As far as unofficial recording goes, we are living in a golden age. Not only are more bands willing to let people patch in to the soundboards, but stealth recording is much easier than it used to be. This is because the new digital recorders are smaller and can record for much longer than the old tape units, and with the better microphones available these days, they can give great quality.

The "stealth recording" era really began in the early 70's, when tape decks became managably small, but many enterprising souls made do with the old reel-to-reel jobs. One fellow I read about got some great Pink Floyd tapes by going to the shows in a wheelchair, with the deck mounted under the seat!

As I've demonstrated, however, it doesn't have to be a stealth recording to count - it just has to be unreleased. That means that recordings from radio and TV make the rounds, as well. That also means that my little hobby can reach much further into the past than the 70's. One of my oldest boots, in fact, is from 1954.

I gave a clue to this week's feature, along with a contest. The clue was "The most recognizable voice of the 20th century". The contest was a copy of the full show to the first person to guess who that was. Well, no one came close, because everyone was thinking of people who could have been recorded from the audience on the sly. As the General Practitioner said to the Gynecologist, "You've got to think outside the box."

What voice, known to people of all generations, could possibly be as instantly recognizable as the gravelly tones of Louis Armstrong?

You don't have to be a jazz fiend to recognize ol' Satchmo (short for Satchel Mouth). In fact, if you don't know Louie's voice, I HAVE to ask when you left your home in the rainforest. Louie was not only a distinctive voice- his style literally re-wrote the book on singing. I find it impossible to sing along with him on a song I know, but have never heard him do before. He'll leave me in the dust with some ingenious phrasing that would never have occured to me in a million years, and you know he did it off the cuff! What's more, once you've heard Louie sing it HIS way, any other way seems just moronic. As evidence, I point toward two "must have" jazz discs. First, check out the tune called "Cottontail", as well as the rest of The Great Summit between Louie and Duke Ellington. I love this disc so much that when a 2 disc "Complete Sessions" version was released, I bought that, too. The other is called Louis Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson, his magnificent teaming with the piano great. The entire disc is a gem, but the tracks "Let's Fall in Love", "Blues in the Night", and "Let's Do It" will put the hurts on anything you thought was great singing before that. You should get these both immediately. Go ahead, I'll wait.

But he wasn't JUST a singer, he was a world class trumpet man as well. His style with the horn was every bit as distinctive as his vocals. I can identify Louie's horn in a song I've never heard, just from the way he plays it. No one else, even his imitators, had Louie's "in your face" style of playing. He always blew bright and strong, with powerful, slow notes that got his point across with no questions. Even his melllow, sweet songs were that direct- but no less sweet for that.

Louis cut his jazz teeth in the early days of the Jazz Era with King Oliver's band, and swung his way though that and the "Big Band" era. By 1954, though he was still a popular act (for the older set), his Dixieland style was about as "in" as the Lindy. In fact, the "hipsters" of the time looked down on Louie as a washed up old Uncle Tom. Of course, most of those "hipsters" were shooting heroin, stupidly thinking that it would make them sound like Charlie Parker.  Louie left a legacy that few others can even come close to touching, and thankfully lived to see that fact appreciated.

This week's selection comes from UNC at Chapel Hill on May 8, 1954. While Louis and his band play a fantastic set, it is a little short on the vocal genius that I extolled. The cut I chose, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On", is oh so sweet, however, and demonstrates both his voice and horn style.

Who can deny that the world is just a slightly better place for having Louie's beautiful music in it?

Click here for Louie Armstrong asking for A Kiss to Build a Dream On.

Next week: In 1983 a future guitar legend rehearsed with a famous singer for a world tour he never played on. Who can name them both?

1. Debbie Harry - Singer for the rock band Blondie.
2. Gloria Steinem - Writer and publisher.
3. Lauren Hutton -  Formerly yummy actress.
4. Carol Cleveland - Comedienne, best known as the "7th Python".
5. Susan Sullivan - Actress, best known as Kitty on "Dharma and Greg. "
6. Dr. Polly Matzinger - World famous immunologist. There can't be many.
7. Sherilynn Fenn - Best known for "Twin Peaks". The tv show, that is.
8. Kimba Wood- Federal Judge.
9. Dale Bozzio- Zappa/ Missing Persons singer, nude model.
10. Julie Cobb - Actress/Yeoman, daughter of Lee J. Cobb.
11. Kathryn Leigh Scott - Vampiric beauty from "Dark Shadows".
12. Jackie Zeman - "General Hospital" regular.
13. Katy Mirza - Hell, who cares what else she can do?

Well, O'Tim has joined me in my fiendish ways, by craftily snagging a membership at Dime-A-Dozen, the best (and hardest to join) of all the download sites I frequent! It's good to have a future trading partner here in Blogovia. You will soon, no doubt, hear him raving and drooling over the musical pulchritude to which he is now exposed!

Meanwhile, the Pink Floyd download site Yeeshkul is reborn today, with a new tracker and plenty of membership availability. Anyone who wants to build an unofficial Pink Floyd collection will do well there.

I have also found a new place for the Deadheads to download their boots. Lossless Legs seems to be picking up in the absence of the Music Never Stopped Project. You don't have to be a Deadhead,, though..... I just saw some Koko Taylor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Black Crowes for DL there, among others!

Viva la revolucion!!

You may have noticed that my taste in music so far runs toward songs with long instrumental passages. Virtuosity is, indeed, the key to my attention. I have great admiration for those who perfect that which I have never had the patience or discipline to even really begin. For that reason, and the fact that I have little patience with cliche'd lyrics, few of my favorites frequent the Top 40.

So why is Blondie at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow on December 31, 1979, one of my most frequently rotated boots? Because this was a farooking great band, that's why. While they weren't doing anything in King Crimson's league, they had catchy songs that weren't too simple to sound smart, and they played them very tightly. Debbie Harry gets the credit for the band's success, and while she was a good singer with all that a pubescent male could want (click here for proof), she would have been a flash in the pan without a solid band behind her.

Besides, this was New Year's Eve, the last night of the 70's. The joint was crackling, and that energy shines like a diamond. The crowd was hot, the band was tight, and this recording is one hell of a party disc.

While my need for virtuosity has made me shy away from a lot of pop music, it's made me run from most punk. The main (well, only) exception is the Ramones. Most punk bands wanted to be taken seriously, but didn't deserve to be. They could hardly play their instruments at all, but I was supposed to buy this as "rebellion against corporate rock" instead of the lazy ineptitude it sounded like. I was supposed to care about their "political message", even when it was just a bunch of whining. And to top it off, I'm close minded and brainwashed because I think a band should be more than that.

 The Ramones stand out because I didn't need to take them seriously. They didn't care that one song sounded a lot like the rest, they just cranked it out. They didn't have a "message". They sang about girls, drugs, and hanging out. I could just enjoy the energy, a cathartic release when I felt like belting someone. I don't listen to them often, but every once in awhile I have a "Ramones mood." So I have their show from the Palladium in NYC, New Year's Eve 1979. A few hours after and an ocean away from Blondie's ringing in of the new year.

So this week I have a double header - the songs that each of these bands were playing closest to the falling of the ball, as well as I can determine. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!!!

Click here to hear Blondie do "Sunday Girl" with a Scottish twist at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre on Dec. 31, 1979.

Click here to hear the Ramones ask the crowd at NYC's Palladium "Do You Wanna Dance?" on the same night.

Next: The most recognizable voice of the 20th century.

When I was in high school, I ate, drank, and breathed Pink Floyd. Oh, sure, I listened to a lot of other bands and was a verifiable FM AOR (Album Oriented Rock) junkie, but Floyd was by far my fave. I was once told by my physics teacher in a discussion of music that I could expect my tastes to change as I mature, and that I wouldn't be listening to Pink Floyd in 20 years. He was right about my tastes evolving, but he was dead wrong about the Floyd.

In fact, since I started downloading this stuff, I listen to a wider variety of their music than ever before. It seems that most of their shows since 1970, and many earlier shows, are available in some form or another. If you listen to enough of it, it becomes evident that the representation this band's music got in official releases borders on criminal negligence.

This cut from one of their sessions with John Peel illustrates my point. John Peel was a British radio personality that had a unique idea. He had weekly live studio performances with a wide variety of bands, both great and small. His show ran for ages and exerted a huge influence, bringing obscure bands out into the light of day. Peel favored bands that defied the norm, although he had the major acts as well, and many bands have released their Peel sessions officially.

Pink Floyd did many sessions with Peel, the final one taking place at the Paris Theater in London on September 30, 1971. If this had been officially released, it would be one of their best albums.

Since I've discovered the underground Floyd, the 1969 to 1971 era has become my favorite part of their history. At this time the band was stretching their blues roots into long, highly improvisational compositions. Listening to the shows in this period one hears a wildly different band, one that seems to let the songs flow and evolve as they will. After Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973, a lot of that improvisational spirit had fallen to the wayside. If the only Pink Floyd you know is from "Dark Side" or later, you will hardly recognize the band you here hear.

This is a gorgeous tune called Fat Old Sun which started off that final Peel session. It's quite a bit different from the version on the Atom Heart Mother album, and also a far cry from the one they played at the previous session one year earlier, being almost 3 times longer than either of those. If you can, listen with headphones while watching a beautiful sunset. If not, listen with headphones while kicking back and imagining one. Enjoy.

Pink Floyd - Fat Old Sun- 1971/09/30 - Paris Theatre, London

And here's an interesting interpretation of some Floyd covers.

Next: The last night of the 70's.

1) Bananas - First and foremost. If you sit near me and peel one of those damn things, I'm out of here. Proof of God's fallibility.

2) Menudo - It has guts in it. I don't do guts. Take out the guts and you have posole, which I'll eat right up.

3) Just about any kind of melon - They're not as bad as bananas but there's still something wrong with them.

4) Lamb heads - I mention this because the grocery store in my old neighborhood stocked them on a regular basis.

5) Liver and onions - It amazes me that people can go to a retaurant, where they can order anything they want, and choose THIS. Most eventual matricides begin with liver and onions.

6) Pineapple on pizza - I LOVE pineapple. I LOVE pizza. They DON'T belong together. No. It's just WEIRD.

7) Cauliflower - How does anyone get past that smell?

8) Sauerkraut - Ditto.

9) Cottage cheese - When milk does that at home, we throw it out. If it does it somewhere else, we pay for it and eat it with a slimy piece of melon......

10) Lima beans - Gee, how did those never grow on me?

11) Peeps - Those nasty little marshmallow chicks with neon glitter on them that they sell every Easter,  and make 3 Easters before. Even as a child with a sweet tooth, I couldn't hack those. Paula makes me think of the damn things almost every day.

12) Anything from the vietnamese restaurant on the corner which happens to occupy one half of a very small building. The other half is a vietnamese emissions tester. Carbon Monoxide on rice noodles, anyone?

13) My words - Nuff' said.

In the comments of my last post, Ruth (and who knows, possibly others) was concerned about the legal status of my music trading hobby. This is absolutely understandable, considering all the press about Napster and all the lawsuits flying about. It made me laugh, however, thinking about "stealing" from the Grateful Dead, a band that actually sold special tickets for people that wanted to record the shows and trade them freely!

Here is an article from the LA Times about the trading scene.I'm sure it will put any lingering doubts about the music that I'm posting to rest.

Now that that's put to bed, who'd like to do some trading?

Nat has several regular features on her blog that involve posting songs, which I think is great idea. I'm always up for learning something new in the musical realm. In fact, for the second time, I think she has an idea so good, it's worth stealing.

There is one major difference, though. While she is posting actual releases that you can go out and buy, we Trolls prefer the underground, or unofficial releases.

Okay, Joe, why don't you just come right out and call them BOOTLEGS? I don't because that wouldn't be quite accurate. You see, an unofficial recording becomes a bootleg when it is packaged and sold. The term really doesn't apply when it is traded or given freely. There is a vast network of music fans worldwide who do just that. They support the musicians as well, but like the underground stuff because, let's face it, concerts are what seperate MUSICIANS from MUSIC PERSONALITIES. A good band or performer will always have those spontaneous surprises when performing in the moment. Those are what I live for.

"So they must be bought before they can be traded, don't they????" Sometimes, someone in the community will buy a "bootleg" that is unavailable by other means, and "liberate" it, meaning that they distribute it for free, thus ruining the bootlegger's market. Usually, though, the original recorder is someone from within the community who will trade it for another recording that he wants, or simply distribute it for free. This usually helps the artists, who get people listening to their music when they might not have heard it otherwise, due to lack of radio play or record company promotion. Most artists don't oppose this as long as nothing that is officially released gets traded. Few acts want to take Metallica's tack, which was to wage legal war on their own fans.

So to start this feature off, I'm posting a cut from the band that pretty much created this scene in the first place....The Grateful Dead. It was certainly their music that got me started on this hobby about 21 odd years ago. It's from one of the first unnofficial tapes I ever got (and still have!) from the guy who got me into the Dead in the first place!! ( I wonder what happened to him. I think his name was Tom or Jim or something. Probably overdosed, found religion, or something equally tragic.)

What you will hear here is the second set opener from the Greek Theater in Berkeley, Ca. on May 22, 1982. The songs are called "China Cat Sunflower" and "I Know You Rider", with a musical bridge between them. We Deadsters have heard the boys do this thousands of times, but seldom did they do it this well. I hope you all enjoy it.

To those not into the Dead, don't worry. This feature will have a bit of variety, bound only by my tastes (which are educated) and my collection (which is excellent).

As a bonus, I found some pictures from this concert and the next night.

And here's the Grateful Dead on 5-22-82.

Next week: One of Pink Floyd's finest live moments. Ever.

This arrived in my e-mail the other day. I don't follow college ball, so I have to trust him on it.......... even if it's fake, I think it's funny.

Arkansas Razorbacks Clarke Moore, Brett Goode, and Casey Dick

Blogovia and the mainstream media alike have been abuzz about the comments made by Ann Coulter recently. The residents of Blogovia, having no minimum educational requirements, have been more supportive, but even that support is sparse. Finding offense with her statements is actually quite easy, requiring only half a brain and the capacity for human emotion.

While discussing it with Lou Dobbs, she said something so wrong, so vile, and so offensive, that this Troll cannot ignore it.

It appears here in this clip.

For those of you who can't watch the video, it plays out like this. Lou started off his interview by comparing her to a conservative Michael Moore, which I would call fair. After all, both are loud, single minded, and don't bother much with facts when an overly emotional assertion with no factual basis will suffice. She was highly offended, though, and said that she is more like a conservative Mencken or a conservative Mark Twain. She actually compared herself to Mark Twain.

I'm going to try to be polite and fair about this.

JUST WHERE THE FUCK DOES THIS NO-TALENT, SPITEFUL, DISINGENUOUS REPUBLICAN CUM SPONGE GET OFF COMPARING HERSELF TO MARK TWAIN???????????

Ahem. I tried. Honest I did.

There are, let us say, ample differences between the two.

First off, Mark Twain was one of the greatest literary minds America, if not the world, ever produced. He could write a bullshit story about a frog and make it spellbinding. People of all nationalities and walks of life can read his work and thoroughly enjoy it. A century and a quarter after it was written, it still has the power to captivate.

Coulter, on the other hand, has a far more limited audience, and doesn't write anything remotely charming. Can anyone reading this honestly say that they expect her to be on the shelves in 2130?

Secondly, Twain had a genuine love for Americans in all walks of life. Read his "Life on the Mississippi', for example. He didn't slander his counrtymen- he made an honest effort to understand them, and doing so, explain them to people who may not travel the way he did. Even in his later, more cynical works (and his life did provide ample reason for such) took humanity to task as a whole. He didn't single people who don't think like him out for vilification. It seemed that he could look at the worst villain and, given enough time, find something worthwhile in his character.

On the other hand, how often does Ann follow the word "liberal" closely with the word "traitor"? How many times has she just made up an unsavory position, such as "cheering" for abortions,and then attributed it to "liberals"? She has time after time demonstrated sheer disdain for half of the country she claims to love. Here's a great example:

"Not exactly smashing stereotypes of liberals as mincing pantywaists, the left's entire contribution to the war effort thus far has been to whine."

Really, Ann? I thought you supported the troops. Isn't this an insult to every service man and woman that happens to be a Democrat? I suppose there AREN'T any, since all Democrats want America to be destroyed, by her reckoning. I never read Twain putting down his own countrymen so crassly. The negative things he said about humanity he said about humanity in general, without getting into nationality or politics. I won't get into the idea that no liberal can be a Christian. I'm saving modern Christian hypocrisy for another essay.

In a related issue, I never read of Twain advocating violence against his fellow Americans. Here's Ann:

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."

"We need somebody to put rat poison in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said in a Jan. 27 appearance at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark., regarding Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

I also remember her saying that the only question as far as Clinton was concerned was impeachment or assassination. Suggesting assassination, even in jest, is cheaper than cheap, and in the President's case can be punishable by law. We wouldn't put her in prison, though, because the other prisoners don't deserve it. They're only criminals.

Want another? Twain's work always had an honesty about it. He might tell a big fish story, but you'd always know that it was a story. Ann Coulter will just lie to you. Look at that video for an example. While criticizing the "Jersey Girls" she says "[I]f you have a point to make, send out somebody who isn't a widow, who isn't an orphan, who didn't have a son die in Iraq, who didn't lose limbs in Vietnam to make the point so that we can respond. ... You never see conservatives doing that. Liberals are putting up human shields."

Conservatives NEVER do that? Every move the government has made since 9/11 has been justified by the 3000 dead on 9/11. It's okay to use these folks to justify whatever you want to do, as long as you aren't related to them? How many times have we been told that criticizing the war in Iraq is harmful and demoralizing to our troops?  Conservatives use the entire military as their human shield. Our military can fight for, but not withstand the use of, freedom of speech? The worst case, I thought, was when conservatives claimed that Cindy Sheehan's son was full tilt in favor of the war, and that she was cheapening his patriotism. How would they know that better than his mom would? Why isn't it cheap when people who didn't even know him use him to promote the war? Why is it that only those who have sacrificed nothing can have a valid viewpoint?

Twain's attitude always was respectful of the ideals in the Constitution of the United States. Here's Ann:

"(Liberals) are always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let's do it. Let's repress them. ... Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the First Amendment," Coulter said during an Oct. 21, 2005, speech at the University of Florida. This was several years after she equated dissent with treason.

I'll let Mark speak for himself here:

"There are two kinds of patriotism -- monarchical patriotism and republican patriotism. In the one case the government and the king may rightfully furnish you their notions of patriotism; in the other, neither the government nor the entire nation is privileged to dictate to any individual what the form of his patriotism shall be. The gospel of the monarchical patriotism is: "The King can do no wrong." We have adopted it with all its servility, with an unimportant change in the wording: "Our country, right or wrong!" We have thrown away the most valuable asset we had:-- the individual's right to oppose both flag and country when he (just he, by himself) believed them to be in the wrong. We have thrown it away; and with it all that was really respectable about that grotesque and laughable word, Patriotism."

Now, it's true that America grants the right to be a biased, dishonest, loudmouth, hateful piece of shit to every American. But when one denigrates the memory of one of my foremost literary heroes, I will have something to say about it.

I have read - no, studied and pored over- many of Mark Twain's literary masterpieces. You, Ms. Coulter, are no Mark Twain.

You aren't even farooking Sidney Sheldon.

As a literary artist, you are not fit to fill Mark Twain's inkwell. As a debater, you are not fit to pour Mark Twain's scotch. As an American, you not fit to invoke either of his names.