Wilfrid

A wonderful singer, and I also learned we recently lost master MC U-Roy too.

Yuk yuk.

Thanks for that! I never ate there, but I always wanted to so that I could tell my server "phenomenological ontology" - and when s/he looked puzzled, I'd say "that's my philosophy." (Is it sad that I probably made that joke up over 20 years ago?)

I like "Happy Together," but I can no longer sing it without reflecting on how creepy the lyrics are.

Just finished up the blood oranges. They sure are photogenic. I made another Cherry Negroni last night, but garnished with lemon so not worth photographing.

Also, Bridgerton.

It adores me.

I had completely forgotten it.

Now I have to ponder the difference between "doing" and "putting over." If I am understanding it correctly, an example of "doing" songs live would be Wilco playing the entirety of the "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" album live, remaining precisely faithful to the original: one of the most boring live shows I've ever seen, although I like the album.

Amazing how that trend has taken off. I first encountered a crab boil restaurant when staying in an unpromising Chicago location in 2019 while on a strict keto diet. Eating pounds of shrimp and sausage seemed a good idea.

Two consecutive nights of at-home karaoke (he croaked). So a lot of Glenn Campbell, some Scott Walker, and the realization that I don't know "Suite/Judy Blue Eyes" well enough to sing it even if I've heard it a thousand times. It's a good one to test the patience of the audience with though.

I think I had b'stilla.

Compare the live “White Riot” to the album track (the single is better).

I agree that it doesn't demand bad audio. I'm sure there's a nostalgia for crackly, hissing vinyl, but that's nostalgia, not (seriously) a claim that bad audio is optimal.* As for whether rock is a kind of folk music, it depends where you draw the line between rock and the folk forms from which it emerged. I know you're not going to tell me Robert Johnson wasn't a commercial artist. *When I first started buying CDs, some sounded very flat next to the vinyl versions I still owned - but that's a debate about what's better, not a claim that whichever is worst is more authentic.

The question of which is better -- live or recorded -- surely has to be taken on a case by case basis (see Sneak's New York Dolls example). Here's a complicated one. The Clash's first album was really badly produced. It makes them sound like a weedier version of The Strokes (which isn't easy). Their live shows of the time had a massive raw power not captured at all on that first record. But, good luck understanding any of the words or hearing any musical nuance at the live show. With the third and fourth albums, they were creating much more sophisticated music in the studio than live, and

Can they get him to edit Amanda Petrusich?

1. I'm not committing that fallacy. I was adding another example to go with Joe's Nick Lowe one. It's not about being "optimal," but about the reality of the modes of consumption. 2. I don't see the connection with the argument about Johnson.

I don't think we disagree. All those things about live performance (of those kinds of music) are great; but I don't think I'm hearing definitive performances of the "music itself." Loaded phrase. For example, The Ramones. Tremendous on-stage, as good as anyone. But I can hear the songs better on the albums.

That's surely right. I can't imagine ever thinking that the live versions of rock/pop (very generally) are what it's "supposed to" sound like. Whether Einsturzende Neubauten (loudest band I ever heard) at the Bowrry Ballroom, or TLC at Madison Square Garden, the recorded versions of the songs give me a much better idea of what they're "supposed to" sound like. This doesn't mean that listening to the recorded versions is a better experience than the live show, because the appeal of live shows often (and hopefully) exceeds the appeal of the music.

Tony Visconti, producer of Bowie among others, had top of the line speakers for playback in his studio; but he also had a crappy, tinny little speaker, because he needed to hear what the intended hit single would sound like on a transistor radio.

Agreed. It is going to take some drying, but it can't be any worse than testicles (I am being serious).

And the first recipe I turn up is for 10 people, like even outside a pandemic you are going to find 10 people to sit down to a tripe dinner. "Dip each triangle in the egg mixture and then in the bread crumbs, pressing both sides to make sure the tripe is heavily coated with a firm breading." Mm, but pressing firmly is going to make the tripe disgorge liquid.

I've made many tripe dishes, but I don't recall making that one. I can imagine it being a challenge getting the breading to adhere to the moist, spongy surface of the tripe (which I presume gets some pre-cooking).

I should put his memoir, Little Boy, published on his 100th birthday, back on the reading list.

Not to mention...