Where's Sam when we need him?

I don't think I've ever been struck so hard, comedically speaking, than when I saw Sam Kinison's first appearance on  Late Night with David Letterman. He didn't look like other comics. He certainly didn't sound like other comics. And his material had a razor-sharp, taboo edge to it that shocked audiences hearing him for the first time, and completely eviscerated comics of the day who were doing safer, more mainstream "observational" material. The other thing that struck me - and still does - is his complete intolerance for hypocrisy ("You know there's a director five feet away going 'Don't feed him yet!!'). It's hard to believe we're coming up on eighteen years (in April) since he died. Yet when I watch this clip from that first Letterman appearance, it's as though I'm hearing it for the first time. You'll notice the video quality is poor. However the material is as rich as ever.