Alexander

19 out of 20. I found that if the eyes participated in the smile, it was more likely to be genuine. The face they settled into afterward was a dead giveaway, too. When the smile went back into a completely neutral face, it was fake.

There was a 12" of that that sounded really good on the radio back in the day. Remixed to be more of a pure dance record. More disco, less puff. Check it out though - McCartney has consistently been a better bassist than generally given credit for. No, he's not a "heavyweight" or anything like that, but his basslines are quite often interestingly quirky. Like in this one, he emphasizes the b9 on the V chord. Not something that would "generally" be done. McCartney's a lot like Sinatra in this respect - his "image", his place in popular consciousness has gotten so large for both his fans and his dtractors that their fundamental musicianship is seldom examined the way it maybe should be. And for both of them, there's enough there to make blanket dismissals very, very difficult. The guy's stayed on the chronic for waaaaay too long, that's what I think. Still functional, still in touch with his creativity, but unwilling/unable to shake his residual silliness. The chronic'll do that to a man with eyebrows like that... I agree that Paul's a wonderful bass player. His bass lines are part of what made those Beatles songs so great. I also agree that even on a song like "Goodnight Tonight," Paul manages to be very creative (I was thinking that as I watched the video, actually). His musicianship *is* too often overlooked. But that doesn't change the fact that the man's been coasting since 1970...

Too many Pauls!

Check out Paul's circa 1979 mugging in this clip for the disco puff-piece Goodnight Tonight.

That video is really funny! Apparently, everybody but the drummer played keyboards in this edition of Wings...

I love Wayne. I mean, I LOVE Wayne. He's the greatest living tenor player (aside from maybe Sonny Rollins, but it's pretty much a dead-heat between those two anyway). And I've heard all the criticisms of Hamilton, but I gotta say, I've always liked the guy. He's got that Stan Getz/Zoot Sims thing down cold. Yeah, it's not original and he's really not in the league of somebody like Wayne Shorter, but it works for Scott and he's got a lovely tone. I was once talking about Hamilton with Brian Patneaude (who's become the big fish jazz musician in the small pond that is the Captial District), and Brian pretended to drop off to sleep. But even he acknowledged that Hamilton has a beautiful sound. And anybody who thinks that Wayne is too "out" here needs to have his hearing checked...

If you don't have the resources to spring for a machine, what's the best way to clean your vinyl? I have a lot of dirty LP's I've picked up used or inherited from my dad who didn't take good care of them. I usually use dishsoap and water, and it helps, but I know there's a lot of stuff I'm not getting out. What to do? On the DVD for "Desperate Man Blues," Joe Bussard uses a shoe brush to clean his 78s. Is that a bad idea for vinyl?

I got it. I think it's pretty darn good. Look, the fact is that Paul hasn't been anywhere near the top of his game since the break-up of the Beatles. Even his best solo/Wings work ("McCartney," "Ram," "Band on the Run," "Venus and Mars, etc) is substandard compared to almost any given Beatles album. His work is usually tuneful, but slight at best. Lyrically, he's more "Hello, Goodbye" than "Eleanor Rigby" most of the time. But, if you adjust your expectations accordingly, no solo McCartney work has ever been anything less than enjoyable. Fact is, "Memory Almost Full" is a damn sight better than "Chaos and Creation" (which was supposed to be his return to form, although I found it lacking). It's got snappy tunes with good hooks, McCartney's in better voice than he's been in some time, and it doesn't promise anything it can't provide. It's a very, very good effort from a man who's been coasting on his reputation for longer than he deserves to. Give the man his due.

Hap pie Bloom stay to missed her Germ's Choice!

I know it was. I was just pointing out that there was one compilation released during the life of the Beatles as a group, and this was it. Now you could make the argument that EVERYTHING Capitol released in the U.S. before "Rubber Soul" was, in fact, a compliation. "Yesterday...and Today" has no British version. Neither, for that matter did "Meet the Beatles" or "Beatles VI." "Hey Jude" was also a compilation, although it was technically released after the group broke up.

You may be interested to learn that for decades the Beatles refused to allow Capitol in the US to release compilations. You mean, apart from (at least): The Beatles 1962-66 (released 1973) The Beatles 1967-70 (released 1973) Rock n Roll music (released 1976) Love songs (released 1977) Rarities (released 1980) Reel music (released 1982) 20 greatest hits (released 1982) Past masters vols 1 & 2 (released 1988) Anthology 1, 2 & 3 (released 1995 & 96) ? MG Actually, there was a compliation released while the Beatles were still together. It Well you've proven me wrong, MG. I didn't realize that the compilations started as early as 1973. I do remember reading plenty of times in the 60s that Capitol in the US wanted to release a Greatest Hits record and the group wouldn't allow it. edit for typo But that's your whole point, and it's a good one: the comps didn't start rolling out until AFTER they'd broken up. Even the Rolling Stones had two comps under their belts when the Beatles broke up. Actually, there was one compliation released while the Beatles were still together. It was called "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" and it came out in December of 1966! It came out because once the Beatles stopped touring, they cut way back on their release schedule as well. As a result, EMI had no new product after "Revolver" but before "Sgt. Pepper." Here's the cover. The track listing is as follows: Side one "She Loves You" "From Me to You" "We Can Work It Out" "Help!" "Michelle" "Yesterday" "I Feel Fine" "Yellow Submarine" Side two "Can't Buy Me Love" "Bad Boy" "Day Tripper" "A Hard Day's Night" "Ticket to Ride" "Paperback Writer" "Eleanor Rigby" "I Want to Hold Your Hand" The track "Bad Boy" had not yet been released in the UK when this album came out. It had been previously released on "Beatles VI," so if you were a British Beatles fan, you had to buy this for that one track...Later, it turned up on "Past Masters I."

I don't have any tats, but I have thought about getting one. I used to work with a guy who had a really cool tattoo he had had copied from the cover of an Ornette Coleman album. My wife has contemplated tattoos, a little more seriously than I have. If she gets one, I'd like her to get one on the small of her back. For some reason, I find it VERY sexy when women have tattoos there...

That doc is highly recommended. When were the last Fonotone 78s pressed? I thought about that yesterday, for some reason. For that matter, when did the majors cease new production of 78s? The majors, I believe, continued producing 78s into the 50s. I know that some of Elvis Presley's Sun sides were pressed on shellac. 78s had a slightly longer life internationally, where it took a bit longer for vinyl to become industry standard. That said, I would say that 78s were dead by the age of the Beatles. Fonotone ceased production, I think, in 1970.

Check out Frank on the Monkees! This is actually really cool!

i've still got to get vols 3 and 4.

He appeared in one of my favorite "X-Files" epsiodes, "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'". He was also the voice of the Dirty Bubble (one of Mermaid-Man's arch foes) on SpongeBob.

Now he can devote himself to salad dressing full time!

If you have three feet...you have a yard! Great to see you back Chris!

Opening night went very well, for me anyway. The theater is a very old building, and it goes without saying that it doesn't have central air, so it was quite warm last night (although not nearly as bad as the night before). Remember that the play is set in the late 18th century, so we're all dressed in rather heavy British military uniforms (mine is actually one of the lighter outfits). To give some relief to both actors and spectators, the emergency exit doors were opened. This meant that every sound from outside the theater was clearly audible from the stage. It wasn't a huge deal, until we came to my death scene. It's very quiet on-stage at that moment, and I could hear a party going on next door, with people laughing and talking loudly. Now, I don't do much during this scene. I just lie there and silently expire, but my scene partner has a rather intense monologue. Long story short, the talking distracted her and she flubbed a line. Only ONE line. But she was FURIOUS. After we left the stage, she was almost on the point of tears. For myself, I wouldn't have let it get to me, but some people are more sensitive to such things. After the performance, we were supposed to go out into the lobby and greet the public. I changed first, so that when I went out to meet people, no one recognized me. That was pretty funny. One old lady asked, "Were you in the play?" I said that I had been Harry Brewer, and she acted very surprised. I suppose that's a compliment of a sort...

If anybody here is going to be in the Capital District May 11 - 13 or May 16 - 20, and you don't have anything better to do, why not take in a performance of "Our Country's Good" at the Schenectady Civic Playhouse? I'm appearing in it as Midshipman Harry Brewer. For those of you who don't know the play (and I didn't before I auditioned for it), it concerns the first convict colony in Australia during the late 1780s. My character gets to go crazy and DIE. It's a LOT of fun to perform. Tonight is opening night, so wish me luck!

Very sorry to hear about your loss. My daughter recently lost her first pet. She had a betta fish named Nemo. She'd had him for about two years or so, and one day I came home from work to find my daughter hiding in the closet sobbing because Nemo had died. We let her cry and when she felt ready, we had a funeral service. Sammie didn't want to do a "burial at sea," so I dug a shallow grave near the rose bush out back. I played Mozart's "Requem" while we buried poor Nemo and marked his grave with a little concrete heart Sammie made as a project some months back. Very sad.

Sammie is really too old for it, but she LOVES Wonderpets. She thinks it's the cutest thing ever. She loves the duckling...

Sammie enjoys SpongeBob and Fairly Oddparents too, as do I. My fav SpongeBob episode is the Krusty Krab training video. That one should speak to everyone who ever had to endure a job in such a place. Not technically a kid's show, and not on TV, but my daughter and I both love Homestar Runner.

And hopefully will be for quite some time... "Foster's" is an AWESOME show. I watch it with my daughter all the time. My students love the fact that I can do Eduardo and Cheese from that show. "I LIKE CHOCOLATE MILK!!!" I also love "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy." Some REALLY sick stuff on that show. Sammie is probably TECHNICALLY too young for it, but we watch it anyway. My favorite episode was "The Prank Call of Cthulu." "Chicks DIG cuttle-fish!"

Larry King has been turning into a giant bug for the last 25 years or so...