Dave James

Saw Lyle Lovett in the breakfast buffet line at the Sheraton Universal in Hollywood. Believe me, when you see Lyle Lovett, there is no mistaking who it is.

Just as I predicted, Armstrong's brand is strong enough to avoid any kind of consequential backlash. To wit: Nike Statement: "Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position. Nike plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a foundation that Lance created to serve cancer survivors."

This sport has been riddled with PED's for at least the last 20 years. The question has become not if someone is doping but whether they can get away with it. Seriously, does anyone really believe that Lance Armstrong was clean? It doesn't surprise me that he's opted to fold his tent. I'm sure the legal costs are starting to take their toll and he's already milked just about every drop there is to be had out of his seven TDF titles. As to his legacy and his brand, he's become so iconic in so many different ways (cancer beater, Live Strong etc. etc.) that I don't think he takes much of a hit. Not to mention that fact that he knows he's guilty. This decision affords him the ability to maintain (at least in his mind) plausible deniability.

Keith Moon...alive and well.

Saw Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang last night outdoors as part of the Portland Zoo Summer Concert series. Normally, I wouldn't post about this, save for the fact that the best guitar player on the stage turned out not to be either Guy or Lang, but a 13-year old kid. His name is Quinn Sullivan and to say he is prodigiously talented would be something of an understatement. He's been a protege of Guy's from time he was just eight years old, so he's certainly benefitted from good direction. At 13, his voice hasn't matured, so that's clearly the weakest part of his game. But, in 5-6 years, watch out. Anyhow, here's a video from an appearance Sullivan made just last month at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he's playing Hendrix' Little Wing. I think you'll agree he's got some pretty serious chops

The violin family:

Same as the difference between an electric guitar and an amplified acoustic.

I had never heard of him until the Sugar Man film began to generate some buzz. I downloaded his two early '70's albums the other day. I would highly recommend both of them. There's a Dylan-esque quality to his songs and his style. Makes me wonder if that's part of the reason he never caught on. He strikes me as unusually talented. He has a very interesting voice and his songs radiate some grit and substance. I'm planning to see the movie. His is definitely one of the better "better late than never" stories I've yet to come across.

Basie is always great, but this pairing doesn't work. Judy could sing, but she couldn't sing jazz.

Thanks, Chuck. I finally got it to work, but it was not what I'd call a user-friendly experience.

Yesterday, I downloaded a couple of albums from the Amazon mp3 store. It's been awhile since I purchased anything from them. Amazon DL's used to just show up in your iTunes library and that was that. Now, it appears that they are simply stored in "the cloud" and that they never make it to iTunes. I've tried to figure out a workaround, but all I get is a message indicating that I've already downloaded these albums. Does anyone know if there's a way to get them into iTunes or if is this just the new normal when it comes to Amazon mp3's. Thanks.

Every time you put on Sun Ra or Sunny Ade, give your dog a biscuit. I guarantee he'll see the error of his ways in less than a week.

Words fail me when I try to express how much I would enjoy a United States loss in today's semi-final. The U.S. team isn't anything more than a neighborhood bully beating up on all the little kids who live on the same block. I won't even be watching. The PGA Championship beats this like a rented mule.

Yes. Hard to imagine a world without music. Thanks for posting this.

With the exception of three "over age" players, the men's game in the Olympics is limited to players under the age of 23. That differentiates it quite a bit from the World Cup. On the lady's side, there are no such restrictions, so that does make it a little redundant. Having said that, the WNT's game with Canada yesterday will, at least for me, be the defining "moment" of the 2012 games. Talk about leaving everything on the field. Incredible efforts from both sides and a great win for the U.S. If you missed it, you missed something pretty special. Bring on the Japanese. Retribution is going to be a bitch.

Absolutely. The Isolated Pawn is one of my all-time favorite Manne & His Men pieces. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3vU3A7OncE

A really unique, ultra-fat sound on the double bass. Thanks to Marc Myers for once again making me aware of someone with whom I was not familiar.

Mike Rowe is everywhere. TV commercials, "Dirty Jobs", "Deadliest Catch". I like him...he's sort of a everyman. Ever wonder where guys like this get their start?

A fair number of you probably weren't around or were too young to notice when Vidal and Buckley had their disagreements. Buckley was usually so buttoned down and in control, that to see him completely lose his cool while discussing the VIet Nam war with Vidal at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968 was quite remarkable. Let me tell you. Those were the days.

Thank goodness! I've spent the offseason in fear so far, worrying that the Sharks would make give up Setoguchi plus who knows who for Nash. You're not being serious are you? FYI Setoguchi played the entire 2011 season with the Wild after being traded away last year! Sorry; posting while drunk... I meant Couture. I'm calling for sanctions against Mr. Moose. While there are more reasons than you can count for getting drunk in La Grande, Oregon, this does not create the space necessary to forgive a mistake of this magnitude.

Ditto on the Ike Quebec. That one's a sleeper but it's a nice set.

Agreed. In bicycling, there's very little use for a size 10 1/2 head.

Jeff Beck.

I came to The Sopranos late in the game. I had tried it on for size several times, but I always gave up. It just seemed like too big an investment. Then a couple of years ago, we rented the entire first season and started watching it again. This time it clicked. Ended up mainlining the entire series in about a month. I'm a huge fan of Mad Men and I loved Six Feet Under but I still think The Sopranos is the best thing that's ever been on television. Loved the last episode. It couldn't have ended any better or more appropriately.