PEOPLE

“The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likeable. In three days no one could stand him.”
– Joseph Heller, Catch 22

For stories from this section, click on the left, under PEOPLE.

For a child from the suburbs of Ontario, the album seemed like something from another time, or another world. Too young for the politics of the sixties, I was old enough by the seventies to groove to the music. Lenin-Marxism was for yippies protesting US imperialism; I had discovered Lennon-McCartneyism.
– from We All Shine On: Remembering John Lennon on the anniversary of his death

Once describing himself as “Chomsky with dick jokes,” the motormouth Texan reviled comics who blunted their edge to become court jesters for the throne of commercialism. He hated the sell-outs who offered the rubes inoffensive humour about airline flights, cats and McDonald’s. Shills like Jay Leno came under his withering attack for urging “bovine America” to inhale more Doritos. He frequently pleaded with people working in advertising or marketing to kill themselves for the good of the species. Although his material was always blue and often misanthropic, it was more shock than shlock. The frequent comparison of Hicks to Lenny Bruce still holds. And like Bruce, Hicks would eventually outwear his welcome in his homeland.
– From Chomsky With Dick Jokes: The Life and Art of Bill Hicks

In a time when genuine, heartfelt love songs are thin on the ground, Scott’s romantic tunes are often ecstatic, boundless, worshipful, like the grand and simple She Is So Beautiful, written about discovering his soulmate during a mid-nineties stay at Findhorn. There’s little to compare his love songs with in the archives of contemporary music, but I do see similarities with the poetry of the 13th century Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi. At its core, Scott’s music beats with a big, magnificent heart, fired by that one thing you cannot fake and that you rarely hear in today’s top 40: honest-to-God joy.
– from Mike Scott: A Wonderful Disguise