Uncle Skid

'Cause there's lots of good music there... duh!

Armstrong Ellington Coleman Coltrane Davis

Just to clarify -- my problems with iTunes weren't related to external drives. I just hate that program in general. My MP3's are all organized in subdirectories - "Artist\Album\Song", where each song is preceded by its track number. My previous MP3 players (non-iPod) supported this type of organization quite well, no need to create "playlists", as everything was sorted by track number. I'm probably just dense, but I could not figure out how to make iTunes deal with this. The last thing I wanted to do was create a playlist for hundreds of CDs I had already ripped. This was a couple of years ago, so maybe the program has changed since then. I really like the idea of any portable music player showing up simply as a "removable device" under Windows, where I don't need any special software to copy files back and forth. Since I can't do that with an iPod, EphPod is the next best thing. No need for playlists or "libraries", simply copy artist/album directories as needed. But, back on topic: md655321 is right: 80GB is nice, but where's that terabyte ipod?

Maybe not a "Top Ten" release -- but I've enjoyed the heck out of John Legend's "Once Again". There are some really good R&B-flavored jams on this record. "Save Room", "P.D.A (We Just Don't Care)"... just try not to dance! Sort to reminds me of Queen Latifah's The Dana Owens Album from a few years back. Nothing earth-shattering, just some really good tunes. Definitely some "retro" influences (I hear, for example, a little Jeff Buckley, Hendrix, Sade, The Spinners), but still very interesting.

I first became familiar with this band around four years ago. In Absentia (2002) was my first purchase, and I also have Deadwing (2005). Of those two recordings, I prefer the first, but also enjoy the later release. Any other recommendations? I'm hoping Matthew and Aggie will drop in here... all opinions welcome, of course! I've been so deeply into jazz the last few years that I seldom come up for air -- this band is one of the few "rock" bands that have interested me in that time.

If you're running Windows, EphPod is a (free) alternative. I was also frustrated with iTunes, and have had pretty good luck with EphPod.

Just catchin' up on this thread. Thanks man!!! Thank you for a great compilation!

I think this is really the core of the issue here: it is unrealistic. Myopic, in fact. While I can't disagree with anything that Jim S. has written, I do believe that all of the gloom and doom is temporary. Not 1-5 years temporary, not 5-10 years, maybe not even 50 years... John has really nailed it: "we're trapped"; [the music] "takes me places that I have never been"... the bottom line (for me anyway) is that there is so much beauty, power, and strength in "jazz" that despite the current (arguably) limited "jazz perception" of today, there's just way too much unexplored territory to not have a huge effect on future generations. And it already has had that effect -- I only need to point out our gracious host to prove that point. I generally consider myself a somewhat jaded, fairly cynical person. But, the hope that some young kid will discover a Steve Lacy record (for instance), even if it's 100 years from now, keeps me optimistic.

The guitar solo at 2:10 makes it even better!

Two versions of Snoop's Gin and Juice: Richard Cheese and The Gourds. Rollin' down the street...

My favorite lounge singer, Richard Cheese, covering Baby Got Back. Gotta love the band, too!

It's been a year of some fantastic discoveries for me: Coltrane VV and Impulse! box sets, Steve Lacy/Mal Waldron, early Ellington, NYC5/Archie Shepp. Reptet's Do This! continues to get many spins here... outstanding musicianship, interesting compositions, and a whole lot of fun, too!

I'll take "tit-les" for $200!

I've been spinnin'Big Al's Christmas BFT (from last year, IIRC)... there's some good stuff on that one!

, but you forgot to tell interested parties how to purchase it... it's not obvious from Mr. Jackson's website, and I couldn't find it on Delmark or Dusty Groove. So that's why those dimes haven't been rolling in.

Thanks, Ghost (and Larry!) Looks like Jazz Record Mart has it for $15, but I'll check with Chuck first.

, but you forgot to tell interested parties how to purchase it... it's not obvious from Mr. Jackson's website, and I couldn't find it on Delmark or Dusty Groove.

I don't, but that's OK, 'cause I hate all Christmas music.

Dang! This isn't an easy task. I can't argue with Guy's picks, but here's mine: Art Blakey, A Night at Birdland, Volume 1 Ornette Coleman, At the Golden Circle, Volume 1 Don Cherry, Complete Communion Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles Andrew Hill, Black Fire Andrew Hill, Point of Departure Jackie McLean, Let Freedom Ring Lee Morgan, The Procrastinator Cecil Taylor, Conquistador! Larry Young, Unity

True story: a couple of months ago, I had a "mystery" charge on my credit card -- it said only "Nessa", with a charge for around $40. Well, I'm thinking maybe I had purchased a bunch of stuff from Chuck and just forgot about it. I called the credit card company, and they said it was a "sportswear" company. My wife had purchased a sweatshirt (somewhere out east, in Maine, IIRC), but not from a store named "Nessa". Glad we got that straighten out. And I always pay Chuck in cash... for reasons discussed here.

Complete Blue Note Blue Mitchell Sessions, Disc 1. Haven't had this one out in quite a long time. DANG! It's pretty good!

Grant Green's take on Bacharach's "Wives and Lovers" (Matador) is interesting. And "Wives and Lovers" definitely qualifies as a "Horrible Pop Song"!

Richard Cheese - Silent Nightclub "America's loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese performs swingin' Vegas versions of rock, rap, and Top40 hits, "swankifying" contemporary songs into traditional pop vocal standards. "Slient Nightclub" features with 14 all-new swingin' holiday hits to make your season tight!" Mr. Cheese is sort of like "Weird Al" -- but instead of changing the lyrics, he sings in a "lounge" style. Amusing, but the coolest part: his band swings like hell! Lots of fun.

Yes, still a good deal. Total compliance from me. Captain Pedantic in da house...