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The casual interest soon transformed into an addiction and an obsession. Does obsession come before addiction, or after? I'm not sure. Either way, the salsa didn't seem to mind. It started in early August with two albums: Siembra by Ruben Blades and La Gran Fuga by Willie Colon. These two led me to several others which led me to more still. I read one pretty crappy Hector Lavoe biography, sent dozens of fiery e-mails to my family in Puerto Rico, devoured tons of liner notes, and watched a gazillion YouTube videos. I've now collected over 20 albums (all on CD), have lured one uncle into…
The first thing that strikes you about A Life in Time: The Roy Haynes Story—a 3-CD (plus a bonus DVD) box-set that spans the career of drummer Roy Haynes—is just how wide and varied a span it is. It opens in 1949, with Haynes as a sideman to Lester Young, proceeds to sessions with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughan, and Nat Adderley; moves into ‘60s avant-modernism with John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Jackie McLean, Andrew Hill, and Chick Corea; and cruises into the ‘70s and beyond (he is still very active at age 82) with bands under his own leadership.
The collection (…
Oscar Wilde's chief talent was appropriation, says Dr. Michèle Mendelssohn.
Joe Queenan gives good rant.
"Phil Collins is one artist that revisionism will not save. The argument canbe made—not here, but it can be made—that Paul McCartney's post-Beatles work is not uniformly execrable, that the Dave Clark Five, the Monkees, the Bay City Rollers, Duran Duran, Menudo and Rush deserved far better critical treatment than they got, and that Billy Joel is not the anti-Christ. But no revisionist approach, no matter how passionate, no matter how arch, no matter how clever will ever alter the fact that Phil Collins bites the big one."
Though it was a sort of sanctuary for me as a kid, these days, I almost never listen to the radio. This day, however, has been spent listening to lots of WKCR's Dizzy Gillespie 90th Birthday broadcast.
JA walks in and seems to admire George. It's been happening all day. People walk by, hear the music, and are instantly attracted to the shiny white shoebox. JA, however, is even more impressed with the music. He hears a note and I see his eyes light up.
"Ah!" he exclaims.
"That's Dizzy Gillespie," I say.
"I didn't know you knew about this stuff."
…
The Royal Society has posted Robert Hooke's notes online. And yes, he apparently was just as cranky as Stephenson portrayed him in The Baroque Cycle.