Excellence

Works of excellence with enduring quality nourishing to the defiant spirit.
(Some stuff generally not in present commercial focus, good for the soul)

Novels:
The Circus of Dr Lao, by Charles Finney
The Last of the Just, by Andre’ Schwartzbart (a sort of positive side, with texture and context, to the Holocaust)
A Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipul
Focault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco (maybe the ultimate novel; Baudelino is good too)
Dead Souls, Gogol
Candide, Voltaire (the acme of wisdom attained during the “Enlightenment” of Western European culture)
Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift (social relativity)
In a Hot Country, by Narinder Naipul
What Makes Sammy Run, by Budd Schulberg
Stark! by Ben Eldon (a consortium of corporate mogols determines the earth to be disposable)
Tropical Depression, by Lawrence Shames. (Key West humor)
1001 Nights (stories within stories)
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (a meaningfully evocative look at childhood)
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly (well, maybe better as a movie…)
Raintree County, by Ross Lockridge, Jr. (a sorta pastoral look at the Civil War)
Paris Trout, by Pete Dexter
Flatland, by A Sqyare (Edwin Abbott, 1884)

The Classic Chinese Novels:
The Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh), by Shi Nailan & Luo Guanchong (trans S. Shapiro)
Journey to the West by Wu Ch’eng-en (or Arthur Waley’s abridged version Monkey)
Chin P’ing Mei
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Lokuan-chung
Dream of the Red Chamber by Tsao Hsueh Chin (Ts’ao Hsüeh-ch’in)(at least the first half anyway)

For younger readers:
The Little Prince, by Antoin de St. Euxbury
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
The Hobbit, by E.R.R. Tolkein. Also, Sir Gwain and the Green Knight
Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robinson Caruso, by Daniel DeFoe
The Ramayana, by Aubrey Menon (for young adolescents, and out-of-print)
Tales of the Sufi Dervishes, by Indris Shah

Non-fiction:
Lost World of the Kalahari, by Laurenz van der Post
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, by Eric Newby
Henry Miller’s short work on Rimbaud, Time of the Assassins
Book of Breathing by Wm Burroughs
Abelard and Heloise, by Helen Waddel
Peter Abelard, by Leif Grane (trans. F & C Crowley)
My Apprenticeship, by Maxim Gorky
Of Wolves and Men, by Barry Lopez (Scribners)
People of the Deer by Farley Mowat
King Soloman’s Ring by Konrad Lorenz
The Flying Carpet by Richard Halliburton
The Songlines and In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin

Poetry:
Metamorphosis, Ovid
Last Will and Testament, Francois Villan
A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud
Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelair
And So I Smoke My Pipe by James Whitcomb Riley (just a short one)

Plays:
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
The Frogs & The Clouds, Aristophanes

Music:
Top 10 Rock Albums:

Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed
Santana’s Abraxis
The Beatles’ Abbey Road
The Doors’ Waiting for the Sun
Janis Joplin and Big Brother’s Cheap Thrills
Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick
Cream (White Room, I feel Free, I’m So Glad, Sunshine of Your Love… Fresh Cream, Disraeli Gears)
Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow
Bob Dylan’s Blond on Blond
Blondie, Parallel Lines

Favorite 15 Albums:

Incredible String Band’s Changing Horses
Dr John’s Gris Gris
The Great Society, Conspicuous Only in its Absence
It’s a Beautiful Day (1st)
Captain Beefhart, Kandy Korn
Pharoah Sanders Blues
Miles Davis (with rock guitar)
Capetown Fringe by Dollar Brand
JCOA - Escalator Over the Hill (esp. Jack Bruce with John McLaughlin)
Michael Hurley, Armchair Boogie (on Raccoon Records)
Frasier and DeBolt
Traffic: Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Joan Osborn, Relish
Tom Waits, Rain Dogs
Joan Baez (Boots of Spanish Leather on Diamonds and Rust or not?)

Honorable Mention:
James Gang
Allman Brothers ‘Eat a Peach’
38 Special
Mink de Ville (White Shoes)
Randy Meisner (White Shoes)
Supremes
Pat Benetar, Hell is for Children
Pattie Smith, Horses
Zombies, Time of the Season & She’s Not There
Carl Perkins
George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers
Sandy Bull
Canned Heat
Tom Petty, Don’t Have to Live like a Refugee
The Who Sell Out
McCoy Tyner
Fleetwood Mac’s Kiln House
Supertramp, Breakfast in America

Top Songs:
Watching the Detectives, Elvis Costello
Bernedette, Four Tops
Love Me Do, Beatles
Lola, Kinks
Mona, Quicksilver Messenger Service
China Girl, David Bowie
Hotel California, Eagles
I’m Gonna Catch that Horse if I Can, Byrds
Darkness, Darkness, Youngbloods
Paint It Black, Rolling Stones
Season of the Witch, Donovan
Goin’ Down, the Monkeys
Runnaway, Del Shannon
All along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
Rainy Day Woman, Bob Dylan
Treaty Now, Yothu Yindee,
How Can We Dance When Our Beds are Burning, Midnight Oil
Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
Peace Train, Cat Stevens
La Bamba by Ritchie Vallens
Beat of a Different Drum, Stone Ponies (Linda Ronstadt)
Layla, Eric Clapton
Boots of Spanish Leather, Joan Baez
Sweet Child of Mine, Guns and Roses
White Wedding, Billy Idol
Gloria, Van Morrison
The Letter, The Boxtops
If I had a Rocket Launcher , Bruce Cockburn
Sharon, David Bromberg
Mony Mony, Tommy James and the Shondells
He’s a Rebel (The Shirells?)

Afrobeat:
Ousman Kouyate
Salif Keita
Sunny Ade
Imbargo Nico
Fela
Youssou N’Dour

Reggae:
The Harder they Come, the Harder they Fall, Jimmy Cliff
Burnin’ and Lootin’, Bob Marley

Rai:
Ali Akha Khan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Cheb Khaled

Folk:
John Renbourne
Pentangle
Leo Kotke
John Fahey (esp. Blind Joe Death)
Burt Jance
Linda Love
Josh White

Jazz:
John Coltrane: Ascension, A Love Supreme, My Favorite Things
Sun Ra: Lullaby for Realville, Space is the Place
Charlie Mingus: C Jam Blues
Gato Barbieri
Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand)
Don Cherry
George Gershwin: Rapsody in Blue
Miles Davis, Bitches Brew
John McLaughlin

Blues:
Robert Johnson
Charlie Christian
Mississippi John Hurt
Ledbelly (Huddie Ledbetter)
Charlie Musselwhite for Christo Redemptor

Classical:
Beethovan’s 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th
Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Carmina Burana, Carl Orlff (Ray Manzarak of the Doors did an OK version)

And don’t forget Ravi Shankar…

Movies:
Emerald Forest
Sweet Movie (1969 Dutch?)
Birdie (mid-80s)
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Man without a Name Trilogy by Sergio Leoné (with Clint Eastwood)
Children of Paradiso (Les Enfants du Paradisio, French, early 40s)
The Postman (Il Postino, not with Kevin Costner!)
Day at the Races and Duck Soup, the Marx Brothers
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Clowns and La Dolche Vita, Fellini
King of Hearts (dir. Philippe de Broca, w. Alan Bates & Genevieve Bujold, 1966)
Harold & Maude (1971?)
Black Orpheus (from Brazil, late 50s)
Where the Green Ants Dream (Australian)
Magnolia (1999)
American Beauty
Repo Man (W. Emlio Estavez)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (w. David Bowie)
After Hours (w. Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer, mid 80s)
Brazil
The Searchers, by John Ford (with John Wayne)

Musicials:
West Side Story
Showboat
My Fair Lady
The Fantastics (live, on stage!)

Cartoons:
Zap Comix and Homegrown Funnies (Kitchen Sink Enterprises) by Robert Crumb
Howard the Duck (Marvel Comics) by Steve Gerber
Doctor Strange (Marvel)
Warlok (Marvel, Jim Starlin)
Omega the Unknown (Marvel, Scott Edelman and Jim Mooney)
Captain Marvel (esp. early ‘70s, with “Little Clown”)
The Adventures of the Little Green Dinosaur (Last Gasp Comics) by Johny Chambers
Young Lust (Last Gasp)
The First Kingdom by Jack Katz (Comics and Comix Co.)
Capt’n Quick and a Foozle by Chris Goldberg (Eclipse Comics)
Li’l Abner by Al Capp
Pogo by Walt Kelly
Will Eisner
Gary Panter
Abner Dean, What Am I Doing Here?

Photographers:
David Hamilton
Edward S. Curtis – the American Indian
Diane Arbus