Bill Hicks



Bill Hicks was an American satirist, stand-up comedian and musician. He was originally from Texas, but would later live in and perform New York City and LA respectively.

His stand-up comedy, often described as "dark poetry", was both nihilistic and bleak - but it was also hillarious. He would touch on controversial topics such as abortion, flag burning, drug use, and American Politics. He was a frequent critic of many aspects of standard social behavior. Some of his routines have been described as "dissertations with jokes thrown in", with Hicks himself jokenly describing himself as "Chomsky with dick jokes."

Hicks died of cancer in 1994 at the age of 32.

Although not strictly a musician, his works are can be emotionally pulling - his humour is undeniable, but his negativity, increasing dark material and self-deprecation can pull you back and forth - making you laugh and loathe at the same time. This is done both through his material and (on his later albums) music.

When he found out he was dying, he recorded music to two of his unreleased albums. Sometimes the music was merely backing the material, but other times it took center stage, with entire tracks on the album dedicated to the music. Standouts for me have always been She's Got A Broken Heart and The Wizard Has Landed from Arizona Bay and Rant in E Minor respectively.

I debated for a while when I was writing this nomination whether or not to include videos of his work. I decided I would leave that up to other Hicks fans, as I believe the only way you can really experience the hillarity, the tragedy, and the genius of Bill Hicks is to listen to his albums.