Brandon Burke

The only LPs that I alphabetize are jazz and rock, because I reach for them most often and I have considerably more of them than any other genre. Folk, classical, reggae, Brazillian, blues, and all of that stuff have their own place as well but it wouldn't take me as long to find any one particular title. At least not long enough to warrant alphabetizing.... Something like the 'Massey' show I would put under Parker but.......in the grand scheme of things, who gives a damn. No one's going to look for a specific title in there but you so do what comes naturally to you. Split BN doubles and other things like that usually go at the end of jazz in my scheme, regardles of who's on it, and in no particular order. But that's just me.

Jim brings up a good point. This is likely not what he meant (sorry) but I'll go on record as saying I'm fascinated with the way that hip hop culture has cut apart and reassembled Anglo English. Actually, and at the expense of whatever credibility I might have here, I wrote my Masters thesis on the manupulation of Anglo English in hip hop; more specifically, by the Wu-Tang Clan in the mid-90's. Those guys are really damned interesting. Easily on par with the canonical Sun Ra/P-Funk/Lee Perry "crazy guys commenting on modern culture" scenario we've all heard about 900 times. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, GZA and Inspectah Deck I find the most interesting. Ghost and Rae tend to employ rhymes involving phrase upon phrase without any apparent connection; only a series (again) phrases stacked upon one another. I mean, even most hip hop folks will tell you that (even if you understand the dialect) Rae is way out in left field: "We split a fair one, poker nose money Gin rummy with glare, spot the lame, bit his ear Yo, you taste a tea - spoon, 300 goons, stash baloons Locked in lab rooms, hit with glock, stashed in Grant's Tomb Clocked him like a patient, his stock's full, hustle invasion Knowin now, we cocked a block off, the chain tri - color Freezin in valor, ice - sicle galore Gas station light gleamin on the wall Cop WiseGuy jams, James Bond vans Niggaz flipped Timbs, rock boats under water, watch clams Pose at the stand - off, mad timid Hopin that the gun fall, guess him like lottery balls, yo" That's some seriosuly abstract business--yet, in context, it creates its own narrative--and I know a fair amount about hip hop lingo. You just have to let it come to you and, even then, it still won't "make sense". It's a lyrical/narrative tone poem in the way that David Lynch works. GZA, on the other hand, is particularly notorious for deconstructing the language and even uttered the phrase, "Operation: Project English" in 1997. Inspectah Deck on Wu-Tang Forever summed up the breakdown of Western grammatical structure (and its subsequent misunderstanding) rather well by saying: "I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies And hypothesis can't define how I be droppin these Mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery" Amazing stuff....

I understand where wolff is coming from but that's hardly a reason to miss out on hearing these great records altogether. I mean, there's some wonderful, wonderful stuff in there. Some of my favorites of all time (esp. the Arthur Jones and Jacques Coursil dates). Sure, they're not *audiophile* fidelity but the point of buying music (ultimately) is to hear the freakin' tunes, right. Unless you're the kind of guy who buys DVDs of awful Jerry Bruckheimer films just so you can show off your theatre system.......I think you'll be fine. It's not that big of a deal. Also, though there are considerably fewer dates available, there's always the CD route......

Alright, here's the deal. I never really paid attention to whatever car commercial has that silly Celine Dion song. Saw it tonight during Letterman and found this line more than a little puzzling: "isn't it ironical that love is all we need." Here's what I can't wrap my brain around: (1) I'm not convinced that "ironical" is actually a word; (2) it's in no way ironic that love is all we need; and (3) if they're trying to convince us to drop $30,000 on a car, why are they reminding us that 'love is all we need'? Amazing.....

Yep, I have one of those too but I took it up to the lab so we could digitize LPs. Now I've got two Technics 1200s, a Vestax PCV-275 mixer, Pinoeer SX-780 amp/reciever, Phillips CDR-775 disc player and a couple of Danish speakers a friend of mine retooled. Works for me.....

Well, first of all, BYG records weren't particularly well pressed in the first place. There are a couple of titles I have on reissue (Jacques Coursil Way Ahread being one og them) simply because it sounds better. As for the mastering job, I've never A/Bed them or seen any documentation in re the transfer but blah blah blah blah.... The point is that even the originals sounded less than stellar.

I think Sundazed does a fine job with their reissues, though I don't own any myself. As for the "Josie" reissues, you gotta know that Josie themselves aren't putting those out. It might be who of you to research who bought the rights. On a similar note, there are several reissues of psychedelic 60's dates formerly on majors now out on reissue vinyl (I'm thinking specifically of The Millennium, Sagittarius, Gandalf, etc.) that are clearly not funded by the labels who initially issued them (Capitol, Columbia, etc). Interestingly, they do not include reissue credits either on the jacket art or on a decal (a la Sundazed or Get Back) so it would be difficult to track down their origins.....

Well, can't say that I was too impressed. I used to love this thing several years ago. Doesn't seem like the formula has varied all that much from year to year. As I get older, though, I have come to appreciate excruciatingly hoppy U.S. beers and very dry European pilsners (Veltins, Paulaner, Staropramen, etc.). Makes Winter Welcome taste awfully sweet by comparison. Not so much a knock on Smith as it is a testament to my evolving palete. Who knew?

Loud was literally the only way to hear them live as well.

Eric B. & Rakim - "I Know You Got Soul"

Any impressions yet? I'm trying my first 2003/2004 right now (haven't even had a sip yet)....

Just remembered Thinking Fellers Union Local 282.

I'm thinking that might be quote from a Cormac McCarthy novel. It would make sense anyways. Perhaps, I'm only saying that because the band I was in during undergrad named its first album after a line from Blood Meridian.

I forgot about that.

The F*cking Champs were actually just The Champs at first. Needless to say, there was another Champs. I think the idea for the name change stems from the old joke about hitting someone in the arm. Which arm? Your f*ckin' arm! Also, there's a heavy metal cover band down here in Austin named Back Stabbath, which I find very funny.

My buddy Andreas and I have something of a competition between the two of us. Whenever we hear about a completely ridiculous band name we email it to the other ad nauseum. He last got me with a psychedelic 60's band called Banana Creme Weather Balloon. Personally, I've always been partial to When People Were Shorter and Lived Near Water. That one's pretty brilliant.......

I read somewhere that Henry the Human Fly was one of Island's(?) worst selling titles of all time. Funny, it's my favorite one......

Peter Brotzmann-always-rings twice

I saw it yesterday but it didn't sink in until the very last swell at the end of the ad. Who knew.....?

Not exactly jazz but the Booker T. & the MGs Christmas record is fantastic. "Jingle Bells" is also included on the first Stax box set (the black one).

Charles Ives - "Fourth of July" from the "Holidays Symphony"

I agree that Scott did a fine job. Most folks tend to stick to one genre or another, and the fact that he wrote informative, open-minded reviews of records from a vast array of genres and eras is commendable. Successful or not, I certainly try to maintain that level of responsibility.

I hear what you're saying but, honestly, how many people go into a CD shop and make a b-line to the Rolf and/or Joachim Kuhn section? That's the bottom line. As far as I'm concerned, it would take the initiative of a reissue label doing it 'for the music' and, unfortunately, there are only so many of them out there. And even THOSE companies tend to ride the coatails of current trends (ESP, BYG, funk jazz, etc.). That was my initial point.

I very much enjoy Ted Brown Free Wheeling on Vanguard. EDIT: And the Ronnie Ball Savoy you mentioned as well......