Nahum On the Web

Gallileo discovered the solar system. Einstein gave us the theory of relativity. Thomas Edison discovered the light bulb. Theologian Anselm of Bec contributed to the growth of the intellectual tradition by instigating the scholastic period and the birth of the university. John Cusack’s character from High Fidelity brought it’s own obscure contribution to humankind and the modern era: the great gift of ‘the High Five.’

So after tossing around several weighty topics of conversation in a local Melbourne Mafia restaurant, discussions about relationships led to the film, ‘High Fidelity,’ and the lasting impact that the film has left on popular culture. Or perhaps not. Having exhausted the limits of hyperbole, I will now endeavour to compile an exhaustive yet obscure Top Five ‘Top Five lists:’

Top Five Popular Songs:
1. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On?
2. Aretha Franklin - Respect
3. U2 – I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
4. Sonic Youth – Kool thing
5. Midnight Oil – Bed’s are Burning

Top Five Popular Songs that didn’t make the Top Five:
1. The Beatles – Hey Jude
2. Bob Dylan – Lay Lady Lay
3. The Doors – Break on Through
4. Portishead – Mysterons
5. Simon and Garfunkel – Sounds of Silence

Top Five Movies
1. Life is Beautiful
2. The Usual Suspects
3. Amelie
4. Dead Poet’s Society
5. The Matrix (the original Matrix)

Top Five Comic Actors/Comedians

1. Peter Sellers
2. John Cleese
3. Rowan Atkinson
4. Robin Williams
5. Jack Black (Don’t ask me why)

Well that just about wraps up my top five ‘Top Five Lists.’ It is my desire that this list be not seen as empirical, but a ‘living document,’ a benchmark by which new examples in each category are considered. And in the spirit of Cusack from the great movie timepiece High Fidelity, it is my hope that my lists will be fruitful and multiply, and that yet more ‘top fives’ would make their way across the world, and beyond.