RIP Rudy Van Gelder

The legendary jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder has died. He had a greater influence on how jazz records sound than anyone else. You're either trying to sound like him or you're trying to sound different from him. Perhaps only Manfred Eicher of ECM comes close in terms of influence.

Since it's another two weeks until my next webcast, I probably won't do a tribute show, since every other DJ who plays any amount of jazz will have done one by then.Although, the ultimate tribute is that it's hard to do even a half-decent jazz program without playing a Van Gelder recording (although it seems I just did one (that is, a show without a Van Gelder recording, I'm making no claims towards its half-decency))

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast August 27, 2016

I'll admit not my most inspired program, It's a mostly jazz show, but with a great variety within the "jazz" label. A lot of stuff from albums I've played recently, but they're well worth investigating further. Any implied embarrassment is at the process, not the result.



See what I mean after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music webcast for August 20, 2016

I was a bit lazy this week, which has manifested itself in a number of long selections. Also. in the second hour, I somehow decided to go for "haunting" without really trying.

image source 

Judge for yourself after the break...

On vinyl buyer's stereotypes

In another shout-out to the A. V. Club, we find an article about another article about a study describing the recent "vinyl boom" as "being driven primarily by people in their 40s and 50s who don’t like sharing their feelings, and tend to spend their time alone." Now let me defend myself against this stereotype - I don't buy that much vinyl, especially new vinyl. I'm pretty omnivorous, format wise. There are a couple of shops I'll check out every so often, as I did pre-"vinyl boom."

The rest is sadly true.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music webcast for August 13, 2016

A mostly jazz show for yet another hot muggy day. Any relationship between the second set and the current global sporting event is entirely coincidental. The second hour is the type of hour I always imagined myself presenting.


See the playlist after the break...

Everything you wish you didn't know about the Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Onion A. V. Club has an excellent article celebrating commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the nefarious Telecommunications Act Of 1996, which almost single-handedly destroyed local media as we used to know it.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music webcast for August 6, 2016

Music for a hot and muggy summer's day, but nighttime in my soul apparently. A bit all over the place, but in a good way, I think.


See the playlist after the break...