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):

My top 5 all-time favourite books

And they are, in no particular order:

1) On Writing (5/5)
Stephen King
Fan or no fan, you've got to admit that King knows his way around the typewriter. In this memoir he lets it all hang out. Two lessons stand out:

1. Describe it, don't say it;
2. Adjectives are bad.

2) The Lord of the Rings (5/5)
J.R.R. Tolkien
The prose, the characters, the whole set up. Brilliant. Lesson learned: Hear it in your head first, then write it down. Fluid prose every time.

3) The Pillars of the Earth (5/5)
Ken Follett
I've had a craving for stories set in medieval times ever since childhood and this novel cured me of it. Things aren't that much different then from now after all.

4) Jurassic Park (5/5)
Michael Crichton
Crichton's masterpiece. Nothing ever came close before or after this. Great prologue.

5) Slash (4/5)
Slash & Anthony Bozza
Only four stars for you, mister, simply because I expected more, more, more. My only hardback on this list.

Honourable mention:

The Grand Design (5/5)
Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow
I've got the feeling I got the universe all figured out after reading this. Essential reading.

So here's my grand super-duper idea for a TV-comedy crossover movie

It takes place in the Big Apple and it brings together -- have a load of this -- 30 Rock, The Office, Everybody Loves Raymond, *and* Curb Your Enthusiasm (my favourite TV comedy shows) and key (read: my favourite) cast members:

From the 30 Rock gang we'd have Liz (Tina Fey), Tracy (Tracy Morgan), Kenneth (Jack McBrayer), and Jack (Alec Baldwin). From the The Office world: Michael (Steve Carell), Dwight (Rainn Wilson), and Andy (Ed Helms). From Everybody Loves Raymond: Ray (Ray Romano), Debra (Patricia Heaton), and Robert (Brad Garrett). And flying in from L.A. and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry (Larry David).

Slash, Buckethead, and Edward Van Halen (my guitar heroes) all have cameos, of course.

The opening scene is shot at Ray's. Awesomeness must ensue.