In late 2001, I began delving into the work of the great Miles Davis. I've been a peripheral fan for some time, but have picked up several of his releases (6, actually) since right after Xmas 2001.

Columbia Records (where Miles spent 30 years) began remastering and re-releasing (and adding "new" tracks) to his albums in the late 90s, in addition to creating several new compilations and box sets. As I've mentioned previously, these remasters sound incredible...if played on a good stereo, you sound like you're there hanging out with him. They also have a microsite dedicated to all the releases.

Having said that, I've recently picked up:

Bitches Brew: Wow...talk about being out there. Good stuff though...very interesting approach.

The Complete Birth of the Cool: Blue Note/Capitol (where Miles spent the late 40s and early 50s) has also done some re-releasing. This version of Birth of the Cool includes the original 11 songs, one bonus track, and then 12 cuts from 2 live performances in NYC in 1948. Absolutely stunning. To me, this album is a perfect example of classic jazz. Miles had just struck out on his own as a bandleader at this time, and it is nothing short of brilliant.

mmesker, you'll be pleased to know that for Xmas, I got The Videos: 86>98 and One Night in Paris: The Exciter Tour 2001 on DVD. You should pick them up...awesome stuff.

While you're in your jazz phase, syc, do yourself a wee little favor.

Seek out any cd by Django Reinhardt. Fantastic prewar jazz guitarist.

I've heard of him, though I am not familiar with any of his work. I'll definitely have to check him out.

Thanks!

<b>Disturbed - Believe</b> - damn fine album. Better than the first, I reckon.

I saw that at Best Buy last night, and completely forgot that they recently put that out. I liked their first CD quite a bit.

I also contemplated getting the new Zwan CD, but I've only heard one track from it thus far. I hope no one rushes out to buy it just b/c it's Billy Corgan. From what I understand of this new band, if people go out and buy it for that reason (Billy), they will be disappointed. Especially given:

1--It's not SP.

2--The last 3 SP albums were less than stellar, IMO.

Awesome! I've got the Singles videos on VHS and the old, single disc DVD, so I really have no need to buy it a THIRD time. But I've been eyeing that Paris DVD since it came out over the summer... So it's good?

I'm sorta of saving my DVD-buying money/paying off my credit card bill enough to order the New Order live DVDs (Reading '98 & Finsbury Park 2002) from Amazon.co.uk. They look pretty sweet, and they'll only get a US release once I pay too much for the imported Region 2 ones. ;)

Yes indeedy. Great stuff...lots of extras. (Which also goes for the Singles DVDs as well)

You have a region 2 player?

Winamp is currently feeding to my headphones:

Boards of Canada - Music has the right to Children
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Nightmares on Wax - Carboot Soul

I can't listen to Nine Inch Nails anymore; I can't get that angsty anymore. I have all of the albums safely saved in my Nine Inch Nails folder for the day I am again. It's always fun to blast "Satan" from the Spawn sounstrack now and then.

I'm in a ambient groove/triphop phase right now.

Scred: SomaFM - Groove Salad! Yes! This is where my phase started about a year ago.

I wandered into the triphop section of audiogalaxy rhapsody one day (a streaming audio $ervice) and couldn't find my way out. I've been going for the sophisticated stuff, adult pop like Everything But the Girl and Hooverphonic and Morcheeba.

...and I miss you... like the deserts miss the rain...

No, I can get my computer to play them though.

I haven't bought a regular DVD player yet, but region-free hacking is probably the #1 feature I'd look for. :cool:

Morcheeba just put a new CD out, if I recall correctly. They were on either Jay Leno or Conan last week...I don't remember. They're alright...they did some work on one of David Byrne's solo album, and it was really good.

The region code thing is so irritating...it's like NTSC and PAL. I'll have to see if I get to the point where I want to buy a bunch of shit from Europe, then go from there.

<b>System of a Down - Steal This Album!</b> - I'm pretty impressed with this CD. I've always liked System of a Down, and this is more of the same - though I think they do a bit better on the slow songs. "Roulette" is especially impressive. A good CD to drive around to.

<b>Chevelle - Wonder What's Next</b> - I got this at Target for $8. Obviously I bought it for their big-play radio song "The Red", which is, to my ears, a superb song. The rest of the CD is actually pretty good. There are a few songs that I really really dig, but the names escape me at the moment. I figure anyone that likes "The Red" can shell out $8 for it, though. It's worth it.

<b>Saliva - Back Into Your System</b> - I'm trying really hard to like this. I bought this the other night 'cause I hadn't bought CDs in a while and I like their big-play radio song "Always". Well... the CD just doesn't hold me yet, but I'm not totally blaming it. However, avoid the big steaming turd of a title track. Wow is it awful.

I also got <b>Seether - Disclaimer</b> and <b>Lifehouse - No Name Face</b>. Their radio-play songs are obviously pretty good, and I've been listening to those, but not the rest of the albums so much. I'll say more about 'em when I've listened more. But they haven't stood out as sucky either, so that's a good thing, I think.

I don't know if Dave actually bought that new SOAD CD or not, but if he did, I'm going to venture a guess and say he got the CD face created by Daron...because that seems like something Dave would do. :)

My favorite song off that CD is probably "Ego Brain," though "Chic N' Stu" and "36" are righteous as well.

er... i dunno. There was no liner. Just the CD in the jewel case. I don't remember which one it was. I just picked it up.

And yes, I did pay for it. :)

The face of your CD will have a drawing on it, unless you got the 5th CD face, which looks like a blank CD with the band's name and album title scribbled on it.

This is the one created by Serj...

I got the one that's black and has gray drawing on it. Whatever one that is. :)

From what I've heard, SOAD put that album out after every song (mostly b-sides) was already available for d/l on the net; hence the name, "Steal This Album." I've also heard various reports (mostly from the different local radio DJs) that they didn't even plan to release it themselves, but the record company decided it would be a good idea to put something out around X-mas. You guys hear anything along these lines as well?

From interviews I've read, they only put out the CD because there were a bunch of downloads available and they thought the downloads sounded like crap. So they finished up some of the songs and stuck 'em on a CD. Here it is.

I heard the same thing Dave did...I didn't hear anything about Rick Rubin or Sony trying to push it (though I wouldn't be surprised). At least they're only charging $11 for it at Best Buy.

Dave, it sounds like you have the one done by John Dolmayan...it sorta looks like the Punisher logo.

Yeah, I just looked. That's the one I've got.

Ministry--Animositisomina: Not officially released in stores until Feb. 18th, but the whole album is currently available for listening in real audio on their brand spanking new website.

The verdict: Outstanding...easily their best record since 1992's Psalm 69. I can't wait to hear it on CD...now I just hope that the record stores will make the DVD-Audio version easily available.

Also in the player:

The Cure--Galore (The Singles: 1987-1997)

Radiohead--OK Computer

Miles Davis--Porgy and Bess

Moby--18

fitter happier more productive a pig in a cage on antibiotics

I forgot about this album. I shall play it today.

I love that CD...it firmly proves that the Cure are not some moody goth band...of course, they never really were. It's amazing how some people stretch the shit out of one album (Pornography).

tied to a stick...

New Ministry album in 4 days...whoohoo!!!

Warch, the Reverend Horton Heat is doing a 4-show stay in Minneapolis March 3-7 at 7th Street Entry. You really owe it to yourself to check it out. :) Especially since the closest he's coming to here is Richmond and Pittsburgh, so I need someone to live through vicariously.

I've been listening to the new album online, as suggested. It doesn't have the joy and wonder for me that A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste STILL does, IMHO, but it does sound pretty cool.

(At last, you guys are talking about a damn band I've HEARD of. .... so this is that generation gap thing I used to hear tell about. ;) aaaah ... I'll just hobble off to my rocker and listen to my Cinderella albums.)

Wow Wolf...a Ministry fan? I would have never thunk it. :)

I don't know if anything will come close to the glory days of the late 80s/early 90s, but given the last two CDs (which I thought were alright, but not great), it's a massive improvement.

Al's been getting quite a bit of press on VH1.com...I can't believe he was actually thinking of killing the band after the last album. Apparently, their role in the movie A.I. kept them going...and it doesn't hurt that Al kicked the smack either.

Ministry--Animositisomina: Okay, finally got it on CD yesterday...and yes, it sounds fantastic.

And for the first time since their god-awful first release (which Dave owns), there are printed lyrics. Of course, you almost need a magnifying glass to read them, but they're there.

neko case - blacklisted - so shes pigeon-holed as a 'country-artist', but, damn, this is good stuff.

they might be giants - no! - i could lie and say this is for my kid, but ive already confessed to liking the crash test dummies, so i might as well admit that i love this cd. i dont think its better than 'flood', or even 'apollo 18', but its a lot of fun and i urge everyone to buy/steal/pirate this cd asap.

~james

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds

:) (the original version, not the remix)

mm, you buying Gore and Gahan's solo albums (out in April and June, respectively)?

I haven't been listening to a lot of different shit lately. I've been listening to Bitches Brew the past few days. The first disc only has two songs--each about 20 minutes long. The second disc has 6, I believe (don't have the CDs in front of me). The longest on that CD is 17 minutes. It's not Kind of Blue, but it's definitely good stuff, and very innovative. It sounds like it should be in some kind of movie...like an old 70s blaxploitation film.

You know, I really tried to like Bitches Brew, but it's just not for me. I've been listening to more Brazillian or Afro-cuban jazz lately. Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto is absolutely inspired.. and I downloaded an album called Ya Yo Me Cure by a guy named Jerry Gonzalez that is tons of fun.

But since that's on my computer, not my stereo... hmm, Brand New Day by Sting is what's on the stereo right now. Love most of the album, hate the Country / Gospel song. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds.

I understand...Miles was rather creative from the late 60s forward. I haven't listened to it in ages, but when I did (mid-90s), I didn't care for Decoy (released in 1983, I believe).

Hmm, I didn't know about these. I'm kinda behind on my Depeche Mode at the moment.

I'm interested in the Gore LP, as I've always kinda liked the songs he sings better. Is Gahan writing his own material?

I'll at least download them both. *shrugs*

They both have web sites:

http://www.martingore.com

http://www.davegahan.com

Martin's is Counterfeit 2...more covers. The first single, "Stardust," comes out April 14th in the UK. He's supposed to tour the States in the summer.

Dave is actually writing material for his...Paper Monsters, which comes out June 3rd. He'll be touring the States late summer.

Jake, do you have any Joao Gilberto? Mebbe...Bebel is related? Astrud is.
Brazil very nice. Warm breezes, cool drinks, and a hammock figures in well.
More Latin flavored Jazz now to spin:
Stan Getz- Bossa Nova
Grant Green- The Latin Bit
Vince Guaraldi- Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.:)

Calexico - Across The Wire

Joao is the husband, Astrud is his wife, and Bebel is their child.. I think. One of my favorite albums is the Getz/Gilberto album. Absolutely perfect. I love Stan Getz on his own, too. Damn, now I have to go put some bossa nova on. :)

If you guys are hip to brazillian stuff, there's a pianist you really need to check out. His name is Rique Pantoja and he's starting to break on the LA side of the industry. Worked with everybody down there, spent some time in Cuba and Miami, and is now out here working with everybody from Russ Miller to Jimmy Haslip and Ernie Watts. He's so legit it hurts, but the arrangements are very intelligent and accesible.

also, if you're a young punk trying to bust your chops on this stuff, he's a hell of a teacher.

-sm

Ministry--The Land of Rape and Honey: What a classic!

Elastica--Elastica: Hadn't listened to this one in quite some time. Great band...too bad they kinda fell off the planet a few years back. Admittedly though, I haven't been keeping up too much on music lately.

Alice in Chains--Facelift: One of my favorites from high school. "Love Hate Love" has to be one of the best rock songs ever.

Miles Davis--Miles in the Sky: One of my cheapy pick-ups last night. Featuring a young George Benson on guitar, and a young Herbie Hancock on piano. This was his last release before Bitches Brew: Still has the classic jazz feel, but you could feel that something was on the horizon.

David Cross "Shut Up You Fucking Baby!": El oh el!

Roots Manuva "Run Come Save Me": Interesting production for a rap album. Reminds me of El-P.

The Wrens "The Meadowlands": Fucking brilliant indie rock.

<b>Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head</b> - I got this last night at Target. Not much to say about it yet, except that one track stands out as exceptional and I'll know more about it later. I managed to forget my iPod this morning (after I had it in my damn hand - way to go, Dave), so I can't listen to it all day at work like I was planning.

Coldplay has been in heavy rotation here- its a strong album.

Dave Gahan "Paper Monsters"

Yeah, that's right, Mr. Sycamore. ;)

Buddy Guy Live at the Checkerboard Lounge 1979
followed by some of his old stuff, nasty.

Saw Buddy Guy live at the Bluesfest a coupla years ago, along with John Lee Hooker and Susan Tedeschi. I think Ray Charles was the headliner last year, but I didn't get to make it. Bummer...

Frank Zappa - Mike Douglas show appearance, November 1976, playing "Black Napkins."

Cake - Comfort Eagle This is so cool! Is it popular?

mm, you bastard! Is it any good?

Miles Davis + 19--Miles Ahead: Miles' first Columbia recording, done with a 19-piece orchestra. Good stuff.

I've created a couple of CDs while here at the Sycamore Palatial Estate: one with a hard edge (Adema, Korn, Static X), one on a mellower tip (Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Thicke).

http://www.lasvegas-nv.com/vh1b.jpg

Alan Thicke?? I didn't know his music career was big. I guess he and Hasselhoff could tour Germany together this summer.

He's also a star hockey player.

Not Alan Thicke...his son Robin. Album just finally came out this month, I believe, called Cherry Blue Skies...he's on Babyface's new label. You may be familiar with his music in either the Sprite commercial that features him or the Gateway commercial where the guy's business partner gets him a laptop so he can work from home. Good stuff.

I likes cake. Is it the bass? that voice? or maybe that horn? D. all of the above.

(Shakes head of cobwebs) That Gateway ad says "Thicke" right on it in a caption. I was so intrigued by it that I looked up the website. Then I thought maybe it was really terrible to get interested in a band through 8 bars in a commercial, and I lost interest.

I didn't know it was a related Thicke -- that's really weird, because "Thicke" sorta rings as a band name, so that's what I assumed it was.

Martin L. Gore--Counterfeit2: His first solo effort in over a decade...another CD of covers, though this one is a full-length release. Not bad...particularly since I don't know the songs he is covering (he likes obscure stuff).

Dave Gahan--Paper Monsters: Thanks to matt for the hook-up. Not bad...the backing band could be better, and most of the album is too mellow. But at least Dave proves that he can write songs (something he has never done in his 23 years with Depeche Mode).

The biggest problem that both these CDs suffer from is that they sound too much like something DM would put out. I was hoping for a different direction from each of them, but that's just me.

Res--How I Do: Another Philadelphia artist making waves nationally. The best description I can come up with is to call her the black Sheryl Crow. Rho picked this up a few months ago...not bad.

You can see all the CDs I took on my recent road trip here, and I believe I listened to every single one of them.

No sense in starting a new thread on this, but I have to talk about MTV Icon: Metallica, which aired last night. Obviously, I was stoked, given that Metallica is one my favorite bands of all time. Yeah, it's MTV and all, but overall, it was a pretty decent show. Anyone else watch it?

Some highlights:

The funniest performance of the night: Snoop Dogg singing "Sad But True." Yes...he sang it.

Best performance of the night: Limp Bizkit performing "(Welcome Home) Sanitarium." Korn also did a decent cover of "One."

I believe the last song Metallica performed was the upcoming single from their new album, St. Anger, which comes out June 10th. If it is anything indicative of the album as a whole, it is going to rock the fuck out, and will be the album of the year.

Recently, Ozzy and Metallica traded bassists, with Robert Trujillo (formerly of Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves) joining Metallica, and Jason Newsted (who left Metallica 2 years ago) joining Ozzy's band to replace Trujillo. Man, Trujillo is a fucking beast...we kinda look alike. And he just wails away on the bass, looking like he is in pain and shit. Crazy...you have to see the performance to see what I'm talking about.

I'm sure it'll be on repeat on MTV 9 million times, so if you get a chance, check it out.