11
Oct
a bridge where there is no river
posted at 11:49 pm by brandon in somethin' simple like the truth“Pro is the opposite of con; therefore, progress is the opposite of Congress”
— from the Austin Chronicle’s trivia-based Mr. Smarty Pants Knows column, which last week made a rare lunge toward sarcastic sagacity.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Hey there Mr. Buzz! Admittedly I haven’t been reading the Buzz as assiduously lately as I should, so it is a bit annoying for me to be having the nerve to suggest a post, but, call me crazy, I’m gonna do it anyway and once more off topic! 😉 A while back I heard about a book, and I recently heard about it again on a podcast of NPR: All Songs Considered (that I as of yet have not listened to). The book, by author Tom Moon, is titled ‘1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener’s Life List.’ As I understand it, it’s not solely about songs, and is literally a listing of specific recordings of specific things (including songs among other things). I was just curious if you had any thoughts on the matter. Well, that’s not quite accurate. Hearing about it made me think of the Buzz, and I was confident you’d have thoughts on the matter, and was curious what they might be. Cheers!
October 15th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
It’s ok, sir, because I haven’t been writing the Buzz with proper diligence lately, either. Let’s each pledge to do better.
The book sounds very interesting, but all such lists are painfully subjective, and wholly dependent on the (often-questionable) tastes of the compilers. (Witness, if you will, that atrocious, offensive compendium which Rolling Stone assembled a couple of years ago called “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” a hideous list in which the Beach Boys had something like ten entries, while Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Tori Amos, James Taylor, and Leonard Cohen — aces all — could barely amass a combined five!)
Every December, I put together a huge countdown of the year’s best music and give it to my best friend’s two sons for Christmas, so I certainly recognize the temptation to participate in endeavors like this. (And this year, I’m pleased as hell to have this new forum in which to branch out!) However, it’s been years since I sat down to figure out my all-time favorite songs (not sure I’d even know where to start such an overwhelming undertaking!), even though it would almost certainly make a fascinating series of posts. You’ve certainly got me thinking, Mike. 🙂