Errors-To: ecto-owner@ns1.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu From: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu Bcc: ecto-digest-outbound@ns1.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #953 ecto, Number 953 Wednesday, 5 January 1994 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: Sam Phillips Midge Ure Steve Kilbey and the Church misc. stuff Christmas gift... pre-volleyball warmup Margot Smith et al Kristin Hersh Boycott! Attention partyphiles...Party in Chicago Re: A pretext to come back :-) Today's your birthday friend.... area/the moon seven times ======================================================================== From: p.cohen@genie.geis.com Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 00:58:00 BST Subject: Re: Sam Phillips > How is her second album? Well, now. Let's get things straight. Sam Phillips first of all has a number of christian albums under her real name, Leslie Phillips. She has said that she'd rather forget those albums. Her last album under her real name, "The Turning" on A&M was her first venture into pop and is wonderful. It also has never been reisssued on CD. Her latest album, "Cruel Inventions" is also wonderful. It is a tad less produced than "The Indescribable WOW" and comes off more as a cross between that album and "The Turning". I recommend them all. Note that she has a new album due next month I believe. +########################################################################+ +###+ Paul Cohen, Philadelphia, PA +###+ +########################################################################+ +###+ P.COHEN@genie.geis.com +###+ PMCOHEN@aol.com +###+ +###+ 70703.3126@compuserve.com +###+ PMCOHEN@delphi.com +###+ +########################################################################+ ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 04 Jan 1994 18:53:47 -0700 (MST) From: Kevin Knapp Subject: Midge Ure Gee, Anthony, I feel really bad that you never had the chance to see Ultravox live... By an amazing coincidence, I happened to be listening to Ultravox's _Rare Volume One_ (very cool CD of b-sides off of _Vienna_, _Rage In Eden_, and _Quartet_) when I read that. Anyways, I've seen Midge solo 4 or 5 times, and I've gotten backstage a couple of times and met him. I can't express in words what a nice guy he is; some friends of mine and I had fun peppering him with questions, and he posed for pictures, the whole deal. (now if I could only meet Happy! *sigh* probably better off without; I'm sure I'd fall head over heels in love...) Kevin p.s. note to all ectophiles: though Ultravox and Midge Ure have done some wonderful stuff in the past, I highly discourage anyone from purchasing _Pure_. It's awful. (everything else Midge's done is consistently wonderful) ======================================================================== From: p.cohen@genie.geis.com Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 00:58:00 BST Subject: Steve Kilbey and the Church > Steve Kilbey isn't so much _with_ The Church as he *IS* The Church... OK, Anthony, being one of the biggest Church fanatics on the planet, I feel the need to respond. No, Kilbey isn't the Church. He is the most important part of the Church, but after listening to the solo works of all concerned, I must come to the conclusion that the Church is the mixture of the talents of Kilbey, Wilson-Piper, and Koppes (though it seems we may soon find out what a Church sounds like without Koppes). None of their solo efforts stand up to the Church's works. Though there are many great moments, they prove (as often happens) that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. +########################################################################+ +###+ Paul Cohen, Philadelphia, PA +###+ +########################################################################+ +###+ P.COHEN@genie.geis.com +###+ PMCOHEN@aol.com +###+ +###+ 70703.3126@compuserve.com +###+ PMCOHEN@delphi.com +###+ +########################################################################+ ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 00:01:19 -0700 (MST) From: Kevin Knapp Subject: misc. stuff Hi all! Jessica ------- I'm not sure of the exact nomenclature, but can I switch from the daily digest format to getting messages as they come in? I think it would make it easier for me to digest and respond... Thanks! :) Meredith -------- Reading your story about Camelot brought back memories... I don't think I've ever actually been in a Camelot, but I'm definitely familiar with that sort of situation. I used to work for a really cool chain in southern California called 'Licorice Pizza' (I was at the Chula Vista store). Life was good. If a customer wanted to hear something, we'd open it up for him/her and play it on the spot. Then, a few years after I was hired, the evil Musicland Group bought the chain. This would've been, oh, '86? '87? In any case, it was terribly depressing. I had just become the import buyer for the store, and they decreed that we would not sell imports, period. Soon after we became a 'Sam Goody', horrible things happened. They transferred out our management, fired most of our shift-managers for trumped-up accusations of this and that, etc. None of the transferred people from Musicland seemed passionate about music, all they cared about was stock turnover. Soon, a computer 'profile' determined our inventory: our store was determined to be a specific category, and the computer determined what we would stock. Believe me, I love computers (I'm an Electrical Engineering/Computer Option undergrad at my school here) but there was no provision for employee input. So, for example, when the Smiths came to San Diego, the computer would send us two copies of _The Queen Is Dead_ tape when we had ten people a day asking for it, and we were pretty much helpless. We were only allowed to augument this order with top ten product (as determined from our store's previous sales, which effectively eliminated anything new that us remaining Licorice Pizza employees knew about) ordered from a local one-stop. So we'd have a vicious cycle: first, we wouldn't have enough of something when we needed it, but a few months later the delayed reaction would kick it, and we'd have 230 copies of _The Queen Is Dead_ collecting dust in the back room, since everybody drove the 20 miles out to the nearest Tower records and bought it there. We could do special orders, but it'd usually take about a month (we were instructed to always tell customers "one week or less", no exceptions). Oh yeah, Sam Goody was in Billboard a few years back when they set a new precedent: Sam Goody now routinely charges up to $1.50 OVER suggested list price in areas where there is no competition. Great. I hereby discourage all ectophiles from patronizing ANY store owned by The Msicaland Group (Sam Goody, Musicaland, Suncoast, etc.). Fortunately, I now work at a really cool little record store here in Wyoming where I routinely bring in my CDs and tapes from home and play them. (Of course I'm actively pushing Happy; we regrettably only stock _RhodeSongs_ but it's selling nicely, and we really can get the others in in about a week!) Philip ------ I'm afraid I can't pick out one album by This Mortal Coil and declare it to be better than the rest; I'm afraid you're in a no-lose situation. :-) Kevin ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 08:01:50 +0000 (U) From: TalbotJ Subject: Christmas gift... Just before Christmas I got a big package in the mail... ---------------------------------- 1. Sarah Mclachlan - "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" Album gorgeous... except for "Circle" - ridiculous-shallow-already-been-recorded-a-million-times-trite-musically-and-lyrically-inferior-nobody-needs-this-song song. However, her MUSIC leaves me speachless; complicated layers, wonderful textures, interesting sounds. Her POETRY is so sensitive and thought provoked; not pretentious, flowery or self-indulgent. Her VOICE just gets better and better. Easily the best albums I bought in 1993. ---------------------------------- 2. Sarah Mclachlan - "Possession" Single Two different versions of "Possession" neither the same as the two versions on the album and a different version "Fear". I think I have all her CD singles and usually I'm not so kooky for her versions; too trancy/dancy, too long. BUT these versions are really good. ---------------------------------- 3. Happy Rhodes - "RhodeSongs" album Nice to here different motivations to some old songs. ---------------------------------- 4. Jane Siberry - "Temple" single Four different versions of "Temple" with some work by Michael Brook (love him). ---------------------------------- 5. Cocteau Twins - "Snow" single a must-have... I was told this was deleted on the day of release and an instant collectors item. I was in Paris over New Years at Virgin Records and found a stack of these as long as a baby's arm. Anyway, it's a thrill to here Miss Frasier sing Christmas classics "Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman." ---------------------------------- While at Virgin, I picked up an EP, Virgin (Japan) release from Julia Fordham: a. Love moves in mysterious ways (full version) b. The naked truth c. Manhattan skyline d. Loving you (old song originally recorded by Minnie Riperton) e. One of the boys f. Melt (from the film "The Flying Penta") g. Happy ever after. I also bought the "Moments of Pleasure" box. *yawn* ---------------------------------- Johnny ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 4 Jan 1994 23:13:09 -0800 (PST) From: Emily Breed Subject: Re: Christmas gift... On Wed, 5 Jan 1994, TalbotJ wrote: > While at Virgin, I picked up an EP, Virgin (Japan) release from Julia Fordham: > a. Love moves in mysterious ways (full version) > b. The naked truth > c. Manhattan skyline > d. Loving you (old song originally recorded by Minnie Riperton) > e. One of the boys > f. Melt (from the film "The Flying Penta") > g. Happy ever after. How is it? I got interested in Julia Fordham ages ago, when VH-1 was playing "Porcelain" and that half-hour interview/making-of-the-videos thing, but never got around to buying any of her albums. And now, of course, my list of cds to get just gets longer and l-o-n-g-e-r and... Emily Breed emilyb@netcom.com (Seen on rec.pets.cats: "Cats rule, and dogs drool. This is not intended as a slur against dogs, merely a statement of fact.") ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 07:40:46 EST From: woj@remus.rutgers.edu (mindswept) Subject: pre-volleyball warmup what better way to warmup the fingers for fast and furious setting than by replying to the varous threads and such in ecto? Suspended In Duct Tape sez: >As woj already noted, Camelot Records can be a dangerous place. no kidding - i spent about $60 ($24 of which was on two import singles: "moments of pleasure" and curve's "blackerthreetracker") and got a whole mess of stuff: _here no evil_ (a tribute to the monkees), freshly wrapped candies' _i like me_ (they're a weird ralph records outfit), that byzantime sampler meth mentioned (no liner notes to speak of so it's at best a bit dubious), sonic youth's _sister_, the 13th floor evelvators' _bull of the woods_. a good haul, if somewhat diametric to what most people 'round here seem to listen to. sainty_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz sez: >This Mortal Coil: do others agree that Filigree and Shadow would be the >best of their albums to get? It sounds good lengthwise, at any rate :) _f&s_ is my fave tmc album because its continuity weaves a more involving web than _it'll end in tears_. the first album is enchanting, but the song-oriented focus is not as enjoyable as the album focus of _f&s_. i've listened to _blood_ a few times, but it never really grabbed me. anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) sez: >Funny thing, this music taste thingy. ain't it great? Re: _sleeping with the lion_ >I cannot fault the songwriting on this album. i'm not faulting it at all - as i said, it's a very pleasant album to listen to. my point is that a number of the songs aren't *distinctive* from other pop artists. an integral part of my music enjoyment focuses on interesting and involving arrangements without which i may not go back to an album that doesn't catch my ear somehow. that is not to imply that margot suffers from this through and through...but a few songs ("how do you sleep" and "water" are examples) don't do much for me musically. >> i'd say that _sleeping with the lion_ is a worthy but not >> necessary addition to an ectophile's collection. >I'd call it essential. i've been thinking about that "necessary" comment for a long time. i wrote it out and wrote it in of my "review" more than a few times before posting it. a bit presumptuous of me to think i can determine what is necessary or unnecessary for anyone's musical life, no? however, that wasn't my intent - my meaning was something along the lines of "i'm glad that i have this album and i'm not going to turn around and sell it to someone else but i would have put this on my long to-buy list if i heard a song of hers on the radio" (or something like that). >At any rate, I found the Cranberries' album to be rather wonderful maybe i've just not listened to it on the drive to work yet. i think i'll dub _everybody..._ and _sleeping..._ onto a tape tonight for commute music. Mitch sez: >Subject: Followups to alt.fan.meg-griffin :-) ah, that's her last name! Suspended In Duct Tape sez: >(Unlike woj, I don't feel that I'm in a position to say whether it belongs >in an ectophile's collection or not, nor will I ever be...) thpth to you too! see above. Kevin Knapp sez: >I hereby discourage all ectophiles from patronizing ANY store owned by The >Msicaland Group (Sam Goody, Musicaland, Suncoast, etc.). i hereby second this motion, though i amend it to allow shopping at the cutout bins of said stores. ;) off to work with fingers flexible! +woj ======================================================================== From: Tim Cook Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 13:24:43 GMT Subject: Margot Smith et al I like SWtL a lot but not as much as I hoped I would. I've listened to it a lot over the last 6 weeks or so that I've had it and I still can't think of much to say about it (sorry Anthony!). Some of the songs sound familiar but I can't think where I've heard them before (and it's driving me mad). My Mae Moore CD popped through my letterbox the other day so I've been listening to that a lot. UK customs decided to charge me a random amount of VAT which doesn't seem to bear any relation to the cost of the CD :-). On first listen it's very pleasant so I'm not complaining! While waiting for a haircut the other day I popped into a local CD shop and bought a CD by someone called Nicola Hitchcock. I'd never heard of her before (one of my impulse buys). I'm glad I did. I *love* this album. Xmas was fun, especially as I have just found out I can IRC from my home account so I spent a lot of time chatting to ectophiles around the globe. Who was 'Santa' by the way? No-one would tell me! Can't wait till Monday, first Tori single off the new album is due to be released. Yay! tim PS I'm off to Chicago at the end of this month. This could be expensive if the CD shops in Chicago are half as good as they are in Boston!! ======================================================================== From: Tim Cook Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 13:41:07 GMT Subject: Kristin Hersh "Hips & Makers" was reviewed in this months Vox and Q magazines. Q gave it the thumbs down (measly two stars) but Vox gave it 8/10. Does anyone know when it's going to be released in the U.K.? tim ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 05 Jan 1994 10:08:47 -0500 (EST) From: Sam Warren Subject: Boycott! Kevin Knapp shares my view of the horrid corporate music stores: >Soon after we became a 'Sam Goody', horrible things happened. >Soon, a computer 'profile' determined our inventory: our store was determined >to be a specific category, and the computer determined what we would stock. I have always suspected something like this. The sales staff at these places are so very uninformed. >Sam Goody was in Billboard a few years back when they set a new precedent: Sam >Goody now routinely charges up to $1.50 OVER suggested list price in areas >where there is no competition. Not just where there is no competition. Here, on 6th Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets, there are three Sam Goodys (Goodies?). Two are in A&S Plaza, and a third has recently been added directly above the GAP. The Wiz, which has MUCH better prices, is on 6th at 32nd St. But the Sam Goody prices are still ridiculous. >I hereby discourage all ectophiles from patronizing ANY store owned by The >Msicaland Group (Sam Goody, Musicaland, Suncoast, etc.). I would definately agree. However - Sam Goody and Tower are the two places in New York where I have been able to find Happy's music. ALL the albums! Many people on Ecto have found Happy in Sam Goody stores. So let's not be too hasty in our decision to boycott. -Sam (who was NOT named after Mr. Goody, although sometimes I think I "got it" too. :-) ) ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 05 Jan 94 09:02:58 CDT From: Chip Lueck Subject: Attention partyphiles...Party in Chicago Tim Cook (the guy who'll go anywhere for a party) will be in Chicago at the end of the month and it would only be appropriate to have an Ectoparty to celebrate and welcome him! I think Saturday, Jan. 29th would be a good day. We can schedule a time and place later. My place is more than available for parties... I just don't have a big screen TV for group viewing (hint hint Vickie ;-) ). We can play it by ear. Hope to see you there! ======================================================================= Chip Lueck | "The moving walkway is now ending. email: chip-l@nwu.edu | Please look down." PHONE: 708-467-1587 | ======================================================================== From: Tim Cook Date: Wed, 5 Jan 94 15:33:52 GMT Subject: Re: Boycott! We've got a Sam Goody in Stockport. They are even more expensive than "Our Price". Average price for new CDs is between 13 and 15 pounds ($20 - $23). Their selection is pretty poor as well. The only good thing about them is that they sometimes have really good sale CDs very cheap. tim ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 08:55:04 -0800 (PST) From: Ectophiles Guide Subject: Re: A pretext to come back :-) Mitch sez: On Tue, 4 Jan 1994 U15289%uicvm.BITNET@uwavm.u.washington.edu wrote: > Neile wishes: > > >HAPPY NEW YEAR to all and Happy Hogmanay. > > An obscure Western holiday, or what? Will we need to consider adding a Happy > Hogmanay Project to the existing array? :-) It would be appropriate. Hogmanay is Scottish, actually. It's a New Year's Eve celebration where the young folk go around singing and looking for gifts. Any Scottish ectophiles like to comment on how it's celebrated now if at all? I just played _Warpaint_ and while I loved hearing it when Happy sang "We are waking up" I still hadn't. Mornings hurt. --Neile neile@u.washington.edu ======================================================================== From: klaus@inphobos.wupper.de Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 07:13:25 Subject: Today's your birthday friend.... i*i*i*i*i*i *************** ***HAPPY******* ********BIRTHDAY*** ******************* ***** Paul Cohen ****** *********************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Paul Cohen Tue January 5 1954 Capricorn Tony Garrity Mon January 8 1962 Pool of Life Greg Bossert Tue January 9 1962 OfTheTimes Aaron Hawkins Mon January 12 1970 Capricorn Troy J. Shadbolt Thu January 14 1971 Capricorn Chris Sampson Wed January 15 1964 Void where prohibited Dennis G Parslow Fri January 17 1964 SDCN Ilka Heber Mon February 1 1965 Mermaid Bob Lovejoy Sun February 2 1947 Aquarius Stephen Thomas Fri February 4 1966 Aquarius -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- _____ Klaus Kluge * klaus@inphobos.wupper.de * I'll be here, I'll be (in) Ecto! ======================================================================== From: Albert Philipsen Subject: area/the moon seven times Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 17:59:47 +0100 (MET) Yay! Ten digests came in today! woj@remus.rutgers.edu (the dark saxophone) writes: >Albert Philipsen sez: >> 7. The moon seven times > >>I find it weird that people like this better than Area, because I like the >>few Area songs I've heard (all acquired via Doug's tape dubbing project) >>better than this. > >my problem with area revovles primarily around their sound. the use of >the drum machine and the cheesy casio keyboard can, at times, be rather >annoying. I think I have a weakness for this kind of sound. :) >>I still like to listen to this one though, but I find it >>a bit too long (I like the beginning of the album much better than the >>end). > >the end is a hodge podge of demos and miscellany tacked on to the >actual album. for example, "ride 'em chuck" (the one about the cats) is >a warm-up song that lynn uses to ready her voice for recording >sessions. you can really ignore these goofy tracks at the end for the >most part as they are extraneous. they certainly are amusing though... >:) Yes, I like those very lasts bits of the album too, although you need to fast-forward through an awful lot of noise to get to them. :) It's just that I can't seem to get into the last three or so tracks of the album. The first nine bring me in this wonderful mood, but then it's suddenly all over. Dan Riley replies to woj's message: >just want to (mostly) second what woj said. I like "with louise" >better than anything on _the moon seven times_, but there is not much >else on _the perfect dream_ that I like nearly as much as most of _the >moon seven times_--so, on the whole, I do think moon 7x is better than >area, though I don't think moon 7x matches the very best of area. It >sounds like Albert has only heard the very best of area, so that may >explain his reaction... Possible. The songs I have heard are "I'll Gather Flowers", "25", "With Louise" and "Permafrost". Happy New Year everyone! *HUGS* Albert ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 5 Jan 1994 17:25:23 +0000 From: S.L.Fagg@bnr.co.uk (Steve Fagg's Mac) Subject: Re: Christmas gift... At 11:13 pm 4/1/94 -0800, Emily Breed wrote: >On Wed, 5 Jan 1994, TalbotJ wrote: >> While at Virgin, I picked up an EP, Virgin (Japan) release from Julia >>Fordham: >How is it? I got interested in Julia Fordham ages ago, when VH-1 was >playing "Porcelain" and that half-hour interview/making-of-the-videos >thing, but never got around to buying any of her albums. IMO "Porcelain" knocks spots off her other stuff, before and since. I have, and like, it all - but that album was a definite peak in her output (for me). -- Regards Steve Fagg ( S.L.Fagg@bnr.co.uk +44-279-402437 ) BNR Europe Ltd., London Road, Harlow, Essex, CM17 9NA, UK *** New .sig quote currently under construction. *** ======================================================================== The ecto archives are on hardees.rutgers.edu in ~ftp/pub/hr. There is an INDEX file explaining what is where. Feel free to send me things you'd like to have added. -- jessica (jessica@ns1.rutgers.edu)