JSngry

Do I ever not have any, that's the question!

Imagining Will Farrell pulling off is something I would want to avoid at all costs.

The King Sisters Queen Prince

Lawn mowing is for men what bubble baths are for women.

No matter - that Propellerheads cut is the shit. And one guy played all the instruments and did the rap, so no room for bitching on his part there!

John should have still been proud of his performance. It was quite a good one. Questyionable production ethics aside (now that's been a rare problem over the years ), if I hadn't known that that performance wasn't planned that way from the git-go, I'd never have guessed it. I think it's very good "as is" on the record. The rappers seem to quite often be getting their phraseological meter from Patton, so it's got that kind of synergy, which is a good one, because the band is swinging like a mofo. Plus, like I said, the lyrics are relevant to the song. Hard to ask for more than that from this type of thing, no matter how it came to be put together. It's been said that two things you never want to see being made are sausage and laws. To that list, I might add pop records.

Wish he'd make another "serious in all styles" side like Black Hope, but the time has probably passed. Too bad. Still a great player though. That sound alone is enough to make me listen.

Arte Johnson Art Linkletter The Flying Nun

If my grandmother had wheels, her casket would be drivable.

Pulled this one out last night, and frankly, I don't understand the vehement reaction against Def & Kweli. They sound all right to me. Far worse a breach of taste is The Roots bluster on Caravan, which seems like so much name/cultural connection dropping w/little interest in doing anything at all related to the original song (something that I definitely can't say about the Black Star lyrics, which seem organic - no pun intended - to the song). Oh well, different strokes and all that.... The real killer on the disc for me, and one that I had completely forgotten about, is the version of Star Crossed Lovers by Propellerheads w/Martha Wainwright. My god what a fresh sounding cut that is. The use of the melody is incorporated in a thoroughly ingenious manner, as a background figure to the vocal hook. It works, and it works well. The lyrics are gentle yet firm, and the whole thing grooves like a mofo. Don't really know Propellerheads (informed comments welcome), but if this cut is representative of their overall output, I've been missing out.

Miss Peach Mel Lazarus Pigboy Crabshaw

Yep.

When learning tunes like this, it's often best to start with the original (or a very early) version. The tune was new (maybe having been seen for the first time in the studio, or a few days before), so the players were focused on "the basics". Merritt's bass line is a good case in point - if he had been playing this tune for a while, he'd no doubt have been playing a more "open" bass line. As it is, he's dead on the changes, often outlining triads, or roots, or roots and fifts. Basic bass line stuff. Helluva good way to learn the changes, and not just for this tune.

Most people use music as little more than a lifestyle accessory. That's the way of the world.

The American Auto Association Alcoholics Anonymous The Letter A, Which Sometimes Brought You Sesame Street

Yeah, but your shit don't make no sense.

Follow the bass line on the record. Merritt delineates the changes quite clearly. It's not a hard tune to solo over in that the changes go off in some wildass direction, or that there's a lot of wierd superimpositions going on, it's just hard in that the form goes on and on and on and on. And on. Very much a linear, "story telling" form as opposed to a cyclical one. But once you get that part down, you'll see that the changes move very logically, and you'll have a blast playing over them.

Fm9

A half-step lower than the second one.

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I've been meaning to plug this book here for the last four years... An excellent read, and one that rings truer than many. The story of a young man who wanted to play jazz but ended up getting sidetracked from doing it by the financial lure/needs of going into R&B is one that I've seen happen god knows how many times (and one that I've participated in myself to a certain extent...). What also rings true is Wesley's simultaneous respect and disgust for the various leaders he's worked with over the years (Basie excepted...). This is a very common phenomenon among career sidemen, as they see people with less "talent" but more "charisma" than them go into the spotlight, while they end up playing a crucial but less glamorous role. I've seen reviews of this book that describe it as "bitter". Well, maybe it is. But that doesn't make it any less true. It's truly a "view from the inside" of what it's like to always be somebody else's employee, somebody who you want to think needs you more than you need them, while at the same time realizing that no matter how true that might be, if they weren't who/what they were in the first place, you'd not have a gig. Highly recommended reading.

That would be Ravi O. (Lee) Young.

Kyle Rote Howard Keel John Cale

Metheny's cool and all that, but the reason I still pull this one out is Dewey.

Ed Beach Ed Bradley Ed Wynn