An Update & A Promise of More Music on Its Way

My month off from blogging has passed quickly. Expect a new record this weekend. After that, I've got weekly posts lined up for October & November & at least half of Decemeber. Also, I try to stay on top of my links (removing dead ones & adding new ones) but it isn't easy to keep up with so many blogs (& I've only linked to the ones I like--I've found a lot more), so if you see a blog that's been down for more than a couple months let me know. I do make an exception for blogs that have moved to a new location but leave their archives on the original site, so no need to mention those.

I do have a question concerning which sharing service people prefer. I've had complaints about a few of the ones I've tried but r****share (the preffered service for bloggers) also has a lot of problems, not the least of which is their willingness to remove posts without question. Let me know what you prefer (perhaps I can set up an online poll).

During my hiatus I was happy to receive some emails from David Stoughton. He OKed my posting of the 1st one & so I'll put it up for your edification:

You might be interested to know that your blog made "GoogleAlerts" today. The eponymous David Stoughton is still alive, silly and pretentious.

Your preference for the more outrageous pieces is shared by a lot of weird people (my kind of people) who have a taste for the outrageous stuff we were able to get away with in the late '60s.

As you suggest, a number of CD re-issuers have tried to get the rights to Transformer, but are unable to for the reasons you state.

I was recently contacted by Elektra U.K. (Rhino) that they are putting out a boxed-set CD package of "The Holzman Years" at Elektra, and are including "The Sun Comes Up Each Day," from Transformer. Personally, I'd have preferred something more radical. But nobody asked for my input. At least they invited me to write some notes for the reissue, regarding what life was like back then in the music biz.

It was a hell of a lot cooler than it is now, that's for sure. The music (Beatles, Hendrix, et al.) was cooler, too.

Needless to say, I was a little embarassed by my "silly and pretentious" comment and after thinking about it I wish I had said a few more positive things about the record as well. As I mentioned to him, I find the Beatles silly & pretentious at times too. I do appreciate though his willingness to experiment (& on a major label debut)--he could have made a safer record that would have sold better--but he took chances and that makes his a record worth listening to years later. I'm glad to hear he's still around and seems to be doing well.