Littlebear

We are not afraid of you.

I personally was afraid of that when I learned about the mono box and pre-ordered it immediately - like, one month ago? The more so as this pre-order was only available from amazon.com, not amazon.fr (I'm French).

C'mon, people, be nice with this dog, it's a fine effort for a first thought!

His death had generated more responses on some French forums than US ones, I could observe that. Never understood why this guy was more loved in Europe than in the USA. Y'all have listened to Cabretta, right?

I like "Joy" but never could stand "Changed the Locks" much. It's probably my least favorite song from her self-titled album.

Mono is definitely better than stereo for the tracks recorded in mono. The difference between "Help!" (the song) in mono and the stereo version is important. The mono sound is more punchy, and the vocal harmonies sound more enthusiastic. Missing the mono versions is missing the way every people listened to them then, on radio, singles, EPs, LPs... The mono sound helps to understand the beatles phenomenon.

The Velvet Underground

I prefer his first, Dressed Up like Nebraska, but it was released in 1998. Bleh.

Haven't we done this yet? Anyway, again, these albums are to die for: Laura Cantrell - Not the Tremblin' Kind Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Always Say Please & Thank You Jenifer Jackson - Birds Jill Sobule - Pink Pearl Amy Allison - Sad Girl Neko Case - Canadian Amp Paul Curreri - From Long Gones to Hawkmoth Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses Joe Pisapia - Daydreams Tegan & Sara - If It Was You Anny Celsi - Little Black Dress & Other Stories Devon Sproule - Upstate Songs Julie Doiron - Goodnight, Nobody Ana Egge - Out Past the Lights Sam Phillips - A Boot & a Shoe Rachel Ries - For Yo

It just missed my top three of the other thread by a... thread.

Well, it can only be three Summerteeth songs. So there must be "Pieholden Suite", then it's really tie with several others of the album. I'll add "She's a Jar" and "How to Fight Loneliness".

Oh, just noticed the hat. Now it's getting funny.

But, but... this is a dromedary! These smokers are so dumb.

It's as if I had stumbled on another world. I see a weird, kinda ridiculous album cover and everybody around's saying "awesome! awesome!". I'm not dreaming. This is real. I think this album cover means Jeff is struggling to stop smoking.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps? Happiness Is a Warm Gun? Julia? Sexy Sadie? Cry Baby Cry?

I'm afraid I don't get them much. I don't like their voices, and don't find them tuneful at all. Why the Hell should they be more praised than cub, that fabulous trio who actually wrote "New York City" among many other hooks?

Well, I'm of those who are not crazy about that album. You can be fascinated by Bob's flow of songs, but just listening to the music and the vocals you can easily get bored (or irritated). Otoh it's easy to get why it's a classic.

I think I understand why every "classic" I know is a "classic". But that doesn't mean I like all of them. To the contrary, most of my favorite records aren't the "classics". And it's not by principle. It's due to the fact that for the most part, to become a "classic", an album must have something more "mainstream" and less intimate or special. With a few exceptions (the Velvet Underground being one).

I threw it one second before you.

I wish some of you can read French. I've read a really great review of this DVD on this French site! If some of you could appreciate it, feel free to tell what you think!

Happiness Is a Warm Gun I Am the Walrus

Who knows.

Well, Let It Be... Naked is a kind of shame if you ask me. We all wanted to hear the live album as it was recorded, and they could only release that clean cutting. If Spector ruined "The Long & Winding Road" (which is a pretty boring song anyway), he did a fine job on "Across the Universe". Phil's best work was pre-Beatles of course, but let's not forget he produced Imagine as well, a pretty fine one.

The sound he created for the Ronettes and many others in the sixties was wonderful. A deeper insight would probably show its claustrophobic and dement aspect as well. Which of course doesn't make it less fascinating. The guy is really insane and should have been helped clinically. But they simply don't make artists like that anymore. I'm sure one day they'll make a movie. There's more to be told about him than Ray Charles or Johnny Cash, and morals will have nothing to do with it.

Murdering aside, he's still one of the greatest pop artists of the 20th century at the end of the day.