Brandon Burke

I bought Prince Paul Prince Among Theives on a whim the other day, having heard it was great for a few years now. Interesting idea: a concept album about a young rapper trying to "make it". This idea would be revisited later on Paul's less-successful Politics of the Business, though it's difficult to call that one altogether "unsuccessful". After all, making a record that's supposed to sound overly-commerical, when that's not your style and for no other reason than to prove a point, is a weird thing to do. Anyways, Prince Among Thieves features some amazing production but I'm not quite sold on some the MCing. I'm sure it'll grow on me, though. Prince Paul productions usually take a little time to fully digest.

It's a no-brainer. Diamond Dave all the way.

Hmmmmm. I'm certain that a number of people have called me a number of things over the years, however, I very much doubt that "scary" was one of them. On the other hand, our own 'clifford thornton' once refered to that shot as my "Ghostface Killah look" so maybe you're on to something after all.....

This one? If yes then......yes.

Damn dude.... You mentioned a few that I either forgot or decided were out of the scope of this discussion. So I offer you these reactions: * The Minutemen were a profound influence on me in many ways (some of them, non-musical). I don't really think of them as indie rock, though I guess they are in the grand scheme of things. That's the only reason why I left them off. * I can say the exact same thing for the Mekons but I don't really listen to them as much as the Minutemen. Sometimes, despite the fact that it's one of the reasons why I love them, the concept album-after-concept album-after-concept album thing gets on my nerves. As it stands now, there are realy only a few that I can still get into. They are great live, however. I think maybe I just like them more in theory than in practice. Certainly, their M.O. was a greater influence on me than the jams. * I can't get into those early Unrest records. Good songs pop up here and there but on the whole they're too silly. I actually prefer the later material with Bridget and Phil. (Actually, I need to hear Malcom X Park and Kustom Karnal again before I make that statement.) * No one mentioned Beat Happening (including me). * I have the first Slovenly EP and their first full-length. Songs from each of them have appeared on many a mix tape over the years. * Dig the Tall Dwarfs stuff as well (and totally agree with you regarding the Bird Nest Roys). * Iron & Wine are great but I've never sat down and listened intently to their stuff which must surely be the way to really 'hear' it. It's always on the the background when I'm somewhere else. They were great as SXSW. * I can't listen to Spiderland anymore. I love both the instrumentation and the engineering but those vocals take it into "emo" territory and I hate that shit.

My avatar is a shot of our practice space and that's the piano that I play on.

A-f*cking-MEN, brother!

Bags Unlimited is where I go to get cardboard LP mailers, poly-lines inner sleeves, outer sleeves....you name it. The prices are fine, they have everything, and they ship quickly. So there you go.....

Interesting that you bring this up. Just yesterday I got a wild hair in me and bought Celebrate the New Dark Age on the way home from work. Haven't heard it in ages but it was always my favorite of theirs. To my surprise, I still liked it a lot. This is not the case for much of the indie stuff I liked in undergrad. Bands I still actually listen to: Guided By Voices (up until about '96 when the original members left) The Bats The Clean Yo La Tengo Teenage Fanclub Animal Collective Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 Bedhead The Clientele (easily my favorite current band) Volcano Suns Gastr del Sol Smog Palace (mostly just Arise Therefore but I do love that record) Stereolab (but they lost me after Mars Audiac Quintet) Unrest Cardinal Richard Davies Butterglory

Someone surely mentioned these already but I don't feel like backtracking. I love Roland Kirk singing through his flute on "Ain't No Sunshine" as well as the barely audible grunts by Bud Powell, Lonnie Smith and espacially Bobby Timmons on "Melanie" (from Kenny Dorham Matador).

Right back at'cha, buddy!

I picked this up the other day since I'd actually never heard it and was really blown away. Especially by Jarvis. More often than not I prefer Jackie in at least a 2-man front line, owing to my blowing this off for as long as I did, but I'm just in love with this session. Too bad it was the only RVG in the March series that I was interested in. Nothing else really grabbed me. This is not to say that they aren't good sessions, though a good number of them don't interest me at all. Byrd doesn't do much for me and those Jimmy Smith sessions aren't my favorite era of his. (I like the more bop oriented material: Sermon, House Party, Cool Blues, etc.) This is mostly to say that I'm not interested in updating my LPs just because a new CD is out there. I've got other stuff to pay for. Back to the point, Right Now is amazing.

I told him you were "easy listening". That's cool, right...?

Link: AMG Page for Organissimo Are you guys really World Music?? I wrote Chris over the weekend about that. It will be corrected.

Yeah, I've had the LP for years, and missed the first CD version. Trust me - the bonus track is more than worth the upgrade. Damn, Jim..... I just looked up the new pressing on AMG and that bonus take is 17:24 minutes long! I'll admit, as much as I love alternate takes--and the end of the disc, thank you very much--my brain tends to go into default mode when new ones come out and I just assume that any alternate takes are going to be 5, 6, 7 minutes long. A 17 minute alternate take, however, is basically an altogether new song in this context. Maybe I'll pick that up after all...... B)

I'm not sure that's the case. Previously recorded CDs produced for comsumers are made with a stamping process. CD-Rs are made via a burning process. The diferneces are night and day. In the case of CD-Rs, the metal layer has to be weak enough to allow a lazer to "burn" though it. Previously recorded CDs, in their own way, are not worried about this luxury. Then again, preciously recorded CDs aren't living organisms with the ability to facilitate worrying. Regardless, the metal layer is indeed important since gold is almost completely inert and will not incite reactions with any neighboring compounds. And this is to say nothing for the fact that "regular" CDs (of any sort) are not made with silver so you're comparing them with a niche of the market that's even less prevailant than gold CDs (or CD-Rs). Your point is well taken about dyes, however, which are indeed important in this equation. But what reputable company would incorporate unecessary (and potentialy damaging) dyes?

That's how I get to work every day. Of course, in a month or so it's going to be unbearably hot down here. That's the time of year when you leave a little earlier and go a little slower. For now, though, I can haul ass without working up a tremendous sweat. It's a beautiful thing.....

Lost in OT. Damn.....

Last year I bought an HP Deskjet 842C. It's color and has slots for printing envelopes. Never treated me wrong and it must have been cheap for me to buy it b/c I'mn still in school. My guess is that it was just under $100.

I've loved this record for years. If the KU pregame weren't on I promise I'd be slapping on my LP right now. Sorry fellas. Priorities.....

I know it's silly but it has any number of unforseen benefits. If you're on then feel free to add me by my name. You've got it here. I've nothing to hide.......

I agree. This is something I meant to touch on earlier. This cuts to the very fundamental core of the discussion.

Roy Haynes - Out of the Afternoon Curtis Fuller - Blues-ette Burton Greene - Aquariana Jackie McLean - Jacknife Horace Parlan - On the Spur of the Moment Harold Land - The Fox Ronnie Ball - All About Ronnie Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe Animal Collective - Sung Tongs Devendra Banhart - Rejoice in the Hands tim Buckley - Starsailor White Magic - "One Note" Soft Machine - Vol. 2 Karen Dalton - It's So Hard to Tell Who's Going to Love You the Best"

Funny nothin'....bring it on!

Cool. I was just talking about this with a guy at work about and hour ago and he said the exact same thing.