In determining who the best popular musicians are - most skillful, innovative, and popular - I went ahead and began looking at superlatives. Which artists showed up on 'Best of' lists, again and again? Which had been inducted into Halls of Fame? Which had received national honors?
From this I made a basic scoring rubric, and began adding up points:
That said, here's the top 126 popular musical artists (anyone who scored at least a 3).
Around a decade ago, the Library of Congress came up with a really very good collection of 88 books that helped changed America. It covers landmarks in children’s literature, genre fiction, scientific writings, cookbooks, and more. Some of these titles are relatively obscure, today, but they were nevertheless very influential in shaping our nation.
That
said, the number, 88, was bugging me. So I went ahead and added the missing 12
entries, to make an even 100. The books are presented alphabetically, below,
with my additions in bold. (Incidentally, I have read exactly half of the list.)
Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884
Alcoholics
Anonymous, anonymous, 1939
American
Cookery, Amelia Simmons, 1796
American
Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa, 1921
The
American Woman's Home, Catharine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1869
And the
Band Played On, Randy Shilts, 1987
Atlas
Shrugged, Ayn Rand, 1957
The
Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X and Alex Haley, 1965
Beloved,
Toni Morrison, 1987
Bury My
Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown, 1970
The
Call of the Wild, Jack London, 1903
Carrie,
Stephen King, 1971
The Cat
in the Hat, Dr. Seuss, 1957
Catch-22,
Joseph Heller, 1961
The
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, 1951
Charlotte's
Web, E.B. White, 1952
Common
Sense, Thomas Paine, 1776
The
Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, Benjamin Spock, 1946
Cosmos,
Carl Sagan, 1980
The
Crucible, Arthur Miller, 1953
A
Curious Hieroglyphick Bible, anonymous, 1788
The
Double Helix, James D. Watson, 1968
The
Education of Henry Adams, Henry Adams, 1907
Eichmann
in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, Hannah Arendt, 1963
Experiments
and Observations on Electricity, Benjamin Franklin, 1751
Fahrenheit
451, Ray Bradbury, 1953
Family
Limitation, Margaret Sanger, 1914
The
Federalist, anonymous, 1787
The
Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan, 1963
The
Fire Next Time, James Baldwin, 1963
For
Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway, 1940
Gone
With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936
Goodnight
Moon, Margaret Wise Brown, 1947
A
Grammatical Institute of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1783
The
Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939
The
Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
Harriet,
the Moses of Her People, Sarah H. Bradford, 1901
The
Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell, 1949
The
History of Standard Oil, Ida Tarbell, 1904
History
of the Expedition Under the Command of the Captains Lewis and Clark, Meriwether
Lewis, 1814
How the
Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis, 1890
How to
Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, 1936
Howl, Allen
Ginsberg, 1956
I Know
Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou, 1969
The
Iceman Cometh, Eugene O'Neill, 1946
Idaho:
A Guide in Word and Pictures, Federal Writers' Project, 1937
In Cold
Blood, Truman Capote, 1966
Invisible
Man, Ralph Ellison, 1952
Joy of
Cooking, Irma Rombauer, 1931
The
Jungle, Upton Sinclair, 1906
Leaves
of Grass, Walt Whitman, 1855
The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, 1820
Little
Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, Louisa May Alcott, 1868
Mark,
the Match Boy, Horatio Alger Jr., 1869
Maus,
Art Spiegelman, 1991
McGuffey's
Newly Revised Eclectic Primer, William Holmes McGuffey, 1836
Moby-Dick;
or The Whale, Herman Melville, 1851
The
Mountains of California, John Muir, 1894
The
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass, 1845
Native
Son, Richard Wright, 1940
New
England Primer, anonymous, 1803
New
Hampshire, Robert Frost, 1923
On the
Road, Jack Kerouac, 1957
Our
Bodies, Ourselves, Boston Women's Health Book Collective, 1971
Our
Town: A Play, Thornton Wilder, 1938
A
People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn, 1980
Peter
Parley's Universal History, Samuel Goodrich, 1837
Poems, Emily
Dickinson, 1890
Poor
Richard Improved and The Way to Wealth, Benjamin Franklin, 1758
Pragmatism,
William James, 1907
The
Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D., Benjamin Franklin, 1793
The Red
Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895
Red
Harvest, Dashiell Hammett, 1929
Riders
of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey, 1912
The
Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850
Sexual
Behavior in the Human Male, Alfred C. Kinsey, 1948
Silent
Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
Slouching
Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion, 1968
The
Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats, 1962
The
Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois, 1903
The
Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner, 1929
Spring
and All, William Carlos Williams, 1923
Stranger
in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, 1961
A
Street in Bronzeville, Gwendolyn Brooks, 1945
A
Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams, 1947
A
Survey of the Roads of the United States of America, Christopher Colles, 1789
Tarzan
of the Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1914
The
Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe, 1843
Ten
Days in a Mad-House, Nellie Bly, 1887
Their
Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, 1937
To Kill
a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960
A
Treasury of American Folklore, Benjamin A. Botkin, 1944
A Tree
Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith, 1943
Uncle
Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852
Unsafe
at Any Speed, Ralph Nader, 1965
Walden;
or Life in the Woods, Henry David Thoreau, 1854
The
Weary Blues, Langston Hughes, 1925
Where
the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, 1963
The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, 1900
The
Words of Cesar Chavez, Cesar Chavez, 2002
The Academy Honorary Award usually goes to one of two recipients: 1) Those who have gotten lots of nominations, but never won any or, 2) those who never got any nominations, and, oops, probably should have.
In the former category we have performers like Barbara Stanwyck (4 nominations without a win) and Peter O’Toole (8 nominations without a win). In the latter we have artists like the directors Roger Corman and Charles Burnett – never getting nominated. The award can go to anyone significantly involved in the film industry, though, not just actors and directors (stunt performers, costumers, musicians, etc.).
That said, it also sometimes is given as a sort of lifetime achievement to folks who have already won competitive Oscars, but I’m ignoring that category (see Laurence Olivier, Sidney Poitier, etc.). Finally, it is often also given to foreign directors and actors, for their contribution to American cinema (Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Luc Goddard, Liv Ullman, etc.) - so it is not exclusive to Americans.
Bearing
that all in mind, here, then, arranged solely by age, are 25 people who I think
deserve an Academy Honorary Award. My cutoff for the youngest possible age,
based in part on how the Academy seems to do it, is 55.
James
Hong (94). Notable
work: Chinatown, Blade Runner, Everything Everywhere All at Once
Don
Bluth (86). Notable
work: An American Tale, The Land Before Time, Anastasia.
Claudia
Cardinale (85). Notable
work: 8 ½, The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West
Ridley
Scott (85) 4 noms.
Notable work: Alien, Thelma & Louise, The Martian
Ian
McKellan (84) 2
noms. Notable work: Richard III, Gods & Monsters, The Lord of the Rings
Trilogy
Christopher
Lloyd (84). Notable
work: Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Addams Family
Brian
de Palma (83). Notable
work: Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables
Martin
Sheen (83). Notable
work: Badlands, Apocalypse Now, The Departed
Werner
Herzog (81) 1 nom.
Notable work: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten
Dreams
Wallace
Shawn (79). Notable
work: My Dinner with Andre, The Princess Bride, Toy Story
Wim
Wenders (78) 3
noms. Notable work: Paris Texas, Wings of Desire, Pina
Mia
Farrow (78). Notable
work: Rosemary’s Baby, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters
Claire
Denis (77). Notable
work: Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum, White Material
Glenn
Close (76) 8 noms.
Notable work: The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction, The Wife
Sigourney
Weaver (73) 3 noms.
Notable work: The Year of Living Dangerously, Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist
Isabelle
Huppert (70) 1 nom.
Notable work: La Ceremonie, The Piano Teacher, Elle
Jeff
Goldblum (70) 1
nom. Notable work: The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day
Wong
Kar-Wai (65). Notable
work: Chungking Express, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love
Steve
Buscemi (65). Notable
work: Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, Con Air
Doug
Jones (63). Notable
work: Hocus Pocus, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water
Antonio
Banderas (63) 1
nom. Notable work: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Philadelphia,
Pain and Glory
Ralph
Fiennes (60) 2 nom.
Notable work: Schindler’s List, The English Patient, Harry Potter
Andy
Serkis (59). Notable
work: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, Black Panther
Gong
Li (57). Notable
work: Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell My Concubine
Shah
Rukh Khan (56). Notable
work: Dil Se…, Devdas, My Name is Khan
Historically, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been negligent in inducting female artists - at least until the past few years (with a wave of overdue additions, from Carly Simon to Joan Baez). Here are my recommendations for some important musicians they should consider:
Dionne Warwick (eligible since 1987). 100 million records sold, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and Kennedy Center Honoree.
Bjork (eligible since 2002). 22 million records sold, Polar Music Award Winner, critically acclaimed genre-fusion pop culture icon.
X-Ray Spex (Poly Styrene) (eligible since 2002). One of the foremost female-led punk groups, Germfree Adolescents has become an iconic 70s recording.
Queen Latifah (eligible since 2003). Grammy Award Winner, Kennedy Center Honoree, All Hail the Queen is in the National Recording Registry.
Tori Amos (eligible since 2005). Critically acclaimed, and perennial awards nominee, singer-songwriter of the 90s, particularly renowned for Little Earthquakes.
Cyndi Lauper (eligible since 2008). 50 million albums sold, Grammy and Tony winner, She’s So Unusual has become regarded as an 80s masterpiece, and is in the National Recording Registry.
Sinead O’Connor (eligible since 2012). Grammy Award Winner, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got became a landmark album of the 90s, and catapulted O’Connor to stardom.
PJ Harvey (eligible since 2016). Critically acclaimed, and perennial awards nominee, essential singer-songwriter of the 90s.
Alanis Morissette (eligible since 2016). 75 million records sold, Grammy Award winner, iconic 90s alt-rock star, Jagged Little Pill also inspired a Tony-winning musical.
Mary J. Blige (eligible since 2017). Grammy Award Winner, her blending of hip-hop and soul music in the 90s was incredibly influential, with one of the most successful Billboard songs of all-time.
Sleater-Kinney (eligible since 2019). An influential riot grrrl band, they later transitioned to prominence in the indie rock world, with their albums receiving critical praise.
Erykah Badu (eligible since 2021). Grammy Award winner, neo soul pioneer, Baduizm was particularly critically acclaimed.
Fiona Apple (eligible since 2021). Grammy Award winner, and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter who has put out classic albums across three decades.
Lauryn Hill
(eligible in 2023). Record-breaking Grammy Award winner, 90s hip-hop star, The
Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is in the National Recording Registry.
Musical Influence
‘Big
Mama’ Thornton (eligible since 1986). A gender nonconforming R&B pioneer
who made the first recordings of songs like 'Hound Dog,' which is in the
National Recording Registry.
I was thinking lately about pop culture icons, and which ones reflect our times. Of course, every country is going to be a different, just as the list is constantly shifting to reflect “contemporary” culture, but for the U.S., I think the following list is a pretty good reckoning for the early 2020s.
Disclaimers: Only looking at icons from the 20th and 21st centuries (No Sherlock Holmes, Ebenezer Scrooge, Alice, Dracula, et al.). There are no mascots – brand, sports, or otherwise (No Ronald McDonald, Mr. Met, Smoky the Bear, et al.). Finally, there are no political figures, who certainly have an enormous impact of pop culture, but felt wrong for this list (No Gandhi, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Princess Diana, Hitler, et al.).
Here, unranked and alphabetized, are what I’d consider the top 150 Pop Icons:
ABBA
Muhammad
Ali
Julie
Andrews
Ang (Avatar:
The Last Airbender)
Louis
Armstrong
David
Attenborough
Avatar
Na’vi
The
Avengers
Lucille
Ball
Barbie
Batman
and The Joker
The
Beatles
Beyonce
Humphrey
Bogart
James
Bond (Skyfall, Dr. No, Goldeneye, etc.)
Bono
David
Bowie
Tom
Brady
Marlon
Brando
Garth
Brooks
Charlie
Brown and Snoopy
Bugs
Bunny and Daffy Duck
Calvin
and Hobbes
Al
Capone
Mariah
Carey
Johnny
Cash
Charlie
Chaplin
Dave
Chappelle
Cheers Cast
Cher
George
Clooney
Sheldon
Cooper (Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon)
Simon
Cowell
Lara
Croft (Tomb Raider)
Tom
Cruise
Ellen
DeGeneres
Don
Draper (Mad Men)
Dr. Dre
Dr.
Seuss (Cat in the Hat, The Grinch, The Lorax, etc.)
Dr. Who
Bob
Dylan
Clint Eastwood
Albert
Einstein
Eleven (Stranger
Things)
Eminem
Tina
Fey
Aretha
Franklin
Sigmund
Freud
Friends Cast
The
Fonz (Happy Days)
Game of
Thrones
Judy
Garland
Bill
Gates
Ghostbusters
Godzilla
Goku (Dragon
Ball)
Grateful
Dead
Rick
Grimes (Walking Dead)
Meredith
Grey (Grey’s Anatomy)
Tom
Hanks
Stephen
Hawking
Hello
Kitty
Audrey
Hepburn
Alfred
Hitchcock
Jack
and Rose (Titanic)
Michael
Jackson
Steve
Jobs
Indiana
Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Last Crusade, etc.)
Michael
Jordan
Frida Kahlo
The
Kardashians
Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Stephen
King
King
Kong
Hannibal
Lecter (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, etc.)
Bruce
Lee
Jay
Leno
David
Letterman
Link (Legend
of Zelda)
The
Lion King
Omar
Little (The Wire)
Jennifer
Lopez
The Lord
of the Rings
Madonna
Bob
Marley
Freddie
Mercury
Hiyao
Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, etc.)
Marilyn
Monroe
Mickey Mouse
and Gang
MrBeast
The
Muppets
Peter
Pan
Sarah
Jessica Parker
Rosa
Parks
Dolly
Parton
PewDiePie
Pablo
Picasso
Pokémon
Harry Potter
Elvis
Presley
Prince
Jackie
Robinson
The
Rock
Mister
Rogers
Cristiano
Ronaldo
Bob
Ross
Run DMC
Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Scooby
Doo Gang
Michael
Scott (The Office)
Jerry
Seinfeld
Sesame
Street
Tupac
Shakur
Shrek
The
Simpsons
Frank
Sinatra
Will Smith
Tony
Soprano (The Sopranos)
South
Park
Britney
Spears
Spider-Man
Steven
Spielberg
SpongeBob
SquarePants
Star
Trek
Star
Wars
Jon
Stewart
Martha
Stewart
Meryl
Streep
Superman
Super
Mario Bros.
Taylor
Swift
Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tom
& Jerry
Toy
Story
Transformers
Tina
Turner
Twilight
Andy
Warhol
John
Wayne
Betty
White
Walter
White (Breaking Bad)
Robin
Williams
Serena
Williams
Oprah
Winfrey
Winnie
the Pooh
Stevie
Wonder
Wonder
Woman
Tiger
Woods
X-Men
Daddy
Yankee
America has a rich legacy of the arts. But which pieces are the *most* essential - the quintessential artistic achievements of our nation? Well, what better way to determine it than a standard football bracket?
Each major category of the arts will be represented by two iconic works, and then go to the next round against a different artistic medium.
Note: Only American works of art are considered - not works that predate the United States, or made by non-Americans. (All apologies to the Statue of Liberty!)
Round One: Paintings and Poems
Paintings:
Poems:
Round Two: Photography and Novels
Photography:
Novels:
Round Three: Film and Posters
Film:
Posters:
Round Four: Dance and Decorative Arts
Dance:
Jumpin' Jive by The Mills Brothers
Decorative Arts:
Round Five: Monuments and Drama
Monuments:
Drama:
Round Six: Sculpture and Comedy
Sculpture:
Comedy:
Round Seven: Classical Music and Architecture
Classical Music:
Architecture:
Round Eight: Popular Music and Television
Popular Music:
Television:
What does your bracket look like?
Over the past year, or so, things have shifted for higher education in America.
First off, the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has seen a number of states outlaw abortion. For a number of young women (and men too, perhaps), this will affect their choices regarding college applications. Consider: You are a young woman who is (or is hoping to be) sexually active in college. Will you risk applying to a campus in a state where you can't get an abortion, if needed?
I expect liberal arts campuses in states where the bans have taken hold will see a decline in applications from such students. The question will be, how drastically will this affect admissions and programs. For that we will have to wait and see, but, at the very least, I would expect greater polarization. Just as segregation left our country more geographically and ideologically polarized, the anti-abortion states will be more isolated, especially as outside voices increasingly don't intermingle at their colleges. College towns in red states will start to get redder.
Next, affirmative action has been struck down. A number of states had already gotten rid of this, and California provides really good data on what the results have been:
The data shows that getting rid of affirmative action makes campuses less diverse. They can make up some of the deficit with income-based selection, but it isn't as effective in promoting diversity as affirmative action. Once again, this means campuses will be less diverse - and provide narrower perspectives, opinions, and views.
The majority of an African American Studies courses may be mostly populated with black students, for example. But for the non-black students who are filling in the remainder of the seats, the courses may provide important insight into other perspectives besides their own. With declining black and Hispanic populations in colleges, that means those programs will probably suffer. Without access to different viewpoints, students may be less likely to examine their biases and personal histories - because the college population they find themselves in will reconfirm their biases and experiences. Banning affirmative action has already seen black and Hispanic students in those states avoiding applying to more selective schools. Elite colleges can admit based on legacy - which skews heavily towards privileged whites - but not, apparently, use the most effective tool to help lift black and Hispanic students to higher education - and, over the course of their lifetimes, greater economic gains as a consequence.
Economics will be affected also by the other major ruling, regarding student loan forgiveness. Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student loans, and the decision to disallow the Biden Administration from forgiving part of it will, of course, see fewer lower income students going to college in the future, as well as hold back a generation of borrowers from meeting the economic targets their parents had achieved by their age. This will, again, disproportionately harm black and Hispanic students. 36% of white students are first-generation college enrollments. By comparison Hispanic students are 74%, and black students 63%. By putting college out-of-reach for them, due to the exorbitant cost or crushing loans, it keeps them disadvantaged for the foreseeable future.
So. Ten years from now, picture the higher education archipelago of the United States. Across the board, fewer black and Hispanic students are in elite schools, and schools generally. Besides the west coast and New England, there are scattered islands of liberal universities. The south and most of the west and Midwest no longer attract students with perspectives at odds with their state legislatures. Institutions like Emerson, Belmont, Notre Dame - they are now increasingly dependent on more conservative white families for support, and their programs begin to reflect that. Like social media on the internet, going to college will reinforce your personal echo chamber - including mirroring your race.
Without major changes, these decisions will have a generational effect on earnings, the middle class, and our status as a debtor nation. Lacking the ladder of higher education out of poverty, wage and poverty issues will continue to be a drag on our country. Fewer high income individuals means more dependency on minimum wage - which remains far too low. The middle class will thin out even more, as people drop into poverty. Since the middle class is the driver of economic growth, this means a nation-wide economic loss. Homelessness will remain unacceptably high, without the resources and decreased charity.
All told, these three decisions - unless there are big changes - will radically alter not just reproductive rights and university campuses, but will hasten income inequality, the gutting of the middle class, step-up reactionary labor movements and strikes, and further entrench systemic poverty and patterns of racial discrimination due to lack of opportunities - whether that is not being able to afford college, or having a child due to a failure in contraception, and being unable to get an abortion.
Rolling back abortion and affirmative action are vastly at odds with American opinion, of course. The majority of citizens support both, in growing numbers. Add to that that only 1/3 of Americans polled wanted the Supreme Court to strike down the student loan forgiveness and you have a picture of a hyper-conservative Court that does not reflect the will of the people, and does not see law as a way of supporting and lifting up its citizens.
