Eric

I used to travel there extensively in the 90s/00s, and always made a point to check out as many record stores as I could. I am headed back out with the family next week and am looking for ideas. I seem to remember some good jazz shops on Telegraph in the Berkeley/Oakland area, have no idea what might still be there. I suppose I could ask "the Google", but would much rather rely on the expertise here ... Oh, and any recommendations for good jazz clubs would be much appreciated.

Looks like they bought Tidal. Unlike Spotify, they stream lossless. I have been using them for 4-5 months and prefer it to Spotify. For me, their interface is much less cluttered and cleaner than what Spotify has become. Unfortunately, they charge $19.95 per month which is 2X Spotify. I am hard-wired to buy physical product , so I use both Spotify and Tidal to preview music as much as anything. I think I will pass on the editorial content ... not b/c it is Jay Z, but hey, I just want to listen.

I don't know, not in the business, not a musician, but a hardcore music junkie for 40 years. When I heard the tune, i thought it was a rip-off of "Got to give it up". And I get all the borrowing stuff. But from my lay perspective, this was more than that, legally or not.

it is gone, thanks to those who responded

Long story, but would up with two copies. I will sell the extra copy for $10 anywhere in the US postage paid. PM if interested.

I have been looking at the AudioEngine Bluetooth receiver as an alternative to the Airport Express. Maybe use it in an office. There is a good review of it at computeraudiophile.com. I currently have a Bluetooth speaker in my office at work and my daughter has one in her bedroom. Both are handy and sound fine for their respective rooms. It seems to me the AudioEngine device ups the game a little, i.e. gives you the opportunity to connect to a stereo with a relatively high-quality Bluetooth signal. Product link: http://audioengineusa.com/Store/B1-Bluetooth-Music-Receiver The choices and alternatives for all this stuff (under the category "home music streaming") are growing at a fairly rapid pace, which is great for consumers.

I have all my music on iTunes and use an Apple Airport Express to stream to my stereo(s) (one for each stereo). I have had this setup for 3-4 years and it works very well. I have both Spotify and Tidal on my iPhone and can stream both of them through the Airport Express. At $99 each, this might be something worth checking out.

Put me down for a "like" as well

LOL to the above exchange, courtesy of my wife no less

I like listening to vinyl. Without spending too much money, it really can be a great listening experience. I have seen this site before ... these folks are crazy.

Celebration celebrated!!!

Huh, did not know you could do that. Would you mind providing particulars on your NAS? What software do you use to edit song titles, artwork, etc. on your NAS? I presume there is a Sonos app for the iphone? Thanks

I bought one, primarily because I am an idiot. If you want a stand-alone speaker, say for an office, I think the way to go is something Bluetooth-enabled. There are a bunch of them out there - I own a couple and we use them at home. Price point: $100 or less. The Sonos speaker is either wireless or their proprietary network. So some pluses and minuses vis-a-vis a Bluetooth speaker. I will fully admit that I bought this because I thought it looked kind of cool. I am also hoping/expecting that it will sound decent. The Blue Note tie-in was not a particular draw. Basically I had a little extra spare cash and wanted to check this out.

True, but shipping from Japan adds quite a bit. I don't do bittorrent; too concerned about viruses. If you order multiple CDs (2-4, not 20-30 ) the total cost at CDJapan is really not too bad when the buy-in is only $8 per CD.

Yes

Here's three of those I picked up and can recommend. Kosuke Mine/Solid Shunzo Ohno/Something's Coming Mikio Masuda/Trace [Low-Priced Edition][Low-Priced Edition Have a couple on the way, thanks.

I think these are nice as well. It is too bad they are "Record Store Day" teasers, at least in the early iteration. The Wes sides from 2014 worked the same way - a couple EPs which a) were not available in my stores locally and b) then quickly went to ebay at silly prices - and the CD follows a year next (April 2015). I will pass on the EPs and wait for the CDs later this year or in 2016.

Sitting Still by REM - I don't think Stipe even knows what the words are.

I am looking at "Arcade" by John Abercrombie. Don't think I have ever seen that on CD.

The Eddie Gale is great, I think you'll really dig that one. Yes, that is a very good one. I am also fond of the Elvin Jones, the Reben Wilson and the Jackie McLean. Have never been able to get into the Shorter. Maybe it was seeing beat-up vinyl copies with that horrific cover in cut-out bins for 20 years

I am not a *huge* Dylan fan, but that is one of my favorite albums of all time, any genre. "You're A Big Girl Now" is just devastating. Not that you want that all the time from your pop music, but it does not get any better than this.

Any feedback on purchases? I interested in the funky/fusiony subset of these releases ... Thanks

I lived outside Chapel Hill for grades 5-9 and was also an avid Carolina fan. Wound up moving to Kansas and going to school here, but have always enjoyed the connection between the two programs. In fact my oldest son just graduated from Carolina last spring.

I have always enjoyed it, the title track being my favorite. Own it on a Muse lp from back in the day.

Happy birthday Michael!!