LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71. Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. "He was a genius and I will miss him dearly," Jack Burns, who was the other half of a comedy duo with Carlin in the early 1960s, told The Associated Press. Carlin's jokes constantly breached the accepted boundaries of comedy and language, particularly with his routine on the "Seven Words" — all of which are taboo on broadcast TV and radio to this day. When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, freed on $150 bail and exonerated when a Wisconsin judge dismissed the case, saying it was indecent but citing free speech and the lack of any disturbance. When the words were later played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a 1978 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening. "So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," he told The Associated Press earlier this year. Despite his reputation as unapologetically irreverent, Carlin was a television staple through the decades, serving as host of the "Saturday Night Live" debut in 1975 — noting on his Web site that he was "loaded on cocaine all week long" — and appearing some 130 times on "The Tonight Show." He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies, from his own comedy specials to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" in 1989 — a testament to his range from cerebral satire and cultural commentary to downright silliness (and sometimes hitting all points in one stroke). "Why do they lock gas station bathrooms?" he once mused. "Are they afraid someone will clean them?" He won four Grammy Awards, each for best spoken comedy album, and was nominated for five Emmy awards. On Tuesday, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented Nov. 10 in Washington and broadcast on PBS. Carlin started his career on the traditional nightclub circuit in a coat and tie, pairing with Burns to spoof TV game shows, news and movies. Perhaps in spite of the outlaw soul, "George was fairly conservative when I met him," said Burns, describing himself as the more left-leaning of the two. It was a degree of separation that would reverse when they came upon Lenny Bruce, the original shock comic, in the early '60s. "We were working in Chicago, and we went to see Lenny, and we were both blown away," Burns said, recalling the moment as the beginning of the end for their collaboration if not their close friendship. "It was an epiphany for George. The comedy we were doing at the time wasn't exactly groundbreaking, and George knew then that he wanted to go in a different direction." That direction would make Carlin as much a social commentator and philosopher as comedian, a position he would relish through the years. "The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have." Carlin was born May 12, 1937, and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of high school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site. While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston. "Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot," his Web site says. From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Forth Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs including a carnival organist and a marketing director for a peanut brittle. In 1960, he left with Burns, a Texas radio buddy, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. He left with $300, but his first break came just months later when the duo appeared on the Tonight Show with Jack Paar. Carlin said he hoped to would emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade that Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of its times. Only problem was, it didn't work for him, and they broke up by 1962. "I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn't really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people," Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya." Eventually Carlin lost the buttoned-up look, favoring the beard, ponytail and all-black attire for which he came to be known. But even with his decidedly adult-comedy bent, Carlin never lost his childlike sense of mischief, even voicing kid-friendly projects like episodes of the TV show "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" and the spacey Volkswagen bus Fillmore in the 2006 Pixar hit "Cars." Carlin's first wife, Brenda, died in 1997. He is survived by wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; son-in-law Bob McCall; brother Patrick Carlin; and sister-in-law Marlene Carlin.
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this report.
Chillax, vibe and enjoy yourself. From the hands of DJ Joemama comes this mix laced with the perfect slow blend for those summer sundowns. Joemama is pretty on the tables and his steelo is MEGA APPROVED. Straight vinyl from tha crates, one take, all smooth. Joe is good people. Look out for more Joe/MEGA connects.
Download our Man " J-Mah's" Down-Low Mix HERE-fo' FREE Suckahs!
This half of MEGA has battled a flu-cold as of late and thus forgive me. But. I can't wait for the day maxing out my "friends" on myspace or making lame posts on blogs no longer represents relevance or talent in this world. Myspace is like the year-book I'd never pay for and blogs are worse than some of the shit actually written in my high school year-book. I am fucking MEGA dammit. We will rock your shit. Go ahead, keep on booking DJs with myspace appeal. Your club is only as shitty as the djs you book. I just wanna be Rambo, live by the river, and catch cobras all day. Out. M
Now that Amy WInehouse has lost her initial fire and seems to be more and more cracked-out; the diaper wearing, the racist video diary, her obvious mental instability, who will take her spot as the finest export from Britain since the Aston-Martin?
Infectious has brought movement to the graphic madness that is a current trend in everything from advertising to clothing, toys and cityscapes.
The roster of artists in their fold is definitely interesting as they have secured designs by the infamous Junko Mizuno-Famous for her vicious graphic novels, Dalek-a former assistant to Takashi Murakami, Buff Monster-LA's Porn Star Painter extraordinaire, MAD-Who's work has graced the shelves of Kid Robot and Andy Harding-Infectious' founding artist and a Creative Director at Apple.
The "about" section on their product website slayed me, as founder Tim Roberts blatantly states that "It All Began With A Gorgeous Ass.."
[Refer to the polaroid above for insight on the pun and if I am not mistaken, it appears to be a Yugo? No wait. Maybe it's a Ford Fiesta?]
The website also contains tips and tricks for the perfect installation which also comes as a PDF file for download as well as a catalog of the complete current line of available designs which claim to last two years through all weather and washing.
Prices for the removable vinyl images runs from $99 for simple accents to $389 for the complete kit which claims to be a two person job.
Check out their blog HERE for more artists and works in progress.
In this day and age of mostly less than memorable style, where there are far more followers than leaders:
The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble cut their teeth playing as a family band and on the streets of New York City.
After moving to the Big Apple in 1995 from their home town of Chicago, Illinois, they have made their way to bigger stages in the U.S. and Europe, H.B.E. have performed with Mos Def, Ghostface Killah, Mike Jones, Aquilla Sadalla and have also recorded in the studio with the likes of Erykah Badu and Maxwell.
Cumulatively, they are the 7 youngest [of 15 sons] of the highly regarded jazz virtuoso Kelan Phil Cohran, who was famed for his work with Sun Ra's Arkestra and was a founder of AACM, [The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians] a non-profit organization whose charter included the devotion "to nurturing, performing, and recording serious, original music" and whose motto is, "Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future."
The eighth member is drummer 360 [aka Christopher Anderson] who rounds out the line-up and is also considered "family."
When the boys were between 3 and 5, Mr. Cohran taught them to play trumpet, tuba, drums, French horn, cornet and trombone. He would wake them at 5 a.m. for practice in their room, lined with bunk beds. First the boys were given just mouthpieces. Only when they could produce a pure sound did they graduate to the body of the instrument.
The creation of H.B.E in 1999, after a go as a hip-hop group called the Wolf Pack, represented their return to their childhood learned instruments and one another after teenage rebellions, including quitting music for a period of time, against their father’s stern principles.
The "Hypnotics" carry with them the history of their seminal heritage and the legacy of vintage brass ensembles, like the ones that often used to grace Louisiana's French Quarter for celebrations and ceremonial stylings yet their style also incorporates 60's R&B, 70's Funk and contemporary Hip-Hop into it's quotient.
Open-minded about their music, the group furthers the teachings of their father, echoing his message and bringing something substantial to their street sound, though H.B.E. prefer a more teasing approach. Tariq laughs as he explains their guerrilla approach to live shows: "We like to make your mouth water . . . give it to you in bits and pieces at a time, so you'll want more."
PARIS - Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent, who reworked the rules of fashion by putting women into elegant pantsuits that came to define how modern women dressed, died Sunday evening, a longtime friend and associate said. He was 71.
Pierre Berge said Saint Laurent died at his Paris home following a long illness.
A towering figure of 20th century fashion, Saint Laurent was widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, with the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, as its elegant headquarters.
In the fast-changing world of haute couture, Saint Laurent was hailed as the most influential and enduring designer of his time. From the first YSL tuxedo and his trim pantsuits to see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Saint Laurent created instant classics that remain stylish decades later.
When the designer announced his retirement in 2002 at age 65 and the closure of the Paris-based haute couture house he had founded 40 years earlier, it was mourned in the fashion world as the end of an era. His ready-to-wear label, Rive Gauche, which was sold to Gucci in 1999, still has boutiques around the world.
In October 2006, Saint Laurent slipped and fell outside a Paris restaurant during Fashion Week, suffering slight scratches but reminding fans of the perennially fragile designer's advancing age.
Saint Laurent was born Aug. 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria, where his father worked as a shipping executive. He first emerged as a promising designer at the age of 17, winning first prize in a contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat for a cocktail dress design.
A year later in 1954, he enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale school of haute couture, but student life lasted only three months. He was introduced to Christian Dior, then regarded as the greatest creator of his day, and Dior was so impressed with Saint Laurent's talent that he hired him on the spot.
When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head of the House of Dior at the age of 21. The next year, his first solo collection for Dior — the "trapeze" line — launched Saint Laurent's stardom. The trapeze dress — with its narrow shoulders and wide, swinging skirt — was a hit, and a breath of fresh air after years of constructed clothing, tight waists and girdles.
In 1960, Saint Laurent was drafted into military service — an experience that shattered the delicate designer, who by the end of the year was given a medical discharge for nervous depression.
Bouts of depression marked his career. Pierre Berge, the designer's longtime business partner and former romantic partner, was quoted as saying that Saint Laurent was born with a nervous breakdown.
Saint Laurent returned to the spotlight in 1962, opening his own haute couture fashion house with Berge. The pair later started a chain of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutiques.
Life Magazine hailed his first line under his own label as "the best collection of suits since Chanel."
Berge has said that Saint Laurent's gift to fashion was that he empowered women after Chanel had freed them.
Nowhere was Saint Laurent's gift more evident than the valedictory fashion show that marked his retirement in January 2002.
Forty years of fashion were paraded in a 300-piece retrospective that blurred the boundaries of time, mixing his creations of yesterday and today in one stunning tribute to the endurance of Saint Laurent's style. He also designed costumes for theater and film.
There was the simple navy blue pea coat over white pants, which the designer first showed in 1962 when he opened his couture house and kept as one of his hallmarks.
His "smoking," or tuxedo jacket, of 1966 remade the tux as a high fashion statement for both sexes. It remained the designer's trademark item and was updated yearly until he retired.
Also from the 60s came Beatnik chic — a black leather jacket and knit turtleneck with high boots — and sleek pantsuits that underlined Saint Laurent's statement on equality of the sexes. He showed that women could wear "men's clothes," which when tailored to the female form became an emblem of elegant femininity.
"More than any other designer since Chanel, YSL represented Paris as the style leader," The Independent of London wrote in an editorial after Saint Laurent's retirement. "By putting a woman in a man's tuxedo, he changed fashion forever, in a style that never dated."
In his own words, Saint Laurent said he felt "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves."
Some of his revolutionary style was met with resistance. There are famous stories of women wearing Saint Laurent pantsuits who were turned away from hotels and restaurants in London and New York.
One scandal centered on the designer himself, when he posed nude and floppy-haired for a photographer in 1971, wearing only his trademark thick black glasses, to promote his perfume.
Saint Laurent's rising star was eternalized in 1983, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted a show to his work, the first ever to a living designer.
Subsequent shows at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and in Beijing made him a French national treasure, and he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 1985.
When France basked in the glory of its 1998 World Cup soccer final, it was Saint Laurent who took center field pre-kick off with an on-field retrospective at the Stade de France.
In 1999, Saint Laurent sold the rights of his label to Gucci Group NV, ceding control of his Rive Gauche collection, fragrances, cosmetics and accessories for US$70 million cash and royalties.
Industry insiders cited friction between Saint Laurent and Gucci's creative director, Tom Ford, as a likely factor in the fashion guru's decision to retire three years later. Ford stepped down in 2003.
When he bowed out of fashion in 2002, Saint Laurent spoke of his battles with depression, drugs and loneliness, though he gave no indication that those problems were directly tied to his decision to stop working.
"I've known fear and terrible solitude," he said. "Tranquilizers and drugs, those phony friends. The prison of depression and hospitals. I've emerged from all this, dazzled but sober..."
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