DrW

The Prisoner (1967/8) They made only 17 episodes - but it had so much potential.

As far as Pop-Rock bands go, "The Sparks" had a very unique sound. In this clip, the usually very stoic brother, Ron Mael (keyboards), actually smiles and (pretends to) play guitar.

3/4 Camper Van Beethoven, 1/4 Counting Crows - The Monks Of Doom. After 2 intriguing albums in the beginning of the 1990s, they came out with their next set of original songs more than 25 years later in "The Bronte Pin", many of them featured here.

Guitarist Mick Abrahams left Jethro Tull after their first album and formed together with Jack Lancaster (sax; sometimes two at the same time - see clip) his own band. Whatever you think of their music (I like them very much), you have to admit that their band name is way cooler than "Jethro Tull": "Blodwyn Pig".

Another fan of science fiction, especially the classics (Philip Dick, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke - "The Star" is my favorite short story). Not very well known in the West, but very much worth a try: Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Soviet-Russian brothers who always wrote together. My favorite Strugatsky novel: "Roadside Picnic". Also excellent: "Hard To Be A God". I also like authors with humor, such as Vonnegut or Carl Hiaasen. The two books I have read most frequently both fall in the "hilarious" category. I loved both already before I had kids, and then had to read them numerous times to the kids when they were between 6 and 10 or so. "The Last Man Alive" by A.S. Neill (the German translation has very funny cartoon illustrations), and "Memoiren eines mittelmaessigen Schuelers" by A. Spoerl ("Memoirs Of A Mediocre Student"; however, to my knowledge, no English translation has ever been published).

A bunch of Canadians from Saskatchewan playing Appalachian folk - The Dead South

"Dark Star", John Carpenter's directorial debut, supposedly cost only $60,000 (1974).

One of the most fun bands I ever heard - Camper Van Beethoven

When I am wearing my "stealth" Bills T-shirt with the Josh Allen "potato" logo, some people here in West Texas make the connection between the drawing and the Bills. Most do not know the story behind it, but are very amused when I explain it. I should add that within the last year or two, the number of questions/comments has increased tremendously, reflecting an increasing interest in the Bills even here deep in Cowboys country.

TransSiberian (2008) Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)

Does humor belong in music? Most certainly... Here is The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band with "Hunting Tigers out in India".

Donovan's "Season Of The Witch", here in a beautifully haunting cover by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity...

Finally, an excellent live clip of Heron Oblivion...

British "heavy prog" from the early 1970s: Atomic Rooster (with Vincent Crane on Hammond organ)

Despite the rather inane lyrics, one of my favorite Stones song. The instrument that gives it its unique sound is Nicky Hopkins' piano.

I am a bit surprised that nobody has yet mentioned the Residents (at least not in such a way that the search routine can find them)...

Each team has now played their first game. Looked good: Japan, Brazil, Germany, Spain, US Had problems: England, France, Canada Later tonight, Switzerland and co-host New Zealand can punch their tickets to the knock-out round.

One of the most fun Zappa concerts on record: Barcelona 1988

When we visit the kid in Austin, we love to go to Barton Springs Pool. It is 3 acres large and natural, but with man-made improvements. The water is obviously pretty clean, as it is the habitat of the Barton Springs salamander. If you arrive before 8 am, parking and entry is free. The best feature for the birdwatcher: there is a pair of red-shouldered hawks in the vicinity.

More folk-jazz than folk-rock: Pentangle, "Hunting Song"

"Rawalpindi Blues", from "Escalator over the Hill" by Carla Bley and Paul Haines. With Carla Bley, Jack Bruce, Paul Motian, and John McLaughlin.

My wife and I have separate bedrooms for more than 10 years by now, and it preserved our marriage. We both work in academia, for significantly more than 40 hours per week; thus, lots of work is done at home. We both use our bedroom also as office. In addition, we have completely different sleep cycles; she is tired by 9 pm while I can read or watch TV late at night.

Paint - "Plastic Dreams". Paint is the solo project of Allah-La's guitarist/vocalist Pedrum Siadatian. Siadatian writes lovely "simple" songs that remind me of a guy who had a career 50 years ago: Kevin Ayers.

Most rural school districts here are so small that they cannot afford to lose another kid. And I can tell you from my own experience (my kids went to a pretty large suburban/rural public school district here in Lubbock, but had a number of friends in smaller rural districts) that the teachers and administrators in these small schools make tremendous efforts for a lousy salary.