Guy Berger

Can't listen to the Wall anymore (which is OK, because between the ages of 14 and 18 I heard it hundreds of times). Waters's whining voice just bugs the crap out of me, and even some of the better music just doesn't need to be heard anymore. Stuff I still like almost enough to listen to again: "Mother" (best tune on disc 1), "Goodbye Blue Sky", "Nobody Home", "Is There Anybody Out There", "Comfortably Numb" (though this one I can fast forward through mentally ). Side 2 (after GBBS) is pretty bad, and side 4 (after RLH) is awful. "The Trial" is just plain embarrassing. Even when I was 14, I knew it was terrible. Guy

I don't remember the book that well -- read it in high school, I think. But it stayed pretty faithful to the book. (Though how did the aliens arrive on earth in the book -- was it similar to the movie?) Anyway, for some reason I didn't find the movie itself engaging. Not sure why (maybe because I knew how it would end?). HOWEVER, they definitely managed to convey the complete and unrelenting terror/horror of the situation. There weren't any bullshit heroics (with the possible example of the cage scene), just people doing what they need to survive. I dug that. The cabin scene was excellent, though it looked like Ripley would have done better than Tom Cruise's character. I agree about the ending being a little over the top -- that's when they did dip into the Independence Day bag (with the soldiers doing their thing), and it wasn't that necessary. They should have stuck more faithfully to Wells's ending. The one thing that bugged me in terms of consistency was that some electrical devices worked and others didn't. How the hell did people have functioning digital cameras and camcorders at the crash site? Guy

Yoshi's is the best (and most expensive) spot, though they occasionally have some smooth crap there. Pearl's used to be great, but I haven't been there since the renovation. (Might still be great.) Bruno's in SF is worth checking out. Too bad SS, you are arriving just as I'm leaving. Man I love California! Guy

When I first encountered this dude's name I thought it was "Todd". I listened to a few tracks from this CD today @ Tower Records. Wasn't spurred to buy it, but if you like this sort of thing -- a melodic piano trio with a slightly funky touch and the spacious ECM sound -- then you will probably like it a lot. Guy

Or BOB BROOKMEYER! Guy

Is this a "quit the band 12 times, get the 13th free" kind of deal? Guy

Can I have another log in ID? ← If you get one, it should be 4/7 Guy

I'm going to hijack this thread, but I always it would be cool if we trained board members as counter-trolls. Kind of like counter-espionage. Guy

I want to pick this up, but I think ECM deleted it in the US. Guy

Thanks a lot folks! Guy

I actually agree with Chuck's point - better to get to know the recordings you do have (official or otherwise) than to constantly accumulate a steady stream of recordings that end up being played once and are then tossed to the bottom of the bin. But this applies to all music, not just the "unauthorized" kind. Guy

"Freddie Freeloader" has overdubbed vocals in Chinese... Guy

If anybody wants, I'm selling CD-Rs of Kind of Blue for $60 a pop. I am including my own original cover art. Guy

You could put this thread in the dictionary under "troll". Guy

I'm sure within a few months Yourmusic.com will have this for 11.98. Don't be angry, be patient... Guy

From the Pink Floyd thread: What else would you call this? I would call it asking for a recommendation, much like one would ask for a recommendation about the latest RVGs or a particular artist. Guy

Who was Miles following on Agharta and Pangaea? Guy

Well, I should have expressed myself more clearly - the last point you're making is exactly what I meant. ← There's no horse-trading going on in the Pink Floyd thread -- that's why I was surprised when Kevin mentioned it in this context. Guy

Could it be because it's about boots, i.e. illegal recordings? ← Are we going to ban discussion of illegal recordings? BTW, at least some of these recordings aren't illegal -- they're BBC broadcasts from the 70s. Guy ← So BBC broadcasts can magically become legal recordings for sale? Interesting what you learn in Grad School. ← The guy said "illegal recordings", I assumed he was talking about a dude in the audience surreptitiously recording the music. Not sure where the "sale" part is coming in -- nobody is selling anything. Guy

Speaking for myself, I've discussed plenty of unofficial recordings on this board -- the Miles Davis Lost Quintet stuff, the Miles from 1967 and 1971, the Coltrane Half Note music, the Coltrane 11/4/63 Stuttgart gig, etc. The recent Wayne Shorter thread discussed recordings from that tour, most of which are unofficial. I think it's a real shame (and a little strange) if we say that this music is off-limits for discussion. Guy

Could it be because it's about boots, i.e. illegal recordings? ← Are we going to ban discussion of illegal recordings? BTW, at least some of these recordings aren't illegal -- they're BBC broadcasts from the 70s. Guy

The discussion in the Floyd thread is completely innocuous -- I asked for recommendations on the best unofficial Floyd recordings and other people responded. There's no trading going on, at least as far as I know. I have no idea why Kevin B thinks it's relevant to this thread. Guy

I agree if we're talking about his work as a leader. I'd put Our Thing in 2nd place, and Jim Sangrey's assessments of MFJ and Page One seem on target to me. I've never gone crazy over In'n'Out (unless we're talking about the burgers) -- it's very good, something about that session sounds a little weird to me, as if the musicians aren't all on the same page. BUT... overall I think Joe's best work on BN was as a sideman. Guy

It's gonna rock... I can't wait until the John McDonough review. Guy

Oh sorry, you're illegally downloading boots... that makes it all right then. I forgot that any music downloaded is automatically perfectly legal. ← yaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn Floyd releases this material officially, I buy it. Until then, this is a victimless crime. Unrelated, but (re: earlier comment) the Floyd bootleg I was listening to earlier has EXCELLENT sound. A terrific version of "Echoes", and two different performances of the unreleased "Embryo". Guy