From: owner-alloy-digest To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V1 #81 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Thursday, 7 November 1996 Volume 01 : Number 081 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: Paul's What If Questions... Re: Alloy: The new rarities CD - whachafink? Alloy: A Late Review of Astronauts ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Melissa R. Jordan" Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 15:45:07 -0500 Subject: Alloy: Paul's What If Questions... Okay, let's see... >>1. If you had to live on a dessert island (or a crisp mountain hideaway) Hmmmm... would a "dessert island" be one where all the lush vegetation, sand, etc., is composed of cake, ice cream, and Jell-o salads? (Sorry, couldn't help myself...) >>for six months which ten (10) Thomas Dolby tracks would you want to take >>along on MiniDisc with you? (Someone would provide the MD player, don't >>worry :-) This can be particular mixes, from videos, live, whatever. A limit of ten? Bummer, man... 1. Flying North (for many reasons) 2. Airwaves (paints a very clear picture in my head) 3. Radio Silence (Caroline was my "study buddy") 4. Cloudburst At Shingle Street (just like it) 5. Screen Kiss (I like the atmosphere) 6. The Flat Earth (just damn good) 7. My Brain Is Like A Sieve (makes me want to dance by myself on the balcony in the rain) 8. I Love You Goodbye (just damn good, too) 9. Cruel (here I am in my broken shell) 10. Silk Pyjamas (fun) >>2. If TMDR were to produce a rarities CD, what do you think would be a >>good name for it? Mr. Dolby's Curious Goods Flat Earth Almanac >>3. Let's say our intrepid Hero was going to do a tour (to promote the >>rarities CD? ;-) - one catch: he wants *YOU* to pick the playlist! My ten picks above, plus the following: "Europa and the Pirate Twins" (followed immediately by "Eastern Bloc") "She Blinded Me With Science" (just for kicks) "Weightless" (just cool) "I Scare Myself" (what a great smoky piano bar tune) "Close But No Cigar" (I have no relevant comment - I just like this song) "Windpower" (that was my "feel good - you can do it" song of the '80's) "Leipzig" (just for that line "every place is just the same, isn't it?") "I Live In A Suitcase" (Samsonite-dwellers of the world, unite!) >>4. You probably know what your all-time favourite Dolby track is. Which >>one do you think Thomas' is? ...and if possible, why? His favorite? That's tough. I have a hard enough time deciding which track is *my* favorite from week to week. I'll guess "The Flat Earth." It's slow and soulful and cool... (I have other thoughts on this song, but I'll save it for my dissertation - ha!) >>5. You wander into your favourite cafe for a quiet latte (or if in >>California, a doublecafdecafcapwithhalfskimmilkandatwistoflemon) and you You don't have to be in California to order yuppie coffee (she writes while sipping a skim iced decaf cafe mocha...) Washington is overloaded with storefront espresso bars - "a chicken in every pot, and a Starbucks on every corner!" >>stop dead in your tracks, rub your eyes to make sure: no, it can't be, it >>IS! There! Sitting in the corner! Thomas Dolby in YOUR coffee shop! ... >>... so you both sit at a table sipping away.... what do you ask him? I fear I would be so pleasantly amazed that I would forget half the questions I wanted to ask, stumble over my words in conversation, and come off as somewhat less bright than I am. Were there a piano handy (just like there always was in those Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney musicals) and few people around (and if I could actually bring myself to ask), I'd ask (very politely) if we could sing one of his songs together. (I know that sounds awfully pretentious, but who among us that sings harmony lines in the car/shower hasn't wished to do that?) >>6. We know Thomas has had Eddie Van Halen as a neighbour. Going by his >>musical style, who else would you say Thomas has been neighbours with? Somebody beat me to my most obvious choice - Paddy McAloon (doesn't "Cruel" have a wonderful "Sprout-ish" quality to it? Ahhhhh...) Okay, back to the pit of ultimate darkness! Cheers, all! - - Melissa - ------------------- Melissa R. Jordan - ------------------- Special Projects Manager International Programs Office Goodwill Industries International, Inc. (301) 881-6858 (301) 881-9435 (fax) ------------------------------ From: Brian Clayton Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 13:01:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: Alloy: The new rarities CD - whachafink? On Mon, 4 Nov 1996, Paul Baily wrote: > 1. If you had to live on a dessert island (or a crisp mountain hideaway) > for six months which ten (10) Thomas Dolby tracks would you want to take > along on MiniDisc with you? (Someone would provide the MD player, don't > worry :-) This can be particular mixes, from videos, live, whatever. Modern medical science dictates that good mental health can only be maintained by listening to at least two different TD albums in their entirety on a regular basis; therefore, this ten-song limit cannot be met. > 2. If TMDR were to produce a rarities CD, what do you think would be a > good name for it? I had already thought of a subtitle which I mentioned in passing once: "The REST of Thomas Dolby". Continuing the play on "Retrospectacle" (since Rarities are the opposite of Greatest Hits), I might suggest, "Retroactive!" as a title...but it probably would confuse as much as amuse... > 3. Let's say our intrepid Hero was going to do a tour (to promote the > rarities CD? ;-) - one catch: he wants *YOU* to pick the playlist! Go > ahead, line 'em up, but much though we think he's not, the guy is mortal > so don't go picking the entire discography now... Hmmm, I'd have to think about that one. I know that right off I would refuse "She Blinded Me With Science" since it has received more than sufficient exposure. (Naturally, a lot of concert-goers would expect it, so I might be overruled on that one.) > 4. You probably know what your all-time favourite Dolby track is. Which > one do you think Thomas' is? ...and if possible, why? I think perhaps "Screen Kiss" or "The Flat Earth"...he put a lot into "Screen Kiss", so I believe he'd find it the most gratifying. > 5. You wander into your favourite cafe for a quiet latte (or if in > California, a doublecafdecafcapwithhalfskimmilkandatwistoflemon) and you > stop dead in your tracks, rub your eyes to make sure: no, it can't be, it > IS! There! Sitting in the corner! Thomas Dolby in YOUR coffee shop! ^^^^ Do I, in fact, have to *own* the coffee shop? :) Given where we both live, such a meeting is more likely to happen to me than one might think! (Until someone reveals that TD hates coffee or something...but then he's probably a tea man.) > He looks a little weary (maybe winding down from the Rarites tour?) but > nonetheless approachable, so you introduce yourself. When he says he's > heard your name somewhere before, you say you're an Alloy subscriber > which of course gains you instant credibility (hey who says I can't do > plugs!) so you both sit at a table sipping away.... what do you ask him? er..."How's the family?" "What's up at Headspace?" "Have you bought out Netscape yet?" Arg! I erased the last question! Oh well, maybe next time. BC - --- Brian Clayton "Anyway, it's not me that's mad, it's the rest stemish@kumr.lns.com of the world. Aaaaaaaahh!" -- TMDR, 1984 ------------------------------ From: Brian Clayton Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 14:19:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: Alloy: A Late Review of Astronauts A friend and long-time admirer of Thomas' work recently heard "Astronauts and Heretics" for the first time. The comment I received was that it was the "most passionate" material since his debut. Don't worry, Tom--one by one, we're still enlightening people. :) BC - --- Brian Clayton "Anyway, it's not me that's mad, it's the rest stemish@kumr.lns.com of the world. Aaaaaaaahh!" -- TMDR, 1984 ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V1 #81 **************************