First off, let me wish everyone a Happy and VERY safe Halloween.  I know those parties and such so be careful in your endeavors and partying.  We want you back here keeping us busy.

Now…all of us remember MTV and how much fun it was to watch in their early years.  Many of us grew up before the MTV hit the airwaves and so we didn’t grow up with the videos that were its heyday.  But we grew into it.  While we did not have the storyline videos in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and we were forced to watch waning ‘70s heroes make bad, bad videos (the batch of ‘80s stars just seemed to know how to make those things), it was a distinct pleasure watching great memorable videos being broadcast in the ‘80s.

Recently, MTV has created a website to warehouse all of those fantastic videos (and many of the bad ones too).  It’s a YouTube-like site that allows you to search favourites,a dn get suggestions based on your selections.  There are featured videos, most played and most requested video links etc.  However, it is a site very much in a state of flux as it still feels incomplete.  Not all the videos are available (I looked for “In the Big Country” and while there was a posted song for the band (Big Country), that one was not.  I suspect that this site has a long way to go to catching up and likely would have been better served to wait until everything was in place before launch (I’m still not sure when it launched as I have just discovered it.  I wanted to bring it to your attention so you could have a good time with it).  However, it is a start and should be fun when you can access any video ever played.  In that regard, YouTube still rules the roost. But here's a link to the first ever video on MTV to get you started.

Monday is November 3, bringing us just a little less than two months before Christmas and the New Year of 2009.  Love these Holidays months.  Call it a mid-western thing but I’m very excited for the next few months to unfold.  Monday, we will be re-running the Christmas page produced last month but we will still have new content (you know me, I can’t seem to shut up about anything).  See you then.  Enjoy the weekend.

For the long promised Albums You MUST Hear Before You Die! list (#3), I will be posting a letter each post until exhausted (there were only 17 21 emails).  Some were only a few titles, some only one.  But there were more than a few that were massive and a few extended, well-detailed lists.  I’ll post them as I received them.  Today, I have another well thought out 'tick-off' list of 10 albums. Thanks to JR for his contribution.

1. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
2. Live at the Fillmore - Allman Bros Band
3. Live at the Village Vanguard - Bill Evans
4. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
5. Echoes - Pink Floyd (Ed Note: Echoes referenced here is either the song from Meddle or the 'Best of' collection)
6. Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet
7. Frank (Extended Edition) - Amy Winehouse
8. Fandango - ZZ Top
9. Hemispheres - Rush
10. Two by Two Sessions - Dave Young

If you have missed the last As The Disc Spins (updated), check it out here.

To access the previous site and catch up, click here.

ECM Records has a Keith Jarrett DVD on the horizon for the approaching New Year of 2009.  The DVD is called Live in Japan: ‘93/’96 and is slated for January 13.

Geffen Records has a Various Artists compilation coming called Best of Chess – Original Versions of Songs in “Cadillac Records.”  It is planned for release on December 2.

Varese Sarabande is expected to release several Various Artists compilations, both scheduled for December 9.  The first is called Super Blues From Chicago, and the second release is called Super Blues Live.

Varese Sarabande will also release a collection of Irving Berlin favourites called The Best of Irving Berlin.  This CD is expected on December 9.

Def Jam Records will be releasing both Edited and PA versions of How To Be a Lady, Volume One by Electrik Red.  The album is planned for December 16.

ECM Records will release Interventions & French Suite V by Fellner on January 13.

Impulse! Records will release the Third Volume in the John Coltrane series called The Impulse! Albums.  This set is expected on January 20.

Island Records has penciled in FORNEVER by Hoobastank for January 20.

We have some Jazz titles arriving for February 10th by GRP Records as well as some by Verve Records.  The GRP titles are Satchmo at Pasadena (Louis Armstrong), and Chapter One: Latin America (Gato Barbieri).  The Verve titles are Ubiquity (Roy Ayers), On My Way and Shoutin’ Again (Count Basie), Dynasty (Stan Getz), You’ve Got It Bad Girl (Quincy Jones), Oscar Peterson & Nelson Riddle (Peterson/Riddle), Blues in the Closet (Bud Powell), Let It Be Me (Nina Simone), and Feels So Good (Grover Washington, Jr).  I’ll remind as the dates get closer.

Bloc Party left a lasting impression with their first album, 2005's extraordinary Silent Alarm. It was followed up with an album that some enjoyed but many more were shocked by. However, lost ground was made up by this new album, Intimacy, with its wide selection of excellent songs. Welcome back, Bloc Party.

Ry Cooder's importance is underscored by the release of this 2CD Anthology, The UFO Has Landed. There are many representative songs within that make this package a thanksful one.

The good Doctor has left behind some endearing and fascinating legacies that will live forver. This Box from Shout! Factory is filled with the musings and thoughts of Hunter S Thompson, all spoken, all filled with insight. The Gonzo Tapes is a 5-disc offering that will have you smiling...and chuckling...and laughing. Great stuff!