Alexander

How does Clem feel about this? Shouldn't you get his thoughts first before you form an opinion?

Hey! What's going on here? Has Clem approved this discussion? Are we absolutely sure that this material meets with his approval? I think that Clem should be given the opportunity to vet each and every topic before it's posted. You might be listening to unworthy music! We can't have that, can we?

Has Clem approved this?

NOW yr starting to learn Alfie-- listen with your fucking ears & not Corporate Brand Loyalty (you fucking witless sap) & we will all be much better off. it's hard to believe but each day Modern Times gets worse, as the context of its asininity gets further & further filled out (esp. by pre-WW I records transferred courtesry Archeophone); music qua music the shit was dead on arrival, as you might recall some of us told you. but hey, if Best Buy hegemony is how you roll, all we can do is scoff & hope the kids weren't looking when you pulled another tantrum. (specifically, btw, it is Joni's disputed Geffen period which doesn't quite suck as much-- or in the same ways-- as first believed; Neil Young's Geffen period, by comparison, doesn't suck at all, except Landing On Water) elder don clementine, voice of the people Ah, but of course! And here I am listening to things like "Ladie of the Canyon," "Blue," "For the Roses," "Court and Spark," "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," "Hejra," "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter," and "Mingus," not to mention "Miles of Aisles" and "Shadows and Light," rather than "Wild Things Run Fast." Clearly, I've been sold a bill of goods. You know, Clem, I was just listening to "Ill Communication" and "Hello, Nasty" by the Beasties last night and thinking about how good they sound. But obviously, they don't. I just *think* they do. Too bad we don't all have your keen powers of observation! A pity that we haven't all been blessed with your incisive wit and unwaveringly good taste. But here's the thing that puzzles me, Clem. You say that it's "hard to believe but each day Modern Times gets worse." Does this mean that you listen to it on a daily basis? Why would you do that, if you dislike it so? And if you haven't been listening to it every day, how could you possibly know that it gets worse? Funny thing, because I've listened to it recently and it STILL sounds good! How can such be? Obviously, the problem lies with me. Clem, would you do me the honor of revoking my license to listen to music? Please? Clearly, I don't deserve such an honor. Or perhaps I should consult you on each and every purchase. Would you mind giving me your cell phone number so I can call you before I soil my ears with material that has failed to meet your exacting standards? In fact, I shouldn't even be here. Jim, would you kindly ban me from the forum? Clem has decreed it, so it must be!

Man, for the days when TV talk show hosts would play jazz while they interviewed guests!

Wait a minute. Slow down here. You "used to blow her off"? As in, you used to dislike her? You used to hold her in disdain? (as you seem to do for everything else I like, and I'm a big Joni Mitchell fan, btw) Does this mean that (gasp) you changed your mind? Can such a thing be? Clem! I'm...I'm disillusioned! You used to be almost George W. Bush-like in your certainty. Your judgements were absolute. Beck? Hate 'im! U2? Crap! Beastie Boys? Suck! Kanye West? Practically U2! Bob Dylan's "Modern Times"? Laughable! Some obscure stuff no one else has ever heard of? Genius! You were the Mohamed Ali of music snobs. You made Jack Black in "High Fidelity" look like a piker. And now this. To embrace (even to a tiny degree, as you admit) something that you once held in contempt...it's like the end of an era. You used to stand for something, man! I don't think I'll ever get past this...

\ Good for you. Good luck with that plan!

Sammie has this awesome talking globe that plays all sorts of cool games. As a result, she's gotten quite good at geography. Not only can she find the U.S. on a map, she can find Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and several other countries. The globe also plays samples of the music of each country. It's really stimulated her interest in world culture...

I agree that a liberal arts education is crucial for the creation of a well-rounded, well-informed populace, but then I'm an English and Social Studies teacher. I also think that education has become far too job and career centered. You have to do SOMETHING after work, besides watching TV. A person with a rich intellectual life will never lack for things to do, even if it's only reading for pleasure or keeping up with world events. And lest you think that the liberal arts are useless in the work world, I can't tell you how many people I encountered back when I was working retail who had absolutely abysmal spoken and written communication skills. If you want to go anywhere in any career, you have to know how to write. And no one who doesn't read is going to write well.

uh... cuz it sucks & nobody w/o nostalgia gives a fuck about a bunch of poorly aging ex-jews, whatever their few past triumphs? oh, but they're an established "brand" & wow, look who bites, again... granted, not that there's a wealth of contemporary competition for acid funk & it can't be much more boring than new prince album but he had waaaaay further to fall too. killah priest the offering ugk undergound kingz raekown presents icewater polluted water boot camp clik casualties of war keith murray rap-murr-phobia sean price[/p] mixtape whose title i can't remember public enemy how you sell soul to soulless people... ... other stuff i'm forgetting. *** sal jumps in to say he digs PE too, Alfie screeches but admits he likes UGK also; WD is the wildcard. *** Talib Kweli is a mediocre asswipe-- how many chances does he get?--& doublefuck Kanye's U2 (or something; Andrew Lloyd Weber?) aspirations before they even drop. What, no Slim Thug on there? No doubt Clem has declared it unworthy. Don't you keep up on Clem's list of forbidden items?

uh... cuz it sucks & nobody w/o nostalgia gives a fuck about a bunch of poorly aging ex-jews, whatever their few past triumphs? oh, but they're an established "brand" & wow, look who bites, again... granted, not that there's a wealth of contemporary competition for acid funk & it can't be much more boring than new prince album but he had waaaaay further to fall too. killah priest the offering ugk undergound kingz raekown presents icewater polluted water boot camp clik casualties of war keith murray rap-murr-phobia sean price[/p] mixtape whose title i can't remember public enemy how you sell soul to soulless people... ... other stuff i'm forgetting. *** sal jumps in to say he digs PE too, Alfie screeches but admits he likes UGK also; WD is the wildcard. *** Talib Kweli is a mediocre asswipe-- how many chances does he get?--& doublefuck Kanye's U2 (or something; Andrew Lloyd Weber?) aspirations before they even drop. Ahhhh, shut up, you boring old fuck. No one asked you.

I thought that "Post Office" was a riot when I read it. I've never worked for the Postal Service, but that book spoke to every crappy service job I've ever had! I don't know how easy they are to find, or if they've ever been collected, but I recall that Robert Crumb illustrated some Bukowski stories. Great stuff!

I'm surprised there hasn't been any discussion of the new Beastie Boys album (especially since "To The 5 Boroughs" was discussed at length when it came out). I picked it up when it came out a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left my CD player for more than a few days at a time. Great album. They've really come a long way as instrumentalists (I think I'm right in remembering that they didn't play any instruments when the recorded "Licenced to Ill," great as that album was). This is one funky, groovy album! Any thoughts? Great cover art too, btw...

He's not laughing about it. He's got a case of the giggles. It happens to the best of us, and it often happens at the worst possible times. The worst thing about a case of the giggles is that the more you try to stop, the harder you want to laugh. I'm sure he got in trouble, but he doesn't deserve to be canned over it.

Methinks she's not long for this world. Not at this rate. Pity. She's VERY talented. Then again, you'd think that Babyshambles guy would be dead by now...

Good likenesses of my wife and daughter...

Not bad...

Has anybody tried driving a stake through Merv's heart and stuffing his mouth with garlic? I want to make sure that he doesn't come back...

Yeah, yeah. I haven't met a single black person who'd even HEARD of the Roots either, but they're STILL my favorite hip-hop crew. It's not like being black makes you an expert on black musical forms...

I picked this up last week and it is excellent. I liked Lily Allen's guest vocals particularly. It's at least as good as "Be". Once again, Clem has to come in and shit all over everbody's good time. God forbid you should enjoy something Clem has dismissed. I also enjoyed "Hip Hop is Dead" and "Fishscale" (as well as it's follow-up, "More Fish"), but I like Common, too. It's not the IDEA of Common that I like. I like his flow and his delivery. I also very much enjoy Kanye's production (as much as I enjoy Kanye's own albums, he's not as good a rapper as Common).

Yeah, this kind of cross-breeding of plants has been around for ages. Gregor Mendel's experiments in genetics were all about crossing different kinds of beans.

I can just imagine Tom's last moments: "Death, for crying out loud, I've just gotta ask: What's with all the black? Are you depressed or something?"

I think it's a lot of fun, but then I am a big Jaco fan. I love the sound he brings to the group. McLaughlin is in top form and Tony is always great. Hard to imagine why McLaughlin and Williams were so upset with Jaco. He plays his ass off here!

I love all of the Bergman films that I've seen (and over the years I've seen a good many), but my favorite will always be the first four I ever saw: "Smiles of a Summer Night," "The Seventh Seal," "Wild Strawberries" and "The Magician." My good friend, HWright, gave me a book of those four filmscripts for my 16th or 17th birthday and I immediately ran out and rented all four films. I was hooked. To date, I own only one Bergman film on DVD ("Wild Strawberries") but I'd love to have more. RIP, Ingmar. Truly, one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. BTW, the first time I saw "Persona" was when I was in college and I managed to persaude my school's film library into to doing a private screening (I think I had to get one of my professors to write me a note testifying that the film was for a class, even though it really wasn't). This, to me, was the best way to watch the film. Every time a reel ended, I had to go get the grad student who ran the library to come in a change it for me...

I love Boston (I lived there for several years), but honestly, I don't think I've ever done anything remotely "touristy." The best thing I can recommend is to hit Harvard Square and take in a movie at the Brattle (they have a great film series), go to the Boston House of Pizza off of Commonwealth Avenue and get a sub (their Italian subs are out of this WORLD), and hit a lot of used record stores (although the ones I used to visit are all closed now, except for Stereo Jack's, of course). Boston does have a great science museum and a very good aquarium. And then there is that whole Freedom Trail thing... Just hanging out in the Public Garden is always a treat. It's the best city in America for walking around, I think. So many beautiful buildings. It's a great town in the fall especially. One of my happiest memories is of sipping hot cider in Quincy Market on a crisp fall day. New Bedford has a kick-ass whaling museum!