Rob Newman - From Caliban To The Taliban 2/9

Live performance by Robert Newman of his show "From Caliban to the Taliban - 500 Years Of Humanitarian Intervention".

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• stand-up

[ReX342]

He talks a little too fast sometimes. Is there a transcript somewhere?

[rebellionsucks]

Not that I'm aware of. Perhaps Rob could turn this into a book?

[AnthemicPolemic]

Oh don't judge his aptitude for stand-up on this and 'a History of Oil' alone - He is among the best standups, you have to see him perform to know this though, unlike his contemporaries he is not a media whore and there are no videos of his normal gigs as far as I know. I can imagine if you aren't from England the intonation can be a bit neutral to pick apart. I'd be happy to transcribe a section if someone can't hear it properly - just PM me and i'll get right back to you.

[Beeyatchibus]

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm not sure standup is the right medium for this guy, but he's brilliant. I had never heard of him before today, when I followed a link from a Bill Hicks post.

More than a book, I picture him hosting a documentary along the lines of "Manufacturing Consent" by Chomsky.

[TheAlmightyAss]

watch Newman and Baddiel and tell me stand up isnt his thing. he just happens to be a genius and heavy into politics. Like an entertaining Ben Elton

[Thunderwolf666]

@Beeyatchibus I see him less as a standup who dabbles in sociopolitical commentary than as a sociopolitical commentator who uses comedy to enhance his speeches. Like Noam Chomsky on nitrous oxide or something. He's come a long way since "The Mary Whitehouse Experience."

[icurhuman2]

Just found R.N. this past week and can't believe I never knew him. Luckily my Aussie ear is used to all the accents he uses and though his references are sometimes obscure I've only had to research a couple of them so far to get the inferences. What is he up to right now? The world is turning into a shitfight and has been for a while so he certainly has a lot of incongruent material to draw from.

[ReX342]

@rebellionsucks I'm pretty sure he turned books he read into a show. I doubt the wisdom of turning it back into a book (a blog is not a bad idea though). I appreciate Bookofkills' comment and I've mailed Rob to ask him [if he's got a full transcript]. And I do believe standup is a good medium for him, just like it was for Bill Hicks. He's also an activist and gets his message across thusly (and Hicks would probably have been a preacher if nobody laughed ;).

[svenso777]

hi is an awesome comic..his dads army bit and impressions which break up the set and keep it engaging are testament to that..also see what his contemparies are doing now (dennis on mock the week, baddiel as skinners straight man, punt on radio4 panal shows ) only stewart lee,richard herring and rob newman have resisted mainstream media mundanity and have proven themslkeves as true comics greats in the process. there work stands out as high quality comic art , love em for it

[svenso777]

hi is an awesome comic..his dads army bit and impressions which break up the set and keep it engaging are testament to that..also see what his contemparies are doing now (dennis on mock the week, baddiel as skinners straight man, punt on radio4 panal shows ) only stewart lee,richard herring and rob newman have resisted mainstream media mundanity and have proven themslkeves as true comics gteats in the process. there work stands out as high quality comic art , love em for it

[svenso777]

hi is an awesome comic..his dads army bit and impressions which break up the set and keep it engaging are testament to that..also see what his contemparies are doing now (dennis on mock the week, baddiel as skinners straight man, punt on radio4 panal shows ) only stewart lee herring and rob newman have resisted mainstream media mundanity and have proven themslkeves as true comics gteats in the process. there work stands out as high quality comic art , love em for it

[morklind]

too many words, speaks too fast, don't think he actually breathes. Would be twice as funny if he cut two thirds of his set - you work out common denominator

[irishprice]

@Beeyatchibus you should check his history of oil show. Its funnier than this. More standup but still one of the most mindblowing vids ove ever watched

[TheWolfBearProject]

modern day Bill Hicks