Kevin Bresnahan

DBX made a CD player that had variable dynamic range. If it wasn't such a piece of junk from a quality point of view, I probably would've bought one. I have a few classical CDs that are barely listenable without an active remote finger. Way too much dynamic range. From "what the hell was that noise" to "turn it DOWN TURN IT DOWN" sometimes in a matter of seconds.

Funny you should bring Leroy up. He's playing at the Marblehead Jazz Festival this Saturday evening (10/10) and I'm thinking about going. It's been a while since I've seen Leroy but the last time I did, I thought he was channeling Armstrong pretty strongly. If he's still singing, he emulated Louis's rasp pretty good too. Kevin

Well, on the plus side, Sony can't screw up the sound any worse that Experience Hendrix already has. Their current CDs of "Are You Experienced" and "Electric Ladyland" are so maximized, they are fatiguing with headphones. Listening to them with headphones is like letting someone take a drill to your eardrum.

This morning I was driving in Boston-area rush hour traffic. Going between 45 mph and 0 mph - in other words stop & go traffic. At one point, I look over at the car next to me and the guy has a Dell laptop computer opened on his center console and he's surfing the web! What a moron! He was definitely looking at the screen because he had it angled toward the passenger door (in my direction). Suddenly, the car in front of him stopped and I was saying to myself, "Don't look up, don't look up". Damn. He looked up at the last second and locked up his brakes to avoid rear-ending it. I was so hoping for it. Surfing the web while driving? What is this world coming to?

I think I got it... /ʇxǝʇuʍopǝpısdn/ƃɹo˙dıʎɯsʇɐɥʍ˙ʍʍʍ//:Dʇʇɥ ˙ʇı ʇoƃ ı ʞuıɥʇ ı

I just picked up a Horace Silver "Song For My Father" that's like this. Unfortunately, the LP was well played so there's some rice crispies on the lead-in, but otherwise it sounds decent.

What is this? I can't find anything about it in any discography. Boot? Later, Kevin

I looked into helping get a stone for Larry Young's gravesite and I was told that Young and by extension, his family, did not want one. In Young's case, it might have something to do with his Muslim faith.

I've yet to find a copy of Tiny's Muse LP. It looks interesting.

I am pretty sure Mosaic had to let Anne go a few years back. They cut back to just Cindy, with Scott taking over when she goes on break.

I am almost positive that the CD masters have to be stored in a clean environment - what's known in clean room circles as a "dry box". These dry box storage units are expensive to buy and keep "dry" (you have to plumb them with dry air, usually Nitrogen). When I worked in a clean room at Raytheon, we were constantly trying to figure out what we could clear out of the dry boxes so that we could put new stuff into 'em. I imagine the same thing happened here. As to why they chucked the artwork... ? Got me. I'm sure no one involved in the decision was too worried. After all, everyone knows that Jazz doesn't sell. Why keep the masters around?

The "masters" that were destroyed were the glass masters used to press the CDs. It was NOT the master tapes used to make that CD master. As I understand it, the "components" are the printed CD artwork i.e. the booklets and backers. Kevin

My order: Qty Description 1 Mosaic Select: Curtis Amy (MS-007) Item :MS-007 Price : $44.00 1 Mosaic Select: John Patton (MS-006) Item :MS-006 Price : $44.00 1 Mosaic Select: Pacific Jazz Piano Trios (MS-019) Item :MS-019 Price : $44.00 1 Mosaic Select: Bud Shank/Bob Cooper (MS-010) Item :MS-010 Price : $44.00 I have been thinking about these 4 sets for years but never got around to ordering them. Can't wait any more! Kevin

Given that all of these titles are Capitol/EMI licensed, I would imagine that very shortly, there's going to be a massive Blue Note deletions list showing up in our in box.

Neither were any of the other artists on Vol. 4.... until February 22, 1985, when they were all recorded for this release.

If you are feeding your LCD TV with an HDMI cable, there is a handshake between the cable box and TV where the TV tells it "stereo". If you use a coax or optical digital output from the cable box simultaneously with the HDMI, the handshake can (with some boxes) cause problems with a 5.1 broadcasts.

I've recently learned that almost all vinyl distributors are refusing returns. Any resurgence won't last long with lousy $50 pressings and a "no return" policy.

A black Can-Am? Does it look like ths?

You left out a very important point: all these Venus titles are now 1500 Yen! That's a huge drop in price. I may be ordering a bunch.

I was searching the web for something about Bruce Lundvall a few months back and I tripped over his son Tor's website. It turns out that Tor is not only an artist, doing artwork for several CDs, including Miles Davis's "The Blue Note and Capitol Recordings", but he's also a musician. His music would best be described as dark ambient music. Truth be told, I like it. I find it extremely relaxing. When I looked around his website, I found that he was putting out some vinyl in limited quantities. Yesterday, I got in "Sleeping and Hiding" and two 7" singles, "Evening / Leaves" and "Winter Song / The Watchers". All 3 are excellent. If you like this style of music, they're well worth picking up. With only 500 copies, it might sell out pretty fast so if you like it, order it now. There's a sample from "Sleeping and Hiding" at http://www.myspace.com/daisrecords. Later, Kevin

My latest bargain has been an unusual blend from Argentina called Crios de Susana Balbo. I bought up quite a few of the 2005 vintage. For this vintage, the blend is 50% Bonarda and 50% Syrah. You should be able to get this for around $15 a bottle. An incredible wine at this price. Drinks like a much more expensive bottle. Lots of fruit. A great "blindfold test" wine - fool your wine friends in a big way. Like some of you, I'd look and see "Argentina" and think, "Eh". Luckily, my local wine shop had this out for a tasting. It blew away every wine in the tasting, many costing 2 to 3 times the price. Later, Kevin Looking around the web, I found these reviews: from www.argonautliquor.com Crios de Susana Balbo Dark reddish/purple color. Intense aroma of black raspberries. This medium-bodied, very lively wine has loads of ripe red plum and black raspberry flavors with a slightly spicy character and a long, juicy finish. This 2005 vintage has a depth of flavor and intensity on the palate that is almost unheard of for wines at this price. It's a winner both before and during a meal. Certainly enjoyable in its youth, but it will age beautifully. A fun wine to try with a wide range of red wine-friendly foods, and one that will delight even the most pretentious connoisseur. from The Wine Advocate The 2005 Syrah-Bonarda (50% of each) is purple-colored with an expressive nose of pepper, spice box, and blueberry. On the palate the wine is supple-textured and easy-drinking with plenty of vibrant, spicy, ripe dark fruits, soft tannins, and a fruit-filled finish. Drink this tasty wine over the next 3-4 years. Although Susana Balbos’s Crios offerings are the declassified lots from her more expensive “signature” wines, they need make no apologies. They rank among the best values from my Argentina wine tastings. All of the Crios wines are outstanding values. Score: 89. —Jay Miller, December 2007. from The Wine Spectator Bright and juicy, with lots of red currant, cherry and licorice flavors backed by spice and floral notes on the racy finish. Delicious. Drink now. 9,750 cases made. Score: 89. —James Molesworth, May 31, 2007.

Bobby, Welcome! It's great to have the people playing the music we love come here to share that love. I went and read the thread you referenced. I found it very positive. A couple of people said they didn't like the drummer but even that was qualified. Overall, I'd say the "reviews" were Thumbs Up. I certainly didn't see anyone "criticize unnecessarily or with harsh vehemence"! Believe me, hang around here a bit and you'll see some unnecessary criticism. Later, Kevin

That's called "Driving While Inflated". The made DWI against the law years ago.

People on the Hoffman forums have had Ikea Expedit stands break apart when overloaded so I wouldn't recommend it for a mobile solution. If these things break apart standing still, they will certainly break apart when you start moving them around. My Expedit is reinforced with plywood and I'm still leery of overloading it.

Part of the reason why CD sales have dropped so much was right in front of my eyes last night. I was shopping in the mall with the wife and stuck my head into the FYE. Big signs all over saying. "All single CDs $9.99". I checked the racks, yup, every CD had a $9.99 sticker on it. The old price sticker? Try $19.99!!! And then they wonder why music fans go download a single from iTunes for $.99? Kevin