Teasing the Korean

Right, because CDs at that time were marketed toward people with money and supposed corresponding "taste." Of course, a lot of jazz and classical guys were very disappointed by the early CDs, and rightfully so.

If we are talking about the 1950s and 1960s, record labels had to quickly build hi-fi mono LP catalogs, and a few years later, stereo catalogs. So given the booming postwar economy, it made sense for labels to record as many things as possible, including oddball classical/jazz/instrumental pop things, through the earnings of mega-sellers like West Side Story. Think of Columbia's "Modern Music" classical series, or whatever it was called. By the 1970s, most of the major labels had back catalogs as large as they needed, so it made less and less sense to subsidize the costs of albums with narrow audience interest. Arista must have been one of the last US labels to do this, but there may be other examples I'm forgetting.

I can tell you regarding Arista, their philosophy was that mega sellers like Barry Manilow should underwrite the costs of releasing "art." Those albums were not designed to make money. They had Barry Manilow for that. I have no idea about singles or "hits." Producers of all kinds of LPs in all genres typically wanted strong openers and closers to each LP side.

Merry Feast of Stephen! May all of you drink fine wine from ornate chalices and eat giant legs of tofurkey! And may all the kittehs at the Humanz Society get adopted!

I got this for Christmas, and I am very excited! Have not spun it yet!

One of the LPs that I received was: THE METRONOME QUINTET AT THE ZOO! A gift from my bro-in-law to me.

Given that Ms. TTK, her brother, and my brother are all music geeks, lots of LPs and CDs were exchanged!

It's pretty wild, and it never fails to entertain! It is included on one of the Capitol Ultra-Lounge Xmas collections, which are mixed bags, but with enough good stuff to make them worthwhile, at least the first two, especially if you can find them for cheap.

I have an LP of his piano music played by Horowitz. It is overdue for a spin.

For about 10 years, I led a quintet with lots of Latin and exotic percussion. There were two percussionists, vibes/marimba (who also doubled on percussion), acoustic bass, and Your Beloved TTK on piano. I learned a lot about Latin Percussion during this time. In particular, drum patterns working against melodies; bass patterns that do and don't work with Latin grooves; and how kit players need to adjust their approach when playing with congas or bongos.

There was a stanza that was considered to be too "down," and it was nixed before the debut version. I'm really talking about the two published versions, but feel free to put in a plug for the first version.

The original, sad lyrics are currently in a slim lead of only three votes!

This track goes great with the hipster beatnik stuff:

Did you play "Shake Hands with Santa Claus" by Louis P and "Hang Up Your Stockin'" by the Chipmunks? Those are hipster classics. Ms. TTK played all the ones you mentioned on her holiday show!

Which Chord Progression Do You Prefer in Bars 3 & 4?

This holiday chestnut, written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane, was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me in St. Louis. The original lyrics are in the future tense and convey a sense of sadness. Frank Sinatra later requested revised lyrics for his 1957 Capitol album A Jolly Christmas. These lyrics are in the present tense, to suggest a happy Christmas this year as opposed to waiting until next. The rewritten lyrics have become more common, although the original lyrics are sometimes performed. Curiously, Ella does an upbeat, swingin' version, but uses the original bittersweet lyrics. it creates an interesting contrast in moods. The rewrite, on the one hand, can be viewed as saccharine. On the other hand, it can be viewed as conveying defiance in the face of fate, as our troubles are never out of sight, and we won't always be together. For me, the big problem with the rewrite is the final word, "now." In the original, after singing about next year throughout the song, the word "now" becomes a lyrical twist, asking us to enjoy ourselves in the present, despite current circumstances. In the rewrite, "now" becomes an unnecessary word pasted on to make a rhyme. Which do you prefer?

Yep. The trend toward finding the obscure older stuff really started in the late 1990s/early 2000s, especially with Wes Anderson films. A musician friend of mine knows the guy who got that gig. He hit the jackpot.

In recent decades, there have been some music obsessives who essentially hit the lottery and were able to turn their obsessions into very lucrative careers, placing obscure or semi-obscure music in film, TV, and commercials. I'm willing to bet that is what happened here. Nice work if you can get it.

I have a accumulated a decent amount of Cannonball over the years, and Mercy Mercy is probably my third favorite among his Capitol albums, my favorites being Soul Zodiac and the album with extended compositions by Axelrod, Lalo Schifrin, and whomever else. If you count Soul Zodiac as a Nat Adderley and/or David Axelrod album, then Mercy Mercy becomes my second favorite of the Capitols. I also like the other live album on Capitol with cover art similar to that on Mercy Mercy. As I wrote elsewhere, I did not really get into jazz until I was around 12 or 13, but as a very little kid, I would see Mercy Mercy pictured on Capitol inner sleeves that came with Beatles and Beach Boys LPs. So for that reason alone, Cannonball becomes an early figure in my jazz explorations.

David Frickin' AXELROD!!!

Damn, I might have to buy my first Mosaic box. Bastards! I generally don't like Mosaic's presentations, but in this case, they have no existing albums to destroy.

Ms. TTK found Heino's Christmas album today. It is a gatefold, with pop-up art.

Hanging out with Mike Love couldn't have helped.

This dead-on parody of early 70s smooth soul always receives at least one spin at my pad around the holidays.