It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since George Carlin won a posthumous Grammy for the album version of his last HBO Comedy Special, It’s Bad for Ya. I wasn’t able to confirm these facts, but I’m almost positive that George was the first comedian to do an HBO Comedy Special and that his count at a dozen plus two holds the record for most shows of the kind.

Carlin was prolific. He was also intensely focused while simultaneously being intellectually facile and emotionally intense. Carlin’s mastery of language is unsurpassed in comedy and it’s that quality that puts him at the top of the funny guy list for me.

Carlin’s last special aired a little over a year before the comedian’s death and one could forgive a man in his ’70′s for missing a step or two. Here’s the thing — George didn’t miss any steps in his last special.

It’s Bad for Ya ranks with the best of Carlin’s live specials, plus it won that Grammy. Here, George describes American life as “…a whole lot of bullshit that needs to be detected and avoided.” These, then, are George’s last words on american bullshit…

Stay Awake!

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel where I archive most of the videos I curate at Insomnia. Click here to check out more Counter Culture posts.