Swinging Swede

It's always cruel to lose in a penalty shoot-out, but only one team can go through, and they must be separated somehow of course. Holland had more posession of the ball, but I think Sweden had just as many dangerous chances. In the second half of the extra time Sweden had one shot that hit the bar and one that hit the post. I think the match could have gone either way, but congratulations to the Dutch, who have had many painful penalty shoot-outs. The match tonight could be very good. Czechia has been the most impressive team so far, and Denmark is very solid, and difficult to beat. They impressed me against Sweden. The Danes have several injured players though, so this could present a problem.

0-0 after the first half. Noteworthy: Sweden has made 7 of its 8 goals in the second half.

According to a Swedish newspaper a Dutch TV commentator has called the Swedish players "a bunch of failed hockey players"... I think Holland has to be considered the favourite tonight considering the number of star players they have, in conjunction with how their team has improved during the group play (just having star players is not enough as we saw in the France-Greece match) . The general consensus seems to be that this Swedish team is more uneven than the one that finished 3rd in the 1994 World Cup. The midfield has been a problem throughout the tournament and different players have been tested in different matches. There are two changes in the back line tonight too, since one player is injured and one is suspended. On the other hand, the goalkeeper Isaksson has been very good so far, and there are especially sharp players at the top with Larsson, Ibrahimovic and Ljungberg, so who knows what will happen. One other thing to point out. In all three group matches Sweden has been worse in the first half, but then come out much stronger in the second half. We'll see if history repeats itself tonight.

Sorry to jump in on another linguistic question (such things do fascinate me). I believe that in the English language the word ”Holland” means exactly the same thing as ”the Netherlands”. It’s the same in Swedish; ”Holland” and ”Nederländerna” are synonyms. Words may mean different things in different languages even if they have a common etymological origin. For example, ”Dutch” is the same word etymologically as ”Deutsch” (and ”duits” in Dutch, I believe?), but they have come to mean different things for historical reasons. Another analogous example would be the Finnish word ”Saksa” which means ”Germany” and not just ”Saxony”. Or for that matter ”German” in English which means something else than ”Germane” in German or ”german” in Swedish (sorry, don’t know the Dutch equivalent, but I suppose it’s something similar).

But that's not correct either. Great Britain is the island that includes England, Scotland and Wales. If you add Northern Ireland you get the United Kingdom.

The Circle CD has Lang-Worth transcriptions from 1940.

LOL, A Danish newspaper says “2-2 and you get Bornholm” (Danish island that belonged to Sweden 1658-60)

Actually I think it would be important to include the 40s Decca sessions. There are several tracks from those years that remain unissued, and a Mosaic set might be the only way to ever get them out. For example, Lunceford only cut two sessions in 1945 for Decca, four tunes on each session, and still only two from each were ever issued. Clearly Decca had lost interest in Lunceford by that time, so no wonder that Lunceford switched label affiliation after that year. If Lord is correct, there were also sessions in the mid-40s for World Transcriptions, from which some tracks were issued on Decca and others not. Classics only included those that were on Decca. It would be nice to have them all. By the way, although it hasn’t anything to do with Decca, there are plenty of live sessions from the mid-40s, which featured many tunes they didn’t record commercially, and I think very little of it has come out on CD. Someone should do them. Lunceford is getting neglected these days.

Has anyone seen this before? Apparently it's a very rare Japanese promo CD on which Cuscuna narrates and plays bits of various Blue Note recordings. Something to reissue, perhaps?

What dialect does Wayne Rooney speak? I've heard him speak twice now and both times his speech was incomprehensible to me. It struck me as very odd-sounding. He certainly has been impressive in this tournament. And he's only 18! It can not be easy to be Michael Owen and be so completely overshadowed.

Yes, and what this means is that if Sweden and Denmark play 2-2 (or 3-3 etc.), then Italy is out no matter how many goals they score against Bulgaria. There has reportedly been a lot of talk in Italy during the last couple of days about there being a Scandinavian conspiracy (meaning that they will play 2-2). Some have even seen more Scandinavian conspiracy in that a Danish camera followed Totti during the first match and thus caught the spitting so that he couldn't play against Sweden! I think both Sweden and Denmark will go out with the mindset to try to win the match. We have seen several times before in this tournament how a defensive mindset is punished. But of course, if it happens to be 2-2 with five minutes to go, then maybe we won't see too serious attacking attempts...

Yes, this decision was heavily criticized by the Swedish commentator, who felt that Robben had been the best Dutch player, and was causing the Czechs a great deal of trouble.

In all fairness he only got a yellow card for it. It was only because he already had one that he was sent off. The Swedish commentator thought the second yellow card was a bit harsh, but not necessarily wrong. I would have to watch a replay to be sure of what really happened there.

Yes, Brad, don't miss this match!

What a fantastic match between Czechia and Holland! Certainly the best so far in the tournament. Great attacking play from both sides. It must be really tough for the Dutch to lose it. I kind of felt that both teams deserved to win. Czechia has already won the group now. The Swedish commentator feared that they might let some of their ordinary players rest in the last match against Germany. Let's hope they put up a good fight against Germany, so the Dutch have a fair chance of qualifying. Actually, Latvia can still go through too. The first two matches show that they should not be underestimated. They are well organized and defend well and on the top Verpakovskis is fast and dangerous. And they fight with a lot of heart. Still, anything but a Dutch victory would be a sensation of course.

There is a strong Russian chess grandmaster named Semen Dvoirys. Wasn’t England’s goalkeeper (football) until recently named David Seaman? This works both ways, btw, since English names can be funny in other languages too. For example, [brad] Pitt is not a recommended name in Swedish-speaking areas...

No April Fool's joke this time. Link here, but since the article may expire I post it here too. Copy-blocked CD tops U.S. charts Last modified: June 17, 2004, 3:48 PM PDT By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com For the first time, the No. 1 album in the United States is loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology. According to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" was the top-selling album in America last week, despite being prominently labeled on its cover as being "protected against unauthorized duplication." The success of the album is likely to prompt more experiments from BMG, the band's label, and other record companies, industry watchers said. "It's too soon to tell whether the rest of the industry is going to be heartened by this," said Mike McGuire, an analyst at GartnerG2. "But clearly, there are going to be a lot of people who are very encouraged by the fact it is out on the marketplace." The step forward is part of a slow increase in the flow of copy-protected compact discs into the American market, after several years of stalled progress. If the pace increases without substantial consumer backlash, the technology could become as commonplace as the antipiracy technology on DVDs, ultimately changing the way that consumers use their purchased music. For several years, the big record labels have experimented with various versions of the technology, worried by the explosive popularity of CD burners and online file trading. However, they have been wary of releasing the technology in the U.S. market on a wide scale. Early versions of copy-protected CDs had problems playing in some CD players and computers, prompting customer complaints and even recalls. A vocal segment of the online population has been intensely critical of the copy protection plans, leading record label executives to worry about potential consumer reaction. Some artists, such as Virgin Records singer Ben Harper, have been bitterly angry at their labels' decision to include the technology without their approval. The test with Velvet Revolver, a group made of alumni from Stone Temple Pilots, Guns N' Roses and others, was the largest yet for BMG. The test uses MediaMax copy protection from BMG partner SunnComm International. The label says it does plan a growing number of protected releases over the course of this year, but is still choosing which CDs will include the technology on a case-by-case basis. "We're thrilled with the results we've seen and the apparent consumer acceptance," said Jordan Katz, an executive vice president in BMG's distribution arm. The company has released a total of 12 "copy managed" discs, with more than 2.5 million units now in the market, he said. iPods still a problem Like other recent copy-protected albums, the Velvet Revolver disc includes technology that blocks direct copying or ripping of the CD tracks to MP3 format. It also comes preloaded with songs in Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, which can be transferred to a computer or to many portable digital music players. As in earlier tests by BMG and SunnComm, the copy protection on the Velvet Revolver disc can be simply disabled by pushing the "Shift" key on a computer while the CD is loading, which blocks the SunnComm software from being installed. The companies say they have long been aware of the work-around but that they were not trying to create an unhackable protection. According to SunnComm, few purchasers have complained about the anticopying tools, although angry postings on sites such as Amazon.com are common. The sticker on the front of the Velvet Revolver CD and a link inside the software that loads automatically on a computer, once a user has given permission, points to SunnComm's Web site. "We hear from less than half of one percent of people who have the Velvet Revolver disc," SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs said. "Most of those questions are related to getting the songs onto an iPod." However, the inability to move songs to Apple's popular digital music player, as well as to other devices that don't support Microsoft's Windows Media digital rights management services, is a serious shortcoming. Jacobs says SunnComm recognizes that--and that the company's next version will go beyond the Microsoft files and be able to create multiple kinds of digital files that will be compatible with the iPod. But for now, iPod-owning Velvet Revolver fans don't have a direct alternative. "We are actively working with Apple to provide a long-term solution to this issue," a posting on SunnComm's Web site reads. "We encourage you to provide feedback to Apple, requesting they implement a solution that will enable the iPod to support other secure music formats." Also on Thursday, SunnComm announced that EMI Music would begin using its technology on advance and promotional releases. That marks the second major label, following BMG, to adopt SunnComm's tools officially, although others are also testing them. EMI Music has "been encouraged by the success that SunnComm's MediaMax product has enjoyed," Richard Cottrell, global head of antipiracy for the record label, said in a statement. "We are pleased that SunnComm is developing a product that improves our ability to protect our artists' works, especially during the prerelease phase."

According to Danish sources Totti actually spat on Poulsen several times during the match. A nasty player indeed.

I read that Norah will be guesting on the new Ray Charles album that comes out in August. As will Diana Krall, btw.

It came out in 1999!! One must however keep in mind that the current US RVGs are picked from the 9501-9600 JRVG releases (which include bonus tracks unlike previous JRVGs). The Sixth Sense simply was the only 60s Morgan among them, so it had to be that one or none at all. If Cuscuna had picked the titles independently I'm sure something like Delightfulee would have been a much more likely candidate.

Shhhh, don't mention two goals within one minute to the English!

Sweden-Bulgaria 5-0!

Hey, the word kerfuffle does exist! From Merriam-Webster Online: Main Entry: ker·fuf·fle Pronunciation: k&r-'f&-f&l Function: noun Etymology: alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled chiefly British : DISTURBANCE, FUSS Here’s an interesting text about it from a site called World Wide Words: KERFUFFLE A commotion or fuss. You will most commonly come across this wonderfully expressive word in Britain and the British Commonwealth countries (though the White House spokesman Ari Fleischer used it in January this year). It is rather informal, though it often appears in newspapers. One of the odder things about it is that it changed its first letter in quite recent times. Up to the 1960s, it was written in all sorts of ways—curfuffle, carfuffle, cafuffle, cafoufle, even gefuffle (a clear indication that its main means of transmission was in speech, being too rarely written down to have established a standard spelling). But in that decade it suddenly became much more popular and settled on the current kerfuffle. Lexicographers suspect the change came in response to the way that a number of imitative words were spelled, like kerplop and kerplunk. In those cases, the initial ker– adds emphasis, as it does in other words, perhaps onomatopoeic but perhaps also borrowing the first syllable of crash. But we know kerfuffle was originally Scots and it’s thought that its first part came from Scots Gaelic car, to twist or bend. The second bit is more of a puzzle: there is a Scots verb fuffle (now known only in local dialect), to throw into disorder, dishevel, or ruffle. No obvious origin for it is known and experts suspect it was an imitative word. It is probably linked with Scots fuff, to emit puffs of smoke or steam, definitely imitative, which in the late eighteenth century also had a sense of going off in a huff or flying into a temper. Some specialists think kerfuffle is also related to the Irish cior thual, confusion or disorder. It seems to be a minority opinion, though. Well, it’s always nice to learn new words. I think I learnt the word soporific from Hardbop too.

Maybe that was a typo, but it was still the Old Testament band after the war. “Atomic Age” is excellent. Or maybe "Atomic Era" or "Atomic Years". Something with “Atomic” in it at any rate, since that is how the Roulette era has come to be referred to.

Not bad, but I agree with JSngry about the post-Roulette/pre-Pablo era. Those years were messy label-wise in that Basie seemed to jump between labels for almost every new album. And there actually were more albums for Verve than for Reprise anyway, so it shouldn’t be called "the Reprise Years". But stressing the “popular” aspect is right, since there were a lot of "commercial" oddities during those years (Beatles, Bond etc.). I’m not sure either why the war years should be considered Radio Days more than other periods. I must also mention that the terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament” refer to Basie’s first and second big band during their entire existences, and not just the first years of each. Maybe it wasn’t intended, but it can look that way from the listing above. These are just minor objections regarding the names of the eras, and they can be changed at a later time anyway. The basic structure seems fine to me. A couple of possible additions, though: Since the Count Basie Orchestra still exists, and has recorded over 10 albums since Basie’s death, one could consider adding a chapter about the orchestra’s doings after his death. Also, while the two years between his big bands when Basie led a smaller group may be a relatively short period, it was a significant departure. The band included many modernists and Basie himself was apparently content with it. One could consider making that an era of its own, albeit a brief one. OK, you asked for feedback so there you have some!