recent jf posts

We go for something like a year without this guy posting, except a couple of times when someone made a direct reference to his book. Now he has numerous posts on the mid-high stakes forum, including one where he takes my name in vain. What's up?


Is he setting us up for another book? Is the psychology forum his next target? Will his next step be to start playing poker again? Or is he just bored out of his mind?


Inquiring minds want to know.

"is he just bored out of his mind?"


This I seriously doubt.

Just puttin' one foot in from of the other, man. Not sure where it's leadin', but it's got me here talkin' to 3BB in the company of Mr. Fox and Easy E. Must be doin' somethin' right. /images/biggrin.gif

hey john.


last i remember, you said you were thinkin of takin up playing a musical instrument. any progress in this area? i'd love to hear how its going.

Learning an instrument is still mostly on the back burner. I've been listening to a lot of different music in recent months, and have read a little on song writing. But the whole music idea is mostly waiting till I finish some other projects first.


BTW, from what I remember of your musical tastes, I wonder if you'd like these guys.


http://theonlytheory.com/


They're a fairly unknown but up and coming band in the UK that I ran across on garageband.com. You can DL some of their songs on the site, and others on garageband.com. They get compared to Radiohead a lot, but also show influences from Zep, Beatles, and Pink Floyd.

thanks for the link. they sound pretty cool.


so, what else ya been rockin out to? (please say guns n roses. please say guns n roses. please say guns n roses.)

Well, I *want* to say Guns & Roses, but I gotta admit I haven't listened to them lately. I did like some of their songs a few (more than a few I guess) years back. Their edge could be just a little hard for an old guy like me now. /images/ohwell.gif


My musical tastes seem to roam all over the place. Loosely in the rock realm I've dabbled in the last year in Ben Folds, Radiohead, a dash of Dave Matthews, and a couple of obscure bands that would probably be called "heartland rock," the Ass Ponys, and Kevin Bowe and the Okemah Prophets (Their song Sault Ste. Marie is really a classic).


In other genres I've also gone back to an old favorite, Gil Scott-Heron (sorta soul-jazz), as well as a recent album, Gotta Play, from his old partner, Brian Jackson (best jazz-funk since the '70s, I think). I've also gone back through a lot of Steely Dan, particularly coming to a new appreciation for their last album, as well as a couple of songs from Fagen's solo album, Kamakiriad.


Then I've also been on a big country jag. Found an excellent newer group, The Star Room Boys, and a singer, Tammy Cochran whose song "Life Happened" has recently been on the country charts.


Then there's Paulo Conte, a kind of Italian, talk-jazz, semi-cabaret singer who I may like better than any of 'em.


Various other stuff too, but those are some recent notables.


Who else should I check out? (How 'bout Guns & Roses? /images/wink.gif )

besides GNFNR,


you should check out the following musicians. i think they might be up your alley.


Sunny Day Real Estate (check out their last album, The Rising Tide. amazing.)


elliot smith - most of his stuff is good. my favorite is XO. figure 8 is good, too. really all of it.


bob dylan - im sure you know. but its worth going back to. i have just recently started to get into him, and im kicking myself for not listening to him before now.


led zeppelin - my favorite band of all time. listen to LZ III. essential.


Pedro the Lion - you might dig em. pretty cool stuff.


the Cars - good old New Wave grooves.


tori amos - i don't know her stuff that well. but i've dug what i've heard so far. a friend has been indoctrinating me over the last few months.

Okay I'll take a listen to some of those. Thanks. I hadn't heard of the first two, or of Pedro. I should really get LZ III. I only have Houses of the Holy. But I do have four of Plant's solo albums. I think Manic Nirvana and Now and Zen are really masterpieces.


Just for fun, I was just thinking of what might have been the first album (back then they really were albums, not CDs, though I still call CDs "albums" anyway) I ever bought. I'm pretty sure it was Steppenwolf, The Second (had to look up that title in google just now)... either that or Iron Butterfly's Inagoddadaveda (however that's spelled). I think I was in 5th grade. I remember taking that Steppenwolf album to music class at school one day for "sharing." I don't think the teacher appreciated it very much. /images/ohwell.gif You remember your first album?

John,


Of course I remember. Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Koo-koo, cha-choo.


John

... of the record player. I'm still not sure CDs sound better. Well, they do sound better than the little all-in-one stereo I had then, but I think there's someting to the claim that decent stereos with turntables sounded "warmer," and less "tinny" than CDs.


Moving right along, I remember in about 6th grade when my friend Matt walked by my desk and asked, "John, what do you like better, "Crimson 'n Clover" (by whoever that was) or "Touch Me" (Doors)? I paused to think for a moment, and confidently said, "Touch Me," which was not in fact a slam dunk of a choice, since I really did like "Crimson and Clover." But really, how could I not go with the Mr. Mojo Risin'? Matt nodded, said "me too," and strolled on to the pencil sharpener. Just one of those important little life moments from the "dazed and confused" generation.