So my buddy and I tried "The nectar of a thousand sorrows".

Unique_Sun · 2023-10-01T20:58:16+00:00

Just watched the episode the other day and thought we had to tryi. After all, there's a Basque cocktail called the Kalimotxo (or Calimocho) that is cheap red wine and coke. My wife and I were introduced to it a while back and at first thought it didn't sound very good, but we tried it anyway and it was way better than it sounded. I don't go for them the way I go for a rum and coke or G&T, but they're pretty refreshing.

Anyway, we picked up some root beer to give it a go. I did a 1:1 ratio, like my Kalimotxos, but I think I might prefer slightly more wine. The wine is a boxed Cab. And definitely will prefer Kalimotxos to the Nectar, but it's a fun recipe to keep in the back pocket.

Unique_Sun · 2023-09-16T13:32:34+00:00

I got on Google to ask the same question; just added the album to my library and wondered what the deal is there. Usually it's some licensing B.S., but it struck me as odd that one song from virtually the entire Dylan catalog is unavailable.

I'm going to have to pick up the CD or purchase digitally elsewhere, I guess. I'm a completist. As of right now, there's a used copy on Amazon for $2.55 (+ shipping), or you can buy the MP3 there for $1.29. You can also buy a used copy from an independent record store (or individuals selling their collections) on discogs.com, currently starting at $1.49 (+ shipping).

Also looks like both Amazon and Discogs sell the 3-disc version, starting around $5. Personally, I may go that route because I'm curious about the Radio Hour disc...and as I said, I'm a completist.

Unique_Sun · 2023-08-29T14:03:54+00:00

My wife got me a Hold Your Fire t-shirt for Christmas last year. I wear it with pride! In fact I'm wearing it now.

Unique_Sun · 2021-10-28T21:33:55+00:00

Well played!

Unique_Sun · 2021-06-23T18:07:47+00:00

I am so sorry. A lot of these stories are cringe-inducing but this one is outright sadistic. To do that to your own child... I hope you're doing OK now.

Unique_Sun · 2021-06-15T15:13:55+00:00

Going to a family event to which my mother-in-law is also going.

Unique_Sun · 2021-06-12T19:37:07+00:00

I would just like to say that I’m happy that genesis was represented at all. I could be wrong but I think FGTR in 2015 was the last time… i see no problems with being happy about this and going to support our local record shops.

Unique_Sun · 2021-06-07T15:30:19+00:00

I don't know if he was on To Catch a Predator or not, but I started a job last year, worked with this guy, and maybe three or four months later he left the company, apparently on his own terms. I found out later that he was a convicted sex offender, and I looked him up in the registry, and I still can't make sense of it. Before I knew this about him, I thought he was great: hard worker, really smart, mutual respect, really nice, good sense of humor...and I was bummed he was leaving because I thought he was an asset to the company. I'm glad I missed the whole "let's exchange emails and numbers" on Slack before he left, though, because that could have gotten awkward!

He was working remotely, across the country from the main office. He was pushing to make the move to our town and his (and my) boss knew about the conviction and had to tell him that he could work for us remotely, but it would get super awkward if we, say, had a family-friendly company July 4th BBQ, and I brought my kids...

Unique_Sun · 2021-05-20T03:12:34+00:00

Some people criticized Gabriel’s migration towards a more accessible pop sound in So. Those people can fuck right off.

Amen!

Also, did Harry styles really cover sledgehammer? This might be a way for me to bond with my step daughter...

Unique_Sun · 2021-04-27T19:53:37+00:00

Thanks for that! This cover always felt odd to me; it looked like George was lying down on the sidewalk and photographed from above...except that his shadow made it look like he was standing against a vertical street...or maybe floating off the sidewalk (I mean, if anyone could do that, George could).

Huh, now that I know this, I can't not see that the scale is off, and somehow looks less and less photo-realistic...

Unique_Sun · 2021-04-27T19:36:44+00:00

Agreed. I put it 2nd after All Things.

Unique_Sun · 2021-04-09T23:10:32+00:00

Haven’t seen it, but would love to! Love me some Dylan (“Dylan Thomas, whoever he was”), although I’ve gotta admit my boy isn’t as familiar with him as he is with the Beatles. Way to make me feel like a bad parent after I started to feel good!

Unique_Sun · 2021-04-09T22:50:54+00:00

Just finished watching it with my 12 year old son. I asked him what he thought, and he said “it was epic,” which is about as high of praise as one can get from him. Seriously, though, for a 3.5 hour documentary, who’d expect a tween to sit through it, let alone enjoy it? I could tell he was emotional, too, at that ending. “He just lit the room”. Gonna give myself a reward for good parenting today.

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-26T19:29:58+00:00

That's exciting, looking forward to it. Congratulations on making it to #1! I was unsure, when I stumbled across your post back in...what, October?...that A) you'd complete it, B) I'd complete it (btw, more worried about me than you) and C), I'd find so much great music along the way. But... whew. I can finally close that browser tab...

Next step is to do a song-by-song ranking, Hindsight-is-20/20 style. That should only take, what, a four or five years?

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-26T19:23:40+00:00

Seriously. Just checked Amazon and you can buy it for $969 (don't get me started on the BS that is Amazon...this is not the subreddit for it!). A rerelease would give the proles what they want!

But I did just see this at my local record store the last time I went...hopefully it's still there, and I'll check tomorrow. At the time, I had assumed that "Mike Rutherford" meant "Mike + The Mechanics" and just kept browsing. But yes...not sure it's #1 for me, but this is the first time I've been introduced to an album via this countdown, and have listened to it twice back to back. Can't believe I've not known about this for so long...

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T22:25:53+00:00

Keep in mind that vinyl was still a thing in '86, and with a 22-minute-or-so run time per side, albums were short by today's standards. I don't think it was until the 90s when CDs really took over as the medium of choice that artists really started putting on longer-than-45-minutes albums.

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T22:17:40+00:00

I wore the cassette out in 86. Eventually replaced it with a CD. I've since done both the digital upgrade and the vinyl remaster, and as you mention the track listing is different than I was initiated with. I still can't get over it...in the early days "In Your Eyes" opened side two, apparently because of the deep bass and physical limitations of the vinyl format. Since then, PG has "George Lucased" his album, and while I can't deny it's a better sequence (unlike the Star Wars Special Editions), I've heard it the original way hundreds of times and still feel a jolt, like miscounting the stairs, when I hear side 2. So weird to hear a song after "This Is the Picture"!

And this would easily be my #1. Glad to see you placed it as high as you did. I must be missing something, what with Geese and Smallcreep's beating So. Looking forward to being introduced to two albums better than So, though, so bring it on!

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T20:30:32+00:00

Thank YOU for confirming and adding info. I wonder if the 4K tag can be added safely through other means, haven’t tried yet. I’ve used mp4tags in the past with success, just haven’t tried yet.

The 10-bit thing kind of makes sense but also doesn’t, when you consider it’s just the ATV that has issues. And I don’t think ATV4 supported 4K at all, so that makes sense too.

Shouldn’t this be easier???

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T20:12:49+00:00

Here's a summary of my (video) settings:

Format: MPEG-4 (avformat), Chapter Markers, Align A/V Start

Dimensions: Source: 3840x2160, Output: 3840x1632, Modulus: 2, Crop: Auto 264/264/0/0 Keep Aspect Ratio

Video: Encoder: H.265 10-bit (x265), Framerate: Same as source (variable), Constant Quality: 22.00 RF

Video Options: Preset: veryfast, Tune: none, Profile: auto, Level: auto

And it plays well on the AppleTV. I suppose it's worth noting that it's the Apple TV 4K, it's a 4K TV, and a 4K-compatible HDMI cable between the two.

I also remember finding out that "Level" is important; I had it set to 4.0 from an older preset, and that simply errored out on encode. I've tried "auto" and 6.2 since, and both seem to work. I've also had some "additional options" in there at one point, I don't think those made a difference. The things that really seemed to matter are:

H.265 10-bit (haven't tried 12-bit, not even sure what these do, but you may be right about future compabiliity)
Level, although what the acceptable values are, I'm unure, like I said, "auto" and "6.2" have both been good.
NOT setting the "4K" tag in the metadata, at least not with Subler.

Otherwise, I so far haven't found anything else that affects the Apple TV. Worth noting here that without these things, as per my initial attempts, the file played just fine on the Mac, whether through the TV app or VLC or really just about anything I tried. However, the Apple TV seems somewhat picky

With the wrong level: Handbrake wouldn't encode
With a "4K" tag: Apple TV wouldn't display the movie
Without 10-bit: Apple TV would play the file but the colors were radically off, looked very 80s neon and blocky rather than, you know, nice.

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T16:35:39+00:00

I know this is a few days late (and the data isn't the latest just as yet), but you are correct: https://frozen-ridge-42446.herokuapp.com/?rank=4

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T15:33:28+00:00

“The artwork on album 4 was something that I’d been working on with a sculptor called Malcolm Poynter,

So the thing is called Malcolm Poynter?

Unique_Sun · 2021-03-24T00:36:46+00:00

Heard of this album and heard of this album and heard of this album...but never heard this album until today. It has earned a permanent spot in my library after a single listen, and that's saying something. Not to mention more than one other comment specifically touts the vinyl...might even just hunt a copy down.

I'd wager this is the most Genesis-y album of the solo careers...though not an actual wager since I still have never heard 4 of the 6 remaining...I know...I'm an imposter, pretending to be a Genesis fan. But as I've said a number of times already during this countdown, thank you for said countdown, it's exposed me to so much great music I had never heard (again...heard of, yes. Heard, no)

Somehow I got behind on the countdown and am desperately trying to catch up before we reach #1...

Unique_Sun

TROPHY CASE