Hec! I was roaming through the local B&N (aaaah, airconditioning!) earlier tonight, and your Bubblegum book was on the shelf as a Staff Pick!

Right on! Must be the same store that Ple mentioned (and wondered if it would give her a chance to talk to the cute music guy at the store). As my book has pretty much left the shelves in San Francisco, I have to say Seattle is winning me over.

I don't know if these things have ever been mentioned in the Buffista music thread(s) but if you're looking for live bootleg shows, check out these sites:

Bittorrent users can get some brilliant shows from [link] or [link] (although it should be said that STG is having some major problems and their tracker is currently not working).

If you don't want to use Bittorrent, a dedicated P2P network has been created for the sharing of "legal" (artist or band has given permission for free sharing of bootleg recordings) shows using a java client called [link] ... Furthurnet has the same advantages and disadvantages of Bittorrent (with the biggest disadvantage being fewer bands/artists to choose from).

Dude. I just caught the end of the "Girl Anachronism" video on Trio. That was almost as surprising as hearing Frou Frou in Wonderfalls.

x-post from Bufistechnology:

What's the best sortware (linux, OS X or Win XP) for ripping or copying a damaged music CD?

I had thought that cdparanoia for linux was the best, but it looks like the most recent version is from 2001? Will that work on my Fedora Linux?

Both iTunes and Toast Titanium (v 6) for OS X are unable to rip/copy one track. It does play in my car stereo, though.

Can't help ya, Tom.

Been listening to London Calling since I picked it up on CD. (Seems oddly like cheating that "Train in Vain" is on the tracklisting. Also, missing the scratched in note in the runout groove on the LP.)

It is, of course, an absolute classic rock album so I won't restate it's many many virtues. What I am particularly noticing on this go-round are little things - all the little asides Mick and Joe mumble and murmur into the mic that gives the whole album such a conversational feel. Like they're responding to each other in the studio and you feel like you're in that room chatting about the Spanish Civil War and Montgomery Clift's accident and pre-Beatles British rock and roll. Two other things: (1) I always felt it was a very conscious reclamation of British rock history, pulling in Vince Taylor and Dub and Ska/Rock Steady and skiffle elements into a new mix; and (2) Love Topper Headon's drumming which just has great little inventive touches and latin and Jamaican rhythms and does so much more than merely power the song forward. (Though he does that too.)

I remember talking about London Calling with Gilbert Hernandez when I worked at Fantagraphics. He said, "You just knew it was a classic album on the first listen. You just knew."

"London Calling" was the first punk song that I got into (maybe the first one I ever heard). There was an AOR station in Appleton, WI that I listened to (lot's o' Pink Floyd and Zep) that put "London Calling" on heavy rotation. I remember driving my parents' '73 Mercury Marquis on mainstreet of my small hometown, and opening all the windows and cranking up the stereo when "London Calling" came on.

But because London Calling was a double album, I didn't buy it until sophomore year of college.

I'm having a Razormaid day. Just threw a whole buttload of tracks on the playlist and feel like I'm back at one of those clubs I went to in '86.

But because London Calling was a double album, I didn't buy it until sophomore year of college.

Back when being a double album really meant something. (Grand Statement or Inglorious Pretense!)

Nowadays most CD releases are the equivalent in time of a double-album.

Nowadays most CD releases are the equivalent in time of a double-album.

Yeah. For the longest time, the issue for me was, "Is the album less than 45 minutes, so I can fit it on one side of a 90 minute tape?" Eventually I discovered that my tape deck was a little on the slow side, so I could fit almost 47 minutes on one side of a 90 minute tape. Once or twice I made my turntable go just a wee bit too fast in order to fit something on a tape.

I remember 20 years ago or so, when the average album was about 40 minutes, so I'd sometimes record an extra song after the album so I wouldn't have the annoyance of having to fast-forward through five minutes of blank tape at the end of an album.

Yes, I was somewhat anal about my tapes. Including the use of Dolby NR and the proper setting of the recording level and bias.

Eventually I discovered that my tape deck was a little on the slow side, so I could fit almost 47 minutes on one side of a 90 minute tape.

I don't think your deck was slow. Most tapes had a couple of extra minutes on them.