Stefan Wood

Can't you make an electronic payment for the minimum over the weekend? Check this out - I have a Bank Of America bill due 12/31. Says right there on the bill: Payment Due Date: 12/31/2006So I go to make an online payment & it says thta the payment will be credited Jan 2, since 12/31 is not a business day. Fuck that. I'll pay by phone, take the hit on the fee, and be done with it. Nope. Same deal. Make it on 12/30, get credited for 01/02. I'm talking to some CS zombie and I ask him straight up - Define "Payment Due Date". "That's the last day you can make your payment and not have it considered late." "So why is a payment made before the Payment Due Date going to be considered late?" "Because the Payment Due Date falls on a Weekend" "So it's not really the Payment Due Date then, is it." "Yes, it's still the Payment Due Date." "So you're telling me that words on a piece of paper have no real meaning then, right?" "No, that's not what I'm saying." "You're a liar, aren't you." "No sir, I'm not. Is there anything else I can help you with?" "Yeah, you can get your head out of your ass before it gets stuck there permanently." Click. There's no grace period?

Yup, they are now $6.99!

I'll be seeing this. His movies have been mixed bags as of late. House of Flying Daggers was nice, but the plot fell apart 2/3 way through. Strong visuals. Hero is actually a movie that has grown on me over time. I thought it was okay at first, but gets better on subsequent viewings. I miss the small budget films from the 80s. Lon, if you like those mentioned, check out the Banquet and the Promise. I think both are flawed films, but look stunning and have some great moments.

Breathlessly awaiting boxes 3 & 4. I don't know why, I am still only halfway through the first box!!!

A funny story: I had this lp, and I sold it on ebay to -- none other than Gil Melle himself! He had been looking for a copy for years, and was happy to have won it. Got positive feedback.

Eclipse seems like a newer incarnation of the HVe (Home Vision entertainment) dvd line that had stopped a year ago.

No, they are not overpriced. For the research, restoration and other extras they provide it is worth the extra money. Who else will reissue the films that they are releasing?

damn!!!!!!!!!!! RIP to a music giant

It happens. There's so much music out there.....

It's amazes me that this group did not make a dent in the US music pop culture. I first became aware of this group by reading a review in Mike Stax's entertaining magazine Ugly Things, many years ago. I think it was a review for the double cd "Music in the Doll's House/Family Entertainment." I remember buying it, loving the music but hating the voice, and sold it thereafter. Some years passed, and I stumbled across a copy of "Fearless," and for a buck, I got it, played it and loved it. Roger Chapman has one of the most distinctive voices in rock (I never heard a man bleat before, but Chapman has a tremendous voice), and both he and Charlie Whitney are a great songwriting team. I've been listening to "Bandstand" a lot lately, and I put it right up there with Abbey Road for sheer creativity and terrific music. Family is a relevation,and I'm thankful for the reissues that are available (UK only of course).

I resolve to make my life a happier one in 07. I've been too hard on myself, in all aspects of my life. I just want to do well. Happy holidays guys!

Larry Young "Unity" Lee Morgan - "Cornbread" Jackie McLean - "Action" Sam Rivers - "Fuscia Swing Song" Horace Silver - "The Jody Grind" Grant Green - Matador" John Patton - "That Certain Feeling" Wayne Shorter - "ETC" Bobby Hutcherson - "Dialogue" Art Blakey - "Mosaic"

I have three Pat Thomas lps, the Strand and two MGM lps. Desafinado is the most fun of the three, with its infectious bossa nova grooves, but I do like the Strand one as well. The Moody date (the other MGM lp) is decent vocal jazz. I had no idea who the personnel were on the Strand!

Soul Connection is vinyl only. Never been on cd, but dammit, it SHOULD be. Grachan Moncur is great on this as well.

I second the Reiner Mahler 4th.

Same here. There's a wealth of good music from these sessions, that I am surprised that the two chosen for lp release are not the best tunes. That's not saying they are bad; it's just that the other tunes are much more interesting, and lively. I am surprised at the freshness of the music and how different they are from his group albums from that time. Fun, relaxing, and intimate.

The high pressure worked for me -- put in my order! Whew!!!

I agree that some of those guys go a bit overboard. Many of them are great guys whose opinion I value. Don't put too much into reading one thread, particularly this one. Why? This thread is an example of when it's a bad idea to solicit an opinion over at the Steve Hoffman forums: when SH has worked on the master for another label. NEVER talk about another version of a session if there's a SH version. You'll never get anyone to agree with you and you'll likely get booted for disagreeing with Steve. In my experience, Hoffman never seems to "like" any other version of a recording he worked on. Proof? Check his post #172 in the thread in question. Hoffman says, "Well, I have not heard the new mix but I understand what you mean by "space" or lack of it." Say what?? He's posting on a thread about a newly remastered CD and comes on and tells everyone, "Try and find the common and cheap "old" Fantasy CD", when HE'S NEVER HEARD THE NEW REMASTER?? I love Steve Hoffman's work but sometimes, he's wrong. I have to say, this may be one of those cases. The worst thing about topics like this is that you simply cannot argue this with SH. If you do, you'll be "gorted" off the site quicker than you can say, "Steve, aren't you wrong to...". That's a big weakness at those forums. Steve's opinion is gospel, even if he has never even heard the CD being discussed. Kevin You are right, Kevin. It is just one topic -- though I have seen variations of this discussion regarding jazz, classical and rock cds as well. The world of audiophiles is an eclectic mix. No more than any other obsession. But the posts in that topic were really trite!

After reading several pages of this topic on Hoffman's forum, I realize that those guys are a bunch of old hens clucking away. I really question how those guys "listen" to music -- bunch of anal retentives.

Happy Birthday!

While I have been listening to jazz and classical, I have begun to find the late 60's/early to mid 70's rock scene fascinating. I'm going at it backwards, since a lot of my friends who are also jazz fans began by listening to fusion or jazz rock first. I have been listening to "lesser" known (at least here in the States) prog or hard rock groups like Van der Graaf Generator, Eloy, Egg, If, Buffalo, Leaf Hound, Groundhogs, and Family.

I used to have the Roots of a Revolution set, and I consider this to be a sonic upgrade. Better liner notes as well.

No, based on the various djs tastes that seems about right. Its a mixture of hard bop programming with creamy smooth jazz or vocals. They do have a killer latin music line up several times a week.

Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" (as done by Miles Davis)???

According to their website, their online shop is down while they are relocating their entire inventory to another place. Hmm......