Heroes
Submitted by Elston on Thu, 06/11/2009 - 17:46
Tags:
- Stanley Kubrick
- Friedrick Nietzsche
- Carl Jung
- Sigmund Freud
- Noam Chomsky
- Piero Scaruffi
- Camille Paglia
- Bob Dylan
- Jesus
- Lenny Bruce
- T.S. Eliot
Author Comments:
These are my favourite people who ever walked the earth. I would very much like to add a writer, a painter, a scientist, a poet & more but I don't know enough about those things yet. Let me know what you think and/or people I should check out.
Cloned From:
Poet: T.S. Elliot...I don't think I'll ever read anyone that can touch him...one of the very greatest artists of all times in any and all art forms...
Excellent. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll order his collected works from the library. I know very little about poetry, but I did in fact read the Waste Land a few weeks ago and thought it was good. I usually have to read a poem over a few times before it really sinks in, but obviously if I read more I'll get it faster.
The Wasteland is perhaps the greatest work of poetry ever created (imo), and may take you numerous reads (and some dictionaries) to scratch its' surface. Like Trout Mask Replica or Mahler's 9th, the depth (in this case literary depth) of it is staggering, endlessly fascinating.
The amazing thing is Elliot has multiple other masterpieces. The Four Quartets, for instance, is a bit more accessible but a total masterwork.
Good stuff. I always heard he was one of the best. I'm getting the feeling that he may be exceptionally profound and because of that, I wonder, do you know any poets who are a lot more 'accessible'. Accessible but brilliant of course, something akin to The Doors or Geek the Girl or The Good Son in terms of how challenging it is? I don't want to discourage myself if I fail to understand the Trout Mask Replica of poetry.
Okay, so I picked up Eliot's collected works yesterday and spent the better part of last night reading him. All I can say is the man is an undeniable genius and your suggestion could not have been more timely. I'm officially in love with poetry. I even made a voice recording of the first entry of his Four Quartets - Burnt Norton. So if anyone wants to check out some Eliot and/or hear what my voice sounds like, have a gander. Thanks again for the suggestion mate. I read a bit of The Waste Land, but that one is pretty nutty and I'm going to leave it for now. Hopefully the rest of Four Quartets is as good as Burnt Norton.
That is great. Though he didn't write as much as others, I've never read anything by him that wasn't amazing, so anything you check out should be well worth it. Most of his stuff is relatively inaccessible compared to other famous poets so I don't know what to recommend from your origination above. Robert Frost?
Robert Frost. Haha. Screw that. I think I was underestimating my ability to appreciate a new art form. I loved (!!!) the Four Quartets. Passages from it ring in my mind almost every day. It's meditations on time and timelessness, of consciousness and eternity reminded me of 2001: a Space Odyssey. The stream of conscious memories reminded me of the Mirror. It was nothing short of a religious experience. It was like reading the Bible for the first time. Unfortunately I had to send the book back to the library. I read The Waste Land over a few times and really enjoyed it, but I didn't give myself enough time to get into it. I'm glad he didn't write too many poems, because the work he made takes years to assemble. And please, any more poetry recommendations would be highly appreciated.
James Joyce is one of my heroes. An amazing writer; Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & Finnegans Wake are some of the greatest works of art ever created.
Any of the great classical composers? Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Schubert...
Also, and this is just my personal preference, I believe Bill Hicks was one of the greatest human beings to of ever lived. Most certainly, the greatest comedian.
I've read a bit of Portrait of the Artist and enjoyed it, never made it all the way through. I've heard he's a genius though, especially those other two you mentioned. I might just make Portrait my next book after I'm done with 120 Days of Sodom (masterpiece of Biblical proportions)
I know next to nothing about Classical. I'm still exploring the history of Rock and just begining to explore Jazz (and loving it!) and then eventually make my way to Classical. Right now if I had to pick a classical master, it'd be Beethoven hands down. I love his 9th and 7th immensely. Other than that I like Repons by Boulez & Mahler's 9th.
Good call on Bill Hicks! Actually, not too long ago (before Bruce) he was definitely one of my heroes. I'd put him #2 as greatest comedians. He is easily one of the most well-rounded comedians ever. He's crudely hilarious, relevantly political, poignantly spiritual... he's a total genius. Since you like Hicks I have to recommend Bruce's work, namely The Lenny Bruce Originals Vol. 1
Have to endorse Hicks myself! Play from your f-in HEAAAAAAART!
"If you don't believe drugs have done good things for us, then go home and burn all your records, all your tapes, and all your CDs because every one of those artists who has made the brilliant music that has enhanced your lives throughout the years? RrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrEAL fucking high on drugs. The Beatles were so fucking high they let Ringo sing a few songs."
"We gotta come to some new ideas about life folks ok? I'm not being blase about abortion, it might be a real issue, it might not, doesn't matter to me. What matters is that if you believe in the sanctity of life then you believe it for life of all ages. That's what I hate about this child-worship syndrome going on. "Save the children! They're killing children! How many children were at Waco? They're killing children!" What does that mean? They reach a certain age and they're off your fucking love-list? Fuck your children, if that's the way you think then fuck you too. You either love all people of all ages or you shut the fuck up."
I love how Hicks makes such brilliant observations yet expresses them like a little child with a be-shitted ass kicking his limbs and screaming his head off
Well, he is Goatboy, after all.
James, you read all of Finnegans Wake? How did you find the time and/or energy? Some say it's the TMR of writing, I personally think only Joyce truly understands it and other even trying to will probably miss the point. Ulysses is hard enough to decipher, though that said, it's second only to Hamlet in my opinion as the greatest literary work of all time. What are some of your other favourite books?
It's taken me a few years. I can't read too much of it in one go, I have to read it in quick, sharp bursts. Some of my other favorite books? I've never really pinned down my favorites. Off the top of my head: 1984, The Metamorphosis, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, The Golden Bowl, The Lord Of The Rings...and my childhood favorite which still tickles my pleasure bone; The Amber Spyglass.
Camille Paglia replaces Chomsky and becomes, shock, the first female hero!
She has a nice review of a biography of Zappa. Also, got something interesting out of that article. She writes that Zappa "was attracted early on to doo-wop, particularly as performed by Mexican-American bands, whose flashy 'pachuco' (juvenile delinquent) style he adopted." This adds new meaning to Beefheart's "Pachuco Cadaver" -- now I have to listen for the doo-wop influences in that wonderful gem.
Hehe, it's pretty surprising to see her writing about Zappa. She has good tastes. I added her primarily because of her book Sexual Personae. And I'm going to read another of her books in the coming weeks, so hopefully it's as good. She's hilarious to watch on television as well (starts at 22:55).
My, oh my, does she have a high opinion of herself: "I've won that argument years ago, don't want to discuss it anymore." But she's the ideal provocateur, sparking fascinating discussion by challenging core beliefs. She gives a good name to radicalism -- which is challenging the root ideas of politics or policies, not being some misguided and loony "activist". Charlie Rose actually seems offended! Her take on the Clarence Thomas scandal was hilarious.
Not sure if I agree with her about Madonna's artistic talent.
She had a great point about stand-up comedians communicating her theories. She must have had Carlin on her mind for his observation that most weaponry is shaped like dicks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjRQwvnjpPw
Good stuff! I should check out her book.
Yea, she's very arrogant in person which is strange for a woman and can be annoying at times. Here's a better video where she talks about some of her ideas relating to culture, academe etc. Sexual Personae is a major work. I only read the first chapter and had little desire to go on (it's mostly a study of art over the past 5 thousand years). But what I read blew the socks off me. I'd also highly recommend Vamps and Tramps & Sex, Art & Culture, both of which I'm reading now. They're a lot more accessible. Basically a collection of newspaper/magazine articles she's written. I agree with you about Madonna's artistic talent. Paglia is really into pop culture though. She loves soap operas & music videos, if that puts things into perspective. But in that regard, she is really in touch with the common folk, unlike most intellectuals. I heard Madonna's Like a Prayer in the coffee store today, and it is pretty brilliant. She seems to be giving a guy a blow job and describing it as an intensely spiritual experience, hehe. By the way, that Dave Thomas clip you posted. HA! Thank you for that.
Wow, never realized how funny or insightful George Carlin is. Might have to dip into one of his comedy albums. He might just be giving Bruce and Hicks a run for their money.
Absolutely. By all means get into Carlin. He's probably among the top 3 best comedians of all time. A genius. He never stopped writing original material, and it was always relevant and brilliant. In fact, his final works were tremendously courageous in staying true to his personal philosophy: an uncanny mixture of atheism, cynicism, even nihilism (he looked forward to natural disasters and wished he could see humanity end), but always a genuine humanism. He leaned lefty but he had a right amount of skepticism so he let both sides have it (incidentally, he did not participate in elections because he did not believe in freedom of choice in America).
I enjoy his sociopolitical commentary the most but he's also wonderful for his analysis of language, especially his classic bit on euphemisms. I would recommend the following albums in this order:
1. Jammin' in New York
2. Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics
3. Back in Town
4. You Are All Diseased
5. Life Is Worth Losing
6. What Am I Doing in New Jersey?
Most of these are HBO specials and you can catch most of them on YouTube (recommended, as seeing Carlin deliver the lines is even better!)
I didn't know Zappa was so 'disconnected' from his own family (that he "didn't do love"). I wonder if that's true.
Who knows? It definitely seems like it was his way or the highway, though.
Oh, in case you haven't seen this truly delicious video, here's Zappa against a family values moron on Crossfire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ISil7IHzxc It's filled with priceless moments.
What are Lenny Bruce's good albums?
The only good album I've heard of his is Lenny Bruce Originals Vol. 1, the rest are pretty useless imo. It's an album he cut in the 1950's. There's also a great performance of him on Youtube. By the way, I listened to Jammin' in New York and enjoyed it, particularly his bit on the unnecessary complexities used in language (his example was about air travel). Really good stuff. Although, I found him to be a little dry in the end. He's almost a little too cynical for my tastes. He complained a lot and never offered any glimpse of hope for mankind (unlike say Hicks who incorporates spirituality).
You mean his last bit on the Planet is Fine? That's one of my favorite Carlin routines, much better than his There is No God routine. As he says in another show about abortion and when life starts: "I say life started millions of years ago, and it just keeps going and going." Such a wise view (though undoubtedly humbling for most humans to really comprehend). So when he talks about the planet being fine, he's reminding us to be a little more in awe of nature and the cosmos: how much we depend on it and not the other way around. We are part of this ineffably huge and mysterious thing. I find that to be a wonderful sermon. It's actually kind of similar to Hicks's "it's a ride" speech. We just need to remember that we're all thrown into this thing and we should enjoy it the best we can because we have very little control of it.
Scaruffi was only a matter of time...
Naturally. I think at first the vicious snarling snob voices in my head prevented me from adding him amongst the likes of Nietzsche & Freud though in all fairness, I’ve spent a lot more time on his website than reading Beyond Good and Evil or the Psychopathology of Everyday Life. I think Scaruffi has uncovered a rather remarkable rating system that runs on opposing assumptions: there are no perfect works of art but one day there may be one. I see it as this bizarre game, “I’m going to listen as intently as possible to this record and try to uncover all it’s treasures, but if I come to like it a lot I will surely remain detached and imagine how it could be better.” To be frank, I don’t think there ever will be a 10 in the Scaruffi sense, I just don’t think it’s possible. His rating system doesn’t allow it, even though that’s the whole point of his rating system (to find that perfect 10). Oh duality, oh paradox, oh hypocrisy! The man has such exquisite taste and his site is well organized. I love his page on Classical too, though I wish it was as organized as his Rock. Even though I rarely read them, his album reviews/artist biographies are very well written. I just like using him to discover new artists, which he has provided a hundred fold. Long live Scaruffi!
By the way, if anyone has any new pictures of Scaruffi hiking in shorts or swimming, please email them to me (ericbalch@gmail.com). New as in 2006 or later. The photo tribute site is coming along well. We all know how great his mind is, now let's celebrate his body!
Youstol Dispage
So I added T.S. Eliot, very high up there too, even though I only heard of him a few months ago. The main reason is because of the 4 Quartets, which is quite easily the greatest piece of writing I've ever read. It might seem silly to add him so high for just one poem, but I am constantly thinking about this poem or reciting parts that sound good (which is basically the whole thing). I read (some of the) Cocktail Party and thought it was great,
the book about cats was hilarious & the Waste Land is pretty cool but is still very mysterious to me. I don't have that one figured out yet but I feel like I'm coming along with it. Anyways, Eliot is a pimp. A hardcore gangsta. I tried reading Dylan Thomas and Yeats and didn't really connect with either of those guys. Any recommendations of what's good from them would be appreciated (or other good poets).
Can't believe I took Chomsky off. I completely forgot how he is pretty much the only political thinker who interests me. Could watch this guy on YouTube until the cows come home for some lovin'.