RDK

I think you can still buy the 3" discs but not all players (such as car CD players) can accept them. With the cost of CD blanks so low, why bother? In fact, the 3" discs might be more expensive.

The dead guy's phone, obviously, was used by my mother-in-law...

My birthday! (Well, at least the anniversary of it.) And won't you all be pissed when my cosmic powers kick in and i begin my domination of the earth on that, the most magical of days...

Sessions sat it with Pharoah Sanders for a whole set when i saw him a few weeks ago at the Jazz Bakery. "Blistering" is right.

Terrific label, yes, but the occassional sound problems. There have been other threads about the Cowell discs, and I have one disc that's a needle drop from an LP. Doesn't mean i don't enjoy them though...

Frightening stuff. My twins are still in preschool, where affection for each other is still allowed, but they'll start kindergarten in the fall. I'm one of those parents who's always on the ground playing with the kids; most of them know and call me by name ("Hey, Ray, gimme five"), and some even want to hug me or have me lift them up, etc. I know most of the parents, too, and while I'm not too concerned about anything being considered "improper," there's always that nagging doubt in the back of your mind telling you not to touch any of the other kids or do or say anything to them that could get you in trouble. I'm not sure if it's political correctness gone wild, the fear of litigation, or some wacked child-rearing philosophy (and there are several of those!), but it's way too easy these days for totally innocent behavior to be misconstrued as harmful. It's one thing to teach kids to be wary of strangers; it's quite another to make them paranoid for life. Somewhat off the point, I know. There seems more to this story that they're not telling...

I've got no problems with doormen (nor have i ever had one on a regular basis), but i really hate those valets in the mens' room who squirt soap in your hands and hand you towels after you take care of business...

True. But is there really anything wrong with that?

If I may speak for Hans - and explain to Robert H. - the problem with "modern mastering techniques" (and how it's different from, say, ten years ago) is not in the compression per se - for both Robert and Chuck are absolutely correct in that virtually all music is compressed, at least as recorded and often as it's mastered onto vinyl and/or CD as well. The problem is that over the last decade or so there's been a "loudness war" going on - mostly in rock/pop, but now creeping into jazz/acoustic music as well - that's caused the mastering engineers (either on their own or in service to the artists or labels) to essentially make the CDs "louder" in order to punch through the crowded marketplace and/or play louder on some kid's boombox. One way of doing this is to compress the music during the mastering stage, squashing the dynamics and taking a very natural-sounding waveform and effectively evening out the highs and lows. If done well, this can impart a "punchy" sound to rock music, but if done to excess (imo) it can ruin the sound of more acoustic material, such as jazz and classical. I dunno, maybe you guys can't hear - i often can't unless it's extreme - but a waveform like Couw posted earlier is a perfect example of how the music is compressed to the point where the dynamics are squashed and the transients destroyed. Noise reduction is another thing entirely, of course. Like any tool (even compression), it can be a force for good or a force for evil. Personally I prefer less NR in theory, though I hold to the belief that it's overused only when I can actually hear it in action.

Ah, we're all just becoming old farts... -_-

Not heard XM radio, but if these are programmed playlists there's no reason to assume that the songs and DJ patter are "live." As far as their computers go (and the DJs who simply announce which tunes were played) they may not yet be aware of Jackie's passing. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but one can hardly have a tribute if there's no method for "interrupting" normal programming...

Collectables has a lousy reputation, but i couldn't pass up some of the sale items. To be honest, they sound fine on my mini-stereo here at work, but that's not saying much. They have gotten a bit better, though, and their more recent releases are far better than their cheap comps from the mid-90s, some of which are actually in "fake stereo" (by choice, from the original mono masters!). Still, some fine music can be had cheaply, and not just jazz: don't overlook their Harlem Rock n' Blues series or some of their indie label comps (but be wary of questionable sound).

Having an accountant is great. Getting another nice refund this year - which isn't really "found money," just means i overpaid over the course of the year. Still, i prefer that to coughing up money in April. Looks like we'll be buying an HDTV set this year, getting the heat pump replaced, and i hope to buy myself a few Mosaics.

Quite possibly the best website in existence ('cepting this one, of course)! Dime a dozen dot org. Get yourself a registration spot, grab an external hard drive (it'll fill quickly), and have fun! Cheers, Shane Thanks! But I haven't been able to get one of the 93,000 spots yet. Keep trying, Adam. Supposedly several hundred slots open up every day as they purge old/unused accounts. I don't know anyone who hasn't been able to get in. It's worth it!

actually, that is exactly what a modern CD looks like. Problem is that it sez Britney Aguillera and that it is made for little girls with boom boxes who are listening while crying in their root beer over the first lost love of their life and pimples. There may not be any digital distortion, but there is hardly any dynamics. It's either loud or *real* loud all over the band from bass to treble all of the time. Of course you will hear some details you weren't able to hear on those nice fluffy discs from earlier days, simply because stuff is loud. But it is really very fatiguing to listen to. The loud peaks are not as loud anymore (relatively speaking) as they have had their guts limited out of them. If you look at the same wave form taken from the TOCJ, there is a lot of space all around, lots of dynamics, neat spikes and nice low volume passages. This extreme compression business is not good for the sound, bad for enjoyment and likely worse for your ears. To each his own of course. Agree completely, John! This especially pisses me off when it comes from Mosaic. Now i don't necessarily expect "audiophile" mastering from them, but you'd think they'd be a bit more respectful to the source and not have to smash the dynamics of the music to appeal to boom box-listening teens. I can understand why the latest U2 album is compressed, but acoustic jazz shouldn't be.

And the best thing about it is that with every Bear Family box comes a pill that cures cancer.

Disagree completely. TV may not be the best way to get in-depth reporting (and perhaps even accuracy) but it's the best way to get breaking news and "you are there" coverage of an event. What, you'd rather wait up to 24 hours to read about it in the paper, a week for a magazine report, or even longer for the book? Radio has more limitations than TV, imo, and the internet has little credibility when it comes to breaking news.

That's the way I see it. Now you're talking about Mother Teresa, right?

It sounds like he won't be able to do that again...

Chris - glad to hear you know about Katz'. My wife drags me there every time we're in town. That's where Sally had her orgasm sandwich you know...

I'll third that and raise you an Would you like to kick a sick puppy while you're at it?

Wow, Jim, that's amazing! I can't imagine going 29 years never having seen a dentist. I've gone to various dentists all my life and have a mouthfull of old fillings (and now crowns). I've always been prone to cavities despite regular cleanings and brushings. Others i know never get cavities...

Indeed. My favorite is the Stuttgart show. Great sound on that one!

What did you expect? He's already done gone and mastered the whole Bob Seeger thing, no?

My wife and i have long thought (well since our own kids were born at least) that Lo-jack for infants/kids would be a great idea.