ep1str0phy

A good one--I think that was the first Sun Ra album that I ever "got" (as in "felt", versus purchased...).

Eva Peron Imelda Marcos Laura Bush

J.C. Moses Sunny Murray Charles Moffett

Garrison Fewell Jimmy Garrison Harry James

Terry Gilliam Hugh Laurie Daniel Craig

To be fair, I'm still of the mind that Hill did some of his best work on Soul Note--I just can't cope with Shades. At the same time, far be it from me to deify all the BNs (including the more recent entries)--I just happen to feel that they're generally really good (but there are some that I've never gotten into--Grass Roots, for one).

Interesting perspective, and I'll admit that I see the dramatic "logic" in Ofelia's fate--albeit from a different perspective, and not, perhaps, in any comforting manner. The (a?) more obvious conceit involves the tension between fascistic ideology/dogma and free thought. The juxtaposition of Pan's (often rageful) imperatives with the Captain's totalitarian demanor implied a sort of parallel between dictatorial militarism and the fantasy world. My issue with the upshot of the whole narrative is that it seems to both undermine both faith and fantasy (and, by association, those dogmatic elements of faith) by both sort-of revealing *SPOILER* Ofelia's "dream" interactions as illusions and closing the film on the image of her very realistic death--on that level, the "reunion" at the end was small comfort (at the same time dulling the "realness" of the fantasy world/afterlife by trumpeting to the audience that yes, the protagonist is dead). At the same time, the violent outcomes of enjoining free thought/morality in light of a totalitarian force (whether that be the military or Pan) seemed to amplify the destructive powers of ideology, which is (to me, anyway) rather anti-religious. We're meant to associate with Ofelia, so when free thought and innocent morality (her characteristics) are conflated with faithlessness, then we're romanticizing not just the secular (which happens all the time), but also the "not fantastic". That's the reason that the film didn't have the same impact for me as (for example) Children of Men, which was in ways equally faithless but far less leery and more emotionally direct.

I was about to write essentially the same thing. Shades isn't a bad session per se--just relatively underwhelming and rather conventional for Hill (who is otherwise a rather idiosyncratic voice). Much better "conventional" Hill can be found on Eternal Spirit, which is far more harmonically "in the pocket" than the early BNs--but at the same time just as rhythmically intricate, dark, and grainy as his more "beloved" sides. Also--I wouldn't dig on Blank, although I've never really "cliked" with Nefertiti (I enjoy it, but I don't think it's every gotten my pulse racing). Frankly, I think it's an issue with the recording (Davis so up in the mix he sounds rubbery).

It's a sleeper session that never seems to get discussed. I was taken aback on first listen--AkLaff puts in some extremely abstract playing on that one, and Hill sounds less buoyant, even more rhythmic than usual--but the more I hear it the more I'm touched. It's such a powerful session from a number of seasoned, if still potent, masters. All this goes to prove that Reggie Workman is one of the most exciting and underrated bandleaders (no one really kept track of this ascension, huh?) in recent years--I mean, to pull a session like that off in these years is amazing (and here I thought that a roster of this magnitude could only be wrangled into something so exacting and organic in the 60's or 70's).

B.B. King Freddie King Albert King

Excellent call on Summit Conference, which has to be one of the best studio dates I've heard in the past few decades (not just cerebral--heavy, too).

The Beastie Boys The Soul Brothers The Last Hard Men

14/16. Thank God I've got a steady girlfriend...

Oh yeah--and another vote for Judgement, although Point of Departure is right up there with it. After the BNs, I'm extremely partial to Strange Serenade (one of Hill's darker albums, featuring a brutal Alan Silva).

Judgment, Andrew!!!, Dialogue (a Bobby H album) He appeared on Dialogue, Hank Mobley's No Room for Squares, and Joe Henderson's Our Thing. Guy Andrew also recorded with Hutch for Eternal Spirit (for the reformed BN--that one is OOP, though...).

Another issue entirely is Del Torro's penchant for comedic horror, which is certainly prevalent throughout the bulk of the film (particularly the fantasy elements), but, interestingly, not nearly so disturbing as the intermittent "violent realism" scene (and if those can't make you wince...). That's another issue, though, when choosing viewing partners--see if they can handle fantastical gut explosions and whatnot... I enjoyed the film well enough, though having seen Children of Men just a few nights before and expecting lots after the Globe hype explosion, those more emotionally jarring moments may have been lost on me. I'm not sure, for one, if the (*SPOILER?*) final conceit (what happened when the other folks "encountered" the fantasy world) properly served the narrative--it diminished, for me, the dread and wonder of the fantastical elements, even if the ultimate purpose of the film was to tie everything back to reality (but in killing the romance, aren't we just left with another anti-fascist war flick?). Enough to get you thinking, though...

Have you tried here? Thanks (now for the cash...) As far as online Braxtonia is concerned, I've been told that one can contact Graham Lock (but, even for personal research, I haven't had to go that far--yet...).

Mel Brooks Gene Wilder Richard Pryor

FR is like a bar, and, well, only a few of us are willing to get drunk right now (tho clifford's proclivities are well documented on other parts of this board...). Then again, we are talking about fashion. That Wadada larger group disc is fine, although I haven't had time to dig into it yet. I've had both of the others in mind--I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Cripes, that's a great band.

Sun Ra Son House Sunny Murray

I've been trying to get a copy of the writings for a while...

Jack Black Red Callendar Al Green

It's been virtually everything else... (btw, Chuck--if you were to market Nessa T-shirts...)

My beef is that the backing band on that one is in a completely different bag--and it's not so much that it pulls Wright in, but that the reactions and attentions of the rhythm support here come across as a little insipid. Nothing to take away from Wright though, a cat who has always been able to make do in the least likely of contexts.