The Best Band in the World

Here's a lively debate for you guys.

This girl I work with and I get into heated "discussions" about music. She's what you would call a music snob, meaning whatever she says, she thinks is also the view of the entire population of the Universe.

When the subject of Best Band in the World came up, I thought it completely obvious to point out that in terms of mere influence on music today, combined with some legendary musical talent, the Beatles would be at the top of the list. Her choice would be Elvis. Ok, sure. Legendary, yes. Influential, yes. I'll give him that, but he's not THE greatest. The average person can probably name and sing 5 times more Beatles songs than Elvis songs.

I'm sure it's generational and all, but the Beatles have been the be-all-end-all for quite some time now. In terms of pure musical influence, I would have to say Robert Johnson, the underappreciated blues legend that quite possibly influenced Elvis himself, is the greatest. No one can really know, and like I said, it's quite a generational question. Sure, I can tell you my favorite band of the moment, but the greatest? That's just too difficult a question.

I mean, what makes a band great? Everyone has their own defenition of greatness, and for bands it's even more particular. Would Nirvana have reached god-like status if Kurt Cobain hadn't committed suicide? Probably not. Were they great? Yea, they defined a generation, much like the Beatles did time and time again. But do they deserve to be played on Seattle radio every 5th song? Hell no, it gets annoying.

Getting back to my discussion, after I mentioned the Beatles, she reacted harshly, swinging her tongue to and fro regarding Elvis. Then began to tell me that The Who and Lynyrd Skynyrd are much more influential than The Beatles. What?!? There would be no Lynyrd Skynyrd without the Beatles and The Who just suck. Behind Blue Eyes was probably their only good song. I'm not denying they had talent, I just think it got lost in the translation somewhere. There is no beating Abbey Road. No way, no how.

I am no expert, but I have an honest opinion. What do you guys think, any comments?

Bigelow Literary Works - Batman vs. Penguin

Oh boy. I ran across something very special to me when I was cleaning the other day and I thought I would share it with all of you. When I was but a young child I had a very vivid and eloquent imagination. What you are about to read was gracefully spun from the loom of that young and auspicious mind. Enjoy.



Batman vs. Penguin

It was a dark and gloomy night and Bruce Wayne was at a dinner party at the Gotham City Hall. He was almost the richest one there except for the Governor. Alfred was his Uncle and his family. Bruce was very wealthy and had a mansion all to himself.

In the Arctic part of the world lived penguins that worshiped a man. Ever since Batman had defeated him he wanted revenge. He moved back to Gotham City still looking for Batman. Penguin wrote a letter to Bruce Wayne telling him to meet him at McDonalds next to the Dealership*.

When Batman got there, there was one car. Then flying above him was Penguin. He flew overtop the Batmobile. Batman got out and looked up. He saw nothing. He went back to the Batcave. He looked at the monitors. He saw Penguin in the Gotham Bank. He has monitors everywhere especially in banks! Then all of a sudden Penguin came in. Batman sprayed poison on Penguin and he fell down and never said a word.

"THE CITY IS SAFE AGAIN!" said Batman.

The End.

*It was my assumption that every McDonalds in the world was near a car "dealership" becuase the only McDonalds I knew for the first 10 years of my life was built next to one. Funny that eight years later, I would come to be employed there.

I fixed the spelling errors (hey, I was 9), but left the awesome grammar. I remember too, that when writing stories of this literary magnitude, I would surprise the reader with the very popular "Then all of a sudden" phrase. You know that when you heard it, something awesome was about to happen!

Oh The Places I Will Go: Part One

There are many places I want to travel to before my time on Earth expires. I want to be able to look at a map of the world and point to at least all seven continents and say "I've been there". So, I've decided to officially list the places I wish to visit, a kind of constant reminder that keeps me motivated. Here are the first five:

1. London - What else can I say? It's probably the coolest place in Europe, to me anyway. I think my distant love for London is one of the reasons I moved to Seattle. Plus, it helps to fit in with all the other pasty skinned blokes. Rain, fog, and that olde school charm is what puts this at the top of my list. I almost went to school there, I was this close (puts index finger and thumb together very closely)!
2. Machu Picchu - A five mile hike up into the mountains of Peru will grant you with the most awe inspiring view into a mysterious civilization. Just look at these pictures. It wasn't really an entire civilization, but most likely a retreat or vacation town for some of the well-to-do's in Peru. Nevertheless, it's just plain awesome.
3. Dublin - Who wouldn't want to go to Dublin? Rolling hills of green; friendly, drunken locals; some of the best beer in the world, and the Loch Ness monster? Count me in!
4. Japan (Kyoto, Tokyo) - I've always wanted to learn Japanese. There is something about the culture that is inspiring. I think that I relate to them becuase I love video games just as they do, and I understand their culture as most people don't. Plus, I would be gigantic over there, a real ego booster if I do say so.
5. Athens - I guess I just really want a good Gyro. A city that can withstand nearly 3,000 years of war, politics, and religion is one I want to visit. Plus the Parthenon is there or something :]

What about you guys? What's your top five?