PETE HOLLY BLOG II

BOOKISH ! PETE HOLLY'S LIST OF 35 ESSENTIAL BOOK'S

2010-05-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

1."Middle Age"-Joyce Carol Oates
2."Gertrude"-Herman Hesse
3."Underneath the Wheel"-Herman Hesse
4."The Stranger"-Albert Camus
5."Homage to Calatonia"-George Orwell
6."The Perenial Philosophy"-Aldous Huxely-Non-Fiction
7."Secrets of Selling Yourself to People"-James Mangan-N.F.
8."Either/Or"-Soren Kirkigaard
9."The Red Pony"-John Stienbeck
10."Sophies Choice"-James Styron
11."The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"-B. Traven
12."The Great Gatsby"-F. Scott Fitzgerald
13."The Tin Drum"-Gunter Grass
14."The Incredible Lightness of Being"-Milan Kundrea
15."Three Day Blow"-Ernest Hemingway-Short Story
16."On The Road"-Jack Kerouac
17."Catch 22"-Joeseph Hellar
18."Slaughterhouse Five"-Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
19."One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest"-Ken Kesey
20."The Death Ship"-B. Traven
21."East of Eden"-John Stienbeck
22."The Invisable Man"-Ralph Ellison 23."Be Here Now'-Baba Ram Dass-N.F.
24."The Dharma Bum's"-Jack Kerouac
25."The Complete Poems of Emily Dickenson-Emily Dickenson-poet
26."Farenhiet 451"-Ray Bradbury
27."Nijinsky's Diary"-Nijinsky-N.F.
28."The Seven Pillars of Wisdom"-D. H. Lawrence
29."Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland"-Lewis Carrol
30."Through the Looking Glass"-Lewis Carrol
31."The Wizard of of Oz"-Frank L. Baum
32."The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"-Mark Twain
33."The Letter's of Vincent Van Gogh"-Vincent Van Gogh-N.F.
34."Heart of Darkness"-Joeseph Conrad
35."Diary of a Rock Star"-Ian Hunter-N.F.

{All book's listed are Fiction unless otherwise noted}

List compiled by Pete Holly-All Rights Reserved-Copyright-2010-5/28/2010

The Way We Were-Pete Holly-Pete Holly and the Look's

2010-05-28T04:59:00.000-07:00

#.1"We liked the same music-we liked the same bands-we liked the same clothes"
-"Bobby Jean",Bruce Springsteen and the E-street Band-Born in the U.S. A.-

#2."Somewhere,Somehow,Somebody must have kicked you around Some"
-"Refugee"-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-Damn the Torpedo's

#3."I knew it must have been,some big set-up,All the action,just would not let up"
"Friction"-Television-Marqee Moon

#4."6:oo O'clock in the morning,i finished recording,feelin' alone and,no place is home"
"That i Remember"-The Dwight Twilly Band-Twilly Don't Mind

#5."I'm sittin' here wonderin',if a Matchbox will hold my clothes"-"Matchbox"
-Carl Perkins

#6."and me,I'm in a rock 'n roll band"-"Sweet Jane"-Mott the Hoople-Composed
by Lou Reed

#7."Remember me,to one who lives there,for she once was,a true love of mine"
"North Country Girl"-Bob Dylan

#8."Made up my mind,i'll make new start-Goin' ta California with an ache,in my Heart"
-"Goin' to California"-Led Zepplin-IV

#9."There must be some kinda way out of Here,said the joker to the thief"
All Along the Watchtower"-Jimi Hendrix-composed by Bob Dylan

#10."Blue Sun,Lookin' at you,We got nothin',left to do,give me a reason,i'll pull
on thru,Blue Sun,I'm Lookin' at You !"-"Blue Sun"-Pete Holly
and the Look's-Live at Desmond and Mollies

#11."But i wish that you could see them,but now it's geting so dark,I'm down here,
at the end of this pier,and i'm Feedin' all the Shark's"-"Feedin' All The Sharks"-Pete Holly and Primordial Soup-
composed by Pete Holly

#12."Tax Collectors Vacant-Make it-'till you give it up-do anything you want you
know-cause i can't get enough"-"Can't Get Enough of Nothin"-Pete Holly and
The High Tops-composed by Pete Holly

#13."The Moon Come's up,the sun goes down,I'm on the street,I'm on the Prowl,
All thru the day,i hear them Cry,and now i know,the reason why"-
"Dark Black Night"-Pete Holly-"Riverside Drive" also Pete Holly and the Hightop's
-Live Performance-composed by Pete Holly

#14."Every town i go,there's a street,name of the street y'all,Funky Funky Broadway"
"Funky Broadway"-Otis Redding

Once upon a Time/Things you might Need

2010-05-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

One day,many years ago,i and my new girlfriend were walking down a
sidewalk in the East Village,in N.Y.C...A number of people had set up little area's
where they were selling all kinds of odd's and ends.Nothing very valuble,
just a total mish-mash of pretty ragged looking stuff.Just as we were about
to turn away i noticed the vendors sign-"THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED"and for some reason the phrase seemed very funny to me and my girlfriend and we started to
laugh.The vendor started to laugh too ! Because of that sign we had one of the
best afternoons of our live's.We laughed alot and we loved even more.

pete holly-2010-copyright-all rights reserved

TOP SELLING PETE HOLLY MP3'S IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ON AMAZON.CO.UK

2010-05-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

THE TOP THREE MARKETS FOR POP/ROCK MUSIC IN THE WORLD
ARE-THE UNITED STATES-THE UNITED KINGDOM-AND JAPAN-

HERE IS A THE LATEST TOP TEN LIST OF THE MOST DOWNLOADED PETE HOLLY
MP3'S IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

1.EVERYBODY CALL NOW-SUN VALLY
2.STRANGER IN TOWN-WIZARD OF GARAGE
3.JESUS LIVES IN SAN BERNADINO-RIVERSIDE DRIVE
4.ROCK 'N ROLL GIRL-THE BALLED OF PETE HOLLY
5.CATBIRD CANES-RIVERSIDE DRIVE
6.CHASE THE NIGHT-WIZARD OF GARAGE
7.JANE DAY-SUN VALLEY
8.LET IT RIP-THE BALLED OF PETE HOLLY
9.CATBIRD CANES{VERTIGO OF LOVE}-
THE BALLED OF PETE HOLLY
10.TRUELY DELICATE NATURE-"III"

THANKS TO ALL THE FANS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
WHO DOWNLOADED THESE SONGS AND FOR SUPPORTING
MY MUSIC.

ALL THE BEST,

PETE HOLLY,
LOOK'S MUSIC INTERNATIONAL

Movies on Dvd-"The Scarlet Letter"-1934

2010-05-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

This movie "The Scarlet Letter" made in 1934,star's Colleen Moore,who
at the time was one of,if not Hollywoods biggest female star.Believe it
or not-this is the only other adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's amazing
and extremly famous novel of the same name beside's the more recent version
in which actress "Demi Moore" play's the story's central figure,"Hester Prynn".
Unfortunatly for Demi Moore,her attempt to give the "Hester Prynn" charactor
a more modern touch not only bombed at the Box Office-but with the critics
as well.There was simply nothing in the modern film version that engaged the
audience with the charactors in the film.So many liberities were taken that
deviated greatly from the essence of the original Hawthorne novel that the
story made little,if any sense,and the actors performances tended to reflect
the pointless screenplay by apprearing aloof,unengaged and worst of all,boring.
While this 1934 version of "The Scarlet Letter" is not perfect.It's very
entertaining and it does stay true to the Hawthorne novel.It's somewhat
surprizing that a sound film made in the 1930's seems to be in perfect shape.
There isn't one visual or sound flaw in this old film.It play's perfectly.
Someone obviously took very good care of this film and we,the audience,
are the benifactor's of thier determination to keep the film in perfect condition.
It's simply a "Great Movie" and a very respectable interpretation Nathaniel
Hawthornre's timeless novel.

written by Pete Holly-2010-copyright-all rights reserved

Poetry

2010-05-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

In the trunks of old car's-found in San Fransisco,
Chinese Swords and Big Thick Dragon Vase's,Red and Dragon Black
and Gold-
We lost the sword in a move but held on to the Dragon Vase-
Once as i lay choking to death by blood-
My face a bloody Battered Death mask-gasping for air !
as hands choked off my last breath of air-i died-went unconsious-
To the other side-
When i awoke the heavy body on my chest-Had vanished !
The blood ran down my face-a sharp cracking pain-where the back
of my head had been bashed over and over into the expensive-
Spanish Tile-till my brain felt broken' into little pieces-rolling around in my
Skull-Brain matter slammed into bone-
The tiles now splattered with blood-as i started to breath again-
and stars flew away-shooting away death-forcing me to breath-
And bringing me to back to Life-My head collapsed Sideways-in pain
and exhaustion-and there in front of my eye's came slowly into focus-
The Chinese Dragon Vase-broken like a skull-laying there-the sharp-
cutting corners-of Life-crushed inside my Brain-through the Skull-
To stay locked inside for eternity-a balance-force-that will not disappear-ever

written by pete holly-copyright-2010-all rights reserved
5/07/2010

LEARNING HOW WE LEARN FROM EXPIERIENCE

2010-05-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

"A Boy in the 60's-Growing-up in Anderson,California"

by Pete holly

I remember as a young boy-i liked to go for walks along the banks of the Sacremento
River-we lived right on it's bank's.I'd walk along the river banks and through the Quiet Suberban streets of Anderson;a town of only 2000 people ! Some times i'd walk to a little store that was about a mile away.It had every kind of candy on earth.For just a nickel and a dime you
could buy more candy than you could eat.
One day i was walking around the closest block to our house and it was a really hot quiet
day{115 was not unusual in the summertime}.Not a single person seemed to be at home or
around.Suddenly,i thought of the very first time i had walked around this block about 5 years
earlier.I noticed something strange however.Even though the nieghborhood hadn't changed
at all,something made it look differant to me.Then,i had a clearity of thought.The niegborhood
didn't look the same to me-because i had changed.Alot had happened over those 5 years.I knew
most every family in the niegborhood and they knew me.I also knew all thier secrets-or a least enought of thier secrets that could no longer see the the Block the way i did when i didn't know
anyone or anyhing about them.I knew there were people who lived on the block who had serious
problems.In the 60's-even in a sleepy little town in northern California-Anderson-people had
serious problems.Some had son's that had died in vietnam-some drank to much-one of my best
friends mother seemed like she did nothing but drink all day long.But she wasn't mean or any- thing like that that-in fact i remember her being quite nice.Everyone was nice but the times were not nice-and we all knew it.Nobody talked about it.I was fasinated by the way people didn't talk about anything serious.Nobody asked questions when someone had "the Flu"."Oh yeah-
it's going around,thats what i hear"-and that's what children heard too.But i think most of us,
even alot of the kids-knew it wasn't "the Flu".It was something more serious,so we didn't talk
about it.But it was strange how it made the neighborhood look differant.That was really a
revelation to me at age 10.

written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-all rights reserved

Poetry

2010-04-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

The world is unforgiving;
Restless-Full of Farewells,
Introductions Die with Age-
Darkness-a patient friend,
Comes to Visit in the End-

The Light trys to Break Through !
-But is Repelled-
The hope of a flickering candle,
Put out-the Conversations end-
The road begins to bend and a Gospel song is all that's-
-Left to Sing !-
Slashing the Brain in in two-Divided by the Evil we Do-
Deadly Danger-and Painful,Remorsefull Agony-
-Become souful companions-
and so it seems-everything we thought we knew-
is about nothing-
One Pain we can feel and comprehend-
but a crowd of desperate souls-
as may be-in places we can't see
our brains can't fathom-
We want to save one life-
but know not how to save many-
and not feel we've taken' on to much-
Can we call a expert on such numerous operations-
or are doctors to busy also-The Waiting Room is full-
The Ambulance ran out of gas-so were pushing the gerny-
down the city streets-with a traffic cop anoucing all to
"Get out of the Way"-"Let us Pass"
"Thank you mam'"-"thank you sir'"
we finally make it to the ER and the poor soul is saved-
With one we are heroic-in a crowd we panic-
We need Jimmy Carter to Walk right into the melting
down nuclear reactor with no protective gear on-
It must be safe-i mean he's thePresident-
But nobody knew he's studied Nuclear science-
He knew right where to go to look for the problem-
-the fuel rods in a bath of deep deep water-
Jimmy see's the water level is way to low,
he checks the refill pipe-it's not working !
"The re-fill pipe's not working" he shouts up
the stairs to the reactors technitions in the main
control Room-"check out all the valves and connections"
"Yes,Mr. President-were right on it"

"What do you see"-Worker "One of the valves is shut off"
"Open it up"-worker -"Yes,Mr. President"
"O.k.,we should be allright now -the water levels rising and
the fuel rod's are begining to cool down"
Reporter-"What's happening"-Worker-"the president fixed the
reactor"-Reporter-"Did you hear that Morely"-"Carter fixed
the Goddamned Reactor" Morely-"Your Kidding"-No,i'm not"
"How long was he down there-about one minute""How the hell
could he fix a nuclear reactor in one fucking minute".
Morely "The President's walking out of the reactor"
Ask him how everything is."Everythings fine-we found the problem
and the reactors cooling down" The crowd cheers loudly.
Jimmy walks away smiling with Roseland by his side.
"Jesus Christ" Safer keeps saying-"how the hell could he fix
a god damned nuclear reactor in 1 minute"-"Actually,it was only
30 seconds Moreley"-Yeah-O.K.-I got it-Safer can't stop shaking
his head in disbelief.

We need more Jimmy Carters,
-Because the World is Unforgiving-

Poetry

2010-04-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

Lies,Please tell them to me-
I want to hear thier Wantoness-

Be Weak-I've enough strength-
for marching off to War-

Let me Slay your enemies-
My pleasure for your desire-

My soldiers rank brings me to the front,
I'll fight on every shore and spill my Blood-
into the Sea,
Lies,they appear to be closer to
the truth-that what is said-
To me-

Poetry

2010-04-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

Crushed in Travel,
-From shore to Sea,
The Maldives surely-Wait
-for you and me

As patient as-a Reverand !
Go I-There as He-
The Ship overflows-
How To - Dock at Sea ?

It's overboard for us-
Not afraid,
Amongst safer waters,
To comiserate the time-
tis' fate, Tribal Daughter's !

Poetry

2010-04-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

The Horizen is askew today-
as if someone had jarred it,
I wonder if plainer folk-
oft see it that way

I see them Rise-as dawn approach's,
The scapel cleaves earths hardend mind-
Not for them,to look or see-
At one who care's-or stop's sometime-
and then can see them as not Blind'

Know not my name-
But see my Eye,
Tis' pleasant-
For one blind scarred-

Maybe from a distance Great-
you look at gardens,and think of
-Gods Reply-

Rebuke your servants-Bloody torrents-
Tear the flesh of mind-this gash-
is all of those you choose-
And all You left Behind-

Boise-A Birds Eye View

2010-04-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

At one time Fort Boise was the only landmark built by man that could be seen
from high up in the sky in southwestern Idaho.The second large object one could see
was the mining town known as "Idaho City".For many years the mining town dwarfed
the size of Boise-in population and in it's nuber of buildings.Many people say that more gold was mined from the Idaho City area than both the California and Yukon gold strikes combined.I don't doubt it."Idaho City's" reputationduring the gold rush years is full of tall tale's,Murders,Gun Fights,Prostitution,hard-drinking,bar brawls and a strong tension in the air betwixed the Union Soldiers who had come to seek thier fortune after The Cival War and Confederate Soldiers who had done the same.Many of the killings were a result of this left over prejudice,hatred and
bitterness.
As the mining wore down towards the year 1900 a new land mark was about to built
on the boise river.A diversion dam was built to divert water to the dry deserts to the
west where farmers could grow potato's,sugar beets,onions,apples and some even grew
grapes.This was the begining of the great Idaho-Potato connection which was to leave
a permanent impression of what people,who had never seen or been to Idaho,thought
the whole state was like.They pictured Idaho as being like Iowa.A flat land where potato
farmers carved out a living in a bland featureless land devoid of any modernity in thinking
or in living.They had no Idea that much of Idaho is made up of the Rocky Moutains and
the famous "River of No Return"-the Salmon and northern America's deepest gourge,
"Hells Canyon".It is also the richest state in rare and very valuble great Gems.The
state is practically teaming with them-it's hard to take a step on any undeveloped land-
of which Idaho has the most of any state in the union,with out stepping some rare and val-
ble gem.I better stop here because many Idahoan's would prefer Idaho to remain
relativly unspoiled and sparsely populated.Only the states Capital,Boise,Where i live
can say that just about every Chain of various store types has not just one but several
outlets here.Even Walmart has two stores here.Yet Boise is really two citys-that are very
differant from each other.Downtown,near where i live,is still fairly small for a city with a
of a Quarter of a million people calling it home.Most of the growth has happened west of
the city where now,just like in L.A.,where Boise ends and Meridian starts is for all intents
and pupose's a continous city which i call Boisidian.So i'm not letting out any more secrets.
The last vestages of old Boise are still around but they are just barely hanging on-givin a
few more decades and they too will probably also be gone.But for now at least-it's still a
much easier place to live than the Bigger City's of the west.It's cold in the winter and hotter
hell in the summer but all in all-it's a pretty nice place to call home.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

Poetry

2010-04-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

Ceremonies break the spell-
The desert comes alive,
We call on those-Consider
Beauty-as Worth
Time-
Soldiers March through Hell's-Great Gate's-
to sactify thier Martyr-
and yet-shipped home boxed,
Under Cover of Flag's-
-in Darkness lies-
Hide the victum-Praise
-the Calvery
We come to save your souls,
But many are allready taken'-Before,By Who ? No One Knows-
Brave soldiers pray god has not forsaken-
and we at home-Some of us who know them-
Touch the cross-and pray for thier souls,
To cross calvery-and find Home-

"Book of Days"-Malcom Boyd

2010-04-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

Lets not get into identities.Please , just let me be fuctional.

Aerosmith Tops the Stone's in U.S. Sale's !

2010-04-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

While here in America we've been so busy-and rightfully so-trying to stop
terrorism,averting or surviving the economic meltdown;an amazing occurance
has taken' place in the History of Rock Music."Aerosmith",the band from Boston,
who hit the Bigtime and nearly squandered it all to alcohol and drug abuse-has
surpassed the "The Rolling Stone's" in total U.S. album sales.The band who
recovered just in time,lauched the Biggest Comeback in Rock History-and it
has taken' them to high's Bigger than the Band they most emulated-The Stone's".
"Aerosmith" more than any other rock band-stayed true to the fundemental
Rolling Stone's template.One frontman-Steven Tyler, as the lead singer,
two guitarists,Joe Perry and Brad Whitford,plus bassist Tom Hamilton
and drummer Joey Kramer.I'm sure they never imagined that they might
surpass the Band that seems to have most inspired them-but they have.
To be fair,one has to acknowledge that for "Aerosmith" to achieve this
amazing feat of rock success-a few helper's were called upon-that i would
imagine,in the Bands first round of success-they would never even have
considered resorting too.I speak thier of collaboration with Desmond Child-
the #1 songwriter helper in the Rock Biz.Child's best know credits are
"Bon Jovi's" big hit-"Livin' on a Prayer" and several other Bon Jovi hit's.
His name is sandwhiched between John Bon Jovi's and Guitarists Ritche
Sambora so it's doubtful that any of Bon Jovi fans ever noticed."Aerosmith"
also had one of the biggest hits of thier comeback in "I Don't Wannna Miss a
Thing";a song originally written for Celine Dion by L.A.'s go to Writer for
movie soundtrack songs-Dianne Warren.In "Aerosmiths" hands the song
actually is pretty enjoyable-and Warren never fails to come up a Hit Movie
Soundtrack Song-whenever she is called upon to write one.The song was
featured in the Film "Armagedan" which also co-starred Steven Tyler's
daughter,Liv Tyler.
It must be acknowledged though that these are exception's to the
"Aerosmith's" large catolog of hits and amazing string of Multi-Platinum
Album's.For the better part of thier long and tumultous career Aerosmith
wrote nearly everything themselve's and there are some real top-notch
song's amongst both thier Big hit's and amongnst thier best album tracks.
Here's a few-
1."Dream On"
2."Sweet Emoition"
3."Walk This Way
{Also the Rap-Mix of this song with "Run-DMC" was a gigantic hit}
4."Last Child"
5."Back in the Saddle"
6."Same Old Song and Dance"
7."Kings and Queen's"
8."Jamie's Got a Gun"
9."Dude Look Like a Lady"
10."Make It"
11."Draw the Line"
12."Mama Kin"

Any way you look at it-Aerosmith's come back story is one of astounding
Proportions.They deserve all the accolades that have been presented to them.
They travelled a very rough and rocky road,full of deadly pitfall's and danger.
Not only did they survive-but they flourished.It's a story for triumph over
adversity and one that will allways be one of the more astounding in Rock History.

Written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reserved

The Greatist Albums of the 20th Century

2010-04-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

#6."History Never Repeats"-Split Endz

Before Niel Finn formed "Crowded House" he was a member of "Split Endz"
along with his brother Tim Finn.They both are extremly good Pop-Rock composers
and Performers.They were also very creative in the studio and they developed
a very original sound with "Split Endz" .This collection of some of thier finest work
is full of some of the Best songcraft and Great Recordings your ever likely hear this
side of "The Beatles" and "The Beach Boy's"."I Got You" was one of thier biggest
songs and i believe it did the Best in U.S..The Bands very quirky look was a solid
feature of thier video's which got quite abit of play on MTV.Though "Split Endz"
didn't quite breakthrough to American Audiences as successfully as Niels Band "Crowded
House" did later on-it certainly wasn't for a lack of Great Music-Great Songs and Great
Recordings as this Album is a testament too.
Every song on this album has something of interest to fan's of great Pop/Rock
Music and there is alot of varience of style throughout the whole Album."Dirty
Creature" "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" are both stand-out up tempo songs,
While "I Hope I Never" is a classic pop/rock balled,as in "I Hope i Never Have to
See You Again" a ode to romance gone bad,with a shimmering stellar Beauty all it's
own.
This bands best work in this collection of songs is truelly a lost Gem in the pantheon
Great Pop/Rock.It deserves to be re-discovered and is well worth seeking out.

Written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Resevred

The Greatist Albums of the 20th Century

2010-03-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

#5-"The First Songs"-Laura Nyro

Laura Nyro's voice is one of the most haunting and soulful instruments
to ever appear in the World of Pop/Rock Music.Her vocal Strength and Delicacy
far surpass all the other more well known female singer-songwriter's of her day.
For one thing-Laura-who was white-sounds much more like a black woman
and her songs reflect that spitit as well.Obviously,Laura spent some tough Ghetto
Times before she became the most successful female singer-songwriter of her day.
Her songs-made into huge hits by other artists who recorded them include-
"Wedding Bell Blue's"-"Stoney End"-"And When I Die"-"Stoned Soul Picnic"-
"Sweet Blindness" and "Eli's Coming".
But it's Laura's original versions of these songs and others where her true magic is
Most Apparent.The Recordings are all made live in the studio with a top-notch band
and Back-up singers with Laura leading them on lead Vocals and Piano.They are the
most beautiful songs of Love,Pain, and Mercy ever written and recorded.

*******
7-stars
out of 5

Written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reserved

The Greatist Albums of the 20th Century

2010-03-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

#4.-"Tim Moore"-Tim Moore

In the mid-70's*,Tim Moore,Who had just won the European Song Contest-Released
a perfect pop/rock album on a tiny label called "a small record company".The
album included the song "Second Avenue" which became a huge hit for Art
Garfunkel.Thou "Second Avenue" was and is one of the most perfectly composed
and emoitionally moving songs in the entire history of pop/rock music;the album
was overflowing with some of the best pop/rock music ever written and/or
performed .In fact Moore's version of "Second Avenue" was and still is far
superior to Garfunkels.
Any good pop and/or rock singer or group could have covered any song
on Moore's album and had a huge hit,that's how superior Moore's work was
to other singer-songwriters of that time.But for some unknown reason,the few songs
that were covered by other artists never achieved the kind of success as "Second Avenue"
I completely lost track of Moore after that but apparently he did record several more albums.
But they must not have gotten' much of a push from the record label{s} because after
"'Second Avenue" and the "Tim Moore" album proper he never had that kind of success again.
I heard a few years back that the "Tim Moore" album had been mastered to digital and
released on Cd after being out of print for decades.I see that it's available on amazon.com-along with his other albums that didn't fare so well.I'm glad to see it in print
again.
Moore was and is more than just a talented singer-songwriter-He's one of the
best ever and with only one perfect album to prove it( but let's face it there are very few perfect albums}.That's a pretty amazing
accomplishment that has no equal that i'm aware of."Tim Moore" is one of the most astounding
albums in the entire pop/rock cannon.It's a bit sad that Moore never did make the kind of magic
again that he did on first solo album-but even having one perfect album to your credit is
an extremely rare occurance in the world of pop music.So we just have to greatful for
this one that Moore made.Check it out-It's a real knockout !

******-6 Stars out of five

Written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reserved

Poetry

2010-03-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

Tell me sir,to what you walk,when all your day is done-
Do secret spies,come roaming round,and try your hat on some-
could it be,someone i know,but has forgotten me-
Tell me sir,off do you dream,and let her come back to me-

I wish it were that way-sometimes,that a gentleman forget-
and so the one i used to know-Remember how we met-
so standing on the corner,as the midnight bell did toll-
i could spy,your glittering eye,and once more we could stroll

You found the thing,lost in your purse,twas ten times great as gold
and it put you in a funny mood-we laughed and said "I'm Sold"
Were you mine or was me yours-how quickly we forget-
But don't think of that other man and prefer me not to quit

It all seems such a silly game-but that's how fun be had,
If i should take advantage of your funny mood please tell me you'd be Glad-
and not be woken' up tommorrow an' wonder where you'd been-
but feel as if the sky had opened-and let both of us in-

The Greatist Films of All-Time

2010-03-22T01:37:00.000-07:00

I thought that since i've been very lucky at being able
to see a very wide variety of films and to see a Great
Number of films i would try to narrow down a list of
of the Ten very Best.
-Here They Are-

1."La Dolce Vita"-Directed by Fredrico Fellini

Directer Fellini made this Black and White film over 50 years ago and
guess what it's about.A Tabloid news paper writer in Rome carousing
with high society,Movie Stars,and the rest of the paparazi.Was Fellini
Way ahead of his time-yes- is he a genuis at the art of making Film-each
Frame of a Fellini film is like a painting by one of the great masters of art.
Hundreds of them all put into one film-It's a Masterpiece.

2."Fitzcaraldo"-directed by Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog spent 8 years filming this sprawling masterpiece,deep in
the Amazon Rainforest.Over 100 people died in order for this film to be made.
It's an astonishing film on every concievable level.It has to be seen to
be believed.

3."Cititzen Kane"-directed by Orsen Welles

Orsen Welles was chidhood prodigy.As a young boy in england his ability's
as a consumate actor were allready apparent.Recognized by Directors and
casting agents he had hundreds of stage credits to his name before he
even turned 18.By the time Welles arrived in NYC his reputation as a
genuis was allready firmly established.Thus he was givin' his own
Radio show where he proceded to read "The War of the World's" as if it
were coming sraight off the wire.Welles completely fooled the entire
nation-by the time people realized it was all just good fun-Welles
status as an actor was raised even higher.By the time directed
"Citizen Kane" he had allready conquered the world.But with "Kane"
Welles took it to a whole new level ,of which no film had ever
accomplished up untill that time or since."Kane" is the greatist,Best filmed
{thanks to Greg Tolland} and best directed film ever made ever made in
America.Welles also did a perfect job of Playing Kane himself
as the lead actor of the Film .If you look up
the word genuis in the dictionary you'll find Orsen Welles.

4."The Seventh Seal"- Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Knights returning from the Crusades were allready weary when
they began to see evidence of The Black Plauge in every city,Hamlet
and village they passed thru.Young girls were burned at he stake
on the charge that they were Witch's and were somehow Responsible
for the Plauge.As the troops traveled on,A stranger visits this odd Band
of gypsies.He reavels ,that he is the grim reaper and challenges one of
Knight's to a game of chess.The reaper wins of course-and
the knight is badley distressed by this-but there is nothing
he can do.Finally they arrive at the the Knights home where he has
been recieved with open arms by his wife and his servents,
just after he tell's thens the story-they are all seen walking off,
Following the Reaper with his scyth on a nearby mountain.The
only people who survive are a young couple who are expecting
a baby soon.Poetic Justice-you might say.

5."Chinatown"-Directed by Roman Polaski

Chinatown takes place in Los Angeles,but every city in the west
,even Boise,has similar story of Power and Corruption-Because in the West,
the most valuble commodity is water.So anyone in a western city who has
enough money and power will try to get control of the water and use any
and all means to get it.So the story in Chinatown has it's equivalants in
Cities like Las Vegas,Denver,Phoenix,Boise,Reno,Spokane,San Diego and
San Fransisco-just to name a few.
The most noticable thing in "Chinatown" is how differant Polanski's
techniques of Filming are from the average American Director.Every shot
in "Chinatown" is custom made by Polanski.,who has a gigantic bag of tricks
and techniques in his director's Bag-most of them totally unique to unto
himself.When private detective Jake Giddes,the film's main charactor,played
by Jack Nicholson first pay's a visit to his client,Evelyn Mulray's Mansion,
in the Hollywood Hill's-Polanski places the camera right behind Nicholson's
back as he walks thru the backyard while he's waiting to see Miss's Mulray,
played by Faye Dunaway.
At the time of the scenes filming Nicholson objected to this set up by Pol-
lanski.He thought the camera should be in front of him like it would be in
a regular american movie-to best show the lead actors face.But when you see
the film you understand why Polanski filmed the scene the way he did.
With the Camera just behind Nicholson-peering over his shoulder,the
audience feels like they are right there in the backyard just behind Nicholson.
It's an ingenous device of Polaski's that makes the audience feel like they are
not watching the film but like they are in it ! This is just one example of the
way Roman use's the camera in way's that draw the audience into being
part of the movie and not just watching it.
"Chinatown" is the Greatist American Movie ever made,even if it took a
Polish Director to achieve that Greatness.

6."Burdon of Dreams"-
Directed byLes Blank

This documentry of Werner Herzog's 8 year struggle
to finish the film "Fitzcaralado" is as long as the movie that is it's subject.
It's also equally as Great and Fasinating as the movie "Fitzcaraldo" itself.
In one scene where the film crew and about 1000 Amazonian indians are
waiting for a replacement part for the tractor Herzog ended up having to
use to get the giant Steamship they used in the film pulled up from one
tributary of the Amazon up and over the top of a large mountain and
then lowering it down the big moutain into another tributary{Herzog
tried to do this just using wench's,pully's and the 1000 indians but the ship
kept falling back down the mountain}so eventually at the highest point he
was able to get the ship up the moutain just using just the indians and
the wench's and pully's,and the ship still got stuck just below the top of
the mountain-Herzog gave in and used the tractor to get the Ship the last
few hundred yards up and over the top of the very large moutain and then
while lowering the ship down the other side of the mountain about half way
down the cable snapped and the ship went carening down the mountain
and crashed into the river below,nearly capsizing the ship and damaging
it severly.Luckily Herzog had the camera's rolling so he got the footage
of the ship slipping loose from the cable and crashing into the river.It's
worth seeing this movie and "Fitzcaraldo" just to see this amazing scene.
It took alot of time to repair the boat once they were able to capture it
and anchor it down.It was during this part of the film that everyone working
on the movie became very discouraged and you see Herzog being interviewed
while they wait weeks for the tractor part to arrive{this is also when 6 of
the deaths happened when the first plane carrying the part crashed in the
Jungle killing everyone aboard}so while waiting for the second plane to arrive
Herzog is at his wits end.This is when he was interviewed.He talk's about how
ugly and dead the jungle seems to him and how unbearable it is-but then
add's "But,i Love it".Then the documentry film crew ask's him what he
thinks he will do when the film is finally finished."I think i'm going directly
to an insane asylum" he say's only half-joking.

#7.-"Aguirre,Wrath of God"

Directed by Werner Herzog

This is the tale of Spanish Conquistador Pissaro's ill-fated Journey to find El-Dorado
and the souce of the Amazon River.Every spanish soldier and slave in his regime dies a
horrible death on the attempted Quest except for Aguirre-who becomes the first white
man to travel the full lenth of the Amazon River and live to tell about it.
When he finally makes it back to Spain he is pardoned for abandoning Pissaro and his
other fellow soldiers when the court realizes that it would have been impossible to turn
back and try to save them on such a river.Aguirre marries a young South American
Indian girl who was the only other surviver of the expedition.They are givin' a fantastic
Mansion in the Hills of Spain to live in-complete with every luxery known to man at the
time-1500-1600.
Eventually Aguirre gets restless and decides to return to South America with his
Bride.He makes it across the Atlantic O.K. but when he reach's the Delta of the Amazon
there are so many tributaries that he and his wife become hoplessly lost amidst the
delta.All of the ships sailors have either abandoned Aguirre-thinking him mad or they
have been killed by hostile indians.When Aguirre himself finally dies only his wife lives
to tell the tale.She makes it to Columbia where she catches a ship bound for Spain.
When she finally reach's the spanish court and tells them of Aguirre and his crews
terrible fate-the court has mercy on her and lets her return to the mansion that was
givin' to Aguirre and her-where she lives out the rest of her day's-Mourning her lovers
Death.
This movie reveals the Amazon River and Jungle as it was over 40 years ago and is
the most visually stunning Film ever made.

8."The Elephant Man"-Directed by David Lynch

The Elephant Man is a flawless and incredibly moving film-that is more than
enough proof of David Lynch's Genuis when it come to Film Making.John Hurts performance is mind-boogling and so is Anthony Hopkins.The staging of the film is so realistic
that the viewer completly forgets the present and believes He/She is actually back at the turn
of the 20th Century in London.That's how detailed,well directed,and perfectly acted this film is.
It's truelly a landmark in American filmmaking.The sounds of the early industrial age with thier
giant steam engines and noisey factory's churning away day and night you barely notice when
you first see the film.But upon viewing the film for about 100th time it suddenly hit me that
Those strange,loud and constant sounds of the industrial age are a huge part of what make's
the film so convincing that you feel as if you are actually back in the world of the turn of the 20th
Century London.This is the most effective use of sound ever used in an American Film.
It's at the ending of "The Elephant Man" that Samual Barber's "Adagio for Strings" was
first used in a film.Now many people consider it to be the Greatist piece of Music ever composed and i would concur with that opinion.

9."Apocalyse Now"-
Directed by Fransis Ford Coppela

The first major film released about the Vietnam war-the film is actually
based on Joeseph Conrad's Novel "Heart of Darkness".Somehow placing Conrad's novel
within' the setting of the Vietnam War Worked surprisingly well.The Film was a labor
of love for Coppala,with his film career on the line and also for actor Martin Sheen who
suffered a heart attack during the making of the film and allmost died.When Marlon
Brando finally arrived on the set he was horribly overwwieght and hadn't even read
the script so he had no idea how he was going to play the part.But Coppala needed Brando's
Box Office Power so he improvised.He shot Brando at night and in dark shadows and keeped
the Camera mostly on Brando's face.With his head shaved Brando was believable as a
Military leader gone mad.He mumbled strange thoughts and idea's and he looked and acted
insane just like the charactor he was playing.The ending of the film had not been written
so that to was improvised.The result was a film of Mind Blowing Proportions.
Many of the lines from the film have become part of pop culture allthough they are
completely taken' out of context and thier meaning completely mis-understood.
When Robert Duvall say's "Charlie don't Surf" he isn't talking about Charles Manson-
But he's reffering to the fact that the Vietcong don't indulge in the sport of surfing.After
Sheen's charactor stops at the last official U.S. Military Outpost before the river they
are traveling up enters into Cambodia-He look's everywhere for the Brigade's Commander-
as bombs and explosions explode all around him-"Ain't you him" one soldier replies.As
Sheens charactor said earlier in the film "The Bullshit Pilled up So Fast in Vietnam-You
needed wings to stay above it".Finally Sheen relizes that the Army Unit Stationed at the Bridge
has no leader.He return to the boat with some supplies and say's "There's no CO{Commanding
Officer}here.

#10."12 Monkeys"

Directed by Terry Gilliam

"12 Monkeys" is one the very few newer,more modern Films, that
is as intense and well Directed as the other nine movies on this list.By Far the
Best Science fiction movie ever made-it's plot is so realistic-that the movie just
Blows Your Entire Mind from start to finish .
The french avante-garde photography/story book that the film was based
on,thou it's very differant from the movie,is also the exactly the same as the movie
in many ways.Bruce Willis and Madaline Stowe give the performances of thier live's
and Brad Pitt's supporting role is the best piece of acting he's ever done.
Director Gilliam gives the film an incredible-allmost psychadelic look-it's
surreal and yet totally believable.

Warning:This Film contains ideas and concepts that are not suitable for
Children-so leave them at home or send them to thier rooms or out to
play before pressing the Play Button.

All Movie Reviews written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reseved

The Greatist Recordings of All-time

2010-03-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

#61-"Not to Touch the Earth"-The Doors

With lyrics' that read-"The Presidents heads in the back of the Car"
"The engine runs on glue and tar"
"Were Going East,To Meet the Czar"
Jim Morrison proved Time and time again that his lyrics/Poetry were an
art unto themselves and this particular one is fantastically outrageous-
and yet at the same time right on the money.
People still believe that the 1960's were a time of peace and love,
when in fact it was the most violent decade in modern history.
Jim got it Right.

The Greatist Albums of the 20th Century

2010-03-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

3."The Beatles For Sale"-The Beatles

Between "The Beatle's" first two albums,"Please,Please Me" and "Meet the Beatles"in
the U.S.A. and "With the Beatles" in the U.K., which both catch the Beatles composing and recording mostly in the style known as Merseybeat and the Soundtrack Albums to "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" came 1964's "Beatle's for Sale",the "The Beatles" least talked about album.With 5 of "The Beatles" best cover song recordings,plus "No Reply" and "Eight Days Week"- the two best known Beatle's penned songs on the album-"Beatles for Sale" is by far the most underated and least listened to Beatle album.Perhaps that's why it's the funist Beatle album to listen too."No Reply";the lead-off track-is one of the Beatle's greatist recordings and
one of John Lennon's best lead Vocal Performances.Lennon also does a great take of Chuck Berry's "Rock 'n Roll Music".The medley -"Kansas City/Hey,Hey,Hey,Hey" sung by McCartney
is one of the Beatle's hardist rocking recordings."Eight Day's a Week","Every Little Thing" and
"What You're Doing" are all indicaters of The Beatles future sound wnich emerged on"Rubber Soul" and "Revolver".Two of Carl Perkin's songs-which in the Beatles live shows were allway's
sung by George* show up on the album as well-with Ringo singing the Lead Vocal on "Honey
Don't" while George keeps his Lead Vocal Position on "Everybody's Trying to be My Baby".

*On at least one setlist from The Beatles day's performing in Hamburg-George is designated
as The Lead Vocalist on the largest number of songs ! Since he was the youngest member of
the band he apparently became the workhorse ,Vocally,of the band.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

The Greatist Recordings of All-Time

2010-03-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

#60-"Symphony No. 6 Op.104"-Jean Sibelius

Departing this earthly realm the same year i entered it-1957-Jean Sibelius is a thouroughly
modern composer who held steadfastly to the "Symphonic Form" long after most of his contempor-
aries left it for Schonberg's 12 note system of composition,or "Les Six of Paris" who were pushing
the boundries of classical music form;with "Tone Poems" and other neo-classical devices.Igor
Stravinsky is a good example.
While Sibelius's 7 Symphonies do include traits of tone poem composition-they also clearly
show evidence of the influence of "Contrapuntal Sonorities" of the early masters of the Symphonic
form;yet they are assembled and presented in a unique modern style that only Sibelius was able
to master.Though many considered the Finnish Composer's music old-fashioned-in the early 20th century.Now-his music is seen in a totally differant light.Various modern composers have
all had words of great praise for Sibelius in modern times.The english composer George Benjamin called one of Sibelius's compositions "unprecented in it's approach".French composer
Pascal Dusapin regarded Sibelius as "This Gigantic Master" and German composer Detlev Glanert said Sibelius "is undoubtably one of the Giants of Music".
By uniting the best of the older musical orders with the best of the new-Sibelius was
able to become a popular composer in own lifetime and he has also become a figure of great
admiration for the modern composers of today.This is the Great Achievment of a man who
was not a follower but a leader.He has earned a large and permanent place in the world of
Classical Music.Just listen to "Symphony No.6" and you'll know why.

referance notes:Sibelius-The Complete Symphonies and Tone Poems-album notes-
Edward Clark-2001
Written by Pete Holly-2010-Copyright-All Rights Reserved

The #1 American Pioneer of Jazz and Pop Vocal Stylization

2010-03-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

Billie Holiday

by Pete Holly

Everything about Billie Holiday was unique.She was the first Black Vocalist to
be the lead vocalist for several of America's Top Touring Orchestra's in the 1930's.
What Billie had that made these orchestra's seek her out;Despite the racial uproar
they knew would follow was something so special,so completely new that Billie and
only Billie could deliver.She a brand new way of singing lead vocal parts.It was sleek,
elegant,and the essence of cool.Instead of starting right on the first beat of a phrase-
Billie would hold out for just a second-wait-and then in the coolist way possible come
in later and make it sound right on time ! No-one had ever sung like this before.It
took people black and white by total surprise-but in the best way possible for it
became this cool new style that America and eventually the whole world fully
embraced as "the way" to sing both pop and jazz music.No-one in pop or jazz ever sang g the same way again for once Billie's recordings became available and she toured all across
America.Every singer working at that time started to work as much of Billie's cool style
into thier own style as they could manage-including the biggest singing stars of the day-Frank
Sinatra-Dean Martin-You name a singer and Billie influenced them;even as late as 1970 you
can hear some of Billie's Style in Led Zepplin's Robert Plant's delivery and even Elvis-The Man-
The King-had that little hesitation right before blew the audience completly away-that was pure
Billie Holiday style.
It's hard to say where or how Billie learned to sing the way she did.She had an extremly
rough childhood and had allready been around the block a time or two before she became America's Star Vocalist.Everyone then and everyone now take's something from Billie's
deceivingly casual delivery.She is the template for all Rock,Pop,and Jazz Vocal sound's.Without
Billie there would be no cool.She invented it.As Frank Sinatra said "She's the Greatist Female
Vocalist of All-Time".

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

The Greatists Albums of the 20th Century

2010-03-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

#2-"Born in the U.S.A."-Bruce Springsteen

If you heard every song on this album separetly and not as a whole you
might not figure it was Bruce's best work.,let alone the 2nd Greatist album of
the 20th Century.But the grand sum of "Born in the U.S.A." adds up to so much
more than it's individual parts that it's impossible not to notice how every song is
set up so perfectly for the song before it and the song that comes after it.Though
never formally called a concept album,Springsteen's masterpiece is a near perfect
reflection of the state of America in the 1980's-it was released in 1985.The Frus-
tration,the impossibility of of figureing out who the enemy was that was earasing
"The American Dream","The Middle Class" and "The Strong Independant Individualist" that all had built our Great Country.It all seemed to be fading away and at a very
rapid pace.Springsteens album frames this do or die moment in American History Perfectly.
As an artist that was and is Springteens job but he really pulled out all the stops on this album
and as a total album it is devastatingly Real and right on the money.It doesn't get any better than this.When it comes to writing songs about America Springteen has no equal.In fact nobody
else comes even close.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

The Greatist Albums of the 20th Century

2010-03-02T20:12:00.000-08:00

#1-'Marquee Moon"-Television

Released in 1977 at the peak year of punk rock and new wave "Marquee Moon" was
the first punk rock album many punk fans ever heard-imcluding me.Television's style
was the complete antithasis of what we were told punk rock was.Thier songs were
razor sharp and the title song was long in length and had both Verlaine and Lloyd
reaching for the stars in the greatist duel guitar attack of all time.It was Transendant.
There regular sized songs possessed a whole new rock language which Verlaine called
"Be-Bo talk".The record was not a commercial success yet it inspired more musicians
Than any other record from the 20th Century ! Ric Ocasek and Benjerman Orr
of "The Cars" took thier vocal cues from Verlaines unique delivery and his penchant
for unusual non-sequiters,allthou "The Car's" non-sequiters weren't quite as unique
and clever as Verlaines.In essence-"The Car's" took the sound of Television and mixed it with classic rock-and took the proceeds to the bank.
The Band that started it all "Television" along with "The Ramone's" inspired a million
bands including my band "The Look's" despite never selling many records.
Thier sound was so unique and powerful that you can still hear it in today's popular
Rock bands.
For a while Tom Verlaine enjoyed a good ammount of success in England as
a solo artist.Selling far more records there than he ever sold in the state's.All of
the solo records Verlaine released during this time are really great and worth going
out of your way to find.The best of these is "Dreamtime" which i was tempted to
choose over "Marqee Moon" for it too,is a must have for any budding guitarist out
there seeking inspiration and Greatness.
If Eric Clapton is God then Tom Verlaine is every God in every Universe known
to man and then some.He's that great of an electric Guitarist.

Where's the show Tonight ?

2010-03-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

by Pete Holly

Before "The Look's" ever existed-i performed as a solo singer-songwriter and
that really was what i aspired to be.More early Dylan,than the Beatles.Someone
gave me a big oversized book of Dylan's lyrics and i read it over and over.What
struck me about it was the simplicity of his lyrics and of his music.Also the number
of songs that were written in four line bars-as hymn's are-and followed the straight
12-bar blues structure.I tended to prefer his songs where he didn't follow that template
and instead ventured out into unknown territory."I Want You",the biggest hit Dylan
ever had as an artist was a favorite of mine.I had it down to a Science-the lyrics-the
harmonica part-i even took on Dylan's nasel singing style.But i soon realized that
while my study of Dylan was a good lesson in song and especially lyric writing-i had
to let it go and find my own style.
So i tossed all the dylanesqe mannerisms in vocal and lyric style away and started
my songwriting career anew.There were but a few places to play in Boise for Folkies
but i played them all.I played a four set show as a solo artist at "Desmond and Mollies"
where later i recorded one of the Look's shows that's The Live recording i released of the look's.But it gives you a good idea of just how many songs i knew even at 18 and 19 years
of age.I Allway's seemed to run into strange circumstances that gave me a chance to play solo.
One time when i lived very near Boise State i could hear a rock band playing in the distance,By
the time i got there they were having some sort of major technical problems and since it was going to take at least a half hour to fix-the guitarist who i knew-and he had heard me play asked
if i could get my acoustic guitar and fill in for awhile to stem the tide of people leaving.I got my
guitar and stepped right up on the stage and the guitarists i knew gave me a very flattering introduction. I lauched right into the heart of my original songs and the reaction was fantastic.
So just keep playing,with nobody leaving,in fact more people were arriving and suddenly i had
a huge audience-the biggest crowd i'd ever played for-about 500 people.They were giving me
great ovations of applause and for a while the audience was there to see and hear me-not the
Rock Band i was filling in for.The guitarist keept spurring me on-cause i was keeping the crowd
and actuallty made it bigger-plus i could tell he really was a true fan of my original songs.He loved them and kept telling me how great i was.as if in awe.Finally they started to get some of
the equipment back on line-but before i left i asked my guitar player friend if i could take a pass
on his les paul thru a huge amp-of coarse-he said-go for it-there's still a little time before we'll
have everything up and running-go for it ! I picked up the "The Paul" cranked it up and blasted
through David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream"-Mott the Hoople's-"Jerkin' Crokus" and T-rex's-
"Bang a Gong" and things got real exciting as my guitarist friend thanked me for filling in on such shoet notice-and the crowd which was really big now-gave a huge round of applause.
That may have been the biggest crowd i ever played too,nearly 1000 people, and it all happened completely by accident.See i told you the Music Business is strange ! but it's also
pretty cool sometimes-one good guy in the music business-can make all the differance in the
world-and that day the good guy was just a nice guy who i didn't know very well-but he gave
me "Free Riegn" during my time on stage because he had alot of confidence in me and even
admiration.Believe me things like this happen rarely-but it happened to me and my friend
and i'm sure i'll,nor he ever forgot it-or the crowd.It was really something to see and hear !

Written by Pete Holly-copyright-2010-all rights reserved

Allmost Human

2010-03-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

In one of my earlier blogs i made referance to B. Traven and his incredible
skills as a novelist,inspiring one fellow writer to make a strong case that "Traven's"
novel "The Death Ship" is the greatist novel ever written.The article appeared in
the New York Time's Book Review.However,i'd like to make some further points
concerning Traven's more well know work-"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre"
which first was a bestselling novel and then became a big hit Movie starring "Humphrey Bogart",Tim Holt,Walter Huston with Huston's son John Huston in the Director's chair.The aspects of the film that make it such a compelling story is the the fact that
Simply by putting gold in the equation-At least one of the charactors,who is normally
just simple honest man,goes insane,by contracting what miners call "Gold Fever".The
character that loses his mind is the one played by Humphrey Bogart who,both in the
novel and the film,is known as "Dobb's".When we first meet Dobb's at the begining
of the story-there's are no signs at all that he is or could ever become insane to the
the degree that he does latter in the film.It's only after the three miners hit a mother-
lode of gold that Dobb's starts to lose it completely.
He becomes so unraveled that he actually ends up murdering one of his friends
{the Tim Holt character}at least he believes he did-actually it turns out that the Holt
character was only wounded and survive's,but Dobb's thinks he's dead.
So in essence what we have here is a story or a legend that is relevent to every-
age-but seems epecially suited to the state we find the world in today.Greed seems to
have takin' hold of nearly every good man,woman and child on earth and it shows no signs
of letting loose.How on earth did the people of this fragile planet get to such a low point
of moralistic behavior.
Unfortunatly there are no singular or simple answers.However reading a book such
as "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" would definatly be a good place to start.At least
then we could have some context to examine why greed has become so rampent in
our modern world.Just because greed is at an all time high now;doesn't mean it allway's
must remain this way.We hold the fate of the whole world in our small hands and in our
in the 10% of our brain that we use.Perhaps someone-somewhere is finding the secret
To unlock the riddle of why we only use 10% of our brain capacity-in the average human.
It could even be that someone has discovered how to switch on the 90% we don't use,
And therefore the answer to why humans are so suseptabile to the power of greed.
Maybe it's just wishful thinking,But,Maybe it's not.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-all rights reserved

A Belated Rest in Peace for Doug Fieger

2010-02-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

No-other person ever labeled with the style "Power Pop" ever had to
pay the price that Doug Fieger did as the leader of the band "The Knack".The fact that
there it's debateable that such a style of music actually exists-never seemed to occur
to anyone.People have been argueing for years both in it's a favor and it's non-existence.
Personal i'm on the non-existance side.If any thing like power-pop did ever exist it was
in the songs of the early "Who" and the "Kinks" both english bands who were also called
Mod's.Mod is a style that definately exists.In many way's it was the template used by
punk and new wave bands of the original punk and new wave movement circa 1976- 1982.The chord proggresion for the kink's "All Day and All of the Night" can be found
in the "Sex Pistols" song "Submission " and also in "Paul Revere and the Raiders"
Song "Just Like Me" from the 1960's.It has to be one of the most lifted chord progressions in the entire pantheon of pop/rock music.
Getting back to "The Knack"-they didn't lift any well known rock riffs-they came up with thier own and that's the reason thier first album and single were so successful.The
Knack actually came up with a new style of Rock music that wasn't Mod,Power Pop,
Bubble Gum or any other specific style other than the general heading of pop/rock.
A accomplishment very few rock music artists or bands can make.
I don't know how the backlash against "The Knack" started but i do know that
The rock press,both writers and critics,and hundreds if not thousands of Dj's and
former fans joined in the Mob Mentality feeding freezy that before "The Knack",
had never reached such a level of pure insanity.
Fieger,allthough i'm sure he didn't enjoy it-didn't complain.What he'd accomplished with "Get The Knack" and "My Sharona" is so rare that i'm sure he figured it was
just one more sophmore jinx amongst thousands that have occured in Pop music past.But even
when he realized that the backlash wasn't on the same level of your average sophmore jinx-but
was something much larger and more dangerous and insane-he still didn't make a fuss.He just
keep making and performing music.That takes something else thats very rare in today's modern world-Integrity.Doug Fieger is free now.All the hate that was insidously pilled on top of him and
his band is of no conseqence either in this world or any other.But i believe there is a lesson of
caution to be learned from Doug's story.When mob-mentaltity builds up enough steam there is
no level to low for it to go.Even otherwise respectable and decent people are subject to it's giant
vortex of hate-and that's exactly what happened in the story of "The Knack".We would do
well to learn from this lesson in history.Good people are capable of doing very bad things-
if that's what's in fashion.Perhaps we'd better the human condition if we paid more attention to
the fact's and less to the whims of the arbiters of Pop Culture.Doug Fieger may you rest in
Peace.You have earned it the hard way.May the lord have mercy on your soul.

Best Regards,

Pete Holly,
President/CEO,
Look's Music International

The Greatist Recordings of All Time

2010-02-23T14:07:00.001-08:00

#59-"Ride of the Valkaries"
by Richard Wagner
performed by "United States Marine Band"

From Wagner's epic four cycle Opera -The Ring-"Valkaries" is a stunning
and instantly recognizable piece of classical music.While during his lifetime Wagner had his
share of detractors;his music was quite differant from that of his contemperaries so it's
understandable that for some-Wagner's Horn and Woodwind drivin' compositions were
not everyone's cup of tea.
Of coarse now Wagner is fully accepted as one of classical music's greatist composer's.
As bombastic as some of his music can be you can't deny that there is a very strong and
emotionally charged sense to it."Flight of the Valkaries" is a perfect example.It instantly
grab's your attention.When it was used in the film "Apocalypse Now" it became exposed
to a new and much larger audience.Wagner was a follower of Frans Listz and he even
married one of Listz's daughters.People who only know "Valkaries" from it's use in
"Apocalypse Now" may not know who Richard Wagner is but that doesn't stop them from,
being tremendously moved by his music.

The Greatest Recordings of All-time

2010-02-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

The Long Way Around for Impressionism

2010-02-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

by Pete Holly

History has a way of turning things around so that what was once viewed as "
"bad"becomes "good" and vice-versa.A "Ghetto" started out hundreds of years ago as
being the best part of town-now as we all know it means the worst or poorest-I don't
know how or why it changed-i just know that it did.The name of "Impressionism" in
art first arose in 1872 when art critic Louis Leroy first saw Monet's painting Impression:
Sunrise" and many other modern impressionistic paintings at an art exibition organized
by followers of Edward Manet called the "Anonymous Society of Painters,Sculptors,,Engravers, Etc."{Manet himself chose not to take part in the exibition} Nearly every art critic who saw the exibition wrote terrible reviews about the artists that
we now think of as being some of the Greatist's artists the Art World has ever known-Monet,
Renoir,Dega's,Cezanne,Sisely,Pissarro and Berthe Morisot.Leroy took Monet's painting title
and turned it against all the young artists who had exibited at the show.He called all the Paintings just Impressions and not properly finished works of art.For him that meant that the
paintings were all terrible and worthless and he wasn't shy in expressing his dislike of this new
and modern style of painting.
Today,the world see's Impressionism in a completly differant light.Impressionism
is the most popular style of art the world over.People love these dazzling,light drivin' paintings
with a passion that is almost like a religion in it's afirmation and appreciation.Impressionistic
paintings or their off-shoots command the highest price's at auction.Selling for millions of dollars
for just one painting."Impressionism" has come along way.

coda:The irony in all this is that in trying to brand the paintings all bad with one term taken
from Monet's "Impression:Sunrise-the critic Leroy inadvertantly gave Impressionism a
respectable name for it's style-one that once it caught on with the public has never let go of.
Now when someone say's impressionism-people stand up and take notice with respect and
admiration.One has to admit Leroy's critic backfired on him for instead of keeping the Impressionists down it eventually became the actual name of these artists style which has
remained the most popular style of art for nearly a century.

Written by Pete Holly-2010-All Rights Reserved

Two Short Writings on the Subjective Nature of Human Art

2010-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

1. "The Spiral Jetty"

2. "The Sun Returns"

"The Spiral Jetty"

by Pete Holly

Surmised:Progress in the Lineal Form of Art is an Illusion

We could start off by saying that the first Art Produced by Humans-Cave Painting-is
as great or greater than any and/or all art that came after.This is true.We could say Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" is one of mankinds greatist paintings-however greatly flawed it may be-it
is greatly flawed{see earlier blog}.The flaws however,do not hamper the majestic impression
the painting possesses's-to enrapture-to seduce the viewer-perhaps in a fashion that is more
powerful than any other painting.We could say Dali's "The Persistance of Memory" is a perfect
representation of the very human persistance of memory-and be correct.We will surmise the
the Genuis of Mark Rothko's Brilliant Symbolific modern Masterpiece's."Whistler's Mother"
is second to no other and Michael-Angelo's "David" is surely a savior of Beauty beyond measure.
In cubism multiple perspectives are presented all in one scene at the same time-It's Done ! The Castles of Europe and Stone Monolith's-Stonehenge-Stone in America-Machu Pichu-The
Twin Towers even destroyed still carry thier artistic weight in Gold-Etched forever in Photograph's,Films,Memories and Paintings no less Great in thier possession of the Master Soul
of Art than when they were still standing at the edge of Manhatten-where so much great art has
been created,collected and presented to the World-Everyday.In the life and death of art there is
no straight line-All is allowed in Life and Art-Even when one live's high in the sky among the
god's and the clouds.The truth is realization-there is no lineal progress in art-it is an illusion.
And a Damn Fine One at that.

"The Sun Returns"

by Pete Holly

I crawled thru the narrow tunnel.So narrow i could barely sqeeze by on my hands and knee's.Suddenly after crawling 100 yards or so i came to a large opening in the cave-A Gallery.
The walls were covered with ancient paintings-portraits of creatures-some i recognized-Antelope and Deer-others i could not but seemed to be ansestors of tigers and
elephants-Mastadons.They were very Large and ferocious looking bearing down upon my vision
with incredible clarity as if about to strike ! Writing too was on these walls-an ancient script that
some of which i could decipher."We are men of Day's","We came to earth 3.5 million years ago"
"From a distant planet far beyond your sun" "We found a home here and survived for millions
of years""Now we are Few""A cloud covered the earth and brought us down into this cave"
"Animals followed and we killed them and roasted thier flesh on the fire and so survived"
"Roots also dangled down from the roof of this cave and we found them edible as well-for along
time they continued to grow but we wondered how ?" "We are Men and Women and Children
not unlike yourselves""We know the ancient stories of your people" "We Learned to see into
the future-but i cannot explain how-just to say it was revealed to us by some form of wisdom
which has a connection with your planet-though we do not understand exactly what it is""We
have found it to be true""A great cold and covering of ice came but still bears and Mastadons
came roaming into this cave providing us with food and blood and so we survived for a very long time""We are Men like You"-"The Sun is Returning and we believe in one God !"

Written by Pete Holly-copyright-2010-All rights reserved

Lesson's in Song Composition

2010-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

One method you can use to become a better song composer is one that i used
mostly during the years just prior and during my tenure as the leader of my garage
band "The Look's" which lasted from 1996-1982.Six years is along time to carry the
wieght of being the leader of a 3-piece rock band where you write all the songs,arrange
every players part including your own and also design the recording method as i did for the
look's.It kept me very busy-let's put it that way.
The method i'm speaking of is to write and record a song that emulates
a specific artist at a specific time period stylewise in thier career.The first time i did this
was with "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" in which i recreated the songwriting style and
the recording style of the "Merseybeat" Period Beatles.This was a difficult assignment i
gave to myself but as the early Beatles sound was one of my first and biggest influence's
and inspirations it gave me alot of fuel to tackle the task.The first thing i did was re-listen
to both of The Beatle's first two records "Please Please Me" and in the U.S. "Meet the Beatles".I would listen to these albums over and over-hundreds of times gleaning every
aspect and quality i could decipher which gave then thier unique sound.One thing i noticed
was that all the songs which had the trademark Beatle's Merseybeat sound were Johns songs.
"All i Gotta Do"-"There's a Place"-"Please Please Me" were all Lennon Creations and they
exuded the beatles merseybeat sound the most.I noticed Lennon allway's doubled his vocals
and during parts where George and Paul joined in it often became difficult to tell who was
the lead singer-all thier voices seemed to merge together into a mythlogical 5th beatle vocal
sound that was very unique and very powerful.Only on these first two LP's do you here this
combined vocal sound to such a large extent.Once the Beatles started recording on 4-track with
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" the merseybeat beatles sound dis-appeared.With four tracks
Producer George Martin could seperate and re-mix all the vocals and that ended the mystery
5th Beatle vocal sound that live two track recording with only a doubling of Johns vocal being
doubled.
The early songs were very upbeat even if the song itself was sad.They often started out in
a minor key but ended on a major key.Nearly every song was filled with all the songwriting tricks of the trade-Fanstastic middle 8's-Bridges-lead breaks on middle 8's,chorus's,and on bridges never knowing which one the Beatle's would choose.On "Are You Gonna Be my Girl"
i choose to play the lead guitar part on the middle 8.Any way these are just a few of the ways i
used to re-create The Beatles merseybeat sound and i'll just mention one more element that was
vital to get that sound.The snare drum had to have a really loud snap to it-allmost like that of
a rim-shot.I spent alot of time with Lenny teaching him how to get that snare drum snap but
it had to sound like that to really be like the Beatle's Mersybeat-so it was absoulutly mandatory
to the success of the song and the recording that the snare drum had this sound.
Another type of song i finally mastered thou much later in my career was The Big Song
that Bob Dylan invented for the modern world.Bard's in the middle age's played allmost nothing but these big songs as it was one of the only way's to communicate the news of the day but
in the early sixties Bob Dylan brought the big song back-and he would revisit this 7-9 verse
style from time to time throughout the rest of his career-in this manner he was pretty much on
his own-allmost nobody else wrote any of these really big song's that became a Dylan Trademark.Here are some of Dylan's big song's-Tangled Up in Blue-Up to Me-Mr. Tamborine Man-Sad eyed Lady of the Lowlands{probably his biggest but maybe not his best}-Like a
Rolling Stone-there are others but thats a good sampling.So how do you write one of these big songs-well for one thing it's hard to write one when your really young because you don't have
enough expieriences to fill up 9 verse's of anything interesting or even 7 Verse's.The most difficult aspect of writing a big song is having all the information you need to write 7-9
congruent verse's that are interrelated.The other hard part is to get that many verse's that
all end up setting up perfectly for the chorus in rhyme and in reason.My big song is "Too Many
Tears".It has more lyrics than any other song of mine and it was definatly inspired by Dylan's
big songs.I was 35 and sober when i wrote it-but i wasn't aiming at writing a big song-all the verse's just came to me in a very organic way-it just flowed-and kept flowing but as it got bigger
i could see where it could go to and so i just rode that wave all the way i could and "Too Many Tears" which is on the "Riverside Drive" Cd was the result.I will say i think being sober helped
both in coming up with all the flowing verse's and being able to remember them.
So these are just a few ways you can learn about the creative methods of songwriting and just remember using other artists idea's as a catalyst for more knowledge and more creativity
in your own back page's is O.K-just don't steal any thing outright-make sure your song is unique in a way that's true to you own indidvidual muse-ideas are one thing-but the way you finally execute
those idea's is a completly differant matter all together.Regardless any style you might borrow
from allways make sure that your music is unique to you.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

Ludwig Von Beetoveen

2010-01-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

A Short Study on why Beetoveen's Compositional Style is
excedingly complex,more than any other composer,and for
that reason his style is difficult if not impossible to Classify.

Of all the great classical music composers,Beetoveen,is not only the most famous
but there is a completely distinct style to his compositions that make his style nearly im-
possible to describe-in relation to other classical music composers.He is not a romantic,
Like Chopin.though some of his work,say "Moonlight Sonata" is just as romantic as any-
thing Chopin ever composed,perhaps even more so.But few other examples of such romance
are to be found amongest Ludwig's compositions.Thou it's not a complete lack of romantically
infused sentiment that make's his work so unique-it's that there are so many other elements
mixed in at the same time in his large works such as his 9 symphonies.It is such a complex
array of stylizations and techniques that we find him alone in a catagory of his own creation-
Beetoveenism.
There are very fast passages in much of the masters work.Some are very loud only
to relent after a huge burst of energy,one might even call it anger,to fast quiet passages all
part of the same piece of music.He does the same thing with speeds of tempo-wild variations
that keep the listener on thier toes;alert-ready for anything Beetoveen might exude thier way
in whatever myriad of fashions he may decide.
This creates a dazzling world of speed and variation that no other composer can compete
with and i pity the fool that try's.The only thing one sometimes notices in his work that makes
it regular in any sense is Ludwigs very classical manner-which is also,thou,a purely integral part
of his masterful and sensational sytle.Without his classical anchor Beetoveen may have lost the
vital congruent component that holds all his work together in one master full stroke of inginuety.
Even so Beetoveen cannot be labeled as a strict classisist either.He rides that fine line between classisism and romantisism evoking both without ever totally committing to one or the
other-this is the true Genius of our Master Ludwig Von Beetoveen whose very name has come
to be the most oft used in describing excellance and mastery in the realm of the Greatist Classical Music known to ever exist.Only one word can describe this man's incredible musical
Talents-Genuis.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2010-All Rights Reserved

The Volume and the Damage Done

2010-01-27T02:42:00.000-08:00

Protect Your Hearing

by Pete Holly

It used to be that hearing loss was most often found in older people.Not any
longer.As the world has become a louder place so has hearing loss spread across all age
groups.The First Large group of people to suffer tramatic hearing loss at a young age
were the men in tank units in world war II.Thou many of them have passed away-
they're still a few members of tank crews who are alive.From thier testimony and
from the others who have passed on;every soldier who occupied a tank in the
second world war suffered very severe hearing damage.Some went completly
deaf but the largest percentage of tank crew members lost most of thier
hearing ability but could still fuction with hearing aids-combined with lip-reading.
In the seventies The Who held the guiness book world record for live performance
volume.Thier shows in the seventies were on average played at a sound level of
about 120 decibles.For referance that's like standing next to a large jet engine,
the kind you see on 747's,running at full power with no hearing protection.
Given enough exposure or exposure for any more than a few seconds and you
can become permantly deaf.All the members of the Who lost a great deal of thier
hearing and Pete Townsend suffers from hearing recruitment and/or hyperacousous
both of which make many sounds sound much louder than a person without hearing
damage hear them.It's as if the soundtrack of life has been permanantly turned up
to full volume and it's extrodinarly painful-causing severe headaches-loss of equalibrium-and can also cause the sufferer to expierience panic attacks-when they find
themselves in a loud environment such as busy supermarket,a sports event,or a loud party.
The combination of so many differant sounds bombarding the ears of a person with hyperacousis can cause dizzyness and an extreme feeling of disorientation.In short it's
one the most painful and difficult invisable disabilties a human can suffer from.Many sufferers
commit suicide rather than living out thier life with this disease which cause's an unberable
amount of pain and confusion.Beetoveen is probably the most well know sufferer.As his hearing
recruitment and hearing loss continued to deteriate he couldn't stand to being around other
people as more and more sound wave frequency's became extremly painful for his damaged
hearing.He became extremly irritable and it was incredibly difficult for him to keep on living
With this horrific disorder.In the end he came totally deaf.When he wrote the Famous 9th
Symphony,the greatist work of his entire career,he couldn't hear even a single note of it.
He had his piano set flat against the floor and by putting his ear to the floor he could only feel
the vibrations-and somehow he was able to use this method to compose the 9th Symphony.
But he was miserable and he let everyone know that he was miserable.These disorders are nearly impossible to live with and many sufferers are not able to live out thier lives choosing
instead to end the pain rather than go on living with it.As a sufferer of hyperacousous i can
testify to the extent that it disrupts the hearing damaged persons life.It's only by sheer luck
that i am still around to write this.
So my advice to young musicians is to take care of your hearing.When you hear your
ears ringing like the bells of St. Mary's after a concert or after you've been rehearseing with
your band or orchestra your hearing has been permanantly damaged.After a certain number
of times of this happening finally the tintinitus becomes permanant.I've had it so long that i
believe if it suddenly stopped-i'm not sure i could handle it.It Would be too foriegn to me-that
i think suddenly not hearing that constant ringing sound and the ocean sound along with it would
send me into a state of shock.
Get a pair of musicians earpugs from an audioligist-they are the best coping mechanism for
people with hearing recruitment and/or hyperacousis.They have saved my life.

Ps.Classical Musicians are just as prone to serious hearing disorders as are Rock Musicians.

Written by Pete Holly-copyright-2010-all rights reserved

The Greatists Recordings of All-Time

2010-01-25T10:33:00.000-08:00

57."Goodtime Charlies got the Blue's"-Danny O' Keefe

Despite the fact that "O Keefe" is a top notch singer-songwriter up there with
the best,as far as talent goes-this is the only track that ever got alot of traction-
as far as commercial success is concerned.Regardless,the song has been covered
so many times by so many artists-many,who took straight to the top of the charts
have no doubt made Danny a small fortune.It's what's known in the business as
an "evergreen".A song that repeatadly garners more income as more artists
cover and have success with it.You could even call it a standard as far as the
American Songbook is concerned.
Beautifully written-O' Keefe's version i believe captures the songs allure
in the best articualation and emoitional pull.I saw him play it live once and it was
truelly an amazing expierience.He's also one hell of of a nice fellow.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL-TIME

2010-01-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

#56."THE SWAN"-SAINT-SAENS- VOX-CAT.#SP3 97008

"THE SWAN" is music you would hear as if waking from a pleasant
enraptured dream of love and eternal beauty.The melody floats by on gossomer butterfly wings,delicate,yet strong.It's more than music.Ballet dancers
and ice skaters have moved with grace and the fleeting nuances of a butterfly in
flight."Oksana Baul's" performance at the olympics was especially unforgetable.
Only 14 or 15 at the time she seemed to be the embodiment of Saint-Saens "Swan";her body so limber and delicate yet with a strength of a Star Shooting
across the night sky-landing where? Nobody knows but as beautiful a sight as
any human has ever imagined.Such is the inspiration of Saint-Saens "The Swan".

Written by Pete Holly-2010-copyright-all rights reserved

Sound in Film:"The Elephant Man" directed by David Lynch

2010-01-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

It seems as if a film directors ability to create a world in film is
the primary feature of the greatist films of our time.Which you can
watch over and over again and everytime find something new.
Here's a film that achieves that goal to greatist degree i know of.
1."The Elephant Man"-directed by David Lynch
There is a fasinating element in "The Elephant Man" that takes you
directly into the time and place where the story takes place.Visually
Lynch achieves reproducing the early industrial age in London by
shooting in Black and White,and London fog plays a major role
{and/or smoke and soot}in creating the feel of that time.
But after watching the film quite a number of times i started to
notice a completly differant element that was in effect transporting
the viewer/listener directly back to the heyday of the first Industrial
age in London-"The Sounds".
Thou there is music in the film-the majority of the time we hear
the sounds of the early industrial age-the Machinery.We hear the steam of
early loud steam engines,gears clanking,and all sorts of sounds that evoke
the giant machines of the early industrial age.Once you notice all these sounds
you realize just how big a role they play in making the film participant feel
as if they are right there there in London at in that time period.It's
brilliant the way Lynch use's sound to draw us deep into the picture
until we feel as if we are as equals with the charactors in the story.We
are right there with them as if transported by a time machine.This is one
of the most masterful use's of sound in a film of all time.That the first time
you see the picture your not aware of how large a role sound is playing in
influencing your perceptions-shows the genuis of Lynch as a Film maker.

Written by Pete Holly-2010-copyright-all rights reserved

The Greatist Recordings of All-Time

2010-01-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

55."Heart of the Sunrise"-Yes

Proggressive Rock had a relativily short lifespan.Yet,it did leave some really
fantastic records behind of which this is one of the best."Heart of the Sunrise"
has lost none of it's luster or ethereal magic over time.It sounds as magical
and spacey now as it did when it was first released in the 1970's.To a large
degree "Yes" is the proggressive band for all times.No other band thrived
and has kept a hold on there core audience as successfully as has "Yes".
Thier level of musianship is hard if not impossible to match,thier compositions
are full of twists and turns that defy average Pop/Rock song evaluations.
Thier lyrics are the height of proggressive rock free form poetry and have a
surreal beauty that is totally unique and powerful and"Yes" vocalist Jon Anderson still has one of the most unique,powerful and beautiful sounding voices of all-time.

The Greatist Recordings of All Time

2009-12-25T08:04:00.000-08:00

54."I Dreamed i saw Joe Hill Last Night"-Joan Baez

Joan Baez was the 2nd performer at Woodstock 69.Ritchie Havens opened
the festival with his awesome guitar and vocal style;which at Woodstock
he seemed to even be more intense-if that's possible-than ever.He's a huge
talent with incredible ability's to improvise and mix a multitude of world
folk style's into his own unique sound.In short-he's a tough act to follow.
Joan came on the stage next and performed an incredible version of
the folk standard "I Dreamed i saw Joe Hill Last Night".Her voice is
so clear and powerful that in a sense-Joan Baez is in a class by herself.
She has the skills and power of a great opera singer-yet she choose's to
sing songs about the common working people of the world with just an
acoustic guitar to accompany her vocals.There is a purity to Joan's
performance of this classic and mesmerising folk song that the audience
at Woodstock clearly recognized.Standing in front of 500,000 people
alone on stage in the spotlight would be pretty intimitdating for the
average solo performer-but there's nothing average about Joan Baez.
She takes total command of the stage singing with such power and
confidence that i can't think of another performer who could have
taken a solo performance,under these conditions,and deliver the kind
"tour de force" performance that Joan does.Astounding,i believe,would
be the best word to describe of her performance at Woodstock.
Astounding and transendant-She take's the song to another level of
intensity and power that is truly masterful.Joan Baez gets her
message across and then some with a grace that is truely an
unforgetable expierience.

The Work of a Shepard and The 23rd Psalm

2009-12-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

In biblical times if you were not a Soldier,a King,a pharisee,a stonemason,
a carpenter,an artisan,a slave,a farmer,a scribe,or a merchant-chances are you
were Shepard.The terms of a shepards work are found throughout the Bible.The
most well known is surely "The 23rd Psalm".It's one of the most well known pass-
ages in the bible and one that is often quoted.
"The lord is my shepard" it begins,"i shall not want".The rest of the psalm is
full of referances to the work that a shepard does-"Thy rod and thy staff comfort
me","thou annointest my me with oil"-both of these statements are truely a part
of a shepards everyday duties.The shepard carries a rod or a staff with a hook on
the end.At the end of each day the shepard counts and inspects each sheep and if
he finds anything unusual he will use his rod to pull the sheep aside.He will then
tend to it's wounds and annoint it's head with olive oil.
"He leadeth me beside still waters".Strangly sheep will not drink from a running
stream or any moving water.They will only drink water that is still.So this line in
the psalm is a perfect description of this special need which the shepard provides
to his flock of sheep -because he knows exactly what thier needs are and it's his
duty to provide them.
The Great book "The Oregon Desert" describes how the sheepherders in the old
day's noticed how "The 23rd Psalm" was an exact description of thier duties as a
shepards.It became a tradition to pass this knowledge on from generation to
generation,in this part of the west.
As perfect a description of a shepards work as the 23rd psalm is-it's plain to
see that the language is pointing to something much bigger than the work of any
single man or woman.It's place in the bible has a much wider meaning for all
Christian people's of the world."The lord is my shepard,i shall not want"."Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me the rest of my days of life and i will dwell in
the house of the lord Forever".

Merry Christmas and may God Bless,

Pete Holly 12/24/2009

Jesus Christ-Spiritual Teacher-The Beatitudes

2009-12-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas is the time when christian people of the world over celebrate the birth
of Jesus Christ,"The Son of God" and also a man who walked this earth 2000 years ago.
Christ is by far the most influential spiritual teacher the western world has ever known.
Some christian religions focus less on the teachings of Jesus and more on the "Fire and
Brimstone" and the "Hellfire and Damnation" found within the pages of the Bible.While
other christian sects believe that one need only accept "Jesus Christ" as thier and the
worlds Savior in order to be saved.Unfortunately,between these two extremes the
Genuis and Wisdom of Christ's personal teachings is often tragically forgotten and/or
completely overlooked.
Fortunatly there is a fairly simple remedy for this oversight and it can be found
within' "The Beatitudes" which Christ delivered to his followers in his "Sermon on the
Mount".
In eight brief statements-Jesus Christ illuminated his Spiritual Teachings with
what many would call the most rightous words ever spoken on this planet.If you want
to know why we still celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ;then the words that Jesus
Spoke in "The Beatitudes" can give much insight and inspiration in a short ammount
of time as to why people are still amazed and enlightened by "The Man from Galilee".

1.Blessed are the poor in spirit:for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven-

2.Blessed are they that morn:for they shall be comforted-

3.Blessed are the meek:for they shall inherit the earth-

4.Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after Rightousness:
for they shall be filled-

5.Blessed are the Merciful:for they shall optain mercy-

6.Blessed are the pure of Heart:for they shall see God-

7.Blessed are the Peacemakers:for they shall be called the children of God-

8.Blessed are they which are persecuted for Rightousness Sake:for thiers is the
kingdom of heaven-

Merry Christmas-and may God Bless,

Pete Holly-Dec. 20th-2009

WHEN INFORMATION COLLIDES

2009-11-29T14:17:00.000-08:00

THE INTERNET AND THE FRAGMENTATION OF INFORMATION

Ken Auletta,author and writer for "The New York Times",was going along just fine in talking
to the Google staff about his book,"Google:The End of the World as we know it",on C-Span.He was
very fair in both his praise of Google's foresight and it's insensativity to copyright holders of Book's
,Film and Television Rights,and Music Copyright owners.He even told them that he did sense
"Hubbris" amidst the companys workers and leaders.But for the most part he was fair and praised
much of what Google had achieved thru foresight that others had missed,a point i would second.
In one digression on search results which he mostly had praise for,he mentioned Googling
"Who is William Shakespeare?" or "Who was the real William Shakspeare?" and getting a 20 million hits ! I tried it myself and he's right.There are so many results,most of which don't deal with questions about Shakespeares identity,but just books about his plays and such.To get to a really
great book i read recently that does deal with myths about Shakespeare's identity,"Shakespeare:
The World as a Stage" by Bill Bryson,who has also appeared on C-span;i had to google "A Short
History of nearly everything" a more recent book by Bryson to find his Shakspeare book-which i
highly recomend.
Bryson's book does a fantastic job of de-bunking nearly all of the false mythology about who Shakespeare was and provides plenty of information to back-up that he was who he and others said he was.It details the time period in which Shakespeare plays were written and his fortunes rose in such a way that he becomes a much more real and understandable person.Someome who seems most capable of becoming the worlds foremost playright.It does this in a fairly small volume,which makes it even more valuble.Obviously Bryson went to a great deal of trouble to distill all the known facts from the flights of fancy that so many people still have about our dear William.So what does all this prove? Only that internet searches as wonderful and helpful as they
are are imperfect.That sometimes the most valuble resource to answer a question completely
escapes the search.How often this happens i can't say,but that it does and sometimes on a fairly
straightforeword question for now is a reality.I'm sure there's a simple solution out there just
waiting for someone to discover it.It's just a matter of time.Don't expect complete perfection.It
will no doubt escape us.Just a little more perfect union would suit us all just fine-for the time being.

written byPete Holly-2009-copyright-all rights reserved

Time and the Artist

2009-11-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

TIME AND THE ARTIST
by Pete Holly

The realationship between time and the artist is a very direct one.It's owed to the fact
that no matter how much talent god has given to you-if you don't have the time to employ it,
then no art will be created.Time is one of the most decisive factors in an artists life.
Tom Wait's expressed it well in his song "Time".For it's "time,time,time," the artist holds
most precious "you love",it's "time,time,time".For without enough of it-the artist will not be allowed to finish any creation.
Look at the life of the great artist Leonardo Da Vinci.Many consider him to be the greatist
painter of all time-yet he finished realativly few paintings because he didn't have enough time.
He found himself at the mercy of patrons who were most interested in his idea's for new weaponry for war-and so he spent much time selling himself as one able to provide these new
idea's of military weaponry-that would entice the patron to sponser Da Vinci-so that he could make a living.So we see many ideas's for new weapons of war in Leonardo's notebook's because
this was a calling card he used many time's in his life in order to aquire a sponser-to make a living.Many a patron took Da Vinci up on his ability to do just such work;as well as hydralics and
other helpful inventions that King's and Queens{and even Pope's}were most interested in,even if only a relatively few were ever actually employed or used.Indeed,since Leonardo's notebook's
were discovered he is as much well known for correctly predicting idea's that would help
Men and women achieve a means,such as Flight,The Helicopter,The Tank,and Submarines in the
future-as he is well known for his incredible paintings of which there are relativly few of which he
was ever able to actually finish.It's a great illustration of just how precious time is for every artist.

-written by Pete Holly-2009-copyright-all rights reserved-

COMPOSITIONS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST

2009-11-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

1."MARTHA MY DEAR"-THE BEATLES
THE WHITE ALBUM

THIS IS AN INTERESTING PIECE OF McCARTNEY WORK BECAUSE
IT SOUNDS SO SIMILAIR TO PAULS LATER SOLO AND "WINGS"
RECORDINGS.IT COULD BE RIGHT IN PLACE ON NEARLY ANY-
ONE OFF THOSE LATER EFFORTS BY PAUL AND FIT RIGHT IN
AND YET IT'S QUITE A FEW YEARS AHEAD OF WHEN THOSE
RECORDS WOULD ACTUALLY BE MADE.IT HAS THAT SAME
SINGULAR McCARTNEY SOUND THAT PAUL WOULD REFER TO
TIME AND TIME AGAIN AFTER HE LEFT THE BEATLES.THE
BOUNCING PIANO MELODY-AND CAREFREE LYRICS-THAT
TURNED OUT TO BE ABOUT A BIG SHEEPDOG ! BUT THERE'S
NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT;IT'S JUST THE WAY IT SEEMS
TO PROJECT INTO PAULS FUTURE MUSIC WHEN YOU HEAR IT
NOW-SO MANY YEARS BEFORE HE WOULD ACTUALLY GET TO
MAKING THOSE RECORDS-IT'S UNCANNY ! ME THINKS SO.

PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHT RESERVED

The Greatist Recordings of All Time

2009-11-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

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

The Greatist Recordings of All-Time

2009-11-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

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 !

The Greatist Recordings of All-Time

2009-11-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

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

The Greatist Recordings of All Time

2009-10-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

#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 Greatist Recordings of all Time

2009-10-16T23:56:00.000-07:00

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.

ROBERT L. HEILBRONERS-"THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS

2009-10-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

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

VULCAN

2009-10-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

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 !

The Greatist Recordings of all Time

2009-10-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

47."AMERICA"-WEST SIDE STORY

Bernstien/Sondhiem

After being tested to generally enthusiastic audience's the reveloutionary musical
"West Side Story" was poised for opening night on broadway on Sept. 26th,1957 at the
winter garden theatre in New York City.
"West Side Story" was a very differant kind of musical than New York audiences
were used too to seeing.So there was alot of tension in the air for both the cast and the
audience.Would "West Side Story" play in New York? For nearly an hour the audience
sat completely still-not making a single sound.The producers started to think they had
made a big mistake but just as they were ready to throw in the towel and call it a flop-
Chita Rivera belted out the first verse of "America" and suddenly the New York audience
came alive ! "I want to live in America,O.K. by me in America".West Side Story was a hit-
Bigtime.

The Greatist Recordings of all Time

2009-09-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

46."Shayla"-Blondie

A lesser known track but one of "Blondie's" best songs shows why todays artists
still long for and sometimes get that magic technicolor sound of analog tape.The intro
is a magnificent tease of guitar and keyboard sounds before a the very real sound of
live drums comes crashing in to propel the songs "cosmic energy".
"Shayla" is bittersweet-but who can deny it's ethereal beauty and compelling
artistry-that is Blondie at thier best.Shayla is a masterpiece and truelly deserving
to be included as one of the greatist recordings of all time.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-09-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

45."Jump into the Fire"-Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson was a pop songwriters pop songwriter.His way with words and melodies
attracted nearly every big pop rock act from the 60's and the 70's not only as his fans
but as his friends;including "The Beatles". He wrote hit's for other artists,"One" for
Three Dog Night and used his big multi-octave voice to propell song's like Badfinger's
"Without You" and songwriter Fred Niels "Everybodys Talken'" from the film Mid-
night Cowboy to the top of the charts.
"Jump into the Fire" employs an extremly catchy bass line,with a deep infectious
groove,accented by rocking guitar riff's into one gigantic unstopable mass of pop/rock
energy.It was Harry's only foray into the harder rock arena;but it was an unforgetable
one that became one of Harry's trademark songs.

Written by Pete Holly-copyright-2009-all rights reseved

THE GUITARS ANCIENT HISTORY

2009-09-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

When we think of the guitar we tend to think of it as being modern or at least
more recent than the instruments of a modern orchestra.This is not the case.The fore-
runners of the guitar,the gitern from the middle east{with 5 strings}reached spain when
the muslim empire was at it's peak and had grown to include the southern part of spain.
This explains why the 6-sring guitar evolved out of spain somewhere between 1600-1700
The piano and the modern canon of orchestrial instruments were just starting to take
thier final shape and be perfected.So in differant forms the guitar had allready been
around for 4 or 5 hundred years;and that's much earliar than the instruments of a
modern orchestra.The only instrument older than that of the gitern and various
lute type instruments-which go way,way back in time-is the flute.Complex flutes
have been unearthed which date back at least 30,000 to 40,000 years-indicating
the important relationship between the the modern human mind and music.

Written by Pete Holly-Copyright-2009-all rights reserved

THE IMPORTANCE OF EMILY DICKENSON

2009-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

The recognition of Emily Dickenson's genuis didn't come until long
after her life had ended.Of coarse,in Amhearst,Mass. people in her family-sister-
brother-and even her Mother and Father-knew that Emily possessed a mind superior not
only to thier own-But to anyone else they knew or even knew of.In later years,
after her parents had both passed away and emily became the head of the Dickensons
large home in Amhearst and she became more reclusive and took to wearing only
white clothing,the people of Amhearst all had heard something about Emily's
brilliant mind and she became known as simply "The Myth".Why the Myth?
Because while it was plainly clear to Amhearst's resident's that emily's mind was
of an order far beyond thier own in Power-Intelligence- and Insight,it was
so far beyond thier own faculty's that it was impossible for them to understand
the kind of genuis that was Emily Dickenson.So she became "The Myth" and was
able to write in near total peace in the Dickenson home of which she was head of.
In Emily's mind there was activity an astounding nature.Thou people sensed this-
it was only after her death-when all her packets of poetry were discovered by her
younger sister-that the true scope of Dickenson's amazing mind was truely revealed.
It was quickly decided that a group of Emily's poems should be published.
It was so successful another quickly followed and the publishing of and noteriety of
Emily Dickensons poetry was revealed to a fasinated world.
Finally all her Poem's were collected into one large volume;"The Complete Poems of
Emily Dickenson".The book contains an astounding 1775 poems written in Emily
Dickenson's lifetime.In all of american letters and indeed the entire worlds-you won't
find a more penatrating and perceptive mind at work.Emily Dickinson's Poems in thier
entirity make for by far the most amazing book ever produced by a single mind in the
entire history of creative thought and writing.As Emily said in verse "I choose just a Crown".
With the publication of her entire body of work Emily now wears that crown-for Eternity.

-Written by Pete Holly-2009-Copyright-All rights reserved-

WHY THE BLUES ?

2009-08-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

by Pete Holly

In american popular music-the 12 bar blues progression both on the guitar and the piano is
the most often used.Also in Blues,Rock 'n Roll,Jazz,Swing, and Country Western it is the most
commonly found musical form.Piece's of it crop up in the strangest places like Elton John's "Rocket Man"{Piano}and Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll it to You"{Guitar}.Jazz's greatist innovator John Coltrane found a new and very cool way to treat it on the Saxaphone in his classic composition"Equinox".I was inspired by this mutated 12 bar blues form of Coltranes and used variations of it's style,but not exact copy's,in my song's-"Dark Black Night" which appeared on my "Riverside Drive" cd and on the piano song "Like John" on the "The Morrison Center Session" cd.Coltrane's "Equinox" isn't the only 12 bar blues mutation but i believe it is the most Effectual and the most Striking Musically.Why the Blue's? It just works.

written by Pete Holly-2009-copyright-all rights reserved

NO NON-SENSE CHOPIN

2009-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

BY PETE HOLLY

BOTH FREDRIC CHOPIN THE PERSON,AND FREDRIC CHOPINS MUSIC ARE
NEARLY INSTANTLY EQUATED WITH ROMANTIC IDEA'S.YET BY ALL ACCOUNTS
HE WAS VERY MUCH A NO NON-SENSE TYPE OF MAN.NONE OF HIS COMPOSITIONS
HAVE ROMANTIC TITLE'S-JUST NUMBERS AND STYLES-ETUDES-NOCTURNES-
POLINAISE'S AND 2 CONCERTO'S-ALL STRICTLY IDENTIFIED SIMPLY BY A NUMBER
AND A KEY.THAT'S PRETTY STARK FOR SOMEONE-WHO-BY SIMPLY MENTIONING
HIS NAME BRINGS UP IDEA'S OF A ROMANTIC NATURE.
MANY OF THESE COMPOSITIONS WERE WRITTEN BY CHOPIN ONLY AS PRACTICE
EXERCISES FOR HIS MANY STUDENTS.HE MADE HIS LIVING MOSTLY FROM GIVING SUCH LESSONS.IT'S A DREARY NARRATIVE COMPARED TO THE MYTHIC CHOPIN WE
THINK OF TODAY.IS ALL THIS ROMANTIC THINKING SIMPLY A FORM OF NOSTALGIA
WE HAVE ATTACHED TO CHOPIN'S MUSIC? NOT TRULY HIS LIFE,HIS CLAIM OR GOAL.
MAYBE AND MAYBE NOT.PERHAPS CHOPINS STRICT ADHERANCE TO NUMBERS IS
A BUFFER HE USED TO PROTECT HIMSELF FROM PEOPLE READING TO MUCH INTO
HIS AMAZING DEXTERITY AND THE DELICATE PASSAGE'S PLACED INSIDE HIS
COMPOSITIONS AND FROM THE DARKEST NOTES OF HIS,AT TIMES, DARKLY
MOODED MUSIC.MEN DON'T ALLWAY'S WANT TO DISPLAY THIER INNER WORKINGS TO THE PUBLIC-SO PERHAP'S CHOPIN'S NUMBERS ARE JUST ROMANCE IN DISGUISE.
WHATEVER THE TRUE CASE MAY BE.HIS MUSIC IS BOTH ROMANTIC AND
CLASSIC AND NOT JUST ONE OR THE OTHER.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

HIPPIE'S VS POLITICAL GROUPS

2009-08-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

One of historys most missunderstood times was the hippie culture centered
in San Fransisco and the radical political groups that mostly sprang up from
university campus's.Most people fail to see that these were two totally differant
groups of people.The hippie movement was totally non-political-they hated
radical political groups like the SDS and the weather underground.(so much
for tolarance} they wanted nothing more than for them to completely disappear
which they eventually they did{some of them hid from the law for 20 or thirty years}
The change the hippies wanted came from inside-not unlike a religion.The political
groups wanted change from and on the outside-political change.This was a major
differance which literally put the groups at war with each other.They were
never in agreement on even one single issue.By the end of the sixties the
hippies grew up and eventually became yuppies.The radical political groups
had -shall we say-a more difficult time.

MULTI- INSTRUMENTALIST'S/THE BEATLES

2009-08-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

OF ALL THE BEATLES,PAUL COULD PLAY THE BIGGEST
VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS.HE COULD PLAY GUITAR,BASS,DRUMS,& PIANO.
ON HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM-"McCARTNEY" HE PLAYED EVERYTHING ON THE
RECORD AND DID ALL THE VOCALS.THE RECORDING BOARD HE USED WAS
PRETTY PRIMATIVE AND ALTHOUGH IT COULD MAKE MULTI-TRACK
RECORDINGS-IT DIDN'T HAVE ANY MIXER-JUST A VOLUME KNOB.THE
MACHINE I USED TO RECORD "THE LOOK'S" AND MY ACOUSTIC TAPES
FUNCTIONED IN A SIMULIAR FASHION.WHEN YOUR WORKING WITH A
BOARD LIKE THIS-THE ONLY WAY TO GET A GOOD SOUND-IS BY
MAKING SURE ALL YOUR INSTRUMENTS ARE IN GOOD SHAPE AND ARE
PRODUCING THE BEST SOUND POSSIBLE AND MICROPHONE PLACEMENT-
AS WELL AS THE TYPE OF MIC YOU USE BECOMES THE MAIN-MIC
PLACEMENT IS REALLY THE WAY YOU MIX RECORDINGS LIKE THESE.
McCARTNEYS ALBUM HAD A REALLY NICE SOUND-SOME OF THE SONGS
WERE VERY PLAYFULL-BUT A FEW WERE PAINSTAKINGLY PRODUCED
AND SOUNDED EVERY BIT AS GOOD AS ANY OF "THE BEATLES" RECORDINGS.
THE MAIN ONE BEING "MAYBE I'M AMAZED" WHICH HAD A SOUND
AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN ANYTHING THAT HAD BEEN RECORDED
IN ONE OF THE TOP STUDIO'S OF THE DAY.IT WAS PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
SOME CRITICS DIDN'T CARE FOR THE MORE PLAYFUL AND LOSELY PUT
TOGETHER SONGS AND INSTRTUMENTALS BUT I THOUGHT THEY WERE
GREAT.THOUGH RECORDING ALONE IS A TEDIOUS PROCESS THERE ARE
SOME ADVANTAGES.YOU HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER HOW THE SONG
FINALLY SOUNDS ONCE ALL THE PARTS HAVE BEEN RECORDED AND
YOU NEVER HAVE TO ARGUE WITH YOUR PRODUCER OR ANOTHER
BAND MEMBER ABOUT HOW EACH TRACK SHOULD BE PLAYED OR
RECORDED OR EVEN WHAT SONGS YOU CHOOSE RECORD.THIS IS
MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK.MANY GREAT BANDS
WHO MADE FANTASTIC DEBUT ALBUMS ON THIER OWN WITH A
SMALL AMOUT OF EQUIPMENT AND FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT IT
COST'S A MAJOR LABEL BAND TO MAKE A RECORD.
THESE RECORDS WERE SO GOOD THAT THE GROUPS WERE IMMEDIATLY SIGNED BY MAJOR LABELS,ONLY TO FIND THAT THE MAGICAL
SOUND THEY GOT ON THE RECORD THAT THEY MADE ON THIER OWN-COULD
NOT BE DUPLICATED IN A STATE OF THE ART STUDIO WORKING WITH A BIG-
TIME PRODUCER.IN FACT JUST THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED-THE EFFECTS
OF THE STUDIO EQUIPMENT ANF THE MANIPULATION OF THE BANDS SOUND
BY THE PRODUCER RUINED THE SOUND THAT THE BAND HAD WITHOUT A DOUBT
WORKED YEARS TO ACHIEVE.
McCARTNEY'S ALBUM MAY ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST LO-FI
RECORD EVER MADE.THAT IS-HE PURPOSELY RECORDED TRACKS WITH
A MINAMAL AMOUNT OF INSTRUMENTION AND THE ALBUM AS WHOLE
SOUNDS LIKE McCARTNEY'S HAVING ALOT OF FUN WITH THE LYRICS AND
JUST PLAYING SIMPLE BUT ROCKING GUITAR RIFF'S.THERE'S EVEN A DRUM
SOLO ! NOT TO MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE TRIED THAT.WORKING ON HIS
OWN McCARNEY WAS A BETTER DRUMMER THAN HE DISPLAYED ON THE
BEATLES TRACK-"BACK IN THE USSR".ALLTHOUGH IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO
CLOSELY TO THE DRUMMING IT SOUNDS FINE.IF YOU BREAK OUT A PAIR OF HEAD-PHONES AND DO LISTEN CLOSELY YOU'LL McCARTNEY GET TOTALLY OUT
OF SYNC WITH JOHN AND GEORGE THE ONLY OTHER BEATLES WHO PLAYED
ON THE TRACK.
HE ALSO RECORDED WITH ONLY JOHN-THE SONG "THE BALLED OF JOHN AND
YOKO".NO MISTAKES ON HIS DRUMMING HERE-IN FACT THE WHOLE TRACK
IS NEARLY PERFECT WITH JOHN AND PAUL DOING SOME OF THIER BEST
HARMONY SINGING EVER.AT A TIME WHEN THE BEATLES WERE FALLING APART
IT'S VERY TELLING THAT JOHN AND PAUL COULD STILL GET TOGETHER AND
KNOCK OUT A NEAR PERFECT TRACK WITH COMPLETE INSTRUMENTATION.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-08-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

44."THE RITE OF SPRING"-IGOR STRAVINSKY
{"LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS"}

CON.- MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS ORCH.-SAN FRANSISCO SYMPHONY

LIKE JIM MORRISON'S 'TEXAS RADIO" AND "THE BIG BEAT" STRAVINSKY'S
"THE RITE OF SPRING" COMES OUT OF THE SWAMP AND IS DIFFICULT AND
HARD TO MASTER.IF IT SOUNDS LIKE THE SOUNDTRACK TO SOME ANCIENT
SACRAFICIAL RITE-THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS !
DRUM SOUNDS THUNDER OUT OF THIS BATTLEFIELD OF ARMAGEDEN-
AND YOU'RE EITHER IN FOR THE WHOLE 9 YARDS OR YOU NEVER HAD A
CHANCE AT GETTING WHAT STRAVINSKY'S ALL ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE.
THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH MUSIC HERE-FENCESITTERS WILL BE ANNIALATED,
AS THEY APPEAR ON THE HORIZEN AND TRUE BELIEVERS WILL BE REWARDED
WITH PEACE AND EXSTACY.YET ALL MUST BE WILLING TO MAKE A SACRIFICE.
WIN OR LOSE.IT'S PART AND PARCEL OF "THE RITE OF SPRING".

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-08-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

43."ISLE OF THE DEAD"-SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
CONCERTGETOUN ORCHESTRA/VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY

AS A COMPOSER RACHMANINOFF IS RESPONSABLE FOR SOME OF THE
MOST BEAUITIFUL,ROMANTIC AND ENCHANTING MUSIC EVER IMAGINED.
HE ALSO HAD A DARK SIDE.IN "ISLE OF THE DEAD" THAT DARK SIDE OF
SERGIE IS MORE PRESENT THAN EVER.THE PIECE WAS INSPIRED BY
ARNOLD BOCKLIN'S GREAT PAINTING OF THE SAME NAME.IT'S A
BEAUTIFUL PAINTING AND SO IS THE MUSIC THAT RACHMANINOFF
WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE BY IT.FROM IT'S DIFFICULT 5/8 TIME SIGNATURE
TO IT'S TORRENT OF POUNDING DRUMS AND SLOWLY BUILDING EVOCATIVE
MELODIES-THERE'S NOTHING EASY OR LIGHT ABOUT THIS COMPOSITION.
TO MY MIND-'ISLE OF THE DEAD " MAY BE RACHMANINOFF'S GREATIST
MASTERPIECE.IT'S A UNIQUE JOURNEY THAT IS BOTH INFINATLY REWARDING AND HYPNOTICALLY ENTICING.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-07-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

42."LEVON"-ELTON JOHN

ONE OF THE MORE MYSTERIOUS PROCESS'S OF COMPOSITION IS
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BERNIE TAUPIN{LYRICS}AND ELTON JOHN
{MUSIC}AND THE ASTONISHING AMOUNT OF GREAT SONGS THEY WERE
ABLE TO CREATE ESPECIALLY IN THIER HEYDAY,THE 1970'S.THE SONGS
HAVE OBLIQUE MESSAGE'S MADE EVEN MORE UNKNOWN BY ELTON'S
UNIQUE VOCAL DELIVERY WHICH TENDS TO FURTHER HIDE THE SONGS
EXACT LYRICS AND THIER TRUE MEANING.THE FACT THAT THIS DOESN'T
ERODE THE POWER OF THIER GREATIST ACHIEVMENTS-SAY'S THAT IN
ROCK 'N ROLL-IT NOT ALLWAYS WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY-BUT HOW YOU
SAY IT{OR SING IT}THAT IS THE TRUE BAROMETER OF ROCK GREATNESS.

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE FANFARE FOR THESE GREAT GUITAR SOLO'S

2009-07-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE FANFARE FOR THESE
GREAT GUITAR SOLO'S

1."BLUE SKY"-THE ALLMAN BROTHERS-LEAD GUITAR-DICKY BETTS-SLIDE
GUITAR-DUANE ALLMAN
2."ALL ALONG THE WATCH TOWER"-THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPIERIENCE-
LEAD GUITAR-JIMI HENDRIX-SLIDE GUITAR-JIMI HENDRIX
HENDRIX ALSO PLAYED ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND BASS ON "WATCHTOWER"
3."LET IT RAIN"-DERICK AND THE DOMINO'S-LEAD GUITAR-ERIC CLAPTON
4."TAXMAN"-THE BEATLES-LEAD GUITAR-PAUL McCARTNEY
5."SOMETHING"-THE BEATLES-LEAD GUITAR-GEORGE HARRISON
6."FRICTION"-TELEVISION-LEAD GUITAR-TOM VERLAINE
7."SAMBA PA TI"-SANTANA-LEAD GUITAR-CARLOS SANTANA
8."WHOLE LOTTA LOVE"-LED ZEPPLIN-LEAD GUITAR-JIMMY PAGE
9."SUZIE Q"-CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL-LEAD GUITAR-
JOHN FOGARTY
10."#1 LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR-LEAD GUITAR-TODD RUNDGREN
11."INTO THE SUN"-GRAND FUNK RAILROAD-LEAD GUITAR-MARK FARNER
12."JOHNNY B. GOODE"-CHUCK BERRY-LEAD GUITAR-CHUCK BERRY
13."ALL THE YOUNG DUDES"-MOTT THE HOOPLE-LEAD GUITAR-MICK RALPHS
14."US AND THEM"-PINK FLOYD-LEAD GUITAR-DAVID GILMOUR
15."FUTHER ON UP THE ROAD"-THE BAND WITH ERIC CLAPTON-LEAD GUITAR-ROBBIE ROBERTSON-LEAD GUITAR-ERIC CLAPTON
16."SUFFERAGETE CITY"-DAVID BOWIE-LEAD GUITAR-MICK RONSON
17."WALK AWAY"-JAMES GANG-LEAD GUITAR-JOE WALSH
18."LITTLE WING"-STEVIE RAY VAUGHN-LEAD GUITAR-STEVIE RAY VAUGHN
19."THIRD STONE FROM THE SUN"-JIMI HENDRIX EXPIERIENCE-LEAD GUITAR-
JIMI HENDRIX
20."KING OF THE WORLD"-STEELY DAN-LEAD GUITAR-JEFF "SKUNK" BAXTER
21."EIGHT MILES HIGH"-THE BYRDS-LEAD GUITAR-RODGER MCGUINN
22."LIGHT MY FIRE{ALBUM VERSION}-THE DOORS-LEAD GUITAR-ROBBIE KRIEGER
23"SHOW BIZ KIDS"-STEELY DAN-LEAD GUITAR{SLIDE}-RICK DERRINGER
24."TRAIN KEPT A "ROLLIN-THE JOHNNY BURNETTE TRIO-LEAD GUITAR-JOHNNY
BURNETTE
25."GET BACK"-THE BEATLES-LEAD GUITAR-JOHN LENNON
26."UNDER MY WHEELS"-ALICE COOPER-LEAD GUITAR-GLEN BUXTON
27."ALL DAY AND ALL OF THE NIGHT"-THE KINKS-LEAD GUITAR-DAVE DAVIES
28"YOURS IN NO DISGRACE"-YES-LEAD GUITAR-STEVE HOWE
29"HONKY TONK WOMAN"-THE ROLLING STONES-LEAD GUITAR-KIETH RICHARDS
30."THE END"-THE BEATLES-LEAD GUITAR{IN ORDER OF APPERANCE}PAUL McCARTNEY,GEORGE HARRISON,JOHN LENNON

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-07-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

41."RAPHSODY IN BLUE"-GEORGE GERSHWIN
PAUL TILLOTSONS FULL VERSION OF GERSHWINS ORIGINAL ARRANGEMENT

GEORGE GERSHWIN HAD ONLY 37 YEARS TO MAKE HIS MARK ON THE WORLD OF
MUSIC.IF NOT FOR THE GENUIS THAT MARKED HIS PERSONA -THERE IS NO WAY
HE COULD HAVE MADE THE ASTONISHING AMOUNT OF MUSIC THAT HE DID.
GERSHWIN WROTE "RHAPSODY IN BLUE" AT A MERE 25 YEARS OF AGE.IT'S A
WATERSHEAD COMPOSITION IN NEARLY EVERY CONCIEVABLE WAY.IT
COMBINE'S CLASSICAL MUSIC IDEA'S WITH JAZZ,RAGTIME AND STRIDE PIANO
TECHNIQUE'S THAT GERSHWIN LEARNED FIRST HAND FROM THE GREAT BLACK PIANIST'S OF HARLEM-GERSHWIN WOULD MAKE MANY TRIPS TO HARLEM
IN ORDER TO LEARN THE FANTASTIC NEW ELEMENTS OF SYNCOPATION THAT
WERE EVOLVING IN HARLEM ON A DAILY BASIS.
ALONG WITH BILLIE HOLIDAY AND LOUIS ARMSTRONG;GERSHWIN WAS ONE
OF AMERICA'S FIRST ARTIST'S TO IGNORE THE BARRIERS BETWEEN BLACK AND
WHITE MUSIC-INSTEAD HE HEARD ALL MUSIC AND COMBINED THEM IN HIS
"RHAPSODY" AND IN DOING SO CREATED ONE OF THE GREATIST CONTRABUTION'S
TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC IN ONE STUNNING MASTERPIECE THAT WAS UNLIKE
ANYTHING EVER WRITTEN BEFORE OR SINCE."RHAPSODY IN BLUE" OPENED UP
A WHOLE NEW VISTA OF POSSIBILITIES IN MUSIC THAT ARE STILL BEING EX-
PLORED TODAY.

SO LONG MICHAEL

2009-06-27T11:55:00.001-07:00

SO LONG MICHAEL

By Pete Holly

FOR ME THE FUNNEST MUSIC OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S WILL ALLWAYS

BE THE EARLY JACKSON FIVE HITS.I LOVED THEM WHEN THEY CAME

OUT ,AND SEEING THE YOUNG MICHAEL JACKSON SING AND DANCE ON

TELEVISION ,WHICH HE DID MANY TIMES,WAS A REVELATION.HE WAS

THE COOLEST DANCER OF ALL-NO MATTER WHICH AGE GROUP YOU

INCLUDED.MICHAEL INTRODUCED A WHOLE NEW STYLE OF SINGING

AND DANCING THAT WOULD TRANSFORM THE WORLD OF MUSIC AND OF

DANCE.

THE SINGLE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE SONG OF HIS SOLO

CAREER WAS THE SONG "BILLIE JEAN" AND THE VIDEO.IT CREATED A

WHOLE NEW APPROACH TO VIDEO,TO SONG COMPOSITION,IN SONG

PRODUCTION {W/QUINCY JONES},AND THE BASS RIFF WAS SO INFECTOUS

AND HAD SUCH A COOL GROOVE THAT IT IS THE MOST COPIED AND

IMITATED BASS RIFF OF ALL-TIME.I WON'T MENTION ANY NAMES BUT

MORE THAN ONE BIGTIME ARTIST COPIED IT PRETTY MUCH NOTE FOR

NOTE AND JUST INSERTED A DIFFERANT VOCAL MELODY AND LYRICS;

BUT THE BASS RIFF IS STRAIGHT OUT OF "BILLIE JEAN".

FOR ALL MICHAEL'S TROUBLES-HIS INFLUENCE ON POPULAR MUSIC

AND POPULAR DANCE IS VAST-UNIVERSAL-AND THERE IS NO OTHER

SINGULAR ARTIST THAT HE IS COMPARABLE TO.IT'S FOR THAT THAT

HE WILL BE REMEMBERED AND LOVED.HE WILL BE MISSED FOR A LONG,

LONG TIME BUT HIS MUSIC AND HIS DANCE WILL LIVE ON FOREVER.

WITH LOVE

AND DEEP RESPECT,

PETE HOLLY

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Bio note-Michael mentions in an interview how he thought of writing a song about a girl
named "Bille Jean" one day then forgot about it. Three day's later he was driving down
Ventura Blvd. and the bass riff came to him-he imitates the riff perfectly with his mouth,
lips and vocal chords{i'm sure he showed to the bass player the same way}This is a
very Good Example of a musical idea that is not inspired by any previous artistic work
at all-as some people think all songs are-but is totally unique to Michael Jackson.
That many,including big stars of that time copied Michael's bass line is evidence
of just how influential Michael Jackson's music is.
P.H.-2009

LET'S PLAY ROCKHOUND !

2009-06-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

-WIN FREE PRIZE'S LIKE A FREE CD-
-TEST YOUR MUSICAL NOWLEDGE-
E-MAIL YOUR ANSWER'S TO phwizard@peteholly.com

"LET'S PLAY ROCKHOUND"

ROCKHOUND IS A SIMPLE GAME.WE'LL QUOTE A LINE
FROM A SONG.YOU NAME THE BAND,ARTIST OR SONGWRITER WHO SANG IT.

1.YOU 96 DECIEBL FREAKS"
2.TORTURE IS THE MAIN ATTRACTION
3.YOU SCREAM AND EVERYONE COMES
4.THEY DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ANYONE ELSE
5.AND JESUS HE WANT'S TO GO TO VENUS
6.I GOT A TWO PACK HABIT AND A MOTEL TAN
7.WHAT'S TO PAINFUL TO REMEMBER,WE SIMPLY CHOOSE TO FORGET
8.WHAT A FIELD DAY FOR THE HEAT
10.NIGHT AFTER NIGHT HE'LL TREAT YOU RIGHT
11.THE PRESIDENTS HEADS IN THE BACK OF THE CAR
12.WHO CAN DENY,THAT'S WHAT THE FIGHTINGS ALL ABOUT
13.SUDDENLY THE SUN BROKE THRU
14.THE MOVIES AND THE FACTORIES
15.THE SPEED OF LIGHT CREATED A FLOWER
16.THAT IS I THINK,IT'S NOT TO BAD
17.JUST LIKE DYLAN'S MR. JONES
18.I WANNA BE BOB DYLAN
19.YOUR EXACTLY THE WAY,THAT YOU USED TO BE
20.NOW HEAR THIS ROBERT ZIMMERMAN
21.THERE'S SOMEONE ON EVERYBODY'S TOES
22.I WAS CROWNED WITH A SPIKE,RIGHT THRU MY HEAD
23.YOU CAN'T LEAVE CAUSE YOU'VE BEEN SOMEWHERE
24.LOW LIFE,HIGH LIFE,HEY LET'S GO
25.MATCHSTICKS STRIKE,AS I'M RIDEN' MY BIKE TO THE DEPOT
26.FORGET ABOUT THE PAST AND ALL YOUR SORROW
27.I HATE MY SISTER,SHE'S SUCH A BITCH
28.COME ON BABY DO A SLOW FLOAT,YOU'RE A GOOD LOOKIN' RIVERBOAT
29.I'M GOIN' TO CALIFORNIA,WITH A ACHE IN MY HEART
30.GOD AIN'T JIVE,FOR I CAN SEE HIS LOVE

GOOD LUCK-IN THE EVENT THAT NO-ONE CAN GET ALL THE SONGS
MATCHED CORRECTLY WITH THIER PERFORMERS.THE PERSON WHO
GET'S THE MOST LINE'S MATCHED CORRECTLY WITH THIER PERFORMERS
AND/OR WRITERS WINS.

"ROCKHOUND" IS A TRADEMARKED/COPYRIGHTED NAME FOR THIS GAME.
IT IS THE PROPERTY OF LOOK'S MUSIC PUBLISHING AND PETE HOLLY.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-COPYRIGHT-2009-JUNE,22,2009

THE CRUSADE AGAINST QUALIFIERS AND STANDARDS

2009-06-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

THE CRUSADE AGAINST QUALIFIARS AND STANDARDS

BY PETE HOLLY

ARE YOU A BAD SEED? YES,BUT I MEANT WELL.SEE THE QUALIFIER?
YOU MAY BE A BAD SEED BUT SINCE YOU MEANT WELL YOU'RE REALLY
NOT SO BAD.HERE IS A STANDARD:"THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH
GOOD INTENTIONS",HEY,I GOT NEWS FOR YOU PAL,THE ROAD TO HELL
AIN'T PAVED-IT'S A SLOW DIRT ROAD WITH FOLKS BACKED UP TO
PURGATORY.THE ROAD TO HEAVEN I HEAR IS LESS CROWDED-MUCH
LESS-I HEAR.
BAD QUALIFIARS THAT DEFY LOGIC ARE RAMPANT."I HATE TO
BE CRITICAL BUT"-NO,YOU LOVE TO BE CRITICAL-IT'S BUILT IN
TO THE HUMAN MIND-A SURVIVAL MECHANISM I BELIEVE THEY CALL
IT.
PLEASE SIR OR MADAM,THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK OR YOU MAY
BETRAY YOUR OWN IGNORANCE."IT ISN'T UP TO OUR STANDARDS"-
PEOPLE MAKE THIS ANNOUCMENT AS IF THEY REALLY HAD STANDARDS.
IT ISN'T BLAND ENOUGH-IT'S TO RAW-COULDN'T YOU GIVE IT A HAPPIER
ENDING.GRIND IT INTO MUSH-MORE EASILY DIGESTED THAT WAY-
BIGGER PROFIT MARGINS-THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET WILL BE
HUGE.FOX WANT'S TO MAKE IT INTO A SIT-COM-OR A REALITY SHOW
THAT'S BASED ON A PERSON WHO LIVE'S CONSTANTLY IN A WORLD OF
FANTASY-WHERE THE MYSTERY WOMAN ASK'S-"HOW CAN IT LOOK SO
GOOD AND BE SO BAD?".BECAUSE IT'S JOB IS TO CREATE ILLUSIONS.
THEY HIRE EXPERTS WHO MAKE A LIVING AT IT.
THAT'S WHAT WE DO HERE IN THE LAND OF MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT-
WE CREATE ILLUSIONS.OF GRANDOUR?-NO,OF GLAMOUR;THERE'S A
DIFERANCE YOU KNOW ! REALLY ,WHAT IS IT?.I'D LIKE TO KNOW.
WELL ONE'S A STANDARD AND THE OTHER IS A QUALIFIER AND
THERE'S A CRUSADE AGAINST BOTH.WHEN DOES IT START? NOW.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTIONAL HUMOR-ANY RESEMBLACE TO REAL PERSONS
IS PURELY INCIDENTAL

THE NAZCA LINES-PREFERING MYTH OVER FACT

2009-06-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

THOU NOT TOTALLY PERPLEXED BUT JUST BIT THAT
THE HISTORY CHANNEL OR THE LEARNING CHANNEL OR
THE CHANNEL INBETWEEN THEM-I BELIEVE IT'S THE TRAVEL
CHANNEL AIRED THE VON DONAKEN THEORY SHOW
WHICH PROMOTES THE IDEA THAT VISTORS FROM OUTER
SPACE EITHER BUILT OR HELPED BUILD THE NAZCA LINES
AND THE GIANT GLYPH'S OF SPIDERS,A MAN,AND OTHER
ANIMAL SHAPES PLUS ABSTRACT DESIGNS AS WELL ON THE
SIDES OF LARGE HILLS.
IT'S PERPLEXING BECAUSE ABOUT 28 YEARS AGO WHEN
CABLE FIRST CAME TO BOISE THERE WAS THE BEST
DOCUMENTRY PROGRAM I'VE EVER SEEN ON THE LINES
THAT WAS AIRED QUITE A FEW TIMES ON ONE OF THESE
SAME CHANNELS.
THIS DOCUMENTRY WAS MADE BY A HIGHLY ESTEEMED
SCIENTIST WHO HAD SPENT 10 YEARS DIGGING AROUND
AND UNDER THE LINES-PRETTY TOUGH WORK-AND HOT
TOO.WHAT HE FOUND;TO HIS AMAZEMENT WAS THAT
IN JUST ABOUT ALL OF THE GIANT AREA WHERE THE NAZCA
LINES ARE LOCATED RUN A VAST NETWORK OF UNDER-GROUND
WATER CHANNELS.IF ALL THE CHANNELS WERE STILL
IN USE TODAY,IT WOULD BE THE LARGEST IRRIGATION
SYSTEM IN THE WORLD.THE CHANNELS ARE EXTREMLY
LONG-SOME TRAVELING UP TO 700 MILES TO BRING
WATER FROM THE ANDE'S MOUNTAINS TO THE NAZCA
PLAIN.
AT POINTS WHERE TWO LINES MEET THERE IS ALLMOST
ALLWAYS A GIANT SISTURN TO HOLD AND STORE THE
WATER.THE INDIANS OF THE AREA,DECENDANT'S OF
MOCHE PEOPLE STILL PRACTICE A SPIRITUAL CEREMONY
THAT STARTS BY WALKING FROM THE END OF A NAZCA
LINE TO THE POINT WHERE IT MEETS ANOTHER LINE.
ARTIFACTS DUG UP INDICATE THAT VILLAGES WERE
OFTEN LOCATED AT THESE POINTS;AS WELL AS
SPIRITUAL SHRINE'S.
THE CEREMONY'S ARE STILL CARRIED ON
TODAY WITH FEASTS AND THE USE OF THE
THE SAN PEDRO CAUTUS TO PRAISE AND
SPEAK TO THIER GOD'S-SO THERE IS ALOT OF
EVIDANCE THAT DESTROY'S THE THEORY
OF VISIT'S FROM ALIEN BEINGS.TO MUCH
FOR ANYONE TO STILL BELIEVE IN THE
ALIEN THEORY.THESE ANCIENT PEOPLE
WERE MASTER ENGINEERS WHO BUILT
THE LARGEST WATER SYSTEM OF ALL
TIME.THE GIANT GLYPH'S ARE
OFFERINGS TO THE MOCHE GODS.
THE ANCIENT INDIANS ALSO
SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMED BRAIN
SURGERY.THE SKULLS FOUND SHOW
THAT THE OPERATIONS HEALED AND
THAT MEANS THE SURGERY'S WERE
SUCCESSFUL.THESE PEOPLE
ACOMPLISHED INCREDIBLE FEATS OF
ENGINEERING AND ALSO HAD
DOCTORS WHO WERE QUALIFYED TO
TO PERFORM SUCCESSFUL BRAIN SURGERY.
THEY ARE AMONG THE GREATIST
PEOPLES TO HAVE EVER INHABITED
OUR PLANET EARTH.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-05-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

40."RAINDROPS"-PRELUDE IN D FLAT MAJOR OP. 28/15
-FREDERIC CHOPIN
PIANO-PETER SCHMALFUSS

FROM AN APPERANCE OF SIMPLICITY CHOPIN BUILT HIGHLY COMPLEX
,EMOITIONALLY CHARGED WORKS OF MUSIC THAT HAVE A RICH
MAGICAL POWER TO TRANSPORT THE LISTENER TO AN EXOTIC
LAND WHERE THE NORMAL AND AVERAGE RULES OF MUSIC DO NOT
APPLY.
CHOPIN'S WORK IS INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE FROM THAT OF
OTHER COMPOSERS/PIANISTS.HE CAN MOVE FROM THE MOST DELICATE
OF PHRASINGS TO THE MOST STRIKING IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.IT
MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE AN EXPIERIENCE TO HEAR HIM PLAY IN
THE SALONS OF PARIS.
CHOPIN IS REALLY THE FIRST MODERN PIANIST/COMPOSER
ARRIVING ON THE SCENE WHEN PIANO'S WERE BECOMING A MORE
REFINED INSTRUMENT WITH SUSTAIN AND DAMPER PEDALS WHICH
INEVITABLY LEAD TO THE VERY DEVICES THAT CHOPIN USED TO
ENHANCE HIS COMPOSITIONS AND THE PERFORMANCES HE GAVE
TO THOSE GREAT WORKS.NO WONDER PEOPLE ARE STILL FALLING
IN LOVE WITH THEM AND INCREASING THIER REGARD FOR THE
MAN HIMSELF.A TRULY BRILLIANT AND GIFTED ARTIST OF THE
HIGHEST ORDER.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC

2009-05-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC

BY PETE HOLLY

IN THE EARLY DAY'S OF REGULAR SCHOOLING MUSIC WAS TAUGHT NOT
AS AN ART,BUT AS A SCIENCE.FROM MUSIC SPRANG THE STUDY OF
MATHMATICS AND FROM MATHMATICS WE HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND
EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THAT WE LIVE IN.MUSIC
WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING THE CONCEPT OF TIME,IN ORDER
FOR EVERYONE TO STAY ON THE SAME PAGE,SO TO SPEAK,MUSIC NEEDED
TO BE DIVIDED INTO SEGMENTS OF TIME.REGULAR RYTHMS AND TEMPO'S
WERE NEEDED TO MAKE MUSIC PLEASANT SOUNDING AND SO TIME
AND INSTRMENTS FOR KEEPING IT IN A PRECISE WAY WERE INVENTED.

AT SOME POINT IN THE LAST 700 YEARS-MUSIC WAS SEPARATED FROM
THE WORLD OF SCIENCE AND RELAGATED TO THE FIELD OF THE ARTS.
WITH THAT SEPARATION CAME THE LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE THAT BOTH
MATHMATICS AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF TIME BOTH WERE
ORIGINALLY BY-PRODUCTS OF THE STUDY OF THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC.

ONE MIGHT JUSTIFIABLY ASK,-"WHAT HAVE WE LOST" FROM SEPARATING
THE FORMER SCIENCE,MUSIC,FROM THE REST OF THE SCIENCES AND
RELEGATING IT TO THE OPTIONAL STUDY IN THE SOMEWHAT SERENDIPITOUS NATURE OF "THE FIELD OF THE ART'S"-TO BE TAKEN OR
LEFT BEHIND.

WHAT WE HAVE LOST IS THE TRUE NATURE OF THE HUMAN MIND.HOW
IT SHAPES OUR VIEW OF THE WORLD AND HOW IT CAN TAKE MUSIC AND
AND EXTRAPALATE THE NOTION OF TIME AND A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF
MATHMATICS WHICH TOGETHER ADD UP TO OUR COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AND OUR PERCEPTION OF IT-SPACE-TIME-
MATTER AND ENERGY AND HOW THEY ALL INTEREACT WITH EACH OTHER.
ONE MIGHT ARGUE THAT IN SUPPRESSING AND SEPARATING MUSIC
FROM OTHER TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE-WE HAVE ALIENATED THE MIND
FROM IT'S TRUE VALUE.

written by Pete Holly-Copyright 2009-all rights reserved

NOTE:PETE HOLLY HAS BEEN STUDYING MUSIC,HISTORY,SCIENCE,ART
HISTORY,PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS.
THIS PAPER REFLECTS JUST ONE OF MANY IDEA'S HE HAS DISCOVERED DURING THE COARSE OF HIS STUDIES.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-05-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

39."TUESDAY AFTERNOON"-THE MOODY BLUES

IF "PROG" HAD A BEGINING-IT WAS THE MOODY BLUES ALBUM-
"DAYS OF FUTURE PAST"{1967}.UN-LIKE "SARGENT PEPPER"-"DAY'S"
WAS TRULY A CONCEPT ALBUM.EVEN SO IT CONTAINED THIS TOP
TEN SINGLE WHICH WAS REVOLUTIONARY IN A NUMBER OF WAY'S
-ALONG WITH BEING APART OF A CONCEPT RECORD.
THE SONG WAS INTROSPECTIVE-BUT NOT IN REGARDS TO PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIPS-IT WAS INTROSPECTIVE IN A PHILOSOPHICAL WAY-
THAT REALLY HAD NO PRECIDENT IN POP MUSIC.
FOR THAT AND IT'S SHEAR BEAUTIFIC QUALITY "TUESDAY AFTERNOON"
DESERVES TO BE INCLUDED IN AMONG THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF
ALL TIME.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-05-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

38."MOONLIGHT SONATA"-LUDWIG VON BEETOVEEN

IF THERE IS A NUMBER ONE SINGLE IN CLASSICAL MUSIC,IT MUST BE "MOONLIGHT SONATA"..SURELY IT IS THE BEST KNOWN SHORT PIANO WORK
OF ALL TIME.
IN MANY WAY'S LUDWIG SETS UP THE TEMPLATE FOR EVERY SHORT FORM
OF MUSIC TO COME-ROCK-JAZZ-COUNTRY AND EVEN RAP.
THE INTRO WHICH LEADS INTO THE MAIN MELODY LINE,THEN SEVERAL
BREAKS INTO A KIND OF MUSICAL CHORUS AND BACK INTO THE MAIN
MELODY AND ENDING IN A NICE LITTLE OUTRO.IT'S THE EXACT SAME PATTERN
THAT IS USED WITH LITTLE VARIATION IN EVERY POPULAR SONG EVER
HEARD REGARDLESS OF IT'S GENRE.AS A FORERUNNER OF THE MODERN SINGLE
;"MOONLIGHT SONATA" WAS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME AND SET UP
A MUSICAL PATTERN FOR ALL TO FOLLOW-BY ALL THOSE WHO SEARCH FOR
GOLD IN SIMPLE BEAUTY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TOP 20 BEST DEBUT ALBUMS

2009-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

1.THE DOORS-THE DOORS
2.ARE YOU EXPIERIENCED?-JIMI HENDRIX EXPIERIENCE
3.RUNT-TODD RUNGREN
4.MARQUEE MOON-TELEVISION
5.PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE-DENNIS WILSON
6.TIM MOORE-TIM MOORE
7.SINCERELY-DWIGHT TWILLY BAND
8.THE CLASH-THE CLASH
9.PLEASE PLEASE ME-THE BEATLES
10.ALL OVER THE PLACE-THE BANGLES
11.HEY BABE-JULIANA HATFIELD
12.TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS-
TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS
{LAST MAJOR LABEL DEBUT ALBUM RECORDED ON 8-TRACK}
13.AQUASHOW-ELLIOT MURPHY
14.THE GO GO'S-WE GOT THE BEAT
15.LED ZEPPLIN-LED ZEPPLIN
16.MARSHALL CREENSHAW-MARSHALL CRENSHAW
17.CLOSER-JOY DIVISION
18.NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS-SEX PISTOLS
19.THE CHIRPING CRICKETS-BUDDY HOLLY
20.GUITAR TOWN-STEVE EARLE

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-05-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

36. "UNDER THE MILKY WAY"-THE CHURCH

ONE OF THE BEST SONGS OF THE LAST 30 YEARS AND ONE OF THE
VERY FEW TO MATCH THE MAGIC OF "THE BEATLES".OTHER BANDS
HAVE MAY HAVE BEEN BIGGER AND MORE COMMERCIALLY SUCCESS-
FUL,BUT NONE HAVE COME CLOSE TO THE MAGIC OF THIS ETHEREAL
AND UPLIFTING SINGLE.
IT WAS "THE CHURCH'S" BIGGEST HIT IN THE UNITED STATES
BEING HELPED ALONG BY A VERY CREATIVE VIDEO THAT WAS IN
HIGH ROTATION ON MTV.HAILING FROM AUSTRALIA,THE CHURCH
HAVE A HUGE CULT FOLLOWING WORLDWIDE THAT HAS ALLOWED
THEM TO CONTINUE THIER RECORDING CAREER CLEAR UP UNTIL
PRESENT DAY.THOUGH ALL THIER RECORDS ARE EXCELLENT;
ESPECIALLY THIER ALBUM "GOLD AFTERNOON FIX" WHICH IS A
MASTERPIECE OF UNPARRALLED PROPORTIONS,THE CHURCH WILL
MOST LIKELY BE REMEBERED FOR "MILKY WAY" AND THAT,IS
PERHAPS,HOW IT SHOULD BE.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

NOTE: CHECK OUT "THE CHURCH"'S OTHER GREAT RECORDINGS-
"METROPOLIS","GRIND","BUSINESS WOMAN" AND "AUTHORITY".
YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID !

TAKE 6-TRADEMARKS OF 6 FILM DIRECTORS

2009-05-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

1.CLINT EASTWOOD-LIKE THE QUIET/LOUD APPROACH OF NIRVANA
AND THE PIXIES-EASTWOOD VEERS FROM BIG LONG SHOTS TO
EXTREME CLOSE-UPS THAT ALLWAYS END UP FOCUSING ON THE
EYE'S-EVENTS HAVE LONG BUILD UPS AND THEN ALL HELL BREAKS
LOOSE.

2.ALFRED HITCHCOCK-HITCHCOCK COINED THE TERM "MAGUFFIN"
WHICH IS THE THING THAT EVERYONE IS AFTER,BUT NOBODY
KNOWS WHAT IT IS.

3.INGMAR BERGMAN-COMPARED TO MOST AMERICAN FILMS
BERGMAN'S FILM'S ARE STARK,BRUTELY HONEST,AND OFTEN RAISE
BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE.THIS QUEST FOR TRUTH IS OFTEN
MEET WITH ANSWERS THAT ARE AMBIVALANT AT BEST.IT'S
BERGMANS SOUL SEARCHING FOR MEANING THAT MAKE HIS
FILMS SO COMPELLING.

4.WERNER HERZOG-HAVING TO FILM IN THE MOST DANGEROUS
PLACES ON EARTH NEVER STOPPED HERZOG.TWO OF HIS BEST
FILMS WERE MADE DEEP IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE-"FITZCARALDO"
AND "AGUIRE,WRATH OF GOD"."FITZCARALDO" WAS HALF FINISHED
WHEN IT'S STAR-JASON ROBARDS BECAME ILL AND HAD TO LEAVE.
HERZOG RE-CAST KLAUS KINSKI AND STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN.
THE FILM TOOK 7 YEARS TO MAKE AND ABOUT FORTY LIFES
WERE LOST IN THE PROCESS.NOW THATS COMMITMANT!

5.FREDRICO FELLINI-FELLINI'S FILM'S ,ESPECIALLY THE TWO HE MADE
AT THE APEX OF HIS CAREER-"LA DOLCE VITA" AND "8 AND A HALF"
ARE CRAMMED WITH A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS CAST OF CHARACTORS
AND IMAGES.MARCELLO MASTRIANI IS THE LEAD ACTOR IN BOTH
FILMS AND HE SEEMS TO BE A SORT OF REPRESENTATIVE OF FELLINI.
HE IS ALLMOST NEVER ALONE.FELLINI WALLOWS IN THE DECADENCE
OF MODERN LIFE BUT IS AT THE SAME TIME IN COMPASSION WITH
IT'S LIMATATIONS AND ILLUSIONS AND THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO LIVE
WITH THEM.

6. ORSON WELLES-WELLES ,WITH HIS CAMERAMAN GREG TOLAND
PIONEERED THE USE OF DEEP FOCUS CAMERA'S -WHERE OBJECTS
FAR OFF IN THE DISTANCE ARE JUST AS SHARP AND CLEAR AS THOSE
IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE CAMERA FRAME.BY EXPIERIMENTING
AND USING THIER IMAGINATIONS WELLES AND TOLLAND LITERALLY
CAME UP WITH A WHOLE NEW LANGUAGE FOR FILM.THAT'S JUST ONE
OF MANY REASONS WHY WELLES "CITIZEN KANE" IS CONSIDERED TO
THE GREATIST FILM OF ALL TIME.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-03-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

35. " SOUL MEDLY"-TODD RUNDGREN
1. "I'M SO PROUD"-CURTIS MAYFIELD
2."OHH BABY BABY"-SMOKEY ROBINSON
3."LA LA MEANS I LOVE YOU"-THE DELFONICS

TODD RUNDGREN HAS WORN MANY HAT'S DURING THE COARSE
OF HIS CAREER.FROM ARTIST,PRODUCER,MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST,
AND SONGWRITER TO BEING ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST ACCURATE SONG
REPRODUCTION ARTISTS OF ALL TIME.HAILING FROM THE PHILADELPHIA
AREA; ON RUNGREN'S ALBUM "A WIZARD,A TRUE STAR" HE CHOOSE THREE
CLASSIC SOUL/POP HITS AND RENDERS THEM AS A SEAMLESS MEDLY,AS
A TRIBUTE TO HIS PHILLY SOUL ROOTS AND HIS PURE LOVE OF THESE SONGS.
A LOVE SHARED BY MILLIONS OF SOUL/POP FANS THE WORLD OVER.
THE REPRODUCTIONS ARE SO ACCURATE IT'S ALLMOST A CRIME-
BUT INSTEAD ALL YOU CAN DO IS BASK IN GREATNESS OF THESE SONGS
AND RUNDGREN'S ABILITY TO REPRODUCE THEM-NOTE FOR NOTE-
AND TO CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THE ORIGINAL ARTISTS MAGIC.
RUNGREN IS TRULY ONE OF THE POP & SOUL WORLDS MOST GIFTED ARTISTS

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-02-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

34."LE MER"-CLAUDE DEBUSSY

OFR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

COND.-MILAN HOVAT

THE SOUNDS THAT MR. DEBUSSY WROTE INTO MUSIC SEEM TO

BE THE VERY SOUNDS OF LIFE ITSELF AND IT'S PLACE OF ORIGIN

"THE SEA".

HEARING DEBUSSY'S "LE MER" REMINDS ONESELF OF THE FEELING

WE ALL GET WHEN WE VISIT THE SEASHORE AFTER A LONG ABSENSE.

THAT WE HAVE COME BACK TO A PLACE OF DIVINITY WHERE INDEED

OUR OWN SOULS ONCE EMERGED-PERHAPS-IN SOME OTHER TIME-

IN SOME OTHER PLACE-THE DETAILS MAY BE AS FUZZY AS THE MIST

OF THE SEA ITSELF-BUT THE FELLING OF HOMENESS IS AS CERTAIN AS

THE SUN ITSELF.

"ROCK N' ROLL" WALKS THE LINE

2009-02-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

THE TERM "ROCK N' ROLL" EXISTED LONG BEFORE IT BECAME ATTACHED
TO THE MUSIC OF ELVIS PRESLEY,CHUCK BERRY,BO DIDDLEY,LITTLE
RICHARD,FATS DOMINO AND JERRY LEE LEWIS.IT EXISTED AS A
BLACK SLANG WORD FOR PEOPLE DOIN' WHAT COMES NATURALLY.
AS THE TERM IS ASSOCIATED WITH SOMETHING NATURAL IT
SEEMS FAIR TO SAY THAT NATURALLY IT WOULD FIND OTHER
USE'S-AND AS FAR AS WE CAN SEE,IT DID.
SO IF YOU ARE A FILM CONSULTANT-WORKING ON A FILM ABOUT
AN ARTIST WHO WAS INVOLVED IN EARLIST STAGES OF ROCK N'
ROLL HISTORY-YOU WOULD NEVER WANT TO SAY OR BE QUOTED
AS SAYING "THE TERM ROCK N' ROLL DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE{INSERT
ALL THE ROCK ARTISTS I STATED ABOVE AND AD JOHNNY CASH}.
THE REASON YOU MAY ASK-IS A SIMPLE ONE-BECAUSE THE TERM
DID EXIST BEFORE-WAY BEFORE-THE ARTIST'S WHOSE MUSIC TOOK
ON THE NAME AS A NOUN RATHER THAN A VERB.IN OTHER WORDS
WHAT USED TO MEAN DOING SOMETHING NATURAL-"ROCK N' ROLL"
IN IT'S NEW MODERN USE WAS A NAME GIVIN' TO A PARTICULAR
STYLE OF MUSIC.BE AWARE THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ALL THE
FACT'S ABOUT THE HISTORICAL USE OF THIS TERM BE MADE
SIMPLE AND CLEAR OTHERWISE PEOPLE MIGHT START TO THINK
THE TERM "ROCK N' ROLL" DID NOT EXIST BEFORE ROCK N' ROLL
MUSIC EXISTED AND AS ANY OLD FOOL CAN TELL YOU THAT
IT DID-BUT APPARENTLY THEY FORGOT TO TELL THE
CONSULTANT TO THE FILM .

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-02-15T10:37:00.000-08:00

33. "THE BEATLES MEDLEY"-THE BEATLES-ABBEY ROAD

(Because,You never give me your money,Sun King,Mean Mr. Mustard,
Polythene Pam,She came in through the bathroom window,Golden Slumbers,
Carry that Weight,The End}

THESE 8 SONGS WHICH WERE ALL PARTIALLY FINISHED SONGS MOSTLY
WRITTEN BY JOHN AND PAUL WERE THREADED TOGETHER TO FORM
ONE COHESIVE WHOLE.THE BEATLES APPARENLY REHEARSED THE
MEDLEY IN IT'S ENTIRITY BEFORE LAYING IT DOWN ON TAPE.SOME OF
SONGS ARE CONNECTED ONLY BY SOUND EFFECTS LIKE CRICKETS BUT
MANY OF THEM HAVE QUITE INTRICATE MUSICAL REJOINDERS THAT
MUST HAVE BEEN A MAJOR CHORE TO WORK OUT.GEORGE HARRISON'S
METICULOUS GUITAR WORK SEEMS TO PLAY A BIG PART IN THESE SONG
CONNECTORS.
THIS SUITE OF SONGS BEING SO SEEMLESSLY CONNECTED WENT ALONG
WAY TOWARDS CEMENTING THE BEATLE'S STANDIND AS THE GREATIST
BAND OF ALL-TIME.AT THE TIME IT WAS A STUNNING ACHIEVMENT AND
NOTHING LIKE IT HAS BEEN PRODUCED SINCE;NOR IS IT LIKELY TO BE IN THE
FUTURE.WHEN IT CAME TO LEADING THE WAY THE BEATLES WERE ALLWAYS
AHEAD OF EVERYONE ELSE.WAY AHEAD.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-COPYRIGHT 2009

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-02-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

32."ADAGIO FOR STRINGS"-SAMUAL BARBER
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC-BERNSTIEN

AN AMERICAN CLASSICAL COMPOSER,ONE OF THE VERY FEW
TO HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN THE 20TH CENTURY.
"THE ADAGIO" IS PART OF A LARGER WORK COMPOSED BY
BARBER BUT EVEN FROM IT'S FIRST PERFORMANCE IT WAS
SINGLED OUT AND PERFORMED AS A SINGLE PIECE OF MUSIC
BY MANY CONDUCTORS AND MANY ORCHESTRA'S-SOME
HAVE CALLED IT THE SINGLE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF
MUSIC EVER WRITTEN.BY THE TIME OF BARBER'S PASSING
HOWEVER HE HAD BEEN LARGLY FORGOTTEN ALONG WITH
HIS "ADAGIO".
LITTLE COULD ANYONE HAVE GUESSED THAT BARBER'S
"ADAGIO FOR STRINGS",BY IT'S USE IN FILM,WOULD BECOME THE
MOST WELL KNOWN PIECE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC OF THE LATER
20TH CENTURY.
FIRST IT WAS USED AS THE ENDING SONG OF DIRECTOR DAVID
LYNCH'S PROFOUND CREATION OF THE MOVIE "THE ELEPHANT MAN"
SELDOM HAS MUSIC BEEN USED THIS EFFECTIVILY IN FILM.IT'S AN
UNFORGETABLE SEQUENCE.
"ADAGIO" GOT EVEN MORE EXPOSURE FROM IT'S USE IN OLIVER
STONE'S CLASSIC WAR FILM "PLATOON".EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON'T
KNOW WHO SAMUAL BARBER IS KNOW HIS MUSIC FROM THIS FILM.
SUCH IS THE POWER OF MUSIC AND FILM.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-02-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

31."BOLERO"-MAURICE RAVEL-DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A MAGIC SPELL UNLEASED UPON AN UNSUSPECTING PUBLIC.THE FRENCH
COMPOSER OF BASQUE DESCENT-"I HAVE WRITTEN ONE MASTERPIECE
AND IT HAS NO MUSIC" HE SAID.
AN EXERCISE IN EXTREME DYNAMICS FROM A WHISPER TO A
HURRICANE OF SOUND MARCHING IN A STEP OF IT'S OWN MAKING
SOUNDING LIKE NO OTHER.SOLDIERS TRUDGING THRU THE SANDS OF
EGYPT-NAPOLIAN SEEKING THE PYRAMIDS-ANTHONY SEEKING
CLEOPATRA-ALL MEN AND WOMEN SEEKING THE THE SECRETS
OF THE ORIGIN OF ALL LIFE.A SECRET NEVER REVEALED,YET PLEASANT
TO LISTEN TOO.,ESQUISITE AT TIMES,BUILDING TO A CLIMAX,THAT COMES
SO ABRUPTLY THAT THAT WHICH SEEMINGLY WOULD LAST FOREVER IS
GONE IN THE WINK OF AN EYE.DISAPPEARED,LEAVING ONLY IT'S
MEMORY AND MOOD OF MYSTERY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

30. "MY GENERATION"-THE WHO

THE WHO'S FIRST TRIBUTE TO THIER FIRST FANS -A GROUP OF
YOUNG BRIT'S KNOWN AS MOD'S WHO RODE SCOOTERS,DRESSED
SHARP,KEPT THIER HAIR PRETTY SHORT, AND TOOK WEEKEND
TRIPS TO BRIGHTON EN MASSE.MOD'S WEREN'T THE WHO'S ONLY
FANS THOU-THEY HAD UNIVERSAL APPEAL TO YOUNG PEOPLE
THE WORLD OVER.
"PEOPLE TRY TO PUT US DOWN"
"JUST BECAUSE WE GET AROUND"
OWE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF IT'S MESSAGE FROM THE BEACH BOY'S
SONG "I GET AROUND" LIKE THE RAMONES IN A LATER TIME-THE WHO
WERE BIG BEACH BOY FAN'S ESPECIALLY DRUMMER KEITH MOON.
"MY GENERATION" SPEAKS IN A UNIQUE WAYS TO THE NEW YOUTH POP
CULTURE THAT WAS QUICKLY GAINING NUMBERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
BEFORE THE 1960'S WERE OVER AT LEAST HALF THE PEOPLE IN THE FREE
WESTERN WORLD HAD BECOME AWARE THAT THEY WERE PART OF A
LARGER GROUP.ONE THAT WOULD COMPLETELY CHANGE THE WHOLE
WORLD OF POP CULTURE AND INDEED IT'S REVERBARATIONS CAN STILL
BE FELT TODAY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-12T05:15:00.000-08:00

29."WHAT'S GOIN' ON ? "-MARVIN GAYE

WHEN MARVIN GAYE FIRST PROPOSED HIS IDEA OF DOING A

SOCIAL-POLITICAL ALBUM HE DIDN'T GET MUCH SUPPORT.BUT GAYE WAS ON A MISSION AND HE COULD

NOT BE STOPPED."WHAT'S GOIN' ON", BOTH THE SONG AND THE

ALBUM,WERE BOTH LANDMARKS NOT JUST IN BLACK MUSIC BUT

IN ALL MUSIC.THE WHOLE ALBUM IS PURE GENUIS.IT'S LIKE A

SOUL-OPERA BUT BETTER.GAYE PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER

THAT WAS TOTALLY UNIQUE.THE MUSIC IS METICOUSLY BLENDED INTO A

SUITE OF SONGS THAT SPEAK TO THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF LIFE AS WELL AS TO
WHAT WAS GOIN' ON IN THE STREETS AT TIME HE RECORDED THE ALBUM.
IT'S A REVOLUTIONARY WORK OF ART THAT HAS IT'S OWN SPECIAL TIMELESS
BEAUTY AND "WHAT'S GOIN' ON" WAS JUST ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ALBUMS IN POP/SOUL HISTORY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

28. STOP ! IN THE NAME OF LOVE-THE SUPREMES

THE BEATLES WERE THE BIGGEST MALE GROUP OF THE SIXTIES
AND THE SUPREMES WERE THE BIGGEST GIRL GROUP.THEY
CHALKED-UP MORE TOP TEN RECORDS THAN ANY OTHER
FEMALE ARTISTS OF THAT DECADE.
IF YOU COUNT THE GREAT MOTOWN HOUSE BAND AND THE
WRITING TEAM OF HOLLAND/DOZIER/HOLLAND THEN THE
SUPREMESWERE THE ONLY FEMALE GROUP WHO COULD
REALLY COMPETE WITH THE BEATLES.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN QUITE AS BIG AS THE BEATLES
BUT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT MOTOWN STARTED OUT AS
AN INDIE LABEL IN DETROIT-WHERE NEARLY EVERYTHING
WAS DONE IN A PRETTY LARGE HOUSE WITH A BIG BANNER
DRAPPED OUT FRONT THAT SAID "HITSVILLE U.S.A."-THE
SUCCESSION OF HITS THAT "THE SUPREMES" WERE ABLE TO
RACK-UP IS AN ASTOUNDING ACOMPLISHMENT.."STOP" WAS
THE PINACLE OF THE SUPREMES CAREER AND REMAINS ONE
OF THE GREATIST RECORDS EVER MADE.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

27."I'M YOUR CAPTAIN"-GRAND FUNK RAILROAD

THE CRITICS DIDN'T CARE FOR "GFR" IN 1970.THEY WERE TO RAW,STRAIGHT
FORWARD AND WAY TOO POSITIVE.
IN TRUTH "GFR'S" POSITIVE MESSAGES IN THIER SIMPLE BUT BEAUTIFUL
AND FUNKY SONGS WEREN'T MEANT TO PLEASE ANYONE BUT THE BAND
AND IT'S AUDIENCE-AND IN LEAD SINGER,SONGWRITER, & GUITARIST
MARK FARNER CASE-GOD.HE WAS A TRUE BELIEVER.
SO THE LITTLE THREE PIECE BAND FROM FLINT,MI TOOK THIER
ROUSING,RIP-ROARING AND EXUBERANT SHOW ON THE ROAD.
THEY WERE A SURPRISE HIT-THEY SOON BECAME THE #1 ROCK
BAND IN THE WORLD ! I GUESS THE OLD SAYING IS TRUE "FROM SMALL
THINGS MAMA,BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME"."GRAND FUNK RAILROAD"
CONQUERED THE WORLD.

NOTE:"GRAND FUNK" RECIEVED WHAT MUST BE ONE OF THE
LUCKYIST BREAK'S IN SHOW BUSINESS HISTORY WHEN A GIANT
BILLBOARD IN TIME'S SQUARE NEW YORK CITY WAS PURCHASED
TO RUN AN ADD FOR THE BAND FOR ONE MONTH-NEARLY A
FULL BLOCK LONG THE GIANT FACES OF THE BAND AND THIER
NAME AND NEW ALBUM TITLE "CLOSER TO HOME" ENDED UP
STAYING WHERE IT WAS FOR THREE FULL MONTHS BECAUSE THE
SIGN WORKERS WENT ON STRIKE !

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

26."96 TEARS"-? AND THE MYSTERIANS

YOU'VE JUST ENTERED A WORLD OF TIME AND SPACE,OF IDEAS

AND PEOPLE,FARFISA ORGANS AND SUNGLASSES,LOOK UP

AHEAD ! THERE'S THE SIGNPOST ! YOU'VE JUST ENTERED

THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

IN 1965 ,? AND THE MYSTERIANS MIGHT AS WELL HAVE

STEPPED OUT OF THE TWILIGHT ZONE.EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM

SEEMED MYSTERIOUS-THIER NAME-THE LEAD SINGER WHO ALLWAYS

WORE SUNGLASSES AND THE INFECTIOUS SOUND OF THAT FARFISA

ORGAN RIFF.WERE THEY FROM ANOTHER PLANET?

THERE WAS REASON TO BE SUSPECT.

FOR REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL THE POWERFUL FORCES UNLEASHED
BY THIS ESTRANGED GARAGE BAND MASTERPIECE HAVE BEEN LOCKED AWAY
IN SOME SECRET AIR FORCE LOCATION.HIGHLY GUARDED:THE MASTER
HAS BEEN LOCKED AWAY-DEEP IN THE VAULTS OF SOME UNKNOWN POWER-
FOR UNKNOWN REASONS.RARE SIGHTINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BUT LIKE THE
UNIVERSE ITSELF-THE SECRET OF "96 TEARS" SEEMS TO BE LOCKED AWAY FOREVER-IN THE FAR CORNERS OF "THE TWILIGHT ZONE."

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2009-01-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

25."COME IN MY KITCHEN"-ROBERT JOHNSON

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ANY KIND OF HANDLE ON WHAT REAL
BLACK DELTA BLUES MAKES YOU FEEL WITHOUT HEARING THE
FEW RECORDINGS ROBERT JOHNSON MADE IN HIS VERY SHORT
LIFETIME.
WHILE ELVIS TOOK THE SOUND OF BLACK MUSIC AND EMULATED
A HYBRID SOUND THAT WAS TO BECOME THE BREAKTHROUGH OF
ROCK N' ROLL FOR WHITES-JOHNSONS AUDIENCE IN AN EARLIER
TIME WAS ALLWAYS BLACK.HE MADE NO CONCESSIONS WHATSO-
EVER.HE TRAVELED AND PLAYED ALL OVER THE DELTA AND OTHER
PARTS OF THE COUNTRY LEARNING ALL HE COULD FROM ALL THE
GREAT BLACK BLUESMEN OF HIS TIME.
SOME HOW AT A VERY YOUNG AGE JOHNSON WAS ABLE TO
FIND HIS OWN UNIQUE STYLE USING ALL THE LICKS,RIFF'S AND
PICKING STYLES HE HAD LEARNED IN ALL HIS TRAVELS.HE WROTE
AND RE-WROTE MANY SONGS OF WHICH "COME IN MY KITCHEN"
WAS ONE OF ONLY ABOUT 15 HE RECORDED IN TWO SESSIONS
DONE IN TEXAS OVER ABOUT 3 DAY'S.
THERE IS BIG DRIVING FORCE BEHIND AND AN EAR FOR SONG-
CRAFT IN JOHNSONS WORK THAT SEEMS TO LINK IT MORE DIRECTLY
TO ROCK N' ROLL.WAS ROBERT JOHNSON THE FIRST ROCKER?
HE CERTAINLY WAS EARLIEST REPRESENTATIVE OF AN EXCITING
FORM OF MUSIC THAT WOULD SHAKE THE WORLDAND CHANGE THE
MUSICAL LANDSCAPE FOREVER.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2009-COPYRIGHT-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-31T22:37:00.000-08:00

24."IT DON'T COME EASY"-RINGO STARR

WITH A CHORD PROGRESSION AND ELECTRIC GUITAR FLAT-PICKING
RIFF MUCH LIKE THE ONE FOUND IN ERIC CLAPTON'S "LET IT RAIN" THIS
VERY CATCHY SONG ALSO CONTAINS A MESSAGE WHICH NEARLY EVERY
MUSICIAN CAN RELATE TOO.EVEN FOR THE BEATLES-IT DIDN'T COME EASY.
IT'S EASY TO FORGET NOW THAT THE BEATLES WERE TURNED DOWN BY
EVERY LABEL IN LONDON IN 1963 AND THAT IT WAS ONLY THE PERSISTANCE
OF THIER VERY LOYAL MANAGER:BRIAN EPSTIEN AND AN EXTRODINARILY
LUCKY REFERAL TO PRODUCER GEORGE MARTIN,WHO OVERRODE E.M.I.'S
REJECTION OF THE BEATLES AND MADE THE DEAL HAPPEN.
PROBABLY THE BEST SONG TO EVER COME RINGO'S WAY AND
ONE OF THE BEST SINGLE'S RELEASED BY A SOLO BEATLE-"IT DON'T COME
EASY" IS A CLASSIC ROCK SONG WITH A BIG PRODUCTION THAT STILL
PUT'S RINGO'S OPTIMISM AND MUSICAL TALENT CENTER STAGE-
WHERE IT BELONG'S.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2009-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-29T13:18:00.000-08:00

23."THE TEARS OF A CLOWN"-SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES

"TEARS" WAS ONE OF THE LAST BIG HITS SMOKEY ROBINSON HAD WITH THE
MIRACLES BEFORE HE LEFT TO PURSUE A SOLO CAREER.A BIG INFLUENCE
ON THE BEATLES-IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY IN THIS SONG IN WHICH THE LYRICS
DOWN MESSAGE IS COMPLETLY CONCEALED BY THE EXTRODINARYLY UP-
BEAT MUSIC.RECORDED IN 1965 BUT NOT RELEASED UNTIL 1969,THE PICCALO
RIFF IN "TEARS" PRE-DATES A SIMALAR USE OF CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTATION
IN THE BEATLES "PENNY LANE" BY TWO YEARS.
OF ALL THE GREAT ARTISTS AT MOTOWN SMOKEY MAY HAVE BEEN THE BUSIESTAND MOST INFLUENTIAL.AS A PRODUCER,COMPOSER AND SINGER HE WAS
PROBABLY INVOLVED IN MORE OF MOTOWNS HIT-MAKING PROJECTS THAN
ANY OTHER MOTOWN ARTIST.TO SAY HE WAS A VISIONARY WOULD BE
UNDERSTATMENT.TO SAY THAT HE WAS A MASTER OF PRODUCTION,
COMPOSITION,AND PERFORMANCE WOULD BE A STATEMENT OF FACT.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

22."WOODSTOCK IMPROVASATION"-JIMI HENDRIX{GYPSY.SUN & RAINBOWS}

FOR ALL OF THE IMPRACTICAL IDEALISM THAT EMERGED IN THE 1960'S
IT DID,AT LEAST,PRODUCE A GREAT AMOUNT OF ABOVE AVERAGE MUSIC.
ONE PLAYER EMERGED AS THE MOST TALENTED AND INNOVATIVE
ROCK GUITARIST OF ALL TIME AND IT'S HARD TO PICTURE HIM BEING
ABLE TO REACH SUCH A LARGE AUDIENCE AT ANY OTHER TIME IN
MUSIC HISTORY.
MOST OF THE RECORDINGS THAT HENDRIX LEFT BEHIND ARE ROCK
SONGS THAT ARE EXTRODINARILY CREATIVE AND CONTAIN GUITAR
PLAYING AND SOUND MANIPULATION THAT DEFIES ANY STANDARD
DESCRIPTIVE WORDS TO TRY AND EXPLAIN WHAT THEY DO IN TERMS
OF EXPANDING JUST WHAT WAS POSSIBLE ON THE ELECTRIC GUITAR
AND IN COMPOSITION FOR IT-BOTH IN TERMS OF MUSIC AND LYRICS.
HENDRIX WAS SO AMAZING AS AN ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER THAT
HIS AWE INSPIRING COMPOSITIONAL SKILLS TEND TO GET OVERLOOKED.
BECAUSE HE WAS SO GOOD AT COMPOSING WE ONLY GOT ONE
CHANCE TO SEE HENDRIX CUT COMPLETLY LOOSE-AND IMPROVISE
FOR A GOOD FIVE MINUTES OR SO-HERE ON THIS TRACK RECORDED
AT WOODSTOCK.IT'S LIKE NOTHING ELSE IN JIMI'S CATOLOG.IN A
RELATIVLY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME HE NAVAGATES EVERY STYLE
OF MUSIC EVER KNOWN TO MAN AND THREADS IT ALL TOGETHER
WITH THE GRACE AND BRILLIANCE THAT ONLY A TRUE MASTER
COULD REALIZE.JIMI HENDRIX WAS NOT ONLY EXPIERIENCED.
HE WAS THE EXPIERIENCE.

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-26T12:31:00.001-08:00

21."WILD THING"-THE TROGG'S

COMING OUT AT A TIME WHEN POP/ROCK MUSIC WAS GETTING
A BIT MORE COMPLEX THIS ULTRA-PRIMATIVE APPROACH CAME
AS A JOLT TO THE SENSES.WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT
USING SUCH A PRIMATIVE SONG STRUCTURE COULD GIVE A SONG
MORE POWER?
EVEN THOUGH THE LYRICS WERE AS INNOCENT AS COULD BE
IT WAS THE WAY THEY WERE SUNG THAT MADE THEM APPEAR TO
TO BE RISQUE.A LITERAL READING WOULD PROVE THEM NO MORE THAN
AN INNOCENT NURSERY RHYME BUT THE MUSIC AND THE COOL
SINGING WERE MORE THAN THE SUM OF THIER PARTS.THE WOODEN
FLUTE BREAK ALSO MADE THE SONG VERY UNIQUE.
AS ONE BRITISH MUSICIAN PUT IT AT THE TIME-"THEY ARE SO
FAR BEHIND,THEY'RE AHEAD".

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

20. "LIGHT MY FIRE"-THE DOORS

IN THE MID-SIXTIES,WITH ALL IT'S "PEACE AND LOVE" SLOGANERING;

ALONG CAME A BAND OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FILM STUDENTS,

WHOSE VIEW OF LIFE AND LOVE SEEMED MUCH MORE SERIOUS,

DEEPER,AND DARKER.

THEY ALSO SEEMED MORE INTENT ON BREAKING THRU *"THE

DOORS OF PERCEPTION" NO MATTER HOW DANGEROUS ANY ATTEMPTS

AT DOING SO MIGHT BECOME.THAT VERY DANGER WAS VERY MUCH

A PART OF "THE DOORS" ALURE.WHEN JIM MORRISON SANG "THE TIME

TO HESITATE IS THRU" LIKE IT OR NOT THE WORLD WAS LISTENING

AND SEEMED TO AGREE WITH HIM.

{*"THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION" BY AUTHOR ALDOUS HUXELY}

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVRED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

19."SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER"-THE RAMONES

THE STORY OF THE RAMONES IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE

IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ROCK.FOUR GUYS FROM QUEENS,NEW

YORK STRIP ROCK DOWN TO IT'S BASIC ELEMENTS,CRANK IT UP LOUD,

AND PLAY AT BREAK-NECK TEMPO'S.THEY ALL WEAR THE SAME

CLOTHES,BLACK LEATHER JACKETS,T-SHIRTS,JEANS AND TENNIS

SHOES AND SHARE THE SAME LAST NAME.

THE BASS PLAYER WRITES ALL THE SONGS WHICH HAVE SIMPLE

TITLES LIKE-"I JUST WANNA HAVE SOMETHING TO DO" AND "I DON'T

WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU".

THEY TOUR ENGLAND IN 1976-77 AND JUST LIKE BUDDY HOLLY AND THE

CRICKETS DID THEY INSPIRE HUNDREDS OF BRITISH YOUTH TO EMULATE

THIER SOUND.A FEW OF US IN AMERICA ARE SIMULARLY INSPIRED AND DO
THE SAME.THE REST,AS THEY SAY, IS HISTORY.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-21T11:31:00.000-08:00

18."SHAPES OF THINGS-THE YARDBYRDS

"SHAPES OF THINGS" CAME OUT YEARS AHEAD OF IT'S

TIME.IT SEEMED TO DEFY THE ORDINARY LIMITATIONS

OF POP/ROCK MUSIC IN EVERY CONCIEVABLE WAY.IT

WAS A SONG THAT QUESTIONED EVERYTHING ! WILL

TIME MAKE MAN MORE WISE? WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW.

THE QUESTION CAUGHT US OFF GUARD AND SO GRABBED

OUR ATTENTION.

THAT ATTENTION WAS THEN EXPOSED TO THE MOST

MIND-BLOWING GUITAR SOLO ANYONE HAD EVER HEARD.

FILLED WITH DISTORTION AND FEEDBACK JEFF BECK REELED

OFF A MODAL SCALE OF NOTES SO UNIQUE AND PERFECT

-ALL YOU COULD DO WAS SAY WOW ! AND WAIT FOR THE

NEXT TIME IT GOT PLAYED.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-19T13:29:00.000-08:00

17."LADY STARDUST"-DAVID BOWIE

"IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A GREAT ALBUM YOU'VE GOT TO SIT DOWN
AND REALLY WORK AT WRITING SOME GREAT SONGS"-SO SAID
DAVID BOWIE AFTER RELEASING HIS MAGNUM OPUS "ZIGGY STARDUST"*.
AT TIMES IN THE ALBUM BOWIE SPEAKS FOR THE FICTICOUS CHARACTOR
"ZIGGY" BUT AT OTHERS HE ALSO SPEAKS FOR ZIGGY'S EXTREMLY-
PASSIONATE FANS ".......OHHH HOW I SIGHED,WHEN THEY ASKED IF I KNEW
HIS NAME" BOWIE SINGS AFTER-"THE BOY IN THE BRIGHT BLUE JEANS,
JUMPED UP ON THE STAGE !".HE SEE'S AND DESCRIBES THE ANDROGYNOUS
ROCK SUPERSTAR FROM EVERY ANGLE-WITH COMPOSITIONS SO
BRILLIANT THAT THEY DEFY THE CONVENTIONS OF WHAT IS USUALLY
POSSIBLE IN A THREE MINUTE POP SONG."LADY STARDUST" IS AN
EXSTENSION OF THOSE BOUNDRIES AND IT SHOWED THE WAY TO
POSSIBILITY'S IN ROCK MUSIC THAT NO ONE PREVIOUSLY HAD THOUGHT
OF.

*The full title of the album is "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
and the Spiders from Mars".

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

16. "KANSAS CITY/HEY,HEY,HEY,HEY-THE BEATLES

THIS IS PROBABLY THE CLOSEST THING IN THE BEATLES SONG CATOLOG
TO WHAT IT WOULD HAVE SOUNDED LIKE TO HEAR THE BEATLES
IN HAMBURG,GERMANY AT THE STAR CLUB OR IN LIVERPOOL AT
"THE CAVERN".SOMEWHERE BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAY'S THE
BEATLE'S CAME UP WITH THIS MEDLEY OF LIEBER/STOLLER'S
"KANSAS CITY" AND LITTLE RICHARDS "HEY,HEY,HEY,HEY".THEY
PLAYED IT OFTEN AND IT WAS A CROWD FAVORITE.IT WAS ALSO
ONE OF THE LAST COVER SONGS THE BEATLES RECORDED APPEARING
ON THIER THIRD ALBUM "BEATLES FOR SALE".WITH McCARTNEY
LEADING THE VOCAL CHARGE AND THE BAND ROCKING HARD
BEHIND HIM-LEADING INTO ONE OF GEORGE'S BEST EARLY GUITAR
SOLO'S AND FINALLY SEGUING INTO THE LITTLE RICHARD SONG
WITH IT'S CALL AND RESPONSE VOCAL ALTERNATIONS IT'S JUST
A LITTLE OVER 2 MINUTES OF SOME OF THE BEST STRAIGHT AHEAD
ROCK N' ROLL OF ALL TIME.

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-COPYRIGHT-2008-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE GREATIST RECORDINGS OF ALL TIME

2008-12-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

15. "BANG A GONG"-T-REX

IN MUSIC,LITERATURE,ART OR FILM VERY FEW PEOPLE CREATE A
COMPLETELY NEW GENRE.EDGAR ALLEN POE DID IT WHEN HE BECAME THE
FIRST HORROR WRITER AND MARC BOLAN{AKA-T-REX} DID IT WHEN HE
INVENTED GLAM ROCK.THOU THE GLAM ROCK PERIOD DID NOT LAST
LONG;THE EFFECTS OF IT SEEMED TO PERMANTLY CHANGE ROCK MUSIC.
IT SPAWNED A PLETHORA OF GREAT ARTISTS FROM "DAVID BOWIE" TO
"MOTT THE HOOPLE"-AS WELL AS ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WHO TOOK ON
IT'S PERSONA AND THRIVED SUCH AS LOU REED,ELTON JOHN,IGGY POP
[OF THE STOOGE'S} AND DAVID ESSEX.
ALL OF THE HAIRBANDS OF THE EIGHTIES OWE THIER ORIGINS TO
BOLAN YET NONE HAD THE GENUIS THAT BOLAN,BOWIE AND IAN
HUNTER OF MOTT THE HOOPLE POSSESSED.
IT'S HARD TO CONCIEVE OF HOW THE FORMER FOLKIE BOLAN MADE
THE "WILD MUTATION"* TO GLAM ROCK STAR KING-BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT
ABOUT IT.HE WAS THE ORIGINAL INNOVATER OF GLAM ROCK AND EVERY
ONE ELSE JUST FOLLOWED.

*David Bowie-"Rock n' Roll Star"-Ziggy Stardust

WRITTEN BY PETE HOLLY-2008-COPYRIGHT
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED