Favorite Films And Albums Of The '60s: Can You Handle Numbers 6 And 5?

6. La Dolce Vita (Fellini, 1960)

Ever thought to yourself, “If only a Fellini movie featured a diamond-shaped blob, sentient balloons, suicidal intellectuals, that guy who sang ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol,’ a flying Jesus statue, and Nico?” Well do I have news for you. And yet, somehow, it all boils down to some girl waving on a beach? Che diavolo? Along the way, my essay on my 6th favorite movie of the ‘60s might even touch on a few things the work in question does not: Albert Camus, Hank Williams, Peter Fonda, my dead English professor … come on in, the fountain’s warm.

6. The Beatles (The Beatles)

Riddle: What’s white, white, and white all over? My 6th favorite album of the ‘60s, in a blender. Expecting Sgt. Pepper, Part II, were you? Looks like this band had other ideas. Arguably TOO many ideas, but who am I to judge? Three songs in one? Fine? Half a song? Fine. A song that’s not even a song? Fine! Anyway, “I’m So Tired” of people complaining about which tracks belong and which tracks don’t. Give it all to me, damn it.

5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)

Open the pod bay doors, HAL – and while you’re at it, check out this essay on my 5th favorite movie of the ‘60s. Despite Kubrick whiffing on all sorts of predictions regarding life in the 21st century (where’s Blogspot?), I think I’m willing to throw the guy a bone here. After all, nothing says “good time” like stuntmen in ape suits, two 19th century composers named Strauss who failed to realize they were working for Stanley Kubrick the entire time, and a curiously tight-lipped black rectangle. Leave this one off the countdown? I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

5. Led Zeppelin II (Led Zeppelin, 1969)

Do you A) need cooling, B) think that I am fooling? If you answered “yes” to either, then allow me to send you back to schooling with this essay on my 5th favorite album of the ‘60s. ‘Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor … where Led Zeppelin discovered a cave filled with Chicago Blues songs that American teenagers had never heard before, and fused them with ... Gollum? Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to find the queen of all my dreams, at least before the hideous theremin beast screaming “LAAWW-uhh-AAW-uhh-OHH-uhh-OHH” gets me.

Top 10 Favorite Films and Albums Of The '60s: The Countdown Continues ...

 8. Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969)

Everybody’s talkin’ about my 8th favorite movie of the ‘60s, but I don’t hear a word they’re saying … because I’m too busy typing out this blog post, and I type pretty loud I guess. Moral of the story: anyone thinking of moving to New York without a solid employment opportunity in place ... should probably view this movie first.

8. Music From Big Pink (The Band, 1968)

Take a load off, Fanny, we can talk about my 8th favorite album of the ‘60s now, and ponder whether its memory of bygone American folklore has served us well – hopefully before Crazy Chester catches us in the fog. Let’s just say that “Music from Little Pink” wouldn’t have had quite the same ring to it.

7. Doctor Zhivago (Lean, 1965)

So wait, he’s a doctor AND a poet? Isn’t that kind of … fucked up? Take that fur coat out of the closet and step into the frigid winds of my 7th favorite movie of the ‘60s, hopefully before your hands freeze off from my discussion of, among other topics, its crisp editing, icy antagonists, or the oddly chilly critical reception it’s received (but anybody who’s got a problem with it can take this balalaika and shove it where the sun don’t shine). This could be the rare film that’s almost as epic as my essay about it.

7. The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground; Nico, 1967)

Knock knock. Who’s there? Banana. Banana who? Knock knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad you’re not on whatever drugs these guys were on? No need to wait for the man if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on my 7th favorite album of the ‘60s (and all the zany antics and wacky hijinks that went into the making of it). Peel slowly and read.