CanAm

I absolutely adore British humour. On TV, some of my favourites are the Blackadder series, Waiting For God, The Rise and Fall of Sir Reginald Perrin, Monty Python, Yes Minister and My Hero. I particularly liked the Elizabethan and Georgian versions of Blackadder. There are two episodes in particular that I remember as being particularly hilarious. In the first, Blackadder, envious of all the royal attention received by Sir Francis Drake, decides to mount a navel expedition to the New World. In the second, Blackadder is challenged to a duel by the Duke of Wellington, played by Stephen Fry. Both of these episodes had me in stitches. Some of my favourite British comedy films are, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Water, The Lavender Hill Mob, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, The Full Monty, Bedazzled and Waking Ned Devine. Some of these movies like Water and Bedazzled, are not very well known. Water was made by George Harrison's Handmade Films and starred Michael Caine, Brenda Vacarro and Leonard Rossiter. It was a remake of a Peter Sellers film called The Man In The Cocked Hat. The movie is hilarious and well worth watching if you can find it on VHS or DVD. Bedazzled stars Peter Cook (as the devil) and Dudley Moore. Raquel Welch stars as one of the Seven Deadly Sins (I'll let you guess which one). This movie is streets ahead of the remake starring Liz Hurley and Brendan Fraser.

With The Beatles - The Beatles Rumours - Fleetwood Mac Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty Lonesome Jubilee - John Mellencamp Night Moves - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band One Of These Nights - The Eagles Goodbye Yellowbrick Road - Elton John So Far - CSNY Shooting Straight In The Dark - Mary Chapin Carpenter Second Helpings - Lynyrd Skynyrd ::

A great list, Windy. I would also add Tom Petty & The HeartBreakers, Dire Straits, George Thorogood and John Mellencamp. I really began to listen to music in earnest during the 70's. I grew up in a small Saskatchewan town where good record stores were few and far between. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when we visited a cousin of mine in Houston in 1976. I went to a store called Tower Records (if memory serves) and came out with 38 albums. I'd have bought more if we'd had more room in our car. Ah, those fabulous 70's!

Some great Southern Rock bands have been mentioned. One that has not been is The Kentucky Headhunters. Although they are considered a "country" band, they can really rock. :guitar:

If this subject has been dealt with in a previous post, I apologize in advance. Many great protest songs have been recorded over the years and I'd like to know which ones you like best. The songs can protest war, poverty, discrimination, child abuse or any number of other things. My favourite protest songs are: Fortunate Son - CCR Ohio - CSNY Scarecrow (lamenting the loss of family farms) - John Mellencamp Give Peace A Chance - John Lennon/The Beatles All She Wants To Do Is Dance - Don Henley (If I understand this song correctly, Henley is criticizing American involvement in Nicaragua) The Times They Are A Changin' - Bob Dylan Southern Man - Neil Young :happybanana:

I like the early Sinatra recordings before the booze and the cigarettes took a toll on his voice. Favourite Sinatra tunes: Luck Be A Lady/Fly Me To The Moon

The Greatest Canadian Rock Bands: Neil Young (With Crazy Horse) Lighthouse The Guess Who BTO Triumph Steppenwolf (I consider Steppenwolf a Canadian band even though lead singer John Kay is from the former East Germany. Most band members were Canadian and they formed and began recording in Toronto)

THE BEATLES followed by: Fleetwood Mac CCR Lynyrd Skynyrd Aerosmith The Stones AC/DC Queen

Workin' At The Carwash Blues - Jim Croce Making Thunderbirds - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band Slaughterhouse - The Georgia Satellites

I must say that I'm in the "not a big Rush fan" camp. I agree with those who hate Geddy Lee's vocals. A friend of mine is a huge Rush fan, and I accompanied him to a Rush concert in Toronto many years ago. Although I'm not fond of their music, they did put on a great live show. The drummer, is very, very good.

Hmmm! You learn new things every day.

BEST PICTURE - "The Aviator" BEST ACTOR - Jamie Foxx BEST ACTRESS - Hilary Swank BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Morgan Freeman BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Cate Blanchett BEST DIRECTOR - Clint Eastwood BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - Finding Neverland BEST ORIGINAL SONG - Believe from "Polar Express"

Movie stars have often been portrayed (sometimes fairly, sometimes not) by the media as intellectual lightweights. I believe, however, that there are some very bright, knowledgeable and articulate celebrities and I'd like to know if you do too. If you could invite 5 movie/television personalities (past or present) to a dinner party, who would you choose and why? I would select the following people to be my dinner companions: Sean Connery - He is well read, opinionated and he is a fellow Scot. I may not agree with him about everthing, but he would be a lively, engaging dinner companion. Jodie Foster - There are very few people in Hollywood who I respect more than her. She is very bright, articulate and I've always admired her refusal to become caught up in all the hype and superficiality that is so much a part of the movie industry. Katherine Hepburn - She was, quite simply, a fascinating woman. She was her era's greatest actress and she would undoubtedly be able to regale her dinner companions with some interesting stories about the movie business. Johnny Carson - I always loved his self-deprecating sense of humour and his wry wit. He would provide much needed comic relief if the conversation became too heated. Sid Caesar - He is one of my all-time favourite comedians. I can't imagine any dinner party becoming too dull or serious with him in attendance. :happybanana:

I love the scene in the movie "Inherit The Wind" where Henry Drummond (played by Spencer Tracy) cross examines Matthew Harrison Brady (played by Frederic March). Brady is a charismatic, fundamentalist leader who is prosecuting (on behalf of the state of Tennessee) a teacher for teaching his students Darwin's theories about evolution. A man of strong convictions, Brady is brought nearly to tears by the relentless questioning of Drummond, the lawyer who is defending the teacher. This is definitely one of the most powerful courtroom scenes ever done. The film is based on the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. To Kill A Mockingbird and The Devil & Daniel Webster also contain two of my favourite courtroom scenes.

BEST DUAL LEAD GUITARS Don Felder - Joe Walsh ...The Eagles Garry Rossington - Alan Collins...Lynyrd Skynyrd Ted Nugent - Tommy Shaw...Damn Yankees Mathias Jabs - Rudolph Schenker...The Scorpions (Although Schenker primarily played rhythm behind Jabs's lead, he was an excellent guitarist in his own right)

One of my favourite romantic songs is Unforgettable. I particularly like the version Natalie Cole sang, which utilized vocals from her father's version recorded many years earlier. Some other romantic tunes: Lovin' You - Minnie Ripperton Lost Without Your Love - Bread I Go Crazy - Paul Davis ::

I second that nomination, Uncle Joe!!

We've already had a post about favourite actors, now I'd like to know who are your favourite actresses. IMO, the greatest of them all is Katherine Hepburn. This woman could do it all... comedy (The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby, Desk set etc.), drama, historical fiction, the lot. Oher favourite actresses of mine are: Glenda Jackson Maggie Smith Judy Garland Glenn Close Bette Davis Judy Dench Naomi Watts

Hmm! So many great ones to choose from. Ben Hur Lawrence of Arabia Dr. Zhivago Out of Africa Dances With Wolves (the best thing about this movie) American Graffiti The Wizard of Oz The Lion In Winter Any of The Early Bond flicks Breakfast At Tiffany's (for the song Moon River)

You bet, Shana! Keep on rockin'! :happybanana:

Elton John - Rocketman The Eagles - One Of These Nights The Beatles - All My Loving C.C.R. - Lookin' Out My Back Door Bob Seger - Katmandu Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama George Thorogood - Who Do You Love? Fleetwood Mac (Nicks and Buckingham edition) - Rhiannon B.T.O. - Taking Care Of Business Eric Clapton - I Shot The Sheriff Uriah Heep - Easy Livin' Dire Straits - The Sultans of Swing

Great choices Edna, although I'd substitute Lynyrd Skynyrd for The Stones.

:guitar:

Yes. I have the CD and you're absolutely right! It's excellent. If you like great guitar playing, check out the CrossRoads Guitar Festival DVD. You can get order it online at Amazon for about $20 US. It has 2 to 3 hours of great music on it. Santana and Clapton jam for about 10 minutes on a song called Jingo. Amazing!!!

I love The Georgia Satellites!!! I saw them live in Hamilton, Ontario in the late 80's. What an amazing show! They played for over 2 hours to thunderous applause. To the best of my knowledge, they released just three albums: Their self-titled debut, Open All Night and In The Land of Salvation and Sin. My favourite G.S. songs are Railroad Steel, Can't Stand The Pain, All Over But The Cryin' and Six Years Gone. A Greatest Hits compilation was recently released. It's a pity they disbanded.