Spontooneous

Can't say I was ever a big Pigpen fan -- but my recent re-immersion in all things Dead has given me a much higher opinion. Check out 2-19-71, the first show after Mickey's abrupt departure. Jerry sounds a little confused, forgetting lyrics like it's 1993, and at first it sounds like everybody's trying too hard. But Pigpen rallies the band and saves the day. Would you believe "Smokestack Lightning" is a highlight? I never thought I'd say that. But it is. And Pig's even better in the second set. Greg K: The last Dick's Picks from before the hiatus are #31, August '74, and #7, September '74. Haven't heard either. I'm tempted by #12, from June '74, because the shows I've heard from that month are among my favorites.

Just because digital tools are available doesn't mean they have to be misapplied, as RVG is doing to mess up his own historic recordings.

The most surprising omissions of all: The warmth of the horns. The stereo spreads. Sorry, but I'm consistently revulsed by what I hear on RVGs. It's a cold audio wasteland of digital trickery, and I don't want to go there anymore.

The packaging makes it look like the Charlie Parker masters set they did a year or two back. A small gain in sound quality over the previous editions. But DUMB packaging. I felt ripped off, and I didn't pay anything close to full price. Get the complete Billie set or one of the compilations from it instead.

It might be a great work. But every time I hear it, I wish I was hearing Stravinsky's "Les Noces" instead. "Noces" tickles my brain ten times as much, in less than half the time it takes to hear "Carmina." Try it, y'all.

I am sooooo totally bidding on Jerry Berry's toilet...

What Chuck said. Gotta admit I'm not a big fan of the piece, but that performance makes it bearable for me. So does one on London/Decca conducted by Antal Dorati, on a budget reissue disc that might still be around. Where others stomp, Dorati dances.

KC friends: A hearty recommendation here for the Woodyard Bar-B-Que, 3001 Merriam Lane in KCK. (But it's closed Mondays, as Tom and I found out the hard way.)

Several folks around Kansas City play Pat Metheny's "Always and Forever," but maybe that's just a KC thing.

I'm disappointed that the "Lyle 'Spud' Murphy Plays for Lovers" release has been pushed back.

I'm currently stuck on 12/6/73. It's a little bit out of whack vocally (not Donna's fault -- she wasn't even there), but it's just about everything you ever wanted instrumentally. Also in the deal, maybe my favorite China > Rider.

I plugged in "Cecil Taylor." The first two "similarities" were Leon Thomas and Doug Wamble. Yeah, right.

But it's never heard of Anton Webern...

I'd be especially wary about Yemen. (Haven't been there myself, but I've read enough bad stuff in the papers.)

I fear for "Idle Moments" if it became a standard. It would just get sped up, and that would sap the tune of its life.

I was afraid this day would come. Wish I'd gotten DSL a few months earlier, instead of waiting until September of this year.

"Pigpen, did you say f--k?"

We look good in blue!

The packaging is consistent with the packaging of other A&Ms from the moment (Cherry's "Multikulti" and "Art Deco," Blakey's "One for All," Sun Ra's "Purple Night"). The whole short-lived series had a "look."

My favorite Beavis and Butt-head putdown of a band: "Didn't we see these guys at the state fair?" Latest: Albert Mangelsdorff, Three Originals

According to The New York Times: SONY BMG RECALLS CDs FOR GLITCH By TOM ZELLER Jr. c.2005 New York Times News Service The global music giant Sony BMG announced Tuesday that it planned to recall millions of CDs by at least 20 artists — from crooners Celine Dion and Neil Diamond to the country-rock act Van Zant — because they contain copy restriction software that poses risks to the computers of consumers. The move — more commonly associated with collapsing baby strollers, exploding batteries, or cars with faulty brakes — is expected to cost the company tens of millions of dollars. The company said it would remove all unsold CDs containing the software from retail outlets and offer exchanges to consumers who had bought any of the CDs involved. A toll-free number and e-mail message inquiry system will also be set up on the Sony BMG Web site (sonybmg.com). “We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers and are committed to making this situation right,” the company said in a letter that it said it would post on its Web site. Neither representatives of Sony BMG nor the British company First 4 Internet, which developed the copy protection software, would comment further. Sony BMG estimated last week that about 5 million discs — some 49 different titles — had been shipped with the problematic software, and about 2 million had been sold. Market research from 2004 has shown that about 30 percent of consumers report obtaining music through the copying and sharing of tracks among friends from legitimately purchased CDs. But the fallout from the aggressive copy protection scheme has raised serious questions about how far companies should be permitted to go in seeking to prevent digital piracy. The recall and exchange program, first reported by USA Today, comes two weeks after news began to spread on the Internet that certain Sony BMG CDs contained software designed to limit users to making only three copies of the music, but which also altered the deepest levels of the computer systems of consumers and created vulnerabilities that Internet virus writers could exploit. Since then, computer researchers have identified other problems with the software, as well as with the software patch and uninstaller programs that the company issued to address the vulnerabilities. Several security and anti-virus companies, including Computer Associates, F-Secure and Symantec, quickly classified the software on the CDs, which is known only to affect users of the Windows operating system, as malicious because, among other things, it attempted to hide itself on the machines of users and communicated remotely with Sony servers once installed. On Saturday, a Microsoft engineering team indicated that it would be updating the company's own security tools to detect and remove parts of the Sony BMG copy-protection software to help protect customers. Researchers at Princeton University revealed Tuesday that early versions of the “uninstall” process published by Sony BMG on its Web site, which was designed to help users remove the copy protection software from their machines, created a vulnerability that could expose users of the Internet Explorer Web browser to malicious code embedded on Web sites. Security analysts at Internet Security Systems, based in Atlanta, also issued an alert Tuesday indicating that the copy-protection software itself, which was installed on certain CDs beginning last spring, could be used by virus writers to gain administrator privileges on multi-user computers. David Maynor, a researcher with the X-force division of Internet Security Systems, which analyzes potential network vulnerabilities, said the copy-protection scheme was particularly pernicious because it was nearly impossible for typical computer users to remove on their own. “At what point do you think it is a good thing to surreptitiously put Trojans on people's machines?” Maynor said. “The only thing you're guaranteeing is that they won't be customers anymore.” Some early estimates indicate that the problem could affect half a million or more computers around the world. Data collected in September by the market research firm NPD Group indicated that roughly 36 percent of consumers reported that they listened to music CDs on a computer. If that percentage held true for people who bought the Sony BMG CDs, that would amount to about 720,000 computers — although only those running Windows would be affected. (Consumers who listen to CDs on stereo systems and other noncomputer players, as well as users of Apple computers, would not be at risk.) Dan Kaminsky, a prominent independent computer security researcher, conducted a more precise analysis of the number of PCs affected by scanning the Internet traffic generated by the Sony BMG copy-protection software, which, once installed, quietly attempts to connect to one of two Sony servers if an Internet connection is present. Kaminsky estimated that about 568,000 unique Domain Name System — or DNS — servers, which help direct Internet traffic, had been contacted by at least one computer seeking to reach those Sony servers. Given that many DNS servers field queries from more than one computer, the number of actual machines affected is almost certainly higher, Kaminsky said. Although antivirus companies have indicated since late last week that virus writers were trying to take advantage of the vulnerabilities, it is not known if any of these viruses have actually found their way onto PCs embedded with the Sony BMG copy protection software. Kaminsky and other security and digital rights advocates say that does not matter. “There may be millions of hosts that are now vulnerable to something that they weren't vulnerable to before,” Kaminsky said. For some critics, the recall will not be enough. “This is only one of the many things Sony must do to be accountable for the damage it's inflicted on its customers,” said Jason Schultz, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group in California. On Monday, the foundation issued an open letter to Sony BMG executives demanding, among other things, refunds for customers who bought the CDs and do not wish to make an exchange, and compensation for time spent removing the software and any potential damage to computers. Sony BMG is jointly owned by the Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann. The group, which has been involved in lawsuits over the protection of digital rights, gave the company a deadline of Friday morning to respond with some indication that it was “in the process of implementing these measures.” “People paid Sony for music, not an invasion of their computers,” Schultz said. “Sony must right the wrong it has committed. Recalling the CDs is a beginning step in the process, but there is a whole lot more mess to clean up.”

"So when that sauerkraut is in my blood, and when that blood is in my head..."

What Stereojack said. Jonah could really play, when he wanted to.

It isn't in my collection. Last I knew, the only Bird solo with Cootie was "Floogie Boo." Might the Lem Johnson credited with vocals here also be the Lem Johnson who was a saxophonist, and perhaps he played the alto part in the sextet?

The 1995 sounds like a Collectors Choice issue, which is a straight reissue of the older American CD. But the discs are painted white for some reason.