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Subject: alloy-digest V3 #8
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alloy-digest         Sunday, January 11 1998         Volume 03 : Number 008



                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
  Alloy: hellooooo...?It's me, Robin...             [RThurF <RThurF@aol.com>]
  Re: Alloy: Hello ...ooo...oooo..........  [MsSakamoto <MsSakamoto@aol.com>]
  Re:Alloy:AliensAteMyBuick(Critique)               [RThurF <RThurF@aol.com>]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 23:18:11 EST
From: RThurF <RThurF@aol.com>
Subject: Alloy: hellooooo...?It's me, Robin...

Where have I been?

On December 18th one of our ferrets died & I've been so distraught, I haven't
even called any of my friends in weeks. So apart from Christmas break I've
been working 9&1/2 hour days at my job (not including the commute :( , then
coming home, practicing cello & working on a new sketch diary I'm hand-binding
for my sister's birthday (with matching pencil case, of course)! Also, the Big
Music Exchange tapes... almost all done, but for the notes which will
accompany the tapes to YOUR house (if you're on our little list) And I think I
finally have the hang of this new computer, more or less. I'll be more
attentive to Alloy from now on, if only to nag you all endlessly to let me
know how all of your art/photo/story/poetry/etc projects are going for the
BIRTHDAY BOOK. I'm about to dedicate the next eight months of my life to the
embroidery work on this book's binding, so I do hope we'll have something to
put in it!!!!!

Our Christmas was fun in Maine, very snowy & beautiful. We saw nearly every
kind of animal imaginable except moose. My father-in-law Norman even showed us
the pictures he'd recently snapped of a rather sizeable young black bear
shambling along only about five feet away from him, next to his driveway (my
father-in-law had seen this bear in his yard, stealing his birdfeeder, & ran
out to make the bear drop it and to also snap a few photos...)

For New Year's Eve, we stayed in out of sheer exhaustion & to avoid crowds of
drunk people. We watched the original B&W "Night of the Living Dead" and campy
Japanese genetic-mutation monster flicks. When I was in England one New Year,
we had to open the front door to let the new year in & the back door to let
the old one out. Is this done commonly around England or do I just have weird
friends?

I've missed you & love getting e-mail, so everybody post!! Tell us all about
your holidays.

Robin

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 23:22:23 EST
From: MsSakamoto <MsSakamoto@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Alloy: Hello ...ooo...oooo..........

In a message dated 98-01-08 19:46:07 EST, help.gonw.st@gtnet.gov.uk writes:

> What's been happening to Alloyites over Christmas and New Year?

Er...heh...bad question, because I will go on at lengths about why life is
majorly sucking right now (to use a phrase borrowed by an almost-roomate).

<rant>
Let's see, my current flame of nearly three months moved in with me, until my
mother wanted to get rid of the both of us, so we moved in with his family,
but now I might have to move back with my mother because I can't get into
school here unless Robb's mother becomes my legal guardian.  Granted, I will
be eighteen in two months, but since I am considered an "unruly child" by the
school system where my mother lives (Cincinnati, I'm living in Columbus --
about two hours apart -- for the moment), she could get taken to court if I'm
not in school by the end of next week.

Yes, my age comes out!  Run for cover!

But other than that, my life has been better than it has been in a long time.
My mother and I are now getting along a lot better than we ever have before,
and Robb makes me very happy.  I'm glad he's become a big part of my life (we
were friends for almost exactly a year before we realised we liked each other
in a not-so-friendly way).
</rant>

Has anyone seen a Nike commercial that has a piano part that sounds a bit like
"Planet of Lost Souls?" from TGTTME?

Ah, life.

- --Suzanne--

who hopes everyone had a merry holiday and happy new year

and her new home (for the moment) houses her, Robb, Robb's friend Abe, Robb's
brother Erik, his mother, and his stepfather, as well as three dogs, three
cats, and over one hundred guinea pigs!

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 00:49:31 EST
From: RThurF <RThurF@aol.com>
Subject: Re:Alloy:AliensAteMyBuick(Critique)

In a message dated 98-01-02 20:24:24 EST, Mary wrote:

<< Like Beth, I first owned AAMB on vinyl but now own it on CD, a US pressing 
 that was actually at "The Nice Price".  Well, I'm assuming the latter since 
 it was a gift but every copy I saw of it at that time was cheap.  Therefore I
 find it truly distressing that people have to spend enormous amounts of money
 on what I consider TMDR's weakest effort (I have been taken to task by 
 The Man himself for saying so ...).  

I'm really relieved to hear Mary say this, because I'm afraid I have to agree
with her. I finally know that I'm not alone & now I feel like discussing my
little hang-ups.

The work is of course excellent (and three of the tracks off AAMB are among my
favorites ever), but there are several things which make me feel a little
estranged from AAMB. The sound of the brass instruments in some of the tracks
is far too homogenous (as all brass is in my opinion, when used in pop songs)
It smooths the intricacies too much, especially in normally detailed work such
as that which Thomas likes to create. I do recognize the appeal of a really
good brass section for many people but to me it just sounds sterile & lacks
the  spontaneity & individual personality which Thomas' work otherwise has in
such abundance. Also, the vocal harmonies are beautiful but here again on some
of the AAMB tracks they tend to blend & homogenize so much that the vocal
lines lack passion (one thing I always love about Thomas' music is the great
passion and subtlety that his voice is capable of.) 

Of course I love Thomas & respect ALL of his work, so I hope he doesn't mind
my insignificant rantings.

Robin
 

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End of alloy-digest V3 #8
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