From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V2 #225 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, October 21 1997 Volume 02 : Number 225 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: Poor electrix [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander)] Alloy: The Dolby Speach (beatnik) [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexand] Re: Alloy:UFO's [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander)] Alloy: Re: ALLOY: Eq [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander)] Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander)] Re: Alloy: US Highways [dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander)] Re: Alloy: Fwd: Cool Site of the Year Awards to Attract 'Who's Who' of the Internet [Brian Clayton ] Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! ["Keith Stansell" ] Re: Alloy: Names to faces. [Melissa Jordan ] Re: Alloy: Poor electrix [IT Admin - Govt Office North West ] Re: Alloy: Names to faces. [crackers@hwcn.org] Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? [crackers@hwcn.org] Re: Alloy: Music: An Interpretation [crackers@hwcn.org] Re: Alloy: Aliens Ate My Birthday Cake! [ljackson@nstar.net (Lee Jackson)] Re: Alloy: Names to faces. [ljackson@nstar.net (Lee Jackson)] Re: Alloy: Let's have a party - Take 2! [IT Admin - Govt Office North Wes] Alloy: see moose - do what? [bcohen@LPL.Arizona.EDU (Barbara A Cohen)] Re: Alloy: Poor electrix [Frank ] Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? [Frank ] Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? [Frank ] Re: Alloy: Let's have a party - Take 2! ["MEYER,ANN ELIZABETH" ] Re: Alloy: Names to faces. [Frank ] Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy with the vulgar slang! [Elaine Linstr] Alloy: How I became "Weightless" [Erik Habbinga ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 21:33:02 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Poor electrix I find it regrettable that electrix got a rub like this. I have known him for years at the FES pub. He was yelled at a lot there as well, but I think we all loved him the same. I can understand how Alloy is a private club and how etiquette is of concern here. To electrix, I would have to say "I hate to see you leave, ol' pal." Just thought I should express my opionion. JAMac ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 20:54:55 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: The Dolby Speach (beatnik) (sorry, I was gone for a week) Very impressive! Much so indeed! Here is a thought. These new modeling synths; physically, they can recreate any instrument we may play. Even bending the model into non-real sounds. Ie: a guitar string feeding into a woodwind bell, etc. The only instrument left is the human voice. Now that would be a complex, (yet, perhapse possible) sound to properly and compleletly and convincingly synthesize. Now, think about the program required for that. You have the physical shape of the throat, nasal and oral cavities, as well as the structure of the vocal chords. Now, think of the data stream required! The range of motion, and where, and how. Then, what about emotion. Is it possible to digitize human emotion? I don't see why it could not be recorded and researched! Even duplicated and synthesized! Think of it; you have your micro-tuning tables. Now you have emotion tables! Wow! What's next, robots with synthesized emotions with some randomness thrown in to ensure a near-to-human randomizing? And, of course, don't forget the fuzzy logic. Plus, damage to the tissue that would give the sound a different 'sound', as in a Rod Stewart or Dizzy rasp, etc.. I can see it now: "Lonely? Try the new Panasonic 'Lisa 1400', with 'new' adjustable emotions for just the right amount your heart is looking for. How does a sensitivity variable of 6 bits sound to you? 'Lisa 1400,' for the person with a heart. (Anatomically correct)" I'm starting to sound like the commentation at the end of "Intergalactic Radio Station", the last piece at the end of Vangelis' "Direct". Scary! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 22:23:20 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy:UFO's On Tue, 14 Oct 1997 22:24:48 -0400 (EDT) RThurF@aol.com writes: >The Boston Globe ran Thomas' birthday in the Today's Birthdays section >of >their "This Day in History" column ("singer-musician Thomas Dolby is >39.") It >made me smile at work to see it :) > >And I swear I'm not kidding, and we weren't seeing things: on the >night >before Thomas' birthday, when Dave took me out for ice cream as >consolation >for not getting into Keith's party, we both saw a UFO - the >description of >the event is as follows: > >We saw one bright, red-tinged white light, about the brightness of >Jupiter on >a clear night, drifting quickly and silently, high across the southern >sky >from east to west. We couldn't see any structure around it but figured >it >must be a helicopter, though it wasn't moving like one or making any >noise >(seeming to drift gently, as if following an air current, but fairly >quickly); after a while a second equally bright light came on, >nestled in >close to the first, identical in size and color. After another 30 >seconds, a >third light came on, forming a tight little triangle of identical >bright >lights. It continued floating along its path, then suddenly the whole >thing >disappeared - and reappeared again much further toward the west. It >then >seemed to gain very quickly in altitude, the light from it growing >rapidly >smaller, and then it just wasn't there anymore. We were freaked. It >was >moving off toward the southwest, the approx. direction of Thomas' >house from >Boston. COINCIDENCE?? > >What are some opinions of what this might have been? I doubt it was >MIR. Hope >Thomas and crew had some extra cake & ice cream handy. > >Robin (who KNOWS it isn't Halloween yet) > > Were you watching sattelites passing by? I see them all the time, drifting through the sky. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 22:20:53 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Alloy: Re: ALLOY: Eq >About listening to Dolby: my graphic equalizer is so fascinating to me >lately. Is there any way us listeners can get the numbers "right", to >hear it fairly close to the way Dolby intended? Perhaps if a little >"suggested >listening" diagram were included. . .though I'm sure every graphic >equalizer >is slightly different - and I know a lot of people are touchy about >their >equalizers. I seem to adjust it according to my mood, but every now & >then I >hit on something that sounds particularly well-suited to the piece. > >Robin > Buy a high-powered, clean, high-quality amplifier and a set of high-quality, clean speakers. Of course, every set, has a different set of equalization built into them. Then you also have the option of buying a pair of studio monitors which show you nearly exactly what they hear in the studio. And lastly, throw out the eq and leave the eq on the amp neutral. At least, it will get you pretty close. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 21:11:59 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! >-Keith (spoken in alpha numerals) >Denver, CO >__________________________________________________ Keith! My name is Dennis Alexander and I live in Casper, WY. I frequent Denver often, and may move there in 2 weeks if all goes well. It is my hometown. We'll have to get together some time! JAMac dalexander@juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 22:58:23 -0600 From: dalexander@juno.com (Dennis S. Alexander) Subject: Re: Alloy: US Highways Actually, according to a story I heard on NPR yesterday, the highway system was created by a Scotsman to supposedly help and keep the idea of farming alive. Keeping cities small. This was supposed to create a stronger Democracy in the US. And of course, just the opposite occurred; we now have massive cities and fewer farms. On Thu, 16 Oct 1997 09:10:37 -0700 (PDT) Elaine Linstruth writes: > >I always thought the US highway system was constructed (along with a >lot >of other things) as a means to get our great-depressed nation back to >work >and out of the handout lines & shantys. Shows what I know! > >-- >Elaine Linstruth Palmdale, CA >(USA) > >> In a message dated 10/14/97 2:35:43 PM, Lem wrote: >> It's a shame that, right at the end of his talk, Thomas perpetuates >an ugly >> urban myth. The idea that the Internet began life as some sort of >> nuclear-bomb-proof military communications system has no basis in >fact. In >> reality, the Net arose simply as a result of trying to cut costs - >getting >> more use out of expensive computers - but that story is less of a >good >> yarn, I guess. > >> I've always heard (and believed) the "urban myth". It is no myth >that the >> United States of America highway system is military in origin >(enhanced >> mobility of ground troops etc). The Internet is just another sort of >highway, >> so it makes sense to me. >> >> Robin > > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 23:05:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian Clayton Subject: Re: Alloy: Fwd: Cool Site of the Year Awards to Attract 'Who's Who' of the Internet On Fri, 17 Oct 1997 RThurF@aol.com wrote: > singer/technophile Thomas Dolby and Robert X. Cringely, host of the PBS > series "Triumph of the Nerds," are expected to attend this year's Cool Site > of the Year Awards, www.coolsiteoftheyear.com, here Oct. 20 at the Great > American Music Hall. DOH! If I had known, I would have gone! Listening to some live jazz from the GAMH via Real Audio...guess the ceremonies are over by now...oh well... BC - --- Brian Clayton "It was very witty, but it wasn't my wittiness." stemish@kumr.lns.com -- Kurt Vonnegut ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 09:31:04 -0400 (EDT) From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: They work in secret. They have no name. In a message dated 10/20/97 8:45:47 PM, Slarvi wrote: <> Quite right, honorable Slarv - my apologies. I can normally only read my mail a few letters at a time, and even then only at 7:18 am right before leaving for work, or at 11:57 pm right before bed. Sometimes I'm amazed later to find I've posted something even vaguely coherent. Dinga dinga dinga ding ding ding Robin ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 97 23:38:27 +1000 From: Paul Baily Subject: Alloy: Names to faces. Hi y'all, Mary & Stephen have sent me a couple of photos of the mini get-together and handing over of the tape with TMDR. I've taken the liberty of putting them up on a rough (make that very rough - sorry, got a few things going on so I'm not in a computer frame of mind this week, be gentle!) web page so if you want to have a squiz, have a look at: If you want to see the full size images, just download the images to disk and go from there or tell your web browser to open the image in a new window. (MacOS: hold the mouse button down on the image, Win: right click on the image if memory serves.) If you're using a text-only web browser, you should be able to download the images direct by following these URLs, failing that, email me for a copy: - outside the Headspace offices. (left to right: Mary Brown, Stephen Tilson, Brian Clayton, and Beth Meyer> and - the meeting with TMDR. (back row, L to R: Steven McDonald, Brian Clayton, Stephen Tilson, front L to R: Mary Brown, Thomas Dolby Robertson, and Monya De.) stay well, Paul. ________________________________________________________________________ Paul Baily paulb@thehub.com.au Consulting SE/IT contractor http://www.thehub.com.au/~paulb Brisbane, Australia There is a spirit here that won't be broken. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 08:42:41 -0600 From: "Keith Stansell" Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! Hey Dennis, I work directly across the street from the Wynkoop "Tap Room" (microbrewery). We'll have to meet up there some time. Keith (No longer the sole inhabitant) Denver, CO - ---------- > From: Dennis S. Alexander > To: alloy@smoe.org > Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! > Date: Monday, October 20, 1997 9:11 PM > > >-Keith (spoken in alpha numerals) > >Denver, CO > >__________________________________________________ > > Keith! My name is Dennis Alexander and I live in Casper, WY. I frequent > Denver often, and may move there in 2 weeks if all goes well. It is my > hometown. We'll have to get together some time! > > JAMac > dalexander@juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:07:14 -0400 From: Melissa Jordan Subject: Re: Alloy: Names to faces. At 11:38 PM 10/21/97 +1000, Paul wrote: > >Mary & Stephen have sent me a couple of photos of the mini get-together >and handing over of the tape with TMDR... How very cool to finally see what folks look like! What a trip! And doesn't Our Fearless Leader look well pleased with his present! (I'm hoping that someday I will get an invite to a participant's home so I can give a listen to the tape...) Nice to see what a handsome group of people the Alloyites are. :-) I've been off-line for a week, wheeling my mom around Washington, DC for some very special events, and I haven't had any computer access. I couldn't believe the number of Alloy posts I found waiting when I finally got a chance to log on. Wow. I'll have to play catch up once Mom heads home this coming weekend. Back to the Dining Room of Despair (same old crappy job, but doing it in my dining room this week!) Cheers, Melissa Melissa R. Jordan Special Projects Manager International Programs Office Goodwill Industries Interational, Inc. (301) 881-6858, ext. 4567 (301) 881-9435 (fax) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:58:30 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: Poor electrix At 21:33 20/10/97 -0600, you wrote: >I find it regrettable that electrix got a rub like this. I have known >him for years at the FES pub. He was yelled at a lot there as well, but >I think we all loved him the same. I can understand how Alloy is a >private club and how etiquette is of concern here. > >To electrix, I would have to say "I hate to see you leave, ol' pal." > >Just thought I should express my opionion. > >JAMac Hear, hear. I second that emulsion. I said it before and I'll say 'it again.' "It again." There. I said it. Electrix and I have exchanged many a bit of banter in the Tap Room, as well as regular e-mails, and no long term damage resulted with either party ....... so far as I know. Having said that, he does speak with a passion on some subjects, but don't we all, and this can rub folk up the wrong way sometimes. Say lavvie. Slarv ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:58:26 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party! At 08:42 21/10/97 -0600, Keith wrote: >Hey Dennis, > >I work directly across the street from the Wynkoop "Tap Room" >(microbrewery). We'll have to meet up there some time. > >Keith (No longer the sole inhabitant) > >Denver, CO > HA! Keith WAS the sole inhabitant .... but now he isn't. Thomas, can you accomodate this in a rewrite? If not, I'm sure Crackers could handle it, it's right up his street. Hell, why not have a go myself....... "Keith WAS the sole inhabitant Keith WAS the sole inhabitant Keith woke beside the brewery from his dreams of Alexander Far from the rip-off of those minibars that keep chucking up Boddies* It turned into the kind of session that plays hell with your tummeeeeee. Wynkoopeeeeeee Wynkoopeeeeeee" "Keith drank a pint of Boddies Keith drank a pint of Boddies Keith built a pile of beer cans Shape of his friend, that Dennis man Where he could hide from young Oasis fans who would trample his trainers A thin white Spice Girl spilled his drink as he crawled into the Wynkoopeeeeeee Wynkoopeeeeeee Wynkoopeeeeeee" "So - are you plastered With this brew that you created Should have know you'd never rest Till we're all inebriated and you fail that ol' breath test." HA! Easy peasy lemon squeezy, though I'm not sure that the 'Spice Girl' line scans correctly. BTW *'Boddies' is Mancunain for Boddington's Bittter, a jolly fine brew, I don't mind telling you. Weird Al Slarvibargowitz ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:58:19 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? At 18:41 20/10/97 -0700, El Franco wrote: >> >> >PILLOCK Can't find it. What does it mean? Frank > > 'Pillock' is an English expression, a more polite form of bollock, but in this context it's used to mean foolish fellow. One wouldn't call someone a bollock ...... a bollock BRAIN, yes, but not a bollock. However, one could refer to someone as a pillock. It's a derogatory term usually used between friends, am I right Croydon, Mr Leacy (and any other Britishers here-present)? Here endeth today's colloquial English lesson. S ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:58:34 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: They work in secret. They have no name. At 09:31 21/10/97 -0400, Robin wrote: > >Quite right, honorable Slarv - my apologies. I can normally only read my mail >a few letters at a time, and even then only at 7:18 am right before leaving >for work, or at 11:57 pm right before bed. Sometimes I'm amazed later to find >I've posted something even vaguely coherent. > >Dinga dinga dinga ding ding ding > >Robin > Same problem here. I don't usually have time to pick 'em up before work, what with feeding the menagerie, waking the kids for college/work, washing up last night's pots that I couldn't be bothered to deal with before I turned in, etc. etc. I still get Alloy mail at my DTI address, as I haven't unsubscribed from there yet, so I can read it at work if I have time, but with so much mail whizzing around since the demise of the Tap Room, and the tremendous workload we have at the moment, plus the crap ICL mailer (had to get that dig in again) I rarely have time to get through them all there either. Thus my postings are often after midnight from home. Tonight I've made a special effort to deal with my correspondence earlier so I can get a decent night's kip (sleep) as I feel I'm heading for premature burn out. Rip van Slarvi ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 09:21:26 +-1100 From: John Schofield Subject: RE: Alloy: Names to faces. Great to see 'The Moment' captured on film and also to actually see what some of our fellow clansman (or should that be clanspeople) look like. We all know what TMDR looks like (although I thought he was looking a little more bohemian than I expected) but I found It interesting to compare the mental images that I had built up of people based on their writings and then actually see them 'in the flesh'. Which made me think.... Wouldn't it be a good idea if we could all send in a scanned image of ourselves - maybe to Paul (if he had the time/space to do it) for display - sort of like a scrap book of Alloyites (gee I hope that doesn't sound like a disease). The floor is open... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:46:44 -0400 (EDT) From: crackers@hwcn.org Subject: Re: Alloy: Names to faces. In article <19071455320904@goodwill.org>, you wrote: >How very cool to finally see what folks look like! What a trip! And >doesn't Our Fearless Leader look well pleased with his present! (I'm hoping >that someday I will get an invite to a participant's home so I can give a >listen to the tape...) Nice to see what a handsome group of people the >Alloyites are. :-) ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ Well if you're ever in Hamilton, give me a call and you can have a listen to my tape. It's really an interesting listen hearing all these different takes on Mr. Dolby's works. I've been contemplating what to do about the Alloyites that have been left out of this last project. I want everyone to understand that it's not a matter of elitism (we've got a tape and you don't so nyah) that restricts distribution of the tape to the project contributors, it's done to respect Thomas's copyrights on the music. Two solutions I've come up with are... 1) Do it again next year to give more people another chance to participate with either music or a birthday greeting. 2) Make a new Alloy/FES Album, but this time, instead of doing Dolby covers, we all contribute an original song to the project that way we're not stepping on anyone else's copyrights. Copies of this tape will be made available to any Alloy/FES member who sends a tape and postage to whoever will compile this project. So now you don't have to contribute to sample the talents of your fellow Alloyites and FESers. We can have a due date for contributions set and maybe make it a yearly event. FES/Alloy 1997 tape, FES/Alloy 1998 tape, etc. although we probably won't have time to put together a 1997 tape (unless we make the due date in Feb/March) Or we could even do both. Make a B-Day project each year with birthday greetings and Dolby covers that is only distributed to contributors AND make an all originals FES/ALLOY album each year that's freely available to all members. Or we could just say T.S. to the lot o' ya. ;) CRACKERS (talent samplers from hell!!) - -- Accordionist - Wethifl Musician - Atari 2600 Collector | /\/\ *NEW CrAB URL* http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html ***| \^^/ Bira Bira Devotee - FES Member - Samurai Pizza Cats Fan| =\/= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:46:39 -0400 (EDT) From: crackers@hwcn.org Subject: Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? At 09:59 20/10/97, Neil Leacy wrote: >Anyway, in my annoyance I delted a number of messages too quickly >including a bio of one of us Brits which is spookily quite close to mine >in love of old black and white films, prog rock, x years old but stiull >feel like a teenager deep down inside. Trouble is I can't remember who it >was... Slarvi possibly? ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ My eyes did a bit of a flick there an I thought that read... "in love of old black teenagers" Old teenagers? There's a neat trick. I guess it's like young seniors citizens. CRACKERS (I guess the young black teenagers would get you in jail from hell!!) - -- Accordionist - Wethifl Musician - Atari 2600 Collector | /\/\ *NEW CrAB URL* http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html ***| \^^/ Bira Bira Devotee - FES Member - Samurai Pizza Cats Fan| =\/= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:46:38 -0400 (EDT) From: crackers@hwcn.org Subject: Re: Alloy: Music: An Interpretation In article , you wrote: >(Going through old emails) I realize that Electrix is gone, but just in >case any of you were interested.. this comment from him reminded me that I >recently saw a piece on some television show on this subject. Apparently, >the actual writers of "Happy Birthday" are two sisters in Michigan or >somewhere, and they still do own the copyright. It was first obtained in >the 1930's or something similar. > >The report I saw (kinda tongue-in-cheek of course) recommended that we all >forward 5 cents to ASCAP or whatever every time we sing it! > >So, just for the record -- we all should indeed associate "Happy Birthday" >with an artist. :-) ~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ Actually, they only own the copyright to the lyrics. The "music" is from an even older song. And if you've always wondered why on TV and in the movies they sing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" on someone's birthday instead of "The Birthday Song" now you know why. It's to avoid having to pay royalties. Although if it was copyrighted in 1930 it sould be expiring soon. Modern copyright law is a rediculous life+50 years, but the copyright act back in the 30s only gave 28 years renewable for another 28 years. The most rediculous part of copyright law is that the same copyright duration that applies to songs, films, novels, etc, also applies to computer software. While a song etc. may have a marketable life of centuries computer software has a market life of approximately 5 years. But because copyright law protects the software long after it's market life a lot of old software is lost forever. Once the manufacturer no longer finds the market for a piece of software to be profitable they disconitnue it (occasionally they go so far as to destroy all their copies of the source code and programme). This is particularily tragic in terms of one of the most artistic forms of computer software the Video Game. There are many individuals such as myself that take an active role in preserving the old games of the past and current copyright laws restrict our efforts greatly. Personally I'd like to see the copyright law changed to limit the copyright on software to only 10 years. This would make it easier to keep archives of old, discontinued software available on the internet and in other archives. CRACKERS (On my soapbox from hell!!!!) - -- Accordionist - Wethifl Musician - Atari 2600 Collector | /\/\ *NEW CrAB URL* http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html ***| \^^/ Bira Bira Devotee - FES Member - Samurai Pizza Cats Fan| =\/= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:28:02 GMT From: ljackson@nstar.net (Lee Jackson) Subject: Re: Alloy: Aliens Ate My Birthday Cake! On Mon, 20 Oct 1997 17:54:25 -0400 (EDT), you wrote: >10) Big Bang Backwards (Lee Jackson) - Neat. So how many BPM was that = one? >What gear are we hearing here? This song reminds me of a TV theme song, >but I can't for the life of me think of what the show is. It's like >the way "One Of Our Submarines" always makes me think of "The Six = Million >Dollar Man". "We can rebuild him, we have the technology... faster... >stronger... better..." I like. Thanks. I forget the exact BPM (the MIDI file is on my home system - couldn't use the office stuff), but the gear you're hearing is simply an Audiotrix 3D-XG. Hey, whatever works. // Lee Jackson // ljackson@nstar.net // Garland, TX ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 22:50:38 GMT From: ljackson@nstar.net (Lee Jackson) Subject: Re: Alloy: Names to faces. On Wed, 22 Oct 1997 09:21:26 +-1100, you wrote: >Wouldn't it be a good idea if we could all send in a scanned image of=20 >ourselves - maybe to Paul (if he had the time/space to do it) for = display -=20 >sort of like a scrap book of Alloyites (gee I hope that doesn't sound = like=20 >a disease). Mine's already online, ready to be snagged. It's at http://www.apogee1.com in the biography section. // Lee Jackson // ljackson@nstar.net // Garland, TX ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 00:47:21 +0100 (BST) From: IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party - Take 2! BUGGER!!!! And I thought I was being so dog damn smart until my post came back and I realised that the first two lines of verse two don't scan. Still, I won't be the first budding lyricist to have to rewrite yet again, and the fix was relatively easy, though I'm still not sure about the Spice Girl line. Anyroadup, here's the corrected version. "Keith drank a pint of Boddington's Keith drank a pint of Boddington's Keith built a pile of beer cans Shape of his friend, that Dennis man Where he could hide from young Oasis fans who would trample his trainers A thin white Spice Girl spilled his drink as he crawled into the Wynkoopeeeeeee Wynkoopeeeeeee Wynkoopeeeeeee" Slarv PS I'm smugly pleased about the last stanza (oooh er everyone, he's trying to show off with musical jargon now, the pretentious pillock). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 97 16:53:31 MST From: bcohen@LPL.Arizona.EDU (Barbara A Cohen) Subject: Alloy: see moose - do what? > >see moose - think duck! > > When we went to Yellowstone, we brushed up on our wildlife defense maneuvers. It turns out that if you're attacked by a bear, you should play dead, but if you were to be attacked by a mountain lion, you should make lots of noise and try to fight it off. Which of course led to all sorts of confusion... "Which do we fight, the mountain lion or the bear?" "The bear." "No, stupid, fight the elk." "I think it was run from the bison and dance for the bears." "No, no, it was play dead until the bear rips you up, THEN run away." But of course, if a bear got you in your tent, you were dinner anyway, so you could stop worrying once you went to sleep.... *B* Barbara Cohen Cosmochemical Cocktail Mixer, PhD to be ****************************************** Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps. --Emo Phillips ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 17:58:19 -0700 From: Frank Subject: Re: Alloy: Poor electrix At 10:58 PM 10/21/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 21:33 20/10/97 -0600, you wrote: >>I find it regrettable that electrix got a rub like this. I have known >>him for years at the FES pub. He was yelled at a lot there as well, but >>I think we all loved him the same. I can understand how Alloy is a >>private club and how etiquette is of concern here. >> >>To electrix, I would have to say "I hate to see you leave, ol' pal." >> >>Just thought I should express my opionion. >> >>JAMac > >Hear, hear. I second that emulsion. I said it before and I'll say 'it again.' > >"It again." > >There. I said it. Electrix and I have exchanged many a bit of banter in the >Tap Room, as well as regular e-mails, and no long term damage resulted with >either party ....... so far as I know. Having said that, he does speak with >a passion on some subjects, but don't we all, and this can rub folk up the >wrong way sometimes. > >Say lavvie. > >Slarv > > My Dad used to say that if you could not say something good about somebody say nothing. Therefore I say nothing. Frank My Web Sites http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6745/index.html http://members.tripod.com/~WheelerF/index.html Home (Page) Improvement!! Remember, I'm just a kid in the candy store. Little by little I'm getting there. Join me on the ride. Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:04:06 -0700 From: Frank Subject: Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? At 10:58 PM 10/21/97 +0100, you wrote: >At 18:41 20/10/97 -0700, El Franco wrote: >>> >>> >>PILLOCK Can't find it. What does it mean? Frank >> >> > >'Pillock' is an English expression, a more polite form of bollock, but in >this context it's used to mean foolish fellow. One wouldn't call someone a >bollock ...... a bollock BRAIN, yes, but not a bollock. However, one could >refer to someone as a pillock. It's a derogatory term usually used between >friends, am I right Croydon, Mr Leacy (and any other Britishers here-present)? > >Here endeth today's colloquial English lesson. > >S > > bollock? Unknown by Mr. Webster. I'm still in the dark. Frank Ha! My Web Sites http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6745/index.html http://members.tripod.com/~WheelerF/index.html Home (Page) Improvement!! Remember, I'm just a kid in the candy store. Little by little I'm getting there. Join me on the ride. Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:06:29 -0700 From: Frank Subject: Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy? At 06:46 PM 10/21/97 -0400, you wrote: >At 09:59 20/10/97, Neil Leacy wrote: > >>Anyway, in my annoyance I delted a number of messages too quickly >>including a bio of one of us Brits which is spookily quite close to mine >>in love of old black and white films, prog rock, x years old but stiull >>feel like a teenager deep down inside. Trouble is I can't remember who it >>was... Slarvi possibly? >~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ > >My eyes did a bit of a flick there an I thought that read... > >"in love of old black teenagers" > >Old teenagers? There's a neat trick. I guess it's like young seniors citizens. That does apply to me, I'm still young at 73. It does not have to be an oxymoron. Frank of San Diego > CRACKERS > (I guess the young black teenagers would get you in jail from hell!!) > > >-- > >Accordionist - Wethifl Musician - Atari 2600 Collector | /\/\ >*NEW CrAB URL* http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html ***| \^^/ >Bira Bira Devotee - FES Member - Samurai Pizza Cats Fan| =\/= > > My Web Sites http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6745/index.html http://members.tripod.com/~WheelerF/index.html Home (Page) Improvement!! Remember, I'm just a kid in the candy store. Little by little I'm getting there. Join me on the ride. Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 21:16:43 -0400 (EDT) From: "MEYER,ANN ELIZABETH" Subject: Re: Alloy: Let's have a party - Take 2! Hi, Slarvi -- > > BUGGER!!!! > > And I thought I was being so dog damn smart until my post came back and I > realised that the first two lines of verse two don't scan. Still, I won't Don't worry -- regardless of how it scans, it had me howling with laughter at my computer in the lab (fortunately, everyone else had gone home by then...) Long live Weird Bill! Cheers, Beth - --------------------------------------------------------------- Beth Meyer School of Psychology Pager: +1-404-866-1362 Georgia Institute of Technology Fax: +1-404-894-8905 Atlanta, GA 30332-0170 bmeyer@psy.psych.gatech.edu http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gt9020a ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:35:20 -0700 From: Frank Subject: Re: Alloy: Names to faces. At 06:46 PM 10/21/97 -0400, you wrote: >In article <19071455320904@goodwill.org>, you wrote: > >>How very cool to finally see what folks look like! What a trip! And >>doesn't Our Fearless Leader look well pleased with his present! (I'm hoping >>that someday I will get an invite to a participant's home so I can give a >>listen to the tape...) Nice to see what a handsome group of people the >>Alloyites are. :-) >~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~ > >Well if you're ever in Hamilton, give me a call and you can have a listen >to my tape. It's really an interesting listen hearing all these different >takes on Mr. Dolby's works. > >I've been contemplating what to do about the Alloyites that have been >left out of this last project. I want everyone to understand that it's >not a matter of elitism (we've got a tape and you don't so nyah) that >restricts distribution of the tape to the project contributors, it's >done to respect Thomas's copyrights on the music. > >Two solutions I've come up with are... > >1) Do it again next year to give more people another chance to participate >with either music or a birthday greeting. > >2) Make a new Alloy/FES Album, but this time, instead of doing Dolby covers, >we all contribute an original song to the project that way we're not stepping >on anyone else's copyrights. Copies of this tape will be made available to >any Alloy/FES member who sends a tape and postage to whoever will >compile this project. So now you don't have to contribute to sample the >talents of your fellow Alloyites and FESers. We can have a due date for >contributions set and maybe make it a yearly event. FES/Alloy 1997 tape, >FES/Alloy 1998 tape, etc. although we probably won't have time to put >together a 1997 tape (unless we make the due date in Feb/March) > >Or we could even do both. Make a B-Day project each year with birthday >greetings and Dolby covers that is only distributed to contributors AND >make an all originals FES/ALLOY album each year that's freely available >to all members. > >Or we could just say T.S. to the lot o' ya. ;) T.S. Toots Shore. How does that grab you? If you understand that one you are older than you think. The first one who can locate anything on this guy gets a dime from me. In my youth he was the man about town in New York City. a raconteur. He either made you or dethroned you in society. I guess that post has gone by the way in this present age. Good riddance. The ol' codger Frank > > CRACKERS > (talent samplers from hell!!) > > > > >-- > >Accordionist - Wethifl Musician - Atari 2600 Collector | /\/\ >*NEW CrAB URL* http://www.hwcn.org/~ad329/crab.html ***| \^^/ >Bira Bira Devotee - FES Member - Samurai Pizza Cats Fan| =\/= > > My Web Sites http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6745/index.html http://members.tripod.com/~WheelerF/index.html Home (Page) Improvement!! Remember, I'm just a kid in the candy store. Little by little I'm getting there. Join me on the ride. Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 18:43:02 -0700 From: Frank Subject: Re: Alloy: Names to faces. At 10:50 PM 10/21/97 GMT, you wrote: >On Wed, 22 Oct 1997 09:21:26 +-1100, you wrote: > >>Wouldn't it be a good idea if we could all send in a scanned image of >>ourselves - maybe to Paul (if he had the time/space to do it) for display - >>sort of like a scrap book of Alloyites (gee I hope that doesn't sound like >>a disease). > >Mine's already online, ready to be snagged. It's at >http://www.apogee1.com in the biography section. > >// Lee Jackson >// ljackson@nstar.net >// Garland, TX > You look like a Texan. It took me forever and a day to click on 'about us' before I realized that had to be the ticket to you. Why are things clear to others and so mystifying to me? And you remind me of Burl Ives. Frank My Web Sites http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6745/index.html http://members.tripod.com/~WheelerF/index.html Home (Page) Improvement!! Remember, I'm just a kid in the candy store. Little by little I'm getting there. Join me on the ride. Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 19:09:20 -0700 (PDT) From: Elaine Linstruth Subject: Re: Alloy: Who was that aging hippy with the vulgar slang! My Webster's defines "bollock" as 1 [Vulgar] - testicles. 2 [Slang] - nonsense. 3 [Vulgar Slang] - an exclamation expressing anger, disbelief, etc. So I ask, is that the same as saying "b.s." in the USA? And are these the same bollocks made famous in the Sex Pistols' album title. tee hee hee, - -- Elaine Linstruth Palmdale, CA (USA) > >'Pillock' is an English expression, a more polite form of bollock, but in > >this context it's used to mean foolish fellow. One wouldn't call someone a > >bollock ...... a bollock BRAIN, yes, but not a bollock. However, one could > >refer to someone as a pillock. It's a derogatory term usually used between > >friends, am I right Croydon, Mr Leacy (and any other Britishers > here-present)? > bollock? Unknown by Mr. Webster. I'm still in the dark. Frank Ha! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 20:46:04 -0600 From: Erik Habbinga Subject: Alloy: How I became "Weightless" Crackers wrote: > 4) Weightless (Erik Habbinga) - The guitar work on this is amazing! > If anyone doubted wether an "unplugged" version of "The Golden Age Of > Wireless" could be accomplished, they just have to listen to the guitar > on this one. Your vocals remind me a bit of the guy from "Canned Heat". Um, Thanks! I'm glad your comment about the vocals wasn't as mean and nasty as my comments about the vocals! Could you name any popular songs from "Canned Heat"? None come to my mind at the moment... > So now that the dust has settled and Thomas has his present and we're all > about to get ours, let's hear some production stories and what not from > the contributors. What gear did you use, how'd you record, what parts > gave you trouble, what tricks did you use, and how did you arrive at > your interpretation of the song you chose to cover for the album? Here's my story: First, I wanted to do a song that featured fretless bass. However, I also wanted to do an "Unplugged"/acoustic rendition of whatever I did. I didn't want to spend hours trying to coax Dolby's synth sounds out of my equipment. Also, I'm better on guitars than keys. All the songs that had good fretless bass parts were either too dependent (in my opinion) on the synth sounds (Mulu, The Flat Earth), or I couldn't think of a good acoustic arrangement (Cruel). Second, I wanted to do something with trombone, as I've got a good friend who plays the bone. However, once again the songs were too dependent on synth (Hyperactive), not really a Dolby song (I Scare Myself), or already taken! (Brain is Like A Sieve) I narrowed down my list to Cruel, Weightless, and Submarines, and started transcribing the main bits of each tune. Cruel didn't lend itself well to an acoustic arrangement. Submarines didn't lend itself to my poor vocal range. Weightless was the winner. I really have a hard time listening to the vocals on my rendition, especially the second verse and second chorus. I think they detract from the cool sounding guitars in a big way. I apologize in advance! If Thomas wants to re-record the vocals on top of my arrangement, I'd jump at the chance! Anyway, like I said before, I was leaning toward an acoustic rendition of whatever song I chose. I chose guitar for two reasons: 1) I can play it better than keys. 2) I wondered how Dolby's tunes would sound with guitar. I transcribed the entire song, and then figured out how to play it on guitar. I was surprised at how well the chorus parts "fell" onto the guitar neck. I thought the song would be much tougher to play than it was. Now the technical details... Equipment: - - ADAT 8 track digital tape deck - - ART 2408 mixer - - Ensoniq DP/4 effects processor - - Yamaha stereo acoustic guitar - - Modulus Graphite 6 string fretless bass - - Fender cheap acoustic guitar, strung "Nashville" style (the top strings of a 12-string set) - - Yamaha TG500 synth Song structure/instrumentation breakdown: Intro: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Nashville Guitar, Guitar chord strums, (synth) Verse 1: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Vocals Chorus 1: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Nashville Guitar, Vocals, Harmony vocals Verse 2: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Vocals Chorus 2: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Nashville Guitar, Vocals, Harmony vocals Bridge: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Nashville Guitar, another Guitar, Vocals Verse 3: Bass, Stereo Guitar, Nashville Guitar After listening back, I don't think the bass was recorded very well. I had also recorded the Intro melody on fretless bass, but my spotty intonation didn't make the final edit. The main "trick" is the Nashville guitar. I don't own a 12-string guitar. Using the Nashville tuning is a neat way to get the same effect. However, I have to play both guitar parts exactly the same to make it sound good. None of this was recorded in one take. While recording, I used my computer to play the transcribed parts on synth as I recorded the guitars. If you crank up the volume at the beginning, before the first verse, you can hear my synth playing the long bass note. Other than that, I think the synth is not heard in the tune. As for trouble, it was definitely the vocals. I quickly determined that I couldn't sing in the same octave as Thomas. The parts were just a bit too high an octave down! I didn't want to change the key, as I had already recorded the guitar parts before seriously tackling the vocals. The harmonies are quite sad, in my opinion. Once again, I was surprised at how well the music translated to the guitar. I'd say it took about 3-4 days overall to do the recording, including transcription time. I hope Thomas appreciates the sentiment over the actual technique. I had a fun time doing the recording and transcription. It's great knowing how to play one of Thomas' tunes. Erik ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V2 #225 ***************************