Errors-To: owner-ecto@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 #270 ecto, Number 270 Monday, 22 June 1992 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Fluff (tm) Synthesisers More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] *beep*bwang*zoop* AG--Indiana style ELECTRONIC_INSTRUMENTS_RULE....NOT Susanne White ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 11:51:13 MDT From: dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu (Doug Burks) Subject: Fluff (tm) Greetings, Achh! A birthday slipped by, and I am especially ashamed since I met him in Albany. A couple of days late, but David Lubkin, I hope you had a warm fuzzy blue Happy HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Saturday. I hope all of our Northern Hemisphere Ectophiles enjoyed the start of summer! I celebrated by mildly sunburning myself in the Rockies and driving home through a spiffy hailstorm. Hey, people! Just nine days until the famous Happy Birthday Project deadline (July 1st). If you want to participate, do so today! (C'mon, Burks, that means you, too! :) ). By the way, I've been asked to mention how much money should be included by contributors for postage. For US Ectophiles, the postage (book rate) would be $1.05. For Canadian orders, I think it's under US$2. For other orders, it should be around US$3 for Europe. I'm not sure how much it would be for our poor isolated and now winter-bound Aussies. By the way, if anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, or need more information, feel free to ask me. Doug Burks _O_ dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu |< She really is!! ======================================================================== Subject: Synthesisers From: Tim Breitkreutz Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1992 13:42:07 +0100 In ecto 269, kirstin hargie writes: > Yes, I agree that Warpaint is the most mature Happy album. > But, it still doesn't get much airplay on my stereo for one > simple reason....the electronic cymbals drive me bananas!!! > The songs themselves are wonderful, but the drum machine > she uses just drives me crazy. I don't know what it is > about electronic sounds in general that annoy me, but these > particular sounds really grate on my nerves. ... > I realize > that Happy had to make due with what she had equipment wise, > and that I should ignore any noises that drive me nuts and > listen to what is there lyrically and musically...but but but > :) :) Am I the only one that this happens too..... You're not the only one. This is my main complaint with Warpaint also, although it hasn't made me take it off my medium rotation list. I am still ``aquiring'' albums 1 and 4, so I can't say much about them yet, but when I first put on V1 and Rainkeeper came on I was very pleased, and relieved that it was acoustic! > I probably sound like I hate Warpaint, on the contrary Warpaint > contains some of my favis (wrong century for exam.) and is > a great album. Can't wait for the next one though :) If the next album (does anybody know what it's going to be called? or even a working title?) had more real instruments and fewer ``synthetic'' sounds (especially the drums and cymbals!) that would be fantastic. Does anybody in the know have any ideas what direction the instrumentation and arrangments might take? Any wild speculation? - Tim (tim@cs.ualberta.ca or tim@lisd.UUCP) ======================================================================== From: kyrlidis@athena.mit.edu Subject: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:08:20 EDT Hi, Tim writes: >If the next album (does anybody know what it's going to be called? or >even a working title?) had more real instruments and fewer >``synthetic'' sounds (especially the drums and cymbals!) that would be >fantastic. Does anybody in the know have any ideas what direction the >instrumentation and arrangments might take? Any wild speculation? Well, since speculation is my middle name I will dare to present some factoids as I remember them from the not too distant ecto-past. a) working title: In Newsletter #2, it was mentioned that Kevin refers to Rhodes VI as 'More Paint', but I believe that this is far from what the album will be called. b) fewer synthetic sounds: When Warpaint was made, the Happy band included Happy and Kevin. Now with the live band semi-familiar with 3 songs off the new album, they might go for a more group sound, especially since they plan to tour after Rhodes VI is released, by doing so they will already have the full band arrangements of the songs. Then who said that the REAL tour will involve a band? [I bet it will :) ] But then again, the band also used synths. In fact the only thing I did NOT like from the live show were those *long* synth intros for some songs... c) instrumentation: Vickie in some post too old for me to even think of trying to find, mentioned something about bagpipes. And spoken German words. Or was it Uillean pipes, and spoken french. Or maybe dijeridu and backwards messages in swahili?? My memory is terrible. :) Predictions: A glam-rock revival album, with Happy with a moussed up hair-do, wearing a batwoman [anybody seen batman returns yet? How was it?] outfit, or a rapped up album featuring Happy wearing a baseball cap backwards and lots of gold chains called 'Yo, ppaintt' or ... :) Angelos ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:11:46 EDT From: jessica Subject: Re: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Hee.. Angelos writes: > In fact the only thing I did NOT like from the live show were those *long* > synth intros for some songs... Hmmmmmm.. I thought they were fantastic!!! Listening to the tapes of both albany and philly (though i tihnk it was more predominant in albany) one of the things i really like are the intros.. growing little by little, adding bit's 'til it really becomes the song.. i thought they were done very well.. building suspense and energy.. mmmmmm jessica || jessica || It is this that || Don't try to tell me there's no reason for || || lawrence || brings us || any moment in time, every memory of mine. || || koeppel || together. || Those years are lines of color on my face, || || dembski || --Kate || the past is warpaint. --Happy Rhodes || ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:16:12 EDT From: Gregory Bossert Subject: *beep*bwang*zoop* this footah feels obliged to humbly comment that he, er, i, that is ;) START AGAIN! i actually *like* the sound of _warpaint_ very very much, cymbals and all... mind you, i have been playing with synthesizers and drum machines for many years, and my ears are tuned to the subtleties of electronic timbres (or maybe i have just gotten used to them)... but it is certainly not a question of being a fan of electronic music -- i listen to just about *all* types of music, and purely electronic stuff is a relatively small fraction of the total... i think one approach that helps is not to hear the sounds as "electronic drums/bass/whatever" but on their own in a more abstract fashion. if you expect real drums, well, the sampled drums will sound dry and cold... if you listen without that expectation, you will notice that Happy and Kevin have created rhythms and textures of sound that are original and surpising and always quite appropriate to the musical context... few musicians have quite as deft and subtle a touch with electronic percussion -- though KaTe does come to mind... :) just one man's footah! -greg -- gb10@gte.com -- "this is where life begins" -- HR ======================================================================== Subject: Re: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:26:59 -0400 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu >Tim writes: >>If the next album (does anybody know what it's going to be called? or >>even a working title?) had more real instruments and fewer >>``synthetic'' sounds (especially the drums and cymbals!) that would be >>fantastic. Does anybody in the know have any ideas what direction the >>instrumentation and arrangments might take? Any wild speculation? >b) fewer synthetic sounds: When Warpaint was made, the Happy band included >Happy and Kevin. I fully agree with this one. I don't know that Martha or Kelly would appear on HRV6 (unless Martha is brought in for some fancy keyswork a la "In Hiding") but I'd be surprised if Ray didn't play bass and extremely surprised if, oh, what was his name! didn't show up on drums. Heck! What _is_ his name? >Now with the live band semi-familiar with 3 songs off the new album Angelos? How do you define "semi-familiar"? Or more importantly, what does it take for them to be fully familiar? I thought the band sounded as tight on the new songs as they did on everything else... >[anybody seen batman returns yet? How was it?] I _loved_ it. Extremely funny, extemely dark, and visually stunning. I think it was slightly too long, but not horribly so. I also think that Danny Elfman is starting to get a bit redundant in his scoring; I kept thinking of _Edward Scissorhands_ when the music swelled up. That's not to say he doesn't write neat stuff--I'm a big Oingo Boingo fan and have always enjoyed his scores--but that it's starting to blend together and it might be time for him to try a new approach. ;-) Anyway, I thought the movie was great, but I don't expect that many others to agree. >or a rapped up album featuring Happy wearing a baseball cap backwards and >lots of gold chains called 'Yo, ppaintt' or ... :) Does this mean Alice would be one of the Beastie Boys? Jeff ======================================================================== Subject: AG--Indiana style Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:29:25 -0400 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu Welp, I finally picked up _Wisteria_ today. On first listen-and-a-half it's okay, but not nearly as good as _Under Towers_. Unfortunately, I need to trade in my copy as it had a couple of scratches on it when I opened the long box, and they're causing it to skip on my CD player. Grrrrr. "Impossible Space" is _really_ cool... Jeff |Jeffrey C. Burka | "Show what you are / Be strong, be true | | | Time for you to / Be who you are." | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | --Happy Rhodes | ======================================================================== From: kyrlidis@athena.mit.edu Subject: Re: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:37:56 EDT Jeff writes: >Angelos? How do you define "semi-familiar"? Or more importantly, what does >it take for them to be fully familiar? I thought the band sounded as tight >on the new songs as they did on everything else... Ooops....I meant that the versions of the songs we heard live, are not necessarily what they will be on the new album, and therefore they are familiar with a 'draft' of the songs. Nothing to do with the band not being tight... >Does this mean Alice would be one of the Beastie Boys? YES!!!!!!!!! :) :) Angelos ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:58:37 EDT From: Gregory Bossert Subject: Re: AG--Indiana style Jeff reports: >Welp, I finally picked up _Wisteria_ today. > >On first listen-and-a-half it's okay, but not nearly as good as >_Under Towers_. mm, Wisteria *really* grew on me about a week after my first, disappointed listen... seeing the live versions really helped, but i think the album stands on it's own :) the new new songs (i.e. post-Wisteria) that they played sound quite good -- i can't wait ;) (though i believe it will be a while...) mm, Jeff, if that last message went to you instead of the list, could you forward it? thanks :) be fruitful and footah! -greg -- gb10@gte.com -- "you confuse me" -- Rainbirds ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 17:21:41 EDT From: Chris Sampson Subject: ELECTRONIC_INSTRUMENTS_RULE....NOT Hello, kIrI says: [and I agree with much of it] >....the electronic cymbals drive me bananas!!! >The songs themselves are wonderful, but the drum machine >she uses just drives me crazy. Usually I get REALLY tired of drum machines, the most obvious over-/mis-use of which can be found on Phil Collins' albums. I don't get the winces with Warpaint, but I am aware of the machinery a bit. >They tooted that their synthesizers >sounded just as good as instruments played live and in >person. They then did a listen and compare test. Now i'm >sure they didn't wish to insult anyone's intelligence or >'ears,' but the difference between the two horn 'noises' >was obvious. Which company was this? This is a pet peeve of mine: When I'm at home with my modest synth, it's okay to imitate an instrument or two, but professionals (not counting HR, who was/is likely on a limited budget in those/these days) have few, if any excuses. Novelty is okay, in moderation. Besides, I like electronic keyboards best when they're NOT trying to sound like something else! >I've never trusted or liked synthesized horns, or strings, and >while drum machines are sounding better and better all >the time, there is just something more to say about the >real thing. Definitely! >Am I the only one that this happens too..... NO! :) >I probably sound like I hate Warpaint, on the contrary Warpaint >contains some of my favis (wrong century for exam.) and is >a great album. My most wince-inducing experience (having only listened, so far, to ECTO and Warpaint) is with "Don't Want to Hear It". There's a part that is (IMHO) VERY disco-sounding. Again, I absolutely LOVE Ecto- and Warpaint, (and expect that I'll love the 1st3 when I scrape up enough money to buy them), but, hey, she's not Trump...sometimes you gotta make due (do?) with what's available. [CAVEAT: THE WRITER WISHES TO ASSERT HERE THAT HE THINKS HR IS THE BEST NEW VOICE/MUSICIAN ON THE SCENE, AND WOULDN'T HAVE HER CHANGE A THING...except maybe that bit on "don't want to hear it"...NEITHER WOULD HE WANT TO START A FLAME WAR WITH "MINOR QUIBBLES" AS THE CENTERPIECES.] o o In other words, read each line as though it began with 0 IMHO. \_/ Chris Sampson Imagination abounds here There's wisdom And great insight. -HR "Feed the Fire" ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 17:25:01 EDT From: Gregory Bossert Subject: Susanne White here is a bit more info on Happy's PR person, Susanne: Susanne White SMW Productions 51 Hicks St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-330-9644 call/write susanne with reports on radio stations, concert opportunities, newspapers, etc... eventually, she may get onto the net and read ecto directly -- in the meanwhile, drop her a line, she is a great person and a *huge* fan of Happy's, so she understands ;) running out of footah here... good thing i have lots! :) :) -greg -- gb10@gte.com -- "la la la la la la la" -- anonymous ======================================================================== Subject: AG--Indiana style Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:29:25 -0400 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu Welp, I finally picked up _Wisteria_ today. On first listen-and-a-half it's okay, but not nearly as good as _Under Towers_. Unfortunately, I need to trade in my copy as it had a couple of scratches on it when I opened the long box, and they're causing it to skip on my CD player. Grrrrr. "Impossible Space" is _really_ cool... Jeff |Jeffrey C. Burka | "Show what you are / Be strong, be true | | | Time for you to / Be who you are." | |jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu | --Happy Rhodes | ======================================================================== From: kyrlidis@athena.mit.edu Subject: Re: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:37:56 EDT From: kyrlidis@athena.mit.edu Subject: Re: More Paint [was Re: Synthesisers] Date: Mon, 22 Jun 92 16:37:56 EDT Jeff writes: >Angelos? How do you define "semi-familiar"? Or more importantly, what does >it take for them to be fully familiar? I thought the band sounded as tight >on the new songs as they did on everything else... Ooops....I meant that the versions of the songs we heard live, are not necessarily what they will be on the new album, and therefore they are familiar with a 'draft' of the songs. Nothing to do with the band not being tight... >Does this mean Alice would be one of the Beastie Boys? YES!!!!!!!!! :) :) Angelos ======================================================================== The ecto archives are on hardees.rutgers.edu in ~ftp/pub/hr. There is a README file explaining what is where. Feel free to send me (or leave in the incoming directory, just let me know) things you'd like to have added. -- jessica (jessica@ns1.rutgers.edu)