Steven Weber

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Top 10 Tunes

Ladies and Gentlemen! Duck! Here he is, the Wild Man of Twitter, the Indoors Man of Bel Air, the Human Contortionist of Brooklyn, the Veteran of the Catskills, the Family Man, The Star of Wings, Humorist, Poet, Political Commentator, the Suave, the Savage, the Lush, the decidedly wacky, the Fully Trained and Qualified Thespian, as seen on Broadway (The Producers ... how good was that?), as seen in Happy Town, a hell of an actor, an even more hellish guy ... he sings, he dances, he drives, he paints, he rides a horse, he has six languages, he drinks our wine but shouldn't, he travels but should be banned; he's a liability, he's a Star and he's our good pal ... he is, of course ... the magnificent ... STEVEN WEBER!

My Top Ten!!! -- or "A Clearly Deficient Sampling of One's Musical Tastes Served in No Particular Order Up for the Scrutiny of Total Strangers at the Behest of Master Sam Neill, Gentleman, Oenophile, Sadist."

1.Strange Fruit - sung by Billie Holiday

I have a late recording of this almost terminally haunting song, her legendary voice ragged and beautiful. Like Sam Neill's bath towels.

2.Alfie - sung by Burt Bacharach in a live concert in Sydney.

Delicate, almost whispered, it cuts into your heart. Like Sam Neill's World War 2 era toenail clippers he keeps in the guest bathroom.

3.Quadrophenia - the whole damned album (The Who)

I listened to it every day for four years while in my late teens. Bittersweet, beautiful, raging. Like the people Sam Neill employs to pick his perfectly ripened grapes.

4.Only the Lonely - Frank Sinatra sings for - The entire album

Each sad, brilliantly crafted song is perfectly arranged by Nelson Riddle and exquisitely sung by Sinatra. But be warned: remove all booze and sharp objects from the room you're listening in.

5.Instant Karma - Beatles

Hard to pick just one Beatles song but this one isn't heard as often as many others. And it's anthemic, it's passionate, it's angry, it's amused. And it still, as the kids say, rocks.

6.Hurt - Johnny Cash

This haunting version of the Trent Reznor song, recorded soon before he left this realm. Amazing.

7.Nessun Dorma - Pavoratti

If we had to send one example of human-created beauty to an alien race in order to dissuade them from destroying Earth, this would be it. Either that or a scene from Reilly: Ace of Spies.

8.Tramp the Dirt Down - Elvis Costello

Pound for pound, Elvis Costello is my favorite musical artist and impossible to narrow down my preferences to a single song. This, however, bottles al the righteous political anger a person of liberal persuasion could have, plus a classic EC melody that is totally original, evocative and able to rouse a crowd before a battle. Like Sam Neill's pre-dinner toasts.

9.53rd and 3rd - The Ramones

Shredded and in many ways sloppy, this tune is also raw and rocking and real (and known to inspire alliteration). I grew up in New York City then and, while I was a complete dork and utterly isolated from the music scene which The Ramones personified, still find this to be dangerous, graphic and cool (which, oddly, are the same names Sam Neill has for his trio of adorable pet prawns. What?)

10.Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

In many ways, the culmination of their decade's work. The harmonies soar, the words inspire, the arrangement never fails to move. Like many of Sam Neill's house guests after a case or two of Two Paddocks 2008 Pinot Noir. Which I'm about to crack open right now.

Let it be noted that when Steven stays with us, we do not permit him to soil our towels (they are never the same after). So he has to run naked around the garden for sometime after showering until we deem him sufficiently dry to let him back into the house. He's a pretty good sport about this and seldom complains.

One thing he is allowed to touch in the house (under supervision) is the stereo, since he has great taste in music -- see this immaculate list. And great taste in women too ... Mrs Weber, Juliette Hohnen, is one of The Great Women. No supervision required.

A big hand please for today's great sounds from DJ WEBER!!