(US Secretary of Defense was in Argentina earlier this morning for a meeting with his Argentine counterpart Jose Pampuro as part of his regional tour.)
Rumsfeld emphasized the "common challenges facing the United States and Argentina."
Both Pampuro and Rumsfeld confirmed they spoke about radars the defense department is trying to peddle, regional security, UN peace missions and joint military exercises.
Rumsfeld stated that "the relationship continues to strengthen. There is a long standing friendship between both countries which also bases itself on common challenges." Journalists were not allowed questions.
The meeting lasting a little more than an hour focused on analyzing the threats to hemispheric security, recently shaken by the Bolivian crisis, and the purchase of arms and military weaponry by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
In addition, and strictly on the bilateral front, the resumption of joint military exercises was discussed as was the plan for radarization of Argentina.
With respect to joint exercuses, Pampuro remarked that the exercies are "absolutely necessary training exercises. We anlyzed the agenda and studied different options for moving forward, always respecting the laws of each country."
Apparently Argentina, in the past, rejected awarding complete immunity to US troops, arguing for the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, of which it is a signatory but the US does not recognize. (This has been holding up carrying out joint exercises in Argentina.)
Another of the subjects touched upon was the situation of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti. Rumsfeld recognized the actions of Argentine troops involved as part of the peacekeeping force: "Argentina is having a vital role in the UN operations in Haiti. We saw photographs depicting the floods that have affected Haiti and it was impressive how the Argentine troops, after losing their own belongings, were able to alleviate the suffering of the Haitian people."
This is the first visit of the Pentagon chief who in a few hours will continue his tour to Brazil and Guatemala.
In any case, in spite of the mutual praises, there was no definition on one of the more touchy subjects: if Argentina will accept or not to immediately mondernize three 3D radars (capable of detecting three vectors: object, hight, velocity, and special to detect illegal flights) of the US company Northrop Grumman.
The Argentine defense deparment insists its fundamental to carry out a "ultra-transparent" bidding process and clearly define if the modernization is such.
(this is a translation I have made of a report on Argentina's clarin newspaper web site- argentine newspaper to be found here)
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Monday, March 21, 2005
media fails once again
segments of the media once again do not know how to do their job!.. today on yahoo there are pictures of people outside schiavo's hospital or wherever she is who want the feeding tube stuck back in and they are described in the captions as "supporters of terry schiavo".. what does that make her husband? a killer? not a supporter at least!
you'd think with all the intelligence in this country- the most powerful on earth- that the media wouldn't stoop to consistently framing the issue!.. and one can't even be sure if they are not framing the issue out of sheer ignorance for what must be the basic tenets of journalism.. anyone with two brain cells know they way to refer to these people is "people who believe terry schiavo should not be allowed to die" and not as her "supporters"...because obviously if they are branded her "supporters" then the public opinion will swing in favor of their ideology and against the husband who after all claims she told him she would not want to remain in a vegetative state...wouldn't he therefore be her "supporter"?
you'd think with all the intelligence in this country- the most powerful on earth- that the media wouldn't stoop to consistently framing the issue!.. and one can't even be sure if they are not framing the issue out of sheer ignorance for what must be the basic tenets of journalism.. anyone with two brain cells know they way to refer to these people is "people who believe terry schiavo should not be allowed to die" and not as her "supporters"...because obviously if they are branded her "supporters" then the public opinion will swing in favor of their ideology and against the husband who after all claims she told him she would not want to remain in a vegetative state...wouldn't he therefore be her "supporter"?
time to see bob dylan again!!!!!!!!
ok its been something like 2 years since i last saw bob and i've got the bug...for a while i was a bit bored... but now he's got a new band- although still anchored by incomparable bassist tony garnier- and apparently new sound (less rock more country) and he's playing some real interesting set lists with some emphasis on two criminally underrated/underappreciated albums he never plays from which i love: "new morning" and "john wesley harding"....the post motorcycle accident/post basement tapes 1968-1970 dylan period is chock full of winners...
here's a review by someone that just caught his show in reno to spark your interest..
here's a review by someone that just caught his show in reno to spark your interest..
Tom Waits 20 most cherished albums..
some great stuff.. some stuff i got to get.. and some stuff i'm not sure what to think of.. here
welcome spring! come on in
not so welcome allergies!
i must hit the gym and take some sun lest i appear to be a pale thin man.. though i read on t-shirts that "pale is the new tan"...thats how i get all my best news!...
baseball is right around the corner...
word on the street is that howard park's story of meeting hunter s thompson during gary hart's presidential campaign in wisconsin in 84 (published here a few weeks ago) is set to run in an edited form in a rolling stone hunter s thompson special....
i must hit the gym and take some sun lest i appear to be a pale thin man.. though i read on t-shirts that "pale is the new tan"...thats how i get all my best news!...
baseball is right around the corner...
word on the street is that howard park's story of meeting hunter s thompson during gary hart's presidential campaign in wisconsin in 84 (published here a few weeks ago) is set to run in an edited form in a rolling stone hunter s thompson special....
robert crumb lp covers
here's a site with all his covers..
i never realized "the roots of the grateful dead" cover was by crumb...
of course he's probably best known for janis joplin's "cheap thrills"
i think it would be real cool to have his yazoo blues reissues lp covers...unfortunately so do a lot of people... and paying $50 for a 70s reissue is a bit too insane in the membrane for moi
i never realized "the roots of the grateful dead" cover was by crumb...
of course he's probably best known for janis joplin's "cheap thrills"
i think it would be real cool to have his yazoo blues reissues lp covers...unfortunately so do a lot of people... and paying $50 for a 70s reissue is a bit too insane in the membrane for moi
Saturday, March 19, 2005
arianna huffington hits it out of the park (and she ain't on no roids)
i love this woman... in this age of intellectual midgets and media whores she stands out.. check it here
Friday, March 18, 2005
George F. Kennan moves on
kennan, primary architect of the theory of containment, has passed away at the young age of 101...some say he is the most important american diplomat of the past half century for, i suppose, coming up with the idea that we should contain the spread of communism without resorting to war...our ideology (values) would trump theirs...
a very influential man no doubt...
for the yahoo story see here
for a very interesting interview of kennan please go here
as always wikipedia online encyclopedia has the goods too
and here is the article that changed the course of american foreign policy, established kennan's legacy, and led to this post in the first place..
a very influential man no doubt...
for the yahoo story see here
for a very interesting interview of kennan please go here
as always wikipedia online encyclopedia has the goods too
and here is the article that changed the course of american foreign policy, established kennan's legacy, and led to this post in the first place..
Thursday, March 17, 2005
testimony on capitol hill today regarding steroids in mlb-live blogging!
i write these words as i'm listening to the players testifying... schilling (who sounds like a future-unfortunately republican-politician), sosa (who conveniently uses translators when it suits him), mcgwire (who broke down crying about the children affected adversely by steroids), palmeiro (who like so many cuban americans makes a point of speaking about the american dream about every other sentence), and canseco who lies lies lies... now he's saying he made a mistake using steroids...well in his book he never says this.. far from it.. in his book he goes so far as to strongly suggest those that do not use steroids in baseball are idiots..
it was interesting to hear schilling call canseco a liar to his face..
when asked by representative stephen lynch about - democrat from massachusetts YAH!!!!!!- the differences between his book and what he is testifying (thank you lynch!) canseco said it took him two years to write book and he's changed his opinion since then.. basically he's disowning his book that just came out and he's been hawking everywhere.. this guy is shameless!
as representative linda sanchez really puts it best when she basically says she's dissapointed in the players: mcgwire refuses to answer any questions and none of the other players have ever seen anyone or heard of anyone who uses steroids...if we are to believe sosa, palmeiro and schilling there is no problem with steroids in baseball and major league baseball should be allowed to self-regulate itself...come on!
it was interesting to hear schilling call canseco a liar to his face..
when asked by representative stephen lynch about - democrat from massachusetts YAH!!!!!!- the differences between his book and what he is testifying (thank you lynch!) canseco said it took him two years to write book and he's changed his opinion since then.. basically he's disowning his book that just came out and he's been hawking everywhere.. this guy is shameless!
as representative linda sanchez really puts it best when she basically says she's dissapointed in the players: mcgwire refuses to answer any questions and none of the other players have ever seen anyone or heard of anyone who uses steroids...if we are to believe sosa, palmeiro and schilling there is no problem with steroids in baseball and major league baseball should be allowed to self-regulate itself...come on!
Dexter Gordon's "Doin' Allright"...Blue Note 4077.... the comeback album after longrunning problems with drugs.. the attempt to reposition him couldn't be any clearer from the Francis Wolff photograph of a healthy looking happy Dexter outdoors to the lp's title...this is just a wonderful lp..highly recommended...and you may recognize the picture's site: central park (notice that building behind Dexter which is still there today)..the line up includes the wonderful horace parlan on piano and freddie hubbard on trumpet..
more on larry cohn and blue notes from jazz collector site 2004
It was bound to happen. Our very first newsletter this past Monday and we made an error. It involved three Blue Note records: Donald Byrd, The Cat Walk, Blue Note 4075; Dexter Gordon, Doin' Allright, Blue Note 4077; and Dexter Gordon, Dexter Calling, Blue Note 4083. They sold for very high prices and we expressed surprise because they were NY USA labels and, we thought, not originals. It turns out that they were originals.
One of our readers, Larry Cohn, pointed out that these three records came out after the switch from the 47 West 63rd label to the New York USA label. He said Doin' Allright does exist with the West 63rd label, but it was used during a transitional period when the final West 63rd labels were being phased out. There's no evidence that the West 63rd pressings preceded the New York USA pressings, he said.
My question is this: Where is the repository of this information and how do we know what is accurate? Cohn said he's been doing research on Blue Note for 10 years and he's found the published information to be relatively unreliable and misleading. Great.
wolff: interestingly i have doin' allright on 47west 63rd but its got a bit of a skip.. oh well...maybe someday my turntable will play it through...correction mine is a new york label pressing
One of our readers, Larry Cohn, pointed out that these three records came out after the switch from the 47 West 63rd label to the New York USA label. He said Doin' Allright does exist with the West 63rd label, but it was used during a transitional period when the final West 63rd labels were being phased out. There's no evidence that the West 63rd pressings preceded the New York USA pressings, he said.
My question is this: Where is the repository of this information and how do we know what is accurate? Cohn said he's been doing research on Blue Note for 10 years and he's found the published information to be relatively unreliable and misleading. Great.
wolff: interestingly i have doin' allright on 47west 63rd but its got a bit of a skip.. oh well...maybe someday my turntable will play it through...correction mine is a new york label pressing
larry songer on blue notes again
interesting.. i am copying from vinyl asylum board:
"According to Larry Cohn the most common "original" Blue Notes (that is, pressed BEFORE the sale to Liberty in 1966) are:
1. Somethin' Else---approx. 45,000 pressed
2. Blue Train --- aprrox. 40,000 pressed
3. The Sidewinder --- approx 30,000 pressed
4. Song for my Father-- approx. 25,000 pressed
Not too tough to find a nice "original" of BN1595--if you aren't looking for a true "first" pressing nice ones trade hands all the time for less than $100!"
"According to Larry Cohn the most common "original" Blue Notes (that is, pressed BEFORE the sale to Liberty in 1966) are:
1. Somethin' Else---approx. 45,000 pressed
2. Blue Train --- aprrox. 40,000 pressed
3. The Sidewinder --- approx 30,000 pressed
4. Song for my Father-- approx. 25,000 pressed
Not too tough to find a nice "original" of BN1595--if you aren't looking for a true "first" pressing nice ones trade hands all the time for less than $100!"
A Reader's Letter to the Washington Post
In reporting on Sen. Harry M. Reid's criticism of Alan Greenspan [front page, March 5], Dana Milbank and Nell Henderson engage in a common reportorial ploy- framing the issue. Their first sentence: "Questioning the wisdom of Alan Greenspan in political Washington is akin to challenging the integrity of the pope in Rome, so figures in both parties agreed yesterday that the top Senate Democrat's description of the Federal Reserve Board chairman as a 'political hack' was a blunder."
This diverts attention from the reasoning implicit in Reid's action - what was he criticizing and why. It steers the reader toward the concept that Reid was wrong to criticize Greenspan and away from the possibility that the criticism may have been warranted. And saying that "figures in both parties" agreed the criticism was a blunder, while failing to provide even one supporting quote from a Democratic figure, makes their framework more suspect and tarnishes an otherwise fine report.
- Rogelio F. Arteaga
El Paso
This diverts attention from the reasoning implicit in Reid's action - what was he criticizing and why. It steers the reader toward the concept that Reid was wrong to criticize Greenspan and away from the possibility that the criticism may have been warranted. And saying that "figures in both parties" agreed the criticism was a blunder, while failing to provide even one supporting quote from a Democratic figure, makes their framework more suspect and tarnishes an otherwise fine report.
- Rogelio F. Arteaga
El Paso
a banana country in 48 words
about two weeks ago i cut out this blurb from the Washington Post.. It sums up the weakness of latin american democracy... without solid independent institutions i doubt much real political and economic development can ever take place in these countries..here's what the blurb said:
"QUITO, Ecuador- Lawmakers opposed to President Lucio Gutierrez failed to revoke his government's firing of the Supreme Court in December. The vote in Ecuador's 100-member unicameral Congress fell three short of the 51 needed to reverse Gutierrez's decision to reconstitute the court with judges friendly to the president."
"QUITO, Ecuador- Lawmakers opposed to President Lucio Gutierrez failed to revoke his government's firing of the Supreme Court in December. The vote in Ecuador's 100-member unicameral Congress fell three short of the 51 needed to reverse Gutierrez's decision to reconstitute the court with judges friendly to the president."
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
breaking news- confirmed- US tells world to take flying leap
this is insane... talk about doing something that rankles just about everyone.. the other developed nations (G7) are going to perceive the appointment of paul wolfowitz as head of the world bank as the US saying it can basically nominate anyone it wants to be world bank head ...without even at least seeking some minor concensus.. meanwhile the developing world- the world bank's CLIENTS- are going to view this negatively since they are deeply opposed- almost to a man- to the war on irak of which wolfowitz was a primary architect/proponent....
but wolfowitz once again proves he is the ultimate washington insider and lands the most plum gig in town... head of the world bank....this administration sure does seem to like to reward those that fail....condie rice as secretary of state and now this..
when i heard wolfowitz's name mentioned in relation to this at the beginning i had to wonder.. then other names emerged and the media seemed to be reporting that wolfie would not be nominated for the gig given the controversy that might ensue..
let the controversy begin..
(of course on one level one could say that this just continues bush's game of gaining more and more control for his team of insiders... the problem is that the world bank is a global insitution responding to global issues and clients... for the US to so blatantly politicize the position..to not- if you will- even attempt to pretend to observe a minimum of decorum..thats bound to create problems)
for the story go here
but wolfowitz once again proves he is the ultimate washington insider and lands the most plum gig in town... head of the world bank....this administration sure does seem to like to reward those that fail....condie rice as secretary of state and now this..
when i heard wolfowitz's name mentioned in relation to this at the beginning i had to wonder.. then other names emerged and the media seemed to be reporting that wolfie would not be nominated for the gig given the controversy that might ensue..
let the controversy begin..
(of course on one level one could say that this just continues bush's game of gaining more and more control for his team of insiders... the problem is that the world bank is a global insitution responding to global issues and clients... for the US to so blatantly politicize the position..to not- if you will- even attempt to pretend to observe a minimum of decorum..thats bound to create problems)
for the story go here
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
current reading
i was reading jose canseco's book Juiced : Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big that just came out.. details on the book can be found here at amazon
as a baseball fan i can't help but have something to say about canseco's book and its description of a pervasive almost rampant culture of use of steroids and human growth hormone within major leage baseball.. the book has caused a national furor most likely because its the first expose of major league basball (on this issue)..perhaps because canseco is quite candid and descriptive.. perhaps because canseco has always been a media figure.. canseco has hawked his book on radio and television (including a 60 minutes story the day before its publication) and its become a national bestseller...
originally when i read the book i thought steroids would be just a small part of the book but it is primarily about steroid use... everything sort of revolves around the dreaded 'roids...
its been comic to see one after another of the parade of players implicated in the book by canseco coming out with responses to distance themselves from canseco: "I knew him only when i was 13" or "i barely talked to him while we were teammates" or "i haven't talked to him in years..".. or "he was never my friend"....rather unbecoming...
there is little doubt canseco ain't a likable guy.. that he's kind of an egomaniac.... that he thinks he's always the fall guy...etc..but after having read his account i'm sad to say, regarless of some of the media's attempt to discredit the story by killing the messenger, i believe him... i believe the story of a rather sorry disreputable figure: jose canseco...no doubt there are loose ends, some falsehoods, etc...and i am made uncomfortable by canseco's glorification and justification for the use of steroids but i do think he makes a convincing case that there was a lot of steroid use or "juicing" beginning in and about 1986 and rapidly expanding in the late 1990s...its a real shame but the reality seems to be that almost without doubt mark mcgwire, barry bonds and pretty much almost any ballplayer who reached 50 home runs in a season was juicing...brady anderson for example with his season with more than 50 home runs which came out of nowhere and never came close to being repeating...sosa...giambi (both brothers it turns out-today we read that jeremy has joined jason in admitting to juicing).. and perhaps many others..rolen comes to mind..just looking at his physique two years ago i remember remarking how he looked just like mac (mcgwire)! well he probably picked it up from mac who learned some of the tricks from jose..i don't know rolen used or uses steroids but i now have to wonder... mcgwire, as canseco alleges, probably did pass on lessons concerning steroid use to jason giambi....
the thrust of a lot of the media coverage and it seems many baseball fans is "shame on canseco".."what a bastard! to expose his own baseball brothers".. in this war cultured america its not surprising that some seek to extend the "band of brothers" ethos to the baseball field but i don't think the analogy is a good one...its easy to blame cansesco for raining on the parade.. we all enjoy the longball.. and we all delighted in mcgwire's 70 home runs.. even until bonds' recent admission he unwittingly (!) used steroids i was excited by his pursuit of hank aaron's record.. part of me wanted to believe and reasoned that players were more fit.. that stadiums might be smaller.. even that the ball might be juiced a bit... but it seems that even if these facts were all true they would not be as large a part of the explanation for the surge in offensive productivity by major league baseball players as steroids... i understand that many don't want to tarnish the reputation of the game but i say let us focus our blame on the steroid users (and that does of course include canseco too)...
canseco's take is basically that steroids can make an average ballplayer into a great one by adding power/speed through increased muscle twitch/fibers and also by increasing confidence..canseco believes some raw talent is necessary but that steroids can make a good player into a great one and a great one into a barry bonds...he writes that in his case the steroids really did help him go from a skinny kid drafted in the 15th round to major league baseball rookie of the year in something like 2-3 years...he describes his transition from a skinny kid to a muscle man...
i'm not going to spend time writing about canseco's description of his sex life, love for cars, sense of bitterness about a game that did a lot for him (if it was not for basecall jose you would be parking cars in south beach), bragging, etc.. let me be frank: canseco comes off as a first class a-hole..even going to the pathetic extreme of ripping on ben grieves as an incredibly pathetic ballplayer that would have benefitted greatly from jose's tutelage on steroids..jose has his head so far up his ass that he thinks ben grieves is the idiot while the cheater is the smart one... but that is jose's take..he sees nothing at all wrong with use of steroids and in fact sees it as a perfectly normal function of the capitalist system and science... in canseco's world how could you not use steroids if for example as he alleges is his case you had made a promise to your mom on her deathbed to become the best athlete in the world (to use your dead mom as a justification is beyond the pale!) or to hook up for life your starving family in the dominican republic (he speculates on wether this is what motivated tejada to use steroids- in this instance- one of the weaker in the book he makes clear he has no evidence tejada juices)...
but.. again..however shady and slimy canseco may be i think that if we concentrate on what he is saying about steroid use in baseball and look at whats been going on with the BALCO trial in san francisco (which directly touches on bonds and giambi and others..)..i think its tough to doubt much of canseco's account...moreover, if we simply look at the game of baseball its tough to dispute that the change in player physiques has been remarkable in the past 20 years....that home runs for a while were flying(and they are back on the way down which is even further proof that players were juicing .. of course home runs will go down now that players are more worried about being caught!..just watch)...the question is how do we move forward with baseball.. canseco seems to feel that players should be allowed to use steroids and human growth hormone.. i'm not sure this is acceptable.. a player should not have to use drugs to be competitive.. canseco, by the way, also argues that steroid use increases your ability to overcome injuries and increases your longevity....when you look at a guy like ken griffey who does not use steroids and you compare him with bonds who does..it does seem a bit unfair that one guy is trying desperately to bounce back from injury after injury while the other guy is hitting moonshot after moonshoot...
one last point: it would be interesting to know, for me, when major league baseball decided that steroid use or human growth hormone use was against the bylaws of the game....perhaps steroids used for years were not against the bylaws of baseball? in that case there is technically no violation... i also believe that while its nice to believe as gammons seems to write in his latest column that all is fine with baseball now that there is active testing of players going on i have no assurances that players are not still utilizing steroids/human growth hormone and somehow masking their presence on tests.. it would be highly naive to believe that because players are not caught they are not using....
as a baseball fan i can't help but have something to say about canseco's book and its description of a pervasive almost rampant culture of use of steroids and human growth hormone within major leage baseball.. the book has caused a national furor most likely because its the first expose of major league basball (on this issue)..perhaps because canseco is quite candid and descriptive.. perhaps because canseco has always been a media figure.. canseco has hawked his book on radio and television (including a 60 minutes story the day before its publication) and its become a national bestseller...
originally when i read the book i thought steroids would be just a small part of the book but it is primarily about steroid use... everything sort of revolves around the dreaded 'roids...
its been comic to see one after another of the parade of players implicated in the book by canseco coming out with responses to distance themselves from canseco: "I knew him only when i was 13" or "i barely talked to him while we were teammates" or "i haven't talked to him in years..".. or "he was never my friend"....rather unbecoming...
there is little doubt canseco ain't a likable guy.. that he's kind of an egomaniac.... that he thinks he's always the fall guy...etc..but after having read his account i'm sad to say, regarless of some of the media's attempt to discredit the story by killing the messenger, i believe him... i believe the story of a rather sorry disreputable figure: jose canseco...no doubt there are loose ends, some falsehoods, etc...and i am made uncomfortable by canseco's glorification and justification for the use of steroids but i do think he makes a convincing case that there was a lot of steroid use or "juicing" beginning in and about 1986 and rapidly expanding in the late 1990s...its a real shame but the reality seems to be that almost without doubt mark mcgwire, barry bonds and pretty much almost any ballplayer who reached 50 home runs in a season was juicing...brady anderson for example with his season with more than 50 home runs which came out of nowhere and never came close to being repeating...sosa...giambi (both brothers it turns out-today we read that jeremy has joined jason in admitting to juicing).. and perhaps many others..rolen comes to mind..just looking at his physique two years ago i remember remarking how he looked just like mac (mcgwire)! well he probably picked it up from mac who learned some of the tricks from jose..i don't know rolen used or uses steroids but i now have to wonder... mcgwire, as canseco alleges, probably did pass on lessons concerning steroid use to jason giambi....
the thrust of a lot of the media coverage and it seems many baseball fans is "shame on canseco".."what a bastard! to expose his own baseball brothers".. in this war cultured america its not surprising that some seek to extend the "band of brothers" ethos to the baseball field but i don't think the analogy is a good one...its easy to blame cansesco for raining on the parade.. we all enjoy the longball.. and we all delighted in mcgwire's 70 home runs.. even until bonds' recent admission he unwittingly (!) used steroids i was excited by his pursuit of hank aaron's record.. part of me wanted to believe and reasoned that players were more fit.. that stadiums might be smaller.. even that the ball might be juiced a bit... but it seems that even if these facts were all true they would not be as large a part of the explanation for the surge in offensive productivity by major league baseball players as steroids... i understand that many don't want to tarnish the reputation of the game but i say let us focus our blame on the steroid users (and that does of course include canseco too)...
canseco's take is basically that steroids can make an average ballplayer into a great one by adding power/speed through increased muscle twitch/fibers and also by increasing confidence..canseco believes some raw talent is necessary but that steroids can make a good player into a great one and a great one into a barry bonds...he writes that in his case the steroids really did help him go from a skinny kid drafted in the 15th round to major league baseball rookie of the year in something like 2-3 years...he describes his transition from a skinny kid to a muscle man...
i'm not going to spend time writing about canseco's description of his sex life, love for cars, sense of bitterness about a game that did a lot for him (if it was not for basecall jose you would be parking cars in south beach), bragging, etc.. let me be frank: canseco comes off as a first class a-hole..even going to the pathetic extreme of ripping on ben grieves as an incredibly pathetic ballplayer that would have benefitted greatly from jose's tutelage on steroids..jose has his head so far up his ass that he thinks ben grieves is the idiot while the cheater is the smart one... but that is jose's take..he sees nothing at all wrong with use of steroids and in fact sees it as a perfectly normal function of the capitalist system and science... in canseco's world how could you not use steroids if for example as he alleges is his case you had made a promise to your mom on her deathbed to become the best athlete in the world (to use your dead mom as a justification is beyond the pale!) or to hook up for life your starving family in the dominican republic (he speculates on wether this is what motivated tejada to use steroids- in this instance- one of the weaker in the book he makes clear he has no evidence tejada juices)...
but.. again..however shady and slimy canseco may be i think that if we concentrate on what he is saying about steroid use in baseball and look at whats been going on with the BALCO trial in san francisco (which directly touches on bonds and giambi and others..)..i think its tough to doubt much of canseco's account...moreover, if we simply look at the game of baseball its tough to dispute that the change in player physiques has been remarkable in the past 20 years....that home runs for a while were flying(and they are back on the way down which is even further proof that players were juicing .. of course home runs will go down now that players are more worried about being caught!..just watch)...the question is how do we move forward with baseball.. canseco seems to feel that players should be allowed to use steroids and human growth hormone.. i'm not sure this is acceptable.. a player should not have to use drugs to be competitive.. canseco, by the way, also argues that steroid use increases your ability to overcome injuries and increases your longevity....when you look at a guy like ken griffey who does not use steroids and you compare him with bonds who does..it does seem a bit unfair that one guy is trying desperately to bounce back from injury after injury while the other guy is hitting moonshot after moonshoot...
one last point: it would be interesting to know, for me, when major league baseball decided that steroid use or human growth hormone use was against the bylaws of the game....perhaps steroids used for years were not against the bylaws of baseball? in that case there is technically no violation... i also believe that while its nice to believe as gammons seems to write in his latest column that all is fine with baseball now that there is active testing of players going on i have no assurances that players are not still utilizing steroids/human growth hormone and somehow masking their presence on tests.. it would be highly naive to believe that because players are not caught they are not using....
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Fifty years since you're gone.....
......and you're still making people happy!!.......by any fair measure you're either the greatest most influential jazz saxophone player of all time or one of the top three!....
here is a link for a yahoo article on charlie parker
time to get out at the charlie parker 10 inch.......
here is a link for a yahoo article on charlie parker
time to get out at the charlie parker 10 inch.......
Friday, March 11, 2005
Eduardo Mateo: pending debt (deuda pendiente)
about a year and a half ago maybe two now i went in to the kultura's bookstore on connecticutt avenue here in washington dc... why? they've usually got two boxes full of records.. now, they are usually the same records.. overpriced and overscratched...and they will be there next year too!.. who's going to buy them? but on this day i found an interesting record which read on the cover "mateo solo bien se lame" and had been pressed in argentina (i don't know this for a fact but i believe kultura's is run by argentines or uruguayans.. the books i sometimes find.. the used CDs from argentine artists, the high prices all lead me to this conclusion)...i picked it up and tried to remember "mateo mateo mateo".. well i could not remember much.. i think all i remembered was he was supposed to have been somebody interesting....bought the record for the best $8 i ever spent and came home.. put it on the turntable and got blown a-WAY....ah the joy of discovery...i felt like christopher columbus when he discovered something.. thought it was india.. but really did not know...what i heard instantly reminded me - and i'm not saying it to join the nick drake bandwagon (latest evidence see "garden state" movie)... i've loved nick drake's music for about ten years now- anyhow.. what i heard reminded me in some ways of nick drake.. the fragility of the vocal delivery. the plaintive lyrics...the to my ears unheard of guitar chords/tunings/style... but all combining together to produce the real mcoy - the package deal- the whole enchilada of life affirming art....and most importantly in an inclusive manner..no need to listen to it 80 times or read 80 highfaluttin critics telling you its good.. you get it straightaways...in sum, a record that instantly became one of my favorites...in spanish of course.. and seemingly a product of the river plate (after all the record was pressed in argentina)
and then the questions began.. the recriminations flew... wait a minute.. what's going on here? how come i don't even know who this genius is? is he from argentina? is he from mars? where is this guy? why have i not heard of this guy? i spent 18 months in argentina recently.. how come i never came across anything by him on my countless trips to the parque rivadavia to joyously shop for the wax that keeps me breathing and moving? no.. i just could not believe i had never heard of this guy.. i was delighted to discover something so fresh so good so new from what i proudly determined must be my family's original country...
drum roll........to the internet spock....first stop the trusty all music guide ...nothing!...i went in to amazon.com..his cds must be everywhere i said .... nothing zilcho nil nada.... google me up scotty.... a few very brief mentions on a page here or there..the internet letting me down? i don't believe it!.. i pressed on.. and what i found out was that the man - whose first name i learned was EDUARDO- was and is largely unknown- he is from uruguay and some people credit him with being the father of modern uruguayan music (yes, that music for which drexler won his oscar last week).... i learned he was born in 1940 and played in some early uruguayan rock bands in the 60s..then apparently travelled to brazil.. was influenced by some samba ..came back to uruguay where he fused some brazilian influence with the uruguayan national music candombe to create his hybrid and this is his , i understand, contribution.... eventually makes it across the river to argentina to record the lp Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame which means "mateo solo" "bien se lame".. in other words its just mateo performing everything.. "bien se lame" means to my understanding "good we lick"... i'm just not sure if its a play on words which should be read as "solo bien se lame" in which case its "alone well i lick"... don't shoot me i'm just trying to make sense of this.. anyways apparently he never sold many records and lived most of his life in absolute poverty..recorded very sporadically and died in 1990 without much recognition..and oh... apparently he was somewhat loony tunes.. but then again you have to be...
subsequently his music has been rereleased in some uruguayan compilations which i don't know where one would find.. even argentina's equivalent of say tower records at musimundo has no mention of any of his recordings.. perhaps the compilations released in the 90s sold out or perhaps they are still available in uruguay..all i have is this record...i never see anything by him come up on ebay though i check frequently..
i 'm going to try and gather some information on this man and post it..and soon i hope to add "solo bien se lame" to my audioblog (got to figure out how to convert records to mp3s..no easy task)
and then the questions began.. the recriminations flew... wait a minute.. what's going on here? how come i don't even know who this genius is? is he from argentina? is he from mars? where is this guy? why have i not heard of this guy? i spent 18 months in argentina recently.. how come i never came across anything by him on my countless trips to the parque rivadavia to joyously shop for the wax that keeps me breathing and moving? no.. i just could not believe i had never heard of this guy.. i was delighted to discover something so fresh so good so new from what i proudly determined must be my family's original country...
drum roll........to the internet spock....first stop the trusty all music guide ...nothing!...i went in to amazon.com..his cds must be everywhere i said .... nothing zilcho nil nada.... google me up scotty.... a few very brief mentions on a page here or there..the internet letting me down? i don't believe it!.. i pressed on.. and what i found out was that the man - whose first name i learned was EDUARDO- was and is largely unknown- he is from uruguay and some people credit him with being the father of modern uruguayan music (yes, that music for which drexler won his oscar last week).... i learned he was born in 1940 and played in some early uruguayan rock bands in the 60s..then apparently travelled to brazil.. was influenced by some samba ..came back to uruguay where he fused some brazilian influence with the uruguayan national music candombe to create his hybrid and this is his , i understand, contribution.... eventually makes it across the river to argentina to record the lp Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame which means "mateo solo" "bien se lame".. in other words its just mateo performing everything.. "bien se lame" means to my understanding "good we lick"... i'm just not sure if its a play on words which should be read as "solo bien se lame" in which case its "alone well i lick"... don't shoot me i'm just trying to make sense of this.. anyways apparently he never sold many records and lived most of his life in absolute poverty..recorded very sporadically and died in 1990 without much recognition..and oh... apparently he was somewhat loony tunes.. but then again you have to be...
subsequently his music has been rereleased in some uruguayan compilations which i don't know where one would find.. even argentina's equivalent of say tower records at musimundo has no mention of any of his recordings.. perhaps the compilations released in the 90s sold out or perhaps they are still available in uruguay..all i have is this record...i never see anything by him come up on ebay though i check frequently..
i 'm going to try and gather some information on this man and post it..and soon i hope to add "solo bien se lame" to my audioblog (got to figure out how to convert records to mp3s..no easy task)
if you've got a cool mil and a half to spare...
consider buying the driggs collection of jazz photography! this would make a great investment.. this cat's amassed something like 80,000 jazz photos dating back to 1898!!!! (including 1000 of satchmo alone!).... go here for the story
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
"Britta" - a song written by my friends
Britta: By Eduardo Llanes, Enrique Llanes, Bryan Bender, Rich Bindell
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Brita... Brita...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
Please go down on me
Play me some Tiger Lily
Girls
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Britta... Britta...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
Please, don't be afraid of me
Here's a note done in calligraphy
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Britta... Britta...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
You don't have to call security
Please, don't call security
Why'd you have to call security
Look out now, here comes security
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Brita... Brita...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
Please go down on me
Play me some Tiger Lily
Girls
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Britta... Britta...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
Please, don't be afraid of me
Here's a note done in calligraphy
Britta... Britta...
Britta... (Britta, Britta, Britta, Britta)
Britta... Britta...
Like the pitcher (Like the pitcher, pitcher, pitcher, pitcher)
You don't have to call security
Please, don't call security
Why'd you have to call security
Look out now, here comes security
gmail
recently i've opened up a gmail email account...
if you'd like an invite to open your own gmail account leave me an email address in the comments so that google cand send you the invite..
if you'd like an invite to open your own gmail account leave me an email address in the comments so that google cand send you the invite..
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Site of the Week- Luna's Last Waltz
go here for a blog dedicated to luna's last shows in new york city about a week ago... some great pictures!... you can even check out original bassist justin's telegram to the band!...
during the late 1990s luna made some of my favorite music & played it live everywhere all the time.... its cliche to say they married the velvet underground with television while adding some off-kilter lyrics but there's nothing wrong with taking two of the greatest bands in the history of alternative rock and melding their sound in a unique way... part of me feels they never got the recognition and acclaim they deserved but another part of me is glad; it gave me the opportunity to see them live countless times in the small clubs bands should play.....
i can't end without mentioning that in the middle of argentina's great depression in 2002 luna was one of the only american rock acts (along with stephen malkmus, chili peppers and catpower) to pay buenos aires a visit...i will forever be greatful for that night...
it goes without saying that if you have not heard luna's 1995 penthouse album then i don't know what!
during the late 1990s luna made some of my favorite music & played it live everywhere all the time.... its cliche to say they married the velvet underground with television while adding some off-kilter lyrics but there's nothing wrong with taking two of the greatest bands in the history of alternative rock and melding their sound in a unique way... part of me feels they never got the recognition and acclaim they deserved but another part of me is glad; it gave me the opportunity to see them live countless times in the small clubs bands should play.....
i can't end without mentioning that in the middle of argentina's great depression in 2002 luna was one of the only american rock acts (along with stephen malkmus, chili peppers and catpower) to pay buenos aires a visit...i will forever be greatful for that night...
it goes without saying that if you have not heard luna's 1995 penthouse album then i don't know what!
Monday, March 07, 2005
Stevie Wonder rap on innervisions...
if you've ever heard Stevie's Innervisions lp you've noticed this funny rap at the beginning of "Don't You Worry About A Thing"... its something like stevie trying to impress a female..its not transcribed in the lyrics included with the record.. its hard to make out all the dialogue but it goes sorta like this:
ey ey!!
comprende esta- hijo de puta-------(unintelligible spanish screaming jive noises in background; funnily enough the spanish is clearly recorded by stevie pretending to be latino)
stevie: you understand that
girl: no!
stevie: well i can't understand how you can't understand
i've been to paris beirut you know irak iran eurasia you know i speak very very...uhm.. fluent spanish
todo esta bien chevere!
you understand that?
girl: bien chevere
stevie: bien che-VE-REE!
mama i gotta shake and move you a little!
(song starts)
everybody....
("todo esta bien chevere" means "everything's real cool" and is a common phrase in venezuela and northern latin america)
ey ey!!
comprende esta- hijo de puta-------(unintelligible spanish screaming jive noises in background; funnily enough the spanish is clearly recorded by stevie pretending to be latino)
stevie: you understand that
girl: no!
stevie: well i can't understand how you can't understand
i've been to paris beirut you know irak iran eurasia you know i speak very very...uhm.. fluent spanish
todo esta bien chevere!
you understand that?
girl: bien chevere
stevie: bien che-VE-REE!
mama i gotta shake and move you a little!
(song starts)
everybody....
("todo esta bien chevere" means "everything's real cool" and is a common phrase in venezuela and northern latin america)
Sunday, March 06, 2005
George Carlin flees rehab and hits dc!!!!!!!!!!
last night i got a chance to see george carlin performing his stand up routine at the warner theatre..
i'm not a george carlin expert or even huge fan but will share a few impressions.
the man is amazingly fit for a 67 year old! he moves around the stage like a tiger...i mean i hope when i'm his age i can do what he did last night!
he started off with a great monologue/rap about himself.. this rap was brilliant use of rhythm, rhyme, language and alliteration; my favorite part of the performance..watch for it on his upcoming hbo special (will be his 13th.. he first had an hbo special in 1977!) or check it in his latest book released last year..
he joked that he's in good shape after having checked himself into rehab and going the past 58 days putting eggs into his body..
he had a few monologue themes.. the first of which was about how he's sure- he'd "...bet it all"- an "all suicide channel" would be a huge success in america...and then went into an in depth monologue on the pyramid of hopeless losers from which the cast of such a show would be drawn (at the bottom the homeless, then the imprisoned, the condemned, the depressed, the terminally ill, etc...).it dovetailed well with his incredibly sarcastic/sardonic observations about the US and the american people.. a country which has turned into a"giant mall..made of litle malls joined together broken up by gas stations and convenience stores"....he described the american people as being 40 pounds overweight and shopping shopping and eating and eating and eating...he also spoke about what he sees as "dumbness" of the american people and tied this in with the ruling elites that own the media and corporations wanting people to be just smart enough to pull the levers at work but just dumb enough not to think critically about what is going on, while, for example, the elite goes for their social security money....
i found carlin's gags about farts and sex rather tired compared to his more political material....
he ended with an entertaining monologue concerning entropy wherein a little problem in Los Angeles eventually led to the destruction of planet earth..... it was another high point....
although some of his material is a bit too negative for me -which is saying a lot- overall i was impressed with george carlin and he lived up to his reputation..particularly on the opening spiel..
i'm not a george carlin expert or even huge fan but will share a few impressions.
the man is amazingly fit for a 67 year old! he moves around the stage like a tiger...i mean i hope when i'm his age i can do what he did last night!
he started off with a great monologue/rap about himself.. this rap was brilliant use of rhythm, rhyme, language and alliteration; my favorite part of the performance..watch for it on his upcoming hbo special (will be his 13th.. he first had an hbo special in 1977!) or check it in his latest book released last year..
he joked that he's in good shape after having checked himself into rehab and going the past 58 days putting eggs into his body..
he had a few monologue themes.. the first of which was about how he's sure- he'd "...bet it all"- an "all suicide channel" would be a huge success in america...and then went into an in depth monologue on the pyramid of hopeless losers from which the cast of such a show would be drawn (at the bottom the homeless, then the imprisoned, the condemned, the depressed, the terminally ill, etc...).it dovetailed well with his incredibly sarcastic/sardonic observations about the US and the american people.. a country which has turned into a"giant mall..made of litle malls joined together broken up by gas stations and convenience stores"....he described the american people as being 40 pounds overweight and shopping shopping and eating and eating and eating...he also spoke about what he sees as "dumbness" of the american people and tied this in with the ruling elites that own the media and corporations wanting people to be just smart enough to pull the levers at work but just dumb enough not to think critically about what is going on, while, for example, the elite goes for their social security money....
i found carlin's gags about farts and sex rather tired compared to his more political material....
he ended with an entertaining monologue concerning entropy wherein a little problem in Los Angeles eventually led to the destruction of planet earth..... it was another high point....
although some of his material is a bit too negative for me -which is saying a lot- overall i was impressed with george carlin and he lived up to his reputation..particularly on the opening spiel..
Friday, March 04, 2005
Great Ray Charles Quote
"I have to tell you man. In listening to sound, I guess what I'm after is the closest thing that I can get to reality. Now, I know it's not going to be reality, cause the thing gotta go through wires and gotta go through filters and this and that. I understand all that. But what I really like is to get as close to the natural sound of the instruments as possible. That's why I like analog as opposed to digital. Because I don't give a shit what anybody tells you man, I know what you guys are going to tell me...'Oh yeah, but it's clean Ray!' Well it's clean but it don't got no balls!!!" - 1999 interview with Ray Charles by Michael Hobson of Classic Records
Album of the Week: Love Power Peace
there is a james brown concert finally released on cd in 1992: "love power peace" recorded in 1971 at the olympia in france..basically this was meant to be a 3 lp live set but was scrapped for reasons i'll tell ya in a sec.. keep reading.. totally worth checking out.. its -as they say- the joint...
james brown had a band in the late 60s which had fred wesley and maceo and a bunch of awesome guys that had taken him through his funk phase.. anyways in late 69 or something they leave him flat cause they were sick and tired of being underpaid and probably underappreciated.. he hires a new band of young kids which is basically bootsy , his brother and the rest of their band and that night they are on stage backing him up.. plus bobby byrd of course who becomes james' foil. . you know the guy who plays piano/keys and sings "get on UP!" and yells "james brown! james BRROOWNN!!!"..they start out kinda bad but get into and i mean they were like 20! anyways by early 71 they are touring europe but with the added bonus of fred wesley and one or two other guys from his 60s outfit coming back... so its hot.. its a few choice cats from his late 60s band plus the young cats from bootsy's band...well..it did not last... they get back to the US and bootsy and guys split (some go on to pfunk)..cause they were underpaid and underappreciated.. anyways this is the only live recording of all these cats together and once bootsy and gang split and james brown signed to polydor the project to release the concert was shelved..a pity.... bobby byrd also leaves james brown soon after and james brown does not replace him meaning that funky keyboard sound is gone (which became the basis for house music i think) is gone.. which is sad cause its like one of my favorite things..anyways talk about someone not getting the credit: BOBBY BYRD.. he practically makes sex machine.. (you know eric b and rakim sample of i know you got soul..thats bobby byrd too)...
so this cd "Love Power Peace" is the only live document not only of the original JB's (Bootsy and band) but also the only document, except for a very few studio tracks, of Bootsy's band, Fred Wesley and some of his cats, James Brown of course, and Bobby Byrd.. all together...when you think of it its a pity Maceo isn't on it..
the live album mixes some incredibly funky tunes on some blistering versions with some nice slower more early 60s material.. the show starts with what i think is bobby byrd giving some sick "buahhhha hah ha" laugh... then bobby byrd who is of course the emcee gives the intro "..and now the star of the show.. let the brother out! JAMES BROWN!" and the french go nuts..(which brings up a point: one thing thats nice on this is that james has at least two foils: bobby byrd and fred wesley) james comes out with "you gotta hit me" and the rest is just goosebumping.. starts with a great "brother rapp" ...its not too long before james is yelling "take me to the bridge!!".....which seamlessly goes into james yelling "ain't it funky now, allright"..with those wonderful horns.. but particularly commendable on this record is the guitar work..in this case i think its the "lead guitar", bootsy's brother, phelps catfish (all these cats had nicknames!) who shreds the guitar in a way that you have not heard with james yelping and yelling him on with "do it DO IT COME ON NOW! hit it.......auuuuuuuuughhh.....come on now........aaarrrrrrrrrrghh..hit it!"...its HOT...of course everything is anchored by that fatback groove bootsy's laying..then we get wesley's trombone.. everyone is just in top notch here and i think this is hands down the best live james brown recording in large part because he had the ideal personnel here......."fred wesley give him a big round of applause ladies and gentlemen...fred wesley..........some organ..some organ ...some organ...some organ....".....and JAMES BROWN comes in with some funkier than an organ is got a right to be keys...."ain't it funky now..come on now..."....
i need a rest!..
then they go into a particularly moving "georgia on my mind"...james has been on the road in europe for a while and its somewhat poignant to hear him sing this in paris..with his improvised "maybe because i'm from augusta georgia..".not to mention i had not heard him doing this one before...
from there the tempo rises to the stratosphere again..lets just say you got to hear it! the shredding guitar work on "sex machine", this time i think its the rhythm guitarist "cheese" martin, again, makes this version unique..
james brown had a band in the late 60s which had fred wesley and maceo and a bunch of awesome guys that had taken him through his funk phase.. anyways in late 69 or something they leave him flat cause they were sick and tired of being underpaid and probably underappreciated.. he hires a new band of young kids which is basically bootsy , his brother and the rest of their band and that night they are on stage backing him up.. plus bobby byrd of course who becomes james' foil. . you know the guy who plays piano/keys and sings "get on UP!" and yells "james brown! james BRROOWNN!!!"..they start out kinda bad but get into and i mean they were like 20! anyways by early 71 they are touring europe but with the added bonus of fred wesley and one or two other guys from his 60s outfit coming back... so its hot.. its a few choice cats from his late 60s band plus the young cats from bootsy's band...well..it did not last... they get back to the US and bootsy and guys split (some go on to pfunk)..cause they were underpaid and underappreciated.. anyways this is the only live recording of all these cats together and once bootsy and gang split and james brown signed to polydor the project to release the concert was shelved..a pity.... bobby byrd also leaves james brown soon after and james brown does not replace him meaning that funky keyboard sound is gone (which became the basis for house music i think) is gone.. which is sad cause its like one of my favorite things..anyways talk about someone not getting the credit: BOBBY BYRD.. he practically makes sex machine.. (you know eric b and rakim sample of i know you got soul..thats bobby byrd too)...
so this cd "Love Power Peace" is the only live document not only of the original JB's (Bootsy and band) but also the only document, except for a very few studio tracks, of Bootsy's band, Fred Wesley and some of his cats, James Brown of course, and Bobby Byrd.. all together...when you think of it its a pity Maceo isn't on it..
the live album mixes some incredibly funky tunes on some blistering versions with some nice slower more early 60s material.. the show starts with what i think is bobby byrd giving some sick "buahhhha hah ha" laugh... then bobby byrd who is of course the emcee gives the intro "..and now the star of the show.. let the brother out! JAMES BROWN!" and the french go nuts..(which brings up a point: one thing thats nice on this is that james has at least two foils: bobby byrd and fred wesley) james comes out with "you gotta hit me" and the rest is just goosebumping.. starts with a great "brother rapp" ...its not too long before james is yelling "take me to the bridge!!".....which seamlessly goes into james yelling "ain't it funky now, allright"..with those wonderful horns.. but particularly commendable on this record is the guitar work..in this case i think its the "lead guitar", bootsy's brother, phelps catfish (all these cats had nicknames!) who shreds the guitar in a way that you have not heard with james yelping and yelling him on with "do it DO IT COME ON NOW! hit it.......auuuuuuuuughhh.....come on now........aaarrrrrrrrrrghh..hit it!"...its HOT...of course everything is anchored by that fatback groove bootsy's laying..then we get wesley's trombone.. everyone is just in top notch here and i think this is hands down the best live james brown recording in large part because he had the ideal personnel here......."fred wesley give him a big round of applause ladies and gentlemen...fred wesley..........some organ..some organ ...some organ...some organ....".....and JAMES BROWN comes in with some funkier than an organ is got a right to be keys...."ain't it funky now..come on now..."....
i need a rest!..
then they go into a particularly moving "georgia on my mind"...james has been on the road in europe for a while and its somewhat poignant to hear him sing this in paris..with his improvised "maybe because i'm from augusta georgia..".not to mention i had not heard him doing this one before...
from there the tempo rises to the stratosphere again..lets just say you got to hear it! the shredding guitar work on "sex machine", this time i think its the rhythm guitarist "cheese" martin, again, makes this version unique..
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Total Rinus Michels links
a great page on the 1974 world cup (scroll half way down for four picture sequence of dutch player schooling argentina's goalie- IT's BAD!)
a very very brief interview with rinus
more on 74 world cup-comnprehensive look at dutch side
a more general look at 1974 world cup
rinus michels' book
a summary of some soccer tactics advocated by rinus in his book team building
a feature on the 1988 eurocup
a feature on ajax under rinus with the great 1970 squad
more on dutch total football with a few great rinus michels quotes
more on rinus approach on how to prepare for important national team games
rinus book.. you can preview the first few pages of his book..this link is too messed up though for me to copy!..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890946737/qid%3D1109861940/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-8121102-8984637
a very very brief interview with rinus
more on 74 world cup-comnprehensive look at dutch side
a more general look at 1974 world cup
rinus michels' book
a summary of some soccer tactics advocated by rinus in his book team building
a feature on the 1988 eurocup
a feature on ajax under rinus with the great 1970 squad
more on dutch total football with a few great rinus michels quotes
more on rinus approach on how to prepare for important national team games
rinus book.. you can preview the first few pages of his book..this link is too messed up though for me to copy!..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890946737/qid%3D1109861940/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/103-8121102-8984637
Rinus Michels
Rinus Michels, the coach of netherlands' national soccer side during its "clockwork orange" total football heyday of the 1970s (and 1988 eurocup), has passed away...
michels was very important to developing netherlands' identity on the pitch...he created the total football approach which led to increasing fluidity on the soccer field with players acting like interchangeable parts...in addition, it was attacking soccer...orange players, during holland's 70s heyday, seemed to surge and surge forward...
if you want to see total soccer in action get your hands on the argentina-netherlands match from the 1974 world cup.... argentina never knew what hit them and got spanked 6-0 with the dutch running circles around them..it says a lot that a supporter of argentina can admit how much fun this game is to watch!....
rinus' tactical innovations increasingly became the standard.. the man could coach and when he came back to coach holland in the 1988 eurocup led them to their single international title (and soccer lovers all over the world breathed a sigh of relief)..
the soccer loving world will forever appreciate that although a disciplinarian michels' tactical innovations served to free the player from the rigid boring strategy that limited his use of his skill..they allowed the player to play anywhere on the pitch but in an organized manner. his approach made soccer more beautiful and entertaining to watch.... and beauty in soccer has been in increasing short supply..
when menotti argentina's coach during the 1978 world cup decided to distribute players' jersey numbers alphabetically with 1 for last names starting with a and so on this in part must have been a recognition of the concept of total football michels pioneered.. no longer would the number 2 be for the left back or 3 for center back or 4 for right back and on and on...argentina avenged the 1974 spanking with a 3-1 victory in the final but it must be recognized that holland was without both michels and cruyff
some say winning is all that counts but when i think of the 1974 dutch side i do not think that is true.. they may have lost the final to the germans but everyone agrees the dutch were the bigger delight.. likewise france's 1984 eurocup side with platini, tigana and the rest may have never won a world cup but are remembered fondly by soccer lovers....
anyhow, i could not let this go without a few words... for a more standard bio and description of his tactical innovations please go here
or go here for wikipedia's entry on him with links
michels was very important to developing netherlands' identity on the pitch...he created the total football approach which led to increasing fluidity on the soccer field with players acting like interchangeable parts...in addition, it was attacking soccer...orange players, during holland's 70s heyday, seemed to surge and surge forward...
if you want to see total soccer in action get your hands on the argentina-netherlands match from the 1974 world cup.... argentina never knew what hit them and got spanked 6-0 with the dutch running circles around them..it says a lot that a supporter of argentina can admit how much fun this game is to watch!....
rinus' tactical innovations increasingly became the standard.. the man could coach and when he came back to coach holland in the 1988 eurocup led them to their single international title (and soccer lovers all over the world breathed a sigh of relief)..
the soccer loving world will forever appreciate that although a disciplinarian michels' tactical innovations served to free the player from the rigid boring strategy that limited his use of his skill..they allowed the player to play anywhere on the pitch but in an organized manner. his approach made soccer more beautiful and entertaining to watch.... and beauty in soccer has been in increasing short supply..
when menotti argentina's coach during the 1978 world cup decided to distribute players' jersey numbers alphabetically with 1 for last names starting with a and so on this in part must have been a recognition of the concept of total football michels pioneered.. no longer would the number 2 be for the left back or 3 for center back or 4 for right back and on and on...argentina avenged the 1974 spanking with a 3-1 victory in the final but it must be recognized that holland was without both michels and cruyff
some say winning is all that counts but when i think of the 1974 dutch side i do not think that is true.. they may have lost the final to the germans but everyone agrees the dutch were the bigger delight.. likewise france's 1984 eurocup side with platini, tigana and the rest may have never won a world cup but are remembered fondly by soccer lovers....
anyhow, i could not let this go without a few words... for a more standard bio and description of his tactical innovations please go here
or go here for wikipedia's entry on him with links
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Big in Japan
its always interesting when you discover where a band got their sound..where they borrowed from...and make no mistake everyone takes from somewhere..the question is do you take to create or because you are unable or unwilling to fashion your own identity..its always a fine line...i recently acquired, on a whim, a live double lp by a band i'd heard about but never listened to: japan..the leader of this band was david sylvain and the band also includes mick karn... anyhow... japan is apparently the band duran duran ripped off...the similarities are too great... david sylvain's vocals sound much like simon lebon (yes, that pseudo croon you know you've heard).. then you've got guitar, keyboards and sax very much in what would become the duran duran vein...even thematically the bands are similar: japan's 1980 "gentleman take polaroids" could be viewed as a precursor to "girls on film"...while stylistically or fashion wise as all music guide writes about that LP's back cover photo: "looking cool in glossy, elegant nightwear, the quintet had a clear impact on Duran Duran, to the point where Nick Rhodes obviously was trying to be Sylvian in appearance"....
anyways, apparently japan were the first "new romantic" band arriving on the english scene around 1977!...its hard to imagine them in the time of the sex pistols but such apparently was the case although they evolved from glam rock roots to scene makers by 1980.....they get little mention or credit but constitute one of the first post-punk bands...their relatively low modern day profile may owe itself to the fact that they were one of those bands that broke out everywhere except the US and when that happens you know history ain't going to be too kind to you!......by the way in the interests of full disclosure this double live lp -pictured above- "oil on canvas" was recorded in 1982 on japan's last live tour and served as their final release
japan, as befits a band with such a name, were very succesfull in...... yes..... japan.... and i remember them a bit from when i lived in ........japan...curiously enough.. the new romantic movement of the early 1980s was particularly big in japan and duran duranmania there huge...what am i getting at? japan even created the market for duran duran to break out in... however, lets not blame japan, band or country, for "wild boys"...
japan of course borrowed quite a bit from roxy music...but thats another story for another day...
for a history of japan click here
anyways, apparently japan were the first "new romantic" band arriving on the english scene around 1977!...its hard to imagine them in the time of the sex pistols but such apparently was the case although they evolved from glam rock roots to scene makers by 1980.....they get little mention or credit but constitute one of the first post-punk bands...their relatively low modern day profile may owe itself to the fact that they were one of those bands that broke out everywhere except the US and when that happens you know history ain't going to be too kind to you!......by the way in the interests of full disclosure this double live lp -pictured above- "oil on canvas" was recorded in 1982 on japan's last live tour and served as their final release
japan, as befits a band with such a name, were very succesfull in...... yes..... japan.... and i remember them a bit from when i lived in ........japan...curiously enough.. the new romantic movement of the early 1980s was particularly big in japan and duran duranmania there huge...what am i getting at? japan even created the market for duran duran to break out in... however, lets not blame japan, band or country, for "wild boys"...
japan of course borrowed quite a bit from roxy music...but thats another story for another day...
for a history of japan click here
auspicious start! (notice yahoo boxscore still referring to Washington as "MTL")
FINA
GPFT FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY METS 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 x 5 FINAL
HOME RUNS: MTL - JOSE GUILLEN (1) OFF AARON HEILMAN IN THE 4TH
KEITH OSIK (1) OFF AARON HEILMAN IN THE 5TH
GPFT FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY METS 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 x 5 FINAL
HOME RUNS: MTL - JOSE GUILLEN (1) OFF AARON HEILMAN IN THE 4TH
KEITH OSIK (1) OFF AARON HEILMAN IN THE 5TH
Spring Fever!!!!!!!!!
today at 1:05 pm the Washington Nationals will play the New York Mets in their first spring training game as DC's baseball team!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Tito Puente on Tico!
Tito Puente's 10 inch LP "Mambos by Punte" Volume 4 on Tico 114 was released in 1952. It is one of his first LPs preceded only by three earlier entries in the series released around the same time and featuring the same artwork with different colors. What I particularly love about this record is the cover!!!! We are so used to seeing pictures of the elder statesman of latin music with his bushy white hair that its refreshing to see a picture of a young Tito Puente; born in 1923 he must have been approximately 28 years old when this picture was taken.
Ed Morales writes in The Latin Beat that "Puente's arrangements synchronized the percussion and brass charts, something that made the music a kind of maddening, heart-racing blast of musical chaos." According to Morales his break was around 1942 when "..back in New York, he landed a regular gig with Machito and his Afro-Cubans, which solidified his grounding in ambitious, orchestral treatments of mambo and Latin big band jazz. Contemporary percussionist Bobby Sanabria credits Puente with being the first Latin drummer to "kick" big band figures with a combination of drums, timbales, and cymbals. His prominence in the orchestra was soon rewarded when Marchito placed him at the front of the stage to feature his unique talents."
Following World War II Tito Puente formed his own band recording early sides, such as the ones featured on this LP, for the original nuyorican record label Tico records (like Celia Cruz and Tito's prime early competitor- the other Tito- Tito Rodriguez). He stayed with Tico during the mambo's successor latin rhythm craze the cha-cha. Around 1955 Tito Puente moved to RCA records where he recorded an important series of LP's (Dance Mania) and gained the marketing muscle that propelled him into the living rooms of mainstream white america.
Although my copy's cover is in great shape, the record, like many 10 inch records typically pressed on thinner slabs of vinyl has suffered a bit. Per the title, the record is made up of latin music of the time and mambos with sometimes hackneyed lyrics of the "How good it is to dance the mambo" variety...Puente's band was always known for the tremendous percussionists it employed such as Mongo Santamaria, Patato Valdes, Willie Bobo, Johnny Pacheco and Ray Barreto most or all of whom went on to great acclaim with their own outfits. The vocals are primarily by cuban-born Vincentico Valdes one of the more renown early mambo singers. "Jumbalato" is sung by the De Castro Sisters who remind me of the Andrews sisters! "Quiere Me y Veras" ("Love Me and You Will See") seems like a traditional latin love song (bolero). Tico 114 includes the tongue in cheek "Mari Juana" whose lyrics I have attempted to translate:
I don’t like Mari Juana
Because last night she hit me
It looks like she didn’t like
A heavy party
Jumped like a frog
From one side to another side
I’m a satisfied man
Frankly, I say.
I don’t like Mari Juana cause last night she hit me
Looks like she didn’t like
Ay ay with Mari Juana I don’t go
Looks like she didn’t like the heavy partying
I don’t go I don’t go with Juana
Jumped like a frog but..
Ed Morales writes in The Latin Beat that "Puente's arrangements synchronized the percussion and brass charts, something that made the music a kind of maddening, heart-racing blast of musical chaos." According to Morales his break was around 1942 when "..back in New York, he landed a regular gig with Machito and his Afro-Cubans, which solidified his grounding in ambitious, orchestral treatments of mambo and Latin big band jazz. Contemporary percussionist Bobby Sanabria credits Puente with being the first Latin drummer to "kick" big band figures with a combination of drums, timbales, and cymbals. His prominence in the orchestra was soon rewarded when Marchito placed him at the front of the stage to feature his unique talents."
Following World War II Tito Puente formed his own band recording early sides, such as the ones featured on this LP, for the original nuyorican record label Tico records (like Celia Cruz and Tito's prime early competitor- the other Tito- Tito Rodriguez). He stayed with Tico during the mambo's successor latin rhythm craze the cha-cha. Around 1955 Tito Puente moved to RCA records where he recorded an important series of LP's (Dance Mania) and gained the marketing muscle that propelled him into the living rooms of mainstream white america.
Although my copy's cover is in great shape, the record, like many 10 inch records typically pressed on thinner slabs of vinyl has suffered a bit. Per the title, the record is made up of latin music of the time and mambos with sometimes hackneyed lyrics of the "How good it is to dance the mambo" variety...Puente's band was always known for the tremendous percussionists it employed such as Mongo Santamaria, Patato Valdes, Willie Bobo, Johnny Pacheco and Ray Barreto most or all of whom went on to great acclaim with their own outfits. The vocals are primarily by cuban-born Vincentico Valdes one of the more renown early mambo singers. "Jumbalato" is sung by the De Castro Sisters who remind me of the Andrews sisters! "Quiere Me y Veras" ("Love Me and You Will See") seems like a traditional latin love song (bolero). Tico 114 includes the tongue in cheek "Mari Juana" whose lyrics I have attempted to translate:
I don’t like Mari Juana
Because last night she hit me
It looks like she didn’t like
A heavy party
Jumped like a frog
From one side to another side
I’m a satisfied man
Frankly, I say.
I don’t like Mari Juana cause last night she hit me
Looks like she didn’t like
Ay ay with Mari Juana I don’t go
Looks like she didn’t like the heavy partying
I don’t go I don’t go with Juana
Jumped like a frog but..
Peter Gammons on Steroids!
espn analyst peter gammons, the number one authority on baseball, has some interesting words on the steroids in major league baseball controversy.. i've been reading him since the early 1980s..here's his take per his latest espn column:
"When players (or anyone) rail on Jose Canseco for trying to make a buck off the steroids issue, they should be dismissed because what in the world were the guys who used steroids trying to do? Make money. Not to pick on Jason Giambi, but since he has admitted to steroid use, that $128 million kind of tells us that it worked for him, eh?"
amen brother..thanks for stating the obvious...
"When it comes to the debates about eras, yes, this one will be called "The Steroids Era," but it is an era when kids began lifting at 12 and home runs and power pitching became in vogue. All of the top 22 strikeouts-per-nine-inning seasons have occurred in the last 20 years. Asterisk? There has to be one next to Cy Young's 511 because it was the dead ball era. And one next to Jimmie Foxx because he played in the lively ball era. And, OK, one next to Babe Ruth because he played in the segregated era."
"The one conclusion we can draw now is that this era has reminded us just how great Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Frank Robinson really were. All three had to fight through segregation, hatred and double standards to get to the major leagues. They played in an era when pitching so dominated the sport that they lowered the mound by five inches, not to mention the fact that so many of the National League stadiums were cookie cutters that were not home-run friendly, like so many of the post-Camden Yard ballparks.
So while history and guilt is debated, determined and judged, all of us who had the good fortune to watch Hank, Willie and Frank play now appreciate just how great they really were. They have their places among the 10 best who ever played, and, like Junior Griffey, no one will ever doubt them."
"When players (or anyone) rail on Jose Canseco for trying to make a buck off the steroids issue, they should be dismissed because what in the world were the guys who used steroids trying to do? Make money. Not to pick on Jason Giambi, but since he has admitted to steroid use, that $128 million kind of tells us that it worked for him, eh?"
amen brother..thanks for stating the obvious...
"When it comes to the debates about eras, yes, this one will be called "The Steroids Era," but it is an era when kids began lifting at 12 and home runs and power pitching became in vogue. All of the top 22 strikeouts-per-nine-inning seasons have occurred in the last 20 years. Asterisk? There has to be one next to Cy Young's 511 because it was the dead ball era. And one next to Jimmie Foxx because he played in the lively ball era. And, OK, one next to Babe Ruth because he played in the segregated era."
"The one conclusion we can draw now is that this era has reminded us just how great Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Frank Robinson really were. All three had to fight through segregation, hatred and double standards to get to the major leagues. They played in an era when pitching so dominated the sport that they lowered the mound by five inches, not to mention the fact that so many of the National League stadiums were cookie cutters that were not home-run friendly, like so many of the post-Camden Yard ballparks.
So while history and guilt is debated, determined and judged, all of us who had the good fortune to watch Hank, Willie and Frank play now appreciate just how great they really were. They have their places among the 10 best who ever played, and, like Junior Griffey, no one will ever doubt them."
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Oscar Scandal!
rant to follow.. why is jorge drexler not allowed to sing his oscar nominated song? he wrote it and sang it for the "motorcycle diaries" movie! why do we have to hear santana and antonio banderas doing his song in a nonsennsical "smooth" style??? this is truly a joke..
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Ella Fitzgerald resource!
here is a link with a chronology and discography for Ella Fitzgerald.. the chronology informs us, among other things, on the recording date and original 78rpm release for each title...Ella's first LP release, "Souvenir Album" was made up of the following early sides:
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home"-Decca 3186- February 15, 1940
"Cabin in the Sky"- Decca 3490- November 8, 1940
"Lonesomest Gal"- Decca 3666- November 8, 1940
"The One I Love"- Decca 3608- January 8, 1941
"I Must Have That Man"- Decca 18530- July 31, 1941
"I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me"- Decca 18421- July 31, 1941
"I Got It Bad"- Decca 3968- July 31, 1941
"I Can't Help Loving That Man"- Decca 18421- July 31, 1941
Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady of Song
The first thing that jumps out at me when I look at Ella's first LP (Decca DL 5084) from 1949 is that this is one of few pictures I have seen of Ella where she looks relatively young (and keep in mind I'm no Ella expert/fanatic). Now my personal taste has always been more for Billie Holiday- then again I believe Billie to be the greatest American singer ever- but I give Ella big props and I'm willing to be big about it and admit that Ella makes for much better listening around the holidays! Actually I'm willing to admit much more...
I would classify this record as being early Ella. Her first sides with the Chick Webb Orchestra in the late 1930s were immediately followed by these Decca recordings as a solo artist. Decca, for this "Souvenir Album", selected some very early Ella sides from 1940-1941 originally released as 78 rpm discs. Billie Holiday had recorded two of these only two-three years prior to Ella: "Can't help loving dat man" (1937), and "Can't Believe that You're in love with me" (1938). The repertoire on this Ella LP is pretty conventional but then again we are talking 1940!
The liner notes inform us that Ella was born in Newport News, Virginia and her parents were extremely poor. Ella was sent to a New York orphanage which she left at 16. The great swing band leader Chick Webb saw her singing shortly after, took her in and together with his wife adopted her, and taught her how to sing and the ropes of the business. For two years Ella toured with the Chick Webb Orchestra and did not sing one note in public. Eventually however Chick Webb felt she'd learned and she began to sing with the band and record and even write songs. The rest is history.
When I think of Ella I think of her ability to transmit joy. This may relate to the fact that I can hear/visualize her happiness in singing. Also, I think of her incredible scat-laced improvised live version of "Mack the Knife" on the classic LP "Ella in Berlin." Basically she forgets the words to the song and improvises on the spot without losing a beat. Here are the lyrics to this unique performance that never fails to make me smile:
{spoken} thank you. we’d like to do something for you now.
We haven’t heard a girl sing it. and since it’s so popular,
We’d like to try and do it for you.
We hope we remember all the words.{}
Oh, the shark has pearly teeth, dear
And he shows them, pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath, dear
And he keeps it out of sight
Oh, the shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though, wears macheath dear
So there’s not, not a trace of red
On a sunday, sunday morning
Lies a body, oozin’ life
Someone’s sneaking ’round the corner
Tell me could it be, could it be, could it be
Mack the knife?
Oh, what’s the next chorus?
To this song, now
This is the one, now
I don’t know
But it was a swinging tune
And it’s a hit tune
So we tried to do mack the knife
Ah, louis miller
Oh, something about cash
Yeah, miller, he was spending that trash
And macheath dear, he spends like a sailor
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Could that boy do, something rash
Oh bobby darin, and louis armstrong
They made a record, oh but they did
And now ella, ella, and her fellas
We’re making a wreck, what a wreck
Of mack the knife
{louis armstrong imitation}
Oh snookie taudry, bah bah bah nop do bo de do
Bah bah bah nop do bo de do
Just a jack knife has macheath, dear
And do bo bo bah bah bah nop do bo de do {}
So, you’ve heard it
Yes, we’ve swung it
And we tried to
Yes, we sung it
You won’t recognize it
It’s a surprise hit
This tune, called mack the knife
And so we leave you, in berlin town
Yes, we’ve swung old mack
We’ve swung old mack in town
For the darin fans,
And for the louis armstrong fans, too
We told you look out, look out, look out
Old macheath’s back in town
After her Decca period in the 40s/early 50s she would move to Norman Granz's record labels (Clef/Verve) and he would fashion her into a singer of songbooks by the great American tin pan alley tunesmiths (Arlen, Gerswin, Cole Porter, Ellington, etc.)
One thing I particularly enjoy about having an original LP when it is from 1949-1950 is picturing the artists pleasure in seeing their own first LP. I know Billie Holiday is said to have taken great pride when her first LPs came out. If one compares the sound quality difference between a 78 and an LP I think its safe to say the difference in fidelity is greater than that between an LP and a CD.
Although I prefer Billie Holiday's material part of me thinks that it is Ella who is a more representative first lady for american song. To me Ella is all business and no nonesense; a consummate professional. There is no baggage of bad men, drugs, booze, jail.. its just her delight in performing the wonderful canon of american song... there is no early fade out.. no terrible sad stories..no lurid diana ross movie... in fact most people know little about her other than her great performances and that ain't so bad in my book!
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Allan Songer on Original Blue Notes
Its little secret I got it bad for original Blue Note records... Interestingly I found this post today at the Vinyl Asylum bulletin board (see links on side bar) by an Allan Songer.. it really sheds some light on the whole issue of what is an original pressing of a blue note...therefore i'm reproducing this for posterity as i have yet to see such a detailed and well-explained analysis...and believe me i've looked:
First--you can't tell the vintage of the pressing by the label alone or even if it has "deep-grooves."
First-- ALL "original" (not FIRST, but original pre-Liberty) pressings have the little "ear" mark in the dead wax. It looks like a cursive "P" becuase that is what it is! It's "P" for Plastylite, the pressing plant that pressed ALL original Blue Notes.
The deep groove is present on first pressings of every Blue Note LP fom the beginning through Blue Note 4058. Starting with Blue Note 4059, Plastylite BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT that did NOT press in the deep grooves! 4059 (Kenny Drew, "Undercurrent") is an anomoly because EVERY KNOWN COPY has the deep groove on one side only--that means Plastylite used the newer equipment for one side only! This is also a VERY rare title that most likely went through only ONE pressing!
Starting with 4060 ALL "first" pressings have NO deep groove! If you find a copy of any number AFTER 4059 that has a deep groove in one or both sides, it's a SECOND pressing--the new equpiment was ALWAYS used for the first run! This has NO EFFECT on value however!
If you find a title EARLIER than 4059 with only one or NO deep groove, but still has the "ear," this is a later pressing!
The "Lexington" labels were used up through BN 1543, Kenny Burrell vol. 2--even LATE pressings of many of these titles still used the left over Lexington lables--you have to look for the deep-grooves AND the edge of the record itself! ALL OF THE LEXINGTON TITLES HAVE FLAT EDGES IF THEY ARE TRULY FIRST PRESSINGS!
Starting with 1544 Blue Note introduced the "47 W. 63rd New York 23" label which was used on MOST titles from 1544 through 1577--some titles have this on ONE side only (like 1568 and 1577). Because Blue Note DID NOT release their titles in the order they were cataloged, MANY titles prior to 1577 have the LATER "47 W. 63rd NYC" labels (BN 1560 for example).
The "47 W. 63rd NYC" was used up through Blue Note 4017 (Horace Silver "Finger Poppin'"). Starting with 4018, an "INC" was added and a "R" resigesterd trademark at the bottom. That means, if you find any record with a number from 4017 on back that HAS the "Inc" and the "R" it is a SECOND PRESSING even if it is Deep-Groove on both sides!
The last title with the "47 W. 63rd" labels was BN4080, Hank Mobley's "Workout" and this one has these lables only on ONE SIDE! Again, there are titles with numbers EARLIER than 4080 that have the later "New York, USA" labels because they were released out of order.
Starting with 4081, every single original Blue Note has the "New York, USA labels" right up to the FINAL original release, Don Cherry's "Complete Communion" (BN 4226). The label was sold to Liberty and EVERY SINGLE RECORD WITH A CATALOG NUMBER HIGHER THAN 4226 is a "Liberty" pressing! Again, there are EARLIER titles that were released AFTER the sale to Liberty as well (Andrew Hill's "Andrew!" being a good example-- BN 4203).
Liberty contiuned to use the left-over "New York, USA" labels for a few months--that's why you see the "New York" labels on titles as high as "The Jody Grind" from Horace Silver!
If you find ANY record with an early catalog number WITHOUT the little "ear" it is a LIBERTY pressing no matter WHAT the label or jacket says! I have seen LIBERTY pressings that had "New York 23" and even "Lexington" labels! Liberty USED UP OLD STOCK including jacket slicks and labels!!!
There is a HUGE difference in both value and sonics between an ORIGNAL pressing of a record like Jackie McLean's "Swing Swang Swingin'" and a Liberty with the original labels! An original will fetch about $700 in NM condition while the "Liberty" vesion might only bring $150 in the same condition!
Hope this ramble helps a bit.
First--you can't tell the vintage of the pressing by the label alone or even if it has "deep-grooves."
First-- ALL "original" (not FIRST, but original pre-Liberty) pressings have the little "ear" mark in the dead wax. It looks like a cursive "P" becuase that is what it is! It's "P" for Plastylite, the pressing plant that pressed ALL original Blue Notes.
The deep groove is present on first pressings of every Blue Note LP fom the beginning through Blue Note 4058. Starting with Blue Note 4059, Plastylite BOUGHT NEW EQUIPMENT that did NOT press in the deep grooves! 4059 (Kenny Drew, "Undercurrent") is an anomoly because EVERY KNOWN COPY has the deep groove on one side only--that means Plastylite used the newer equipment for one side only! This is also a VERY rare title that most likely went through only ONE pressing!
Starting with 4060 ALL "first" pressings have NO deep groove! If you find a copy of any number AFTER 4059 that has a deep groove in one or both sides, it's a SECOND pressing--the new equpiment was ALWAYS used for the first run! This has NO EFFECT on value however!
If you find a title EARLIER than 4059 with only one or NO deep groove, but still has the "ear," this is a later pressing!
The "Lexington" labels were used up through BN 1543, Kenny Burrell vol. 2--even LATE pressings of many of these titles still used the left over Lexington lables--you have to look for the deep-grooves AND the edge of the record itself! ALL OF THE LEXINGTON TITLES HAVE FLAT EDGES IF THEY ARE TRULY FIRST PRESSINGS!
Starting with 1544 Blue Note introduced the "47 W. 63rd New York 23" label which was used on MOST titles from 1544 through 1577--some titles have this on ONE side only (like 1568 and 1577). Because Blue Note DID NOT release their titles in the order they were cataloged, MANY titles prior to 1577 have the LATER "47 W. 63rd NYC" labels (BN 1560 for example).
The "47 W. 63rd NYC" was used up through Blue Note 4017 (Horace Silver "Finger Poppin'"). Starting with 4018, an "INC" was added and a "R" resigesterd trademark at the bottom. That means, if you find any record with a number from 4017 on back that HAS the "Inc" and the "R" it is a SECOND PRESSING even if it is Deep-Groove on both sides!
The last title with the "47 W. 63rd" labels was BN4080, Hank Mobley's "Workout" and this one has these lables only on ONE SIDE! Again, there are titles with numbers EARLIER than 4080 that have the later "New York, USA" labels because they were released out of order.
Starting with 4081, every single original Blue Note has the "New York, USA labels" right up to the FINAL original release, Don Cherry's "Complete Communion" (BN 4226). The label was sold to Liberty and EVERY SINGLE RECORD WITH A CATALOG NUMBER HIGHER THAN 4226 is a "Liberty" pressing! Again, there are EARLIER titles that were released AFTER the sale to Liberty as well (Andrew Hill's "Andrew!" being a good example-- BN 4203).
Liberty contiuned to use the left-over "New York, USA" labels for a few months--that's why you see the "New York" labels on titles as high as "The Jody Grind" from Horace Silver!
If you find ANY record with an early catalog number WITHOUT the little "ear" it is a LIBERTY pressing no matter WHAT the label or jacket says! I have seen LIBERTY pressings that had "New York 23" and even "Lexington" labels! Liberty USED UP OLD STOCK including jacket slicks and labels!!!
There is a HUGE difference in both value and sonics between an ORIGNAL pressing of a record like Jackie McLean's "Swing Swang Swingin'" and a Liberty with the original labels! An original will fetch about $700 in NM condition while the "Liberty" vesion might only bring $150 in the same condition!
Hope this ramble helps a bit.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Super Bowl London Style link
here is a link to a story that was just published on popmatters which sorta summarizes my feelings about this past super bowl.. my own story is in the archives (day after super bowl)
http://www.popmatters.com/sports/features/050221-superbowluk.shtml
http://www.popmatters.com/sports/features/050221-superbowluk.shtml
"Shotgun Golf With Bill Murray"
and here is the link for Hunter S. Thompson's actual last story...published on espn.com on february 16.. its a somewhat amusing story about a phone conversation with bill murray over some loony idea involving golf and shotguns!..
Hunter S Thompson's post 9-11 ESPN Column
a lot of people don't realize that hunter s thompson had a regular column on espn.com these past few years.. here is the link for his september 18, 2001 column...
Monday, February 21, 2005
Contributing blogger Howard Park: A Day with Hunter S. Thompson
A Day With Hunter S. Thompson
In early April of 1984 I was the coolest guy in Madison, Wisconsin for a day. I was the designated driver for the legendary Hunter S. Thompson. Cool was cool, but not quite as cool as I had imagined.
Thompson came to Madison to be around for a visit by his old buddy from the McGovern Campaign, Colorado Senator Gary Hart who was locked in a fierce battle for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. I met Thompson at Madison's compact airport along with his Friend, another McGovern Campaign veteran, then State Banking Commissioner Bill Dixon, a six pack of cold beer and Dixon's convertible.
This was a reward. I had been working tirelessly for Hart all over the country. My credit card was beyond maxed out. I was a Gonzo campaigner. Thompson was a legend to me and everyone I knew -- virtually every early twentysomething University of Wisconsin male student seemed to idolize Thompson. He epitomized sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He was also a damm good writer. Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail - 1972 are still scattered in dorm rooms and fraternity houses everywhere. I had religiously read all of his books and his now infrequent Rolling Stone columns.
In the flesh Thompson was a minor letdown. I never saw him without a dorky looking floppy hat, like that worn by Bob Denver on the Gilligan's Island TV show. Perhaps he was vain about his balding head. The hat also let him move about without being recognized very often. He chain smoked cigarettes and drank like a sailor on leave. The Hunter S. Thompson of myth supposedly did LSD, pot, cocaine, uppers and downers like a kid eating Halloween candy. Maybe, but not with me. I never saw him take anything stronger than sprain. He was outfitted with more stuff than a more regular person would take on an African safari. He had what seemed like a ton of baggage, including a heavy, bulky word processor that I lugged all over town during the next day. He never touched it. I've never, ever seen anyone who brought as much stuff for a one day visit.
Most disappointing for me was the fact that he was sort of hard to talk with. He just did not converse like most people. Thompson might totally ignore something I said while responding nonsensically to something else. Occasionally he seemed to twitch oddly. Hunter also never spoke in anything that resembled a sentence. He was friendly enough and we got along fine as I drove him around Madison over that evening and the next day. We shared our views about Richard Nixon. Thompson's hated of Nixon was one of the coolest parts of his persona. I had the impression that if I had said something nice about Nixon the he would have gotten out of the car on a random Madison street corner. Fortunately, my disdain for Nixon was well developed. I had been warned not to bring up the Doonesbury comic strip, then the most popular comic strip in the country and the genesis of much of the Thompson legend. He hated the comic strip.
The purpose of the visit was for Thompson to cover a big Gary Hart rally at Wisconsin's majestic state capitol a few days before our state's presidential primary (Hart won). My job was to get Hunter where he needed to go without distracting the national media or the crowd from the candidate. I failed, although it seemed a lot worse that it really was at the time.
I was driving Thompson about midway in a Hart motorcade of eight vehicles. Behind me was most of the national press corps who were covering Hart. In any campaign, the media are the VIP's. The advance man who had choreographed the event had emphatically instructed me to stick with the motorcade at all times until we reached a designated parking lot. It was vitally important that the media be in a certain exact location at a certain time.
As we approached the Capitol Building, with little or no warning, Hunter S. Thompson screamed at me "GET OVER THERE, THEY ARE COMING TO GET US, TURN NOW!!" and he grabbed the wheel from me. I had no idea what he was talking about or what was happening, but I turned as he was imploring me, and he said something like "GOOD BOY, I HOPE WE ARE SAFE NOW" as he bounded out the door to cover the rally. Everyone was confused including the 50 or so reporters on various vehicles behind me. We were now parked in the wrong space, perhaps that reserved for TV transmission trucks. It was a logistical mess in the midst of a huge crowd of over 10,000.
The only person who was not confused was the advance man who screamed "I"M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU HAVE RUNIED EVERYTHING" as he raised his hand with only his middle finger showing into my face. Fearing for my safety from yet another lunatic I quickly scurried over to Hunter, perhaps my one last friend on the scene. The rally was great. After it was over I drove Thompson and his six huge duffel bags back to the airport and helped load the cargo on to the campaign press plane. For weeks after I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new issue of Rolling Stone hoping that he would write something about Hart and that smart, very cool campaign worker who schlepped him around that historic (in my dreams) day in Madison. No dice. To my eternal disappointment he never wrote a thing about that day or much at all about the Hart Campaign, despite the fact that I had carried around his word processor like a Sherpa in Nepal.
Years later, at a book signing in Washington, DC, where he appeared as always smoking a cigarette with a huge tumbler of iced, single malt scotch. During my allotted 15 seconds with him in the long line I asked Hunter what had caused him to divert the motorcade that day. I explained the context. I'm not sure he remembered anything and he responded with some sort of nonsense like, "Oh yes, we had to get away from them"...whatever.
I'll miss Hunter S. Thompson, the campaign trail will never be the same.
Howard Park
In early April of 1984 I was the coolest guy in Madison, Wisconsin for a day. I was the designated driver for the legendary Hunter S. Thompson. Cool was cool, but not quite as cool as I had imagined.
Thompson came to Madison to be around for a visit by his old buddy from the McGovern Campaign, Colorado Senator Gary Hart who was locked in a fierce battle for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. I met Thompson at Madison's compact airport along with his Friend, another McGovern Campaign veteran, then State Banking Commissioner Bill Dixon, a six pack of cold beer and Dixon's convertible.
This was a reward. I had been working tirelessly for Hart all over the country. My credit card was beyond maxed out. I was a Gonzo campaigner. Thompson was a legend to me and everyone I knew -- virtually every early twentysomething University of Wisconsin male student seemed to idolize Thompson. He epitomized sex, drugs and rock n' roll. He was also a damm good writer. Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail - 1972 are still scattered in dorm rooms and fraternity houses everywhere. I had religiously read all of his books and his now infrequent Rolling Stone columns.
In the flesh Thompson was a minor letdown. I never saw him without a dorky looking floppy hat, like that worn by Bob Denver on the Gilligan's Island TV show. Perhaps he was vain about his balding head. The hat also let him move about without being recognized very often. He chain smoked cigarettes and drank like a sailor on leave. The Hunter S. Thompson of myth supposedly did LSD, pot, cocaine, uppers and downers like a kid eating Halloween candy. Maybe, but not with me. I never saw him take anything stronger than sprain. He was outfitted with more stuff than a more regular person would take on an African safari. He had what seemed like a ton of baggage, including a heavy, bulky word processor that I lugged all over town during the next day. He never touched it. I've never, ever seen anyone who brought as much stuff for a one day visit.
Most disappointing for me was the fact that he was sort of hard to talk with. He just did not converse like most people. Thompson might totally ignore something I said while responding nonsensically to something else. Occasionally he seemed to twitch oddly. Hunter also never spoke in anything that resembled a sentence. He was friendly enough and we got along fine as I drove him around Madison over that evening and the next day. We shared our views about Richard Nixon. Thompson's hated of Nixon was one of the coolest parts of his persona. I had the impression that if I had said something nice about Nixon the he would have gotten out of the car on a random Madison street corner. Fortunately, my disdain for Nixon was well developed. I had been warned not to bring up the Doonesbury comic strip, then the most popular comic strip in the country and the genesis of much of the Thompson legend. He hated the comic strip.
The purpose of the visit was for Thompson to cover a big Gary Hart rally at Wisconsin's majestic state capitol a few days before our state's presidential primary (Hart won). My job was to get Hunter where he needed to go without distracting the national media or the crowd from the candidate. I failed, although it seemed a lot worse that it really was at the time.
I was driving Thompson about midway in a Hart motorcade of eight vehicles. Behind me was most of the national press corps who were covering Hart. In any campaign, the media are the VIP's. The advance man who had choreographed the event had emphatically instructed me to stick with the motorcade at all times until we reached a designated parking lot. It was vitally important that the media be in a certain exact location at a certain time.
As we approached the Capitol Building, with little or no warning, Hunter S. Thompson screamed at me "GET OVER THERE, THEY ARE COMING TO GET US, TURN NOW!!" and he grabbed the wheel from me. I had no idea what he was talking about or what was happening, but I turned as he was imploring me, and he said something like "GOOD BOY, I HOPE WE ARE SAFE NOW" as he bounded out the door to cover the rally. Everyone was confused including the 50 or so reporters on various vehicles behind me. We were now parked in the wrong space, perhaps that reserved for TV transmission trucks. It was a logistical mess in the midst of a huge crowd of over 10,000.
The only person who was not confused was the advance man who screamed "I"M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU HAVE RUNIED EVERYTHING" as he raised his hand with only his middle finger showing into my face. Fearing for my safety from yet another lunatic I quickly scurried over to Hunter, perhaps my one last friend on the scene. The rally was great. After it was over I drove Thompson and his six huge duffel bags back to the airport and helped load the cargo on to the campaign press plane. For weeks after I eagerly awaited the arrival of each new issue of Rolling Stone hoping that he would write something about Hart and that smart, very cool campaign worker who schlepped him around that historic (in my dreams) day in Madison. No dice. To my eternal disappointment he never wrote a thing about that day or much at all about the Hart Campaign, despite the fact that I had carried around his word processor like a Sherpa in Nepal.
Years later, at a book signing in Washington, DC, where he appeared as always smoking a cigarette with a huge tumbler of iced, single malt scotch. During my allotted 15 seconds with him in the long line I asked Hunter what had caused him to divert the motorcade that day. I explained the context. I'm not sure he remembered anything and he responded with some sort of nonsense like, "Oh yes, we had to get away from them"...whatever.
I'll miss Hunter S. Thompson, the campaign trail will never be the same.
Howard Park
some great hunter s thompson quotes from his last story!
"Presidential politics is a vicious business, even for rich white men, and anybody who gets into it should be prepared to grapple with the meanest of the mean. The White House has never been seized by timid warriors. There are no rules, and the roadside is littered with wreckage. That is why they call it the passing lane. Just ask any candidate who ever ran against George Bush -- Al Gore, Ann Richards, John McCain -- all of them ambushed and vanquished by lies and dirty tricks. And all of them still whining about it."
"Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous 'trickle-down' theory of U.S. economic policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow 'trickle down' to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."
"The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them. Election Day -- especially a presidential election -- is always a wild and terrifying time for politics junkies, and I am one of those, too. We look forward to major election days like sex addicts look forward to orgies. We are slaves to it."
"George Bush certainly does. In four short years he has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war. But so what? He is the President of the United States, and you're not. Love it or leave it."
"Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?
If Nixon were running for president today, he would be seen as a 'liberal' candidate, and he would probably win. He was a crook and a bungler, but what the hell? Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected 'American people') don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.
Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
You bet. Richard Nixon would be my Man. He was a crook and a creep and a gin-sot, but on some nights, when he would get hammered and wander around in the streets, he was fun to hang out with. He would wear a silk sweat suit and pull a stocking down over his face so nobody could recognize him. Then we would get in a cab and cruise down to the Watergate Hotel, just for laughs."
"I watch three or four frantic network-news bulletins about Iraq every day, and it is all just fraudulent Pentagon propaganda, the absolute opposite of what it says: u.s. transfers sovereignty to iraqi interim "government." Hot damn! Iraq is finally Free, and just in time for the election! It is a deliberate cowardly lie. We are no more giving power back to the Iraqi people than we are about to stop killing them.
Your neighbor's grandchildren will be fighting this stupid, greed-crazed Bush-family "war" against the whole Islamic world for the rest of their lives, if John Kerry is not elected to be the new President of the United States in November.
The question this year is not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but if the American people want it that way. That is what this election is all about. We are down to nut-cutting time, and millions of people are angry. They want a Regime Change."
"Which has always been the case. Every GOP administration since 1952 has let the Military-Industrial Complex loot the Treasury and plunge the nation into debt on the excuse of a wartime economic emergency. Richard Nixon comes quickly to mind, along with Ronald Reagan and his ridiculous 'trickle-down' theory of U.S. economic policy. If the Rich get Richer, the theory goes, before long their pots will overflow and somehow 'trickle down' to the poor, who would rather eat scraps off the Bush family plates than eat nothing at all. Republicans have never approved of democracy, and they never will. It goes back to preindustrial America, when only white male property owners could vote."
"The genetically vicious nature of presidential campaigns in America is too obvious to argue with, but some people call it fun, and I am one of them. Election Day -- especially a presidential election -- is always a wild and terrifying time for politics junkies, and I am one of those, too. We look forward to major election days like sex addicts look forward to orgies. We are slaves to it."
"George Bush certainly does. In four short years he has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war. But so what? He is the President of the United States, and you're not. Love it or leave it."
"Richard Nixon looks like a flaming liberal today, compared to a golem like George Bush. Indeed. Where is Richard Nixon now that we finally need him?
If Nixon were running for president today, he would be seen as a 'liberal' candidate, and he would probably win. He was a crook and a bungler, but what the hell? Nixon was a barrel of laughs compared to this gang of thugs from the Halliburton petroleum organization who are running the White House today -- and who will be running it this time next year, if we (the once-proud, once-loved and widely respected 'American people') don't rise up like wounded warriors and whack those lying petroleum pimps out of the White House on November 2nd.
Nixon hated running for president during football season, but he did it anyway. Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.
You bet. Richard Nixon would be my Man. He was a crook and a creep and a gin-sot, but on some nights, when he would get hammered and wander around in the streets, he was fun to hang out with. He would wear a silk sweat suit and pull a stocking down over his face so nobody could recognize him. Then we would get in a cab and cruise down to the Watergate Hotel, just for laughs."
"I watch three or four frantic network-news bulletins about Iraq every day, and it is all just fraudulent Pentagon propaganda, the absolute opposite of what it says: u.s. transfers sovereignty to iraqi interim "government." Hot damn! Iraq is finally Free, and just in time for the election! It is a deliberate cowardly lie. We are no more giving power back to the Iraqi people than we are about to stop killing them.
Your neighbor's grandchildren will be fighting this stupid, greed-crazed Bush-family "war" against the whole Islamic world for the rest of their lives, if John Kerry is not elected to be the new President of the United States in November.
The question this year is not whether President Bush is acting more and more like the head of a fascist government but if the American people want it that way. That is what this election is all about. We are down to nut-cutting time, and millions of people are angry. They want a Regime Change."
His last published story
Hunter S. Thompson's final story was in the October 20, 2004 Rolling Stone..check it here..
he was off base, like many of us, on the election outcome.. but his thoughts on american politics always struck a chord with me..
Friday, February 18, 2005
A sign posted on a fence erected to protect La Casa Rosada (see in the background), Argentina's White House, the day after riots led to the end of the De La Rua presidency. It sums up the general disgust with the Argentine Government: "Goodbye Supreme Court Justices, Goodbye (International) Monetary Fund, Goodbye Pensions of Privilege."
The economic recession of Argentina eventually led to a popular revolt that brought down the President. Pictured here are the headlines of Argentina's major dailies the day after the riots leading to the resignation of President De La Rua at the end of 2001: "The Worse end: De La Rua is gone but he left 26 dead..", "De La Rua Resigned", and "De La Rua left but the riots don't stop." Argentina is now getting back on its feet.....but careful before jumping to conclusions.
Argentina's Inexorable Habit of Dissapointing
Argentina's economy has grown at nearly 9% for the past two years with additional growth forecast for this year... Meanwhile, the Government's "canje" or trade forced upon bond holders (holders of argentine govt debt) with the rather unseemly ultimatum "we've defaulted and if you want anything back accept getting a lot less" has largely met with reluctant acceptance on the part of bondholders...Argentina-watchers are tempted to declare a victory for the Government in its armwrestling with creditors.. even the Wall Street Journal which has made a habit these past few years of berating Argentina is turning a gentler eye on argentina as of late.
however the inescapable fact remains: argentina a country that in the 1920s was one of the ten largest economies in the world barely scrapes the top 100... poverty pervades argentina...although declining with respect to its peak in 2001-2002 i estimate half of argentina's population is poor... analyzing argentina's economic "development" we observe it is nothing but underdevelopment since the end of World War I.. there are peaks and troughs but overall argentina's economy has been on a fairly consistent downward spiral for about 85 years!.. a little economic growth now and then offsets large contractions much as the current growh compensates for some of the huge contraction the economy experienced during the 2001 devaluation (where in dollar terms the economy shrunk something insane like 200%).. but the triumphalism both by some argentine officials and in the foreign media is irresponsible..
the foreign media in particular fails to comprehend argentina and is largely made up of the same "journalists" that during the Menem administration's heyday in the 1990s applauded a by all accounts corrupt government that indebted the country heedlessly with IMF/United States and international financial sector complicity; in essence the same governtment that failed to take the necessary steps to preserve the wellbeing of its people.. the foreign press at the time,led by the usual free-capitalist loving stalwarts the Economist and Wall Street Journal, raved and gushed about Argentina until it was far too late.. they failed to raise timely warning bells about the country's huge indebtedness and unemployment which soared from 10% to nearly 20%!.. when Argentina inevitably collapsed the foreign press was quick to point fingers anywhere but inwards... my point, and i'm sad to make it, is be very cautious and don't believe the hype...
none of this is to imply that Argentina cannot get its house in order and build a more solid economy for the benefit of all its people... the potential for solid economic gains exists.. however, given the lack of acumen displayed by most of its political class and the entrenched corruption permeating the society one must be extremely cautious....certain attitudes and practices, cultural and social, anathemic to the development of capitalism are now engrained within argentine society... furthermore, the weakness and lack of autonomy inherent in its democratic institutions (for example the judiciary) act as drags on progress...even the harsh events of 2001-2002, unbelievably, have not shaken society's ill foundations.. these foundations, in existence for about 100 years, must be changed before stable progress can become a reality for Argentina..
Thursday, February 17, 2005
The return of Andres "el salmon" Calamaro
A feature on Andres Calamaro will follow...for now its great to know he's healthy and back performing in Argentina..
I got the great news late last night. Andres Calamaro, noted argentine singer songwriter, performed his first live show in Argentina in nearly 6 years at the Cosquin Festival (Argentina's Coachella or Bonnaroo) this past weekend. He's put on weight but after the battles one imagines he's waged that no surprise..
World Cup Fever- Part 2 (A look back at 2002)
I need to push ahead with my thoughts on what happened to Argentina during the 2002 World Cup; there are other things I want to get to.
On Part 1 of World Cup Fever I mentioned Bielsa failed to notice or react to Veron’s dropoff in form. The same error in reverse was perhaps more costly. Bielsa failed to notice two players whose form had improved greatly the year preceding the World Cup who would have been key additions to the squad. In the case of Pablo Aimar of spanish club Valenica, Aimar's popularity with argentines owing to his days at River Plate forced Bielsa's hand. Aimar was reluctantly included on the World Cup squad. When things against England were not going well or as we say in Argentina "cuando las papas estaban en el fuego" (when the potatoes were on the fire) in the second half and Veron was in the midst of his dramatic collapse before 1 billion people the coach then turned to Aimar for some creative spark in midfield. Aimar of course is a more offensive midfielder; more of a 10 whereas Veron is almost a cross between a 10 and a 5 (actually he may just be a 5 but Bielsa had him playing as a 10). In any case, Aimar destabilized but was unable to tie up the game. In the following crucial tie against Sweden Aimar started and again played very well but things just did not break for Argentina..by this point, after the England fiasco, the squad was in a near mutiny...Aimar should have started all three initial round games and should have come into the World Cup as an integral part of the starting squad.. his form in Spain led his club Valencia to challenge for or even win (I forget) the La Liga Spanish league title (if they did not win that year they won the title immediately following the world cup) and challenge for some European cup or even win it (was it the Champions? UEFA? I forget)….. You CANNOT fail to use players like Aimar who bring creativity to the pitch.. creativity to a squad starved for it.. a team that had been having problems scoring…More on this later but stylewise Aimar is the classic Argentine player..and for most argentines he was the only player that really played well in 2002... even in the anguish of 2002 i marched to my local sports store on the avenida santa fe and purchased his jersey..
But I had mentioned two players.. the other was Solari another midfielder from Real Madrid who had began to display great form with Real particularly in the highest form of European club play: the Champions league…. Although not always a starter Solari had been coming off the bench at times and integrating perfectly with Zidane and other monsters playing at the time for Real (Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Raul, etc). If Solari could play so well at such a high level of club play there is no doubt in my mind that he was a natural to make the squad… and perhaps he could have replaced one of the players that Bielsa refused to consider removing even as their form dipped for Veron was not the only one who did not perform during the 2002 World Cup.. Kily Gonzalez, another midfielder comes to mind and to my mind Solari should have taken his spot.. Even Simeone, my favorite all time player, had seen his form dip and Solari would have been a better choice... coaches have to make tough choices but bielsa always made the easy choice..
Coach Bielsa failed to react to changes in the form of key players preferring to go with the players that had been with him since the beginning of his cycle(the "historicos")..this was a mistake…in some cases it led him to take “older” players more prone to injury such as Sensini (or Simeone) who did not make it past the first game….or Chamot who had already failed Argentina (my personal scapegoat for the losses in the 1994 [watch the romania game and TELL ME just TELL ME he was not responsible for at least 2 of romania's goals] and 1998 World Cups [Owen schooled him during England-Argentina II, Holland second goal he leaves Ayala to singlehandedly confront Bergkamp]- he is that horrible defender who goes up to attack and then when the counterattack comes is to be found with his back to the opponents goal far from the ball- no solidarity)… Then to make matters worse he succumbed to pressure from Argentines to take Caniggia along merely because Caniggia had scored a few goals in the forsaken Scottish league.. Caniggia was past his prime and worse yet prone to injury...(think about it: cani and bati had helped argentina win the 1991 Copa America...this was 11 years later and the two same strikers are on the squad?!)`Cani ended up being injured of course during the cup and only was able to play in the third game were once again displaying his "maturity" he promptly got himself red carded....a waste of a spot on the squad..
When you add the miscues of taking Chamot, Sensini, Caniggia, Kily Gonzalez and not giving a proper role to Crespo, Aimar, and Solari (and I would add Gallardo who watched the cup from the bench but should have been preferred over Ortega) you begin to see something very wrong going on..river plate fans might be tempted to conclude bielsa had it in for their squad as all four of these players had come through river..
However, the problem with the squad was not just one of players.. Bielsa committed the gravest error that a national coach can commit… he had argentina play like a European club instead of having it play like Argentina…. national teams have an identity that comes from the country itself… the English play like English with their long balls and speed.. Brazilians by and by like Brazilians, the Germans are always the Germans..never quitting.. always storming back with sheer will....the italians are the stingiest team around and rely on a lone single quick witted play to put them over the top.....and have been for decades.. the french have style and sophistication..from Tigana/Platini to Zidane/Henry.. and on and on and on….as coach you have to be true to your country’s style… if you commit the ultimate treason of forcing your team to play with someone else’s style don’t be surprised if when meeting other teams whose national identity is that very style they beat you…
to be continued….
On Part 1 of World Cup Fever I mentioned Bielsa failed to notice or react to Veron’s dropoff in form. The same error in reverse was perhaps more costly. Bielsa failed to notice two players whose form had improved greatly the year preceding the World Cup who would have been key additions to the squad. In the case of Pablo Aimar of spanish club Valenica, Aimar's popularity with argentines owing to his days at River Plate forced Bielsa's hand. Aimar was reluctantly included on the World Cup squad. When things against England were not going well or as we say in Argentina "cuando las papas estaban en el fuego" (when the potatoes were on the fire) in the second half and Veron was in the midst of his dramatic collapse before 1 billion people the coach then turned to Aimar for some creative spark in midfield. Aimar of course is a more offensive midfielder; more of a 10 whereas Veron is almost a cross between a 10 and a 5 (actually he may just be a 5 but Bielsa had him playing as a 10). In any case, Aimar destabilized but was unable to tie up the game. In the following crucial tie against Sweden Aimar started and again played very well but things just did not break for Argentina..by this point, after the England fiasco, the squad was in a near mutiny...Aimar should have started all three initial round games and should have come into the World Cup as an integral part of the starting squad.. his form in Spain led his club Valencia to challenge for or even win (I forget) the La Liga Spanish league title (if they did not win that year they won the title immediately following the world cup) and challenge for some European cup or even win it (was it the Champions? UEFA? I forget)….. You CANNOT fail to use players like Aimar who bring creativity to the pitch.. creativity to a squad starved for it.. a team that had been having problems scoring…More on this later but stylewise Aimar is the classic Argentine player..and for most argentines he was the only player that really played well in 2002... even in the anguish of 2002 i marched to my local sports store on the avenida santa fe and purchased his jersey..
But I had mentioned two players.. the other was Solari another midfielder from Real Madrid who had began to display great form with Real particularly in the highest form of European club play: the Champions league…. Although not always a starter Solari had been coming off the bench at times and integrating perfectly with Zidane and other monsters playing at the time for Real (Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Raul, etc). If Solari could play so well at such a high level of club play there is no doubt in my mind that he was a natural to make the squad… and perhaps he could have replaced one of the players that Bielsa refused to consider removing even as their form dipped for Veron was not the only one who did not perform during the 2002 World Cup.. Kily Gonzalez, another midfielder comes to mind and to my mind Solari should have taken his spot.. Even Simeone, my favorite all time player, had seen his form dip and Solari would have been a better choice... coaches have to make tough choices but bielsa always made the easy choice..
Coach Bielsa failed to react to changes in the form of key players preferring to go with the players that had been with him since the beginning of his cycle(the "historicos")..this was a mistake…in some cases it led him to take “older” players more prone to injury such as Sensini (or Simeone) who did not make it past the first game….or Chamot who had already failed Argentina (my personal scapegoat for the losses in the 1994 [watch the romania game and TELL ME just TELL ME he was not responsible for at least 2 of romania's goals] and 1998 World Cups [Owen schooled him during England-Argentina II, Holland second goal he leaves Ayala to singlehandedly confront Bergkamp]- he is that horrible defender who goes up to attack and then when the counterattack comes is to be found with his back to the opponents goal far from the ball- no solidarity)… Then to make matters worse he succumbed to pressure from Argentines to take Caniggia along merely because Caniggia had scored a few goals in the forsaken Scottish league.. Caniggia was past his prime and worse yet prone to injury...(think about it: cani and bati had helped argentina win the 1991 Copa America...this was 11 years later and the two same strikers are on the squad?!)`Cani ended up being injured of course during the cup and only was able to play in the third game were once again displaying his "maturity" he promptly got himself red carded....a waste of a spot on the squad..
When you add the miscues of taking Chamot, Sensini, Caniggia, Kily Gonzalez and not giving a proper role to Crespo, Aimar, and Solari (and I would add Gallardo who watched the cup from the bench but should have been preferred over Ortega) you begin to see something very wrong going on..river plate fans might be tempted to conclude bielsa had it in for their squad as all four of these players had come through river..
However, the problem with the squad was not just one of players.. Bielsa committed the gravest error that a national coach can commit… he had argentina play like a European club instead of having it play like Argentina…. national teams have an identity that comes from the country itself… the English play like English with their long balls and speed.. Brazilians by and by like Brazilians, the Germans are always the Germans..never quitting.. always storming back with sheer will....the italians are the stingiest team around and rely on a lone single quick witted play to put them over the top.....and have been for decades.. the french have style and sophistication..from Tigana/Platini to Zidane/Henry.. and on and on and on….as coach you have to be true to your country’s style… if you commit the ultimate treason of forcing your team to play with someone else’s style don’t be surprised if when meeting other teams whose national identity is that very style they beat you…
to be continued….
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Congratulation to Jen Garske and Jeff King!!!!!!!
OK, now what I want to know is why this woman would want to have anything to do with this clown! :)...kidding.. A big congratulations to Jen Garske and Jeff King on their engagement and impending nuptials! The world exclaims "About time..." and the champagne flows..
The "Hank Williams Sings" record featured "I Saw the Light", "Mansion on the Hill" and "Lost Highway." It was Hank's first LP and just gets better with age. Its also, by my research, one of only two Hank LPs released prior to his unfortunate death on January 1, 1953 (the other being "Moanin' the Blues"). With the Long Playing record just beginning to take hold in the marketplace- Columbia Records was the first to issue them beginning in 1949- his work like that of a lot of musicians of the time was still primarily available on 78 rpm discs. 10 inch records were available for a limited time- before the 12 inch LP consolidated its grip on the market- and are highly collectible. The first 10 inch LPs, such as this one, were compilations of songs previously released on 78s.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
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