These Being the Words of Cicero

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Top 200 Albums of All Time: "H" Artists

All Things Must Pass: George Harrison (1970)

The Beatles underutilized George Harrison. As a result, the “quiet Beatle” accumulated an amazing amount of work that he released as a solo triple album in 1970. The release shocked critics and fans who often overlooked Harrison. This is amazing considering Harrison was responsible for some of the band’s greatest work.

Key Tracks:

My Sweet Lord
What is Life
All Things Must Pass

Are You Experienced: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

Are You Experienced is the debut album for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. No one had ever heard anything like it before. Hendrix’s use of distortion, feedback, and psychedelic sounds proved revolutionary. At the time, some of rock’s greatest guitarists believed Hendrix spelled their doom. Every guitarist since has tried to be Hendrix whether he knows it or not.

Key Tracks:

Purple Haze
Manic Depression
Hey Joe
Foxey Lady
Fire

Electric Ladyland: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

Hendrix’s last album before his death is one of the few groundbreaking double albums. The band incorporates a number of musical genres into the mix. From psychedelic to blues to pop, Electric Ladyland raised the bar.

Key Tracks:

Crosstown Traffic
Voodoo Chile
All Along the Watchtower

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: Lauryn Hill (1998)
Lauryn Hill left the turmoil of the Fugees and released a landmark album. The work dealt with her pregnancy, religion, and the drama surrounding the Fugees. Hill incorporates several musical genres including R&B, soul, gospel, and reggae.
Key Tracks:

Doo Wop (That Thing)
Ex-Factor
Everything is Everything

Sunday, March 27, 2011

History Shorts: Hannibal and the Battle of Cannae

Hannibal inherited his father's hatred of Rome and invaded the Italian peninsula. His actions helped start the Second Punic War. He dealt the Romans devastating losses at Trebbia (218 B.C.) and Trasimene (217 B.C.). In 216 B.C., Hannibal’s 50,000 man force met the Romans at Cannae. The 86,000 man Roman army fell into a trap. Hannibal ordered his center to slowly collapse while swinging his flanks around the Roman force. The Romans advanced against the Carthaginian center and then discovered they had been surrounded. Around 50,000 Romans died making it one of the costliest defeats in ancient history. Europe would not suffer battlefield casualty rates this high again until World War I. Despite the victory, Hannibal could not achieve victory. He lacked siege equipment to starve out the city. Meanwhile, Rome refused to surrender and switched to a guerrilla strategy. Hannibal remained in Italy for the next decade unable to finish off the republic.

The following clip is from a BBC production. Hannibal is portrayed by Alexander Siddig of Star Trek fame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTpccODlcdA

Friday, March 25, 2011

Montreal Expos Greatest Moments

Expos: 11 Mets: 10 (April 8, 1969): The Montreal Expos won their first game in franchise history against the eventual World Champion Mets. Rusty Staub, pitcher Dan McGinn, and Coco Laboy homered in the victory. The Mets made it exciting with a four run 9th inning, but the Expos held on for the win. They finished 1969 with a 52-110 record.

Bill Stoneman throws first no-hitter (October 2, 1972): Bill Stoneman not only threw the first no-hitter in Expos history, but the first one outside of the United States. Stoneman’s control left him that day as he walked 7. However, he did strikeout 9 in the 7-0 victory.

Gary Carter’s 3 home run game (April 20, 1977): Hall of Famer Gary Carter was a one man show against the Pirates. He hit three homers and drove in 4 in an 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh. All three came off of starter Jim Rooker.

Ross Grimsley wins 20 (October 1, 1978): Ross Grimsley defeated the St Louis Cardinals 5-1 to win his 20th game of the 1978 season. Grimsley made the All-Star team and finished 7th in Cy Young balloting that season. He is the only pitcher to win 20 for the Expos/Nationals franchise.

Bill Gullickson strikesout 18 Cubs (September 10, 1980): By 1980, the Expos emerged as contenders in the NL East. They had a strong core of young players including pitcher Bill Gullickson. On September 10, Gullickson beat the Cubs 4-2 while striking out 18 batters. The Expos finished second to the World Champion Phillies that season. Gullickson enjoyed a successful major league career.

Expos advance to NLCS (October 11, 1981): The 1981 strike led to an extra playoff round in which first and second half division winners faced off for the right to play in the LCS. In the NL East, Montreal battled the World Champion Phillies for five games in the Divisional Series. Montreal won Game 5 behind Steve Rogers by a score of 3-0. It remains the only postseason series victory for the Expos/Nationals. Montreal lost the NLCS to the Dodgers.

Pete Rose gets 4000 hit (April 13, 1984): Only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb reached 4000 hits. Interestingly, Rose got his 4000th hit as a member of the Expos. He is best known for his days as a Red or Phillie. Montreal beat Philadelphia 5-1 that day. Rose did not remain an Expo for long. He soon took over as player/manager in Cincinnati.

Dennis Martinez perfect game (July 28, 1991): Dennis Martinez and his Dodger counterpart, Mike Morgan, hooked up on July 28, 1991. Morgan allowed no earned runs, but lost 2-0 because Martinez was perfect. El Presidente struck out 5 Dodgers and allowed no base runners.

Best Record in Baseball (1994): The 1994 Montreal Expos had the best record in baseball when the season ended. Unfortunately, the players and owners spat cancelled the postseason. As a result, the best team in franchise history did not get a chance to play for something. The team was subsequently broken up. Failed politicians and squabbling between the team and province of Quebec eventually led to the Expos moving to Washington D.C.

Pedro is perfect (June 3, 1995): Pedro Martinez was unhittable one June game in 1995. The Padres boasting a lineup that included Tony Gwynn could not get on base. However, the Expos could not score on Joey Hamilton either. Pedro took perfection into extra innings. With no one out, Bip Roberts breaks up the perfecto with a double. The Expos beat the Padres 1-0.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Top 200 Albums of All Time: G Artists

Peter Gabriel: So (1986)

Peter Gabriel decided to take a more commercial approach when writing So. Despite recording several radio friendly hits and filming breakthrough commercially successful videos, Gabriel also continued his unconventional career. While “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” reflect eighties pop music perfectly, “Red Rain” and “Mercy Street” are far from commercial.

Key Tracks:

Red Rain
Sledgehammer
Big Time
In Your Eyes

What’s Going On: Marvin Gaye (1971)

Marvin Gaye shed Motown’s restrictions on social commentary and created an album examining society itself. Since other artists tapped into social issues for inspiration, Gaye felt free to investigate and question. Motown boss Barry Gordy refused to accept the material. Gaye stood his ground and the album was eventually released. Gaye’s lyrics tackle poverty, the Vietnam War, injustice, and drug use. Stylistically, each song leads into the next and the work ends with a reprise.

Key Tracks:

What’s Going On?
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
Inner City Blues

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: Genesis (1974)

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a double concept album about a Puerto Rican youth swept into the New York City underground to battle monsters in a quest to save his brother. Although the character is searching for his brother, he is also searching for himself.

Key Tracks:

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The Carpet Crawlers
In The Cage

Abacab: Genesis (1981)

Genesis began as a progressive rock act. As the musical scene changed and members departed, the band moved toward a more commercial sound. The transformation began with their previous album Duke and continues into Abacab. As a result of their efforts, Genesis scored their first platinum selling album in America and four hit singles.

Key Tracks:

Abacab
No Reply At All
Man on the Corner
Keep it Dark

Dookie: Green Day (1994)

Dookie reintroduced many Americans to punk rock. The album’s popularity with radio friendly songs provided some controversy as many in the punk community believed the band sold out.

Key Tracks:

Longview
Welcome to Paradise
Basket Case
When I Come Around

American Idiot: Green Day (2004)

For a time, it appeared Green Day had faded. After some inspiration from the headlines, The Who, and some imagination, the band produced American Idiot. Ironically, the album was almost never made. Originally, they began work on another project when the masters were stolen. Rather than re-record, they decided to start over with a rock opera covering the story of an American anti-hero.

Key Tracks:

American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Holiday
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Wake Me Up When September Ends

Appetite for Destruction: Guns n Roses (1987)

With over 28 million in sales, Appetite for Destruction is the greatest selling debut in history. At a time in which radio was filled with hair metal and candy pop music, Guns n Roses provided an alternate vision. The dirty, gritty album describes descent into drug and substance abuse. The seminal album provided a jump start to rock music which lasted into the mid-nineties.

Key Tracks:

Welcome to the Jungle
It’s So Easy
Paradise City
Sweet Child o’ Mine
Mr. Brownstone

Use Your Illusion I: Guns n Roses (1991)

Although some of the early vinyl releases came together, Use Your Illusion I and II are not double albums. The band recorded so much material, they released two albums. Use Your Illusion showed an expansion in Guns n Roses’ music. They incorporated classical, blues, country, and progressive into their repertoire.

Key Tracks:

November Rain
Don’t Cry (Original)
Dust n Bones
Right Next Door To Hell

Use Your Illusion II: Guns n Roses (1991)

Use Your Illusion II debuted at #1 when released. The album was slightly more popular than its counterpart due to the inclusion of familiar radio songs. GnR’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” received radio play for a couple years before release. “You Could Be Mine” appeared on the Terminator II soundtrack. Despite this, Use Your Illusion I is the stronger album.

Key Tracks:

Civil War
Yesterdays
Pretty Tied Up
Estranged
You Could Be Mine

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sci Fi History: The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826)

After Frankenstein, Mary Shelley decided to tackle a happier topic. In The Last Man, the world is wiped out by a plague leaving one solitary figure to live out his last days alone. Isolation was a theme in Romantic works. Additionally, Shelley questions her own political ideals that emerged in the Romantic movement. She lost friends to political naiveté and their attempts to create a modern Camelot. Also, Shelley only had one child survive to adulthood. The book allowed her to express her feeling of loss and loneliness. Meanwhile, the plague represents the French Revolution which questioned man’s special nature. Essentially, the idea of progress wiped out humanity leading to isolation. However, her own isolation was the result of Romantic ideals gone awry and the high child mortality rate of the early nineteenth century.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sci Fi History: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Frankenstein is part gothic horror and part reaction to the Enlightenment and Napoleonic Wars. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement preaching universal rights. It attacked the aristocracy, monarchy, religion, and inequality. The American and French Revolutions and Napoleon were all the result of Enlightenment thought. The bloodshed of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars led to a visceral reaction against modernism and intellectualism. Frankenstein reflects this conflict between nature and science. It is also an early example of Sci Fi warning against science and technology.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

History Shorts: Ancient Greece and others (1250-320 B.C.)