11-Nov-91 20:05:46-GMT,20948;000000000401 Received: from athos.rutgers.edu by aramis.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA08130; Mon, 11 Nov 91 14:29:05 EST Received: by athos.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.4/3.08) id AA27783; Mon, 11 Nov 91 14:29:01 EST Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 14:29:01 EST Message-Id: <9111111929.AA27783@athos.rutgers.edu> Errors-To: owner-ecto@athos.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu From: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #31 ecto, Number 31 Monday, 11 November 1991 Today's Topics: *-----------------* music nonstop, technopop Talked to Happy... Black Fuzzballs :-< More on Stephen King Catching Up a bit ======================================================================== Subject: music nonstop, technopop Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 11:29:45 N From: Klaus Kluge Doug is in favour of > Terry Prachett -- a rare purveyor of humor in sf. (Why do the British > have a monopoly on this?) Practically any of his books are worth it, > so why not start at the beginning with _The Colour of Magic_. Why not start at the end with _Witches Abroad_, which will be published this month. But take care that you get a british import, as the american edition has dropped the original Josh Kirby cover (so I've been told). Steve's nightmare > Horrible thought: What if Cynthia Rosas wanted to join Ecto? I can ignore her in Ecto as well as in .gaffa. Hmmm, maybe it's a bit harder. Re: 4AD Last friday I got two records from 4AD. At first I thought about asking you for recommendation, but as there are so many groups and albums, I was afraid that I would get a different recommendation from everyone. Well, my choice wasn't that big. What I took home were: Dead Can Dance - a passage in time Cocteau Twins - the PINK OPAQUE If I understand correctly these are both compilations. So far I don't like the CT album that much, but the DCD album is really great. No hesitation! I knew it after 10 seconds. After one listening I had the impression that it sounds like a cooperation of Midge Ure and Ofra Haza. But I don't think that any longer. Re: Kevin's "7" I do like this tape very much. Still, I can't name any favourite songs from it. Because it's a tape I only listen to it driving to/from work and I can't follow the titles. And because it's instrumental I don't have lyrics to lead me to the title. Some of it reminds me of the work of his namesake Kevin Peek. Although KP is mainly guitar based, the melodies and mood is often similar. It has been quite a while that I had been listening to instrumentals. The last months had only Peter Gabriels "Passion" and "Birdy" on the player. Apart from Kevin Peek, my favourite instrumental albums are from Sky, Jean-Michel Jarre, Tomita and Barbara Thompson (who I will see in concert again in two weeks). Re: more tapes I've just finished a letter to Happy & Kevin where I am also ordering 2 more tapes from Kevin. Yesterday I phoned one of my sisters. I gave her a Warpaint CD (with autographed card) as a birthday present in August, and I asked her if she would prefer to get some more Happy music for Christmas or something different. Well, she decided for Happy! I'm so late again. Having finished last weeks digest just to find 4 new ones. Before I read it properly, two statements about the latest threads: 1) I don't like Stephen King 2) I don't like Madonna and it can't be because they are popular, because 1) I do like Marion Zimmer Bradley / Anne McCaffrey 2) I do like Dire Straits Never mind! See you later ... Klaus. _____ Klaus Kluge --- kkluge@Materna.DE --- I'll be here, I'll be (in) Ecto! ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 03:17 CST From: vickie@chinet.chi.il.us (Vickie Ann Mapes) Subject: Talked to Happy... Vickie here. Talked to Happy for a bit (*finally* got through to her) and the stations airing the WXPN interview have been announced. It's very disappointing because there aren't very many of them, and they're all in strange places. I'm sure they're very nice places, but in very out-of-the-way locations. Here it is: KUMD 103.3 Duluth, MN KUMA 88.5 Rolla, MO (nowhere *near* Kansas City :-( pooh!) KUNI 90.9 Cedar Falls, IA KUNM ? Albuquerque, NM KUWR 91.9 Laramie, WY WEOS 89.7 Geneva, NY WFUV 90.7 Bronx, NY (that's not a bad one, if it reaches NYC) WNCW 88.7 Spindale, NC and of course, WXPN in Philadelphia The show is called "World Cafe" and we don't know when it will air, but it might be soon (maybe even this week!) so if you have access or have friends who have access to any of these stations, it might be a good idea to start calling and see if they'll tell you when the Happy show will air. The only other news is that the Warpaint CDs should be ready the 22nd. Great, because they are down to 13 CDs! Right now they have over 400 backordered. The new backup singer (sorry Jessica) is named Kelly Bird. The 1st4 CDs will *NOT* be out before the first of the year. Absolutely! H&K do *NOT* have the money right now, but things look to be getting better after the Christmas season. Then they will take stock of their finances, see how much they still owe the bank and if they can pay the Warpaint loan off, then they will think seriously about the 1st4 CDs. In other words, do NOT count on the 1st4 CDs as Christmas presents. Angelos, > has it been established that AG takes its name from the Lou Reed song > 'Growing up in Public' where AG is mentioned? I asked Happy and she said no, this is not where AG came from. Stephen, I asked her about her belief system and she said she would write up something to send to me to post. That's really nice, because I'm curious to see what she writes also. Later... Vickie ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 03:08 CST From: vickie@chinet.chi.il.us (Vickie Ann Mapes) Subject: Black Fuzzballs :-< Vickie here. Strange, a bunch of Big Sky BBS (Cynthia & Richard) posts appeared in the LH digest that weren't in rec.music.gaffa. Jeff Burka, Angelos and Steve V, in case you don't get the digest, I just thought I'd pass along the information that a) Jeff, Cynthia called you stupid b) Angelos, she said that you too could have said that Happy is a Kate wanna-be who writes bad songs (which is essentially what Richard said) and c) Steve, she still thinks you're a toadie, called you a dork and said that you're sexually repressed. "Raving Bitch" indeed! Another typical day in gaffa. I'm very sorry you all had to be her targets, but I am very greatful that you did speak up to defend Happy and Jane from Richard's totally uncalled for, and totally unfunny, remarks. Ahhh, lovely, charming Cynthia, who claims... > Actually, "raving bitch" is just a nickname given me by someone > desperate for my attention. I'm more like a normal person, but > being female, I am accustomed to cleverness and sarcasm being > intimidating to weenies. Consequently, females get branded as bitches, > while similar men are.. assertive, aggressive, ascerbic, etc, etc. > But, as long as weenies exist, I'm happy (rhodes?) to kick them in the > ass when they need it. ;-) Steve V, you asked, what if Cynthia wanted to join Ecto? Jessica & I had a similar conversation re Robyn Sommerville. I suggested that if she wanted to join we could start sending her Ecto from the beginning, in large chunks at a time. :-) I don't think she'd last very long. :-) Seriously, it is a problem if anyone who's known to be anti-Happy would want to join. It's a moral dilemma, is it right to keep someone out? I have trouble with the concept, so all I can hope for is if someone who is anti-Happy wanted to join just to stir up some trouble, that I (we all) could ignore them until they get so tired of the "sweetness and light" they'd go away. Well, I don't think Cynthia would join anyway. I sure hope she quits talking about Happy though. *She* hasn't said anything really derogatory yet, she's just been supporting Richard's derogatory remarks. Hey, maybe that makes her *Richard's* toadie! Yeah! Here's my new, "improved" .gaffa-only sigline... Vickie vickie@chinet.chi.il.us {-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-} { To join the friendly and flame-free Happy Rhodes mailing list: } { Write Jessica at ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu } { HTR "We're waking up, yes it's good" HTR } {-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-} :-) ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 03:15 CST From: vickie@chinet.chi.il.us (Vickie Ann Mapes) Subject: More on Stephen King To: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu Subject: More on Stephen King Um, as I got on to post this I saw that a post from Meredith appeared answering some of Jessica's questions. So this might be a bit redundant. Sorry if I ask any questions here that you (Meredith) have already answered. I'll read your post when I get off-line. ========================================================================= Vickie here. Just a few more thoughts on Stephen King.... Woj, you wrote: > afraid i can't add my name to this list though. then again, horror does not > generally excite me, so i'm not all that surprised. i did read _the > gunslinger_ and while it was interesting, it didn't enchant me. and Meredith: > Stephen King sucks the big one. He can't write for sh*t, he's an > egotistical bastard, and his stories are boring. No, no flames, but I was curious since you also said: > How many Stephen King fans are there in Ecto??? Certainly not me. I've > never been able to get through even a short story of his...ugh. I'd be curious to know what you tried to read, because there are short stories by SK that *I* can't get through either. I agree with Jessica in that SK has written things that are not impressive, but he has also written things that (IMHO) are truly wonderful. To judge him on the basis of an unfinished short story is like judging Kate on one listen of a weak song. I wouldn't be a Kate fan now (or sitting here in Chicago writing this :-) if the first song I'd heard happened to have been "Don't Push Your Foot On The Heartbrake" or "Violin" so that's what spring to mind here. No, really, I'm not putting Stephen King into the same literary sphere as Kate's musical sphere. I just use this as an example. Woj, you said that you aren't into "horror" and that you weren't enchanted by what you read. I wouldn't try to change your mind (either of you) but this might be a case where you read (or tried to read) the wrong thing at the wrong time. I wouldn't urge you to try to like something that you have no interest in, but if the desire to give King another chance ever crept up on you, the books I would recommend are _Danse Macbre_, a non-fiction book about the history of horror in PC. Rousingly entertaining, even if you have no interest in that genre, because it's as much Sociology and Psychology as it is about Horror. A book of short stories called "Different Seasons" has one of my all-time favorite SK stories in it, and it's not horror at all, called "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." That story has all of the things that SK fans love about his work, great story-telling, memorable characters, down-home writing style, and you can get a feel for what we're all talking about, but without the "horror" element. That same book had a novella called "The Body" which, despite it's name, isn't a horror story either. It was made into the film "Stand By Me." I would also recommend _The Dead Zone_, which has a whiff of the super- natural in it, but is still serious reading, raising the old-but- fresh-and-interesting-in-Stephen-King's-hand question of "if I could have killed Hitler before he rose to power, could I have done it?" though in TDZ, it's not Hitler, but a Hitler-to-be. That theme is still relevent today, what with David Duke running around seeking Public Office. I'm sure that I couldn't personally kill David Duke, but I have to admit (reluctantly) that I certainly wouldn't cry if someone else did. Though it would be much better to see him run out of office and ridiculed out of politics all together, I don't think that will happen, and it scares me. It's that helpless feeling that runs throughout TDZ, and it's chilling. Mainly what I wanted to point out, Meredith, is that there are some very good reasons why SK is popular with some of us Ectophiles. When you said > (there's no accounting for taste :) even with a smiley there it stung just a bit. But basically, no, you're not alienated from us because you don't like him, lots of people don't (Chris hates him, except for Danse Macbre and Rita Hayworth), and it wouldn't make any difference to me (or any of us SK fans) if you decided you didn't want to delve into his work any further, but at least you can listen to what we're saying and know *why* some of us like him. That's the beauty of Ecto, we can all have different opinions, but without flame wars, it's also possible to understand some of the reasoning behind those opinions. Vickie (m-o-o-n, that spells Franny, my favorite SK character) ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 11 Nov 91 03:07 CST From: vickie@chinet.chi.il.us (Vickie Ann Mapes) Subject: Catching Up a bit Vickie here. Just catching up with some threads. Steve V, thanks for providing me with the name of the Cordwainer Smith story. If I could have remembered the word "Scanners" I'd have had it, but the only word that kept coming to mind was "cranch" and it didn't help. Justin, thanks for telling us about the film _Toto le heros_, I'll definitely keep an eye out for it. It sounds wonderful and you described it *very* well. Have you (or anyone else) seen the film _Man Facing Southeast_? When I first heard "Off From Out From Under Me" I thought the song was inspired by that movie. I was *convinced* of it, and it was a real letdown to find out otherwise. Here's a short description from my video guide: "A haunting, eerie mystery in which an unknown man-possibly an alien- inexplicably appears in the midst of a Buenos Airies psychiatric hospital. Rich with Christian symbolism, this film leaves one wondering who is really sick--society or those society finds insane." The film focuses on the "man" and his doctor, who starts out thinking that the man is insane, but gradually begins to believe his visions. "...he'd talk of entities that didn't exist, or so I thought" Even though the song and the film have nothing to do with each other, I'd urge eveyone to seek this film out, it's very good. The version I saw was Spanish with English subtitles (thank goodness, because I hate dubbing) and it is on video. Kiri mentioned "Power Songs" and I have a bunch of them. Way too many by Kate and Happy to mention, though the list would have to include Till the Dawn Breaks, I Cannot Go On, Words Weren't Made For Cowards, INAINA and I Won't Break Down by Happy, and Walk Straight Down The Middle, Waking the Witch, Get Out Of My House, Egypt, and The Kick Inside by Kate. There are so many others too. These songs, as much as I love them, might not necessarily be favorites, but they're songs that never fail to send chills up my spine. Live to Tell by Madonna is a great example. Others would be Seven Steps To The Wall, The Taxi Ride and Goodbye by Jane, Suburban Hum by Jennifer Ferguson, Kimberly Rose by The Ringling Sisters, Statue Of A Bum by Victoria Williams, Daddy's Song by Toni Childs, Walking Down Madison by Kirsty MacColl and many, many, many others. Kiri mentioned "happy" songs, but my Power songs are more likely to make me ache and sometimes even cry. Angelos asks: > I just got home and found the latest RS in the mail. Then it hit me. What > if all ecto-philes send in a ballot and vote for Happy. Could this trigger > enough interest from RS to actually review Warpaint? I will definitely > submit mine and see what happens. (probably nothing) You mean that RS is having some kind of poll? Is it a major "Best of" poll or something more specific? > Now who likes Queen as well? You do know that Happy is an old Queen fan, right? She doesn't like everything they've done, and lost interest for quite a few years, but recently has been listening to them again. Their early albums were a bit influence on Happy, she loved and studied their harmonies. She doesn't really like Freddie Mercury too much. btw, did you find out what "filksinging" is? Harry! Thanks for that Japanese translation! Say, you said: > Damn, I can't be serious about anything! I can't help it, I'm in love > and entering that state of hysterical rapture ... Congratulations! Have you introduced your paramour to Happy's music yet? I'm very happy for you. Good for you Harry! Meredith asks: > Just got back from perusing .gaffa, and noticed Vickie mentioned a song on > _Warpaint_ is inspired by Kate. Which one? Greg already answered this ("Feed The Fire") but I wanted to add that the song also refers to other artists who have inspired and influenced Happy, such as Peter Gabriel, Bach, early Queen, and Jon Anderson, mainly, as well as Kate. Jeff-with-the-long-black-hair, this was beautiful... > .... "No One Here" started up. How is it that such a peaceful song > always gives me an incredible jolt of pain and beauty and I feel a > void that is filled almost immediately after it's formed? Just curious... Just simply beautiful. Martin, you wrote: > I spent a whole afternoon last week formatting them all > nicely and printing them out as double sided pages. I also made a > montage-GIF cover page and bound the whole lot into my very own > personal "Happy Rhodes Songbook". Mmmmm. It's almost a pity I know > most of the words by now. :-) This sound wonderful! Too bad you're so far away, I'd have you do one of these for me and I'd buy it from you. > Re: meaning of fuzzy blue. > Well, originally I meant it as a sort of cross between "warm fuzzies" > (because this is such a friendly list) and just the colour blue - because > that's what colour Happy's songs are to me. I've never really conciously > noticed it until recently, but most music has a "colour" as I listen to it. That's about what I figured fuzzy blue meant. I agree with you about hearing colors in music. It happens to me all the time. I hear blues in Happy's music too, but also lots of black and silver. Seriously. Rearmament is a very silver album to me. Warpaint is dark blue and black. You're right, it probably does have something to do with the album covers, but the music seems that way to me too. Thanks for the story of your Christian friends. My brother was a born-again Christian for years, then he sort of came to his senses, but I remember well his narrow attitudes and thought processes. It's not fun to be around. > Re: Musical appreciation. > I'm sinking deeper and deeper into Happy. I can feel it every day. Yeah? Yeah!!! > I find all the songs I didn't like quite as much as the others are > growing on me like fungus. Like "Murder"... it's taken me months to > get into that... even Box H.A.P is not so bad now. This is making is > really difficult to make up an introductory compilation tape. > Fortunately I wrote down all my early favourites. Phew. :-) I went through the same thing. There are songs that I never paid much attention to that are favorites today, and I can't imagine why they took so long to grow on me. Box H.A.P. is the last one to still give me some problems, but I'm usually (well, about half the time) able to tune out the synth sound and just focus on her voice and the lyrics. > Ah well, enough musings... back to Ore Body Modelling with Linear Octrees. Ah, Chris asks "computer graphics artist modelling mining deposits?" Vickie-with-the-aching-fingers ======================================================================== To join ecto, please send electronic mail to the following address: ecto-request@athos.rutgers.edu To have your thoughts included in the next issue, send mail to: ecto@athos.rutgers.edu To subscribe to "Ecto", the printed fanzine, send $8 to: Ecto PO Box 11291 New Brunswick, NJ 08906 Ecto is issued 8 times/year, and will include photos and as much material from non-net members as we can get! Donations above the subscription cost are welcomed - all money goes to bringing you better issues! Your "humble pseudo-moderator" -- jessica (jessica@athos.rutgers.edu)