Damn young 'uns don't have the stamina of us old-timers, al'ays complainin' about this and that.

I actually reached the rare point yesterday of having cleaned out my stack o' stuff. Nothing awaiting review! Woo-hoo! I'm sure this will change in the coming week....

I'm not complaining but I'd also love to see more from others, simply because there are a bunch of people whose writing I enjoy. Bivins, get moving! More Medwin! Dorward! The more the merrier.

My own excuse, not that it's a very good one, is that I have my time cut out writing up things for the other site - and I certainly don't want to send in second division reviews to Bags (the ones I write over at PT are second division enough as it is..)
Meanwhile, maybe we should hear from Al, Jason, and some refreshing noise from Nirav would be cool too!

hey derek, i'm coming over to minneapolis for the first time this wed. thru tues; any places for live improv? used rekkid shops you'd recommend?
Thanks!

Yeah, Dan, Nirav would be great to hear from. I'll punch him in the head a couple times this weekend at ErstQuake assuming he shows.

I plead a way, way too-busy schedule. I just delivered an anthology (to which Derek contributed) to Da Capo Press last week for publication in July 07, and those who read The Wire will note that I have the current cover story (David Thomas), reviews of the latest Art Ensemble and David Ware discs, and a live write-up of Blind Idiot God and the Flying Luttenbachers all in there, plus I'm writing regularly for the Cleveland Scene, the Village Voice, and paperthinwalls.com. Oh, and editing Global Rhythm, which is a full-time job in more than name. I do keep meaning to swing by and start an argument or two over here, but seriously, I gotta spare a minute or two for the wife, too, y'know?

Brian / Derek:

Just out of curiosity, what are the required qualifications?

(I count myself out. Most Bags readers probably aren't interested in the thoughts of their Grandad's generation).

what's the anthology for da capo about phil?

It's a sequel to Stranded, Greil Marcus's book from 1979, in which he asked a bunch of writers of his time to pick a desert island album. I decided to do the same thing but to (with very few exceptions) limit it to writers under 40, so as to capture all the changes in mainstream rock since 1979. And, to one degree or another, the contributors did that. You can see a complete list of who wrote about what here.

I have been called out.

Excuse #1: Brian always beats me to the punch, so I am left to review things elsewhere.

Excuse #2: This is really excuse #1 but I'm finishing my second book, and the fourth UE record, and have had to make some ch-ch-choices.

But I may at some point finish off a roundup of several thousand Creative Sources discs, and I do want to review the Nels Cline Andrew Hill record for Bags. Hands off, Olewnick!

FWIW, I've got it a draw. 4-4 with two rounds even. (I didn't count that obvious slip in the sixth as a knockdown.)

What's your book about, Jason?

Man, just as I expected, not just damn good excuses, but damn good *reasons* for former semi-regulars’ silence. Bivins, I’ve been trying to cajole your continued participation here for years, I hope you don’t think your duties to some measly book or band are going to curtail my efforts! That Marvel Silver vs. Bronze Age Treatise WILL be a Bags reality in ’07.

And Brian, I’ll always be the Creed to your Balboa. Get that queue filled up again pronto, I don’t know if/how long I can cover the gap.

Just out of curiosity, what are the required qualifications?

Graham, funny you should ask… I had to consult my dog-eared, bread mold-dotted copy of the Bagatellen Manual for Aspiring Pro Bono Scribes. Here’s what it sez in the 8-point Hattenschweiler font so favored by our spiritual leader, Emory Davis:

• Typing speed of 10 wpm minimum
• Ability to write in complete sentences, when so inclined
• Vague interest in music of an improvised stripe
• An occasional taste for seed-derived spirits, particularly Pernod
• Passing grade of 80-percent or higher on the Emory Davis Blindfolded Scrivener Exercise™
• Mandatory first-year participation as deckhand on the Bags Submersible Team
• $2.25 (U.S.) + postage & handling for a Bags iron-on epaulet badge.
• Willingness to indulge in alliterative excess when the spirit so moves within*
• Signature on Petition pertaining to the Reinstatement of Ducats as Viable Means of Monetary Exchange initiative*

[the last two are my penciled-in additions, early 2003]

Hi Steve,

Glad you’re making it up here. I’m running out the door at the moment, but here’s a quick primer on shops/happenings…

Safari-worthy Shops:

Road Runner Records, 4304 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, 612.822.0613
[decent selection of improv & other genres]

Electric Fetus, 2010 4th Avenue S, Minneapolis, 612.870.9300
[best all around shop for new music merch.]

Hymie’s Vintage Records, 3318 E Lake Street, Minneapolis, 612.729.8890
[Tons of vintage vinyl]

Cheapo Records, 1300 West Lake Street, Minneapolis, 612.827.0646
[largest used cd shop in town, decent vinyl selection downstairs]

Applause Records, 71 Snelling Avenue N, St. Paul, 651. 644.5115
[Cheapo’s Jazz & Classical store]

Far as live improv/jazz, things are pretty slim:

Acadia Café Tuesday Improv Night (9/26)
1931 Nicollet Avenue S, Minneapolis, 612.874.8702
8pm- 11pm
$3 cover
1st set: Morth Squat (electronics)
2nd set: Tim Glenn (electronics)
3rd set: Bryce Beverlin II (percussion)

Artist’s Quarter
7th Place & St. Peter Street, St. Paul, 651.292.1359

Tuesday, 9/26
B-3 Organ Night
9pm, $4 cover

Wednesday, 9/27
Red Planet
9pm, $4 cover

Thursday, 9/28
X-Tet
9pm, $6 cover

Dakota Jazz Club
1010 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis, 612.332.1010
Snowblind (tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, bass, drums)
7pm, $5 cover

>I do want to review the Nels Cline Andrew Hill record for Bags.

Just turned in a write-up on that for the Voice. Interested to read your take.

Thank a bunch for the info Derek- especially since you were just ruinning out the door- that was lots of of info!

Derek,

I've been trying to email you, but have received three bounce back emails attempting to respond to your writing request.

Drop me a line when you have time.

Troy

monkeysoundz@yahoo.com

Walt, briefly and vaguely, it's sort of an attempt to think through some questions I was left with after the first one. I'm specifically trying to address the ways in which political pedagogies are pursued/promoted by religions. Still working in the contemporary period, still preoccupied by conservative evangelicals, tired of all the sophomoric shit out there and trying to write something decent. Time will tell . . .

Phil, my take on the Cline disc so far is really positive. I haven't done any back-to-back comparisons with the Hill tracks yet, but I love the group sound.

My pleasure, Steve. Hope find some killer finds & let me know if you need some cuisine recs as well.

Hi Troy, don’t know what’s up with my hotmail account. I’ll drop you a line first thing tomorrow morning. Right now the sheep are baah-ing to be counted.

Hey Jason, not sure if you’ve read it, but I’d be curious to get your take on Jim Wallis' God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. My bro works for Sojourner’s Mag in D.C. and tells me that tome is giving conservative evangelicals a good strong kick to the collective testes.

Derek, didn't know that about your bro! I actually wrote a chapter on Sojourners in my first book, so yeah I've read pretty much everything Wallis has written. Pretty cool guy.

"And Brian, I’ll always be the Creed to your Balboa."

Maybe you should think of it more as your Action Jackson to B's Cobra.

I dunno, Sergio, Balboa beat Creed’s ass. Exempting Cobra’s arsenal, my money’d be on Action for the win. Plus, Brian’s multisyllabic vocabulary & aversion to high-caliber firearms automatically confounds the Cobra comparison :)

Jason, I figured Wallis was on your reading list. I’ve hung out with him on several occasions, most recently at my bro’s wedding, and found him to be a pretty deep dude. I’m an agnostic, but his Covenant for a New America makes a lot of sense and seems to slowly be gaining ground.

"I dunno, Sergio, Balboa beat Creed’s ass. Exempting Cobra’s arsenal, my money’d be on Action for the win."

Right. I was trying to make you feel better. Besides, AJ gets Vanity - much better than Brigitte Nielsen, imo.

Besides, AJ gets Vanity - much better than Brigitte Nielsen, imo.

I'm with you all the way. Vanity was where it was at for a young man of 11 back in '82.

gettin on my flight in a couple hours derek, and though i dont think i need any cuisine help (got a lover with hometown cravings that i have to follow) I'd love any cuisine recs b/t minnieap and black duck (we'll be driving!)
or any record stores between those spots as well(off the beaten path quite OK)
minnesota here's aiy come!

That list is from writers under 40? Sheesh, with a couple exceptions you wouldn't know anything had happened since 1979......

"It's a sequel to Stranded, Greil Marcus's book from 1979, in which he asked a bunch of writers of his time to pick a desert island album. I decided to do the same thing but to (with very few exceptions) limit it to writers under 40, so as to capture all the changes in mainstream rock since 1979. And, to one degree or another, the contributors did that. You can see a complete list of who wrote about what here."