mikeymad

Tchaikovsky/Sibelius: Violin Concertos Kyung Wha Chung, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn 1995 (um - Nope - that is 1970 - this date must have been the remaster) https://album.link/i/1452191392 Example: Not much to say about this. Chung (at 22), LSO with Previn on Decca. yup yup yup yup...

Repair time.. Yep the 1965 Ford Falcon needed some help after 400523 miles. disassemble Well there's your problem... Head gasket said 'see ya' after 100,000 miles or so. So cylinders 3-4 were buddy breathing. So after a lot of cleaning and a trip to the local O'Reilly's, I was able to get it all put back together before the shop closed. drove home just fine.

^I may still have that album. The local stereo shop had that in stock and used it all the time for demos. For some reason I thought it was a Linn Records pressing, but Discogs does not have that info. {30yo memory, not what it use to be} Late last night: Unwind Yasmin Williams 2018 https://album.link/i/1378048163 Example: Very good tapping technique album. I like that Yasmin is not all about technique for me. A good balance of great playing and good themes.

RIP + 1 year

Day after Fat Tuesday - New Orleans Funk My People Cha Wa 2021 https://album.link/i/1547894757 Example: Just happen to run across this in my queue today. Glad I did. I have not been to New Orleans yet - but I would like to go for the music and the food.

Happy Birthday with a fresh bake of a fresh roast. Cheers -

Silver Lining Suite Hiromi 2021 https://album.link/i/1577444014 Example: Very good all the way around. Fun, pointent, complex, pretty, swinging.

On Fire Galaxie 500 1989 https://album.link/i/310810412 Example: I liked this album for just what it is. A late 80's indie-rock showing all the influences that you could want, and imparting some of their own.

Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 The Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin 2021 https://album.link/i/1584343055 Example: I don't think I have heard Price's compositions before. But it sure 'feels' like I have. Such lovely americana themes. And having a nice DG recording helps.

Crush Floating Points 2019 I started this album by Floating Points (aka Sam Sheperd), I found it a fascinating combination of orchestral and electronic/mixing. Which got me sidetracked into: Promises Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra 2021 https://album.link/i/1550697816 Example: A nine movement piece all around a simple pulse theme. I found it a fascinating exploration and journey. With Pharoah Sanders putting in some great work. I have not gotten into his Dance music work, but I like his modern compositions.

FYI - there are pumps available for the BES810 and BES810BSS out there, but only if you want to take it on as a project. ~$45-$161.

The pump on the 820/830 is a serviceable part (if that is the source of the issue). Having serviced the Barista express before, it is possible to repair, if you take your time (and watch youtube). You cannot break it more than broken.

Cheers Al - Happy birthdays' --

Alambari DakhaBrakha 2020 https://album.link/i/1503194996 Example: {Their most Metal song} I am sure that I got them from Ric (or NPR - I have never seen them both in the same place together.. hmmm.) Finally getting around to giving this a good listen. In a word 'awesome'. Wild themes, well recorded, no apologies, certainly defies a pure classification by me. I don't want it all the time, but when I do, there is very few that can scratch that itch like them.

Cheers Colin. Wishing you a great Birthday.. We still need to go out for some high end sushi. Mikey

^ This On Giacometti Hania Rani 2023 https://album.link/i/1657231124 Example: I have been waiting for this for over two months. Ever since Tidal showed me the album as a new release in December: I was all excited to have new Hania for the holidays. And all they gave us was two tracks and everything else grayed out. It was a long winter. So, then I had it as a mental note that on Feb 17th, I will get the full deal. I would say it is worth the wait, but then again there were two months that I didn't get to listen to new Rani. It is a really good album though. Overall pretty mello, but good themes and great recording. Her music harkens me back to when I first heard Philip Glass, and was introduced to a new world of music that I didn't know existed. The use of a close mic on a mechanical piano is not new, but she writes for it, so it is another percussive element that is planned for and enhances the music. It will stay at the top of my queue for a while.

Some nonfusion jazz this evening. Quiet Kenny Kenny Dorham 1959 https://album.link/i/1440948435 Example: I don't know much of Kenny's catalog, and that is my bad. A good '59 recording.

Oh, I did get my VST 18g Basket in the other day. I have switched over from my 20g. It is working great. As I thought the automatic grinder is now dialed in to 20g in (down from 22+). It took a few pulls to get the grind and extraction right with 2g+ less coffee in the basket. But it is pulling really nice and even and giving good extraction as I am now grinding finer with this setup. With the 20 in and about 42 out in about 35 seconds. The final bag of Brazilian roast from Dan tasting good.

Many Cheers Steve! -- Wishing you a Happy Birthday and some wood tools under the tree.

Milliontown Frost* 2006 https://album.link/i/1045501095 Example: Stepping back in the Frost* catalog. Yup still very much appreciating their brand of modern prog.

I would give it a try and then set it aside for a bit and come back to it. Back when I was fully into roasting, I started off with the idea of a fresh roast, fresh grind is the best. But Sonja and I started to notice that we liked the coffee better and better as the week went on (always fresh grind though). So then we implemented a process of roasting a pound at a time and letting it set while we worked through the current batch. It took us about a week and a half to go through a pound (a real pound - not 14oz, or 12 oz that companies sell these days -- anyway - lost my train of thought). So by the time we got to the new roast it was at least a week and a half old. This was a good balance that we came up with. We didn't really want to have rolling stock of multiple roasts just aging. But we knew that we didn't want fresh either. This reminds me when we started to fresh mill flower. It was not the best right out of the mill. When we got fresh flour from a local source we would not use it until at least 14 days after it was milled. It was too unpredictable to use for our breads. So there is something about nature that wants us cool our jets a bit. When we transform something (roast or mill), it needs some time to recover. don't we all?

I have to say it does look pretty awesome, like a chunk of Frank Gehry architecture in your kitchen. Enjoy.

12 Stradivari Janine Jansen, Antonio Pappano 2021 https://album.link/i/1577946234 Example: Piano and Violin making sounds together, with the help of a couple of humans. Well done Decca, nice rich recording of good complex performances.

Travelin' Kind Ashland Craft 2021 https://album.link/i/1575101204 Example: I have been wading through a lot of country music in the last month (most not worth posting - yes, I listen to a lot of music that I don't post). The other day I came to Ashland, and I was drawn in initially by her voice. I just put a pin in it, because I was not in the mood. I pulled it back up today and was rewarded for waiting. I really enjoyed this album. I liked the rawness of it as well as the writing. There are not a lot of country albums that come with the Explicit warning. "One step forward Two shots back I'll stay hungover Just tryna keep you in my past" She deserves one more share:

yas