Big Wheel

That was fun! But WTF is that about? See here for origins.

Or do the reverse out of spite: call up ASCAP and see if they'll send a representative to check out the gig. Then play just the heads of 140 different ASCAP tunes in a night, and watch the fees skyrocket! (I dunno if the billing is actually on a per-song basis, but it would be hilarious)

That's my beef. It's typical wonderful Blue Note quality control. Why was this not hashed out a long long time ago? Presumably the CDs and covers have been already printed, right? Now they have to scrap everything. I wonder how much La Roca even knew about the city of Basra when he made the record. What if he just picked the name of a random Middle Eastern city since it evoked the same vibe as the tune?

With all the extra tracks this may be the first time I go the upgrade route. My '80s copy has another quirk: it's the thinnest cut CD in my collection. The edge of that thing is sharp!

Michael Gerber, my former teacher

Isn't it just that by intolerance we mean an inability to digest (aka an inability to produce the enzyme lactase) while by allergy we mean some more complicated chemical problem that sets off the immune system?

This tune is the only one of Maria's I've had the chance to play. The piano part may be the toughest big band chart I've ever had to read.

Is Jimmy kicking bass on this one, though? I thought there was a bass player, at least on this track.

Both, if possible. I realize that's not much at all to spend but I'm not exactly raking it in at 23 years old here.

Saw a cheapo copy of the original Savoy CD the other day. Has there been a remaster yet of this?

Really? Chaloff taught Kenny Werner (has he been mentioned yet?)

Anyone got any good ideas for what I can buy for $500 that will sound halfway decent? This will be my first real rig and I'd like to spend my dough wisely. Right now I only play CDs, so no turntable necessary.

Marty Ehrlich, I think. Isn't Ben Perowsky a drummer?

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. (Also thanks to everyone who sent their regards on the "I got a job" thread awhile back--I only haven't replied because I don't want to bump that one up on the off chance the boss is snooping on my usage at work.) Birthday dinner was at a Tunisian restaurant nearby, followed by far too much alcohol for my own good. Going to get myself a few cheap CDs at Stereo Jack's this week, I think. Adam

Actually, CD piracy is illegal in Malaysia, just as it is in most every other country. There's just some, shall we say, "inefficient" enforcement of the law in this regard. I met a 21-year-old kid there who was basically running his own DVD mafia, paying off customs officers and keeping a truck with all the merchandise waiting at the bottom of the mall where his store was, ready to split if the cops showed up. What I don't understand is why they would bother to pirate specialty items like Mosaic sets, which don't sell more than a few thousand copies anyway. It makes no sense and I would be surprised if they were even aware of the demand.

The company is Malaysian, so that may be a clue...though I couldn't for the life of me fathom why the Malaysian CD pirates would bother with copying Mosaic Selects!

Here's the threadI was referring to. There may actually be a couple others I dug up in the Lord discography. I won't have access to my full listing for quite awhile, though--my hard drive crashed and I'm not certain I was able to recover the data. Edit: Part of another Gerry Mulligan LP was at the Vanguard as well. Not out on CD as far as I know.

There are actually several more albums recorded at the Vanguard than the ones they list on their website. Some have not come out on CD or are gray-market type things (the Elvin Honeydews). I think there is a thread around here somewhere where Mike Fitzgerald set me straight and added most of the remaining ones.

My dad actually gave one of those to me as a holiday gag gift this year. It's billed as a "head massager." Dumbest. Gift. Ever.

Wait a minute...how much of "At the Organ" was already reissued on the "A New Sound--A New Star" Doubletime?

Whipped up a big batch of jerk chicken the other night and am still working on the leftovers. I even ground my own allspice for it this time. Also, some spicy okra.

If you want full-on disturbing, you can't go wrong with The Transformed Man.

Are we sure that Curly wasn't referring to Ruth Lion instead?

A similar story... Back in the early days of satellite TV you could only tune the satellite to one channel at a time, even if you had more than one TV. When I was about 8, my parents were remodeling the house and dragged me along when they went to the house of their friend, an interior decorator, to check out wall units or something. They parked me in front of the TV in the living room, which was tuned to the Miami Heat game, and went into the interior decorator's kitchen to talk. Meanwhile one team calls timeout and the station cuts to commercial. In about two seconds this naked lady shows up on TV, rubbing up against some guy in a tuxedo. This goes on for about two minutes, and then wham! The game's back on without me doing anything to the remote. A few more minutes go by, the quarter ends, and wham! More naked lady. After another minute or so of this my dad walked in to check on me. You can imagine his surprise at what was on. Turned out the decorator's husband, not realizing other people were in the house, was flipping to Playboy TV from their bedroom TV during commercials...pretty hilarious to an 8 year old.

Funding does not equal governance. WHRB gets most of its money from local advertising. By that logic, we should let the Boston Ballet, Gillette, and the bar down the street have a spot on the station's administrative board. If anything, the station's financial independence from Columbia is an argument against allowing Columbia to dictate who runs the place, not an argument for it. WERS in Boston is very dependent on Emerson College for funding--if I had to guess, Emerson probably owns the station. (Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., on the other hand, is independent from the university.) This entails a tradeoff--a lot more money for the station (their studios are gorgeous), but a lot less student say in how the place is run. edit: in case it's not clear, I'm against having Columbia actually run the place. But I think it does play an important role in safeguarding the rights of students, if the established arrangement is for them to manage the radio station without interference. If Phil Schaap and his buddies are taking an active role in station management, that's not kosher.