Teasing the Korean

Propaganda is a political hack declaring "mission accomplished" when the war has barely started. Putting a spotlight on contemporary design is not propaganda. The worst thing about that film is its title - "American Look." Many of the designs are European, or Euro inspired. Here is an AMAZING film about the Southern Pacific Railroad (this is part 1): http://www.archive.org/details/ThisIsMy1940 Great color footage of trains back when they used to look like trains. Gorgeous color, lots of freight yard detail, and also coverage of snow storm response. This is the best train film I've yet found on Prelinger.

If that's your idea of propaganda, then I love propaganda more than life itself.

STILL decorating the tree. Ferrante & Teicher - Snowbound - UA (black label, stereo)

And it's not like they asked him to do "My Fair Lady" or "West Side Story." It is conceptually a compromise, PLUS the show sucked.

Swingle Singers - Swingle Bells - MMG Shorty Rogers - The Swingin' Nutcracker - RCA (black dog, Living Stereo)

Stan Kenton - A Merry Christmas - Capitol (rainbow, stereo) Yes, it's a little early, but I'm decorating the tree and want the full experience. EDIT: First time spinning this album. I was afraid of this record for years, but it's actually very nice!

Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Columbia (6-eye mono)

Congrats!

Yesterday, after Jo Stafford: Les Baxter - Space Escapade (Capitol rainbow, stereo) Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin' Lovers (Capitol black label, mono).

Jo Stafford Sings Broadway's Best - Columbia (2 eye, mono) with lush arrangements by Paul Weston. This album has become something of a Thanksgiving tradition for TTK. It reminds him of his parents.

http://www.archive.org/details/model_railroad

Lionels, I believe were first (O gauge), followed by American Flyer (S gauge). HO was the first train gauge that was truly to scale (the others were not, at least not at the time; they are now).

Those of you who came of age in the postwar era probably have a soft spot for those 16 mm educational/health/training/industrial films of your youth. Here are two AMAZING archives for this stuff. You can watch stuff online, and you can also download higher rez versions (on Prelinger, at least): http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger and http://www.avgeeks.com/ You can search by topic. For example, here is part 1 of "American Look," perhaps the greatest film ever about mid-century design: http://www.archive.org/details/American1958 Parts 2 and 3 are there too. These sites are addictive. Proceed with caution.

It's almost Thanksgiving. Which means it's almost the day after Thanksgiving when we get a Christmas tree. Which means it is almost time to SET UP THE HO FREIGHT TRAIN! (I know this sounds obsessive, but if it doesn't happen Thanksgiving weekend, it never gets done).

Sending positive vibes your way.

Don't know that I'd go that far, but I was surprised that it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, and that it actually had some pretty decent stuff on it. The reharmonization of "19th Nervous Breakdown" was particularly appealing to me. Agree. "Rock" albums by easy listening artists are so much more subversive than rock albums by rock artists.

Just yesterday I spun his Verve trio album "Fusion." My God, this sounds like the soundtrack of a 1950s European trade show film about glass production or something of the sort. I love records with that modern Twilight Zone sound. There is something beautifully artificial about them, they take me to an idealized future that never existed, as I sip red wine and lounge in moderne furniture.

Agree about that godawful Lovin' Spoonful album, but sorry, Stones Jazz is one of the greatest albums ever made. I can only wish that there would have been some weird Randy Weston, say, Yardbirds album. I can imagine his version of "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" or "Glimpses."

Elis Regina - Samba Eu Canto Assim - Philips (Brasil, mono)

Stanley Turrentine - Rough 'n' Tumble - Blue Note (New York, mono) Don't know if I've ever heard McCoy Tyner on a session like this before. But with all the LPs I've accumulated I may be forgetting.

The Jimmy Giuffre 3 - Fusion - Verve (stereo) Twilight Zone jazz at its best. This is like the soundtrack to a 1950s European industrial film!

One advantage of the higher end CD burning/extracting programs (such as Toast) is this: If you're copying from a damaged disc, it will either extract it exactly or it will abort. With iTunes and Windows Media, it will actually copy mistakes, such as digital repeats, if extracting from a damaged disc. I've used Toast and am very happy with it. Do not use it to create playlists though.

I had it but unloaded it. I generally agree with Stereo Jack, for me it boiled down to this: If I want to hear some Randy Weston, when am I ever going to choose this one?

Washington Post obit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/18/AR2010111805655.html