Noj

I don't think that's any doing of Al's. The gangbangers identify with the logo, because they actually are pirates in the unglorified, un-Disney-fied sense of the term. Most of the knuckleheads don't know the first thing about football (or much of anything other than being complete assholes). They wear Raider gear because the other brainless gangbangers do, they like wearing black, and they're among the most unoriginal, personality-less people in the world. Just win, baby. RIP, Mr. Davis.

Praying mantises are my favorite insect. Had one climb up my leg clear to my hat at an art show last Wednesday. Some people were like, "Get it off you! Get it off you!" but they're harmless. The only thing it did was tickle my neck as it made its way up. Anyway, cool bugs. And beautiful photos, everybody.

My picks are miserable, I don't know which way is up.

Have mercy, that was an awful injury to the Colts' Foster. Tough bastard, he was cheering his teammates on from the cart.

I haven't got the perspective to vote, but I love the recordings I have by all of the choices. Especially Wayne, Joe, and Stanley. And Hank. And Sonny. And Dexter. And Gene. And Ben and Chu. And I'll probably dig Ayler too when I get there. And Zoot is great.

Sounds like a must-see for me.

So the solution is to not enjoy sports? I'm with you all the way until I'm supposed to not like basketball any more, Jim. The changes which need to be made have to happen by putting pressure on our representatives and on the companies which make money from America to reinvest in America. If our representatives had the interests of the common American in mind, that wouldn't be a problem. Americans need to raise a stink about what's happening to our schools and to our cities. Americans need to rise up and demand action be taken against the corporations which send our jobs elsewhere, who seek to not provide Americans with benefits, who have caused our suburbs to stop growing, who have caused the middle class to shrink. Anything short of a growing middle class is the death of the American dream. I think tariffs should be levied against goods not manufactured in the USA. Tax penalties against companies who export jobs. Tax rewards for companies which keep their manufacturing in the USA. Tax penalties against CEOs who take unnecessarily large bonuses at the expense of employees. Tax rewards for CEOs who share the motherfucking wealth. Forgive student loans. Reinvest heavily in infrastructure: roads, bridges, levees, parks, schools, etc. The time to say "fuck globalization" and go all out agouraphobic is now. Close the borders, no more immigrants. No more foreign aid. Bring our troops home.

I still get joy out of watching the best athletes in the world play their sport, and I'm more concerned about what happens on the court or on the field of play than I am who is making what. The numbers are based on how many people are paying attention, whether that means paying a large sum per person to see the game live (while spending $40 for a hat, $15 for a plastic cup of beer, and $10 for a slice of pizza), OR even more abstract the number of people who watch the games on TV and provide a platform for advertising all the various products we buy as consumers. When I'm watching an NBA game I'm enthralled by the level of play, and I'm not concerned with the politics. As an added wrinkle it's my opinion that the most phenomenal athletes in the world are skateboarders, and most don't make hardly any money--but I'm not about to hate any of the ones who manage to make some coin, or to stop being amazed when the "most paid" skateboarder does something amazing out of spite for his bank account...

I'm glad there's someone who helps him, at least.

I love listening to Jimi stretch out on stuff like "Tax Free." Little moments from Jefferson Airplane grab me every time, such as the guitar in "Today" and "Embryonic Journey." I'm a sucker for the latter sort of brief but beautiful acoustic interludes.

Wow, I'm sure I saved my picks on Thursday, but I went to see how I was doing and they're not there. My work PC is sort of a piece of shit, and the internet lags. Maybe that sabotaged it somehow. Sucks.

I pre-ordered it and it shipped today, Buzz.

I don't get what he's so mad about. Pretty sure he was referring to jlhoots' post a few back, Hans.

Thanks for that post, Allen. I have a bunch of Bloomfield and Butterfield, and recently picked up some of the pre-nervous breakdown Peter Green Fleetwood Mac stuff--and will be delving into your other suggestions.

It's fascinating how much extra stuff brains stuff in ears while they're listening. I just like it if it sounds good. Clapton's got some tunes I like. More than some. Fewer than (many) others. But I don't listen to music as a contest. Cream and Clapton go in my rock playlist with the other "bluesy" rock. My blues playlist includes Albert Collins, Albert King, Arthur Big Boy Crudup, B.B. King, Big Bill Broonzy, Big Maybelle, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Bo Diddley, Bobby Blue Bland, Brownie McGhee, Buddy Guy, Bukka White, Charlie Patton, Don Covay, Elmore James, Freddie King, Hambone Willie Newbern, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Dawkins, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Witherspoon, John Campbell, John Lee Hooker, Josh White, Junior Wells, Leadbelly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Little Walter, Lonnie Johnson, Lowell Fulson, Magic Sam, Memphis Minnie, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, R.L. Burnside, Robert Johnson, Robert Wilkins, Skip James, Sleepy John Estes, Sonny Boy Williamson, Willie Dixon, Z.Z. Hill, and a bunch of scattered tracks from compilations. I'm still learning. I should note, I did have Stevie Ray Vaughan in my rock playlist, but he didn't really fit so I moved him into the blues section.

I'm only a dolphin, ma'am.

Love 'em, Stefan. Chinese culture fascinates me, at least in its most positive aspects.

Whether a musician is gay doesn't figure into whether I enjoy music. I have a few gay friends, but they're not close friends. There's a few lipstick lesbians I know who I'm a little bitter don't want me for sex, but they're nice ladies anyway. I've never really considered myself perverted in any way, but I do enjoy a good wild sweaty roll in the hay with a pretty girl in which things could be described as amorously violent. Wait, what are we talking about?

Sorry to have rambled a bit. In short, Rosenwinkle and Payton would be better served by letting their music do the talking. If they don't suck, those whose tastes don't suck will get it. Who do they play for, anyway? Who are they telling? Assume the audience knows. Expect them to.

The confusion between one's tastes and general categories is often an issue. The truth is there is room for every sort of expression, even those which don't suit the taste of an individual. Whether or not such expressions fit the category intended is open for debate. If it sucks to one's ears, that person knows why. There's not much need to examine it beyond changing the record. For my own tastes, I have noticed that I do not care for jazz which strays too far from melody and rhythm, most of the time. Give me a jazz tune based on a really catchy melody with a toe-tapping rhythm and I'm hooked. I'm turned off by endless "workouts" and displays of endurance, and only want to hear something stretched out if I'm digging the theme from the jump. Listening in the iPod era, the "album experience" often gets relegated to the back burner, at least for me. If there's one song that really stands out on an album, that just really hits my ears right, I'd rather just hear that, and tend to indulge in whole playlists of stand out tracks. When I can have moment after moment of "oh man I love this song," it's a fun experience. In having the entire history of music available, the knowledge of all that great music accessible through the internet, and the ability to possess peak performances in an instant makes the exploration of current music a chore by comparison, and makes the current musician's task even more daunting. That said, I understand there are others whose ears are pleased by more "out" sounds, or those who are pleased by "smooth jazz" elevator musak noodling. I don't think any of them are "wrong" so long as they have an audience. They serve the purpose of contrast, in that one knows when it's good and has a reference point for when it sucks.

Totally agree, DJ. I like great music, everyone else likes shit!

Zombie jazz must...eat...BRAINS!

The track by "6ix" on that 4cd box is also Sly Stone.

Dawn Wells!