Rooster_Ties

I only heard "Shades" for the very first time a few months ago. But I would really have to give it pretty high marks as far as being a Hill recording from the 80's or 90's that's both 'fairly approachable' -- and also 'quite beautiful'. Actually, I wish I hadn't overlooked it for so long, because it would have been a good album for me to cut my teeth on, as far as starting to get into Hill's music and concepts.

Anybody ever heard this??? (or even heard of this??) Matthew Sweet: Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu (2003, Cutting Edge 16050) AMG review: Yes, we can turn this into a general discussion thread about Matthew Sweet, if we like. (Later on, I'll probably change the thread-title to reflect this.) Also, I see there's one on Ebay right now (HERE), which indicates that it is a 'copy-controled' CD. Just how badly do these things suck?? I've never bought one, and don't relish the thought of shelling out $30 for an import that's gonna go south on me in 2-3 years, or that's not gonna play on any stereo I own in 5-10 years. ( bordering on )

Well, to me they sure look and sound just as 'serious' as the real thing (back in the day). I'm not saying this is a good thing, or a bad thing -- but like it or not, it is a thing to be reckoned with. Now whether it leads to a full-scale revival of an entire forgotten genre has yet to be seen. But in the event that such a thing would happen - I started this thread to give all of us enough time to take the proper and necessary precautions. In fact, if we each do our part now – before this thing takes off and becomes a force run rampant, and totally out of control – perhaps the impact can be contained, with only a reasonable number of 'acceptable losses' – and we can maybe even minimize the 'collateral damage' as well, who knows? Remember, the future of an entire half-decade of popular music is probably riding on this!! I shudder to think of what future generations will possibly say when they look back on what could be known as possibly among the darkest days of popular music ... when neo-'hair-bands' roamed the airwaves, unchecked and unfettered, for the better part of the last half of the first decade of a new century. And then, if such a thing does actually happen ... it's entirely possible that a development such as this might inevitably lead to music-genre hybrids never before envisioned, not even in our wildest nightmares!! Yes, I'm talking about the very real possibility of a full-scale synthesis of late 70’s/early 80’s "Hair-Band" Hard Rock/Pseudo-Metal... ...and Rap!!! (And you thought Limp Bizkit pissed off an entire generation of parents?? You just wait!!!! )

My wife had to fly to Chicago for a work-related trip today (Wednesday), and she'll be back tomorrow (Thursday) -- so I asked her to grab both today's and tomorrow's copies of the Chicago Tribune (one of the best daily papers in the country, I might add -- and that's coming from someone who's never lived in Chicago). Should be interesting to read the local perspective on the interference from the fan, and the loss tonight. A very good friend of mine here in Kansas City is a huge Cubs fan – so much so that she was seriously thinking about dropping $2,000 on tickets to the World Series, if the Cubs had gotten in. So close, and yet – so far...

Well, heck - Kansas City is like on the way back home from Texas, so stop by here too!!! Have a great trip!!!!!!!

More importantly -- how'd they do that??????? Pretty nifty trick, if you ask me!!!

So, did you have to do a screen-capture -- and then edit the image down with some editor??? Or was there some other trick????

Do tell when you figure it out. I tried the same thing, with the same results. Sneaky bastards, indeed!!!

Big Al -- I could have nearly written that very same story as yours. I too was very slow to develop ears for Hill's work. Really!!! (I know, you all are saying "Rooster_Ties?? - slow to like Andrew Hill???????????") Like most people, the first Hill I ever heard was "Point of Departure" - and to this very day, it still seems as much like an Eric Dolphy date, as it does a Hill date. (Well, as recently as a year ago I was still saying that – but I’m starting to rethink that now.) I always liked "Pod" in a sort of 'intellectual' way, meaning that I liked it because on the surface it sounded so much like so many other things I liked (at least in a general way) -- like Ornette, Miles after 1965 (including lots of bootlegs), Sun Ra, etc... But really, deep down, I never really liked "PoD" on any kind of deeper level, meaning on more of an emotional level. Listening to "PoD" always was more work than pure driving enjoyment, unlike late 60's Miles -- which was both work and put driving enjoyment for me. But on a whim (and because of all the great sidemen!!) I got the Hill Mosaic set way back when (before it went out of print), really before I knew very much about Hill. And my reaction to it was nearly the same as to "Pod". Sure, I liked it, but it didn't speak to me very deeply. Not because I didn't think the music was deep (I always knew it was deep) -- but simply because the music just hadn't 'clicked' with me yet. Well, I listened to the Hill Mosaic for years -- really, for like 4 years (off and on) -- and only then did I start to connect with it. But in some ways, my epiphany with Hill's music has really been relatively recent – say, only in the last year. And frankly, one of the reasons I got more deeply into Hill's music, was because of Greg Osby and (especially) because of Jason Moran. Moran's own discs, and especially his sideman work with Osby, gave me new ears for the Hill Mosaic, and soon I found myself buying more Hill discs from the 70's and beyond. I really credit Jason Moran (as much as anything else) with helping open my ears up to Hill's concepts. I think Moran is a lot like Hill (at times), only with better chops. Not that Moran is a better musician than Hill, but it's hard to deny that Moran has better technical chops than Hill -- and hearing Hill's concepts (or at least something quite similar, in Moran), but in the somewhat 'cleaner' context of Moran's (for lack of a better term) "cleaner playing" -- really helped me dig Hill more deeply. That's my story... And Big Al, by all means, do check out the new one – "Passing Ships" – which I think is the best Hill date of any he recorded between 1967 and 1970.

Who wouldn't!!!

Well, maybe I should say that I'd be glad to see "Pulp Fiction" again, but I've yet to go to any effort to actually see it again. Whereas I've seen Jackie Brown about 3 times now, maybe closer to 4 times (you know, when you catch something partway through on cable). I missed Reservoir Dogs way back when (in the theatres), and I don't really rent stuff all that often (nor do I watch movies on TV all that much). Should I go back and see Reservoir Dogs sometime??? I like Harvey Keitel quite a bit - so I should probably check it out sometime. Yes?? No?? My wife and I got to the movies quite a bit (more often 'art house' films and such), but if we miss it in the theater - we rarely go back and catch it on video.

Right or wrong, this is what will be remembered in Chicago...

The "skeet-shooting" scene in the 2nd video is hilarious!! (Don't want to give away the gag - just check it out for yourself. It's subtle, but funny as hell. )

Give Jackie a chance sometime, if you can catch it on cable, or rent it. It really is a very good film, on a whole number of levels. I liked "Pulp Fiction", but I've never had any great urge to see it again. But I loved "Jackie Brown", and could watch it probably once every year for several years. Very likable characters - but complex characters too, that aren't always likable - and a story that really works.

crap

Ditto. Me too. Me three!!!

They're from the U.K. - sound samples HERE, but much scarier yet are their videos (see link down below). I saw the video for "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" on VH1 today, and I thought I was having a freakin' flashback or something. Suddenly I was back in junior high and high school, when bands like Warrant, Whitesnake, Dio, Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Winger ... and the like ... were all the rage. (And did I ever quickly learn to dislike most of that music back then.) So then, lord help us if the next 'big thing' in pop music is a return to the hard-rock (and 'big hair') sounds of the late 70's and early 80's. (But I guess, as they say, everything old is (eventually) new again.) AMG bio and review of their 2003 album: Permission to Land Edit: And here's the band's website: http://www.thedarknessrock.com/ Be afraid, be very afraid... And best/worst of all, here's three of their videos too!! (You gotta scroll up and down by hovering over the scroll-bar arrows - weird! ) Link: http://www.thedarknessrock.com/video/ NEVER in my life did I ever expect to see a revival of this kind of music. a sure sign of the apocalypse in 2003??

The TOCJ sounded damn near perfect, as I recall. (I had this session on the "Procrastinator" TOCJ up until about 2 months ago, when I traded it for about $40 or $50 worth of other CD's, from a guy on AAJ.) What the hell???

OK, back on topic. Does anybody else think that the tune "Cascade" (2nd to last track on "Passing Ships") seems familiar to them?? Is it similar to another Hill tune?? - or maybe similar to something else???

Who, me???

Who, me???

On further thought, I suspect that even if Hill had gone the "Strata East" route, he would have encountered the same jazz climate (or lack thereof) by the mid-to-late 70's, and then by the early 80's - he probably would have turned back to music more similar to his earlier vision. (After all, that's what lots of other jazzmusicians did in the 70's, and then in the 80's.) In other words, my "what it" scenerio really only applies to the possible different musical output that Hill might have created, following his departure from Blue Note (in 1970), for only about 5-8 years at most. Discuss...

Just tryin' to not get in the middle of the continuity of other posts within the thread. (Like yours and Jim’s exchange, and your pitch about having getting Hill to do an interview.) That, and it’s always fun to creep you guys out!!

Great topic for a thread!! I'd be especially interested in any that include horns, especially trumpet - which doesn't seem to appear nearly as much on organ dates as sax.