'Amadeus'

I watched this film some time in middle school. I don't remember why. It doesn't seem A) appropriate; or B) capable of being digested by an 11-year-old kid.

Watching it now, I realize how little I understood. I never realized that the man at the beginning was Antonio Salieri or that the old man (who was trying to kill himself) retelling the story was Salieri. I never got the mysterious man demaning the opera from Mozart nor did I get Salieri's feelings or motivations.

I even thought F. Murray Abraham was the actor that portrayed Mozart. Instead, it was the neurotic Tom Hulce, both of whom are fantastic in their respective roles.

Amadeus won the Best Picture Oscar and Sir Laurence Olivier was chosen to present the award. Instead of introducing the nominees and opening the envelope, he just simply said that the winner was Amadeus. He was right.

When it's all said and done and we are looking back over two centuries of film, critics will consider Amadeus one of the greatest films ever made.

'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn'

Worldwide, Pink Floyd's initial foray into recorded music would not chart until 2007 when the album was reissued. Initially, it peaked at No. 6 on the British charts despite it generally being really out there, especially in 1967 when the Beatles and other mainstream rock bands were peaking creatively.

Pink Floyd were advanced $5,000 once signing to EMI and their first single was "Arnold Layne," a song about a kleptomaniac transvestite.

Soon, Syd Barrett would suffer his rapid descent into madness. Before one show, he was found in his dressing room "gone," and he was propped on stage where he stood, with his guitar strapped around his shoulders. Standing there.

What's odd about Pink Floyd is that they were actual contemporaries of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They formed in 1962 and began touring in 1965. That $5,000 was all they'd get for five years in addition to having to pay for their studio time and getting no royalties.

Pink Floyd would get theirs eventually, and they'd make much better rock albums. Just not with Syd Barrett or with Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

'Electric Music For The Mind And Body'

Country Joe and the Fish are interesting because they are one of the few groups organized for almost the sole purpose of protest.

Wrought from the turmoil of the United States in the 1960s, the name comes from a nickname for Joseph Stalin (Country Joe) and an adage from Chairman Mao (The Fish). I guess that might make them communists, a political situation that wasn't too keen on artistic freedom. Wonder if Country Joe knows the definition of "irony."

That's the only significance, mostly because the music sucks. Long live the 196os! When anyone could start a band!