Wednesday, December 01, 2004

The Barbarian Invasions (and a Challenge)

Just watched a rather stunning double-feature of movies tonight. The Canadian instant classic "Les Invasions Barbares" and Eastwood's "Mystic River". I may be the last person to see either of these beauties, but if by some chance you have missed either, rush to the videostore. One blogging postscript, and challenge of sorts. In a dinner near the end of "Invasions", one of the characters claims that "intelligence is not an individual trait, but is a collective phenomenon, national and intermittant." Three separate examples are then raised: 1. Athens, 416BC - Euripides premieres his Electra. Two rivals attend, Sophocles and Aristophanes, and two friends, Socrates and Plato. 2. Firenze, 1504 - Palazzo Vecchio, on facing walls, two painters: on the right, Leonardo da Vinci. On the left, Michaelangelo. An apprentice, Raffaello. A manager, Machiavelli. 3. Philadelphia, 1776-1787 - Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, and Madison. The challenge? More examples. It is late so I am going to reflect and see what we can come up with in the comments. Creativity shall be awarded bonus points.

4 Comments:

Blogger T.R. Cooper said...

Tough. All of the plum periods and geniuses are taken. It seems to me that while these individuals would have been excellent thinkers in their own right, they were elevated to legendary status by their association -- and shared thinking -- with others. That said, here are my anglophilic suggestions:

4. Cambridge and London, England, ca. 1700 -- Isaac Newton's group of friends and critics includes Robert Hooke, Edmond Halley, John Locke, and Samuel Pepys.

5. Bloomsbury, London, 1920ish -- The Bloomsbury group, including Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey, and John Maynard Keynes, among others, socialize as few others have.

6. Liverpool, England, 1960ish -- The two greatest songwriters of the modern era, Lennon and McCartney, get together to strum guitars and make timeless music.

December 1, 2004 at 9:44 PM  
Blogger J. A. MacDuff said...

I like the musical interlude aspect (though the first instinct was to look at Rome) - and maybe a Templars reference would be appropriate, since Goethe seemed to like Mozart's Magic Flute that I will see tomorrow.

But I have always been amazed by the London Rock and Roll output, beyond McCarthy-Lennon (especially since Paul's most recent "Freedom" is about as antithetical to the Lennon legacy as you can get...) SO how about this (and note especially the talent singing the classic "Salt of the Earth":

December 10-11, 1968 - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus:

Jethro Tull
Ian Anderson: Vocals, Flute (& Harp on CD)
Tony Iommi: Electric Guitar (Video only)
Mick Abrahams: Guitar (CD only)
Glen Cornic: Bass (& Harmonica in video)
Clive Bunker: Drums

The Who
Roger Daltrey: Lead Vocals
Pete Townshend: Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocal Sample
John Entwistle: Bass, Vocal Harmony, Falsetto
Keith Moon: Drums

Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal: Vocals (& Harp on DVD extras)
Jesse Ed Davis: Lead Electric Guitar
Gary Gilmore: Bass
Chuck Blackwell: Drums

Marianne Faithfull

Dirty Mac
John Lennon: Vocals, Rhythm Electric Guitar
Eric Clapton: Lead Electric Guitar
Keith Richards: Bass
Mitch Mitchell: Drums

Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger: Vocals
Keith Richards: Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Brian Jones: Electric & Slide Guitars, Maracas
Bill Wyman: Bass
Charlie Watts: Drums

With:
Nicky Hopkins: Piano
Rocky Dijon: Percussion

Salt Of The Earth
Mick Jagger: Lead Vocals
Keith Richards: Opening Lead Vocal, Backing Vocals
Brian Jones: Backing Vocals
Bill Wyman: Backing Vocals
Charlie Watts: Backing Vocals
The Who: Backing Vocals
Dirty Mac: Backing Vocals
Marianne Faithfull: Backing Vocals
Taj Mahal: Backing Vocals
Jethro Tull: Backing Vocals

December 2, 2004 at 9:09 PM  
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