11. Bill HicksRant In E-Minor
Rant In E-Minor was part of a batch of material that was released posthumously and it was so exciting because up until then all we had to go on was the one live video and a couple of tapes. I remember going up to Tower Records in Kensington to get it, listening to it on the train home and having to stop myself laughing out loud while surrounded by people. It makes me kind of sad thinking about Hicks now and the impact he could’ve made and also how prophetic he was about how all of our tastes have been used against us by marketing.
I’ve got a bit of a reputation for talking a lot during my solo shows although I’m not aware that I am – it’s just fear really, that fight or flight thing. Hicks’ "comedy of hate" is quite a safe place to retreat into when you’re on stage and it’s not going well. I’m more comfortable with being criticised than I am with being praised, always have been. There something passive about praise but with criticism you can strike back, "You’ve come here to see me? Thanks for making that choice but there’s obviously something wrong with you!"
