Big Al

One of the best albums of the year, IMHO! Looks like BMG is going thru one of its periodic dry spells as far as jazz is concerned. Fourplay anyone?

Somebody wanna remind me why anything this guy says or does is newsworthy anymore? Or is it just to make us laugh?

Happy birthday, friend!

My prayers and condolensces for you and his family as well. He sounds like he was a heckuva musician. Anything available for listening?

Man, if anyone had told me the A's would choke on this big a scale, have their top three starters flounder down the stretch, and then lose the division AT HOME..... Unbelievable!!!! Wonder if anyone shows up for the A's-Angels game today? Besides Angels fans, that is......

Hey Jim, do you think that one of the main reasons why this version of SMILE is so much more successful than its original predecessor is because Wilson is now backed by a band of sympathetic players? I was thinking about the original BB version of the SMILE tracks I’ve heard, and the thing that was so off-putting about those tracks was that it was the sound of a band in turmoil. Brian was falling apart physically, emotionally, spiritually, in every way possible; and the band doesn’t even care. In fact, in some places, it sounds like they’re either trying to stifle the condescending laughter, playing as though this were just another 9-5 job that they’re trying to get through, or just trying to sabotage the whole works! From what I’ve heard in the clips I’ve listened to, THIS band is so much more into what Brian was trying to accomplish. Now, the cynic in me says that Brian was lucky enough (or smart enough) to find a band of players who idolized him from the start, and were willing to cater to his every whim. I suppose, at first glance and based on what I’ve heard, maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing after all. In the end, if all it does is prove Mike Love and his ilk wrong after all these years, then yes, SMILE will have been worth the wait.

I dunno: whose bright idea was it to start Chan Ho(rrible) Park against the Angels with the season on the line? Guy gives up eight runs and claims that he had "good stuff" after the game! Yeah, the other team's hitters certainly thought so, as they made it souvenir night for the folks in the bleachers! New chant at the Ballpark: HEY HEY HO HO CHAN HO'S GOT TO GO!!! (Edidet fro slepping)

That you wouldn't be so darned eloquent, making it harder for me to resist the urge to pick it up!!!! Seriously, I listened to this at Barnes & Noble yesterday. What can I say? I was VERY intrigued. The Fort Worth library is getting a copy, and I'm first on the checkout list, so..... we'll see. I'll proclaim loudly if my original assessment of this was completely bass-ackwards!

BASTARD!!!!

A great idea for a thread indeed! How about Antonio Carlos Jobim's Urubu? This is almost anti-bossa-nova. You have to let yourself be immersed in this music; otherwise, it may come across as bad classical music or overorchestrated movie music. BUT, once this music takes hold, you find yourself being drawn in, mesmerized, and taken to lands you only dream of. At least, that's what happens to me! Jim R may concur!

Cool! If nothing else, the DVDs make the titles consistent! I promised my son I wouldn't watch season 2 without him, and that we'd spend the evening tonight (Friday night) watching it. So I'll have an answer about those music cues then. I watched some of season 1 tonight, and all the music cues are as I remember them. Bear in mind, though, that I was born ten years after this stuff premiered, so I have no idea what it all originally looked or sounded like!

SUPER BLACK MARKET CLASH From BMG: London Calling Clash (US) Give 'em Enough Rope That $4.99 sale's gonna kill me!!!

You’re correct that there is some change. If you look closely on the 1st Season, when they do the Rocky & Bullwinkle intros, the lettering for “Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends” is clearer than everything else in the picture. It looks though the new lettering was superimposed over the old lettering. To be sure, I checked an old video of the show, and sure enough, THAT intro was called “Rocky and Bullwinkle.” I don’t know if that’s the original: for all I know, that one also could’ve been superimposed! I don’t know why they couldn’t just leave it in its original state! Even the voice-over sounds a little different: like they over dubbed the “and Friends” part. Ah well; nit-picky details, to be sure. Everything else about the DVDs, especially the sound quality, is fantastic!

Hmm, I'll have to check that out tonight and report back!

I thought that was already assigned to the vehicle itself!

With happy memories of that rainy night in July with you & the rest of the Organissimo gang! Have Skid consume a donut for me in your honor!

Rangers officially eliminated last night. ‘Twas fun while it lasted. A lot of fun!!!! Hopefully, they can keep these guys together and with a little fine-tuning be a powerhouse of a team next year!

Not sure; haven't had a chance to really sit down and watch it. Which music cues are you referring to?

I seem to remember that this band was featured in Ken Burns (revised history of) Jazz, and I have it stuck in my mind that there was a Jo Jones drum solo (or trading of fours with the band) where he swung so effortlessly!!! So, is there anything else available besides what's on the Burns set?

I know it!!!

A great choice! Has some of my favorite Tina Brooks playing on it!

More than likely, she said, "Look y'all! I got mah pitcher in the paper!"

Just to follow up to what noj said, the above have been RVG'd. Thankfully!!!

Oh yeah, there's plenty of gems MIA. I'm guessing this is gonna be an annual thing (didn't the last set come out about the same time last year?), so that'll give us something to look forward to! In any event, I'm really looking forward to the pre-1948 cartoons. Hopefully, when they say "restored," they mean that the Blue Ribbon notations have been removed and the original openings to each cartoon restored. I just hope, HOPE, that they left the old Looney Tunes in black & white, the way they're meant to be seen! Me, I'm just tickled there's all those Road Runner cartoons!!!

Lone Starr (to Barf): We're not doing this for money. We're doing it for a SHITLOAD of money!