Vol. 3, No. 2, February 2006
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Life is Worth Losingv
George Carlin, Atlantic
It's been a little more than a year since George Carlin ended his four-year stint at the MGM Grand by berating an audience of 700 as being "people with very limited intellects." He then entered rehab after admitting to using "too much wine and Vicodin." Now, completely sober, the 68-year-old comedian is back on stage for his 13th HBO special and accompanying album, Life is Worth Losing, full of as much piss and vinegar as ever.
Carlin begins with some word-play, assembling an introductory poem comprised of the newest euphemisms creeping into the country's collective subconscious. He explores other familiar territory with now-antiquated slang terms that have been scrubbed from the public vernacular and shares with his audience some of his unique thoughts—topics like creativity in human sacrifice, the truth about mass graves, necrophilia and autoerotic asphyxia. Carlin spews forth a venomous attack on the societal ills of American culture—nothing new here. He doesn't pretend to be a philosopher or posture as if he has the answers, but his aim remains dead-on when he laments the desecration of the American landscape, noting, "Only a nation of unenlightened half-wits could have taken this beautiful place and turned it into what it is today: a shopping mall."
It shouldn't be hard to figure out from the title of this album, but Carlin spends much of his time discussing suicide, and it's in these dark corners that we find some of his best new material. He outlines plans for the "All Suicide TV Channel" and goes through the thought process of a man getting ready to commit suicide.
The dark topics are the real gems of this album. Carlin's social commentary remains spot-on, if not a little sharper without coming through the fog of pills, pot and booze.
However, when Carlin is able to elicit laughs while treading through morose topics like suicide and human sacrifice, we can see his comedic genius and realize how he's been able to sustain a 50-year career in show business.
