AfricaBrass

Great point, Shrdlu, about Red Garland. I feel the same way about him. He was one of the first jazz musicians that my wife liked. I tried and tried to get her into jazz, but I put on one of his trio albums on Prestige and she loved it. :rsmile:

I couldn't agree more! Instant karma's gonna get you....

I've got a few things on the Tzadik label other than the Zorn stuff. I really liked Jim O'Rourke's Terminal Pharmacy cd. I haven't listened to it in a long time, but I used to dig it. One Tzadik release I implore you to avoid is: John Zorn's "Songs From the Hermetic Theatre" - I think it's the worst cd I ever bought. This is coming from someone who has over 20 Zorn cds already. It actually inspired me to start an anti-recommendation thread: Anti-recommendation thread I don't even think there are drugs out there that would make this album sound good. :rsmile:

Ouch! I'm a little burnt on AfricaBrass myself. I've played it too many times.

Nice picks Clementine! I dig Wynn Stewart and the rest. I'm glad you're a fan, Jazzmoose. I really love those old Buck Owens albums. I'm also a huge Merle Haggard fan. I'd say any of his Capital albums from the sixties really have that Bakersfield thing down. As a guitar player, I'm really drawn to the guitar players of this era. These guys aren't necessarily Bakersfield, but were from SoCal. You have to check out Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant. There are some great compilations on the Razor and Tie label. Jimmy Bryant is my favorite guitarist EVER. Another guitarist I really like is Joe Maphis. His cd Fire On the Strings is good. If you like country/rockabilly, check out Wanda Jackson. Joe Maphis and Buck Owens played guitar on her early Capital Sides. There's a great compilation series from Europe. It's called a Capital Rockabilly Party. There's 3 volumes and it has a great cross section of fifties rockabilly/country. If you like newer stuff, I'd check out Dale Watson, Redd Volkaert. The Hightone label does a lot of new Bakersfield style country. There's so much... I love this stuff! :rsmile:

Matthew, I respect your courage in admitting that jazz gets played out for you. I'm in the same boat. I've probably listened to about six jazz albums during the past three months. Right now, I'm on a Bakersfield country and Chicago blues kick. :rsmile:

I have 2 tattoos. I got the first one 15 years ago and the second one 12 years ago. They're not as crisp as they were when I first got them, but they still look good. I'm not worried about them bleeding together because I believe the modern inks don't bleed like the old ones did. The first tattoo was on my left upper arm and it is a Native American Medicine Wheel. I designed both of them myself myself. My second tattoo is on my right calf and it is an Ouroboros (which is a snake swallowing itself). I used to be quite the uber-pagan. It's funny now because my tattoos have nothing to do with my beliefs now. Sometimes I think they trip people out sometimes in the circles I travel in. If I had the choice to do it over again, I wouldn't. It's not that I'm ashamed or anything, but I just don't see the need for them. They served a purpose for me back then, but mostly they function as a bookmark for a time in my life. Permanent is a long time. :rsmile:

I'm a big Costello fan too. I would also recommend the Rhino reissues. I've had both the Columbia and Rykodisc issues also. Growing up, I never was a big Elvis Costello fan. I liked his hits, but I had never ventured into his albums. I bought Spike when it came out, but it didn't really grab me. The album that made me a HUGE fan was Mighty Like a Rose. I saw him on the subsequent tour (beard and all) and was blown away. I think I learned more about how to sing from listening to that cd. I have everything he's put out, but I haven't heard north yet. I'm a little nervous that it may be Juliet Letters Part 2. My favorite Costello album is Imperial Bedroom, but all his previous albums are also killer. I've really been getting into Get Happy lately. It's cool to see so many Elvis fans around here. :rsmile:

Thanks for the great tips! I'm going to try both methods. I really can see the point of Last In First Out. I find when everything is alphabetized and categorized that I just lose track of things. I mean, I know where the cds are, but when you have fifteen Lee Morgan cds grouped together, the individual albums don't stand out as much. jmjk, I'm going to try your compilation idea. It seems like a cool way to keep the music fresh, while I get to know the different albums. Thanks! :rsmile:

I really have enjoyed all your posts. I really want to have a healthier attitude towards music and collecting. I guess I thought more people were as rabid as I used to be. I've known quite a few people who even put me to shame. Clinton, I forgot that you were the one who had done the challenge. I really enjoyed following it on the ol' BNBB. I have to give you credit, you were a big influence on me to take a step back and look at myself and my music habit. I have tried to follow your challenge with my own variation. I've taken to listening only to the same five cds through the course of a week. It's been a great way to get to know and love stuff that I hadn't really explored deeply before. I agree with Simon that there isn't anything wrong with being a collector, but I know for myself that there is a danger that I lose sight of why I began collecting in the first place. :rsmile:

GA Russell, Thanks for the great tips! I've basically quit buying new recordings already, so I'll continue to do so. What is the LIFO method? I'd like to try it. One thing I was thinking about doing was putting cds that I haven't really gotten into yet into boxes and pretending I don't have them. I figure I could pretend I have a smaller collection and focus more on certain albums. Thanks to everyone for their input! :rsmile:

OUCH! That hurt. Now that I don't have money, that stings. I'm happy to be a fan. :rsmile:

I'm thinking the other way. 19 great reasons to leave California.

Thanks for the advice, Clinton! I'll whittle my collection with caution.

I've been wanting to have a thread on this subject and finally decided to because of something that Parkertown said in the emusic thread: I came to this conclusion about myself a few years ago. I had gotten to the place where I was buying at least one cd a day (usually jazz and usually more than one a day). I had amassed around 3000 jazz cds and about 1500 jazz lps by this time. This was all in a period of a little over 10 years. I also had a lot of music from different genres, but jazz was my obsession. My life consisted of listening to and reading books about jazz. I used to read every thread on the BNBB and be sent off to buying sprees. Mosaic and True Blue catalogs were my constant companions. Then one day I realized it just wasn't fun anymore. I was so obsessed with getting things before they went out of print, etc... that listening to jazz wasn't fun anymore. If I went somewhere and they were playing Kenny G, I would get all uppity. I realized I didn't like what I had become. Even now, I hate to admit that I don't enjoy jazz like I once did. It seems like it became an obligation at some point, instead of a joyful thing. The joy is coming back since I've cut WAY back on buying stuff. I'm just trying to enjoy what I already have and I'm seriously considering getting rid of a lot of my jazz cds and records. I just want to get back to knowing and loving the music instead of having it all. I'm just curious if any of you have had similar experiences.

Thanks Tony! I wish! :rsmile:

Thanks!

I hate to admit this, but speaking of the Wiggles. My son LOVES the Wiggles. I think I've seen every episode at least 3 times by now. What I'm embarrassed to admit is that I'm actually LOOKING FORWARD to the new episodes that they will start playing next month. I know I have no life but this takes the cake. :rsmile:

This is a great thread. Thanks Chuck! These kinds of things really are the best parts of life to me. I really dig the stories. My son and I have a lot of fun with music. I usually have my guitar around and he loves to strum it and sing with it. He's also a huge of Lou Donaldson's The Natural Soul. He had to hear it everyday for a couple months. He had this little dance he'd do when he wanted me to play it. When I'd pull out the cd after he'd done his little dance, he'd smile and get really excited. If I pulled out another cd after he'd done his dance, he'd make angry noises that meant no. He'd keep doing that until I got the LD cd out.

I hope my entry isn't too late. I've really enjoyed this thread. They really should talk to you guys about future BN covers. :rsmile:

While it may not be my favorite Ellington album, A Drum is a Woman on Columbia is my favorite cover. I wish I could find a picture of it. :rsmile:

Thanks guys!

Thanks Clinton! For the Andrew Hill and One For One text, I font I used was Haettenschweiler. The text has been stretched a bit. For the numbers and the other musicians, I used Georgia. :rsmile:

I'm a HUGE fan of Andrew Hill, but I've never been a fan of the One For One cover, so.....

Thanks Mule! I really lucked out when I bought most of the titles from the first series. This was back when Best Buy was selling all the full-priced cds for $11.99. I got most of the first and second series at various Best Buys. The high price is why I never bit on the sampler disc. I wish I would have.