Christiern

That is very interesting. Did she sing the children's songs in a conventional sweet voice, as opposed to her screaming style on her commercial recordings? It was funny, in a way, because Yoko described each song in a sweet voice, then rendered it in a deafening, grating manner.

She morphed into a person very different from the withdrawn, sweet file clerk who worked in my music department some 45 years ago. Because she was so reserved, I was quite surprised when she requested permission to go on the air as part of our fund-raising marathon. I gave her the go-ahead and still have the tape of that appearance (she described and sang Japanese children's songs).

Thanks for bringing up Vanilla Fudge, Jim—memorable performance.

I agree with Dan on this one. I know that I would not have won a Grammy in 1971 (I think that was the year) if my notes had not been on a Columbia album and the artist had not been Bessie Smith. My notes were definitely inferior to some of the competing ones. In one of the subsequent years, I think my nominated notes were better than John Simon's (he won), but his were for a Bing Crosby album, and Bing had just died. That's just how it goes. Now, having said that, it is quite possible—even likely—that Francis' notes deserved to beat the competition. He is a good, responsible writer who does his research and knows his subject. The character who now hides behind the "Chauncey Morehouse" forum ID(Chauncey deserved better) repeatedly comes off as someone who is eaten up by the success of others. He is quick to criticize and put others down, but offers no reason for anyone to take him seriously. What has he ever accomplished, other than to make a fool of himself here?

Their peacock was nicer than NBC's

It was not uncommon for musicians to express a dislike for the term, "jazz", in the 1970s, when we saw an awakening of sorts—the "Roots" aftereffect, which was both positive and detrimental. They often mentioned the word's past sexual connotation as a reason why the music should be called something more dignified. Miles mentioned that to me, as did Jimmy Heath when he was a guest on my TV show—I have a clip of that, somewhere. Anyway, it was the thing to say back in the afro hair/dashiki period. I saw it as a PC flurry that would eventually become nothing more than a subject for Primack posts, and the like. I was right and even Jimmy Heath reverted to "jazz" before razors hit the last afro.

PLEASE!

Kære Victor, jeg ønsker dig en rigtig god fødselsdag i dag og yderligt mange i fremtiden!

Stop being so bitter, Jim!

I also did not read Allen's post as a critique of Francis. Having myself been wrongly labeled "bitter" here on more than one occasion, by more than one disgruntled poster, let me say that I have once or twice had an inkling that—if there was any bitterness—it plagued the accuser rather than the accused. Of course, I may be totally wrong and the grapes are probably ripened to perfection,but let me say that Francis was a fellow contributor to Stereo Reviewduring the latter part of my years there, that he and I had pleasant conversations at the magazine's annual dinners and award ceremonies, that I like his writing, and I don't think anyone involved in this thread envies his win. That said, I may send him my Guide to Keeping Your Grammys Sparkling.

That dear of impending rot was not unfounded. Remember LaserDiscs? I have about 200 of them and I'm sure none play well at this point. A LaserDisc did not have to stay on one's shelf for long before developing what they called, "laser rot" (actually the result of shoddy lamination that let the air in). I have not experienced this on any CD, but I was among those who saw it as a real possibility.

I knew Sammy Maudlin, Sammy Maudlin lived up to his name—you are no Sammy Maudlin. Nothing sammy about you.

:tup ...and a snap!

That, RDK, is a sensible rule that we should all apply to ourselves. It is not easy to live by such a rule, however, not easy when another poster comes out of left field with vile name-calling. That happened to me several months ago, apparently only because I dared to say something negative about the so-called "Dr." Butler, whom I observed first-hand. A few years back, another out-of-control poster hurled the most vile names at me for no other reason than that I believed there were no WMDs in Iraq. Well, did I get an apology when proven correct? Of course not—that person really didn't have to apologize to me, but he never acknowledged that he had been wrong. Later, I helped him out with something. but his hostility against me lingers, albeit slightly under the surface. All this to say that even the best intentions require a special effort in this environment of instant, often anonymous contact. Online, some of us become guilty of behavior that only liquor would bring out in an actual presence situation—so your suggestion is definitely a good, if demanding, one. Conrad and I have our differences, but we deal with that. I could name others with whom I have had silly pixel battles that seemed destined to—and, for a while, did—escalate, but ended up taking a u-turn to sensibility. I realize that I state the obvious when I get on the can't-we-all-get along soap box, but it beats fondling comfort beads

"Cliff Engelwood": "Agreed, but implying that someone is a paedophile is very much in keeping with the type of person that, even though I’ve never met him, I’m sure Allen is, kinda like Clem but without the shred of talent and a lot more bile and bitterness. Now where was I, yes, Grammy awards for Allen; 'Best stone throwing inhabitant of a glass house.' 'Highest number of talked about new projects that will never be completed (or even started).' 'Largest number namedrops per pointless anecdote.' 'Oldest A.D.D. sufferer ever.'" I don't know what happened between you guys (assuming that a guy is hiding behind "Cliff Englewood"), but Allan does not hide his identity, he has accomplishments that should be admired rather than flippantly dismissed, and he is a nice, admirably knowledgable person. I can say that, because I have met Allan. What we seem to have here is a typical cyber conflict of a kind that probably would not have occurred without the anonymity factor. I have been party to such pixel-based flapdoodles myself. Some are irreconcilable, but most eventually fall victim to civility. Of course it does not help that we are on a board that tolerates extreme name-calling and slander from such cowardly mirror-kissing wannabes as the one who calls him/herself "youmustbe", so it is, apparently, up to us, the ordinary posters to maintain civility at the Big O. In the case of that poster, I see little hope, the hate is simply too ingrained, but neither of you guys have even come close to the gutter "youmustbe" splashes around in. Personally, I deeply regret the times when I stepped over the line, and I try to learn from such dumb experiences, but it takes two to really get back on the right track. Now where is my copy of "The Dubilin Tune"?

I don't know what kind of mosity we are seeing here (ani, I suppose), but the Grammys have for many years been a joke as meaningless as the annual TV circus that doles them out.* *I assume that having received a couple of these trophies entitles me to criticize NARAS without anyone yelling "sour grapes", "bitter old man," or such.

And Francis is believed to be the illegitimate son of Bette, conceived while she was on location for a film, "Beyond the Forest". There has been speculation as to the father—was it King Vidor or Joseph Cotten? Neither, said Ms. Davis in an obscure, unpublished interview. —from Allen Lowe's soon to be published book, That Devilin Me, and Other Pesky Things. The book will be marketed with a 67-CD set of previously unissued material licensed from historian Phil Schaap. With uncharacteristic modesty, Mr. Lowe describes these recordings as "scraps, including celebrity coughs and sneezes, from the studio floor."

You mean to tell me that this is not the Michael Weiss who lives in Brooklyn? Well, I tried!

Happy birthday, Charlie D! And did anyone catch Obama's speech in Springfield today? It was among his best, imho.

Ach! Herr sturm soldat Gould is going to turn me in!!!!! Seriously, Dan, I don't understand your apparent need for authority, but I think you are making a fool of yourself.

Moved: Notice of Gregg withdrawing.

I guess prices don't vary much. I get my Tayo Yudens (and LightScribes) here. I also highly recommend these dispensers... They hold up to 100 discs and cost $10 at SHOP[4]TECH. I have 4, to accommodate different media.

You'll have to sit through a lot of Grammy Crap, but you can see Francis accept his if you go to the stream of the pre-Grammy show. This is the part of the show that wasn't telecast, and it is every bit as awful as the prime time thing. As usual, it is poorly conceived, but some of the credit for bringing these shows into the farcical arena goes to the winners and presenters. Notice how Jolanda Adams pronounces Jack DeJohnette's name—she has obviously never heard of him. Most obnoxious, however, are the two guys (one identifies himself as Eli Wolf) who—against the show's rules—hop on stage to accept an award for Al Green, then return for another one (but are mercifully cut off).

Muzak, the concept that gave new meaning to "Miss Otis Regrets", has, I am told, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. There is a related rumor—albeit a flimsy one—that we can expect a Muzak Mosaic release that, while not complete, will include all working environments.

I always thought that Gatorade was some creature's pee.