An update

First off, for those of you who may have had this web page bookmarked and are wondering where are the updates, I'm sorry. I haven't done any thrifting since my last entry, and of course since then gas prices have gone up big time. I know, "a true vinyl junkie doesn't fear rising gas", but as before I go through droughts and eventually come back. I will be thrifting again very soon.

If this is one stop of many trips you make to read my work, then you know that I haven't been dormant. I remain active on the writing front, so for those who don't know about my other writings, here's a list of where you can go to check out my latest efforts:

The Run-Off Groove (column)
Originating at Music For America, that website shut down which made my column homeless. Rather than wait around, I have moved it to a temporary home and you can read it there, literally next door from this place. Some of the news items and videos I've placed in JB's Music has become a part of my column. I have a new column every week "around" Tuesday, so please bookmark it.

Book's Music (podcast)
This is my podcast, a/k/a my digital broadcast, an hour's worth of music from various sources. New, old, classic, stuff I've found while thrifting, it would be great to be able to expand this to something better. Satellite radio, I know you're waiting for me. Until then, my podcasts are free.

Crut's MySpace page
Crut is of course me and my output as an artist. You can listen to old and new music, be updated on the taking-forever-to-complete new album, and occasional foolishness in the bulletins page.

FudgeFM
A brand new website that will make its grand opening very soon, I blog there along with many other gifted writers, artists, producers, and contributors, become a part of the community you've been longing for.

Okayplayer Reviews
This is the music and DVD reviews section at Okayplayer, the official home page for the hip-hop band The Roots. I've been a member of their writing staff for a little over two years and had been an active member in their forum for about nine, but if you like my column, you'll like the work I've done here, along with reviews from the rest of the OKP writing staff.

For something away from my music:

Book's Foodie (food blog)
Yeah, it's another food blog but it's MY food blog. Updated whenever I can.

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I will be starting a few other blogs very soon, so stay tuned for updates. I'll also be updating JB's Music with some old clippings that for whatever reason I saved. Now it's my time to share.

The Third Coast International Audio Festival

If you're into audio recordings as much as I am, and may be into the type of stories heard on NPR, you may want to check out the the homepage for The Third Coast International Audio Festival. You can listen to the stories that have been upped to the site, or even participate if you feel you can put something together.

Yes' "Fragile" gets the audiophile treatment not once, but TWICE!!!

Thrift and used record store junkies, we have all seen Yes' Fragile album many times over, and I'm sure we've bought a copy many times over. Countless LP variations, maybe on 8-track, cassette, or in this digital age we even sprung for the DVD-Audio with surround sound and high resolution mixes. Atlantic also briefly came out with a version in their short-lived 24-karat gold CD series

Now it's about to get another audiophile treatment, and in what may be a first, it is being remastered in two different ways by two different record labels.

Respected audio mastering engineer Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray have done a remaster for the version that will be released on vinyl only on the Analogue Productions label (which you can pre-order right now through the Acoustic Sounds website). This will definitely be a treat for not only Yes fans, but for those who have enjoyed the remasterings Hoffman has done in the last 20 years.

But that's not the only version coming out.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab are also coming out with their remastered version on the label's trademark 24K gold CD series. For those without turntables, you will want to hear what may become one of the definitive versions of this album. (You can pre-order your copy now by clicking to the MFSL website.

Hoffman is known for the CD's he mastered for the now-defunct DCC label, and there are only a few instances when DCC and MFSL released their own versions of the same album. In this case, it is the first time two versions of the same album are being released at the same time. Audiophile and music junkies are going crazy over this right now, wondering which one to buy and knowing that in the end they will buy both.

Let's hope Close To The Edge is next.

r.i.p. Syd Barrett

He and the rest of Pink Floyd were a major influence on my music, in terms of wanting to take it higher, and then go further.

News Article: Indie Stores Turn To Used CD's

From The Oregonian.

My opinion? I still buy CD's, and I still buy vinyl. I support new and used CD's.

News: Before The Music Dies (movie)

I was just made aware of this movie and I hope to be able to get a chance to see it. Most likely it will not play here in the Tri-Cities but... this is something I have to see.

News: Beyonce Holding Rehearsals for "All Female Touring Band"

I posted this in the forums at Okayplayer. I am not a Beyonce fan, I prefer Kelly Rowland (in terms of voice and looks). I do, however, like the fact that she's going to hire a band, and an all-female band at that. I would go just to see the band, but would have to suffer through... well, Beyonce. Maybe Hell's Belles should back her up.

News: Vinyl Outsells CD's In Some Markets

MY COMMENT: DAMN RIGHT!!!

Link: (courtesy of TheBusinessOnline.com).

News: Cyril Neville Speaks Out In Support Of The Crescent City

Cyril Neville is an incredible singer and musician. He comes from a family that has made the music of New Orleans richer, and in the last twenty years when someone talked about New Orleans music, it's safe to say The Neville Brothers were part of that conversation.

Following the devastation of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, it doesn't take anyone within the city limits to see that recovery efforts have been piss poor from day one. We all saw the news reports, and we continue to read stories of how one of the liveliest cities in the United States has almost become flatline. Cyril Neville isn't about to let life go, and he speaks out about it in a great article printed in The Austin Chronicle. You can read the article here:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2006-04-28/music_feature.html.

The Beatles: Cirque du Soleil

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Beatles fan. There has been word about some new music on the horizon, but in Beatles terms that could mean "by 2012". There's also word that all of their albums will be newly remastered, which pleases a number of people.

But what to make of this?
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/love/intro/intro.htm

This is an official site for a new show uniting the music of The Beatles with the Cirque du Soleil? To me, this is just wrong. Dead wrong.