15 Albums

I got involved in this internet meme about picking the 15 albums that will stick with you. I took it to mean not just my favorite albums, but ones which were important to me during certain times in my life and which I have never had any type of shame about liking. These are the ones I still recommend to others and get excited to talk about when I find other fans.

The Bargos Steeler - The 4 Position - from Classic Steve

The Beach Boys - Sloop John B - from Pet Sounds

The Beastie Boys - Car Thief - from Paul's Boutique

Braid - American Typewriter - from The Age of Octeen

Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special - from At Fulsom Prison

Miles Davis - Jeru - from The Birth of the Cool

Dexys Midnight Runners - There There My Dear - from Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

Dianogah - Eating Cake - from Battle Champions

Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Doralice - from Gets/Gilberto

Honcho Overload - Molasses - from Pour Another Drink

Men Without Hats - Antarctica - from Rythm of Youth

Pixies - Hey - from Doolittle

Elvis Presley - Hound Dog - from Live at Madison Square Garden

Refused - New Noise - from The Shape of Punk to Come

Tortoise - The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls - from TNT

409 - Walk Don't Run

408 - Secret Movie

American Movie, To Catch a Thief, In Bruges or I'm Not There next Tuesday projected by me for your entertainment. Check it out.

407 - Twenty Seconds or So

406 - Go See a Star War

405 - Blue Notes

1. Miles Ahead
I bookmarked this article about Reid Miles, the chief graphic designer for Blue Note Records in the 50s and 60s ages ago. The work this guy did was super influential, defining the blue note style for years to come and spreading out to influence graphic designers of all types.

2. The Message
In my opinion, the archetypical Blue Not album cover featured a black and white photograph overlayed with a solid color. A vertical bar of the same color ran across the image with bold text over it. My next favorite type of cover reversed that formula by expanding the text, making it the main focus of the design with a smaller band of photographic images. There are online archives which allow us to examine decades worth of Blue Note covers. These two design concepts recurr continuously, but never manage to seem cliche or boring.

3. Miles Above
When it comes to the music on these records, though I obviously haven't heard them all and am not really a Jazz expert, my favorite is from the Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet. I bought this record at a church sale years ago and listened to it nonstop for months. Eventually I bought it on CD and sold the LP on ebay for peanuts.

404 - Stop Sylvia

1. Stop Sylvia
It should be noted that the old Stop Sylvia Browne domain name expired while site-administrator, Robert Lancaster, was in the hospital. A suspected domain broker immediately purchased the name and is offering it back for $20,000...

Therefore, the entire site has been moved to stopsylvia.com.