Aggie87

2-6 baby! Astros riding a one game winning streak! (still trusting you, Goodspeak, that the Astros will finish 3rd in the AL West)

I was a big VfB supporter for a time. I don't keep up with the Bundesliga as much anymore, but they were a fun team to support. Sad to hear that Vinyl West closed (I think Sidewinder/Bob mentioned that to me on here a while back as well). Tom was a very knowledgeable guy to talk with, I enjoyed my chats with him. It's funny that you and I may have been in the store at the same time browsing. Also getting back on topic - I spun The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark earlier this evening, thanks to this thread. I've always loved that set - never had the original LPs, but it's an absolutely indispensable cd set for me.

I enjoyed reading that, Steve. I was a regular at both Lerche locations on the Konigstrasse in Stuttgart, and World of Music, from Jan 1999 through November 2003, when I lived there. I liked the jazz selection there, and WoM's as well. I liked WoM better for their regular rock/pop selection though. And there was one small music store near Christophstrasse that I used to go in as well, called Einklang - they had a nice jazz selection and some very good deals. Plus zweitausendeins. I miss all of those stores! Even MediaMarkt had some good deals occasionally. For used cds & vinyl, I also used to visit Vinyl West, where I met fellow board member Sidewinder once (good guy too, with far better taste in music than me). And another used store called Second Hand Records. I don't know if either are still there though.

You're either vastly overestimating the talent on the Astros, or much more optimistic about them than I am. I'm not familiar with the AL West teams, being new to the AL in general. But I still think the Astros will end up being the worst team in MLB this season. For the third year in a row.

I enjoyed the win last night, and the pageantry of the first game. Not realistic that the Astros are going to do much more than be cellar dwellers, but it sure would be nice to see them exceed everyone's expectations. Rooting for Bo Porter and Jose Altuve at any rate!

The 80's called. They want their Jane Fonda workout tape and headband back.

Has anybody ever picked up this Grant Green compilation: I found it in the bins at Musikhaus Lerche in Stuttgart about 10 years ago, and wanted to buy it. But when I went to the counter for them to fish the actual CD out from behind the counter, they couldn't find the disc! Only copy I've ever seen anywhere. I think I have all of the tracks on it on their original discs, so not a big deal musically, just thought it was a cool thing to come across. There are copies on the Amazon marketplace, but they start at $70+, so way too rich for my blood.

Ha - I kinda doubt that - out of the frying pan into the jumbo frying pan. I don't know any Astros fans that are actually excited about the move to the AL. It was forced on the team as a condition of sale from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane. So far Crane hasn't don't much to impress me. But we'll see. BTW, slightly off topic, but does anyone remember the White Sox wearing shorts in '76? Bizarre!

Sigh... can anyone give me a reason to get excited about the Astros? Gonna be the worst team in baseball for yet another year. Ailing A-Rod will make more than Houston Astros NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez will make more this year than all the Houston Astros combined — a lot more. And he won't even play the first half of the season, if at all. A-Rod's $29 million salary tops the major leagues for the 13th straight season, according to a study of major league contracts by The Associated Press. Rodriguez's Yankees are on track to have the highest payroll on opening day for the 15th straight year, climbing above the Los Angeles Dodgers to a projected $228 million with this week's acquisition of Vernon Wells. With teams due to set opening-day rosters Sunday, the Yankees' payroll will be nearly 10 times the spending of the Astros, who have shrunk their payroll to about $25 million. ... http://news.yahoo.com/ailing-rod-more-houston-astros-213607627--mlb.html

Metheny's done more out there stuff than that - check his "Sign of 4" set with Derek Bailey.

Wish I could make it up to Houston for this. Sadly it's a busy work week and a kid week for me. Plus I just spent my few available shekels in NY & Philly this past week. Sigh.

Just saw this - RIP Bebo. I enjoyed his spirit.

I hope otherwise for the Spurs, but they'll need to prove it. They have consistently done well during the regular season only to collapse in the playoffs many a time. Their system works though, and this year I think there's enough solid backup to allow Duncan & Ginobili the rest they need to play well still.

I think Timberlake is great with comedy too. But remember he's not just a musician that came out of nowhere and people suddenly discovered he did well in front of the cameras. He was on the Mickey Mouse Club with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears (and Ryan Gosling of all people!) before he was in NSync, so he was used to acting and performing at least to some degree by the time he was older.

Some discussion in the MMW Corner: ...and some in this thread started by the illustrious Jazz Kat:

Again?? Free has birthdays as often as I change my underwear! ...er.. wait, that didn't come out right! Happy Birthday, dddddddFdddiiiiiRiiiiiiicccccEccccccckkkkkEkkkkk!!!!

We still don't!!

This is still true!

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag, Gross Al! (i wrote that in German just so I could call you gross!)

Yeah, that cut may not be representative in that sense, the whole album/band was intended as a tribute, I think. I picked that one from youtube because there wasn't a whole lot to pick from.

Scofield plays well on the Trio Beyond release, which is a tribute to Tony Williams' Lifetime, alongside Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings. I'd be curious about your impressions of his playing here, Larry.

A few photos from Goliad, Texas this past weekend: One of the original cannons at the Presidio La Bahia (where the defenders of the Alamo unsuccessfully tried to call for reinforcements, and the site of the Goliad Massacre, and the birthplace of Mexican General Zaragoza, who defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla, allowing us to all drink margaritas on Cinco De Mayo): Our Lady of Loreto Chapel at the Presidio; the first Texas Declaration of Independence was written inside this chapel: The Goliad County Courthouse. There is a "Hanging Tree" right in front of the building, where court sessions were held from 1846-1870, and death sentences were immediately carried out. I love old small town courthouses like this one - I think it's haunted. Some young folks two-stepping on Saturday night, inside the Schroeder Dance Hall, the second oldest in Texas. Schroeder's population is 347. Still a cool hall though - there's a George Jones flyer up on the post in the middle of the floor, and Merle Haggard is playing there in a couple of weeks, so they must be doing something right.