Humoredians: Joe Rogan

Lately, i've been discussing Rogan with people whose opinion i appreciate, even in disagreement. My main issue with him, has never been with his comedy. I always thought he is and always was a talented stand-up comedian.

My biggest issue with the guy, is how brash i always found his personality. Back then, at the time he pubblished his first album "I'm Gonnna Be Dead Someday" and his first dvd, i discovered him, since i was following every comedian who the label founded by Bill Hicks' pal Kevin Booth, Sacred Cow. I thought , as i still think, that Joe was hilarious, intelligent and with a true gift for biting comedy.

I started having issues with the attitude he had off stage, though and at times even on stage. While i knew that the aggressiveness he showed back then was part of his comedic persona, something "real" always seemeddx to filter in his interviews. He seemed to always have attitude. He talked about other comedians, entire styles of comedy and he sounded actually mean. His thoughts on homosexuality, mind expanding, drug experimentation, which sounded biting and rightfully provocative as jokes were much more hard to swallow when he delivered them with lots of testosterone driven confidence in regular talks. I have a part of me, probably caused by my past experiences, that inherently dislikes people who act with extreme confidence or knowing superiority. And thats what i felt Rogan had. I felt like he stopped being someone who shared thoughts in an hiularious form and felt like he was being extremely judgemental of anyone who did not share his views or his experiences.

That soured my view of his work and while still enjoying his comedy, i could never shake that feeling off. Not during his Mencia beef, not during any interview he did in the later years (where he got way more humble and understanding), not even during my almost self imposed listening sessions of his Podcast.

So, in the last few days, i decided to re-listen to his albums, and his more recnt talks. And while i still find him way too self assured, especially when discussing his choices in self discovery and experimentation, he is a fascinating person AND an increasingly funny comic. He deserves all the attention he gets.

So even if i disagree with him most of the time, i'll still liste n to what he has to say. I guess he wins. http://www.joerogan.net