Uncle Skid

Me, too. Order was placed Wednesday (late afternoon), nothing other than the initial confirmation.

I think you're wrong. Hell, I hope you're wrong. I believe there's a small (but growing) community of younger people that do care about the music. Perhaps I'm naive, but I firmly believe that the music will take care of itself. Us "older" people (by definition!) will not understand when, where, how, and why -- but that's the beauty of it. You're sounding like an old fart, Sangrey.

I remember my dad playing Brubeck, Cannonball, Ramsey Lewis, and Getz when I was young. A lot of Sergio Mendes and Herb Alpert, too. His tastes have mellowed quite a bit over the years -- the Rippingtons and Spyro Gyra are now representative. I recently loaned him Herbie's "Maiden Voyage" and "Empyrean Isles". He said it was interesting, but there was "too much going on". Good thing I didn't loan him my copy of Ascension!

I thought it was kinda stupid overall, but there were some pretty funny moments. Catherine Keener was the highlight for me. The actress that played Carell's boss was pretty damn funny, too.

Just finished grilling three whole chickens, at the same time. We've got a whole bunch of family arriving shortly... Pilsner Urquell in the fridge here, too. Forgot to put some fruit in it, though.

Absolutely NOTHING, other than the initial order confirmation, #5570.

We interrupt this program to make the following important public service announcement: This thread is rapidly approaching 3000 views, most of which were in the last 36 hours. You guys need help!!! We now return to the regularly scheduled programming...

Many places here in Michigan have Bell's Oberon Ale on tap. It's available mainly during the summer, and according to their website, is "an American wheat ale brewed with Saaz hops. Spicy and fruity, Oberon is the color and scent of a summer afternoon." It's a good beer, but smelling like a "summer afternoon" may not always be such a good thing! I've only been to one place (a small, unpretentious neighboorhood bar) that doesn't put a slice of orange in that beer. Those "Cherry Lambic" beers taste like Nyquil to me. Yuck. I once had a Jalapeno flavored beer, in Reno, Nevada. Not as bad as it sounds.

Seems like every time I order a beer lately, it now automatically comes with some sort of fruit, usually an orange. Of course, limes are popular in Corona, but I usually don't drink Corona. I guess this is a summer time thing, but it still annoys me. FRUIT DOESN'T BELONG IN BEER!! Your opinions on this important matter are hereby solicited...

Good luck with that one! (we'll save you a place in the dog house, too. just don't forget to bring the beer!)

Not sure how I'm going to tell Ann. Save room in the dog house for me. I (delicately) brought up the subject earlier this afternoon, and she made me a "deal": I could buy 30 as long as I don't buy any more CDs until Jan 1, 2007. (she didn't say anything about vinyl, though... )

Damn. There goes my "not buying any more CDs for awhile" resolution.

Make sure to check out the sweet deals on box sets -- you can't put them in your "queue", but you can order them (in addition to the monthly thing) at any time.

...why is everyone picking on me??? Mark~ Should we call "marks" sheldons from now on? Better than calling them "Skid Marks"!

I think they are in Manistee tonight. Pentwater is Wednesday. Road Trip? I saw them (w/Arno Marsh) yesterday at the park near the zoo in Grand Rapids. Perfect evening, great music, big crowd.

Happy Birthday to a great drummer, great teacher, and all-around great guy!

Port of Call is on its way to a board member in London...

I should add (hopefully it's obvious): if you decide to get a receiver, make sure it has a phono input!

No -- what you really need is a phono preamp (like those described above), plus (optionally) the Inport device. Here's a good explanation: What does a Phono preamp do, and why do I need one? Once the output of your turntable has been boosted to "line-level", it can be hooked up directly to the input of your PC's sound card. You would then just need some software (Goldwave, etc) to record whatever hair-band sounds of the 80's happens to be spinning that day. The "Inport" bypasses your sound card altogether -- it has its own analog to digital converter, and sends digital data to the PC via a standard USB connection. The software included with the Inport is simple and easy to use, but also fairly powerful. So, at the bare minimum, you need a phono preamp or receiver. The Inport is not required, but recommended.

Yes - thanks for sharing that with us. Yes, thanks for sharing, CONGRATULATIONS, and MANY MORE!!!

Congratulations, Chuck and Ann!

Free to a good home: Cecil Taylor - Port of Call (Past Perfect) This is a collection of some of Cecil's work for the Candid label, 1960-1961. The first five tunes appear to be from The World of Cecil Taylor, while the last two are from New York R&B. The selections are as follows: Air This Nearly was Mine Port of Call E. B. Lazy Afternoon Cindy's Main Mood Things Ain't What They Used to Be I purchased this without realizing (I was in a rush) that I already have all of this on the Candid releases. If you've never heard any of this and you're remotely curious... send me a PM... but don't blame me if you become a Cecil fanatic!

This is something I've thought about quite a bit over the last few years. My advice: quit thinking about it. It's a cliché, but "let the music be your guide". All of the sidetracks, detours, u-turns, slam-on-the-brakes and scream discoveries are what makes this hobby (obsession?) so much fun! I look at it this way: there's no way I'll ever have a "complete" jazz collection, so I don't worry too much about filling the gaps. If I concentrated only on the "styles I preferred", I would have missed out on a whole bunch of great music.

Love seeing your photographs, Mark. Keep posting 'em...

Here's one "big deal" that may have not been mentioned yet: The Sidewinder is many people's first introduction to Lee Morgan, and among the more well-known, available, best-selling titles in jazz. It's right up there with KOB, Soul Station, Something Else, etc., -- I would guess that this one record has created many new Lee Morgan (and jazz in general) fans over the years. And that, of course, is a good thing!