Russell Brand and the genius celebrity. Mark Morford

[madokie]

Who you got? What faces, egos, reputations come immediately to mind when you try to name any celebrities of high intellectual acumen, famous actors, rock stars, comics who can not only speak in complete sentences, but who know a thing or two of the world and can eloquently analyze, satirize and flip that wicked world around like a slippery gemstone made of Swarovski crystals and cocaine and dark, kinky dreams?

Louis C.K.? Matt Damon? Alec Baldwin? Jon Stewart? Natalie Portman? Maybe. Sort of. Sometimes. The list, as always, is depressingly short. The truism remains: Few top-tier celebs are intellectually capable of handling just about any topic – politics, culture, art, God, world events – thrown their way, by anyone, at any time, in front of any TV camera or live microphone.

I hereby nominate, and humbly kneel before the altar of, one Russell Brand, the lanky rock-god Brit actor/comic/writer, to this rarified group, a guy who I’ve always passively liked but who I also believed was a bit too smarmy, far too dependent on projecting a persona of mania and insanity as his raison d’etre. Not to mention most of his acting choices have been rather hideous (cough, Arthur, cough

I am, apparently, a bit late to the party in realizing Brand isn’t really any of those things, at least not predominantly, at least not at the expense of what appears to be a delightfully insightful and nimble mind, coupled to rather shockingly adroit, sophisticated way with the written word. It’s true. And “refreshing” doesn’t quite cut it.

The rest: http://blog.sfgate.com/morford/2013/09/17/russell-brand-and-the-genius-celebrity/

[LuvNewcastle]

1. I've never liked Russell Brand. I saw him on that talk show with Whoopi Goldberg

one day and those women were looking at him like he was their personal guru or something. It was ridiculous. Why some women find him attractive is beyond me. I guess it's the accent.

[blogslut]

3. But have you read him?

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/russellbrand

I recommend the columns on his appearance at the G.Q. Awards, Margaret Thatcher and the 2011 UK riots. The man can turn a phrase.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. I probably should check out some of his writings.

He is clever. There's just something about his personality that puts me off. There's probably plenty of writers I enjoy who I wouldn't like in person.

[smokey nj]

8. Here's a link to the column he wrote after Margaret Thatcher died. It's impressive.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/09/russell-brand-margaret-thatcher

[LuvNewcastle]

11. I wish Thatcher could have read that. He's got quite a vocabulary.

[hatrack]

14. Freaking brilliant . . .

FTW

[WillyT]

18. Most Excellent Writing !!! - K & R !!!

Thank you for that.

[WinkyDink]

6. Not to mention "My Booky Wook" (BRILLIANT, AS IN ERUDITE), and his column re: Amy Winehouse.

"For Amy":
http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/

Quotes from "MBW":
http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2068781-my-booky-wook

[LuvNewcastle]

10. I like his obituary of Amy Winehouse.

She was so talented; I absolutely loved her voice. I think the press made her addiction worse. Addicts don't want to quit when everyone is telling them they should. It's admitting defeat, and they don't want to let others run their lives. If they're going to quit, it needs to be their idea to do it.

[WinkyDink]

21. I was---am---a major AW fan, also.

[cali]

9. I find him attractive because he's brilliant as all get out. Really

[SidDithers]

2. I'm a big fan...

There's a British show called The Big Fat Quiz of the Year that Brand has appeared on a few times, and he's in his element. It's almost improv about current events, and Brand just shines in that format, displaying an in-depth knowledge, quick wit and excellent comedic sense.

Thanks for posting the Morford bit.

Sid

[WinkyDink]

5. I JUST saw RB in concert; he got a Standing O from 2500+. He is brilliant, raw, honest, fearless.

And did I say raunchy?

But that's Rusty. Don't go unaware!

[WinkyDink]

7. EPIC take-down of Mika and "Morning Joe" crew:

[Sheldon Cooper]

12. Even someone who can string two words together can still be a huge asshole.

I don't find much to admire about this knob.

http://www.thegrindstone.com/2012/08/03/office-politics/russell-brand-sexually-harassed-a-wardrobe-girl-but-dont-worry-it-was-funny-274/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/georgina-baillies-dad-blasts-russell-352931

[cali]

13. He does more than string two words together.

He may be an asshole, but he's a brilliant asshole who makes some very astute connections in a unique way.

[Sheldon Cooper]

16. Meh. Still not impressed.

[Paladin]

17. +1. Sorry, he makes my skin crawl. (nt)

[Bluenorthwest]

15. He's brilliant. Also obnoxious and a tad too fixated on celebrity, his own and just in

general, but he's first rate funny.
Loved his UK show 'Russell Brand's Got Issues'.

Also his audition tape for that Sarah Marshall film. As such things go, this is golden

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. My nomination: Garrison Keeler. The man's an American treasure.

If someone from another country comes to you and asks you to name just one single American who isn't some illiterate, materialistic reality television watching dolt, all you have to say is "Garrison Keeler" and you've won the argument.

He's arguably the best written satirist this country has seen since Mark Twain. He's got this wonderful, melodic voice that makes seemingly mundane homespun stories interesting when he reads them. His aura harkens back to an earlier era without the pretentious "those were good old days" shtick that comes along with most people who attempt to wax nostalgic. His arguments are pointed but never mean spirited or insulting (unlike the talking heads on the AM dial). He doesn't seek to make you laugh until you cry, but always manages to make you smile with his wit.

The tragic thing about Garrison Keeler is that while he is pure Middle America in its most positive sense, most of Middle America won't bother with him. Because he's NPR and they'll dismiss him as being too lofty or antiquated.


As for Russell Brand, like the author of the piece, I too am impressed. Extremely intelligent guy, but you'd never expect that by looking at him. I was one of the few people that thought that Katy Perry was actually marrying up when she married him, at least in terms of the intelligence department.

[The Magistrate]

20. He Does Have The Touch, Sir

Apart from a regrettable inclination to interview David Ickes....

[madokie]

22. I guess I'm old fashioned

live under a rock or something because until I read this this morning I'd never heard of Russell Brand. Is that insane or what?
really don't want an answer to that question