Jazz certainly works for me in the summertime although I'm not so sure, as you say, that it works all that well in a lush, country setting down by the lake. Although I'm listening right now to Ben Webster's "Soulville" which might even work at the cottage since it's just that smooth, bluesy and perfect for keeping as immobile as possible in this overbearing heat. It almost sounds like Ben recorded it in the middle of the afternoon, maybe in July of 1957, on a streetcorner somewhere in the southern states and he wants to keep the pace as mellow as can be. Bop and hard bop work less well for me in this weather. I keep those for spring and fall.

Two current releases that are fitting in nicely in the current environment are Sam Prekop's latest and Beck's disc Geuro. Beck has always been a great summertime listen as he sounds like he's just doing enough to enunciate the words and little more. Plus the music to me has a sort of 70's summer in NYC feel.

Some fave summer tunes would be the rather obvious choice of Flaming Lips "Its Summertime", any one of 3 or 4 tracks from "Screamadelica" and the slow version of "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies.

okay, thursday before the long weekend. quickly now, what are your top cottage/lazy long weekend in the city songs? are there songs that you would never listen to in the city but will tolerate at the cottage (yeah, i'm looking at you steve miller)? does jazz at all outside an urban setting. discuss.

or ignore. or a quick, 2-word directive, if you wish.

Sorry to have to bail for the jazz. We are going up to the cottage on the weekend band I have too much work by a half. Other staff will be here working on it so its bad form to leave them behind to go play. Weather looks perfect tho...have fun...
s

I'd love to go but if i do it will be a last minute decision...don't know if the boss will let me off early! sun is shinnin'...gotta make dat der hay, eh!

I'm looking good for Friday 4 - 5:00 or 5:30. Should be pretty great. Not sure why David Murray, one of the best and most interesting sax players on jazz, has such a shit time slot. Not that I'm objecting.....but why is he not a night time feature player at the tent?

its gotten somewhat more complicated for me , but I am still optomistic. Yvette is taking maya to her ballet recital so I have to be home by 6 to get Rhys his dinner, but I think its still doable......4pm to 5:30 ish

Here are two links with respect to that CD. Squealer is the record lable and Surefire Distribution is the site that I purchased the CD from. As it shows on the site it cost $12 US and they charged me nothing for shipping and there were no additional taxes. So with exchange it came in at a bit under $16. Pretty nice deal.

http://www.squealermusic.com/catalog/speed.html

http://www.surefiredistribution.com/cgi-bin/showlabel.pl?label=squealer

Who is still on for seeing David Murray at 4pm on Friday? It's supposed to be 30 degrees on Friday so perfect weather for seeing some jazz outdoors.

Thanks for hosting big fella. Sorry I had to bail at one a.m.. Nice selection of music I thought. You were going to send the link for the Swell Henry disk

Hey lads nice to have you drop by last night. Maybe next time one of you can make sure that Marc leaves before my Globe and Mail arrives on the doorstep. I got to bed at 3am. I guess Marc there's no happy medium you either leave after one drink or you settle in like the Germans at Stalingrad. Here is, to the best of my recollection, the music that was played last night.

Stuart - Belle & Sebastian - Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Faces - Five Guys Walk Into a Bar
Various Artists - Ready or Not (Deep Jazz Grooves from CBC Radio Archives)

Marc - Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
Spoon - Gimme Fiction
Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust

Brian - Andrew Hill - Black Fire
Russian Futurists - Let's Get Ready to Crumble
Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Lake Michigan
Rigmor Gustafsson - Close to You
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Americans Swinging in Paris

Derek - yeah No - Swell Henry
M. Ward - Transistor Radio
Sam Prekop - Who's Your New Professor
Jaga Jazzist - What We Must
Go Betweens - Oceans Apart
Sleater Kinney - The Woods

If I've missed anything please post it. Looking forward to your theme party Stuart. Better start dusting off my Howard Jones albums and picking up some Dep gel.

if any of you lot manages to go 10 minutes into the cd club meeting without a drink i will be very very surprised. quick greetings from avignon where i've had a least one beer thus far (hey, it's almost 7pm here) and am hoping on several others and some wine before the night is through.

quickly (time and euros a wastin'): laptops: buy a new one and talk to warren, who is also looking to transfer some final to digital form but is looking at some expensive software that apparently does it very well. you may want to check with him to see if you can go splitsees.

as for just not getting or appreciating some music, i find i'm the same way with certain artists like p.j. harvey, who is always well reviewed and i know many of you and others who dig her, but i just can't get into it. the last dj shadow album is okay but if you are going to try to dig just one dj shadow album, do try or borrow from someone, 'endtroducing' which is his first and best.

turns out there's a film fest going on here for 3 days with a hal hartley retrospective. if i see him i'll ask why he hasn't turned out a good film since 'amateur'.

my picks to play tomorrow, if anyone can locate:

any of the new Common disc, entitled 'be'. quite good and since he was referenced last meeting with respects to hip hop artists worthy of purchase, it's my recommendation.

'Up against the Legends' by the Legends, a Swedish band that has a catchy, 60s pop inspired sound (tambourines, clapping, overall grooviness).

enjoy the meeting!

To me the CD Club has always been a natural high anyway.

Re Blind Faith, I'm not a knocked-out fan of it, though I don't think it's dreck by any means. I'd recommend the Derek and the Dominos record plus the good Traffic records (Traffic, John Barleycorn) for my mix of Winwood and Clapton. Plus Cream and Spencer Davis is pretty awesome.

On that note I just thought I'd mention that since Mey has gone 155 Dalhousie, suite 621 has become an official booze free zone. If it's alright with you guys I'll be serving OJ, Shirley Temples and if you're lucky mountain dew. I know that the absence of booze will appreciably heighten our musical appreciation.

sorry, forgot to say thanks for all the advice....

definately buying new....I did a bit of research on the web too, and it seems you need an audio input and output on the laptop for recording and you treat the computer like a tape deck. You need some easily found software too. The prob is that laptops dont come with audio inputs , but you can buy adapters using a usb port....
Prices have come way down and a decent laptop with a pentium processor with 512 memmory is about 1g....groovin to Ivy now ...much diferent then blind faith but good to work to,.... man do I need some booze.....
s

and as you can see, sometimes i'm clueless when it comes to technologies! damn it! why is it that it refuses to publish and wont show up for 23 min. and then as soon as i republish, it shows up twice? (that is of course a rhetorical question)

...look out for the "blogger police..they are coming to arrest me. " ...sung to the tune of Dream Police which harkens back to a much earlier conversation about worth while live albums...Cheap Trick "Live at Buhokan" o.k that goes back a ways!

thought of another reason to get a new laptop...many or most come with built in wireless cards which means fewer cords for hooking up and much easier portability...as Derek says you can always get a card adapter but at a certain point you run out of holes to stuff...like i said Stuart, if you want to buy a used one, i can always sell you mine, it's only two years old and already has some compatibility issues (none of which are insurmountable)

thought of another reason to get a new laptop...many or most come with built in wireless cards which means fewer cords for hooking up and much easier portability...as Derek says you can always get a card adapter but at a certain point you run out of holes to stuff...like i said Stuart, if you want to buy a used one, i will always sell you mine, it's only two years old and already has some compatibility issues (none of which are insurmountable)

Back with the Blind Faith for a minute I listened to it again today as I drove to Kitchener and the track that certainly stands out for me as a killer is the final one. 15 minutes long and much influenced by earlier jazz I would say, it's a pretty cool way to end the album (contrary to Allmusic's take). The rest of the tracks don't really leave much of an impression and the opening track "Had to Cry Today" I just find plain annoying, especially at almost 9 minutes in length.

As for the laptop Stuart, Marc's advice, as self-deprecating as he is, is worth listening to. Besides obtaining the a recent model and ensuring it has USB2 also look for the ability to use firewire devices. My laptop is just about 3 years old and it has neither of the above which is frustrating at times. You can always add these capabilities after the fact with the applicable card but they don't come cheap when your dealing with notebooks instead of PCs. If you are looking for a more current model you may as well get a DVD/CD writer included instead of just CD burning capability.

As for the transfer of music from analog to digital media I still haven't perfected that art. There are many websites on this topic and I'll send you the links. On my attempts to carry this out too often the music transferred from LPs sounds distorted on the subsequent CD while it sounds fine played from the laptop before I burn the CD. Still trying to figure that out. Perhaps we can discuss further tomorrow night.

Stuart, are you still thinking about a used laptop? if so i think there are more compatibility issues to be looked at than if you are buying new. What peripherals do you expect to running with it...what are their connectivity requirements...if you HAVE to buy a used one (which i think is an unwise investment in terms of the # of hours you might have to spend in the future trying to make the thing compatible with newer technologies) make sure it has USB2 and not just USB1 since many devices start to choke on USB1's lack of speed.

That's just my 2 cents worth, which considering the amount i know about computers is actually worth about $0.002!

As for the Blind Faith, I have always felt that there where some killer tracks on the album but it had more than it's fair share of weak moments.

DJ Shadow - bought that disc a few years back and I put it right up there with the stone roses as something I just dont think is all that great....what was that elvis album....10,000 fans cant be wrong....( I wish I understood why I simply just dont get some stuff ....) On the other hand- Presence of the lord on Blind faith resulted in me going to church for 5 years during my adolescence....OK well maybe not , but you get the point.

I need some advice on laptops... I will be picking one up and Ill want to record my records onto cd as well as make compilation cds etc....Is there anything other then a cdrw that I need that you know of?

I know you're all waiting breathlessly for the Scottish verdict on the DJ Shadow disc. Well 9 years later it's still sounding pretty damn fine. I think this re-issue would make a great gift for the music loving youngster in the family. It may be a little bit too post-happy for my 11 and 12 year old nephews but it would be perfect for the discerning 17 or 18 year old. So forget about the White Stripes, Coldplay and Foo Fighters surprise them with something really cool.

Somebody want to tell me what all the fuss is about re Blind Faith? Brian? Stuart? You were the guys rhyming off various classic must-haves at the Rex a few weeks back.

DJ Shadow. Check. I'm on it.

Re Adams, no luck here with Naive and Sentimental, but I did buy some interesting piano work of his which might make a nice post script to the symphonic music.

Well, if you ain't got it looks you best be going out to get it. The first 10.0 I can recall ever being thrown out by Pitchfork. Even the Russian judge liked it. Now I should be off to give it another "9 years after the fact" spin.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/d/dj-shadow/endtroducing-deluxe-edition.shtml

OK boys, let's go with the 16th.

I probably already know the answer to this question but hey I'm a free man for at least the next 10 days so I'll throw it out there. This weekend has a pretty incredible musical line-up hitting the city what with NXNE and other shows going on. So here's the deal. Anyone interested in seeing something tonight, tomorrow or Sunday? I've got squat going on and would like to see something that isn't jazz as that's been a bit of a letdown lately.

Sample of some stuff I wouldn't mind catching:

Friday - Fembots, Deadly Snakes etc @ Gladstone
Wolf Parade, Tangiers etc @ Comfort Zone
K'Naan (Somalian beat poet I heard on CBC), etc @ Drake

Saturday - Heavy Trash, Sadies, Cuff the Duke @ Horseshoe

Sunday - Juana Molina @ Horseshoe
Great Lake Swimmers @ Drake

Feel free to brush me off.

Brian we need a choice from you my friend. What's it to be? Thursday, Friday or Saturday?

re thursday the 16th or fri 17th, I think im fine. (Im almost definatly fine for the thursday night and Yvette would prefer it too.)

friday is do-able for me, but of the two days, thurs is better. I'm easy...but then, you all know that!

Stu, thanks for playing social conveners once again, but i think that M.E myself and I will pass on the the tickets this year. (what with her taking evening courses that she has not signed up for yet and has no idea when they are going to be)

Too bad about the no-go on the TSO for next season there Brian but totally understandable.

What isn't so much is the oversight on Helene (the hottie) Grimaud. I was just mentioning to Geoff's parents on the weekend when asked if there were any good concerts upcoming in the city that a lovely French pianist was performing with the TSO. I wish you had called.

As for the Adam's CD I picked up a copy at the library yesterday but it will be rather academic if you can't make it as that brings us down to a group of 3. Still do-able but not so much fun. How many tracks do I really want to hear off the new Coldplay disc?

If Saturday isn't the best night I could also suggest Thursday the 16th or Friday the 17th. Comments please.

I think I'm out for TSO next year, at least as of today. I may go to a couple but I'll wait and see how the new year shapes up from a life-sanity perspective.

We realized this evening that we forgot to use the tickets we had for last night's Debussy and Ravel performance, featuring the comely (not that I noticed) French pianist Helene Grimaud. Bloody annoying.

I'll try to find the Adams CD this weekend and will let you know how I make out. Derek has a theory that Stuart bought the only copy in the city. Otherwise...what'll it be?

Also, not too sure if I will make the 18th. I've been reminded, not unjustly, that there are very few Saturdays left before we have to focus on moving, getting ready for baby, yadda yadda, so another night of the week would be better. I'm not suggesting that you guys change the date though.

Sorry to interrupt you all from your diligent pouring over of the TSO schedules, but Charlotte wants in on this and here are her choices;
Definate picks; Oundjian & Heppner June 15

Optional picks: Music of remembrance Nov9
Strauss & Brahms Nov 30
Shostokovitch 11 Wed Feb 15
Herbig & Parker Mar 8
Modern Soundscapes March 30
Songs of the Earth Apr 19 (probably some god dam granola shit...sorry Charlotte))

There you have it....

back to the TSO schedule for next season......

Yvette and I are going to the Sibelius and Bruckner show Thursday dec 8,and the "Joan of Arc" show thurs may 11 (you have to hear Ewa Podles live to believe it...simply a stunner) and the following shows we are interested in, but are not fussy about which ones in particular....

Any of the Shostakovich series numbered 8, 10 and 11
Hebig and Parker fri march 10
Modern Soundscapes Thurs mar 30th

We will pick a total of 5 for the pick your own subscription series, and we will be in the very cheap seats, (where you have to bring your own walkman with a cd )

Anyone interested? If so we should co-ordinate now as the good seats do go.....

Lets be fascist and say anyone interested should post choices by mid next week and we order tickets on the following friday...
s

i'm all over it stu!

Well, I just picked up a copy of Adams work at Gregorian....Hope you guys can find a copy. (are you interested marc? havent heard from ya)

Let's go for it Stu. Assuming we can find the piece (re Derek's note) I'm very interested. Sorry for the delay, I was busy studying for and failing my CFA exam, and then stewing about it.

Still stewing about it.

Haven't checked with V about the 18th, but assume I'm in, though I may be a little later.

And Kyle, expanding the blog for other interests is a grand idea. So is going to France, for the record. I watched in its entirety, for the first time, strangely, "On the Waterfront" last night. Wonderfa.

Well since I only have Dereks ok about the Adams work, and since the 18th is only 2 weeks away, I think we will have to postpone this for the next club after dereks, (unless you lazy bastards email your acceptance in the next day or so)
s

while it is indeed possible that a nice bottle of bordeaux will be consumed while in paris, we will be most looking forward to the burdundies and southern rhone wines of the chateaux we'll visit in person. aggravated you all enough? okay. but be sure to play an edith piaf disc in my memory.

also, when i get back, or more likely sometime in early july, i would like to revamp the blog a little bit to make room for posts about other passions and diversions. i think in doing so, we will see less lag times between posts. i know that some days i feel that i don't feel like posting about music but i may have just seen a really interesting film that i want to discuss.

any objections to doing so? discuss.

a deux semaines!

The Adams piece works for me. I have a few discs with works by him but not that particular piece. My only quibble is that there appears to be only one recorded performance of the work and that is on Nonesuch from 2002. So there won't be any discussion of variations in performance and more pertinently it might be difficult for each of us to get our hands on a copy. The proposed CD club night is still Saturday June 18. (I think you mentioned the 20th Stuart).

Since Brian expressed no objections when I spoke to him of that date and Kylie will be sipping Chateaux Margaux by the banks of the Seine let's make it official.

with regard to dereks upcoming cd club, if we are still into a classical music review, tell me if there is any interest in John Adams. I keep coming up against references to his work and there is quite a large body of work. Some of you may have some of his stuff. "Naive and sentimental" music keeps coming as as a hotly debated masterwork ( or not)....its also a topic about music in general which I have debated with some of you.... How about it boys? If you already know this piece, is there other Adams work that interests you? WE should decide soon as the 20th is near...