Brandon Burke

Currently obsessing over Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Worn Copy. He (Ariel Pink) was apparently discovered by the Animal Collective guys and they issued his first two records on their Paw Tracks label. Ariel Pink basically does to 70's soft rock what Guided By Voices did to British Invasion and prog. In other words, these are all home made 4-track recordings. Strangely teetering the fence between sloppy, painfully low-fi bedroom experiment and epic, grand composition. [EDIT: In other words, it sounds like very early Ween except (1) the music isn't funny and (2) it's probably a little creepy. Good luck...]

Lee Morgan - The Cooker (Liberty) Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads (London, mono) John Fahey - Voice of the Turtle (Takoma, gatefold & booklet intact) Six Organs of Admittance - School of the Flower Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Worn Copy

My #1 vote goes to... Kramer - Let Me Explain Something to You About Art Honorable mention: Halfway to a Threeway by Jim O'Rourke

David Mitchell - number9dream

I remember really liking this several years ago. Good stuff to be sure, but it's far from consistent. I mean, would you really like it that much if it didn't have "Hard Times"...?

The 45 King is responsible for some of the most important loops in hip hop history. He's actually very good... And who could for get the Ed Lover Dance ("900 Number")...?

how limited are they if you can get some of them in BMG? I don't understand your point. Are you referring to titles that are only a couple/few years old? Of course they're available. Older titles, on the other hand, (True Blue, The Empty Foxhole, etc) were unavailable in the States for several years once their Conn pressings sold out.

wild... http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1059677_3_0_,00.html

I'm happy to see the Elmo Hope material available again. Any complaints about that one are voiced under the impression that most people (1) go out of their way to buy Japanese reissues and (2) were hip to Hope's records eleven-or-so years ago. As it turns out, that's not very many people.

discography

The Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive, where I worked for two years, counts the Red Nichols Collection among its holdings.

If it were a 45 booth I'd say either "This is Where I Belong" by the Kinks or Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding". Since we're taling about LPs here, I'd probably go with Love Me Forever by Carlton & the Shoes. Not a jazz pick but heavenly all the same.

I believe most of that stuff was issued on CD by Phillips (Brasil). I mean, when you think about it, why in the world would recordings that popular not be in print...in Brasil, anyway.

Come to think of it, that wouldn't have necessarily answered my question anyway since they left out Coral Rock as well. But at least that one's avaiable as a cheap Prestige LP.

I saw this last weekend at Amoeba and was scratching my head too. Looks like only three discs so it very clearly must be an abreviated version of the Holy Ghost box. Your guess is as good as mine... [EDIT: I forogt to mention that there was no track listing on the packaging. So I can't tell you exactly whats on it.]

Interesting, as I was wondering why Pitchin' Can was not included among the Free Amercia reissues. Perhaps your question answers that...

I hope they don't do what the Simpsons did; that is bring up obscure characters long after it stopped being cute. Like we get it already with the lady who throws cats. How about writing some funny jokes instead...

John Fahey - "In Christ There is No East or West"

I have all of the tracks on discs 1 and 2 as well as many from disc 3, so I can't really justify buying it. But it's all great stuff that I'm sure you'll enjoy. Especially nice to see "Shaker," the comp's opening track, back in print. For the longest time it was only available on a now out of print EP and the soundtrack to Hal Hartley's Amateur. Also dig the Half Japanese cover, "Ashes on the Ground," from the similarly great From a Motel 6 EP. [Post-script: Y'know, looking at the track list of disc 3 just now it seem I have less of that material then I thought. Too bad, because there's no way I'm paying for two discs of greatest hits that I already own just to get the one disc of stuff I don't have. Hopefully they issue that third disc individually later -- but I doubt it. ]

* The Fall - 'This Nation's Saving Grace' * Emitt Rhodes - 'Emitt Rhodes' * Pere Ubu - 'Datapunk in the Year Zero' * Jimmy McGriff - 'The Worm' * the soundtrack to 'Watership Down' * Steven Halpern - 'Spectrum Suite'

Amount Yanks owe in 2005 luxury taxes: $30,637,531 Payroll for the entire 2005 KC Royals: $36,300,000 and they're worried about steroids...

Funny you bring this up, as I just re-discovered it myself. Been getting frequent spins at the house and on the iPod. Too bad it was a victim of such crappy artwork.

When I was very little I used to pay close attention to the sound of the dryer when my mother was doing laundry. More specifically, I would listen for patterns as items with metal parts (buttons, zippers, etc) hit the sides of the interior. At that age, that was music.

I donated my car to a battered women's charity before moving to SF last fall. Smog checks, the aforementioned gas prices, insurance, etc all factor in as reasons. I ride a commuter train to work every day -- paid for by my employer! -- so it's really only an issue when I need to get groceries or furniture. Also, I think that riding public transportation makes all of us better and more understanding people. It's easy to get swallowed up in our own little worlds when driving. Taking the subway/bus keeps you in check. -- Brandon

Say, can somebody please check the dates that those Inner City LPs were issued. I'm sending a correction to AMG. thanks, -- Brandon