vibes

Are you sure about Last Waltz and Consecration? It seems like they're available on most of the websites I've checked. I'd prefer to not have to spend the money right now, but I will if I "have to."

Salt and Pepper Pepper and Byrd Bird and Diz Bobby and Joe Jackie and Grachan Monk and Trane Bags and Wes

As far as bass is concerned, the E3C's are REALLY weak. I returned them to the store and ordered some Ultimate Ears superfi.5Pro headphones. A bit more expensive, but the sound is far more balanced and detailed than what I experienced in the E3C.

I saw the K2 version of "Consecration" today, but at $230, it seemed like a rip-off. I see that HMV Japan has a Japanese "Consecration" pressing for about $140. Is this the K2 set? Are all Japanese pressings K2 remastered?

We have cable, at my wife's insistence. She's a TV addict. I probably watch less than one hour per week. It's rare that I stick with any given show for more than 10-15 minutes, as nothing seems that interesting. I have enjoyed having HD cable, though, and often turn to Discovery HD Theater to see what's on it. It's hard to watch standard definition TV after watching HD. I do like some TV shows, but would rather wait until they're on DVD to watch them. Favorites include "24," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Sopranos."

I'm pretty sure it was "Blue Moods." The version of "Nature Boy" that's on that album was used in the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which I'm a big fan of. I wanted to hear more music that sounded like that, so I bought the album.

This is probably why: (From today's Wall Street Journal) Music You Can See: Warner Plans to Sell Albums on DVDs By ETHAN SMITH August 4, 2006; Page A11 The music industry has for years struggled to develop a new physical format that could spark increased sales by replacing the CD. Now Warner Music Group Corp. is planning an aggressive attempt to address the issue by pushing consumers to buy their music on specially outfitted DVDs. Warner, the world's fourth-largest music company, is in the final stages of securing technical licenses that will enable it to sell a bundle of music and extra features on a single DVD, according to people familiar with the matter. The DVD would include a music album that plays in both stereo and surround-sound on a standard DVD player -- plus video footage that plays on a DVD player or a computer. There will also be song remixes, ring tones, photos and other digital extras that can be accessed on a computer. The company plans to make the new format available to its subsidiary record labels for product-planning purposes as early as next week and to introduce the discs to consumers with a handful of titles in October. A full-blown launch is planned for early next year. The hope is to fuel increased sales of both new product and catalog titles, in the process lifting the industry just as the 1982 introduction of the CD boosted sales as consumers replaced cassettes and vinyl albums. Retailers -- who have faced hard times as CD sales have declined in recent years -- have been enthusiastic about the new format. "The CD is getting old and tired," said Jim Litwak, president and chief operating officer of Trans World Entertainment Corp., which owns more than 800 music and media stores, including the Coconuts, Wherehouse and FYE chains. Indeed, MTS Inc.'s Tower Records was recently barred by at least two of the four major music companies from receiving new product, after a dispute over credit arrangements. Interim Tower chief executive Joseph D'Amico didn't respond to requests for comment. "As a retailer I'm going to be holding on desperately for any compelling physical product," said Eric Levin, who owns two independent stores called Criminal Records in the Atlanta area. "So the introduction of a new format...is cause for excitement." Mr. Levin is also president of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, a trade association with 30 members, who he said are also pleased by the prospect of the new format. A Warner spokesman declined to comment on specific plans but said the company, broadly speaking, plans to "offer content through a breadth of products to meet consumer needs. And we will remain nimble and innovative in every aspect of our business -- including our digital and physical offerings." The DVD album is the latest in a parade of would-be successors to the CD, including the surround-sound products Super-Audio CD and DVD-Audio, and most recently DualDisc, which plays like a CD on one side and like a DVD on the other. Warner was one of two companies, along with Sony BMG, to embrace DualDisc last year. But the capacity of both the CD and DVD sides of DualDiscs is limited compared to normal CDs and DVDs. In contrast, the storage capacity of the planned Warner DVDs is up to four times what can be held on the DVD side of a DualDisc. Warner and Sony BMG have sharply scaled back their DualDisc output. Warner is not proposing any generic name for the new format, beyond simply "DVD album." The company plans to encourage retailers to stock them alongside normal CD albums on shelves, and they would likely carry a higher price tag, though just how much higher will probably be determined by the amount of extras included on any given disc. The company plans to continue releasing albums on CD, too, for the foreseeable future. But there are some stumbling blocks that may discourage consumers from embracing DVD albums. The new discs would not play on normal CD players, meaning consumers could not simply pop their new discs into their car stereos or other players. And users would not be able to copy the main audio mix onto their computers. On the proposed DVD album, the main audio mix is to be protected by the same software that already protects the content on normal DVDs. The DVD album would include "preripped" digital tracks of the entire album, ready to be copied onto a user's computer -- a totally separate set of data from the higher-quality, DVD-audio sound that users hear when they slip the DVD in a player. The lower-quality, "preripped" tracks could be copied to a CD. Richard Greenfield, media analyst at Pali Research, said the DVD album format was unlikely to be of much help to the music industry: "Is it going to be a big deal? I tend to think not, given the failures of previous high end formats. But I don't think it's a bad thing." People familiar with the situation say Warner is close to a deal with Apple Computer Inc. that would make the digital tracks essentially identical to those the computer company sells through its iTunes Music Store service -- something that has proved elusive for others in the music industry, since Apple has been unwilling to license its proprietary copy-protection software to outsiders. People briefed on the talks said a likely solution would involve Apple creating the digital tracks and Warner putting them on DVDs.

I dreamed last night that I lived in NYC and liked to hang out at a newspaper/CD stand on the corner of a busy intersection. It was called JazzCorner. They were selling lots of used CDs, but the prices weren't marked on the CDs. You had to use a printed catalog to find the prices of the CDs you wanted. I kept going back because I found this BN 50's reissue that I wanted, but I couldn't find it anywhere in the catalog, and no one would help me find it. To make matters worse, a friend (I can't remember who it was now, but the name was the name of a regular JC poster whose name starts with an "M") kept criticizing me for the way I was reading the catalog. I finally looked at the CD again and realized that it was a Johnny Hartman CD, and not another artist's CD, as I had previously believed. That's when I woke up. I realized that the friend that had been criticizing me was Morton Feldman. I believe I saw his picture posted here before I went to bed. Also, earlier in the day, I'd been listening to a Johnny Hartman Impulse reissue that I just got. Strange how those things make their way into dreams.

Thanks for posting this information. A kind board member made me needle drops of these two albums a couple years ago, and I've loved the music since the first time I heard it. This is a dream come true!

Buy an SACD for multichannel. All things being equal, the sound quality will be better anyway.

I can see why Chris would not want to post there. How much utterly unwarranted punishment should a person invite into their life? I hesitate to post there for that reason. Even my innocuous posts on non-musical topics are usually greeted with hostility. I truly do not understand that site. JC isn't the easiest place to hang out, so I choose my battles carefully. There are a few people there that have been very nice to me (such as the oft-maligned Mr. Dolan), but there are some major jerks, too. I don't let it get to me.

Chris, since you apparently still check out JC, why not start posting there again? I know of your opposition to Mr. Crouch, but avoiding JC just because he's there (or for most other reasons, for that matter), seems a bit pointless. I often disagree with what you have to say, but still appreciate your contributions here and elsewhere. Hope to see you posting there again soon.

CleanFlicks and the other companies may have violated copyright laws, but this definitely isn't a win for consumers who would like more opportunities to see films with some of the content to which they object edited from the films. It's too bad these companies and Hollywood can't come to some kind of agreement. Several members of my family used CleanFlicks on a regular basis. It was the only way they'd watch R-rated movies. Oh well...

I will buy something I've downloaded it if I like it enough. I try to buy CD's before going the download route, however. I only download out of print stuff (like the Verve Vault stuff on iTunes) or random songs where I don't want the whole album (I've bought a lot of 80's one hit wonders, for example). Also, I was a Napster user back when it started and it was a buffet of everything in the late 90's. I've had a change of heart since then, especially as I've understood more about the way the industry works, so I've been purchasing legitimate downloads or CD's of stuff that I once downloaded for free, in order to do the right thing. I feel pretty good about doing this. I find iTunes best for sound clips and random searching. Like I said, I'd almost always rather have the CD than the download. And as a result of searching iTunes and listening to XM Radio, I've bought a lot of new stuff I might otherwise have never been exposed to.

I did not know that. It's worth a visit, if you have the means. Very interesting place, but in a province most people don't visit when they travel to China. Lots of other Buddhist-related stuff, including the Shao Lin monastery, worth visiting in the area. I had a great time there.

The ruse to get Jack on the phone worked. I'm pretty sure the agent said that Kim had called and that they had transferred her call to a landline in the warehouse. Kim could have called CTU, who then would have transferred her call to the appropriate location. With all that technology, anything's possible. "Shanghai" was the home port of the ship. The name of the ship was in Chinese: Guang Cai (bright colorful, if read left to right).

Yes, you have to be located in the USA or Canada and calling a number in the USA or Canada. I misunderstood that and told a friend in Bulgaria to try calling my cell today. No dice. Still a pretty cool offer, though.

Confusing as Verve's reissue series have been, I hope that they'll continue in some form. The Elite and LRP series, especially, have been very helpful for me in discovering new artists and new recordings. It would be nice if there was some consistency in releases, but I'll take what I can get. When I first got into jazz, all I listened to was Verve, so I have a special place in my heart for Verve.

I saw it on Thursday night. I went in with really low expectations (MI-2 really sucked, IMO), but I really enjoyed this one. There were some really intense moments, and I actually wanted to sit and wait to see how everything would finish. I would have liked more of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the movie, as I really enjoy his acting, but his contribution was still good nonetheless. All in all, I think I still like the first one better, but MI-3 is a close second. I'm sure I'll buy this when it comes out on DVD.

I heard a 30-second sample of this and it sounded interesting (I knew nothing about Isaac Hayes), so I bought it and absolutely love it. I bought "The Isaac Hayes Movement" and "Shaft," soon after, and haven't opened "Shaft" yet, but love "Movement" as well. I find myself humming "Walk On By" quite a bit. The other CD currently in heavy rotation: I never tire of listening to this one.

If you're a Sinatra fan, the "Live at the Sands" DVD-A is essential. I've heard it might be OOP now, but you should still be able to find it.

Thanks for sharing that. I only discovered Albert King within the last year, and he's already my favorite blues guitarist. That's the first time I've seen any video of him. Incredible. Anyone who likes that performance should pick up "Live Wire/Blues Power," which was recorded at the Fillmore in 1968. Very similar sound and setting.

I'm doing fine. Really. I think I found the story (well, my wife did): "The Man Who Lived Underground," by Richard Wright.

Some 10 years ago, a former girlfriend asked me to help her interpret a short story she had to read for a class. I'd really like to read the story again, but I can't remember the author or the title. It's an existentialist story, and the only thing I can remember is that the protagonist is in a tunnel or sewer beneath a city, and at one point in the story, watches some church or religious ceremony and feels anger or resentment towards the people and what they're doing. That's about all I can remember. Can anyone help me find this story?

Drew, I'd like to hear about some of your experiences. I've always wondered what your story is, since it seems like you're always traveling or posting from a different place.