true! similarly, i could also be one of those types who feels that they ought to have an interest in music in lieu of a personality, but wouldn't know where to start on getting one (quality interest in music, or a personality).
guys guys, a drunk 53-year old stumbling out of a quickie food-mart just ripped headphones off, grabbed me by the shoulders, and recommended this song. he said it's pure, and primal, and awesome. he said he also liked an album by jherek bischoff; me, too!, so i'm pretty sure he's my musical soulmate. i think only 17 other people have ever heard of this new song! don't spoil things by telling your friends. just listen silently.
Wow. Curious about some of the above posts (ie, Esquire), I made the mistake of checking out threads on the emu boards to see what those posts were about. People on that forum can scream bloody murder all day long about the bugs on the main emu site, but they have no one to blame but themselves for the qualitative disintegration of the emu forums. Some truly embarrassing posts over there. Laughable and sad, both.
Your appreciation of music is alright by me, Esquire.
the carping isn't about the quality of the forums. it began with a criticism that emusic's redesign has stripped the site of crucial features allowing one subscriber to view another subscribers' lists. so, for instance, if you see an album you like, you could -- on the old site -- find another subscriber, linked on that page, who also liked the album and made it part of his or her lists, which you could then access.
i said i didn't get much out of user lists or user recommendations, unless it's from an especially trusted source (e.g., emusers and, in a different context, ILX), and that i instead rely on a series of trusted sites (e.g., juno plus; p4k; resident advisor; the volcanic tounge weekly newsletter; twitter feeds of artists) to get initial recommendations. this discussion was pretty civil, back and forth.
at some point i defended the emusic editorial team. i probably said that it is, in my view, the best collection of writers available online. i'm hardly the only one with this view. that went back-and-forth for awhile. i stopped posting, and it's now a pile-on about how emusic's editorial team and reviewers are utterly awful and juvenile and don't know anything about music and are just shilling shamelessly for particular acts or labels and that you're better off with the passing recommendations of other emusic subscribers.
there. i saved you the need for the stiff drink. now i'll have one.
This may be a sad admission (and if it is, I'll be totally unaffected by it), but if I have any inkling of an idea that I might be buying coffee somewhere, be it coffee shop, restaurant, diner, friend's home, etc... I'll bring a little airplane size vial of irish cream with me, in case I want it for my coffee.
Just a tiny splash, maybe the equivalent of a 1/3 - 1/2 of a standard shot glass, can make coffee so scrumptious. You still get all the buzz of the caffeine, but the irish cream transmutes the buzz into a fuzzy warmth. So good.
In the morning, pour just enough in to change the color of the coffee a bit, but that's it. If you can taste the irish cream over the coffee, you've put too much in; add some extra black coffee to the mix.
In the evening, pour irish cream liberally. If you can taste the coffee over the irish cream, you're gonna be up all night.
haha. if i had irish cream, i'd try that right now.
oh! forgot a key element to my skreed above describing that thread. at the end, it wasn't just that emusic's editors are hacks, poor writers, and hopeless shills. it was that the emusic intentionally steers its editors toward those qualities, precisely so they'll appeal to affluent emptyheads. like . . . me, i guess?
As one who used the word "juvenile" I would still stand by it as a description of a number of pieces I have read at emusic, pieces I seriously considered writing to them to complain about at the time (as well as standing by my caveat about not being acquainted with enough of the editorial content). I agree, however, that it's a shame the conversation has taken a belated turn towards insults aimed at broad ill-defined groups of people.
Couple of recent compilations that might be of interest - Greatest Blues History - perplexing syntax but 100 tracks, a bunch I can tell are the originals, and some classics and interesting selections, some jump blues/R&B verging on early R&R - Tiny Bradshaw's original of The Train Kept A-Rollin'. The only thing keeping me back is wondering how many of these I already have, so if you're not ass deep in the blues it would be worthwhile.
The other is Ultimate Rock'N'Roll Drinkers and Sinners, 73 tracks. Normally I shy away from Goldenlane but when it's older material I have gotten some righteous collections from them (read as long dead and gone). Perhaps a little thematically repetitive but some cool material by good artists. I never knew Nina Simone had recorded anything named Give Me A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer. And of course cheesy album cover...
4 disc set Stompin' At The Savoy - The Original Indie Label 1944-1961 on Savoy Jazz, $7.79. This is not a misprice as it's at Amazon for $9.49. Beware downloading the single disc of Disc 4 with the same name and album cover at eMu.
EDIT - Alert - It is in Frankenhofer however, with CRAPPY bitrates, so maybe you want to go with Amazon. Somofabitch, damned Wiki article had Savoy Jazz as a subsidiary of Nippon Columbia when that little voice in the back of my head was saying Danger, Will Robinson.
So, basically, just go to James Browns artist page, sort by Newest Additions, and go to town. Youve got a whole ton of 60s and early 70s JB records here that are just as mindblowing as you might imagine. Get Up Offa That Thing and Its a Mother are musts, but just about everything here is pretty essential. Highly Recommended
So there's a dozen newly added James Brown reissues - certainly not priced to make anyone's big toe shoot up in their boot. The question of the hour would be, however, is there anything here that any of us who went hogwild during the James Brown 7dig Xmas Xtravaganza two years ago (or was it three?) need to even worry about?
Not exactly new Blues releases - new label addition, Texas Music Group, seems to be reissues of CDs that came out back then on the Antone's label. Some good albums here, I bought the Lou Ann Barton and Candye Kane (yes, that Candye Kane - she's quite a good singer) and Kim Wilson , and you got Ronnie Earl, Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton et al.
Doofy, that album I know nothing about, but my impression of Hallmark albums has been reissue material at no particular bargain, not a lot of tracks or length. If I'm going shady I want more generally, so I've come to the point of mostly writing them off when I browse the "new" releases. I want my graverobbers to be working harder for my money, or what's the point - you could just as well look for the original releases. I can't help on bitrate or audio quality consequently, but if they've come up with something you dig though....
Interesting write-up of the original issue on Wiki, the Hallmark may be shy one Congolese folk song, and the order is turned around. Positive reviews of the material at Amazon. They've got the Hallmark with a different cover - sounds very cool.
Just wanted to drop a word about the JSP series Jook Joint Blues - a third volume has recently appeared on eMu, good stuff, reasonably priced. Previous box sets were Jook Joint Blues:That's What they Want, a 4 CD set, here at Amazon - the 4 component discs are individually available at eMu (I acquired them back when things were cheaper - crack cards), but at $5.99 each you might as well just buy the CD box. There is a second volume, Jook Joint Blues 2:Crazy With The Blues, 2 CD set at Amazon, which they have in MP3, no bargain at $17.98 when you can get the CD set for $18.98. Was not available at eMu.
The new third volume, here a 4 CD set at Amazon - Juke Joints 3 - (N.B. JSP can't even keep straight whether it's Jook or Juke - the listing for V.2 says Jook but the cover says Juke) - but anyhow this has dropped at eMu in two parts, each equivalent to 2 discs, Juke Joints 3 (Vol.1), and Juke Joints 3 (Vol.2), each for $5.84 so they are not a bad deal, and top shelf blues material. BTW, as with the First box set downloads, these are not very high bitrates.
And just to be crystally clear these are not to be confused with the Jook Joint series, a number of volumes of which I got at Amie back in the day.
I wonder whether the Lightin' Slim on the cover of Juke Joints 3 (Vol. 1) is somehow related to bluesman Lightnin' Slim. Those packages look good anyway.
The Very Best of Ravi Shankar - that reads a little oddly doesn't it? However, 149 minutes, $6.49, and a few guest tracks from Yehudi Menuhin, from EMI Classics. Also contemplating The Sounds Of India, on Columbia - $3.24, although I see the CD is only $4.26 at Amazon if you want the liner notes the review speaks so well of.
While looking at that Shankar album, which I might get, I found this for only $1.60.
AMG review: "Perhaps Ravi Shankar's finest World Pacific record, Three Ragas is not only a fantastic artistic statement, but also an excellent introduction to the medium of Indian music itself. Performed by Shankar and a very simple trio, the pieces on this record show the true heart of Indian music at its most intimate. The second side, "Raga Jog," will take your breath away. A showcase in Indian ensemble performing as well as in Shankar's own endurance and grace, this side truly shows why he has been called (by David Crosby, no less) the finest musician on the planet. This recording was put together at a time far earlier than Shankar's mass-audience breakthrough, and is an excellent record by a true master."
Edit: If the David Crosby referred to is an established expert on Indian music I think it must be someone other than the one I first thought of.
What the hey? Someone posted about www.emusic.com/infinite over on the MB - some new-fangled search thing - initial page is a bit underwhelming but it appears to get better once you type in a suggestion.
Looks like it plays samples - I can't hear them on this antique laptop but that's the usual - and it has, when you dwell on one of the album covers Play/Pause, Others Like, Artist and Album. Some artists work better than others - got great stuff when I typed in UFO, but when I put in Stray Cats the fifth album amongst Elvis etc. was The Moody Blues - Days Of Future Past - not so good a match.
I'll just go ahead and get it off my chest - this they have time for? Fixing what's broken no? Psshaw!!
Comments
"Hey, did you take my iPod?"
"Oh, you're so lame - I'm using the new iPad app. Get a personality."
babes (the band).
Your appreciation of music is alright by me, Esquire.
i said i didn't get much out of user lists or user recommendations, unless it's from an especially trusted source (e.g., emusers and, in a different context, ILX), and that i instead rely on a series of trusted sites (e.g., juno plus; p4k; resident advisor; the volcanic tounge weekly newsletter; twitter feeds of artists) to get initial recommendations. this discussion was pretty civil, back and forth.
at some point i defended the emusic editorial team. i probably said that it is, in my view, the best collection of writers available online. i'm hardly the only one with this view. that went back-and-forth for awhile. i stopped posting, and it's now a pile-on about how emusic's editorial team and reviewers are utterly awful and juvenile and don't know anything about music and are just shilling shamelessly for particular acts or labels and that you're better off with the passing recommendations of other emusic subscribers.
there. i saved you the need for the stiff drink. now i'll have one.
ditto, and thanks.
i wonder if my local barista would spike my double skinny caramel macchiato with vodka.
Just a tiny splash, maybe the equivalent of a 1/3 - 1/2 of a standard shot glass, can make coffee so scrumptious. You still get all the buzz of the caffeine, but the irish cream transmutes the buzz into a fuzzy warmth. So good.
In the morning, pour just enough in to change the color of the coffee a bit, but that's it. If you can taste the irish cream over the coffee, you've put too much in; add some extra black coffee to the mix.
In the evening, pour irish cream liberally. If you can taste the coffee over the irish cream, you're gonna be up all night.
oh! forgot a key element to my skreed above describing that thread. at the end, it wasn't just that emusic's editors are hacks, poor writers, and hopeless shills. it was that the emusic intentionally steers its editors toward those qualities, precisely so they'll appeal to affluent emptyheads. like . . . me, i guess?
The other is Ultimate Rock'N'Roll Drinkers and Sinners, 73 tracks. Normally I shy away from Goldenlane but when it's older material I have gotten some righteous collections from them (read as long dead and gone). Perhaps a little thematically repetitive but some cool material by good artists. I never knew Nina Simone had recorded anything named Give Me A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer. And of course cheesy album cover...
EDIT - Alert - It is in Frankenhofer however, with CRAPPY bitrates, so maybe you want to go with Amazon. Somofabitch, damned Wiki article had Savoy Jazz as a subsidiary of Nippon Columbia when that little voice in the back of my head was saying Danger, Will Robinson.
Interesting write-up of the original issue on Wiki, the Hallmark may be shy one Congolese folk song, and the order is turned around. Positive reviews of the material at Amazon. They've got the Hallmark with a different cover - sounds very cool.
The new third volume, here a 4 CD set at Amazon - Juke Joints 3 - (N.B. JSP can't even keep straight whether it's Jook or Juke - the listing for V.2 says Jook but the cover says Juke) - but anyhow this has dropped at eMu in two parts, each equivalent to 2 discs, Juke Joints 3 (Vol.1), and Juke Joints 3 (Vol.2), each for $5.84 so they are not a bad deal, and top shelf blues material. BTW, as with the First box set downloads, these are not very high bitrates.
And just to be crystally clear these are not to be confused with the Jook Joint series, a number of volumes of which I got at Amie back in the day.
AMG review: "Perhaps Ravi Shankar's finest World Pacific record, Three Ragas is not only a fantastic artistic statement, but also an excellent introduction to the medium of Indian music itself. Performed by Shankar and a very simple trio, the pieces on this record show the true heart of Indian music at its most intimate. The second side, "Raga Jog," will take your breath away. A showcase in Indian ensemble performing as well as in Shankar's own endurance and grace, this side truly shows why he has been called (by David Crosby, no less) the finest musician on the planet. This recording was put together at a time far earlier than Shankar's mass-audience breakthrough, and is an excellent record by a true master."
Edit: If the David Crosby referred to is an established expert on Indian music I think it must be someone other than the one I first thought of.
Looks like it plays samples - I can't hear them on this antique laptop but that's the usual - and it has, when you dwell on one of the album covers Play/Pause, Others Like, Artist and Album. Some artists work better than others - got great stuff when I typed in UFO, but when I put in Stray Cats the fifth album amongst Elvis etc. was The Moody Blues - Days Of Future Past - not so good a match.
I'll just go ahead and get it off my chest - this they have time for? Fixing what's broken no? Psshaw!!
http://www.emusic.com/listen/#/album/various-artists-emusic/emusic-pitchfork-music-festival-2012-free-sampler/13480120/