Philosophy: Bill Hicks

Bill Hicks

Another Dead Hero:


Invariably when a come across a person who is a self described "HUGE" fan of the band TOOL I ask them if they know anything about Bill Hicks, the man who's image is frequently used in the artwork of TOOLS album sleeves and they generally say they don't know anything besides the fact that he was apparently very influential on the band.

Quick Bio:
Born: December 16 1961
Died: February 26 1994 (pancreatic cancer)
Occupation: Comedian, Philosopher, Enlightener

There's not really any scholarly works on Bill Hicks, ironic considering the wide array of influence he has on many contemporary artists.

Prominent Themes:

1. Governments and organized religion have often times acted as a divisive and oppressive force in society. Especially right-wing and war hawkish elements.

2. Integrity and truth are paramount. Hick's material was often directed at the concepts of greed and "selling out". For example, under no circumstances was it acceptable to him for a prominent artist to allow himself or his music to be used in large scale commercial advertisements. He refereed to rock stars selling coca-cola as "Regeans capitalist wet dream". Pop stars such as Debbie Gibson (think Brittany Spears) with number one albums were indications that we were living on "the third mall from the sun."

3. Drugs like mushrooms and marijuana held powerful positive effects allowing someone to let go of their beliefs about the world and truly see that all is subjective.

Someone with a very small amount of exposure to Hick's material could very easily come away with the impression that he was arrogant and mean spirited when in fact prolonged listening proves the opposite to be true. The theme of togetherness and love are paramount to his worldview.

And if your thinking, probably justifiably so that this does not sound like a funny comedian, please consider:

#19: 100 greatest comedians of all time-as voted on by other comedians

Additionally a film is being planned with Ron Howard directing and Russell Crowe producing and very interested in possibly portraying Bill Hicks.





"The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever. Because this is just a ride." And we...kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok? But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, not work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace."