From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V4 #37 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Tuesday, February 9 1999 Volume 04 : Number 037 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: MAJOR EBAY WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [Whipple930@aol.com] Re: Ray's latest translated interview! ["Becky Witter" ] Re: Would you forgive me? ...eerm... Blame the exams! ["Leslie Brown" Subject: Re: Ray's latest translated interview! Hi all - I just have to say... this list has to be THE coolest on the internet! The people here are so wonderful. I'm a lurker mostly, but have come to really enjoy everyone here. And Ray - you are definitely cool! These translated interviews are gems! We non-Poland dwellers are lucky to have you here.... I don't think we would have seen this info otherwise. I love that Basia is staying true to herself and her music! I've just got the love for everyone today don't I?... anyway .... I just wanted to jump in and say hi! You all rock! Becky Beverly Martin wrote: > > Ray, > > THANK YOU AGAIN FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE. > > My main feeling coming away from this is that Basia loves to make music and not > money. It was also great to finally see the origins of "Angels Blush" and "Water > of March" -- I would have loved to have bought those compilation albums had they > finally existed. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 11:31:55 +0100 (CET) From: Ray Navarra Subject: A fine day today Hey all! Brian wrote: > >I hate the albums like this. In my opinion they have no character and I am > >not emotionally engaged in this project. > That comes through loud and clear in the packaging of the CD. Compare this > one to The Sweetest Illusion. No character whatsoever. It looks like pure > corporate mass production. I like the front cover. Didn't see the inside, though; are there any comments on the track? chart positions? anything? > UGH! Just thinking about Madonna or Cher being mentioned in an interview > with Basia turns my stomach. Sorry! I like them both! > >And suddenly I've heard Catatonia, who > >have brought back my faith in new music. They proved that you can do > something > >different with heart and affection. I've heard the heartache in those > songs; > >they delighted me at once. > Never heard of 'em. Are they a British band? They're a rock band, with a vocalist singing a little similar to Bjork. Hit singles: Mulder & Scully, Road Rage (this one was good). > >If not - tough bananas. > I'm not questioning your translation, Ray, but I think if heard her say that > in English, I wouldn't stop laughing for at least ten minutes. Sorry, all I can tell you is that she has said in Polish "Jesli nie - to trudno". :) I used the "tough bananas" expression, because, frankly speaking, I love it. :) If you don't - tough bananas! Leslie informed: > I tried this last night but smoe apparently doesn't like me. :) So if > you get two or even three copies of this I apologise. > Okay, so I was web-surfing last night, and, lo and behold, Radio Zet did > another long interview with Basia scarcely 3 weeks ago! > http://www.radiozet.com.pl/pol/radio/wywiady/basia2.html Guess where is my Netscape going at this very moment... :) > Only Ray & Tomasz know for sure, but I could pick out something about > Titanic & Boogie Nights (!), more ripping apart Edyta Gorniak, and some > more Catatonia endorsement. She seems to be obsessed with Edyta G. ;) You know what's worst? Edyta's single will finally be released in whole Europe! A Dutch friend of mine has heard it in the mainstream Dutch radio. The single is called "When You Come Back To Me" (no, not "Until...") and is a piece of MAriah ripping-off. The only song by Edyta that I really like is "Anything", the dance piece. I could upload the MP3 somewhere, if there's anyone interested. > And she keeps talking about this Kevin guy. Who's he? (LOL) This must be her drummer. Why doesn't she talk about her husband Danny? :) > >BTW, recently I've been trying to record a cover of My Cruel Ways > (because > >I am sure it can make a great dance record) but it's so hard! I simply > >can't do it well enough :( Anyway, I'll keep trying. > I'd be curious to hear the result. Sounds interesting! Good luck. So far, about 1/4 of the song has been completed, but I don't really like the result. Hmm... BTW: RadioZet server has reached an enormous speed of 32 bytes/sec. > >(ashamed) I have to admit I don't know how old is she now, so... > She's 39 now. She must have had her son when she was 17 or 18. > (man, she gets the props for going through that, as far as I'm > concerned! Not easy at all...) My mum was 18 when I was born. And it wasn't easy for her either, because Poles were much more racist then than they are now (it's hard to believe, actually...) and the father was a married man, and for unknown reason my skin was as dark, as, for example, Ashoke's for first half a year of my life. When the people - especially old ladies - would see my mum with me, no father, her being white and me looking like a sweet black boy, they would spit on the street Unfortunately I became "full-white" later... > >> I'm just curious who this new producer is going to be. > >(dreaming) Todd Terry... :) (believing) Danny White ;) > I'll bet cash money it'll be Richard Bull. I just have a feeling, with > his hand in Clear Horizon and all. Hey, maybe he can hook her up with an > Incognito style tune. I've always been curious how she would sound at > somehting vaguely similar to that. I mean, her band is pretty much > Incognito! (the RadioZet: 11 bytes/sec) I'd love her to do the dance album; but of course what I dream about and what you all dream about is, for sure, different. > (Who is Todd Terry?) A very well known British producer, responsible for at least 10 top 10 singles in the UK, including Missing by Everything But The Girl and re-launching the career of the Corrs when he remixed Dreams. Now the Corrs, from Basia-like unknowns had become the biggest band in the UK. Can you imagine The Sweetest Illusion suddenly going to number 5 on British album chart? (sweet dreams...) Ashoke assured me that... > > BTW, recently I've been trying to record a cover of My Cruel Ways (because > > I am sure it can make a great dance record) but it's so hard! I simply > > can't do it well enough :( Anyway, I'll keep trying. > That song will need three backing vocals and/or layering! The harmony is > quite complex. As if I didn't know it (sorry Leslie, I seem to take the habits of people I talk with) And I was only speaking about the problems with the backing track itself, not even with the vocals... "some of my cruuuuu-uuuel ways"... > two-and-a-half-octave span of the notes. BTW, since I made my Basia bootleg > CD of all the various mp3's, I have been listening to the live version of > this song incessantly! It used to be one of those tracks on LWNY that I > didn't listen to often. Now I can't get enough of it. Go figure. What is on this CD? BTW, is there a kind soul who would copy the remixes of Drunk On Love for me? Either on CD of MP3s... You can bet you won't find the CD in Poland :( > with Astrud Gilberto. And after listen to "Desafinado" (Astrud & George > Michael) I think Basia would sound very good with him (GM). And of course, GM? Sweet dreams, boy, he wouldn't recognize her even if she kicked his butt on the street. Leslie added: > Yeah, I guess that ends all debate on that one! I just wish she would > have put in some notes or something. Like for example, this weekend i > got the Depeche Mode 81-85 singles collection and the PSB sigles > collection, and they had some interesting song comments in them. I > really wish she would have done that. Oh well. Oh, this answers my question. I can see that I really managed to turn you into PSB fan, Leslie! :))) (RadioZet server has turned the connection down. Twice. Grr...) > >> On "Clear Horizon" we had used the programmer [Could you tell > >me > >>his name? R] who gains great effects with the computer. > Ray- it's Richard Bull, of Incognito. He produces, writes, and plays on > some of their stuff. Thanks! BTW, I had seen the photo of Kevin on Incognito CD cover... hmm... whatever he looks like, I wouldn't call him "sweetie". ;) > I would just rateher have her go the dance route than the Diane Warren > route, if she so desires greater exposure. The last thing this world > needs is another Warren song! Ergh! Yeah, I agree! No more Warren! :) > over the top vocalism. They include some Welsh stuff and have a song > using Mulder & Scully as some kind of romantic commentary. Sounds "Things are getting strange I'm starting to worry/This could be the case for Mulder and Scully" is the typical lyric. > I was laughing for ten minutes anyway! New phrase to add to my vocab. > (LOL) Oh come on, what's so funny in my bananas? I took the phrase from Neil Tennant himself! :) I think this list should finally get a name, just like George Michael list is called YogMael and PSB list Introspective. Why not call Basia list "Tough Bananas" ? > And was I the only one breathing a sigh of relief when she said she > COULDN'T get Glen Ballard?! No. Lovelove... (-) Ray - -=[ members.xoom.com/obvious ]=-=[ Soon to come: The Future Is Yours mp3 ]=- - -=[ Air discography: members.xoom.com/obvious/airdisco.txt ]=- - -=[ Number one this week: Dimitri From Paris "Une Very Stylish Fille" ]=- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 08:43:21 PST From: "Leslie Brown" Subject: Re: Would you forgive me? ...eerm... Blame the exams! Hey, you translated it so don't worry! I for one am just glad to see it!! >translate... Please, Leslie, don't compare my grammar to Yoda again, I be >say I not professionally translate) LOL! >[Yeah, making her talk bout Kevin _must_ have been hard... R] Oh, I know! >I hate the albums like this. In my opinion they have no character and I am >not emotionally engaged in this project. Well, I guess that ends all speculation on that... Epic, of course with us co-operating, >chose the best tracks and we thought that we could add 4 new songs and with >this close this part of our career. That's the only reason why I agreed that >this CD was released. Hmmm... interesting about closing out *this* part of their career. One hopes there's a lot more up for the second half :) > It appeared that we were the only ones who did it on time, so the >song had to wait for better times. Shocker of the Month! Basia and Danny actually being ahead of schedule!?! No way! I had great fun, recording this track. It shows :) I had >even come to the conclusion, that I like singing others' songs best. Noooo... don't get too into it, please! I like her songs best. >B: You're right, we hardly ever use samples, because we like the sound of real >drums best. On "Clear Horizon" we had used the programmer [Could you tell me >his name? R] who gains great effects with the computer. That's the fast work. It was Richard Bull, I believe. Another Incognito guy. :) >We don't have to tell anyone how do we want him to play. We needed to gain the >motorical rhythm. Most of the performers work with the computers and it's not >only because of the fashion. I was against it for a long time, but finally gave >up. It's easier, cheaper, faster and helps you get interesting effects. I'm conflicted on this.... I'm glad for the speed and that she's finding something new to experiment with, but I like the live sound of TSI. >Maybe we should begin to do it too? [YEEES! R] I'll be a believer when I hear the result...I'm aalso conflicted about this. I just don't want the soul of the music to be lost. >B: I think that youths started to be more selective. There are artists, whose >albums sell very good, and the ones that have suddenly disappeared. It's because the CDs are so friggin' expensive! you *have* to be "selective" when there's so much out but so little funds. That's why I like used CDs. :) On the >second side, Lighthouse Family gained the huge popularity, but they play the >very traditional pop. It's the harmless music, that you can play while eating >lunch or having fun on New Year's day. I like that- "it's the harmless music." BTW, anyone else have an opinion on these guys? I'm curious. >. And suddenly I've heard Catatonia, who >have brought back my faith in new music. They proved that you can do something >different with heart and affection. I've heard the heartache in those songs; >they delighted me at once. Who...? >My company, especially the US division, think that >people forget about the artists quickly, and such long breaks between the >albums, that I make, are deadly. There's plenty of evidence to support this... I don't believe this - if the fans are real >fans, they will remember about me. If not - tough bananas. ....but that is also true. The real fans wil remember. Just that the record company has to remind them. (LOL!!!! I hereby decare "tough bananas" my phrase of the day! ) Music is still >important for me, but my hierarchy of what's important has changed. The >most important thing is family, not chasing all over the world something that's >untrue. I had decided that I'll be writing and recording when I want to. Stick to your guns, girlfriend! what a great attitude to have...so few folks realise there's more to life than their careers. >the South Africa, and we've never been there so far. I'd like to play there, >because the audience there knows the music that inspires us better than we do. Huh! Very interesting! >B: From the proceeds from hit albums. Unfortunately, those resources have >decreased recently, because I started investing on my living here, in Poland. >I had renewed the family house in Jaworzno. I care about my place in England >less and less and my heart moves to the Polish home. I'm planning to build a >small studio here, to be able to work in Jaworzno. I'm often looking for the >excuse to be able to come here. And how long will *this* last?!? I mean, just recently she was saying how great England was! Geez! Despite the fact that my son and my boyfriend >live in England, I feel a little lonely there. Mikolaj is 22, he's on the >third year of college and has been living alone for three years. Kevin is the >popular musician and he's always gone. Kevin, stay home sometime! Geez! Your girlfriend needs you, ya nut! (LOL) All of my acquientances are musicians >and I don't think it's a comfortable situation. Aw! I just want to hug her, poor thing! I can relate though- I just spontaniously decided to go home on Friday because I was so homesick. Now that I'm back it feels like I've reloaded or something. :) The culture gap would be even more difficult to deal with. >[They should check their ears... R] Daaaang! ;) We have Edyta Bartosiewicz, etc.etc. etc.. I think they may be getting the point by now, eh? >B: I'm saying it for the first time, but the truth is, that I'm always being >mailbombed by the American company with all those tapes with the commercial >composers' songs - from Diane Warren to Eastwood. Lately, for the first time, >I decided to listen to those tapes and I didn't like any of these songs. Thank God- the last thing the world needs is another Dianne Warren song. Ugh. The >pressings are very hard, because the people from the company think that I could >sell many more albums, than I actually do. I'm sure she could too..but when do you start losing your self in the process? I mean, losing your ideas of your own work. Good to avoid that trap. They're not satisfied with one >million, they want three. Well, tough bananas for them! *ducking* But, because I didn't find any interesting song, the >new album will only include our tracks. Yay!!! >On the other side, we weren't pressed to work with a commercial producer. >Eventually we proposed it ourselves and it had to be our compromise with the >company. We thought that we might learn something, because our recordings >always use the same tricks, arrangements, solutions and only the influence >of our sound engineer suggests something new. I understand her point in that but I think they weren't pushed with it because they are really good producers! But why live in a bubble, I guess. I wanted to work with Glen >Ballard. It was way before he got successful with Alanis Morissette. He's done >the hit album of Wilson Phillips then. I likes his respect for the songs and >the use of pop solutions. Unfortunately, he's became so much successful with >Alanis, that I can't get him now. Another resounding "PHEW!" >B: Now there's really a chance to do it. My boyfriend, Kevin, has spent a year >touring with Winwood. I've been visiting them often during that tour and I had >finally managed to become friends with Winwood. Now he's going to get the >proposal that he can't refuse. A few years ago I had sent him a song, that he's >never got. I've done this via his brother Math, who works for Epic - he was the >one who signed us. Actually it's Muff. Yes, I'm serious, that's what the guy calls himself. Anyway, I'm curious about this. It could either kick butt or really stink. Hmmmm..... He lives between >England and Nashville, where his wife lives. So *that's* how they relate! Next year he'll spend in England. >He's a farmer, by the way, and he's going to organise jam sessions with, among >others, my Kevin, which might make this idea finally come true. Party on! "My Kevin," awwww! >B: We've met in 1986, during the sessions for my first album. I was with Danny >then, but I have to admit that I had an eye on him even then. Welll...! >hard to keep him at home. He plays trumpet, but he's also an arranger and a >composer. And pretty good at it, I must say. It was him who wrote Olive Tree for me and I had to press Danny >quite hard to put this song on The Sweetest Illusion. Danny doesn't like it when the strangers mess up with our partnership. Tough bananas, Danny! *ow!* Right now, Kevin is recording >with Incognito YES!!! Leslie does her little dance around the printing presses... >The translation took me an hour; it's the longest one I had sent so far, I >think. You did a great job. Thank you, thank you thank you! :) Yay for you passing the exam, BTW!!! - ---Leslie ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V4 #37 **************************