My 3 all-time guitar heroes

In its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", Rolling Stone placed Edward Van Halen at #8, Slash at #65, and omitted Buckethead altogether. Needless to say, that list is wrong.

Lists usually are, except when a list is made by you. Then stuff is sweet. Then stuff is right. So I'll just go ahead and make my own list and title it "My 3 All-time Guitar Heroes":

#3 Buckethead
Kudos to Axl Rose for exposing me to Buckethead. For a while Buckethead played lead guitar for the new Guns N' Roses and when he didn't anymore, I made a point of finding more Buckethead music on Youtube. When I stumbled upon a video of Buckethead prancing on stage with the new Guns N' Roses wearing a cape, I just knew: me and him, we're gonna be tight.

"Big Sur Moon" from the album Colma (1998):




#2 Edward Van Halen
I knew of Van Halen. I heard them on the radio – "Panama" – and I thought the video clip for "Hot for Teacher" was funny. I also thought they were loud, but that their music also brimmed with personality. Only much later did I find out that the Van Halen brothers hailed from Holland (which made perfect sense once I pronounced "Van Halen" the Dutch way), had some Indonesian in them, and that to properly appreciate Edward's playing you needed to hear it through earphones: If you close your eyes you can see sunshine and orange trees and scantily clad ladies dancing to his guitar. A musician's musician, Edward's playing continues to evolve and mature over time.

"Once" from the album Van Halen III (1998):




#1 Slash
Slash got me through puberty and for that alone I owe him everlasting allegiance. He continues to be an inspiration even today: professionally, personally – he's not infallible; I know he's not, but he has also no qualms of grabbing life by the cojones. I saw Slash live at Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, on August 3rd, 2010 (set list). I walked in a fan with my hands trembling and walked away half-deaf and with respect: larger-than-life rock 'n' roll persona aside, turns out the man is a consummate pro.

Slash covering "Hey Joe" at the UK Music Hall of Fame (2005):

Let's meet André van Duin

The funniest man of Holland. Hands down.

I introduced him earlier in a tweet with a link to a short sketch that sums up the gist of André Van Duin's comic mojo. In that sketch, Jos Brink (a famous Dutch artist), sitting on your right-hand side, can't handle the mojo and cracks up. Here it is again, for your viewing pleasure:


Which brings us to the next sketch. The mojo's there, no know-how of Dutch is needed, so all's good. It's shot outdoors on the sidewalk of a cafe and Van Duin plays a drifter ordering a fl. 3.35 open sandwich with chips and eggs. Prompted by the waiter (Frans van Dusschoten, often playing the sensible one to Van Duin's zany characters), the drifter proceeds to cobble together the money in small change from all over on his person. Satisfied, the waiter dutifully cobbles together the sandwich:

This is the Tuschinski

The Tuschinski is an art deco cinema in Amsterdam where, growing up in Holland, I saw E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Return of the Jedi (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), and Back to the Future (1985).

The red carpeting in the lobby and the copper rope stanchions demarking the box office left an indelible impression on me. It's as if they're saying: going to the movies is a special thing. But why tell you, when I can show you:

[Dreamful of Tuschinski ~ a resident of Amsterdam relives the evening that changed her life forever. It all began at Tuschinski. Sometimes it's hard on her when the evening unfailingly turns into a new day.]

My S & W album collection

S & W standing for Suske and Wiske, and album meaning comic book. The characters and the comic books with their characteristic orange cover are quite popular over there in Holland.

My collection consists of 41 comic books, which looks more bulky in reality than it sounds on paper. Speaking of sounds, the comic books are renowned for their quirky titles. Here then a lesson in double Dutch:

#68 Het Eiland Amoras
#70 De Spokenjagers
#76 De Ijzeren Schelvis
#77 De Apekermis
#85 De Schone Slaper
#87 De Vliegende Aap
#88 De Tamtamkloppers
#89 De Dolle Musketiers
#101 De Kaartendans
#103 De Klankentapper
#104 De Wilde Weldoener
#107 De Sprietatoom
#110 De Zingende Zwammen
#113 Het Geheim van de Gladiatoren
#119 Het Sprekende Testament
#124 Het Vliegende Bed
#135 De Gekke Gokker
#136 De Bokkerijders
#137 De Ringelingschat
#150 Het Spaanse Spook
#154 Rikki en Wiske in Chocowakije
#164 De Raap van Rubens
#165 De Sputterende Spuiter
#174 Het Statige Standbeeld
#175 De Kadulle Cupido
#183 De Toffe Tamboer
#186 De Rosse Reus
#189 De Belhamel-Bende
#197 Het Delta Duel
#199 De Tamme Tumi
#200 Amoris van Amoras
#202 Angst op de "Amsterdam"
#205 De Kattige Kat
#206 De Bonkige Baarden
#208 De Hellegathonden
#246 De Vonkende Vuurman
#249 De Razende Race
#252 Volle Maan
#266 De Kernmonsters
#273 De Europummel
* Beter voor Bert

Don't say I never gave you anything.