Carlin often railed against health nuts and hypochondriacs. In one monologue of his, he joked how as a young boy he used to swim in raw sewage in order to build up a strong immune system. In another, he denounced germaphobes, those arguably neurotic people always washing their hands. So what, referencing the title, is so bad for us? Namely, that which sets off our BS detectors. And wouldn't you know it, Carlin's own was most hypersensitive and responsive!
Still, the title of this concert is rather misleading. Carlin's aforementioned trusty detector takes a long time to reveal itself. The greater portion of this has Carlin generally relaxed, low-key, making lightweight observational humor. He's certainly his crotchety old self but not quite as vitriolic as he was in other stand-up shows of his.
In this, Carlin announces his age. At the time, he'd just turned 70. As such, our lovable balding curmudgeon spends a lot of time musing about death and dying. He talks about the advantages of being elderly, how easy it is to forget friends and loved ones who have passed on, as well as some of the stupid things consolers say to the bereaved. As if there's not enough stage material in this life for the guy to go on about, Carlin turns his attention to and is critical of some aspects of the afterlife, as well.
It's not just oldsters that good ol' Georgey has some critical things to say about here, but youngsters too. According to the comedian, a lot of kids are losers -- failures, underachievers, incompetents -- apparently, however, just not in classrooms, at home, or on the playing field, where they are praised to no end, championed, and unanimously victorious. As for the parents of these imps, the comic lovingly condemns those who are overprotective of their sons and daughters, to the point of what he feels is borderline child abuse.
Where I laughed the hardest was when Carlin gets to talking about phone conservations. Is there anything more annoying than a telephonic rambler? He instructs the audience as to the proper body language to use when dealing with a yawn-inducing windbag on the line. You don't want to be rude and just hang up on the person, after all.
The last twenty minutes of IT'S BAD FOR YA! Are the best. In these, Carlin's tone changes, as the social commentator in him is finally released, with unquestioning, techno-zombies the first in line to be criticized. Then it's onto religion, with just a sprinkling of political commentary. On a more serious note, the late great George Carlin discusses the violation of human rights by governments, freedoms which he observes are shrinking as time passes.
Dear Mr. Carlin. If you get this message on the other side, hurry back. Reincarnate. We need people like you now more than ever.
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