#Hammond B-3

[jazzdailyblog]

Jimmy Smith: The Virtuoso of the Hammond B-3

Introduction: In the vast tapestry of jazz, one name shines brightly, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of the genre — Jimmy Smith. Revered as the virtuoso of the Hammond B-3 organ, Smith’s revolutionary approach to the instrument redefined the possibilities of jazz music. This article explores the life, contributions, and enduring legacy of the man who brought the soulful sounds of the…

[gingerradiohour]

Ginger Radio Hour #036

Show Notes March 21, 2023

Listen to archived episode.

Theme: Vital organs.

Couldn’t fit all the tremendous organ music out there into just one show. So for the second time in March — a show devoted to organs. Yes, the Wurlitzer, but also music starring the Hammond B-3, the Clavinet, and the TONTO synthesizer.

Playlist:

Billy Preston “Outa-Space” Album: I Wrote A Simple Song 1971

Billy Preston “The Looner Tune” Album: I Wrote A Simple Song 1971

Cory Henry “NaaNaaNaa” Album: The Revival (Live) 2016

Jimmy Smith “Root Down (And Get It) (Live)” Album: Root Down 2000

Shirley Scott “Hip Soul” Album: Legends Of Acid Jazz: Shirley Scott 1998

Booker T. Jones “Time Is Tight” Album: Note By Note 2019

Stevie Wonder “I Wish” Album: Songs In The Key Of Life 1976

Tonto’s Expanding Head Band “Tama” Album: Zero Time 1971

[bluefunkymamma]

Richard "Groove" Holmes

Los primeros años de la década de 1960 fueron una época candente para el órgano Hammond, especialmente en el sello Prestige. El aumento de organistas en los clubes a fines de la década de 1950 tuvo que ver con tres tendencias. Primero, en 1959, Hammond presentó su serie A-100 que era más delgada y más cómoda de transportar. En segundo lugar, como instrumento dominante en un grupo de jazz o soul,…

[beanbeanbee]

First time drawing Kitano/Martin *head in hands*

[worldsfastestbear]

We liked this one even before it showed up as the music in a recent commercial.

[liquidorcard]

Lily can't keep her own "Sympathetic" Villains rules Straight: Anthony Gramuglia edition

See Crim's edition for the rules and outlines. Here we go.

Lily's Response to Ant:

Lily's probably going to get a significantly worse score on this one because me and Ant I think have similar media diets. We begin:

1. In the book, 100% he is THE villain. The movie not as much. Still though, I think movie Hammond more than fit's Lily's criteria. -1 life found a way

2. We already went over this (yes I am still writing p.3 of my Magneto post.) -1 Anthro cow delivering your children

3. Kyubey's keeping the universe from ending Lily. How could you get closer to having a point than that? -1 timeline

4. See Crim's post. He does fail #2. Again though, by Lily's original parameters this was a valid entry. But I have to give her the point. +1 spider gets it's legs ripped off

5. I bet she thought this was clever. -1 gate keeper.

6.N/A

7. I don't even know what she's talking about here. -1

8. Del Toro sends his regards. -1 Nerdy fish man.

9. LILY HASN'T SEEN THE BROADWAY SMASH HIT PLANET OF THE APES THE MUSICAL, STARRING TROY MCCLURE!? For shame! -1 (has anyone else watched that movie recently? I'm not saying it's aged poorly, but like, it is profoundly unintentionally hilarious, watching it in the modern day. I know this was like, the whole thing back then-- leading men who were too cool for school, but Taylor is such a fucking asshole. Cornelius is the real hero of the film, and everyone bullies him for not matching their lunatic energy. #justiceforCornelius #GeorgeTaylorisoverparty)

10. N/A (Trekkies don't try me.)

11. N/a

12. N/A (I mean I feel like I've probably seen the whole Mummy franchise just through memes at this point but. Lily's reasoning here is fucking asinine though-- as per usually Ant us uniquely getting her goat.)

13. This is actually the first example that breaks rule #3. Sorry fam I love Elfen Lied too, but it's a bit of a hot mess. +1 dead puppy

14. Scar is a dead ringer to Lily's criteria. She straight up just didn't have a pot to piss in, so she just wrote "no." -1 Dwarf in a flask

15. For the record, my boomer mom has seen Ghost in the Shell. The movie anyway. -1 body on loan

16. I watched this as a kid but can't really remember anything about it, so, I gotta put it as N/A.

17. This might actually be the first time I've seen anyone else memtion this movie . . . But still. -1 burnt wheelchair

18. Not plus ultra. -1 for all

19. Oh fuck off Lily. Glass houses. -1 jutsu

20. Sai, Crim and Ant spoke pretty extensively about this one. -1 angry hair raise

21. This one too. -1 demon pig

22. Yes she is. -1 dad

23. See Crim's list. -1 Prisoner 24601

24. N/A

25. Read ANY book, Lily. -1 absent godly parent.

26. I've only read the first one. N/A

27. Lily's reason here is bullshit but I haven't seen Columbo either. N/A

28. Why not Lily? -1 Jimbo

29. YES SHE FUCKING IS LILY. Just because in a modern context her story is a lot more tragic doesn't mean she isn't intended to be a villain. Lily made up the rule "has a point," but if they have an iron clad one she just declares them not a villain. -1 head

30. OBJECTION! NOW YOU REMEMBER VILLAIN AND ANTAGONIST ARENT TRUE SYNONYMS FOR EACH OTHER!? -1 Lily if you could just ONCE try to engage with a media discussion honestly.

31. N/A. I'll get around to watching it.

32. Not in Dracula Untold. -1 Damn Luke Evans looks like he was cloned from Orlando Bloom. I can't tell those two apart.

33. DIFFERENT DRACULAS. HOLY SHIT. -1 Lily this rational is so piss poor it's embarrassing. Even for you.

34. N/A

35. Isn't he in Kingdom Hearts? -1 Ah Ha Ha Ha

36. Another non-surprise. -1 traveler on his way home.

37. I haven't played enough Kurby to know why Meta Knight is a sympathetic villain. N/A

38. I've played enough to know Lily's right on this one. +1 Deddeddeedeeededededeeedede

39. A) several characters on both Crim and Ants' lists have been protagonists. B) IT'S FUCKING COMMON POPCULTURE KNOWLEDGE DONKEY KONG WAS THE ANTAGONIST IN THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF BOTH MARIO AND DK. -1 Lily I'm fucking shocked you don't know this. Genuinely. That's saying something, considering it's you.

40. Solid Lily continues to be the worst one. -1 LIQUIDDDDDDDD

41. Yes she is. Her point is the magic is what keeps her fucking family safe. -1 gift

42. You'd probably like this movie actually, Lily. Not the book, but. Or maybe not, there's no incest lesbians I guess. -1 sexy tree

43. I'm going to give Lily the point to maintain consistency that mind-manipulation doesn't count as "a point." Before he put on the crown he's not really even an antagonist, so. He IS an example of a sympathetic villain, however. +1

44. THERE ARE OTHER ANIMALS ON THIS LIST. Another one who's spot on, so she can't figure out how to even pretend to argue against it. -1 Beauty who killed the beast

45. GODZILLA ISN'T LITERALLY A NUKE. -1 pop culture jokes don't substitute proper media analysis

46. The Kaiju Lily. Her name is the title of the film. It's not Ant's fault You're too lazy to Google shit. -1 Viking Relic

(Biollante would have been my personal pick for sympathetic Kaiju. And her dad. She would have broken Lily's first rule since she's probably not aware of exactly what's happened to her, but. Her father at least fits Lily's criteria. A lot of the Kaiju are sympathetic though.)

47. This is a perfect example as to why Lily's rules are ridiculous. John Kramer is, in my opinion, outrageously unjustified in what he does. He follows her rules though. Having a bad point is still having a point. How "well written" he is wildly different depending on the movie, but because he's at least well written sometimes I'm counting him. -1 foot

48. You haven't read Paradise Lost Lily. I know you haven't. -1 Satan crying for everything he's lost

49. God Lily I wish you'd actually read something for once because this is an even better example as to why your rules are a joke. -1 Facist Worm King

50. This is a specific example. -1 tears, it's a waist of good suffering.

LILY'S FINAL SCORE: 19/50

38% - F

Got wrong: 24

Got right: 2

Removing the ones I haven't seen:

19/39

48% - F

Removing the ones Lily hasn't seen:

15/37

40% - F

Removing the ones we both haven't seen:

2/26

7% - F

[railwayhistorical]

The Allman Brothers Band

Re-posting this with some additional details...

When Gregg Allman (1947-2017) passed nearly seven years ago, I was driven to the negative archive to see if I had any decent shots of the man. I had attended at least two concerts in 1979, as I recall, which would put these images in the Enlightened Rouges time period. I was not thrilled with the quality of the negatives I found, but I was glad to have them nonetheless.

Gregg used his Hammond B-3 with Leslie speaker, of course, but what one sees above is an electric piano with “Hohner” printed thereon. In addition to Gregg, there are three other original members of the band playing during this time period—Dickey Betts, who can be seen playing his Gibson Les Paul, as well as both drummers: Jai Johanny Johanson (Jaimoe) and Butch Trucks.

In the end, one can say that Gregg Allman certainly had an interesting life, with extreme highs and lows. Musically, he had a unique voice and wrote some very memorable songs. The band, which Gregg and his talented brother Duane formed in 1969, was extremely influential and enjoys a firm place in the history of rock and roll. Duane is often to be found on lists of "best guitarists" of course—he was an unusual talent, to be sure.

Three photographs by Richard Koenig.

The close-up of Gregg was taken in Indianapolis at Market Square Arena on May 26th 1979. The other two: the Band from afar, with the second highlighting Dickey, were shot at Alpine Valley, near East Troy, Wisconsin, on August 18th 1979.

[dicllonius]

ON THIS DATE (56 YEARS AGO)

Sept. 6, 1968, The Beatles' George Harrison was heading in to London for a recording session for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". His neighbor, Eric Clapton needed a lift into London, so George offered to take him. George had a different idea though.

Harrison wasn't happy with his own guitar tracks on the song so while driving, he asked Eric to come to the session and do a track on.

Clapton at first refused, saying that "nobody (famous) ever plays on the Beatles records!" but George insisted. Clapton came in and the invitation has its intended effect: the band members were completely professional and Eric's solo sounded great.

As Clapton was listening to a playback, the thought his solo wasn't "Beatle-y enough," so the solo is run through an ADT circuit with "varispeed", with the session engineer manually 'waggling' the oscillator: Engineer Chris Thomas has recalled: "Eric said that he didn't want it to sound like him. So I was just sitting there wobbling the thing, they wanted it really extreme, so that's what I did." The effect sounded like the guitar was run through the Leslie rotating speaker of the Hammond B-3 organ cabinet.

[gluttons-for-punishment]

QUEEN

Queen's debut album, Queen, was released in the UK fifty years ago today - 13th July 1973.

Created between April and November 1972, Queen was mostly recorded during downtime (late evening and overnight) at Trident Studios in St Anne's Court, Soho, central London.

Keep Yourself Alive was Queen's debut single. One of many different versions/mixes that are widely available. A 1975 re-working, intended as a contemporary B-side, was initially shelved but eventually emerged as a Hollywood Records bonus track under the title Long-Lost Re-Take. Doing All Right (a.k.a. Doin' Alright) was originally performed by Smile, with co-writer Tim Staffel on lead vocal. Piano by Brian May. This was the first song Freddie ever performed on piano in front of a Queen audience. Great King Rat was one of Freddie's earliest compositions, rarely played live in the early 70s but resurrected for the Works! tour in 1984. My Fairy King features Freddie on the piano for the first time on vinyl, and the debut of Roger's trademark high vocals. The lines horses born with eagles' wings, honey bees have lost their stings and teeth don't shine like pearls for poor men's eyes were inspired by Robert Browning's poem The Pied Piper Of Hamelin. Liar was written by Freddie (with Mike Bersin) when he was in the band Ibex, and originally titled Lover. One of the very few Queen recordings to feature a Hammond organ. The 3-minute US single edit has been summarily disowned by the band. The Night Comes Down was written by Brian May in 1970 and originally recorded in 1971. Modern Times Rock'n'Roll was written and sung by Roger, but Freddie took lead vocals when it was performed live in 1974. Son And Daughter was released in advance of the album, as the B-side of Keep Yourself Alive. Played live, it originally included the long guitar solo later worked into Brighton Rock, as can be heard on the BBC session versions (Queen On Air). Seven Seas Of Rhye... is part of the unfinished song that was to become their first hit single the following year. The finished Seven Seas Of Rhye was originally intended to open the second album, though this idea was eventually abandoned.

Other songs recorded during these sessions: Mad The Swine eventually saw the light of day in 1991 as a B-side of Headlong and a bonus track on the Hollywood Records re-release of Queen. Silver Salmon and Polar Bear were originally Smile songs written by Tim Staffel and Brian May. They were demoed by Queen in 1972 but eventually shelved. Hangman was a live favourite between 1970 and 1973 but its existence as a studio recording has always been repeatedly denied, however a 1972 Trident acetate featuring this song was later discovered and is now in the possession of Queen Productions. Lyrics by Freddie, music by Brian. Release it, guys, please.

[x-on-the-calendar-business]

ryan ross iceberg (tier 8)

tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, tier 5, tier 6, tier 7

darkest waters (final tier):

teen ryan’s pimples:

i’m so sorry for this one.

it refers to a set of tweets from twitter user prettynpuunk (i’m so sorry to her for bringing them back up but it’s lore).

honestly these are just so iconic. they will always live in my head rent free

“is is true you have a monster cock:”

this is something a fan genuinely asked ryan once (which is so gross and i hope that person is having a terrible day).

allegedly, it has been said by ryan’s exes that he is well endowed. also, i can’t find a source for this, but i swear that once shane morris said that about ryan as well. according to twitter searches, the rumor of ryan having a monster cock goes back as far as 2009 [i]. there’s another rumor that a picture was leaked at one point (i think?), but i’m not going to search that out. if any of you were around in those days, let me know if that’s unfounded or not.

i think the term “monster cock” comes from a picspam on livejournal, referenced here; however, the picspam itself is no longer available [ii].

edit: i actually did end up coming across shane morris' dm about this

target fruit aisle:

apparently there was an “incident” from teenage ryan in the target fruit aisle, which led to him getting banned from the store. it’s unknown exactly what happened, but it’s theorized that either a) he and his friends were throwing fruit at each other, or b) he knocked over a display of fruit.

he’s not actually GRRIII:

if you don’t know what GRRIII means, you’re too far down in the iceberg.

according to obituaries and genealogy trees, discussed in this livejournal posts and its comments, ryan’s grandfather and his dad are actually named george hammond ross sr and jr respectively [iii]. since neither of their middle names are ryan, that means ryan is technically not the third. he is still the third george ross, though.

pissing on tour bus furniture:

according to a tweet, brendon said in an interview that ryan pissed on tour bus furniture, but ryan said it was an accident [iv]. they say it was hard to tell if it was a joke or not, but it was. it's at 2:40 in this interview.

(thank you to the anon who sent me this video!)

romp movie:

this refers to a phone interview in which ryan says that he and brendon went to see a romp movie, and then they both say that ryan’s other hand was uh…busy [v]. it was also definitely a joke. they talk about it in this interview at 8:55.

(the same anon sent me this video, so thanks again!)

the Q stands for quintessence:

remember ryan’s Q tattoo and the cult theory? we’re back to that. in other pictures from that night, you can see that ryan has things representing the 4 elements: earth, air, wind, and fire. the Q could stand for quintessence, which is also called the 5th element [vi]. so, it relates to spirituality, not a cult.

if you’re interested in reading more about this, you can do so here:

bugs in his ass:

the first line in cape town is “took you in the vineyard a couple hours after i met you.” it’s easy to read this as he took her TO the vineyard, but he says IN the vineyard, implying that they might have had sex in this vineyard. and whilst doing that, ryan probably got bugs in his ass.

he can’t park:

this is another reason why ryan ross is a queer icon.

someone parked next to ryan’s car once (his trans am) and provided this picture:

i think there have been other reports of fans who said he cannot park.

panic! wouldn’t exist if ryan wasn’t playing fisher price in his yard the day he met spencer:

this is self-explanatory, but the day ryan and spencer met, which was when they were around 5-6 years old, ryan was playing with a fisher price toy in his yard. of course, had this not happened, we wouldn’t have panic!, the young veins, high hopes (which would be nice, i think), this iceberg, amongst many other things. it’s the butterfly effect.

personal bit about this, panic! is THE hyperfixation for me. no matter how many others i’ve had, nothing has me in the same chokehold that panic! and ryan ross do. with my panic! phase, it is never a matter of if i will enter it again, but a matter of when. because it will happen. but since that band has been such a huge part of my life, it’s so weird to reflect on this entry and imagine what the world would be like without it.

anyway, it just felt right to end this on a sappy note.

also i want to give an honorable mention to corky b roll. i can’t believe i forgot to include it, especially because it was a HUGE ryan meme when i first got into panic!:

thank you so, so much to everyone for the notes! and thank you to anyone who read any of this, especially those of you who made it through every entry. it really means the world that anyone would take time out of their day to read what i have to say about this man lol

another thanks to anyone whose posts i referenced throughout; your service and contribution to the ryan ross lore will not be forgotten.

and with that, this is the end of the ryan ross iceberg explained.

references:

[i] https://twitter.com/search?q=ryan%20ross%20monster%20cock&src=typed_query&f=top

[ii] https://bandfandom-ref.livejournal.com/134497.html

[iii] https://bandfandom-ref.livejournal.com/71193.html

[iv] https://twitter.com/checkyesjuul/status/1369125668726865922

[v] https://twitter.com/checkyesjuul/status/1456098187416989702

[vi] https://pathetic-at-the-disco.tumblr.com/post/175514546326/was-ryan-ross-in-a-satanic-cult

[lboogie1906]

James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was a hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader.

He played bass in his first group, a piano trio. When he joined the Army, he served as a military policeman during the Korean War. He became a police officer in Philadelphia for two years.

Music kept drawing his attention away from the police force. His childhood friend, the organist Jimmy Smith, had begun earning a substantial reputation in jazz for his Blue Note albums and he became entranced by the organ sound while Richard “Groove” Holmes played at his sister’s wedding. Holmes went on to become his teacher and friend and they recorded together on two occasions for two Groove Merchant records.

He bought his first Hammond B-3 organ in 1956, spent six months learning the instrument and studied at New York’s Juilliard School. He studied privately with Milt Buckner, Jimmy Smith, and Sonny Gatewood. He was influenced by the energy and dynamics of organist Buckner and the diplomatic aplomb of Count Basie and by local organists such as Howard “The Demon” Whaley and Austin Mitchell. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[cherrylng]

Muse Disc Guide - Origin of Symmetry [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

Origin of Symmetry

IN MUSIC

As the band tours the world with their debut album, performs at festivals and opens for their seniors to experience the ‘outside world’, they reaffirm the direction they should be pursuing. In other words, they strengthened Muse's unique character that is unlike any other.

The band's previous album had already developed a distinctive style based on alternative rock, incorporating classical elements and exoticism, but this sophomore album takes it even further, expressing each characteristic in a richer, more dramatic way. The guitar, which is trying to surpass Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello, is even louder and noisier than on the previous album, while the Rachmaninoff-esque piano on track (3/ Space Dementia) runs wildly in all directions. The band also experimented with new instruments such as the mellotron and the church pipe organ used in the solemn track (12/ Megalomania), resulting in an even richer diversity of sound and arrangement.

The majority of the songs on this album were written during the tour, and many of them were performed live before the album was released through repeated trial and error, reflecting the experience gained through live performances. The more dynamic swings between stillness and movement in (1/ New Born), (2/ Bliss), (4/ Hyper Music), (5/ Plug In Baby) and (6/ Citizen Erased) reflect the band's emphasis on exchanging heat with their audience and the catharsis of ‘building up, building up and then exploding’, which they knew first-hand. It was a natural progression for them. The lyrical themes of the first album were mainly about the pent-up feelings of youth in a small provincial town and the anguish of love, but this album is also characterised by a broadening of the range to include (anti-)religious views and more metaphysical themes.

In the UK in 2000, the debut album [Parachutes] by Coldplay, a leading lyrical band, and Radiohead's electronica-leaning fourth album [Kid A] both reached number one in the UK. The trend towards ‘de-rocking’ was accelerating. This album appeared to stem the tide, reaching Number 3 in the UK and marking an important turning point in the future of UK rock music. —Imai Sumi

-

2001 Hit Albums

The best-selling studio albums of the year were Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" and U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," both released the previous year, but it was the hip-hop/R&B artists who were generally stronger. For example, JAY-Z's (A/ The Blueprint), now the king of rap, won both the US and UK charts, as did Alicia Keys' memorable debut album (B/ Songs in A Minor) and Destiny's Child's "Survivor" (led by future JAY-Z wife Beyoncé Knowles), both of which were widely received outside R&B listeners. In the meantime, the song was also a big breakthrough in the US. Among the UK acts that also made it big in the US were Gorillaz, a new project of Blur frontman Damon Albarn that took the unique form of a fictional band featuring cartoon characters, and Radiohead, who also enjoyed great success in the US with "OK Computer" and "Kid A". Although they were two completely different types of band, they were received with intelligent and artistic personalities. In contrast, Blink-182, known for its tattoo-covered drummer Travis Barker, recorded a hit following "Enema of the State" with a distinctly American pop-punk feel. Also in the United States, The Strokes, featuring Albert Hammond Jr., the son of singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, broke through the UK. Good Rock'n'Roll was highly praised by discerning adult listeners and critics alike.

-

IN LYRICS

In an interview at the time of the release of this album, Matthew said that the lyrics were ‘a mirror image of myself’ and that ‘this is a positive piece of work’. On the other hand, in an interview conducted at the time of the release of 'Absolution', when he was able to look back at the album with some objectivity, he said, ‘It's a projection of my chaotic self at the time’. In the case of 'Showbiz', ‘I’ and ‘you’ could have converged in a delicate romantic relationship, but in the case of this work, ‘I’ tends to try to separate ‘you’ from ‘me’. If you read such a ‘you’ in terms of the extraordinary touring life, music business and social reality…… you can see how lonely and chaotic Matthew himself and his muse were, but he was also conscious of something that was lost in the process.

The ‘you’ depicted in track (8/ Screenager), the quietest number on the album, could be seen as a lost ‘me’ in the sense that it retains its beauty in the past. It would be somewhat sentimental to call it a rite of passage for growth, but if Muse's next leap forward was promised by the fact that they had not lost their ability to look at themselves objectively in the midst of their rock star binge, then the meaning of the song is quite profound, despite the subdued nature of the song.

The song (6/ Citizen Erased), ‘I'm sure I used to be so free’, can also be read as a story about the ‘me’ that is being lost, as it depicts a sense of danger of being tamed by something. However, when examined in conjunction with the title "Citizen Erased" and the illustrations in the booklet that suggest citizens being led into chaos, a worldview similar to George Orwell's "1984" emerges. Looking back on this work, which also shows the budding of a science fiction world, it may have been a drop in the river that would open up towards 'The Resistance'. —Abe Kaoru

-

YEAR 2001 January - Mail that was stored in the 'Post Capsule 2001' back at the International Exhibition, Tsukuba Japan in 1985, finally started to be delivered. (T/N: This information is only found on the Japanese language Wikipedia. It's a time capsule of sorts, where people who attended the exhibition will post letters into the mailbox and it will only be mailed out by the post office 16 years later to either their future selves or somebody else. One such example was that of Yasuhiro Nakasone, the Prime Minister of Japan in 1985, who posted a letter to the future Prime Minister of 2001. Yoshiro Mori was the one who received said letter before he was succeeded by Junichiro Koizumi 3 months later.) - George W Bush became the 43rd President of the United States. February - The Ehime Maru sank after colliding with a US Navy nuclear submarine. March - Osaka Universal Studios Japan opens. April - European tour begins. - Junichiro Koizumi became Japan's 87th Prime Minister. May - Sapporo Dome has completed construction. - Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan, was founded. June - Sapporo Dome, home of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, is opened. July - "Origin of Symmetry" is released. - Japan tour begins. Live performances are held in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo. - Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away is released. - Beijing was chosen to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. August - A test aircraft is launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre. September - Tokyo DisneySea opens. - September 11th attacks. The terrorist attacks in the USA shook the world. Four planes are hijacked by al-Qaeda, two of which crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and collapsed both buildings. One crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the other remaining one crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. October - US forces launched the invasion of Afghanistan. - Apple Computer's iPod was launched. November - Second tour in Japan begins. Live performances are held in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. - Suzuki Ichiro, playing for the Seattle Mariners in the USA, won the Rookie of the Year and MVP titles. December - Birth of Princess Aiko.

Translator's Notes: I had to edit some parts of the article, especially with the Year 2001 part covering September. In the article, it was written as "The terrorist attacks in the USA shook the world. Four planes are hijacked by Arab groups", which... yeah, editing had to be done for very good reason there.

[twistedtummies2]

Top 12 Ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come

It’s funny how Christmas Eve sees us covering arguably the scariest and most unnerving of the Three Spirits of Christmas, at the end of our journey through some of the side players for Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” The irony is almost hilarious. I speak, of course, of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, a.k.a. The Ghost of Christmas Future. The Third Spirit is interesting in that he’s arguably the most well-remembered and exciting of the three ghosts: he’s the dark and brooding payoff on Scrooge’s journey, and getting through his section of the tale - the most gut-wrenching chapter of the entire story - is a challenge for the audience, especially for younger viewers or readers. While the black cloak the Ghost wears in the book symbolizes the shadow mystery of the future - emphasized by the fact the Spirit never speaks, and only the tiniest gestures and nuances give away any indication of its thoughts or feelings - it has never been lost on anyone that the visual representation very closely resembles the iconography of the Grim Reaper. What’s interesting about the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come is that they have honestly changed the least out of all three Ghosts in how they’ve been visually represented over the years. While there have been some minor changes here and there, most versions of the character stick with the same visual basics of a dark figure in a black hooded robe, with only their hands - or even just one hand - visible. Yet, at the same time, along with Christmas Past, the Spirit of the Future is one that artistic people LOVE to toy with in various ways, from more simplistic to more wild concepts, which creates a sort of paradox. You can always tell which Spirit is meant to be the Future in every good take on the Carol, but it’s always fun to see the little additions and changes each rendition brings to the table. There’s not much more to say (fitting for a typically mute character), so let’s just jump right in: in honor of Christmas Eve (still ironically), these are My Top 12 Favorite Portryals of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come!

12. Charlie B. Barkin, from An All Dogs Christmas Carol. (Purely for the sheer INSANITY of this one. That, and the song he gets is catchy…yes, he sings. I told you it was insane.)

11. Czeslaw Konarski, from Scrooge (1951). (While simplicity can be used to great effect, I feel this one is a little TOO simple, hence why he takes a lower tier. But he’s still quite impactful.)

10. D’Arcy Corrigan, from A Christmas Carol (1938). (This version has such a great entrance, just for a start.)

9. Robert Hammond, from Scrooged. (Further proof this movie is basically “A Ghostbusters Christmas Carol.”)

8. Tim Potter, from A Christmas Carol (1999).

7. Paddy Stone, from Scrooge (1970).

6. Pete, from Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

5. The Version from Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.

4. Jim Carrey, from A Christmas Carol (2009). (Really cool concept having the Spirit act as Scrooge's literal shadow. They did something like that many decades before in the 1935 version, but it's way better here.)

3. The Version from The Muppet Christmas Carol. (Puppeteered by Don Austen and Robert Tygner.)

2. The Version from A Christmas Carol (1971).

1. Michael Carter, from A Christmas Carol (1984). (I love the detail on how, as the sequence goes on, the ghost gets closer and closer to Scrooge, symbolically showing how his future is getting ever nearer.)

[rastronomicals]

3:45 PM EDT October 27, 2024:

Uriah Heep - "Why Did You Go?" From the album Return To Fantasy (June 13, 1975)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

This was John Wetton's first album after the dissolution of KC Mark III, which was basically the reason I checked RtF out. During my 24-hour re-appreciation of that final Mark IV album, Red, I couldn't help but be awed by the monster bass sound, which wasn't quite Hugh Hopper fuzz territory, but was nevertheless quite meaty, quite beaty, and very big and bouncy.

If Wetton took that sound with him into Uriah Heep . . . .

But he didn't. Wetton's bassplaying on Return to Fantasy sounds fairly standard. And he doesn't sing on the record, either, even though he has a better voice than David Byron.

On the whole, Return to Fantasy alternates between sounding competent yet generic, and sounding like the absolutely prototypical hard rock with Hammond B-3 band.

Is it prog, hard or otherwise? Debatable, but, I mean, Ken Hensley was playing a synth, so we'll go with one of the Wikipedia descriptors, alright?

File under: UK Hard Prog