Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Happy Birthday, Van Morrison

My top 5 favorite Van Morrison songs; 5) "Tore Down a la Rimbaud"...... 4) "Astral Weeks"...... 3) "Into the Mystic"...... 2) "Rough God Goes Riding"...... 1) "Aryan Mist"

40 comments:

John Myste said...

In the keeping with the theme, I will now list my favorite Van Morrison songs:

dmarks said...

I mainly think of "Brown Eyed Girl" when I think of his name.

"Aryan Mist"? Sounds like a Nazi soft drink from the name!

Marcus said...

"The Burning Ground", "Queen of the Slipstream" "Full Force Gale" "Jackie Wilson Said" "Listen to the Lion" "Cleaning Windows" arrrr to many favorites to list.

Les Carpenter said...

Moon Dance, another that rates right it the top. IMO

The CDM said...

Sorry, when I think of Van Morrison, I think of NyQuil with abundant headache side effects.

Dervish Sanders said...

No.

Dervish Sanders said...

dmarks = obsessed with applying "Nazi" label to people/things.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

In the words of Robbie Robertson at Van's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (which Van so predictably didn't show up for), "Van Morrison's body of work is astounding." I think that that pretty much sums it up.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will: Van Morrison's body of work is astounding.

Eh.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

What, you can't hear me with that Barry Manilow CD bellowing in the background.

Dervish Sanders said...

Previously Playing: Music from the X-Files (box set, disc 3 of 4). Composed by Mark Snow.

Currently Playing: Keith Olbermann on Current TV.

dmarks said...

WD: "dmarks = obsessed with applying "Nazi" label to people/things."

Not really. In fact, there is no evidence of my having done so. In the past I have applied the "label" in an apt way, to rabid antisemites whose behaviour and views invites close comparison.

As for the "Aryan" term, it is closely associated with Nazism, whether or not I apply "labels". While I think that Morrison's a mediocre rock star, I doubt he used the song name for Nazi-related reasons.

----------
Now X-files. Do you have the album with "Tubular X" on it?

Marcus said...

Curious dmarks: If Van Morrison is a "mediocre rock star", who do you think is worth listening to?

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Yeah, that one kind of caught me off-guard, too, Marcus. I guess that we all have hugely different tastes in music here. I would concur with your list, btw, and add "Dweller on the Threshold", "Domino", "Caravan", "Saint Dominic's Preview", "Irish Heartbeat", and his version of "Purple Heather" (from "Hard Nose the Highway). Lord have mercy!

Rusty Shackelford said...

I have to agree with dmarks on this one,I also feel Morrison is mediocre...now,Joe Cocker...thats a horse of a different color.

And Will,I take no stock in what Robbie Robertson says...I'm still pissed at him for breaking up the Band.

Rusty Shackelford said...

Different subject: do you believe John Boehner forced Obama to change the day of his big jobs speech because one of 20 Republican debates was scheduled for that date.

Its also been reported Boehner is requesting Obama sing Old Man River prior to the speech.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Van Morrison - "the greatest living male white vocalist" Downbeat, 1977..............."In the often superficial realm of popular music, where the word 'artist' takes a constant beating, Van Morrison is the real thing. A musical giant whose importance far outreaches his commercial impact, Morrison has steadfastly followed his Celtic-soul muse during the last three decades with often remarkable results." Rolling Stone, 1990..............."One of the most acclaimed and influential singer-songwriters of his time." Anthony Mason, "CBC This Morning" 2009...............Sorry, I'm probably a lot more passionate about this than I am about politics.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will: the greatest living male white vocalist...

Greatest living male singer/songwriter: Billy Joel.

"Brown Eyed Girl" is the only VM song mentioned that I've ever heard. The other titles others have mentioned may be made-up for all I know. They are all totally unfamilar to me.

One thing I will comment on though: "Van" is a cool name. My favorite "Van" is Van Jones.

To answer dmarks' question regarding "Tubular X"... no. I own every X-Files soundtrack (TV and Film) with music by Mark Snow (no song compilations). "Tubular X" is a remix and not on any of the CDs I own.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Van Morrison isn't a commercial artist. He's a true artist and performs a music that far outstrips the idiocy of today's shallow audiences. It doesn't surprise me one bit that most people have never heard of "Astral Weeks" and "Listen to the Lion".

Rusty Shackelford said...

Van Morrison is your typical Irish drunk.

Rusty Shackelford said...

A question for my liberal and "moderate" friendsshovel ready here.

At the insistance of John Boehner,Obama has moved his long awaited gigantic,earthmoving,shovel ready,bombastic,everone on the edge oh their chsirs jobs creation speech.Now Obamas speech is on the same night as the New Orleans,Green Bay NFL opener.

The question for WD,Will,John,the number guy and Critter.....who gets higher ratings...Obama or the NFL game? Rusty would bet on the game.

John Myste said...

The question for WD,Will,John,the number guy and Critter.....who gets higher ratings...Obama or the NFL game? Rusty would bet on the game.

And if Rusty is right, what would he misinterpret that fact to mean?

John Myste said...

By the way, I don't actually think Will is a liberal.

I consider him a moderate.

Marcus said...

Rusty: Joe Cocker is good. I would point out that Cocker does a lot of re-makes whearas Van Morrison does original material...I also hated that the Band broke up, but Robbie Robertson's solo work is stellar.

BTW It doesn't matter what time or day the President gives his speech. The republican response will be predictable. No Deal. The republicans goal at this point is to keep the status quo until november 2012...

Rusty Shackelford said...

My point is....if say 20 million watch Obamas speech and 60 million watch the football game would that be an indicator the majority of americans have no faith or really dont give a shit what Obama has to say at this point.Has Obama made himself irrelevant?

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

There were/are a lot of drunk geniuses, Russ; Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Rimbaud, Dylan Thomas, Montgomery Clift, Richard Burton, Jack Kerouac, Kris Kristofferson, Modest Mussorgsky, George Jones, etc.. And there's nothing at all typical about Van Morrison's poetry and music.

Rusty Shackelford said...

I think we get it Will....you're a Van Morrison fan.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Since I was a teenager. LOL

Marcus said...

Rusty:

Lets say that the Presidents speech has poor ratings compared to the football game. You are asking what it would mean and providing your own answer...I anticipate that the Presidents speech will not be widely viewed. I would attribute this to several factors. Firstly, there are Conservatives who would not watch it simply because they hate the president. I believe the biggest factor is people are fed up with the brutal and poisonous atmosphere that is Washington DC...Most people would rather watch a ball game.

dmarks said...

"One thing I will comment on though: "Van" is a cool name. My favorite "Van" is Van Jones."

Why is this, when it is a fact that Van Jones was a Maoist? Being a liberal is one thing. Being a member of the hate group with the worst record in human history is another.

dmarks said...

As for "Tubular X", it was on a foreign-release version of an X files movie soundtrack CD, but for some reason it was not put on the domestic one.

It was remixed by the guy whose oroginal music surely influenced Snow.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

dmarks, according to ABC News, not only did Van Jones's name show up on that 9/11 truther petition, it also showed up on another document in 2002 (some organizing committee looking into, among other things, Mr. Bush's "role" in 9/11). What are the odds that a person's name could end up on 2 different wacky documents on the identical wacky subject and it still be a coincidence? I'm pretty sure here that Mr. Jones is lying. wd isn't.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will, this other unnamed document that you say Van Jones signed... it's "wacky" because you placed "role" in quotation marks??

Mr. Jones says he didn't sign the 9/11 truther document. I believe him. But I do not care if he did sign it. I don't know what this other document you say he signed is. But I don't care about it either.

What am I not lying about? Liking Van Jones? I suppose, in your mind, that says something bad about me?

Why do you consider looking into the events of 9/11 wacky? I do not think the entire/real truth is known. There are many unanswered questions.

dmarks, most people who believe in communism do so because they aren't happy with the fact that many starve while a few live in luxury... a desire to see people sent to death camps isn't a motivating factor.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Looking into 9/11 of course is a good thing. But wasting your time on paranoiac conspiracy theories that the U.S. government was actually BEHIND the event is as moronic as it can get. And if you want to learn more about the other "false positive", search ABC News Van Jones 9/11 truther 2002 committee. You'll have no problem finding it. Face it, dude, this slug is even more of a nut than you are.

Dervish Sanders said...

Will: if you want to learn more about the other "false positive", search... Face it, dude, this slug is even more of a nut than you are.

I don't take homework dictates from you Will. Provide a link to an non-conservatively biased article and I'll take a look, but I'm not going to do a search... even if you say finding the info would be easy.

As for Van Jones, your opinion on this impressive individual is not fact. I do not share your opinion regarding this intelligent and completely not-nutty man.

Van Jones: I Didn't Sign Truther Petition. This is an article from the Daily Kos that debunks numerous Van Jones smears (yea, I know, you hate the Daily Kos).

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

He was on the Tavis Smiley show and said that he DID sign it but that he didn't know what he was signing. He was bamboozled, in other words. What a dick. And the administration (through Mr. Gibbs) said essentially the same thing. Now he's saying that he didn't sign the frigging thing at all. Unbelievable. He can't even keep his story straight!

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

You ask me for nonbiased sources and then provide me with the Daily Kos. Excellent move, Clyde.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I can't believe that you're making me type this whole stupid-assed address who you could have easily done simply as I said, but you gotta be a dick.......abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/09/another-possible-link-emerges-between-top-Obama-official-and-911-truther-movement/ Maybe there's more bit this is all that showed up on my address thingy.

John Myste said...

I cannot believe that you didn't cut and paste it from the address bar instead of typing it.

(or copy link location with right click if you were at the link).

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1327826536005692170&postID=4132529058459711815 I did it! I guess that you have to leave the clicker inside the thingy to get it to copy. I am so computer illiterate. Can you tell? LOL