Thursday, February 15, 2007

Mind of Men-steal-a

If you've got 10 minutes, and you care about the world of stand-up comedy (I do), then watch this video of Joe Rogan finally cornering fake Mexican and serial joke stealer Carlos Mencia.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not down with the comedy scene like I was in the 80's. Back then it was, oh lord, so lush in the Bay Area. Just a great scene.

I'm sure there was some amount of professional discourtesy back then, too, but I never saw it.

That joke, by the way -- the structure of it -- seems like straightforward irony. Funny, but I wouldn't think to put a signature on it. If someone "stole" that from me I couldn't imagine getting too worked up.

Maybe I need a more glaring example, or Milton Berle proportions. That man would rip the herart out of your material for a laugh. That's a real thief. I have nothing against (or for) Mencia, but this seems to me a big whoop over very little.

Anonymous said...

I've never cared (one way or the other) for Joe Rogan, but I admire his balls. Good for him!!

Also, I don't understand why no one has called Dennis Leary on his blatant BLATANT Bill Hicks ripoff!

Pibb claims that Rogan has also ripped off Hicks, but I've never seen any of his comedy, so I have no idea.

Anonymous said...

Um, that was me. Jess. Oops.

Pops said...

Joe Rogan goes after Leary for the Hicks thing in print on his website. I forget the actual URL, like joerogan.net I think.

But now I know why Joe Rogan is working at about 2% body fat and deadly proficient in at least two martial arts. It's so he could stand on stage and be the Intellectual Property Rights Avenger and not worry about fat-asses like Ned Holness kicking his ass.

Unknown said...

Personally, I think all great art is stolen. The video was cool. Thanks for sharing with the class.

vikkitikkitavi said...

Chris: I know! I hate Joe Rogan, but how can you not root for him here?

DaveE: I know, he is vile.

Michael: I think the point is that Mencia does steals all the time (even CM's friend Bobby Lee makes reference to it in the vid) and this was just one particular example of where they happened to have the guy there to corner him. And it's not the premise of the joke that is unique - obviously not - it's the way it's structured that has been very carefully worked. That's what Rogan is talking about when he says that it takes a long time to get a joke just right, and so yeah, it's pretty maddening when some lazy asshole just steals the completed results.

Jess: Yeah, I heard that shit about Leary as well, but not for a while. I guess since Bill's been dead for about 10 years, the source has dried up. Here's Joe talking about it:
http://www.joerogan.net/main.php?
archives=1&article=44170

Pops: Rogan says that he got kicked out the Comedy Store by owner Mitzi Shore's son Pauly "oh, so that's why he has a career" Shore. He said that Mencia felt "physically threatened," so I guess the martial arts thing is working for him.

Dave: All great art is stolen? Spoken like an artist, dude.