Carlos Mencia vs. Joe Rogan

[The ClayTaurus]

I figured Dan would appreciate this:

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[dan]

Jesus, that was pretty awkward to watch. I'm still glad it happened, though, someone needed to put Mencia in his place.

I don't particularly like his standup, but that clip from Howard makes me like George Lopez a lot. He sounds like a laid-back badass.

Now, if we could get a David Cross vs. Larry the Cable Guy video, THAT would be awesome!

[shattered]

Aww.. I didn't watch the clip, and I don't know the first guy, but...Carlos Mencia is a freakin riot. What's wrong with him?

[The ClayTaurus]

Aww.. I didn't watch the clip, and I don't know the first guy, but...Carlos Mencia is a freakin riot. What's wrong with him?Apparently he steals a lot of material. Watch the clip to see examples...

[darin]

"You're jealous" NEVER works as an explanation for why people hate another person...it's so...school yard. :(

[shattered]

Apparently he steals a lot of material. Watch the clip to see examples...

Musicians steal from musicians, comics steal from comics, writers steal from writers...

Funny is funny.

Period.

[darin]

Musicians steal from musicians, comics steal from comics, writers steal from writers...

Funny is funny.

Period.

Have you seen his "Arabs aren't crazy...AMERICANS are crazy" bit? :)

[dan]

Well, whenever musicians steal riffs, it's generally noted and looked down upon. And there's a huge difference between stealing a few chords and stealing jokes word-for-word, which Mencia has done. As noted in the video, George Lopez says that 13 minutes of Mencia's HBO special was directly from his (Lopez's) act. While it doesn't really matter to the general populace (obviously), joke-stealing is very much looked down upon among comedians, and this video seemed like more of a for-comedians-by-comedians thing than anything else.

On top of all this, Carlos Mencia is an entirely fictional character. His real name is Ned Hollings and he's half Honduran and half German, yet he consistently calls himself a beaner onstage. His entire act is told from the point of view of a Mexican, which wouldn't be THAT bad if he wasn't stealing legitimately Hispanic comedians' material, or if he wasn't constantly patting himself on the back for having the balls to say what he says.

[The ClayTaurus]

Musicians steal from musicians, comics steal from comics, writers steal from writers...

Funny is funny.

Period.I don't think the point was whether or not he was funny... the point was whether or not he was a true comic.

He's a great performer, for sure.

[dan]

Update on this: as a result of this confrontation, Joe Rogan has been banned from The Comedy Store and his agent dropped him. His agent is also Carlos Mencia's agent. Hmmmm.....

And, just to hate a little more:

He's a great performer, for sure.
No way. To each his own, of course, but Mencia's super-angry rant style peaked with Denis Leary's No Cure for Cancer in 1991. Then again, Leary stole quite a bit of material from Bill Hicks, so he's not great either. On top of that is the fact that Mencia must constantly remind you that what he says is shocking or controversial. He talks down to the audience in a big way.

Wanna know a comedian who's a terrible writer, but a great performer? Dane Cook. I can't think of anything dude's ever said that's made me laugh out loud, but I have no problem watching a 90 minute standup show of his on HBO.

[The ClayTaurus]

Update on this: as a result of this confrontation, Joe Rogan has been banned from The Comedy Store and his agent dropped him. His agent is also Carlos Mencia's agent. Hmmmm.....

And, just to hate a little more:

No way. To each his own, of course, but Mencia's super-angry rant style peaked with Denis Leary's No Cure for Cancer in 1991. Then again, Leary stole quite a bit of material from Bill Hicks, so he's not great either. On top of that is the fact that Mencia must constantly remind you that what he says is shocking or controversial. He talks down to the audience in a big way.

Wanna know a comedian who's a terrible writer, but a great performer? Dane Cook. I can't think of anything dude's ever said that's made me laugh out loud, but I have no problem watching a 90 minute standup show of his on HBO.I suppose the talking down thing I look past. You're certainly more of a comedic purist, so I can sympathize with your distaste for Carlos. I don't find Dane Cook particularly entertaining... I think the I-gotta-be-like-the-next-guy mentality in college has helped his success.