Top ten (or twenty) lists 2019

            So, I started writing some political posts but got bogged down. Too much to say, I think, and not enough time. Oh, well. It's been a long time since I did top ten lists.

           Top 20 best solo female vocal recordings by the original songstress or sometimes the best version.

1.               I will always love you by Whitney Houston.

2.               Somewhere over the Rainbow by Judy Garland.

3.               Der Hölle Rache by Diana Damrau (maybe Mozart’s sister-in-law did it better. I doubt it)

4.               The Star Spangled Banner by Whitney Houston. (Been covered a zillion times but this is not only a great version of the national anthem, it’s one of the greatest performances ever recorded).

5.               Ave Maria by Barbara Bonney (obviously, many covers, but this is the best in probably most people’s opinion).

6.               La Vie en Rose by Édith Piaf.

7.               The Rose by Bette Midler (first recording, but first written and sung by Amanda McBroom; like many great songs, took McBroom almost no time to write).

8.               At Last by Etta James.

9.               Danny Boy by Kate Smith (again, obviously, many recordings, but hers still does it for me).

10.            MacArthur Park by Donna Summers.

11.            I am Woman by Helen Reddy.

12.            Memories by Barbra Streisand (best version, the original was from Cats).

13.            Beauty and the Beast by Angela Lansbury.

14.            Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion.

15.            Into the West by Annie Lennox  (from the Return of the King; sung during credits and too unknown).

16.            Defying Gravity (from Wicked, most famously by Idina Menzel, but I prefer Kerry Ellis’s rock.version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ_9kun4OQo.

17.            Desperado by Linda Ronstadt (obviously, a cover of the Eagle’s song).

18.            Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Diana Ross.

19.            Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton (who was kind of famous once).

20.            All I Want from Christmas is You by Mariah Carey. (She has to be on the list and this is actually her best song, even if so played to death, it is no longer my favorite Xmas tune).

I have to say, I have a beautiful tune in my head for months now by a woman, very uplifting, but I can’t place it or make out the words. I want to say it is a Celine song, but I really don’t know. Oh, well. Someday I’ll hear it on the radio and amend my list.

Top ten best NFL players as the 2019-2020 season starts

1.               Patrick Mahomes (because he deserves it; even if he lost the 2 biggest games of the season; not his fault).

2.               Darius Leonard (still not renowned enough – unreal rookie season).

3.               Aaron Donald (not the best, but right there).

4.               Khalil Mack (as good as Donald; but Donald had more help).

5.               Michael Thomas (come on; what a season).

6.               Drew Brees (about time he gets his due).

7.               Saquon Barkley (what he did behind the Giants’s lack of a line was remarkable; all the other top backs had great lines).

8.               Christian McCaffrey (also, phenomenal).

9.               Todd Gurley (Imagine if he wasn’t so often hurt, but . . . it’s the NFL, injuries have to be factored in).

10.            J.J. Watt (I still think he could be with Taylor as the best ever, but needs to fully recover to top form and might never).

Top ten British fiction writers 20^th century

1.               J. R. R. Tolkien. (Not only the best seller, but the best; don’t make me do another post on him).

2.               Arthur Conan Doyle. (I know, you are thinking 19^th century, but a lot of them were written in the 20^th century).

3.               John Fowles. (If you haven’t read him, you should. My favorites – The Magus, The Collector and Maggot).  

4.               George MacDonald Frasier. (I can’t say enough about the remarkable Flashman series; among other great works by him).

5.               George Orwell. (Obviously).

6.               J.M. Barrie. (Although wrote in the 19^th too, the Pan books/plays were all 20^th century).

7.               John Mortimer. (For the hysterical Rumpole series).

8.               Ian Fleming. (Bond is one of the most influential characters ever).

9.               Agatha Christie. (Although I preferred Poirot to her other creations, she deserves it for the oeuvre.

10.            PG Wodehouse. (You know, Jeeves and Bertie Wooster; read some if you haven’t).

Runner up: Helen MacInnes. (I’m sure some would scream – you left off Wolff, Byatt, Lessing, Mantel, C.S. Lewis, Murdoch, Hornby and others for her? Yeah, I did. Love her spy novels and don’t love their books).

Top ten composers of serious music

1.               Bach

2.               Beethoven

3.               Wagner

4.               Tchaikovsky

5.               Mozart

6.               Rimsky-Korsakov

7.               Vivaldi

8.               Mendelssohn

9.               Paganini

10.            Borodin

Runner up: Ravel, Mussorgsky.

Notes: Look, you numbskulls, these lists are very subjective, but people still get upset over them. I do. I would here if someone put on, say, Vaughn Williams (who wasn’t bad, either) and left off Bach. People will deal with Bach being first and Beethoven second, but, putting Mozart fifth will drive some people crazy (you know, the millions reading this). But, as brilliant as he was (some put him first), I feel so much of his music sounds too similar, that I put him a few places lower. Hate me. I love Wagner. I know some just don’t like him because he wrote about his anti-Semitism (others composers were also anti-Semitic) and inspired Hitler, who he never knew. Mendelssohn has, along with Wagner’s Forest Murmurs, my favorite piece – Violin Concerto in E Minor. I love almost everything Tchaikovsky wrote, except some of his opera music, but I hate almost all Russian opera music except for the best overtures or suites they later come up with. Tchaikovsky’s contemporaries Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin also wrote some tremendous music. If Borodin had made composing his life work like RK and Mussorgsky did, it is hard to imagine how good he’d have been. RK’s Christmas Eve and Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia are two of my favorites. Paganini, well, I admire his virtuosity, if not his melodies. And Vivaldi, I don’t think I need to press on anyone who likes this type of music.

Though I like some of their works, I’m just not a huge Handel, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Debussy, Stravinsky, etc., fan. Sorry.

  Top ten super heroes

1.               Superman (The classic hero; although, I hate all efforts to make him edgier or even evil).

2.               Batman (Believe it or not, despite all the movies, Adam West is still Batman to me).

3.               Spider-Man (I find I’ve quoted bits from Spider-Man way too often for a grown-up).

4.               Dr. Fate (And older and I thought wonderful super hero).

5.               Thor (I liked the comic book version, before they started messing with him).

6.               Wonder Woman (The only woman to make my list, I did not like much the recent movie; it could easily have been so much better). My second favorite female super-hero was Black Canary.

7.               Daredevil (In the ‘60s he was a big favorite of mine).

8.               Black Panther (I also liked the old comic book version of him, not really the movie version).

9.               Martian Manhunter (There was a time I liked this Superman-plus character more than the Kryptonian - he could turn invisible, see-through lead and change shapes, but was as strong and as fast as Superman; I was not real happy with what the tv show, Supergirl, did with him).

10.            Mon-El (Another Superman clone. I just liked his version. I think I liked his suit and the color of his hair. Sue me. The tv Supergirl version of him also does nothing for me).

Talk about subjective.

Top ten Eastwood movies (have I done this one before? I’m sure I’ve changed over the years)

1.               The Outlaw Josey Wales. (One of the greatest movies ever made, IMHO).

2.               The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. (Also. . . ).

3.               Where Eagle’s Dare. (Loved his supporting role as an OSS assassin).

4.               Pale Rider. (A later Western, based on High Plains Drifter, I preferred it – and yes, Eastwood said he was a ghost [although, apparently, one who could have sex]).

5.               Every Which Way but Loose. (A really fun comedy co-starring some Eastwood regulars and an orangutan).

6.               Tight Rope. (New Orleans based serial killer/cop drama. Edgy, suspenseful).

7.               A Perfect World. (Starring Kevin Costner as a violent psychopath you have trouble not liking and Clint as the hero).

8.               In the Line of Fire. (Clint’s take on a secret service old-timer. Brilliant performance by John Malkovich and very good ones by Clint and Rene Russo).

9.               Absolute Power. (Clint, a jewel thief, witnesses the president abuse a woman who stabs him and then gets shot by the Secret Service agents who rush in to save him. Gene Hackman and other great performances).

10.            High Plains Drifter. (Okay, so I thought Pale Rider superior. I still loved this one).

I was not as big a fan of the Dirty Harry movies, though I like almost everything he’s done as an actor, producer or director. He deserves a lifetime achievement award. Then again, as the Oscars becomes more political and has less credibility than ever, who cares?

Top ten painters

1.               Caravaggio (What great realism. I felt he was a great step forward. And what a short but fantastic life; I look for him in every city I go to that I think I might find a painting; but there are a few in New York).

2.               Peter Bruegel the Elder (I love so many of his paintings; but Hunters in the Snow is easily my favorite).

3.               El Greco (His eerie elongated figures are astonishing and grab me; I’ve seen many of them in Toledo, Spain, not to mention some in New York).

4.               Hieronymus Bosch. (Nowadays, it is the name of the lead character in a detective series in print and on tv. But, he was a great early painter, with a wicked and religious imagination.

5.               Michelangelo (better known as a sculptor; his David is in many people’s view, the greatest piece of art ever created by a known person. But, his Sacred Family, in the Ufizzi Gallery, the only oil painting we know of by him, remains one of my favorite paintings).

6.               Tintoretto. (I have been an admirer for decades after reading an old essay about him by Sartre; only recently, the art world got on board with him and they are sending his work on tour now. Also known as Jacopo Robusti, after his father’s nickname, his actual last name appears to be Cuman, similar to the seasoning – just recently discovered). I like his Last Supper and Last Judgment better than the more famous versions by other artists.

7.               Van Gogh (I never got him; then, one day, I got him, like a bolt of lightning. I’ve looked at every painting he ever painted, I think).

8.               Franz Hals (Look, I like him better than Rembrandt. What can I tell you? The character in the faces his subjects are amazing). Joann Vermeer was arguably greater than either and would easily make my top 15.

9.               Andrea Mantegna (Not well known in modern times, I thought he had incredible technique, was related to marriage to the Bellini family, one of whom, Jacopo, also makes my top ten.

10.            Jacopo Bellini (And here he is).

Top ten best vice presidential names

1.               Alben Barkley (under Truman; just sounds like he would be a veep; in fact, “veep” originated with him)

2.               Schuyler Colfax (under Grant; he didn’t work out so good)

3.               Willard Fillmore (under Zack Taylor; became president when Taylor died. Sounds like a 19^th century porn star’s pseudonym).

4.               Richard Johnson aka Dick Johnson. (under Van Buren; sounds like a 20^th century porn star’s pseudonym).

5.               Daniel D. Tompkins (under Monroe; his name was featured in my favorite movie, Miracle on 34th Street, but the writers screwed up who he was vp for – it was under Monroe, not John Q. Adams).

6.               William A. Wheeler (under Hayes; I just like the flow of Wheeler’s name).

7.               Thomas Hendricks (under Benj. Harrison; I just like it because it is the same as an old-time ball-player.

8.               Teddy Roosevelt (under McKinley; you might have heard of him; but a great old Dutch name almost rendered common sounding by his and his younger relative’s fame).

9.               Hubert Horatio Humphrey (under LBJ; now there’s a silly Dr. Seuss-like name).

10.            Spiro Agnew (under Nixon; resigned in disgrace before Nixon resigned in disgrace. Good Greek name, but weird for an American pol at the time).