I guess she isn’t as accomplished a political operator as he was a comedian. As a comedian he was a deliciously silly blancmange of fun; as a political figure she is often rather po-faced and dull (IMHO)
Oh yeah, she’s a flipping terrible politician. I had to cut a bit out of the piece about she and I both being on the steering committee for the Alternative Vote referendum in 2015. Not one of the more successful referenda, sadly.
I actually have no idea whether her shows are funny or not these days - I have to admit I haven't watched anything of hers since about 2000. As Tobias said this morning, it's a bit like hearing a couple of Pixies albums and having your mind blown for a few months and then never really playing them again.
He only admitted this about two years ago! To be fair, at that stage I had pretty much no informed opinion about him either - we both spent way too much time stoned to know much of anything about anything.
Great piece, Rowan. Matches my own experience of being completely undone by Izzard in his mid 90s prime, and by the new bliss of comedy without coordinates [viz Vic and Bob's surrealism]. And his trajectory since does indeed somehow both mirror and embody and shame his wider generation, with him always somehow out in front, just disappearing into a hazy future, idiosyncratically. And where he has gone now exactly -- the Sheffield MP fiasco, getting caught in the minefields of the Terf wars? Somehow, watching him, tracking him is always instructive, because always somehow unprecedented.
Is there maybe even merit in a longer treatment of this subject, with Izzard as its lodestar? Is there a book in this? THE AGE OF IZZARD or WE ARE EDDIE: How Gen X Got Lost in Gender or somesuch
Huh, that's interesting, You're right that Izzard seems to prefigure a lot of stuff. I was also thinking about other comparable figures and came up with Alison Moyet, who had a similar profile in some ways - very talented, seemed totally out of her time, popular, rejected gender norms, and seemed to project huge discomfort with her body, but (in terms of the TERF wars) has gone in the opposite direction (although you probably only know that if your case of Twitter Brain is as bad as mine). Digging around underneath the accepted narrative of those times ('we were all totally cool about gender', when in reality we were anything but) via examinations of individual figures and movements would be really interesting. (Reminds me I must watch the series that has just been released on George Michael's outing.) Love 'comedy without coordinates' - wish I'd thought of that! I believe Tobias has something planned on Big Night Out.
Yes, keen to see how the George Michael doc turns out too. And if you think on it, and come to think there'd be a mileage in talking about a book-length treatment of Izzard [& Moyet & Michael et al] and what they tell us about Gen X and gender [and you don't already have a literary agent] let me know... Something in the vein of Harriet Gibsone's brilliant new memoir about growing up online as a woman, maybe?
I guess she isn’t as accomplished a political operator as he was a comedian. As a comedian he was a deliciously silly blancmange of fun; as a political figure she is often rather po-faced and dull (IMHO)
Oh yeah, she’s a flipping terrible politician. I had to cut a bit out of the piece about she and I both being on the steering committee for the Alternative Vote referendum in 2015. Not one of the more successful referenda, sadly.
Izzard has followed a well-trodden comedy path of ceasing to be funny while still demanding attention
I actually have no idea whether her shows are funny or not these days - I have to admit I haven't watched anything of hers since about 2000. As Tobias said this morning, it's a bit like hearing a couple of Pixies albums and having your mind blown for a few months and then never really playing them again.
I haven’t watched anything recent either. But a few friends in the US saw the Great Expectations show and loved it.
Yeah, writing this piece has made me want to watch some - might give that one a go
Tobias thought you were dim?
He only admitted this about two years ago! To be fair, at that stage I had pretty much no informed opinion about him either - we both spent way too much time stoned to know much of anything about anything.
Which was exceptionally dim of me, ironically
Obviously. :)
Great piece, Rowan. Matches my own experience of being completely undone by Izzard in his mid 90s prime, and by the new bliss of comedy without coordinates [viz Vic and Bob's surrealism]. And his trajectory since does indeed somehow both mirror and embody and shame his wider generation, with him always somehow out in front, just disappearing into a hazy future, idiosyncratically. And where he has gone now exactly -- the Sheffield MP fiasco, getting caught in the minefields of the Terf wars? Somehow, watching him, tracking him is always instructive, because always somehow unprecedented.
Is there maybe even merit in a longer treatment of this subject, with Izzard as its lodestar? Is there a book in this? THE AGE OF IZZARD or WE ARE EDDIE: How Gen X Got Lost in Gender or somesuch
Huh, that's interesting, You're right that Izzard seems to prefigure a lot of stuff. I was also thinking about other comparable figures and came up with Alison Moyet, who had a similar profile in some ways - very talented, seemed totally out of her time, popular, rejected gender norms, and seemed to project huge discomfort with her body, but (in terms of the TERF wars) has gone in the opposite direction (although you probably only know that if your case of Twitter Brain is as bad as mine). Digging around underneath the accepted narrative of those times ('we were all totally cool about gender', when in reality we were anything but) via examinations of individual figures and movements would be really interesting. (Reminds me I must watch the series that has just been released on George Michael's outing.) Love 'comedy without coordinates' - wish I'd thought of that! I believe Tobias has something planned on Big Night Out.
Yes, keen to see how the George Michael doc turns out too. And if you think on it, and come to think there'd be a mileage in talking about a book-length treatment of Izzard [& Moyet & Michael et al] and what they tell us about Gen X and gender [and you don't already have a literary agent] let me know... Something in the vein of Harriet Gibsone's brilliant new memoir about growing up online as a woman, maybe?
Wow, thank you. Let me have a proper think about what it might look like and I'll come back to you.
btw you can reach me at pgjpublishing@gmail.com