10 Reasons The Early 90s Were Better Than The Early 2010s

You hear it said that nobody could replace so-and-so, or that such-and-such was a one-off, but in the case of Bill Hicks, it was true, and two decades after his death, his brand of outsider comedy has never been equalled, never mind bettered.

It’s been ripped off by Denis Leary and others, but when it comes to expressing frustration at an increasingly frustrating world, nobody’s funnier. Playing to small audiences, he ranted against corporations before it became fashionable, claiming that advertisers and marketers were in league with the Devil. Then along came Michael Bay to prove him correct.

While his colleagues told jokes about airline food, Hicks tackled everything from abortion to the run-up to the Gulf War, and his views on the latter caused walk outs. One 1990 routine has him impersonating a General arguing for war because Iraq has “incredible weapons.” When pressed, the General admits he only knows that because “we looked at the receipt.”