Brandon Burke

Pavement is good and all but they're incredibly derivative of these guys... ...I mean, even the damned artwork.

Yeah, I really liked this as well. Not at all what I expected given the director's previous outings (Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt) but great all the same. By the way, it's interesting to note that this is the first film he has made that wasn't set in Omaha, Nebraska. I sincerely hope that after the success of American Splendor and this one that Paul Giamatti gets more work. He deserves it.

I was kind of disappointed by this. I should say now that I'm a very big fan of Anderson's work so I was quite prepared for his *thing*. Set design, costumes, cinematography were all great, as I have come to expect from him. Lot's of nods to Bunuel, Fellini, etc. Screenplay seemed very disjoited, however, and I felt very removed from the characters. In and of themselves, these traits are all fine and good. Other genres are based on such stylistic choices. Anderson's previous works on the other hand (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royals Tennenbaums) are all very character-driven so I found that distance made the tone a little too cold. Again, I can do cold. (Hell....I love Lars Von Trier.) But that warmth is a central part of Anderson's aesthetic, making this seem more like a straight-ahead comedy that he simply directed rather than wrote. Also, whereas in his earlier works the weirder moments seemed like trancendent and dreamlike remnants from older cinema (again Bunuel), here they seemed too screwball and goofy. I dunno. I'm going to see it again for sure. I didn't like Tennenbaums the first time either so....

Yeah, I even taped it. I wish more radio shows reviewed jazz...it's great when the reviewer can play you clips of what he's talking about. Seriously. Here's the link to that review.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say that....

I have two: Between the Buttons (UK) and Aftermath (UK). The fact that they're SACD hybrids is just a coincidence. That's not why I bought them.

This is an important issue from a collection management position as well. Both during acquisition (i.e. the initial item condition assessment) and playback (when making preservation masters).

You guys seen this yet?

Either that or the staff member in question is a trombonist. B-)

Not exactly on-topic but..... I recommend that anyone with a copy of Big Bad Jug (and a love for late-80's NYC hip hop) give "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" a spin at 45rpm rather than 33. Drums are straight Marley Marl--especially after things pick up, about halfway through.

You should see the film....

I listened to Lennie Hibbert's Creation (Studio One, 1969) two times in a row last night and three the night before. It's a very very interesting record. Lennie is/was a vibist in Jamaica who was on the scene before the ska/rocksteady/reggae thing broke. Here he plays ten numbers, mostly originals, with instrumental backing featuring Jackie Mittoo among others. Moods shift in a strange yet ultimately graceful way from (pre-)Afro Beat to US-inspired soul, down-tempo Alxelrod bangers to rocksteady; all the while reminding me of both Count Ossie's Mystical Revelation and early (i.e. 50's) Sun Ra. And this is to say nothing for the brilliant artwork....

You are missing something. Once you've located the film you want within the IMDB, click on "external reviews" in the left hand column. Depending on the recency of the film, you'll get anywhere from one to 100+ links to "professional" film reviews, e.g., Roger Ebert, New York Times, Film Comment, etc. Okay. I'd never noticed that before. I'll give a look later on today. Cheers, Brandon

"Greensleeves" isn't technically a Christmas song either but....

This is the basic template I begin with: * George Russell - "Ezz-thetic" * Mal Waldron - "Warm Canto" * Bud Powell - "Duid Deed" * Freddie Redd - "Thespian" (or "Swift") * Mary Lou Williams - "Ain't Necessarily So" * Stan Getz & Cal Tjader - "Ginza Samba" * Andew Hill - "Yokada Yokada" * John Coltrane - "Ole" * Sun Ra - "Angels and Demons at Play" * Bobby Hutcherson - "Patterns" * Elmo Hope - "Something for Kenny" * Charles Mingus - "Myself When I am Real" * Jackie McLean - "Old Gospel" * Duke Ellington - "Single Petal of a Rose" From there it varies....

For whatever reason I just discovered Graham Nash's first solo LP, Music for Beginners, last month. Not a particularly big fan of the CSN&Y camp but I'm very much enjoying this one. "I Used to be a King" and "Military Madness" are especially great.

Album of the Year: Animal Collective - Sung Tongs Otherwise... Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing in the Hands Edo. G & Pete Rock - My Own Worst Enemy Mikey Dread - African Anthem Dubwise (reissue) Prince Jammy - Dennis Brown Presents 'Umoja' / '20th Century DEBwise' (reissue) Joanna Newsome - The Milk Eyed Mender De La Soul - The Grind Date Ghostface Killah - The Pretty Toney Album The Fall - The Real New Fall LP: Formerly Country on the Click John Fahey - Red Cross

I must be missing something but I've never run across a profesional review on IMDB. They offer plot synopsis and user comments but nothing approaching an oficially sanctioned review (i.e. opinions are not asserted). Not that I'm complaining. I never judge a film based on reviews anyway but I do rather like knowing the general style of a work--details about cinematography, editing, etc--and these kinds of details usually show up in a review and not plot synopsis. If I remember right, IMDB also does not credit as many off-camera participants as All Movie. In particular, and I'm going from memory here, there are no cinematography credits for individual films. I never use IMDB.

How about "It's Christmas Time" and "Happy New Year to You" from the Sun Ra Singles comp...

I think this is the one with "Funky Mama Moose". That's a good jam.

Has anyone checked the original Audio Fidelity issue to clarify this dilemma? Are we working from the Fresh Sound CD liners? What does the Chiaroscuro LP say? I ask because I seem to remember reading about Dickerson as well.

BTW: if you guys aren't putting Sriracha sauce on your scrambled eggs you're really missin' the boat. Cheers....!

Thanks everyone. Looks to be a wonderfuly mellow day today--Sunday and all. So I figure I'll go pick up a couple of films from my local video spot (probably something a little more upbeat than my last rental, The Celebration), pick up a few more plants (my place is still a little sparse), and then treat myself to something at Amoeba. B-)

It's the Weiners Circle (muthaf*cka)..... EDIT: You're gonna have to scroll down to "Weiner". I couldn't create a link straight to the clip.

This is interesting. I'm going to be 31 in a couple of days and have no children but couldn't be less interested in this kind of music. To my ears anyway, today's rock music climate is either too steeped in retro irony (all of this back-to-the-80's business) or too damned dramatic (Radiohead, emo). I'm good for between four and five "new" records a year: Basically the new Clientele record and maybe a couple of straglers here and there. And probably twice that number in 12-inch singles (gotta have those Pete Rock instrumentals!).