Hmmm, that's a tough question. If you're looking for more "literary" science fiction (that is, SF written by mainstream authors), I'd go for Brave New World, which isn't quite as good as 1984, but still a thought-provoking read. Also, I'd recommend something by the father of SF, H.G. Wells, just to see where a lot of SF ideas came from.
For genre science fiction, I'd probably say Ender's Game is a good place to start. It's very readable, and Card has a better grasp of human emotions than most SF writers. Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash is another good one, although not everyone I've talked liked its frenetic style.
It's funny, I too tried two times to read The Road and gave up about twenty pages in both times. Then, a few years later, I got it on CD and listened to it on a long road trip. And, by god, it actually worked; the person reading it was great. So, yeah, if you're into books-on-CD, I'd recommend that.
"Roadside Picnic" has been on my to-read list for a while, but I've just never gotten around to it. That should change soon!
I probably will end up liking it, since it was (apparently loosely) adapted into one of my all time favorite movies, Tarkovsky's "Stalker."
Yes, Perotin is awesome. He's my favorite of the medieval composers, although to be honest I haven't heard all that much from that period.
Just curious, what recording(s) do you have of Perotin? I have the Hilliard Ensemble CD, which is great, but I'm always on the look out for other good versions of his stuff.
I like this idea for a list; some great choices, especially Brian Eno and Phil Spector. I'd also recommend Conny Plank (produced important stuff by Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, and Ash Ra Temple), Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Adrian Sherwood, who produced experimental British dub music from the 80s, and probably is the best example of the producer-as-musician (especially Mark Stewart's album "Learning to Cope with Cowardice")
I hadn't heard that Marc Ribot piece that you linked; pretty good stuff. I'd strongly recommend some jazz guitarists like Bill Frisell and Sonny Sharrock.
For rock, I gotta put in a word for Robert Fripp. It's kinda hard to find a "most outstanding performance" for him, though, since he has such a diverse discography. Off the top of my head, I'd recommend the songs Baby's on Fire (Brian Eno song), Evening Star (Fripp/Eno), or Sheltering Sky (King Crimson). I'd also recommend Munehiro Narita from the Japanese band High Rise (he essentially plays the same guitar solo on every song, but it's a damn good solo), Doug Marsch from Built to Spill, and Jeff Beck (maybe his outstanding performance is Since We Ended as Lovers).
One more thing, what do you think of the Hendrix song Machine Gun, from the Band of Gypsys album? For me, it's by far his most definitive performance. About 4:36 into this video is just about the best guitar solo ever.
Awesome list. There's a ton of stuff here that would make my own list, especially all those JRPGs.
Have you played Planescape Torment before? It probably has the best plot of any game I've played.
Here's some more suggestions:
Cinematography: Ran, the Conformist, the Searchers, the New World, probably something by Zhang Yimou (Red Sorghum, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, etc.)
Art Direction: Ivan the Terrible, Murnau's Faust, Wizard of Oz, something by Josef Sternberg (like Scarlet Empress), the Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover, Last Year at Marienbad...
Best Screenplay: The Third Man, Lone Star, Groundhog Day (it's actually pretty ingenious), Yi Yi, the Godfather part II, Paris Texas, Pulp Fiction...
Editing: Requiem for a Dream, Pulp Fiction, Point Blank, maybe one of Tsui Hark's Hong Kong action flicks, like Time and Tide...
Yes, I've been known to resurrect myself every now and then.
Anthony Davis is the shit, ranking with Carla Bley and Mingus as one of my favorite jazz composers. Sadly most of his stuff appears to be out of print, though. Variations in Dreamtime is pretty good too, and narrowly missed out from making the list.
Great list. For the classical section, what do you think of Brahms, Debussy, or Ives?
For jazz, there's Duke Ellington to consider. A newer composer I'd recommend would be Anthony Davis, if you can track down his stuff.
I thought it was an interesting document of the Spanish Civil War (probably not the best source of historical information, though), but as a whole it wasn't the best thing by Orwell I've read. I enjoyed the droll style and down in the trenches POV, but like you said, it's a little inconsistent. The chapters detailing the war's political history seemed a little out of place.
I'd recommend reading The Secret Agent. Not Conrad's best (it probably would've been better as a short story), but relevant to today.
This is awesome. I've been looking for a list like this for a long time. Now I have some music to track down.
Hmmm, that's a tough question. If you're looking for more "literary" science fiction (that is, SF written by mainstream authors), I'd go for Brave New World, which isn't quite as good as 1984, but still a thought-provoking read. Also, I'd recommend something by the father of SF, H.G. Wells, just to see where a lot of SF ideas came from.
For genre science fiction, I'd probably say Ender's Game is a good place to start. It's very readable, and Card has a better grasp of human emotions than most SF writers. Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash is another good one, although not everyone I've talked liked its frenetic style.
It's funny, I too tried two times to read The Road and gave up about twenty pages in both times. Then, a few years later, I got it on CD and listened to it on a long road trip. And, by god, it actually worked; the person reading it was great. So, yeah, if you're into books-on-CD, I'd recommend that.
"Roadside Picnic" has been on my to-read list for a while, but I've just never gotten around to it. That should change soon!
I probably will end up liking it, since it was (apparently loosely) adapted into one of my all time favorite movies, Tarkovsky's "Stalker."
Thanks for the recommendations, I shall track me down some Guillaume De Machaut.
Yes, Perotin is awesome. He's my favorite of the medieval composers, although to be honest I haven't heard all that much from that period.
Just curious, what recording(s) do you have of Perotin? I have the Hilliard Ensemble CD, which is great, but I'm always on the look out for other good versions of his stuff.
I like this idea for a list; some great choices, especially Brian Eno and Phil Spector. I'd also recommend Conny Plank (produced important stuff by Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, and Ash Ra Temple), Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Adrian Sherwood, who produced experimental British dub music from the 80s, and probably is the best example of the producer-as-musician (especially Mark Stewart's album "Learning to Cope with Cowardice")
I hadn't heard that Marc Ribot piece that you linked; pretty good stuff. I'd strongly recommend some jazz guitarists like Bill Frisell and Sonny Sharrock.
For rock, I gotta put in a word for Robert Fripp. It's kinda hard to find a "most outstanding performance" for him, though, since he has such a diverse discography. Off the top of my head, I'd recommend the songs Baby's on Fire (Brian Eno song), Evening Star (Fripp/Eno), or Sheltering Sky (King Crimson). I'd also recommend Munehiro Narita from the Japanese band High Rise (he essentially plays the same guitar solo on every song, but it's a damn good solo), Doug Marsch from Built to Spill, and Jeff Beck (maybe his outstanding performance is Since We Ended as Lovers).
One more thing, what do you think of the Hendrix song Machine Gun, from the Band of Gypsys album? For me, it's by far his most definitive performance. About 4:36 into this video is just about the best guitar solo ever.
Awesome list. There's a ton of stuff here that would make my own list, especially all those JRPGs.
Have you played Planescape Torment before? It probably has the best plot of any game I've played.
Have you thought about adding a category for best soundtrack/best use of music?
Here's some more suggestions:
Cinematography: Ran, the Conformist, the Searchers, the New World, probably something by Zhang Yimou (Red Sorghum, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, etc.)
Art Direction: Ivan the Terrible, Murnau's Faust, Wizard of Oz, something by Josef Sternberg (like Scarlet Empress), the Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover, Last Year at Marienbad...
Best Screenplay: The Third Man, Lone Star, Groundhog Day (it's actually pretty ingenious), Yi Yi, the Godfather part II, Paris Texas, Pulp Fiction...
Editing: Requiem for a Dream, Pulp Fiction, Point Blank, maybe one of Tsui Hark's Hong Kong action flicks, like Time and Tide...
Terrible list...
Yes, I've been known to resurrect myself every now and then.
Anthony Davis is the shit, ranking with Carla Bley and Mingus as one of my favorite jazz composers. Sadly most of his stuff appears to be out of print, though. Variations in Dreamtime is pretty good too, and narrowly missed out from making the list.
Where would Einstein place on your list?
Great list. For the classical section, what do you think of Brahms, Debussy, or Ives?
For jazz, there's Duke Ellington to consider. A newer composer I'd recommend would be Anthony Davis, if you can track down his stuff.
I thought it was an interesting document of the Spanish Civil War (probably not the best source of historical information, though), but as a whole it wasn't the best thing by Orwell I've read. I enjoyed the droll style and down in the trenches POV, but like you said, it's a little inconsistent. The chapters detailing the war's political history seemed a little out of place.
I'd recommend reading The Secret Agent. Not Conrad's best (it probably would've been better as a short story), but relevant to today.