Jerry Seinfeld vs Chris Rock & the top 10 comics from the past 25 years.

[L.Kizzle]

http://static4.bornrichimages.com/wp-content/uploads/s3/1/2012/02/27/1330321820.jpg

I believe these two gentleman are the greatest stand-up comics to come along since the late 80s? Jerry peaked earlier but Chris peaked later and I think for a longer time.

Of these two, who is on top?

Also, who are the top 10 stand-ups from their era to now, a 25 year span?\\

[BasedTom]

Are you going solely based on their stand-up work, or does the extra stuff factor in as well?

[GOBB]

Seinfeld was funny?

[Black and White]

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/sites/tcdailyplanet.net/files/imagecache/HugeColorbox/13/13/eddie_griffin.jpg

[L.Kizzle]

Mainly stand up, the other works (Seinfeld Show; Chris Rock Show) can be bonus points I guess, but not too much. Don't wanna take too much away from stand up.

I think Eddie Griffin is in the top ten from the past 25 years, gotta make my list.

[Jailblazers7]

I think Chris probably has him in stand-up. Chris Rock's stand-up is edgier and I think exposes the absurdity of the dynamics of relationships and society in a way that Jerry didn't.

Jerry's comedy was perfectly build for the medium of TV because it allowed him to make his observational comedy visual for the audience.

[IInvented]

George Carlin is the greatest.....

[L.Kizzle]

George Carlin is the greatest.....
Carlin peaked in the 70s.

[QUIZZLE]

From what I've really seen of Rock (granted, not a lot) I just can't get into him. I think his voice draws me away. It feels like a fake voice. What's some top quality material you'd recommend?

I don't really like Jerry's stand-up but the show was genius and I'll always love it.

[iamgine]

I like Jerry better but his material is much more limited since he repeats them over the years and only added a little. Chris' material is brand new every few years.

[IInvented]

Carlin peaked in the 70s.
He was always great until his death.... it doesn't take away from him being the greatest stand up of all time... Rock is up there as well. He says some of the most clever stuff i ever heard.

[L.Kizzle]

He was always great until his death.... it doesn't take away from him being the greatest stand up of all time... Rock is up there as well. He says some of the most clever stuff i ever heard.
Pryor is the greatest, but that's for another threads.

And yes of course Carlin is great, he was releasing specials up until his death but I liked 70s, 80s Carlin the best.

I mean Cosby's special last year was nothin compared to his classic, 60s through 80s material.

than you have a guy like Luis CK who is better today that he was in 1992.

[KevinNYC]

Seinfeld changed comedy more than Rock I would suppose.
Rock's best work is his specials. Seinfeld best work was his sitcom, which is amazing body of work. You can say he's more prolific. Seinfeld also had the good sense to work with another genius who turned out to be better at TV than he ever had been at.

I just watched Louis CK on the BS podcast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPVEO6yG-L8). He talks about how he started out with Chris Rock and how Chris Rock went on SNL and failed and Rock kind of fell out of his life for a few years. He wasn't gigging in NYC, but doing road shows and then before one of his specials, he came back to NY to headline Caroline's. Louis said he had his friends all went, because they never saw Rock do more than 10 minute sets. Rock got a standing ovation from all crowd except for the comedians, who looked like the team that just lost the World Series. Chris Rock had gone on the road and got good at standup. Louis CK said he felt like he wasted 5 years of his life.

[L.Kizzle]

Seinfeld changed comedy more than Rock I would suppose.
Rock's best work is his specials. Seinfeld best work was his sitcom, which is amazing body of work. You can say he's more prolific. Seinfeld also had the good sense to work with another genius who turned out to be better at TV than he ever had been at.

I just watched Louis CK on the BS podcast (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPVEO6yG-L8). He talks about how he started out with Chris Rock and how Chris Rock went on SNL and failed and Rock kind of fell out of his life for a few years. He wasn't gigging in NYC, but doing road shows and then before one of his specials, he came back to NY to headline Caroline's. Louis said he had his friends all went, because they never saw Rock do more than 10 minute sets. Rock got a standing ovation from all crowd except for the comedians, who looked like the team that just lost the World Series. Chris Rock had gone on the road and got good at standup. Louis CK said he felt like he wasted 5 years of his life.
You could say that is more of Larry David's work ... can't you?


About the CK part, Rock spoke about that in a book. Right after he left SNL and In Living Color he would also be on those Def Jam Tours that were hot around 94. Rock wasn't a Def Jam comic, but he said he'd do shows with people like Joe Torry and Jamie Foxx and he'd be the headliner but the audience would leave after Foxx and Torry went on because they had just killed. He went into the clubs (which seems to be the story CK is telling) and would work and work and work. And out of that came Bring The Pain, the best stand up he past 20 years.

[Patrick Chewing]

I don't know if Jerry Seinfeld is a funnier stand-up comedian, but I will say he is much funnier in general than Chris Rock. Chris had his moments on SNL, but once he branched out to movies, he was not the same. In fact, quite annoying.

[Akrazotile]

You could say that is more of Larry David's work ... can't you?


Yeah but Seinfeld has a very distinctly dry personality that allowed him to play his character well for a long period of time. The thing about Rock is altho his voice is very distinct, he doesn't really have a real distinct character-type as far as acting roles go, which is probably why he's had relatively limited success outside of standup. As far as just standup, I have Rock above Seinfeld.

[iamgine]

Yeah but Seinfeld has a very distinctly dry personality that allowed him to play his character well for a long period of time. The thing about Rock is altho his voice is very distinct, he doesn't really have a real distinct character-type as far as acting roles go, which is probably why he's had relatively limited success outside of standup. As far as just standup, I have Rock above Seinfeld.
What? Rock is way way more successful in movies than Seinfeld.

[Akrazotile]

What? Rock is way way more successful in movies than Seinfeld.

Rock is not more successful outside of standup.

I'd wager Seinfeld's sitcom has made him more bank than all of Rock's acting roles combined, by FAR.

[KevinNYC]

You could say that is more of Larry David's work ... can't you?
yeah, he's the other genius I spoke of.

[Patrick Chewing]

What? Rock is way way more successful in movies than Seinfeld.


Well that's a given as Seinfeld doesn't do movies. He means outside of movies, Jerry has Rock beat by a mile.

In syndication alone, Jerry makes 72 million a year! Just from reruns! The show's been off the air for 16 years!

[iamgine]

Well I guess if you measure success by amount of money made from one single show. :confusedshrug:

[Akrazotile]

Well I guess if you measure success by amount of money made from one single show. :confusedshrug:

Yeah, or by legacy. Seinfeld is an internationally identifiable TV show and culturally significant in history. Chris Rock has achieved his own impressive legacy through STAND UP, but has otherwise done nothing that will ever really be remembered as significant.

Thus in STANDUP chris rock has been more successful.

Outside of STANDUP, jerry seinfeld has.

:confusedshrug:

[iamgine]

Yeah, or by legacy. Seinfeld is an internationally identifiable TV show and culturally significant in history. Chris Rock has achieved his own impressive legacy through STAND UP, but has otherwise done nothing that will ever really be remembered as significant.

Thus in STANDUP chris rock has been more successful.

Outside of STANDUP, jerry seinfeld has.

:confusedshrug:
I can easily say that about David Schwimmer, Macaulay Culkin or even Seinfeld's other main characters like Jason Alexander.

You are mistaking the show for the person.

[Jackass18]

I've always thought Rock was highly overrated, so I'd put many people ahead him. There's plenty of people I'd put ahead of Seinfeld, also. Namely guys like Carlin (he had a number shows within the past 25 years) and Chappelle. Rock has his moments, but I never really was too much into it overall. I even enjoyed Leguizamo's stand up more than Rock's.

[Akrazotile]

I can easily say that about David Schwimmer, Macaulay Culkin or even Seinfeld's other main characters like Jason Alexander.

You are mistaking the show for the person.

Seinfeld was a co-creator of that show. Schwimmer, Culkin, and Alexander dont have that type of legacy because they didnt create an enormously popular show centered around their own unique style of comedy.

Do you think it's really a debate who has a greater legacy, Jerry Seinfeld or David Schwimmer? Do you think it's a debate who has made more money? If those two things are important criteria cor determining success, I dont see how you can argue Chris Rock was more successful than Seinfeld OUTSIDE of standup. We can agree to disagree but Im still just not seeing your logic. Chris Rock did more projects, yeah. None of them were memorable. So if u want to do the weak analogy game, I could say someone like Colin Quinn is more successful than Seinfeld because hes done "more" different things.

Whatever tho, its really not a big deal. Just givin my take on it.

[Micku]

http://static4.bornrichimages.com/wp-content/uploads/s3/1/2012/02/27/1330321820.jpg

I believe these two gentleman are the greatest stand-up comics to come along since the late 80s? Jerry peaked earlier but Chris peaked later and I think for a longer time.

Of these two, who is on top?

Also, who are the top 10 stand-ups from their era to now, a 25 year span?\\

Hmm... in no order I can think of:

George Carlin
Eddie Griffin
Bill Burr
Louis CK
Russell Peters
Daniel Tosh
Gabriel Iglesias
Dave Chappelle

Hmm....I feel like I'm forgetting people.

[iamgine]

Seinfeld was a co-creator of that show. Schwimmer, Culkin, and Alexander dont have that type of legacy because they didnt create an enormously popular show centered around their own unique style of comedy.

Do you think it's really a debate who has a greater legacy, Jerry Seinfeld or David Schwimmer? Do you think it's a debate who has made more money? If those two things are important criteria cor determining success, I dont see how you can argue Chris Rock was more successful than Seinfeld OUTSIDE of standup. We can agree to disagree but Im still just not seeing your logic. Chris Rock did more projects, yeah. None of them were memorable. So if u want to do the weak analogy game, I could say someone like Colin Quinn is more successful than Seinfeld because hes done "more" different things.

Whatever tho, its really not a big deal. Just givin my take on it.
As someone said, it was more of Larry David's work. Jerry Seinfeld legacy is > David Schwimmer because he's also a great stand up comedian, not because of the TV show.

And Home Alone clearly is/was much more popular than Seinfeld around the world. In the end, Seinfeld and Culkin is very similar in that their body of work is centered around a single show. Much like a one hit wonder in music.

[iamgine]

Anyone who believes that is a f*cking idiot. It was a partnership.
Anyone who believes that is a f*cking idiot.

[iamgine]

Jerry is just as neurotic, just as hardworking, just as funny, and was the face of the show. They created it together and worked on it together.

Anyone who thinks it's all Larry is just blowing smoke up his ass because of Curb. If you really believe Jerry wasn't pulling his weight, why would a guy like Larry continue to work with him and develop a show with him?
Of course it's not all Larry, who's saying otherwise. :confusedshrug:

[Heilige]

Jerry is just as neurotic, just as hardworking, just as funny, and was the face of the show. They created it together and worked on it together.

Anyone who thinks it's all Larry is just blowing smoke up his ass because of Curb. If you really believe Jerry wasn't pulling his weight, why would a guy like Larry continue to work with him and develop a show with him?


How was Jerry just as neurotic and hardworking?

[Terahite]

Last 25 years:

1. Colin Quinn
2. Dave Chappelle
3. Dave Attell
4. Paul Mooney
5. Andy Kindler
6. Katt Williams
7. Bill Hicks
8. Greg Giraldo
9. Bill Burr
10. Chris Rock

[Jasper]

George Carlin is the greatest.....
thank you :applause:

[masonanddixon]

Larry David creampies them both.

[ILLsmak]

I dunno who the best stand up comic is really, but to me comedy is something that is stand up + writing + ability to be hilarious off the cuff. Some people are just funnier. I don't know if I think Jerry and Chris rock are on that level of hilarity. But they are big personas on stage.

It's just like music, rarely do the best people make it to the top. The people who are just kinda bouncing around like Norm MacDonald tend to be funnier, to me. I like people who make a joke out of the idea of telling jokes. METACOMEDY.

-Smak