53,"AVA MARIA"-BUDDPEST STRINGS-FRANZ SHUBERT-
1797-1828
When it comes to brevity of life and lack of proffesional success;Franz Shubert
made Van Gogh look like a successful Wall Street stockbroker.Van Gogh had meet
and even made friends many of the impressionist painters-Monot-Manet-Dega-
Gaugain,Seurat in Paris and pretty much all of them admired Van Gogh's totally
unique style-contrary to popular belief-Van Gogh paintings did find a market.
It was comprised mainly of other artist's-the highest compliment a painter could
be bestowed at the time.
No such arrangements can be found in Composer Franz Shubert short lifetime.
He died at the age of 31 without recieving any recognition at all from the public.
He left behind 19 unsucssuccessful Opera's and all of his many symphonies
which also drew no attention at the time.Shy,he had few friends.His now famous
piano and orchestra works were not dicovered until decade's after his death.
It's ironic that one of the most successful songs of all Time{and oft recognized}
was written by a man whom the world barely noticed when he was alive.
Written by Pete Holly-copyright-2009-all rights reseved
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Greatist Recordings of All-Time
52."Breakdown"-Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers
It's impossible to comunicate today what a breath of fresh air Tom
Petty's "Breakdown" was back in 1977.After disco and too many sensitive
singer-songwriters to name;Petty and Co. came across as a straight-ahead
somewhat roots oriented band{The Byrds,The Rolling Stones}.Petty was
a Rock 'n Roll singer with a unique voice and a Top-Notch band.
Basically a two chord song,Three on the chorus,Breakdown" is the
the ultimate rock 'n roll simplicity.Ah,but what a beautiful simplicity
it was and is.
"Breakdown" set the template for many of Petty's later hit's.A simple
chord progression with direct and simple lyrics-sometime's aided by a sly
sense of humor.Then thier is guitarist's Mike Cambell's very tasty lead-
guitar work-and keyboardist Benmont Tench to bring it all home.
The Heartbreaker's Rocked !
and the Heartbreakers
It's impossible to comunicate today what a breath of fresh air Tom
Petty's "Breakdown" was back in 1977.After disco and too many sensitive
singer-songwriters to name;Petty and Co. came across as a straight-ahead
somewhat roots oriented band{The Byrds,The Rolling Stones}.Petty was
a Rock 'n Roll singer with a unique voice and a Top-Notch band.
Basically a two chord song,Three on the chorus,Breakdown" is the
the ultimate rock 'n roll simplicity.Ah,but what a beautiful simplicity
it was and is.
"Breakdown" set the template for many of Petty's later hit's.A simple
chord progression with direct and simple lyrics-sometime's aided by a sly
sense of humor.Then thier is guitarist's Mike Cambell's very tasty lead-
guitar work-and keyboardist Benmont Tench to bring it all home.
The Heartbreaker's Rocked !
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Greatist Recordings of All-Time
51."Born to Run"-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
"Born to Run" was the last song on which drummer Vincent "Boom,Boom" Carter
played before he was replaced by Max Wienburg.The funny thing is-if you didn't know
a differant drummer played on all the other tracks you'd never know the differance.
Both Carter and Wienburg have distinctive drum styles-so why can't we tell the differance?
There are a couple of factors."Born to Run" is an all-out Rocker,even so there's
a middle eight that evolve's into a series of about 20 desending notes-that's very unusual
for a rock song.The song also has an amazing amout of overdubs-Springsteen was trying
to recreate Phil Spectors "Wall Of Sound" and he suceeded.So with it's large amount of
overdubs and complex arrangement-plus the shear rock 'n roll driving force of the song;
Carter's drumming style is hidden to a certain degree.The other tracks on the album are
less complex in general and have fewer overdubs so the end result is you don't notice there's
a differant drummer.
Written by Pete Holly-2009-Copyright-all rights reserved
"Born to Run" was the last song on which drummer Vincent "Boom,Boom" Carter
played before he was replaced by Max Wienburg.The funny thing is-if you didn't know
a differant drummer played on all the other tracks you'd never know the differance.
Both Carter and Wienburg have distinctive drum styles-so why can't we tell the differance?
There are a couple of factors."Born to Run" is an all-out Rocker,even so there's
a middle eight that evolve's into a series of about 20 desending notes-that's very unusual
for a rock song.The song also has an amazing amout of overdubs-Springsteen was trying
to recreate Phil Spectors "Wall Of Sound" and he suceeded.So with it's large amount of
overdubs and complex arrangement-plus the shear rock 'n roll driving force of the song;
Carter's drumming style is hidden to a certain degree.The other tracks on the album are
less complex in general and have fewer overdubs so the end result is you don't notice there's
a differant drummer.
Written by Pete Holly-2009-Copyright-all rights reserved
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Greatist Recordings of All Time
#50-"Respect"-Aretha Franklin
The song that,more than any other,crowned Aretha Franklin "The Queen of Soul".
This massive hit song was a long time in coming for Franklin who had struggled for years to
find her artistic niche in the music industry.Originally a gospel singer of the highest order;
Franklin got critical respect for her gospel records but commercially they failed break her
into any kind of mainstream success.She and her record label took a chance and she
recorded a more secular album of R & B songs.As soon as "Respect" was released it went
straight to the top of the Pop charts-finally giving Aretha the accolades she deserved.
From that point on Aretha has been known as "The Queen of Soul".
written by Pete Holly-copyright-2009-all rights reserved
The song that,more than any other,crowned Aretha Franklin "The Queen of Soul".
This massive hit song was a long time in coming for Franklin who had struggled for years to
find her artistic niche in the music industry.Originally a gospel singer of the highest order;
Franklin got critical respect for her gospel records but commercially they failed break her
into any kind of mainstream success.She and her record label took a chance and she
recorded a more secular album of R & B songs.As soon as "Respect" was released it went
straight to the top of the Pop charts-finally giving Aretha the accolades she deserved.
From that point on Aretha has been known as "The Queen of Soul".
written by Pete Holly-copyright-2009-all rights reserved
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Greatist Recordings of all Time
49."Gutter Cat Vs. The Jets"-Alice Cooper
The original Alice Cooper Band was one of tightest,Hard Rocking,and Outrageous
Rock bands in the entire history of Rock 'n Roll-and thats what fans loved about them.
Thier live show during the"Schools Out" tour at Firebird Raceway near Boise was by far
the greatist rock concert i've ever attended-and i've attended alot of Rock Concerts-
Including some of the greatist rock bands of all time-but nothing matches up to the
total mastery of the stage and supersonic wall of sound and perfection that was the
Alice Cooper Band that night.
This song from the "Schools Out" album is a classic.A song propelled by one of
thier lead guitarists,Glen Buxton's awesome guitar riffs-on most of thier biggest hits
it was his incredible penchant for coming up with the coolest guitar riff's of all-time
that was nitro-fuel that drove thier hits to the top of the charts.He's the most under-
rated rock guitarist's of all time-he was a great lead player too.
All that and more are evidenced on "Gutter Cat" which was part of the show that
night.They played nearly every song on "Schools Out" and between the bands awesome
firepower and Alice's total command of the stage and his fanstastic vocals they were
truely in a class of thier own-one so high that nobody,no other rock band ever came
close to the one of a kind awesomeness that was the original Alice Cooper Band at the
Peak of thier Powers.
The original Alice Cooper Band was one of tightest,Hard Rocking,and Outrageous
Rock bands in the entire history of Rock 'n Roll-and thats what fans loved about them.
Thier live show during the"Schools Out" tour at Firebird Raceway near Boise was by far
the greatist rock concert i've ever attended-and i've attended alot of Rock Concerts-
Including some of the greatist rock bands of all time-but nothing matches up to the
total mastery of the stage and supersonic wall of sound and perfection that was the
Alice Cooper Band that night.
This song from the "Schools Out" album is a classic.A song propelled by one of
thier lead guitarists,Glen Buxton's awesome guitar riffs-on most of thier biggest hits
it was his incredible penchant for coming up with the coolest guitar riff's of all-time
that was nitro-fuel that drove thier hits to the top of the charts.He's the most under-
rated rock guitarist's of all time-he was a great lead player too.
All that and more are evidenced on "Gutter Cat" which was part of the show that
night.They played nearly every song on "Schools Out" and between the bands awesome
firepower and Alice's total command of the stage and his fanstastic vocals they were
truely in a class of thier own-one so high that nobody,no other rock band ever came
close to the one of a kind awesomeness that was the original Alice Cooper Band at the
Peak of thier Powers.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
ROBERT L. HEILBRONERS-"THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS
BY PETE HOLLY
When Robert L. Heilbroner first published his brilliant book on "economics" in 1953,
"THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS" an extremly well written work which tells the story
of all the great economists since the begining of economic thought and describes in detail all thier fasinating idea's about how economy's work and also how they can fail.
Before the stock market crash in 1929 nearly every economist believed that such a thing
could never happen.When it did they were dumbfounded and caught totally off guard.Nobody
knew what to do.What puzzled economist's most was that the economy didn't self-correct itself.
The depression lingered on for years when finally the vast majority of the great economists had
to admit-if nothing were done-and nothing was being done-It would be possible for the depression
to go on indefinatly.This was a shocking idea to the economists-who had never contemplated such
a possibility.According to thier calculations of capitalism-such an occurance was mathmatically
and theorhetically impossible.How could they all have been so wrong?No-one knew the answer
to that either.
Towards the end of Heilbroners book he warns that the old certainies of capitalistic
theory were no longer so certain.That we needed an economic system that took into account
the psychology of human beings-and that to do anything short of this would be to invite
disaster.W'ell,as it turns out-and as we all now know-the wise Mr. Heilbroner was correct in
his assessment.
More people need to read Mr. Heilbroners book.There is a wealth of information and
wisdom within' it's pages.
Written by Pete Holly-2009-copyright-all rights reserved
When Robert L. Heilbroner first published his brilliant book on "economics" in 1953,
"THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS" an extremly well written work which tells the story
of all the great economists since the begining of economic thought and describes in detail all thier fasinating idea's about how economy's work and also how they can fail.
Before the stock market crash in 1929 nearly every economist believed that such a thing
could never happen.When it did they were dumbfounded and caught totally off guard.Nobody
knew what to do.What puzzled economist's most was that the economy didn't self-correct itself.
The depression lingered on for years when finally the vast majority of the great economists had
to admit-if nothing were done-and nothing was being done-It would be possible for the depression
to go on indefinatly.This was a shocking idea to the economists-who had never contemplated such
a possibility.According to thier calculations of capitalism-such an occurance was mathmatically
and theorhetically impossible.How could they all have been so wrong?No-one knew the answer
to that either.
Towards the end of Heilbroners book he warns that the old certainies of capitalistic
theory were no longer so certain.That we needed an economic system that took into account
the psychology of human beings-and that to do anything short of this would be to invite
disaster.W'ell,as it turns out-and as we all now know-the wise Mr. Heilbroner was correct in
his assessment.
More people need to read Mr. Heilbroners book.There is a wealth of information and
wisdom within' it's pages.
Written by Pete Holly-2009-copyright-all rights reserved
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
VULCAN
by Pete Holly
It's interesting that Gene Rodenberry,who created the original "Star Trek" television
series and was responsable for much of the shows creative ideas,names and futuristic
devices(such as the phaser and particle beaming}choose the name "Vulcan" for the race
"Spock"{Leonard Nimoy}was desended of from-who dwelled on a distant planet in another
solar system."Spock";as a Vulcan has both many similar traits to those of human beings
and many characteristics decidedly differant from those of human beings-both physical
and mental{The pointed ears as a physical example and his strict adherance to using only
logic in his decision making process as a mental example}
The word "Vulcan" comes ancient roman times where "Vulcan" was the god of fire.
In 1859 Joeseph Le Verrier,Proffesser of Astronomy in Paris and director of the Paris
Observatory noticed that the eliptical orbit of Mercury around the sun seem to vary
more than gravity alone could explain.He therefore therorized that a planet so small
it could not be observed existed between Mercury and the Sun and that explained
the excessive varience in Mercury's eliptical orbit.He named the planet "Vulcan".
Though a few pseudo-scientists claimed to have spotted "Vulcan" Le Verrier nor
any other qualified astronomer ever did.It turned out that such a planet did not exist.
The excessive variance in Mercury's orbit was finally explained by Einstien's theory that
space-time alters the movements of objects with a large mass such as Mercury and the sun.
Le Verrier can take credit for deducing the existance of Neptune which turned out to
be only one degree away from where he predicted it would be.Pretty Impressive !
It's interesting that Gene Rodenberry,who created the original "Star Trek" television
series and was responsable for much of the shows creative ideas,names and futuristic
devices(such as the phaser and particle beaming}choose the name "Vulcan" for the race
"Spock"{Leonard Nimoy}was desended of from-who dwelled on a distant planet in another
solar system."Spock";as a Vulcan has both many similar traits to those of human beings
and many characteristics decidedly differant from those of human beings-both physical
and mental{The pointed ears as a physical example and his strict adherance to using only
logic in his decision making process as a mental example}
The word "Vulcan" comes ancient roman times where "Vulcan" was the god of fire.
In 1859 Joeseph Le Verrier,Proffesser of Astronomy in Paris and director of the Paris
Observatory noticed that the eliptical orbit of Mercury around the sun seem to vary
more than gravity alone could explain.He therefore therorized that a planet so small
it could not be observed existed between Mercury and the Sun and that explained
the excessive varience in Mercury's eliptical orbit.He named the planet "Vulcan".
Though a few pseudo-scientists claimed to have spotted "Vulcan" Le Verrier nor
any other qualified astronomer ever did.It turned out that such a planet did not exist.
The excessive variance in Mercury's orbit was finally explained by Einstien's theory that
space-time alters the movements of objects with a large mass such as Mercury and the sun.
Le Verrier can take credit for deducing the existance of Neptune which turned out to
be only one degree away from where he predicted it would be.Pretty Impressive !
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