Chrome

Hi, my name is Chrome, and I'm a book-sniffer ... my wife claims I'm just inhaling mold, but I can't help myself! I'm one of those people who considers himself more of a reader than a book collector, but, on the other hand, I've still managed to end up with 2,000+ books (and still buying) in my "library." I don't search out early editions/printings, but if I stumble across one at a used book sale, I'll generally pick it up even if I have other editions ... I just found a first trade edition hardcover of one of Stephen King's Dark Tower books (I think vol. VI?) in fantastic condition for $5. And I got an early printing of Feather's first jazz encyclopedia, in okay condition, for $3.

"Self-policing" is exactly the chilling effect on free speech that the First Amendment is supposed to protect.

The live Art Blakey disc w/Bud Powell and Barney Wilen sitting in on a couple of tracks is great, although I can't remember it's exact name ... Clifford Jordan: The Night of the Mark VII is really good, too.

I really think Linus is more of a Mac guy ...

This is an article from Andy Whitman from a magazine called "Paste," which bills itself as: "Paste Magazine is one of the fastest growing independently published music magazines in the country. We pride ourselves in being the premier magazine for people who still enjoy discovering new music, prize substance and songcraft over fads and manufactured attitude, and appreciate quality music in whatever genre it might inhabit--indie rock, Triple-A, Americana, folk, blues, jazz, etc. What other magazine would dare run features on singer/songwriter Patty Griffin and rapper Gift of Gab (from Blackalicious) in the same issue?" ------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway here's the piece ... Confessions of a Jazz Hater The album was Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, and I desperately wanted to like it. Rolling Stone raved about it, and in those heady days that was as good as canonical truth. To hear the ecstatic reviewers tell it, Bitches Brew was unquestionably one of the greatest and most important albums of all time, the simultaneous birth and apex of jazz-rock fusion. And I was absolutely convinced. It seemed as likely a place as any for an inquisitive 15-year-old fan of rock ’n’ roll to start exploring the vast, mysterious realm of jazz. There was only one problem: I hated it. It was awful. Bitches Brew sounded nothing like Chicago or Blood, Sweat, & Tears—the closest touchstones I had to jazz-rock fusion at the time. I couldn’t find a melody, couldn’t find a rhythm to latch onto, couldn’t find one single redeeming quality in the sprawling, incoherent mess. If this was jazz, who needed it? And so I slammed the door on an entire genre for another 15 years. I know. It’s stupid to write off 100 years of great music because of one bad experience. But I’ve found—as I’ve done my own informal poll of my musical friends—that my experience has been shared by many other people, and with many other jazz albums. If people don’t grow up with jazz (and the vast majority of music listeners don’t), sooner or later they get curious. They buy their token jazz CD, just to test the waters. And far too many of them turn away in disappointment. The same music fans who patiently sat through endless improvisational noodling from the Grateful Dead, who willingly tolerated and enjoyed 10-minute drum solos during the height of the Prog Rock era, suddenly can’t sit still for a John Coltrane solo. Why? What is it about jazz improvisation that is so foreign, that inspires such a strong reaction from people who otherwise seem like calm, rational human beings? “I hate jazz,” my friend tells me. “Absolutely can’t stand it. I’d rather get a root canal than listen to it.” Okay, he’s a masochist, maybe a fool. But he also listens to a lot of music. What is it that turns an otherwise intelligent, temperate man into a foaming, frothing lunatic? I think I have some clues. For starters, there’s very little new here. Jazz makes up a miniscule three percent of all music sales. There are temporary spikes in the music’s popularity—as, for example, when Ken Burns’ documentary Jazz aired on PBS several years ago. But those anomalies cannot camouflage an almost 60-year decline in the commercial viability of the music. As recently as the early 1970s, iconic jazz figures such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane were known by most serious rock fans, and their music could occasionally be heard on freeform FM radio. With the advent of narrowcasting, those days are long gone. And although the crossover appeal of jazz-like vocalists such as Norah Jones and Diana Krall signals something of a mini-renaissance in the jazz-music industry, there is, sadly, no evidence to suggest that jazz vocalists bring new listeners into the instrumental jazz fold. Second, as much as its devotees want to downplay the issue, jazz suffers from an image problem. Even hardcore music fans—those who spend inordinate amounts of time and money on their favorite music—tend to ignore it. It’s either perceived as the domain of a coterie of effete music snobs or as inconsequential, pleasant background noise. They think of the roots of the music—Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington in grainy black and white newsreel footage; important, to be sure, but ancient history. Or they think of the puffery heard on “Jazz Lite” stations, barely one step removed from Muzak. The New Traditionalists who arose in the 1980s—Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Marcus Roberts—could have stepped in to fill the void. Instead, they were so focused on slavishly imitating the post-bop jazz of the mid-1960s that they missed the opportunity. And now we’re approaching 35 years—roughly the time since Miles dropped Bitches Brew on an unsuspecting world—without anyone at the helm, without a single iconic jazz figure to serve as a focal point for the music, let alone the half dozen or more who prevailed throughout the ’50s and ’60s. Obviously, I don’t hate jazz anymore. I’ve learned to love it, and have spent much of the last 20 years avidly following new trends and filling in the gaping holes in my music collection, trying to make up for the fact that I had ignored almost a century of musical greatness. You’ll find the usual suspects in my list of favorites—Armstrong, Ellington, Holiday, Monk, Hawkins, Parker, Coltrane, Rollins, Evans, and yes, most certainly Miles Davis. But that transition to musical elitism—or whatever it is—didn’t come easily, and I sympathize with those who’ve tried unsuccessfully to enter the door into a whole new realm of music. I do know that it helps to find the transitional albums, those albums bridging the gap between familiar musical genres and the impenetrable world of jazz (see “Ten Gateway Albums”). In spite of what some purists say, jazz has never existed in isolation from the rest of the musical universe. Louis Armstrong, long revered as the Father of Jazz, had no qualms about recording pop standards throughout his long career. It’s a practice that has continued throughout the history of the genre, from the great Charlie Parker covers of ’40s and ’50s pop standards through The Bad Plus’ frequent forays into the music of Nirvana and the Pixies. It’s almost always instructive to hear what great jazz musicians can do with a familiar tune. The early-to-mid ’70s were filled with excellent examples of jazz-rock fusion, back before fusion took on the emasculated connotations it now has. And there are many albums featuring jazz-rock guitar heroics. Fans of the blues will find a familiar touchstone in many of the greatest jazz improvisations, and it’s really not a great leap to move from the incandescent guitar solos of a Stevie Ray Vaughan or a Buddy Guy to the equally luminous blues-based solos of Miles Davis on Kind of Blue or John Coltrane on Blue Train. The door will open. In retrospect, Bitches Brew really is a great album. It was just the wrong place for me to start. It’s a long, long journey from the straightforward three-chords-and-a-backbeat foundation that underlies much of rock music to the experimental free-jazz excursions of late-period John Coltrane (or Bitches Brew, for that matter), and it would have been helpful to have some signposts along the way to point the direction. You can get there from here. It starts with a willingness to hear new sounds, and it proceeds along a path that moves from the familiar to the increasingly unfamiliar. There may be no hope for those who truly prefer the dentist chair to jazz. But for the rest of the sane universe, there’s every reason to believe that jazz haters can become, if not jazz lovers, then at least begrudging admirers of the form. Interested in starting your journey into jazz, but you don't know where to begin? Here are 10 Gateway Albums to start you on your way. 10 Gateway Albums People approach jazz from every musical direction imaginable, from sensitive singer/songwriter folkies and hip-hop devotees to heavy-metal headbangers. Here are some directions that will lead to jazz’s open door. The Bad Plus These Are the Vistas (2003) Pianist Ethan Iverson plays like Rachmaninoff’s hip kid brother, while bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King pummel like the Led Zeppelin rhythm section. Great improvisation and heavy metal thunder, with covers of Nirvana, Blondie, and Aphex Twin. Dapp Theory Y’all Just Don’t Know (2003) Pianist Andy Milne is a veteran of NYC saxman Steve Coleman’s band, but here he mixes breakneck jazz runs with the hip-hop preaching of MC/vocalist Kokayi and Bruce Cockburn’s incisive political commentary. Al DiMeola Elegant Gypsy (1976) Al DiMeola was and is a genuine guitar hero. “Race With Devil on Spanish Highway” would give Clapton a run for his money in terms of blinding speed, while “Mediterranean Sundance” is a terrific blend of jazz fusion and flamenco stylings. Mahavishnu Orchestra Birds of Fire (1972) In 1972, “fusion” wasn’t a bad word. Birds of Fire is guitarist John McLaughlin’s finest hour, and this album features one blazing electric solo after another. Miles Davis meets Jimi Hendrix. Oh yeah, the rest of the band is pretty great, too. Brad Mehldau Anything Goes (2004) Make no mistake, Brad Mehldau is a serious jazz pianist, but he’s a big Radiohead fan as well, and he covers at least one Thom Yorke song per album. This one has “Everything in its Right Place,” a tender cover of Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years,” and several fresh approaches to some hoary jazz standards. Joni Mitchell Hejira (1976) Joni’s jazz excursions could get dicey, as the subsequent albums Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and Mingus would prove. But on Hejira she strikes the perfect balance between singer/songwriter introspection and searching jazz improvisation. Jaco Pastorius’ bass work remains a revelation. US3 Hand on the Torch (1993) These hip-hop visionaries merged great beats and pointed commentary with some notable samples from the vast Blue Noteback catalog. Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey and Horace Silver sound superb in the contemporary setting, and the rappers are in prestigious company indeed. Weather Report Heavy Weather (1977) More fusion magic. Joe Zawinul’s perennial hit “Birdland” will hook you with its joyous evocation of 52nd St. big band music, but his quiet, lovely ballad “A Remark You Made” will keep you coming back again and again. George Winston Autumn (1980) Pianist George Winston is the missing link between introspective jazz great Bill Evans and pastoral folk music. Sneer at the “New Age” label all you like; this album remains breathtakingly beautiful after almost 25 years. John Zorn Naked City (1989) Japanese speed metal, James Bond spy music, Ornette Coleman covers, spaghetti westerns, and avant-garde sax shriekfests all converge on this landmark album. What, you wanted Henry Mancini movie themes? Zorn’s got that covered too.

Another thumb's up on Reunion ... four serious players who don't care much about resting on their laurels.

The guy was truly funny, but does anyone remember him in Natural Born Killers? That was some kind of performance.

Interesting stuff, Eric ... I think there are definitely some fans/snobs who DO want to position jazz as advanced music for advanced musicians (or at least "advanced listeners") and consider that listener-oriented standards end up rewarding Kenny G-types.

Mmm; You Smell Like an SUV -- The Wall Street Journal By Michelle Higgins September 30, 2004 If you can't afford to drive a Hummer, now you can at least get a whiff of one. This month, Riviera Concepts Inc., a fragrance distributor based in Toronto, began rolling out Hummer Fragrance for Men, a cologne inspired by General Motors Corp.'s hulking sport-utility vehicle. The Hummer cologne, sold at department stores and Sephora.com, is packaged in a glass bottle that emulates the boxy SUV, with a spray cap designed to resemble the front grille. The color of the box it is wrapped in matches the distinctive Hummer yellow. Hummer follows other automotive brands such as Ferrari and Jaguar in sticking its nose into the fragrance market. Jaguar, which already offers two fragrances for men, launched Jaguar Woman this past spring. The scent combines floral and fruity smells in a pink glass bearing the distinctive leaping Jaguar symbol that costs $50 for 1.35 ounces. Even Avon came out with an $18 2.5-ounce "eau de cologne" spray called R.P.M. (short for rotations per minute) earlier this year. Department stores sold $2.8 billion in fragrance last year according to NPD Group, a marketing information company. Of that, $920 million was in men's fragrances. The Hummer-brand cologne doesn't actually smell like the gas-guzzling vehicle itself. Rather, it melds the "essence of the outdoors" -- green leaves, thyme and peppercorns -- with the smell of leather, sandalwood, patchouli and tonka beans (a type of aromatic seed), according to the company. Cost: $52 for 4.2 ounces. Riviera Concepts hopes the Hummer brand association will draw men who might otherwise shy away from traditional designer fragrances. "Not all men will relate necessarily to that fashion image," says Margaret Spasuk, vice president of sales and marketing.

Lundvall to speak at Curb Center By Ron Wynn, rwynn@nashvillecitypaper.com September 30, 2004 Bruce Lundvall, president and CEO of EMI Jazz & Classics, said that the key to success for any record label in today's environment revolves around putting the music ahead of fiscal considerations. Getting there What: Curb Lecture with Bruce Lundvall and Bill Ivey When: 4 p.m. today Where: Wilson Hall, Room 103, Vanderbilt University Cost: Open to the public Info: 322-6397 "I learned many years ago at Columbia from the great Goddard Lieberson that you have a responsibility to the business and to the art form," Lundvall said. "If you get the music right, most of the time you get the commerce right." Lundvall is in Nashville today discussing his career and the industry at Vanderbilt University as part of the second annual Curb Lecture. Bill Ivey, director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, is leading the discussion with Lundvall. Ivey served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998-2001. The Curb Center is funded by Vanderbilt University and a $2.5 million endowment from music industry executive Mike Curb and the Curb Family Foundation. The lecture series was started in 2003 to honor Mike Curb. Lundvall was formerly a chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America and the Country Music Association. During his 21-year career at Columbia he presided over the company's domestic division and recently spearheaded the revival of the legendary Blue Note label. But Lundvall said that the company's signing of acclaimed vocalist Norah Jones was more the product of luck than design. "I returned a phone call - which a lot of people in this business don't do," Lundvall laughed. "It wasn't even from somebody in the music end, it was an accountant. Her husband had a jazz band in New York and told her there was this great singer making appearances with them. He said she should go see Lundvall. Norah Jones came in with this demo that had the greatest version of 'Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most' I've ever heard. I told her she was signed right there. She had 21 songs on there, everything from Ray Charles and Mose Allison to Billy Strayhorn, some country and some pop. A lot of those songs wound up on that first album. It wasn't until later that we found out she had been born in New York City but grew up in a small Texas town, that she had won two or three Down Beat student awards and that she was the daughter of Ravi Shankar." Lundvall's signings at Blue Note have also included Anita Baker, Wynton Marsalis, and other marvelous jazz musicians. "There are some artists that you sign because they are great musicians, and you know you won't sell as many records. You can't afford to have too many of those, but there are people like (pianist) Jason Moran and (saxophonist) Joe Lovano that are geniuses and they make your catalog for years down the line. Anita Baker hadn't recorded in 10 years, and she called and asked about making a jazz album for Blue Note. I told her why don't you make all your records for us? Wynton Marsalis said he loved the people at Columbia, but it was great to be on a label where the head actually liked jazz. We're a music label first, and we're always in the market for great artists." While he's now immersed in jazz, classical and adult pop material, Lundvall also has a longtime love for country music. "The first records I ever bought as a 10-year-old were country 78s," Lundvall said. "People like Roy Acuff, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers - I still love that music. When I was working closely with Nashville, Billy Sherrill wasn't comfortable romancing artists and doing that type of thing, so that's what I did. I signed Willie Nelson, Moe Bandy, Janie Frickie, and resigned Marty Robbins who had left the label, as well as Johnny Cash and later helped out with the singing of Rosanne Cash. Unfortunately, today I can't keep with country as much as I would like, but two people who I think have really bright futures are Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley. Both those guys are going to be superstars."

I'm in the camp that thinks Henderson's strength was exactly his ability to synthesize different ideas, especially his ability to integrate somewhat "outside" playing with the "inside" stuff ... but I'm curious about what people thought of him back when he was first making a name for himself.

If the digital music services offered liner notes for a small additional price, I wonder if there'd be many takers ... Regarding not including musician names, I would have thought the services would be legally bound to include some kind of credits.

How 'bout: The Man from UNCLE Land of the Giants Get Smart

I'd like to think most people contributing to the Babe thread were not "judging" people based on their looks ... that is, they weren't saying anyone's looks had to do with whether someone is a good person or bad person. They were subjectively judging that person's looks, which is different. And really, what's the difference between talking about the way someone looks and talking about how far they can hit a baseball? Or how well they can play the trumpet? In all cases, we're just focusing on one part of a person's overall "makeup." That being said, I can't get as worked up about the Babe thread missing as I would have if the politics threads were closed.

Red Sox' Orlando Cabrera talking about being mobbed at home plate after his walkoff homer to beat the O's last night: "Oh, my God," said Cabrera. "They started hitting me. I don't know who it was, I think it was Manny [Ramirez], tried to take my pants off. I think it was Manny or [Kevin] Millar -- one of those two guys. It was a great win."

Not that I had any particular interest in it or anything, but is the Babe Thread gone?

Legendary filmmaker Russ Meyer dead Made 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' and 'Vixen' Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Posted: 8:45 AM EDT (1245 GMT) LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Russ Meyer, who helped spawn the "skin flick" with such films as "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" and "Vixen," has died. He was 82. Meyer died Saturday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, according to his company, RM Films International Inc. Spokeswoman Janice Cowart said Meyer had suffered from dementia and died of complications of pneumonia. Meyer's films were considered pornographic in their time but are less shocking by today's standards, with their focus on violence and large-busted women but little graphic sex. Altogether he produced, directed, financed, wrote, edited and shot at least 23 films, including his debut, "The Immoral Mr. Teas," in 1959 and the 1968 film "Vixen," whose success earned him notice from major studios. He went on to direct the major studio release "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", which was co-written by film critic Roger Ebert. In a 1996 interview with The Associated Press, Meyer described his films as "passion plays. ... Beauty against something that's totally evil." Meyer was unapologetic for his movies, arguing the onscreen female nudity put customers in theater seats. But he maintained that women liked the films. "The girls kick the hell out of the guys. I've always played well at the Ivy League -- Cornell, Dartmouth. I have never encountered a berating woman," he said. Meyer's work made him rich and earned him critical acclaim. He was honored at international film festivals, his movies were discussed in college courses, and his work was shown at top museums. His 1966 classic, "Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!" about three hip go-go-girl club dancers who go on a vengeful murder spree against the men who did them wrong still makes the art house rounds. "This film is not derogatory to women," Meyer said. "There were three tough cookies to deal with. Besides, they get what's coming." Meyer married three times. His studio said he left no survivors.

From Wikipedia: SHRDLU [1] (http://hci.stanford.edu/~winograd/shrdlu/name.html) was an early natural language understanding computer program, developed by Terry Winograd at MIT. It was written in the Lisp programming language on the DEC PDP-6 computer and a DEC graphics terminal. Later additions were made at the computer graphics labs at the University of Utah, adding a full 3D rendering of SHRDLU's "world". SHRDLU allowed user interaction using English terms. The user instructed SHRDLU to move various objects around in a small "blocks world" containing various basic objects: blocks, cones, balls, etc. What made SHRDLU unique was the combination of four simple ideas that added up to make the simulation of "understanding" far more convincing. .... The result was a tremendously successful demonstration of AI. This led other AI researchers to excessive optimism which was soon lost when later systems attempted to deal with more realistic situations with real-world ambiguity and complexity. Continuing efforts in the original SHRDLU stream have tended to focus on providing the program with considerably more information from which it can draw conclusions, leading to efforts like Cyc. Winograd has since distanced himself from SHRDLU and the field of AI, believing SHRDLU a research dead end. The name SHRDLU was derived from ETAOIN SHRDLU, the arrangement of the alpha keys on a Linotype machine. From Terry Winograd: Several years later, someone gave me a copy of the science fiction story by Frederic Brown, written originally in 1942(!), entitled "ETAOIN SHRDLU" in which an artificially intelligent Linotype machine (with natural language ability) learns everything it typesets and tries to take over the world (World of Wonder ed. Fletcher Pratt (New York: Twayne, 1951, $3.95, 445pp, hc)). When I saw it, it seemed vaguely familiar, so I suspect that I had read it during my science-fiction years in high school, and it had stuck somewhere in the dim recesses of my memory and popped back out when appropriate. --t p.s., the hero outwits ETAOIN SHRDLU by having it typeset every book on Buddhism. The story ends: "See, George, it believes what it sets. So I fed it a religion that convinced it of the utter futility of all effort and action and the desirability of nothingness...It doesn't care what happens to it and it doesn't even know we're here. It's archived Nirvana, and it's sitting there contemplating its cam stud."

I appreciate all this input ... regarding which versions to get, does anyone have an opinion on the Restless discs? Those happen to be the ones on sale at the JRM. How big of a difference is there between the Fuel discs and these? Or is Restless one of those "bad" labels?

Can anyone provide any input on two Eric Dolphy discs: Iron Man and Conversations? They're on sale at the Jazz Record Mart, and I'm tempted. All I have of Dolphy is Out to Lunch (of course) and The Quest w/Mal Waldron, but I like that stuff a lot.

Does Blockbuster Online rent NC-17 or unrated movies? My recollection is that their "real" stores do not ... that's the kind of thing that would keep me away from Blockbuster. Not only does the censorship aspect make me uncomfortable, but, from a practical standpoint, it would mean missing out on some movies.

Take your eyes off the cover and listen to the music. Now that's funny!

I'm all for a pretty stiff penalty, but I also remember the Albert Belle thing ... he only got a week (I think) for throwing a ball at someone ... so I'm really curious what Selig & Co. will do about this.

Everything about the Olsen twins is totally bizarre ... one of my favorite stories was the big perv countdown to their 18th birthday ... go to google and type in "Olsen twins countdown" to see what I mean.