Leeway

Lotte Anker Lotte Lenya Lena Horne

It's great having these new releases/reissues. Wondering if the titles that have already gone "out of stock" will be brought back or relegated to the download option only?

Used to listen to Bob Fass and Steve Post back in the mid/late 60s, when I lived in NYC. WBAI was an important window into the counter-culture at the time, and the free-form music programming was an education in itself.

Thank you Emanem!

My classical 5 are all chestnuts. Beethoven: Symphony No.5 and Symphony No. 9 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, and Symphony No. 4 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5.

Congratulations! That's a nice buy.

PM sent.

Lenny Dykstra Jorrit Dijkstra Little Jorrit

In the article they talk about some apocalyptic time when all other forms of music listening will be inoperative or destroyed, and only these LPs in Brazil would continue to exist to transmit the music. An interesting psychological crutch to justify the amassing of records. But...if it were to happen, would I go to the Amazon just to listen to some vinyl? Yeah, I would,,,,,,but I'd be pissed.

Probably long overdue. Watching that first Reiner clip again, it strikes me as one of the best things I've ever seen from him. I'm in awe of that kind of verbal avalanche, complete with perfect timing and precision. The kind of thing that only a few people on the planet could even attempt. And how much of that was improv? This seemed to be at least partially pre-written, but you can't recite something like that exactly the same way twice, right? Had the same thought, but concluded that the basic idea of Reiner's part may heve been worked out ahead of time, established, but his actual monologue was pure improv. You can tell when he is done, and Dick Van Dyke is sort of caught by a momentary surprise, taken aback, Van Dyke starts laughing. Watch MTM, she just keeps smiling delightfully at DVD; she knows. Even the 2nd clip shows some improv, especially around the gall bladder bit. Some of those royalty bits were probably improvised too. I used to watch this show on first-run as a kid, remember him always tripping off the footstool or something. Lots of slapstick. Great show.

Magazines don't make much off news stand sales, although I'm sure they'll take whatever they can get. Plus, how many news stands are there? Used to be one on just about every block in NYC, or so it seemed, now very few. Mags make their money off subscriptions. They need a subscriber base, certified circulation numbers, to sell print ads. That is where they make their money. Advertisers want to know how many subscribers and where they are located. That's why you'll get offers like 12 months for $6. The mag makes no money off the subscription, but they increase their subscriber base. If you renew your subscription, that is a big plus for the magazine. Renewals cost the nothing, and they now can make money off your subscription. Stuff like the Enquirer do rely on news stand sales, so they keep upping the sensationalist ante to get you to pick it up at the check-out counter. .

That's good to know. I like them. Last I had read, Natalie was doing her own thing, didn't know they had played together (in concert I assume?) recently. It's still a far cry from what they had once been--unfortunately.

It's more "amassing" than "collecting," although a curatorial function of sorts is coming into play now, which is good to see. What is it about Pittsburgh? Jerry of Jerry's Records is also reputed to have several million LPs stored at his store and a few other locations. I'm sure this Brazilian guy would love to have them too. How come we never read stories like this about CD owners?

Good news on the NYC front too; EP will be playing a couple of sets with Fred Van Hove.

And who can forget---- As it turned out, Dixie and The Chicks were incompatible. And The Chicks were no more.

You sure this isn't satire? I thought this was interesting: "I studied jazz while an undergraduate at Wesleyan University and had the privilege of learning from, at varying distances, some of the genre’s great performers and teachers, including Anthony Braxton, Pheeroan akLaff andJay Hoggard." That "at varying distances" tells me he was not Braxton's favorite student. That he could study at such a school and write such a piece suggests to me some personal axe being ground furiously.

Blaze Starr Arsene Lupin Smokey Joe

The Flaming Lips Cole Porter Sam Furnace

Just finished it. Not bad as a novel, and the Spark biography shows how it came out of her situation and preoccupations at the time. What has been your favorite Spark novel so far? I figure she is someone I will get around to, but I have quite a few others ahead of her in the queue (Dorris Lessing being one). I've read six and my favorite is Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, so no surprises there. BillF, kudos to you on taking on "The Comforters." Question: who are the "comforters" and who is being comforted? Does the biography address that? I would agree with BillF that "The Prime of Jean Brodie" is her best work. Following, in my order of preference, are: "The Girls of Slender Means" "The Ballad of Peckham Rye" "Memento Mori" "A Far Cry from Kensington" (1988, but hearkens back to her early work; indeed, if one did not know the dates of publication, one would likely think it was among that first group of novels. Just finished Far Cry - very readable and thanks for your recommendation, Leeway. I can distinguish it from the early Sparks, though. In those there's a density of nuanced language so typical of literary writing of that era, which I don't find in the much more recent Far Cry. Interesting, good point. Glad you liked the book. I haven't tried Spark's non-fiction, although being this far into the oeuvre, I guess I should. Not just the essays but also the book on Masefield (an author once highly esteemed and very collectible on the rare book market during his time, now largely forgotten), as well as her other miscellany writings. Not sure I have time for all that unless it proves unusually engrossing. Anyway, will add the essays to the list. Right now I'm reading the Stannard biography of Spark; very readable and seems even-handed. Glad you're enjoying the Stannard biography. I certainly did. At first his tendency to write in metaphor irritated me, as did his numerous half-hidden literary quotes, but I soon settled into it. As for "even-handed", I found I had to read through his constant excusing of Spark to make my own judgments on her behavior. Let's admit it, she must have been a dreadful woman! Do you mean the "B" word? When I said "even-handed" I was thinking of the others besides Spark. I have more to go though (just finishing school days), so I might have to revise my evaluation.

Speaking of obsessive collectors of any stripe: If you don't think you have a problem, then you do. If you think you have a problem, then you may have one, but it is already being resolved.

Just finished it. Not bad as a novel, and the Spark biography shows how it came out of her situation and preoccupations at the time. What has been your favorite Spark novel so far? I figure she is someone I will get around to, but I have quite a few others ahead of her in the queue (Dorris Lessing being one). I've read six and my favorite is Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, so no surprises there. BillF, kudos to you on taking on "The Comforters." Question: who are the "comforters" and who is being comforted? Does the biography address that? I would agree with BillF that "The Prime of Jean Brodie" is her best work. Following, in my order of preference, are: "The Girls of Slender Means" "The Ballad of Peckham Rye" "Memento Mori" "A Far Cry from Kensington" (1988, but hearkens back to her early work; indeed, if one did not know the dates of publication, one would likely think it was among that first group of novels. Just finished Far Cry - very readable and thanks for your recommendation, Leeway. I can distinguish it from the early Sparks, though. In those there's a density of nuanced language so typical of literary writing of that era, which I don't find in the much more recent Far Cry. Interesting, good point. Glad you liked the book. I haven't tried Spark's non-fiction, although being this far into the oeuvre, I guess I should. Not just the essays but also the book on Masefield (an author once highly esteemed and very collectible on the rare book market during his time, now largely forgotten), as well as her other miscellany writings. Not sure I have time for all that unless it proves unusually engrossing. Anyway, will add the essays to the list. Right now I'm reading the Stannard biography of Spark; very readable and seems even-handed. I don't know "The Man Who Cried I Am," but are the identifications supposed to be that schematic? These figures are often composites (for legal and literary reasons), although some, as you point out, are easy enough to guess.

Arthur "Punch" Sulzberger Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran Slappy White

Yes, that is a nice half hour indeed, Alexander. Some fine intense playing. Camera person was practically on the piano bench with you!

BANGLES

And many more........