The price of fame

[4stringer77]

Yikes! Sheryl Crow in her worst nightmares could never be as tasteless and unfunny as Joan Rivers (IMHO of course).

What are you a Mormon Dave? Joan was one of the great comics and a brave outspoken woman who had to use her wits to succeed in chauvinist male dominated industry. Even better, she wasn't afraid to stick her thumb in the face of Emperor in chief Obama. Jerry Lewis rules too.

[uwe]

I'm Catholic and I like Obama (well, someone has to!) plus have visited Cuba (that is now safe to say) and Iran (that will be safe to say pretty soon!) on business, but I believe ole Joan sure had some hilarious OTT moments! Bit like a female Gene Simmons in places with the coarseness/vulgarity of her truths. Satire doesn't have to be tasteful. Joan was so across the board divisive and outrageous with what she said and quipped, it all evened out in the end.

"What may satire do? Everything."

"The satirist is an offended idealist: He wants the world to be good, it is bad, and now he runs up against the bad."

Kurt Tucholsky, German-Jewish journalist, satirist and writer in 1919

http://kurttucholsky.blogspot.de/2006/02/was-darf-die-satire.html

[Pilgrim]

I rest my case about the black leather parts....   

[uwe]

[Highlander]

I'm Catholic and I like Obama (well, someone has to!) plus have visited Cuba (that is now safe to say) and Iran (that will be safe to say pretty soon!) on business... Satire doesn't have to be tasteful... it all evened out in the end...

Uwe... for you... by a much lamented satirist, par excellence... from a juggler of words... to a highly skilled linguist...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkHn7WFrzCU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPlMmwOq7U8

If the hat fits...

[Dave W]

Come on, guys, let's leave politics and religion out of this.

Phyllis Diller was the real trailblazer who deserved the credit Joan Rivers was given after she died. IIRC Rivers did give Diller credit for that.

Yes, Joan Rivers was unafraid, but to me she was tasteless and unfunny. Not my idea of comedy.

[patman]

gotta agree with Dave here...no Joan for me

Comedy doesn't have to be tasteful...look at Benny Hill or Red Green...

at least they're funny...IMOH

[westen44]

There is no right or wrong when it comes to comedy.  In other words, different people are going to think different things are funny.  When they showed "The Three Stooges" in the afternoon when we were kids, my sister and I would have totally different reactions.  My mother later on described it all in some detail.  She said that was the only thing on TV which caused me to laugh out loud really loud.  In general, I have always been somewhat of a quiet person, especially when I was a child.  She said my sister would sit there with a straight face never laughing.  Later I asked my sister about all this and she said she didn't think anything the Three Stooges ever did was funny.

In more recent times, Seinfeld became my favorite situation comedy by far.  It's dated now, fading into the past.  But while it was on I really enjoyed it.  My sister was always baffled that anyone would think Seinfeld is funny at all.  She says she absolutely cannot relate to it at all.  Yet I relate to it completely.  I think it's brilliant.  It's probably the funniest thing I have ever seen on TV. 

Of course I think the real issue goes way beyond just what different people think is funny.  Sticking with the example of my sister and me, we seem to differ on just about everything:  food, movies, music, you name it.  These are not just male/female differences, either, although that is quite a factor.  I just think we're structured radically different as people.  I'm sure the world as a whole has situations like this happening all the time.  There would be literally billions of examples. 

[Pilgrim]

I never got Seinfeld at all. 

Some years back, Charlie Callas cracked me up every time.

Whose Line is It Anyway keeps me rolling on the floor.

One can never tell.....

[westen44]

I can't think of a show I dislike more than "Whose Line Is It Anyway."  Every time I encountered it while flipping through the channels, I would be astounded that it was still on the air.  Maybe I never watched it enough to give it a chance.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much comedy that appeals to me much anymore. 

[patman]

I miss the Bowery Boys....used to be on every afternoon after school

[Pilgrim]

I can't think of a show I dislike more than "Whose Line Is It Anyway."  Every time I encountered it while flipping through the channels, I would be astounded that it was still on the air.  Maybe I never watched it enough to give it a chance.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much comedy that appeals to me much anymore.

Interesting!  "Whose Line" is the only show I can think of in the last 20 years that has had my whole family laughing so hard it brought tears to our eyes.

But it's cool, different strokes and all that. When I see shows like "Mom" and "The Murphys" on TV, I'm stunned that anyone watches them.  I loathe "comedies" that involve people putting each other down constantly.

[Nocturnal]

"Whose Line" can be hysterical most of the time IMO. Other times it misses the mark. My daughter loved it and made us watch it with her. I enjoyed it most of the time. Loved Seinfeld too! Also loved Arrested Development and that is usually a love-it-or-hate-it kind of reaction with people.

[westen44]

Interesting!  "Whose Line" is the only show I can think of in the last 20 years that has had my whole family laughing so hard it brought tears to our eyes.

But it's cool, different strokes and all that. When I see shows like "Mom" and "The Murphys" on TV, I'm stunned that anyone watches them.  I loathe "comedies" that involve people putting each other down constantly.

I got to thinking last night who I had already discussed "Whose Line" with.  I was friends with someone for a few years who really liked it.  She found it hard to believe I didn't like it.  Our sense of humor was obviously radically different.  Our taste in music was even more radically different.  I liked her very much as a person, but we drifted apart since we had no common ground.  She wanted me to listen to her favorite band "Owl City."  I tried not to be rude, but I simply could not stand listening to that kind of music.

(My response after only listening to it for a few minutes was "Please God, no...")

[Pilgrim]

I'm with you on Owl City.  Not my thing at all...spot checking 3 or 4 spots for 10 seconds each was enough to guarantee that.

But I'm sitting here listening to George Thorogood on Pandora, and I think you could consider him the exact opposite of Owl City. "Bad to the Bone" is a mega-classic IMO.