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 #366 ecto, Number 366 Monday, 16 November 1992 Today's Topics: *-----------------* ramblings HBL/HBP/HGP/ETC I forgot... Fluff (tm) colvin Some things considered ** Happy Gift Project 1992 ** ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Nov 92 22:13:01 EST From: a virtual stranger Subject: ramblings kyrlidis@athena.mit.edu sez: >Syd Straw-Promise. What a brilliant album. yeah, the songs are brilliant, but the production is disappointing at best. i've always wondered how great this album could have been if it had not been so over-produced. i got a taste of that a few years ago when i saw her and marc ribot do a duet together - it was amazing how raw and wonderful the songs were without all the trappings that show up on the album. >The Story-Grace in Gravity. After all the raves here, and a brief (albeit >disappointing) listen I decided to splurge. I still think they want to >be Suzanne Vega when they grow up, but at least the songs are good enough >to warrant their existence. Needs more time to get used to. hmmm. the suzanne vega comparison is a bit unwarranted in my opinion - i think that many acoustic female artists get compared to suzanne in the same way that many female popsters get compared to KaTe (tori, sarah, etc). i like _grace in gravity_ quite a bit, but i do see where one needs to get accustomed to it. my fave track is "love is thicker than forget." jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu sez: >A friend just loaned me Bel Canto's _Birds of Passage_ and _White Out >Condition_. ...: So whose got some history of the band for me? um, all i know is that they are from norway. i'll let alan and justin an swer this question as they are more learned on bel canto. i've gotten a bunch of new stuff lately, but i haven't had time to prop- erly review it...so i'll just give capsule reactions. first is vicki richards' _parting the waters_ cd. she's a classically trained violinist who is experimenting in african and asian styles and instrumentation. the music is soothing and beautiful. i bought it on a whim since the description of it in the projekt catalog said something about exploring the way of the woman warrior. subtle stuff that serves both as a backing soundtrack for living and also great for meditation. i also grabbed the this ascension _light and shade_ cd and _the _tears in rain_ lp. i've been looking for this stuff for a while now, so i was really happy to find it. though i hate the word "gothic," i think that it is an apt description. very basic instrumentation - guitar, bass, drums and keys - but they use it well to create a moody sound. i wouldn't go so far as to call it etherial, but it reaches for it. i also picked up volumes 2 and 3 of _from across this grey land_. compilations take longer to settle in since there is often not as much constancy from song to song, but these are a bit different at projekt records makes a point to tout itself as the moody label. the music reflects that. regardless, i've not absorbed them too much yet. standout tracks for both now are the two from skinner box on vol.2...more later as i fully digest them. woj ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 3:25:06 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: HBL/HBP/HGP/ETC Hi everybody, I've been quiet mainly because I've been sick. Blah! Fighting a major flu bug is *no* fun. I think it almost turned into pneumonia, but decided not to, thank goodness. Anyway, I feel much better now. First, HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY to Liz!! Well, guess what I got in the mail yesterday....a package from Greg with the HBP tapes! I'm going to put it together and send it at the same time as the HGP. Packages from the following people were in the main package: Steve Fagg Mitch Pravatiner Jens Brage Terry Partis (YAY! IT MADE IT!) Doug Burks Klaus Kluge Jeff Burka Mike Mendelson Kiri Hargie Me (w/ Steve VanDevender, Chip Lueck, Michael Kaufman, Mike Mendelson & mine on it.) That's it, so if anyone else sent tapes to Greg, they either didn't make it or Greg forgot to send it along. Please write and let me know. All the packages are unopened, btw. As for the HGP, I should know tomorrow what my PO Box # is. I've called and gone by the Post Office multiple times and it still wasn't approved. Grrrr! Ticks me off, I could have had it the day I applied if I'd had a photo ID (other than my passport, which they wouldn't accept.) Sorry to leave everyone hanging, it couldn't be helped. I have yet to get the packages that were sent a couple of weeks ago, one from Neile, and the other from England (....?) because Chris lost the pick up slip and we had to wait for the 2nd notice. Got that yesterday too, so Chris will pick them up. Once I have my PO Box, I won't have to worry about that particular branch anymore. Mitch, thanks for another one of your wonderful posts! I wish I could have gone to the bookstore to see Loreena, but I had to work :-(. I did pump myself up with Comtrex and go to the concert, which was as wonderful as Jeff and Angelos said it was. Though I think it was an "off night" it was still great. (by off night I mean that Loreena and the band seemed to have a hard time connecting with each other. Doesn't matter, because Loreena on an off night is better than most other acts at their best.) There wasn't an opening band, and there was no introduction at all. The entire band just came out and started playing, seconds after the lights went off. I have to say that I don't like it when concerts start like that. I think it's confusing for the audience, because they weren't sure if it was Loreena or an opening band. It just seemed to take the audience a while to warm up to the band. I know it was disorienting for me. I *wanted* to clap for her as she came out onto the stage, but wasn't given the chance. I was able to give Anne Bourne a big YAY when she was introduced. The audience did eventually warm up and gave Loreena multiple standing ovations. I was ecstatic that one of the encores was "Huron Beltane Fire Dance" which is my all-time favorite song by her. I wish I could have met her after the concert, but I felt awful and wanted to take Chip up on an offer for a ride home. Chris and I went to see Dracula tonight. Thanks for the tip about Diamanda, Laura. Her vocals fit *very* well in the section it was used in. We both loved the film and want to see it again before it leaves the theater. It's so gorgeous and lush and spooky that it really deserves to be seen in the theater, on as big a screen as possible. Angelos, I totally understand your feelings about the Diamanda concert. She is *quite* intense! We got the Tori video, which is *FANTASTIC*!!! It's a *MUST* for any Tori fan, if only to see what is now my very favorite Tori video, Winter. The live cuts are nice and nice to have, though I must say that her performance at Schubas (the first time I saw her and the night I was converted) was better than what's included on the video. But those are great too, and she has the advantage of having a real piano to play. At Schubas she had to make do with a Yamaha electric baby grand, with a "wonky" (as Chris puts it) sustain. There's a bit in the video where she has some technical difficulties and has to stop the show to get it fixed. That was so familiar and funny, because at Schubas, she had to do that a few times, climbing underneath the piano herself to fix it. When I bought the Tori video I noticed that there's a Concrete Blonde video out now. Has anyone bought it? I was wondering if it's all the original videos or if it's a live concert. David, thanks for the info about the Tower! Great news!! Cathy, I got the Sinead interview. Thanks!! Jeff, ooh, ooh! How wonderful that you like Bel Canto! Believe me, Shimmering Warm and Bright is a MustMustMust Have to complete your BC collection. I was going to tell about Shawn Colvin, wasn't I? Well, it's ok, some songs are excellent. Since I couldn't really call myself a big fan, I really don't want to say too much more, because I don't feel qualified. I like her a *lot* better than Sara Hickman, almost as much as Robin Holcomb (especially RH's very nice 2nd album _Rockabye_) but not nearly as much as Barbara Gosza, in that "genre" of music. It's quality stuff though, and it's likely that only I would hear it as being too uneven to wholeheartedly recommend. Oh, remember when I said I bought a CD by someone named Lori Ruso for $1.99? It was so bad I wanted to see if I could get my money back. YuckYuckYuck!!! I literally was angry that I had to pay for such commercial-oriented, cliched dreck! It was so bad I felt sorry for my ears, my brain, my CD player and my headphones for making it listen to any of it. I yanked it out of the CD player and immediately used it as a frisbie! Remember the name-Lori Ruso. Do not pay a penny for this piece of crap! The Danish Winter songs were ok-nice. I'm glad I only paid $1.99 for it though. Goodnight! Vickie "...living in the gap between past and future..." ps, please disregard my post about the warpaint mailing list. ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 3:32:03 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: I forgot... ...to say in my last post that I answered the query about Happy in gaffa. Has anyone sent anything in to Dave Datta wrt Happy for his Eclectic Music Survey? I noticed her name wasn't on the list of artists that he posted in rec.music.misc. |V| ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 07:47:19 MST From: dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu (Doug Burks) Subject: Fluff (tm) Greetings, Saturday evening I attended the Loreena McKennitt concert in Boulder. As for the concert and music itself, I can't add much to what Angelos and Jeff have already written. Though I can't resist mentioning that her voice is a wonder and stands out much clearer in concert than on record (at least on _The Visit_, the only album of hers that I've heard). At times, it just carries you away. I even thoroughly enjoyed _The Lady of Shallott_, a fifteen-verse, eleven-minute song, even though I normally hate such long drawn-out songs. I do want to mention a few non-musical items. The concert was at the Boulder Theater, an older small venue, which holds around 1000. The place was nearly full, though tickets were being sold up to the start. This concert crowd was a different one for me, as I was among the youngest and grungiest attendees. At least, the late and light crowd gave me a great seat, the center of the third row, very close to the stage. As noted before, Loreena talks quite a bit between the songs in her show, telling everything from sources of her songs to stories from her career. She has a very dry wit and a love for big and obscure/obsolete words, that reminded me of Mitch's posts. She told a hilarious story about a visit to London, when she played her harp on the sidewalk next to Convent Garden, at the request of her friends. While they went off for some reason, Loreena set up and played for about fifteen minutes. A policeman told her that she wasn't allowed to play there. She sadly packed up, and her friends returned without hearing her. They convinced her to try again, so she did, eventually gathering a good number of listeners. However, she saw the same policeman return, and envision playing for the prisoners in jail. A woman stopped the policeman before he reached her. "Don't arrest this woman for her beautiful playing. Arrest that man exposing himself behind her." He did! An impressive band joined Loreena on stage. Two who might be known to Ectophiles are Anne Bourne and Hugh Marsh. Anne, who has appeared on many Jane Siberry albums, sang backing vocals and played electronic keyboards, accordion, and cello (often in the same song!). Hugh Marsh, who has played with Bruce Cockburn, et al., played violin. The band as a whole was fun to watch, six completely different people and styles of playing. If you get to see the show, be sure to watch the drummer in action! All four of her albums (plus a compilation) were on sale at the concert, so I was able to fill out my collection. If you can't find her albums (as is likely :) ) and would like to get them, you can order them from: Quinlan Road Ltd Box 933 Stratford, Ontario N5A 7M3 Canada Her four albums (Elemental (1985), To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), and The Visit (1991)) are available in cassette and CD. You'll have to get the pricing and ordering information from Quinlan Road. At the concert, the CD's cost US$15 and the cassettes US$10. Quinlan Road is Loreena McKennitt's own record company, much like Aural Gratification is for Kevin and Happy. The only major difference is that Quinlan Road has been more successful, selling about 50,000 copies of each of Loreena's first three albums, much more than _Warpaint_ had sold. Yet something Loreena said may be of interest to Ectophiles. For _The Visit_, she made a deal with Warner Music Canada to distribute her records in Canada and internationally. She claims to be very happy with the deal, having no problems with the record company "squids". Maybe Happy will consider that route. Finally, big thanks to the Ectophiles who have continually recommended Loreena's music and concert! I wouldn't have known about her without it. Doug Burks _O_ dbx@olympic.atmos.colostate.edu |< She really is!! ======================================================================== Date: 16 Nov 92 14:03:35 EST From: MJM Subject: colvin so, mitch, what *did* warner do to shawn colvin. I picked up her new album, and from brief periods of listening, I think it is very good. She is playing three shows in Chicago at the previously-mentioned-in-Ecto venue, Schuba's, which, if you recall, is small and intimate. When I called last week, all three shows were virtually sold out---to my surprise. The only one with tix left was Thu., so I ordered two. We saw Loreena the other night and it was a fine show. She sure packs alot of talent onto that stage. To my pure elation, she played Anachie Gordon as her last encore --- I believe the Indian (?) Tribal Chant was played as the encore directly before it, just as they appear on the album. It was a pleasure to be at the Park West when it wasn't totally jammed (though I guess Loreena would have preferred that) and too noisy in the back, although even with the smaller crowd, she still shot some annoying glances towards the waitstaff who must have been doing distracting things (clinging glasses, etc) towards the end of the show. Mitch, I will type in those Bobs lyrics as soon as I either find my CD or buy a replacement (I think I may have given to someone as a gift). I have reached the point where I now like Suzanne Vega's album better than Us, though I *love* Secret World. -mjm ======================================================================== Date: 16 November 1992 13:20:14 CST From: Subject: Some things considered In addition to the Suzanne Vega profile I mentioned last week, the December issue of _Details_ magazine contains interviews with, or profiles of, Peter Gabriel, Natalie (10K Maniacs) Merchant, the Sundays, and the Ramones, among many others; it also carries a squib that amid rumors that the Sugarcubes have broken up, Bjork has begun work on a jazz-oriented solo album with the World Saxophone Quartet, 808 State, and Nellee Hooper of Soul II Soul. The mag ex- presses relief that Einar Orn is not doing the same. It's the issue with the cover story on Cindy (_Nevus Ordo Seclorum_?) Crawford. The December _Playboy_ has the ballot for that magazine's Jazz and Rock Poll. This year, the rock side of the ballot has lines for Tori Amos, Melissa Ether- idge, Juliana Hatfield, Sophie B. Hawkins and Annie Lennox under Female Vocalis t, and for Lisa Germano under Instrumentalist. Ballots are due back at the office by December 15. Over the weekend, I found a free mag called _The Surround_ at the Cafe Avanti, across the street from the Music Box. It seems to be aimed at coffeehouse regulars, and includes a feature about ways to support your local coffeehouse. One of the paragraphs of this article reads as follows: Suggest music to be played on the sound system. An unpredictable playlist can be a catalyst for conversation as well as an energi- zing force. One of my favorite coffeehouses has the engaging habit of playing Russian folk music followed by Ministry followed by Patsy Cline. It seems to me that this suggests one more outlet for the Happyvangelists among us to peddle our papers. As an afterthought: Are there coffeehouses in Albany that have live singers? Does Happy perform in such places? If not, perhaps she should. The piece from the Profemen list that I reposted here last week, which asserted that Colorado Springs was a main source of support for Proposition 2, sensitize d me to something that appeared in yesterday's _Sun-Times_, in a feature on Letters to Clinton. The following was attributed to "A woman in Colorado Sprin gs:" "You'll never be Our President. Never...America is in shock. Your daughter is uglier than Amy Carter." In fairness, the article also quoted "An 81-year-old man in Denver" who wrote in, "May I tell you that I love you?" The same issue of the paper gave one star to 10000 Maniacs' album "Our Time in Eden," saying it's "supposed to represent the harder-edged side of 10KM's folky sound, but it's still incredibly fey, lazy and genteel. If I wanted fey, lazy and genteel, I'd listen to Joni Mitchell." The following paragraph gave 3.5 stars to Brenda Kahn's new album, "Epiphany in Brooklyn." Last Friday, in a WBEZ panel on the centenary of Jelly Roll Morton, Dick Buckle y noted that Madonna's gold-capped front tooth was reminiscent of Jelly Roll's own front tooth, which had a diamond set in it. The pupic princess also got a mention in a wire item on the latest installment of Anais Nin's diaries: the lead sentence reads, "Harcourt Brace Jovanovich would like to remind the world that Madonna does not hold the partent on sexual confessions." It continues that in _Incest_, Nin notes that she was concurrently boinking her psychoanal- yst, her cousin Edwardo, her father, and her husband. It adds that the new volume includes material on Nin's relationship with Henry and June Miller, thou gh the movie already done on the latter makes it old news. In reply to Mike Mendelson's query, Warner didn't do anything to Shawn Colvin; Columbia did. To wit, after they signed her, they reportedly made her withdraw her self-published concert album, of which I apparently have one of the last fe w copies. At least some of the songs on it (e.g., "Diamond in the Rough") are dupicated on _Steady On_, her first Columbia album; I don't know the full ex- tent of the overlap offhand. Loreena is clearly getting much more enlightened treatment from Warner with respect to her earlier, self-published albums. Mitch --------------------------- "I think it is a little premature to attribute the failures of American foreign policy to Carl Kadie." -Mike Godwin ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 22:48:00 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: ** Happy Gift Project 1992 ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HAPPY GIFT PROJECT 1992 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It's that time again. HGP'92--->Happy Gift Project 1992. It's a present from Ectophiles, to Happy and to other Ectophiles. If you want to participate, choose a song that you like, and that you would like Happy and the rest of us to hear. It can be any genre, by a man or woman, doesn't matter. No Happy songs, please, unless it's a cover version. Put that song on a 100 minute cassette, and, if you have a way to do it, tape a message to Happy (and us, maybe) telling your name, where you're from, the ARTIST and SONG TITLE and WHERE IT COMES FROM, and whatever else you want to say. You will be your own DJ. (If you have no way to tape a message, I can make my answering machine available to you, e-mail for details. If you don't want to leave a message at all, that's cool, but we all really wish you would, even if it's just to give the "who you are and what it is" info.) Take that tape, and another 100 minute cassette, and package it up. I need to be able to send your tapes back to you, so *PLEASE* include a self-addressed, stamped mailer. You can include a few dollars for the mailer and postage if you want to, but it's all so much easier if you provide that stuff. I will be compiling the songs and messages onto a master tape as I receive them. When I have them all done, I will make tapes for Happy (and Kevin) and send them to her as a Holiday present. Last year, the HGP spilled onto a second tape, so I'm asking for 2 tapes in advance. I will record the HGP from my master tape onto your tapes, then send them back to you. The upshot is, everyone will hear exactly what Happy hears, so it's a shared present. We all get to hear the songs that everyone else picked, and know that Happy's hearing the same things we are. It's a great way to share in giving Happy a present, and to spread music around too. Last year there were a few glitches. Mail got lost, the X-Mas rush was on and Happy ended up getting it in January :-(, but she did get it, that's the important thing. This year I would like to get it to her before the Holidays, so please get everything together and mail it immediately. ----> Deadline is Dec. 10. If I receive tapes after that date, I cannot guarantee that you'll be included, though you can still receive the version that Happy gets. IRCs (International Reply Coupons) are fine. I don't know how many though. If you're overseas and want to send cash for the mailer and postage, that's fine, but it has to be American currency. $10.00 should cover a mailer and airmail postage. If there's any left over I can send it back or use it to subsidize other costs, let me know which you prefer. (No, this isn't as presise as it should be, but I never said I was Detail Demon.) If you have an account with Doug, then you could just send me a short tape, 10-30 minutes, with your selection. As soon as it's all finished I'll make Doug a copy and send it to him. He can take it from there. I want Happy's tapes to get to her before the holidays, but your tapes probably won't get to you until shortly after the new year. We'll see how it goes. If you're a couple you can send 2 songs, Klaus & Claudia did last year. You can either make one message together or 2 separate messages, whichever you want. If you just have a general question, you might get a quicker answer if you post to Ecto than if you e-mail me. Especially if you didn't participate last year, then you can ask questions of people who did. (I think they'll tell you it was worth the hassle, there's a lot of great music on HGP'91.) Again: If you make a spoken message, *please* *please* say WHO you are and WHERE you're from and WHAT it is that you're playing. Since I'm not talking this time, it's going to be a lot easier on the listener to hear who's talking and what's going to be playing than it will be to look up the file on Ecto. (No way can I write all the information on every single cassette, so like last year, the only info will be "HGP 1992") *Please* remember to do this, thanks! ----> Send tapes to: Vickie Ann Mapes P.O. Box 805392 Chicago, IL 60680-4114 I'll acknowledge tapes received as I get them. IMPORTANT: Please include a mailer and postage, self-addressed stamped is preferred. Also, keep a copy of your message, so that if your tape gets lost you can re-send it without having to do it over again. I'll keep a running tally on who's involved and what songs are being chosen so songs aren't duplicated. Get busy, it's later than you think! Vickie vickie@njin.rutgers.edu ======================================================================== 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)