Guy Berger

His work with Monk -- under Monk's name, under Milt's name, and under Miles Davis's name -- is all essential. Not sure if that is what you are looking for, though. Guy

Very interesting, informative article. Disclaimer: like most of the Economist's journalism, it has a fairly strong editorial bent.

It's ALL done for money. Show me the musician who didn't want paying. MG I think 7/4 meant music that compromises artistically in order to get more money. (i.e. The artist deliberately "reduces the quality" of their music.) This opens up a whole can of worms and may be so subjective as to be completely meaningless (though I don't think so), but I think that's what people mean when they accuse an artist of producing "commercial"/"commercialized" music or "selling out". edit: I was going to say that this kind of thinking becomes more prevalent once an art form starts actually being considered ART by its audience, but the more I think about it maybe not. Guy

The Beatles didn't get creamed by the Rolling Stones in a 4 game series. Guy

I checked. Not only are there regional indices for the CPI, but even about 30 or so for urban areas. It was pretty striking (though not surprising) that economically struggling areas (eg Detroit, Cleveland) have much lower inflation than those areas that are economically booming (SF Bay Area, Miami, NYC). Guy

I figured one of the perks of moving south would be the year round availability of summer produce -- peaches, plums, nectarines. Unfortunately I was surprised to go to my local supermarket and find that they were gone, replaced by the usual winter fare of apples, pears, and citrus. All I could find were some pathetic-looking organic nectarines. Is this also true where you live? Where does one go to buy some imported southern-hemisphere produce? Guy

I am almost sure the answer is "yes". I will get back to you within a few days. Guy

I don't think anybody's mentioned Muhal Richard Abrams's Blu Blu Blu, though at this point it's 15-20 years old. Excellent big band writing that straddles a-g jazz and post-bop.

The Dylan covers were hit and miss -- but I love their versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Chimes of Freedom" and ESPECIALLY "My Back Pages". Guy

I like some of his contributions to those early albums, but think the band got better after he left. That may be due more to the emergence of Hillman and Crosby as songwriters. Guy

This speech by Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher does a pretty good job of explaining why policymakers should focus on some sort of core measure of inflation, though he can't help but plug the Dallas Fed's special inflation measure. The whole speech is interesting, but I bolded the stuff that was relevant to our earlier discussion:

I used to love BK chicken tenders when younger. I don't do much ff these days (barring stuff like Quizno's) but I still like the occasional Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Guy

Black Fire and Judgment would be good ones to try next, but eventually you'll want them all. They are that good, and they all get better with time/repeated listens. I second Sal's recommendation -- Black Fire and Judgment are the next ones to get. Guy

A Chinese friend of mine pointed out to me that this panda is too thin.

I haven't paid attention to Radiohead since Amnesiac (which I thought was so-so) but here's aneconomist's perspective from the Marginal Revolution blog:

Are you sure you're thinking of Fort Yawuh? Aside from "Still Life, Still Life", all the songs are upwards of 12 minutes in length. Guy

Ok, so I pulled the trigger and picked it up today. I have to say that my first impression so far is really good. Haden's bass on the first track is haunting and mysterious. I haven't listened to the rest of the cd yet, because I've had too many interuptions from my kids and so forth. But so far, I'm very happy I got it. Great sound too. For those in the know: has 'Shades' or 'Backhand' ever been released on cd? I did a cursory search with no results. Just pick up the blue box set. It has a bunch of music that has never been released elsewhere and probably never will be. Unfortunately for Shades you will either have to pay for an expensive import or (if you want the great bonus tracks) Itunes. Guy

Well -- there is no direct connection between Northern Rock and dodgy US mortgages. However, Northern Rock engaged in securitization of (British, as far as I know) mortgages and financial institutions in the US engaged in securitization of (mostly American) mortgages. Guy But this seems to indicate that the problem wasn't with the mortgages themselves but with the funds NR used to fund them. MG Oh, definitely, it wasn't the problem with the mortgages directly. I was just saying because I misunderstood your statement (which I read as implying that there was a direct link between dodgy US mortgages and Northern Rock). One fact that hasn't been discussed (to my knowledge) -- was anxiety (rational or not) over Northern Rock's mortgage business the reason they were no longer able to borrow on interbank markets? I don't know. Or maybe I have read it somewhere and I don't remember. Guy

I disagree -- I would pick at least 4 or 5 of the Impulse albums before the Survivor's Suite. But SS is easily worth it just for Dewey's playing during the last 5 or 6 minutes. Guy

Al, when you return post pictures. It should be amazing. Guy

A few comments: 1) I have a hard time imagining how several million toys would fail to raise alarms in a situation with random inspections. 2) I don't see a reason to feel sorry for Mattel or step up to their defense. I haven't been following the story closely enough to recall the particulars, but even if they didn't know about the lead levels, they should have been aware that this kind of thing could happen. Guy

I should listen to this again (I've only heard it two or three times), but my assessment is "very good album that has been elevated to masterpiece status because it's hard to get a hold of". Maybe I will change my mind with time. Guy