Might raise the odd smirk when he's being particularly clever (and he is clever) but I've never come close to laughing watching his act. Plus, he comes across as a smug tosser. Of course, this smug tosser shtick may well be some sort hilarious post-modern satire on the status of comedians in society today. feck knows. He still comes across as a smug tosser regardless. Which makes it very difficult to laugh at anything he says.
Reminds me a bit of Ricky Gervais. We all know he is deliberately acting like a conceited prick as part of his routine. Keep it up long enough, though, and it gets harder and harder to see beyond the conceited prick to the bloke who once used to make me laugh a lot. Conceited pricks are never funny, you see. On the basis that they're pricks.
It's not funny in print at all. But when part of a routine in Glasgow where he basically insulted all the pillars of Scottish culture for the whole show, it was very funny, to me anyway.
And while I do laugh at him, I do spend some time wide-eyed - the end of 'Milder Comedian' when he gets into the audience and shouts at the guy filming the show that he was filming for his DVD was great. Hilarious, no; but compelling.
I also like the hacking up of the Top Gear lads; anyone who hates them is ok by me.
And while I do laugh at him, I do spend some time wide-eyed - the end of 'Milder Comedian' when he gets into the audience and shouts at the guy filming the show that he was filming for his DVD was great. Hilarious, no; but compelling.
I also like the hacking up of the Top Gear lads; anyone who hates them is ok by me.
That's probably my favourite thing I've seen him do. The Richard Hammond hating.
I dunno, though, if I'm flicking channels and see his show I might watch it. Never set the box to record anything he does though. He's clever an' all but meh.. not my bag.
I dunno, though, if I'm flicking channels and see his show I might watch it. Never set the box to record anything he does though. He's clever an' all but meh.. not my bag.
That said, I'm going off stand-up comedy in general these last few years. Not sure why. They just all seem needy, rather than funny.
I like the confrontation in his shows, even though it's faux, it does create an edge or some discomfort. I've gone off almost all other stand ups too though. There was a time not long ago when I would happily watch them all day long.
Me and Mockney went to see him at Leicester Square Theatre a few weeks ago. The first half was really good, but after the interval it fell a bit flat and seemed like he ran out of material.
Interesting. I've him start shows and it looks like he has no material.
He was probably just suffering from a bit of comedic fatigue, what with him doing 100-110 charity gigs a year.
Yes I saw him in that tour a couple of years ago. Hamster Hammond.
Hadn't considered that the above doesn't translate into print. But I can see it now. When I read it I remember the whole thing and it just makes me laugh. You are right, it was the way he was laying into the Scottish audience, it was genius.
The other comedian I've been impressed with in recent years is Doug Stanhope. But I saw him about a year ago and it was really disappointing, very, very average. And his fans were such massive bellends, it was a real downer, the worst crowd I've seen for anything I think. Maybe I was unlucky where I was sitting.
He's definitely smug, but I don't mind that in him. I usually find smugness tolerable when it's suitably backed up by talent. It's smug people who have no idea they have nothing to be smug about that do my head in.
Yep, it's the way he delivers it as well, which obviously doesn't translate to the written word.
His routine about the reaction to Diana's death was brilliant as well, with the lifesized inflatable ALF.
I've just watched that 'routine' and come to the conclusion that he's not only incredibly unfunny, but an absolutely dreadful person. He tries to justify his barrage of insults by going "It's just a joke like on Top Gear!"
I still don't quite understand why people don't like Richard Hammond, but if you don't, fair enough, but he doesn't seem to justify his seemingly intense hatred with anything substantial. Just saying that he laughs at Jeremy Clarkson. In fact, I don't know how anyone can find this funny. At all. If I went out and issued a load of a racial slurs then said 'just kidding!' it wouldn't wash.
Then he has a go at Clarkson laughing at Gordon Brown as a partially blinded child. "It's not funny to laugh at a child going blind." I assume this is part of his hilarious irony that he employs, but it isn't funny. I also get the impression that he looks upon his audience, the people who pay his salary, with nothing but contempt. What a cnut.
But of course I'm most likely missing the 'joke' which hopefully someone would be kind enough to explain to me and my simple mind.
Eh? If you watched the routine then all your questions will have been answered within the routine itself, right down to this tacked on bit at the very end ...
I can understand if you don't find it funny (horses for courses and all that) but what's not to get?
To be honest I hoped it would be funnier than that, like there was some sort of irony or something about Stewart Lee that made it funnier than what it was. All he did was basically, take the piss out of Top Gear, in the way they take the piss out of everything else.
Well in this case you actually are.
Change Liam's tagline to 'Missing the Joke'.
Liam, you are an old conservative trapped in a young conservative's body.
What makes you say that? I mean, you're probably right, but why?
Basically.
Top Gear can be lazily racist (i.e the whole Mexican thing) and justify what they do/say as "just a joke". He took that and ran with it, saying some genuinely nasty stuff about the Top Gear presenters, justified on the same basis.
I didn't mind the routine, as I can't stand Top Gear and some of the bile he spat in their direction tickled my funny bone.
Did I make me laugh out loud? Not in the slightest. Not even close.
Which is a recurring theme when it comes to my experience of Stewart Lee. A couple of smirks at him being nasty about other people and an impression that he's a very smart bloke. But no laughs. And a vague feeling of irritation at his smug persona.
That's without even getting into how fecking annoying all the in-jokes amongst his fans (e.g. about his charity work). In-jokes are never funny. At any level. Why not wear a wee fecking badge from the Stewart Lee fan club instead? It amounts to the same thing.
That really is just it isn't it. Fifteen minutes 'mocking' TG presenter palming things off as a joke, which is clever, I don't think anyone would deny he's clever, but just not funny.
Although I wouldn't say TG is 'lazily racist'. I think they play on stereotypes that no one really believe (unless that is what you mean, in which case I don't see a problem with it), like the whole "lorry drivers kill prostitutes" bit. I can't imagine anyone believed it, yet they had to issue a big apology for it.
On a side note, I would file Stewart Lee alongside David Bowie, The Beach Boys and the novels of Jane Austen. I can't help worrying that I'm missing out by failing to appreciate a very obvious talent but just wanting to appreciate them more than I do isn't enough. They just don't do it for me.
He's not the best comedian by a long shot, but I find him funny at times.
If he is guilty of one thing is that he tends to drag the 'jokes' on too long, as I start to lose interest but that scottish bit was chuckle worthy.
If you don't like it fair enough but I'm sure there's comedy you like that I hate, like 'the Office', I just don't get it.
If he is guilty of one thing is that he tends to drag the 'jokes' on too long, as I start to lose interest but that scottish bit was chuckle worthy.
If you don't like it fair enough but I'm sure there's comedy you like that I hate, like 'the Office', I just don't get it.
Bowie is worth some time. Try the albums just before the Berlin madness. Hunky Dory mainly. The Beach Boys have a great song and Jane Austen is for burds.
Went to see him at the Lowry today with his Carpet Remnant World tour. Very good, but not the best material I've seen him do. That was the gist of the show though - that he had no material because he'd spent the last year driving to gigs and watching Scooby Doo with his son.
Some of the audience do have that "Look at me, I'm laughing at all the jokes. I get it, I am so awfully clever" persona though. Same as you get at gigs though where someone will shout stuff out to the band all the time and sing all the words just so everyone else knows what a dedicated fan they are. Put that together with people thinking that Lee's irony and sarcasm does not extend to his comments about the various sections of the audience responding differently to the jokes and you end up with a fair few people taking that at face value, feeling intellectually and culturally superior, then expressing such quite vocally after the show. Wankers basically.
Some of the audience do have that "Look at me, I'm laughing at all the jokes. I get it, I am so awfully clever" persona though. Same as you get at gigs though where someone will shout stuff out to the band all the time and sing all the words just so everyone else knows what a dedicated fan they are. Put that together with people thinking that Lee's irony and sarcasm does not extend to his comments about the various sections of the audience responding differently to the jokes and you end up with a fair few people taking that at face value, feeling intellectually and culturally superior, then expressing such quite vocally after the show. Wankers basically.
Did he do the thing where he picked out one member of the audience and blamed them for for ruining the gig at various intervals?
I thought the first half was great, and the second half a bit shit...Not Lee Mack shit. But shit for Lee.
I thought the first half was great, and the second half a bit shit...Not Lee Mack shit. But shit for Lee.
I agree completely with this btw. Anyone who claims to like the post Ziggy era more than the early 70s stuff is a liar....and a cnut. But early Bowie is genius.
No, he didn't single anyone out. I must admit I struggle to remember much of the show now, my memory is awful.
Ah ok. Was interested to know if it was part of the routine or a genuine improvisation.
Agree with that. I reviewed it in another thread on here somewhere. IMO the show lacks a common theme that underpins the material.
And yeah, some of his fans come across as utter cnuts.
I saw the Carpet Remnant show about a month ago. The Scooby Doo rope bridge thing was funny, and the you tube comments/twitter insults stuff was very good. He did keep referring to the audience, making jibes about sections not understanding the material etc.
He said he'd delayed the interval because not enough of the audience got his intended parting joke, I wasn't sure if he was serious or not!
He said he'd delayed the interval because not enough of the audience got his intended parting joke, I wasn't sure if he was serious or not!
Nah, it's part of the act. There was an older bloke in front of us in a queue at the interval who was asked by someone he knew where he was sitting: "With the people in the stalls who got it or with the peoples' friends in the circle". "Oh, I'm stuck with the cretins in the circle" he says.
Like I say, if he's so clued up, why did he take that part of the act completely at face value?
The joke was in French, right?
Like I say, if he's so clued up, why did he take that part of the act completely at face value?
The joke was in French, right?
Yeah, it was partly in french and I think it was something about anal cavities?
Exactly the same routine when I saw him.
It was very good, but not as good as last time I saw him, which was the tour with the Richard Hammond stuff in it. Which in turn was not as good as the stuff I have seen of him on DVD, from Glasgow and somewhere else I forget.
Still find him one of the funniest comedians around but there does seem to be more and more dissection and analysis of comedy stuff, which bores me quite quickly. He seems to be getting more and more self conscious about his comedy. I didnt find the slightly surreal stuff at the end about PC / Furniture World that funny either. But the Scooby Doo stuff was good - probably because I have a 4 year old son and watch a lot of Scooby Doo myself.
Generally there aren't many things less funny than seeing a comedian try to deconstruct comedy routines. It's like a lot of them get embarrassed by the idea of just being comedians and try to over-intellectualise the whole thing.