Thursday, February 28, 2013

HALEN V. DYKE V. WILDER:  With Van Cliburn's passing yesterday, who now assumes the title of America's greatest Van?  (And can anyone conjure what a contemporary equivalent would be of what Cliburn achieved in Moscow in 1958?)

11 comments:

  1. Van Wilder. Was married to Scarlett Johannson and now married to Blake Lively.


    But seriously, it's Dick Van Dyke. No question. (2nd place: Tim Van Patten, fabulous director and ninja master.)

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  2. The Pathetic Earthling9:07 AM

    The 1972 equivalent is Fischer/Spassky, da? So, if the analog is "America stuns the world," and I can think that only a US win of the World Cup would do.

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  3. Meghan10:01 AM

    Morrison.

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  4. Meghan10:06 AM

    I put in Morrison and then realized you said American. So please forgive my error, in case it shows up. As a result, I'm going with Dick van Dyke but I feel very, very strongly about van Halen as well. But you can't overlook Dyke.

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  5. Surely the contemporary equivalent is whatever Rodman is doing in Pyongyang this week. You'll see!

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  6. Jordan11:58 AM

    Morrison is Irish, Wilder is Canadian, Dyke and Halen are parts of last names, so I don't think they should count. But by those rules, the only one I can think of is Van Jones, and while I'm all for green energy, I doubt he has wide enough appeal. So I think it's clear that the only real choice we have for "America's greatest van" is the Mystery Machine.

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  7. lisased1:31 PM

    Van Dyke Parks. He finished "Smile" with Brian Wilson; worked with Frank Zappa, the Wainwrights, U2, Frank Black, Bonnie Raitt, Fiona Apple, T-Bone Burnett, and Harry Nilsson, among others; arranged "The Bare Necessities" from "The Jungle Book"; acted on "The Honeymooners" and "Twin Peaks"; and (my favorite) wrote the music and lyrics for the "Harold and the Purple Crayon" TV series.

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  8. The World Cup is kind of close, but it doesn't have the "America beats the Evil Empire" sort of factor that existed in US/USSR relations at that point.

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  9. An Irainian kid winning the Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee? I mean, you know, WE'RE the "Evil Empire" at this point, right? Who else really is there?

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  10. J. Bowman8:39 PM

    Did he ever really reach "master" status? I mean, the guy was really good at getting thrown through windows, but still...

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  11. C'mon, he had a really b****ing van! And a gerbil!

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