Thursday, October 23, 2003
Over the past few weeks I’ve seen two good movies. Last weekend it was ‘Mystic River’, directed by Clint Eastwood. Though a few scenes seem a bit undeveloped, it was easily the most intense (that’s good) movie I’ve seen this year. They should give Sean Penn an Oscar right now, with an honorable mention to Tim Robbins. At the opposite end of the spectrum is 'School Of Rock', starring the Belushi-like Jack Black. While silly and predictable, it’s pretty funny and the music is great.
I’ve also been gearing up for my next vacation, a quick trip back to North Dakota and Minnesota with a few college friends. Like last year, we’re planning to cram in two college hockey games, a college football game, as well as the Vikings/Packers game. I just hope we can find time for a little beer drinking (that’s never been a problem in the past).
Enough inane babbling. How about those Vikes?
Here’s what’s currently loaded in my CD player:
1) Miles Davis – ‘Round About Midnight
2) Miles Davis – Miles Ahead
3) Miles Davis – Bitches Brew disc 1 (of 2)
Though I’m not much of a jazz aficionado, I have become a huge Davis fan of late. The first two of these discs (originally released in 1955 and 1957) showcase the classic Davis quintet featuring John Coltrane on sax. While both are competent and pleasant enough, I much prefer the more experimental and challenging Davis albums of the late 1960s. Bitches Brew, an electronic jazz fusion classic that defined the genre upon it’s release in 1969, is a scary album that has more in common with modern day jam bands than the classic jazz of earlier Davis. The CD version sounds much better than the vinyl record I first bought in 1984.
4) Richard Thompson – Watching the Dark: the Best Of Richard Thompson, Disc 1 (of 3)
5) Richard Thompson – Mock Tudor
Richard Thompson is a great guitarist and songwriter who’s been woefully under appreciated throughout his 30+ year career. My friend Lowell recently set me up with the 3 disc set 'Watching The Dark', a great career retrospective that covers his tenure with the Irish tinged folk-rock band Fairport Convention through his collaborations with his then-wife Linda and into his solo career. Though his voice is somewhat of an acquired taste, there’s plenty of great stuff here that spans many genres. The 1999 solo release Mock Tudor showcases his brilliant guitar work.
6) Linda Thompson – Fashionably Late
Linda was Richard Thompson’s wife and collaborator through six albums in the 70s and early 80s. Following their breakup in 1984, she pretty much disappeared until this solo release in 2002. Her strong voice is in fine form on these dark acoustic folk songs.
TURNTABLE CORNER: Believe it or not, I still have a turntable. These are the most recent albums to cross it.
Little Feat – Time Loves A Hero
I pulled out this scratchy old record (circa 1977) to prep myself for the Feat show a few weeks ago. Great stuff.
Thanks to all of you that have e-mailed using the link at the top of this page. Keep the e-mails coming, as it makes me feel like this is somewhat less of a waste of time.
Fee sihetak (that's "cheers" in Egyptian)!!
I’ve also been gearing up for my next vacation, a quick trip back to North Dakota and Minnesota with a few college friends. Like last year, we’re planning to cram in two college hockey games, a college football game, as well as the Vikings/Packers game. I just hope we can find time for a little beer drinking (that’s never been a problem in the past).
Enough inane babbling. How about those Vikes?
Here’s what’s currently loaded in my CD player:
1) Miles Davis – ‘Round About Midnight
2) Miles Davis – Miles Ahead
3) Miles Davis – Bitches Brew disc 1 (of 2)
Though I’m not much of a jazz aficionado, I have become a huge Davis fan of late. The first two of these discs (originally released in 1955 and 1957) showcase the classic Davis quintet featuring John Coltrane on sax. While both are competent and pleasant enough, I much prefer the more experimental and challenging Davis albums of the late 1960s. Bitches Brew, an electronic jazz fusion classic that defined the genre upon it’s release in 1969, is a scary album that has more in common with modern day jam bands than the classic jazz of earlier Davis. The CD version sounds much better than the vinyl record I first bought in 1984.
4) Richard Thompson – Watching the Dark: the Best Of Richard Thompson, Disc 1 (of 3)
5) Richard Thompson – Mock Tudor
Richard Thompson is a great guitarist and songwriter who’s been woefully under appreciated throughout his 30+ year career. My friend Lowell recently set me up with the 3 disc set 'Watching The Dark', a great career retrospective that covers his tenure with the Irish tinged folk-rock band Fairport Convention through his collaborations with his then-wife Linda and into his solo career. Though his voice is somewhat of an acquired taste, there’s plenty of great stuff here that spans many genres. The 1999 solo release Mock Tudor showcases his brilliant guitar work.
6) Linda Thompson – Fashionably Late
Linda was Richard Thompson’s wife and collaborator through six albums in the 70s and early 80s. Following their breakup in 1984, she pretty much disappeared until this solo release in 2002. Her strong voice is in fine form on these dark acoustic folk songs.
TURNTABLE CORNER: Believe it or not, I still have a turntable. These are the most recent albums to cross it.
Little Feat – Time Loves A Hero
I pulled out this scratchy old record (circa 1977) to prep myself for the Feat show a few weeks ago. Great stuff.
Thanks to all of you that have e-mailed using the link at the top of this page. Keep the e-mails coming, as it makes me feel like this is somewhat less of a waste of time.
Fee sihetak (that's "cheers" in Egyptian)!!
