Alexander

I've been actually hearing some strong connections between Zappa and George Clinton (especially the Funkadelic material). I'm amazed that they never collaborated. What a great album that would've been!

Whatever happened to running behind a tree? There were no gas stations on his way home? When you've gotta go, you've gotta go!

I'll probably upgrade, but I'll keep my copy of "Willow" with the overdubs. I actually kind of like it. It'll be cool to compare them...

Well, Wesley was one subject of this professor's research. Others included groups like the Shaggs. I'm not sure exactly what the thesis of this study was. I'll have to ask. The answering machine messages sounded remarkably like Wesley's songs. Very stream of conciousness...

I know a music theory professor (who currently teaches at UNCG) who did some work on "outsider music" and actually worked pretty closely with Wesley. Some of the messages Wesley left on this guy's answering machine are priceless...

So you don't think a double standard is at work here? Are you familiar with Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher?" Or Fountains of Wayne's "Stacy's Mom?" What is the audience for these songs? We play up the desirability of May/December romances betweem teenage boys and older women in popular culture. It's out there, going back to "The Graduate" (while Dustin Hoffman's character in "The Graduate" is in his early 20s, that film is an obvious cultural touchpoint for this type of relationship). You only have to look at the number of websites that pop up if you Google a term like "MILF" (an "American Pie"-ism that clearly captured people's imagination) to see how deeply ingrained into our collective fantasy this relationship is.

Well, I am a fan. I have all three Bad Plus releases (plus some bonus material from iTunes), and several Anderson and Iverson albums. I also have "Youth Oriented" by Happy Apple. I like what they're doing and I like the way they do it. Frankly, if they didn't piss at least a few people off, they wouldn't be doing their jobs. Good article, btw.

I agree that the relationship was inappropriate when he was a teen, but now that he's an adult people need to back off. Look, if she was really just into 12-year-old boys, she wouldn't still be interested in this guy. That she is (and wants to marry him) suggests that maybe...just maybe...this is the real thing. Stranger things have happened! What bugs me is this: In how many 80s teen comedies was exactly this sort of relationship promoted as the holy grail for teenage boys? "My Tutor," anyone? Why is it hilarous when Finch and Stifler's mom do it in "American Pie," but it's "sick" in the real world? There's something about this sort of relationship that Americans clearly find very attractive...until somebody actually goes and does it. I'm not saying that it's right, I'm just saying that there's a double standard at work here. We're saying to teenage boys: "You know you want to nail your teacher or your friend's mom." While at the same time we're saying to adults: "Keep your pervy hands off!" Meanwhile, all of our sex symbols are teenage girls (Hilary Duff, etc.)...We live in a truly fucked-up culture... These teachers are just a symptom. America has the disease.

I haven't seen it. I'm still ticked at the film's unacknowledged swipe from Elvis Costello (he was using the Napoleon Dynamite name as far back as 1986).

Happy V.D. to all! I did a cute activity with my 9th grade Honor students this morning: I gave them valentines with quotes from Romeo and Juliet. They had to identify the speaker, and then find the person in the room with a quote from the *same* speaker on their Valentine. I played Frank Sinatra singing "My Funny Valentine" as they did this. It was a blast!

Call me... Mack Master A. Flava BITCH!!!

I agree. Intreguing as the elevator story is, it doesn't jibe with the facts about either Monroe or Miller's life. I can imagine that Marilyn was smacked around by a boyfriend. Miller may even have smacked her around, just not in that place at that time. Either Jones played with Monroe earlier while she was still married to Miller, or she was slapped by somebody else in 1962.

The song "The Mess Around" was recorded for Atlantic Records and is available on the three CD complete Atlantic R&B Recordings box set. It can be had for just $15.99 from BMG, when last I checked. Since every recording Charles cut for Atlantic is a classic, this is a must have.

Some of the sporting photographs were beautiful and not at all depressing...

As I only have two Metheny discs, what else would people recommend I get? As I noted before, I have the new one and the album with Jaco Pastorius the name of which escapes me at the moment.

I know that as an Atlantic recording, which I have on the box set. Did he record another version for a different lable?

That reminds *me* of something my then three-year-old daughter said when she first saw an LP... "That's a big CD, daddy!"

Yes, but will you teach it, or do some re-educating, I mean, teaching alternative theories? Oh, I do plan to present alternative theories, such as Socialism. The students are free to subscribe to whatever theories please them most.

I should point out that the Cole box is a) huge and b) rare as hen's teeth. Some Mosaic's fetch hugely inflated prices, but I would be inclined to quibble less about that particular set. As a Socialist, I decry the Capitalist system that makes such abuses possible. As a future Social Studies teacher, I understand the law of supply and demand and recognize the inevitability (under this system) as such. But, like the man says, understanding it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Very sad indeed. RIP, Jimmy!

About half of my transactions with this seller have been good. The other half (about two) weren't so good. In one case it took roughly eight weeks for an item to come through. In the other, it was nearly six months! I'm wary of this seller, but if it's a good price, I might take a chance...

On the one hand, I hate when dead actors are made to hock products in modern ads. I mean, there's a real possiblity that Gene Kelly would've HATE Volkswagon and would never have worked for them. Or maybe not. But you can't ask him, so I don't think his face should be used. I also don't particularly like the ad. On the other hand, it is pretty amazing that they managed to DO that. Had it been shown to me in a different context, I'd probably say it's pretty cool... "Singin' in the Rain" gets my vote for the all-time best movie musical. It's a shame that musicals went the way of the dodo...damn shame.

Yeah...I could have waited and gotten it cheaper, but... I really wanted to hear it!

Jason Moran's latest came out on Tuesday. Has anybody heard this yet? I picked it up, and I love it. Moran gets better with each new release. The guitarist adds some interesting textures... from me!

I picked this up the other day, and I've listened to it twice so far. Since this is only the second Pat Metheney album I've bought (the first is the one with Jaco), I can't compare it to his other work, but on it's own merits I really enjoy it. It's a very dense piece with a lot going on. I will say, however, that my opinion of Mr. Metheney hasn't always been good and if I'd heard this album two years ago, I would have hated it. I guess I'm maturing!