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Hey,

I'm sorry, but I simply do not believe that obesity is out of control because people don't know that a Big Mac is not diet food. That would mean that, for example, smokers aren't aware of the health issues. Of course they are. They are just in denial about it. No film is going to cure them. And getting yourself fat as a pig to prove a mute point, in my eyes, is just dumb. Cheers!

It's amazing how stupid some people can be. Let's see. Microsoft says it has a safe and user-friendly system. Why don't we get some filmmaker, preferably someone in the American government, who installs this OS in everything available: every appliance in his house, his car, the elevators at work; if he happens to be someone up the echelons of government, in his communication systems and his weapons of mass destruction. That should add a whole new degree of difficulty to life at home and international relations. Duh. On top of that, why not find a filmmaker who tests to see if the warning labels about sticking little kids' heads into plastic bags are actually true? Someone to try every available penis enlarger on the market? Someone who buys every Norah Jones-type of CD available and actually listens to them because the labels say it's the best thing since sliced bread? Reminds me of a Jonathan Carroll book in which hell turns out to be a 24/7 showing of Jane Fonda movies. I'd like to see a filmmaker with a bit of common sense. That would be nice. Ain't too many of them around.

What's the total number of CDs going to be?

For drummers it's a pain in the ass to play (pardon my English). Unless you have it in your blood, of course. http://www.geocities.com/sd_au/clavetheory/clavetheory3.htm Cheers! I did check the site you mentioned, and I must say that the "theory" here is quite "Hybrid." In other words not musically correct in the notation, whether it is 2-3 clave or 3-2 clave as they try to describe it. First, let me say that should one notate a clave in 4/4 it will never sound correct when it is read by a musician who should play it. Musically, Juan Amalbert Hi Juan, you're right of course. I just took the first link that popped up. The clave is, for us Europeans, quite a complicated thing. It's the feel of it. I remember a (from Brazil) drummer I met not so long ago who basically said (I'm paraphrasing here):" You're not gonna get it anyways, so just drop it!" The notation is just squeezed into a scheme most people here are familiar with, and I've seen it like this or similar many times. But if you don't know what it is, you're just gonna get a mechanical-sounding thingie that's about as far removed as possible. I have one excellent notation (or: an attempt at notation) from a German drummer magazine called "Sticks" ... I'll try to find it in my piles of mags floating around here. I'll scan it, if I can get my fingers on it. And, welcome to the board! Cheers!

For drummers it's a pain in the ass to play (pardon my English). Unless you have it in your blood, of course. http://www.geocities.com/sd_au/clavetheory/clavetheory3.htm Cheers!

There was a French singer once called Plastique Bertrand. Am I missing something here? Cheers!

Congratulations! Make the next 18 just as good! Cheers!

THAT, dear Sir, is rather tasteless. Or it's just me. Cheers!

Thanks for that link. I missed that one. Very interesting. I have the 4-CD Air Force Band box and love it. I just can't shake that early influence. My dad had lots of Miller, Goodman, Basie, Ellington, and Shaw, and of these, Miller is certainly not always the most intelligent(-sounding). But, that highly-polished sound, where nothing seems to be left to chance (Miller was famous for [before live radio transmissions], to for hours arrange his musicians by the volume they played at, etc.), sometimes starts to groove so incredibly much that I just get blown away. I danced around the room as a little kid to some of these tunes, and I'm still prone to doing that today. Today, in fact. Cheers!

Well, it's been a while since I posted the question here. Since then I've been waiting for a chance to jump on a cheap copy of the 13-CD Bluebird box, and it presented itself two weeks ago. Some guy had tried, without luck, to sell a rather beat-up box on eBay Germany, and after it hadn't showed up again for several weeks, I contacted him. Surprisingly enough, he went for my offer and I ended up paying 2 Euro per CD. When I got the box, the CDs turned out to be mint, whereas the box had clearly seen better days. My comments: I only had the 10-CD Past Perfect box (cost me 3,99 Euro at some outlet up north) and compared to that (duh), the Bluebird sounds tons (!) better. It retains some of the snap-crackle-pop, but with it comes, just like with the Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall remaster, added air, treble and all-around clear sound. This is easily as good as some of the old LP sets I have. Since the Bluebird contains all 277 studio recordings Miller recorded (including a disc with rare alternate takes, of which there are very few), there are some clunkers here, but most of it is, if you like the stuff at all, just grand. An added bonus is the wonderfully elaborate booklet which shows Miller as the kind of guy he was: mostly unfriendly or indifferent to most of the band members, a shrewd businessman, a man with a very shaky ego and to most, probably a rather unpleasant fellow. There are some great anecdotes in there (when, I think, one of his drummers went up to him and started polishing the brass on Miller's newly aquired uniform, he told him to get away, using "fucking hillbilly" to accentuate the statement). There's lots more. Maybe I should scan this in some time for everyone to read. If you haven't read much about Miller and his dance band, there is some truly revealing stuff here. If you get a chance to pick this one up cheap (I've seen many sealed ones go for around $100) and you like this kind of music once in a while, do pick it up. It is highly unlikely that a collection such as this one will ever come out again or be remastered one more time. AMG gave it 5 stars that time. I would agree. Cheers!

Based on reviews and comments here and after looking around for some as-new used copies for next to nothing, I bought myself: 01) Ben Webster. The Soul of Ben Webster. Verve 1995 (2-CD). 02) Benny Carter. Further definitions. MCA/GRP/Impulse 1997. Both are damn fine releases. I've been running them for two days, on and off, and I can add my recommendation here as well. You can't go wrong with these! Cheers!

Hey, John L., it certainly clicked for me. Love it. And I'm a late starter. Maybe you need to have listened to lots of other stuff to appreciate this box, but it could also be that some people are slower than others. Me, for example. Cheers!

Forbidden Planet is probably THE bookstore in London, next to MURDER ONE, which has, in the basement, Andy Richard's selection of second hand books. Check out Cold Tonnage for Andy's great (and reasonably-priced books) ... highly recommended! Cheers!

That Schneller guitar has unbelievable sound. I can only recount what our guitarist has said about this one. The feedback part of it, for him, is the ultimate improvement in a rather antiquated concept. He says that he's gotten a lot more "resonance" and "feeling" to go along with his playing. He says that the Schneller "tells" him right away if something he did was "right" or "wrong", if it had the feeling he was looking for or not. It's an esoteric thing, I know, but he is an excellent guitarist, so I just go with what he tells me. I don't know. I play drums. 'Nuff said.

Haven't had a drink since Friday. Surprisingly enough. That's the scary thing.

Yea drink, as if we were teenagers again! B) You are hereby cordially invited to drop by in Germany for a real remembrance bash. Cheers!

The Vintage site, or the Ian Schneller guitar?

Without going into details, our house was the target of several bomb threads in the late 70s, early 80s. We had cops patrolling our house/grounds once every thirty minutes for almost 6 years. A drag when parties were happenin'. True story, again. Man, I gotta delete some posts tomorrow. Cheers!

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, and mucho thanks for this wonderful board! Enjoy!