The Bryan Ferry Orchestra - The Jazz Age
What do you reach for when you’re “occupied”?
I keep three editions of The Trouser Press Record Guide, three editions of The Rolling Stone Record Guide, two of Robert Christgau’s record guides, and one Penguin Guide To Jazz on a table for bathroom reading material. It has just occurred to me that this might not be normal. Is it?
Weasel Walter & Chris Pitsiokos - Unplanned Obsolescence. Limited to 100 hand-numbered vinyl-only copies with unique woodcut print covers on acid-free paper. Weasel and Chris raise quite the ruckus! This is copy number 42.* You might still be able to get a copy if you like noisy free-form drums, sax, and electronics improvisations. If you don’t like that sort of thing you have nothing to worry about.
*42, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything, is an excellent number to have.
Jingle Bell Jazz. A budget reissue in a different cover but this is still my second favorite Christmas LP. I prefer this snowy street scene to the original Santa’s sack, anyway.
- Duke Ellington - Jingle Bells
- Lionel Hampton - White Christmas
- Chico Hamilton - Winter Wonderland
- Carmen McRae - The Christmas Song
- Pony Poindexter - Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Paul Horn - We Three Kings Of Orient Are
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
- Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - Deck Us All With Boston Charlie
- Herbie Hancock - Deck The Halls
- The Manhattan Jazz All Stars - If I Were A Bell
- Marlowe Morris - Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
- Miles Davis - Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)
Free vinyl! Who doesn’t want free vinyl? I was offered the chance to cherry-pick two boxes of records prior to an estate sale yesterday. Cherries were conspicuous by their absence but it was nice to be asked. It’s good to know the fact that I collect records is getting around. I selected these four. I’m not really a fan of Chubby Checker or the Twist but this one is in near mint condition. I’ll listen to it at least once. I’m always up for another version of The 1812 Overture with real cannons. The Mel Lewis album is jazz. So it might be good. And who wouldn’t want a Christmas story told by Boris Karloff? (I’ll begin posting a ridiculous amount of Christmas records after Thanksgiving.)
These are most of the 50 cent LPs I bought at the antique mall. The audiodisc is blank but I thought it was a nice artifact for that price. How cool would it be to have a working cutting machine? Independant labels and bands could make some extremely valuable rarities with something like that. Or imagine someone like Jack White selling one-off records made this way.
Soft Machine - Live At The Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971. Cover’s a little rough. The white dot next to Robert Wyatt’s head is a gouge were someone did a poor job of removing a sticker. But the records are in brand-new unplayed condition.
Pat Metheny (and others):
- As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
- Still Life (talking)
- Rejoicing
- First Circle
- Watercolors
- American Garage
Someone suggested I listen to these. Turned out to be an excellent suggestion! :)
Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Research Arkestra - It’s After The End Of The World. Yesterday was Sun Ra’s birthday. I did not know that.
Mose Allison. A few more just to finish up Mose Allison Week. Middle Class White Boy, Lessons In Living, Mose Alive!, Wild Man On The Loose, I Don’t Worry About A Thing, The Word From Mose, Mose In Your Ear, and …Hello There, Universe. All of these and the other Mose records I posted over the week are worth picking up if you find them. I’m surprised hipsters aren’t all over this guy. His music is wry, ironic, and cool. Pete Townshend loves him, although I’m not sure whether that would matter to a hipster. These records contain an impressive amount of consistently great music.
