jff

I've heard (and actively listened to) a bunch of rap over the years. I like Public Enemy, Beasties, and some others, mostly early stuff. I don't make time for it in my life, though. It comes into my life on it's own through background noise or whatever might be playing at a friend's house, and that's enough for me. The only thing silly is that you think I've never heard rap. Moron.

I pretty much ignore rap for two reasons: I can't escape it as background music in my everyday existence. I would have to neglect the music I love in order to delve into rap. As it is, I don't have enough time to enjoy what i already like. Denying myself one thing in favor of something else that I might not even like is not a worthwhile tradeoff in my opinion.

Actually, I take this back. I was using this program this weekend and it leaves a LOT to be desired. Having said that you DO NOT need to buy equipment to put albums/casettes, etc. on cd. You only need software.

I was considering buying one of those, but for $25 (plus a $3 1/8" to 1/8" stereo cable) you can do the same thing with this: http://www.digitope.com/digitalizer/index.aspx I'm currently using their free trial period to transfer some important cassette tapes with good results.

Interesting, I always had good luck with Sony stereo equipment. My Sony cd player lasted almost 20 years. I think the Sony turntable would be fine for your purposes.

I think it's a lot different. The vast majority of people in bands DO have jobs. When they lose a job, they get another one. Thax has been out of work for 9 years, according to the article. Thax does not want anyone to have any authority over any aspect of his life. He shows up at gigs and does a 30 second reading and then watches bands for free. That's easy. Bands have MANY responsibilities. They have to maintain respectful relationships with a LOT of people in order to play gigs. They have to follow orders set by club owners, soundmen, bartenders, etc. They have to maintain their eq

Agreed, brilliant series. Best documentary series ever made. (If not, someone please let me know what is, because I love documentaries.) If the series is going to continue on schedule, I think this year is the year they're due for another installlment.

Yes, the mentally ill guy in the Up series goes into local politics. How does that relate to Thax's story?

He might be poor now, but in NYC he'll be poor AND homeless. Sucks, yeah, but you have to have some income, or someone who will support you. Based on that article he is unwilling to even attempt to make either of those things happen.

Do they pay bums to write poems in Canada?

"Todd" is a pretty good one, too. The Nazz albums are all still available on vinyl, so I'd imagine they're on cd, too. Good stuff on those, but you have to suffer through some dull ballads to find the gems. Their song "Loosen Up" is a hilarious parody of "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell and the Drells. I'm not that into Utopia generally, but their first album, "Todd Rundgren's Utopia" is probably my favorite Rundgren related album. I like Todd, but none of his albums have ever held my attention all the way through.

A couple years ago I got a low end Stanton DJ turntable (I think it's called Straight 30, or something). It's light years better than the Akai turntable I got as a kid in the '80s, and is perfectly suitable for listening to albums at home. The only problem is the needle does not automatically return at the end of each album side. Not a problem for me, but worth considering. I think it cost $150 new. They don't make that model anymore, but I'm sure they have a comparable turntable in their current line. A lot of people are going to tell you to get $400+ turntables. Forget that. $150 wi

In my collection, probably 10 out of 2500 recordings are rap. I like some rap, but never care to listen to it at home. Plus, I live in Atlanta, so I can't EVER walk down ANY street without hearing rap.

Agreed, a great artist. Generally, I prefer his work before he added "Rahsaan". "I Talk With he Spirits" is one of my favorite albums. He only plays flute on that one. Also, a couple people mentioned the Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane album...that is easily one of my all time favorite albums in any genre. Jackie McLean deserves to be mentioned, as well. He recorded tons of excellent albums. I'd proabbly start with his any of his Blue Note releases.

Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um

These are all really good suggestions. I'd throw in both of the Nels Cline Singers cds. Angelica is his first album released under his name. It's out of print, but probably easily downloaded. Another early release he played on that's worth hearing is Tim Berne's 7X, which is also out of print. I was lucky to find those on vinyl after a good bit of searching. The Nels Cline Trio releases are all pretty easy to find (except for Ground, which I had trouble finding) even though some of them are out of print. The Inkling is a great one if you want to hear some mellower tunes.

Awesome mix. Nice work.

Lots of people said the same thing about YHF. If "easy to get into" is your goal just save your money and play the CCR albums you already own.

In that case, the photo of him in the audience (from the same link, page 1) is equally unflattering. I don't care how he looks, but I prefer people who make worthwhile contributions to our culture have a handle on their physical health so they'll be around for a while longer.

corn syrup is the real culprit.

Seriously. On first glance I thought that was John Bonham.

I'll chime in, though these might not be the forum that was alluded to... thefret.net fenderforum.com (the name sounds like a Fender oriented site, but all guitar related discussion is welcome)

I've found that people rave and complain about anything and everything, regardless of price. Electonics on guitars seem to be the thing most people are unhappy with. According to what I read on guitar boards, 95% of all production guitars have crap pickups and/or switches/knobs/jacks. I don't know what I'll wind up getting, but I certainly appreciate your input. Orville...interesting. I had not heard of those. The 335 style Orville on ebay now is $900. I'll keep an eye out for those, you never know when one will slip through the cracks.

Semi-hollow would probably be the way to go, althought there's something enticing about a Casino. I enjoyed the one I tried out a couple months ago. I have to admit I didn't realize it was a full hollowbody until today. When you say stay away from the "new Casinos", do you mean the very new ones (as in, the last few years worth of production), or ALL of the reissue Casinos (going back to mid-90s, or whenever the reintroduced them)? I was more impressed with the Ibanez than the Epiphone Dot. I didn't get to try either of those through an amp, but the Ibanez felt better in my hands (possibl

I had a subscription to Uncut for a year. The cds were crap. Most of the cds had one great song, two mediocre songs, and the rest was garbage. I could probably assemble two good cds worth of material from a year worth of thier cds.