Russell Brand blowing your tiny mind on Australia Today

[Necrid]

I've just got no time for the man. It’s a shame as I used to respect and like him a lot, I caught one of his shows at the Edinburgh festival early 2000’s and was very impressed. Some of his BNP doorstep chasing footage is top class and I think you have to admire anyone who manages to escape the heroin trap. However, this changed to mild indifference as he started to sell out. I’ll forgive him Big Brother, I mean to have influence and instigate change, you first have to be influential – I get that, but ‘my booky wook’? I remember watching him on HIGNFY and looking forward to him unleashing his rapier wit on Hislop and Co, only to get a disappointing sales spiel. And don’t even get me started on the 'showbiz marriage' to Katy Perry - She’s like the personification of everything that’s wrong with this quagmire of a society and it's 'sleb' marketing at it's worst – look at the shiny shiny.

It’s more than disappointing, it’s infuriating; he knows better and yet rather than use his considerable oration skills, his obvious intelligence, his ability to see through the political bullshit and his respected position to try and enact change, he just twitters along with empty, attention-seeking lip-flapping. Grrr.

Like many great characters, he’s become a parody of himself: he’s created his very own Russell ‘Brand’. I feel cheated.

/rant

[namkha]

It’s more than disappointing, it’s infuriating; he knows better and yet rather than use his considerable oration skills, his obvious intelligence, his ability to see through the political bullshit and his respected position to try and enact change, he just twitters along with empty, attention-seeking lip-flapping. Grrr.

have you watched any of his recent stuff? reason I like what he is doing now is because he seems to be doing exactly what you say he isn't - the youtube clips on this thread have some good things - e.g. I think there is one with Mehdi Hassan

[zimmer]

Whatever he is/was he is bringing to the fore things that are affecting the poor etc in this country. we need a voice.

[Ishmael]

well I am at least no longer labouring under the misapprehension that this is the same person as Russell Grant.

[Biltong Bob]

well I am at least no longer labouring under the misapprehension that this is the same person as Russell Grant.

Russell E Grant the actor?

[Ishmael]

yep, all the same person, tell your fortune whilst swigging your champagne and bringing down the government.

[sterling-archer]

shes a shaft grabber lol im also a convert,i used to hate him but recently ive loved what hes said.He does kinda look like hes heading for a meltdown though hes getting more and more mental

[Punk]

sticking firmly to my guns,the dude is no Noam Chomsky,or Bill Hicks.read his bookywook

[Fusspot]

I like Russell Brand. Like some others he used to get on my tits, but that was my problem. For the past couple years though i've liked everything i've heard him say, and agree. Cut's through the BS and tell it like it is. That Medhi Hasan interview was good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijl4jL3HWbs

saw him on tour recently doing his Messiah Complex tour, was very funny

[Ishmael]

shes a shaft grabber lol im also a convert,i used to hate him but recently ive loved what hes said.He does kinda look like hes heading for a meltdown though hes getting more and more mental

manic, you mean?

[namkha]

if he's as heavily into all that TM (Transcendental Meditation) and Krishnamurti stuff as it looks like he is then I wouldn't be surprised if he does get a bit more mental

shame about him calling that book 'my bookywooky' ffs

still, I reckon he's mostly good news

[retro2807]

I remember reading his my books wooky pile of shit.

And at one point he blamed Cannabis for his addiction to Heroin, claiming it was a gate way drug.

I've been addicted to drugs and kicked them, all after starting with weed. Never did I blame weed for being a gateway drug, I only ever blamed my own weak control with certain substances.

In the long term weed has actually helped me kick other drugs, so I can't accept someone blaming it for a later addiction.

I am on Morphine now as a pain relief. Which is not far off Heroin. I feel I can comment on this.

[Wiggles41]

I like him. He makes me laugh and he gets on middle-England's tits which is a huge bonus. He admits to being an attention-whore alongside many other failings. If I were famous I'd want to be a 'marmite' celebrity that people either love or hate, I'd consider myself to be doing something right if I were.

My Booky Wook 1 was an excellent biog, 2 not so good, nor is his later standup. I'm pissed-off I never caught his radio shows or watched his early TV stuff but I'm sure there's still some good stuff to come.

[Satchitananda]

How can I like Peter Hitchens one minute and the hate hime the next, I like when he bullies obvious idiots like christians cos he does it so well...but "it's against the law so it's bad"?

That's it? It's against the law? So the law can't be wrong?

I now hate Peter Hitchens.

Dailly Mail.

Nuff said.

[Satchitananda]

I've just got no time for the man. It’s a shame as I used to respect and like him a lot, I caught one of his shows at the Edinburgh festival early 2000’s and was very impressed. Some of his BNP doorstep chasing footage is top class and I think you have to admire anyone who manages to escape the heroin trap. However, this changed to mild indifference as he started to sell out. I’ll forgive him Big Brother, I mean to have influence and instigate change, you first have to be influential – I get that, but ‘my booky wook’? I remember watching him on HIGNFY and looking forward to him unleashing his rapier wit on Hislop and Co, only to get a disappointing sales spiel. And don’t even get me started on the 'showbiz marriage' to Katy Perry - She’s like the personification of everything that’s wrong with this quagmire of a society and it's 'sleb' marketing at it's worst – look at the shiny shiny.

It’s more than disappointing, it’s infuriating; he knows better and yet rather than use his considerable oration skills, his obvious intelligence, his ability to see through the political bullshit and his respected position to try and enact change, he just twitters along with empty, attention-seeking lip-flapping. Grrr.

Like many great characters, he’s become a parody of himself: he’s created his very own Russell ‘Brand’. I feel cheated.

/rant

I can rant with the best of em and I sense disappointment in you which is fair enough....but selling out? I don't even think that applies here. He is just being him, he changed, he still is all the things you said you liked, he does the "Trews" which is quite good.

How can he sell out? He did something you don't approve of? From what I can see he didn't have anything to sell out, in fact he is less of a prick than he was. He talks of spirituality now rather than just fucking girls, how is that selling out? It seems to me he is doing the opposite, using his fame to talk about serious issues.