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 #839 ecto, Number 839 Wednesday, 3 November 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Sarah McLachlan/No Alternative CD US LIVE (how amerocentric) Red Shoes after the Day of the Dead Communists listening to Happy? Dhalgren - HELP! Fumbling Re: Big ecto Life in these United States and other stories A Critique of "The Red Shoes" Jane Siberry Those Red Shoes Sci-Fi, Of All Things My Latest Musical Discovery - Iona New Kate, of course Bob's your uncle Re: ecto #832 The Red Shoes Happy at last ======================================================================== Subject: Sarah McLachlan/No Alternative CD From: mcorso@mindvox.phantom.com (Mike Corso) Date: Tue, 02 Nov 93 15:40:33 EST If you're a Sarah McLachlan fa you'll want to pick up the _No Alternative_ compilation (Red Hot Organization); she performs a new song called "Hold On"--EXCEPTIONAL and just enough to hold me over until _Fumbling Towards Ecstasy_ is released in January (?). Other standots on the album include songs by Buffalo Tom and Matthew Sweet ("Superdeformed"). Matthew Sweet's _Girlfriend_ is one of the greatest albums ever recorded. _Altered Beast_ is a touch heavier at times while at the same time just as "lovelorn" as _Girlfriend_. In any case, _Altered Beast_ gets better and better and better with every listen! ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 93 13:16:30 PST From: Neal R. Copperman Subject: US LIVE (how amerocentric) brni (perhaps if you were a person tired of the Fantasy books discussion [not that I suspect that you are], then you could be the anti-elves] >>does anyone know if the cd set has all the same pieces that the >>4-tape set contains? just curious... I have the 4-cd and the 5-record (as someone corrected me on) versions of Laurie Anderson's United States Live. They have exactly the same material on them. The only difference is a reduction in the artwork, and I don't just mean size. They just used pieces of the record jackets on the 4-cd's, losing some pretty interesting things and the few lyrics that were in it. Of course, the breaks over the three nights of perfromances all now fall in different places, but that was probably arbitrary on record anyway (I don't remember, since I taped my records and put them away, and now just listen to the discs.) If you cared enough to tell me what is on the tapes, I'd compare them, but I fit the records on 4 90-minute tapes, so I doubt anything is lost. Hmmm, maybe some things were added? neal ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 93 13:19:59 PST From: Neal R. Copperman Subject: Re: Sarah McLachlan/No Alternative CD > Matthew Sweet's _Girlfriend_ is one of the greatest > albums ever recorded. _Altered Beast_ is a touch heavier at times while > at the same time just as "lovelorn" as _Girlfriend_. In any case, > _Altered Beast_ gets better and better and better with every listen! When I was in Denver, the radio station played a demo version of Girlfriend, which was kind of rough with less instrumentation. Plus, it was originally called "Good Friend", but everyone kept thinking he was saying girlfriend, so he changed it. Maybe it was the fact that the dj said this in advance, but it sounded like good friend to my and my good friend (that was good friend, not girlfriend). Neal ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 93 13:39:28 -0800 From: Michael G Peskura Subject: Red Shoes after the Day of the Dead Ha! This has been some kind of a jackpot week. First of all, i arranged to meet Neile at the 'big' Tower celebration of the release of The Red Shoes -- 9am at the University District store. We show up for the festive cookie & coffee bash ... to realize that we are the only celebrants in sight! Waah. No nice black t-shirts, no groovy TRS buttons ... just a couple promo people standing around, assuring us that the cookies will be ready soon. Ah, well, i am now the proud owner of a TRS CD, as well as a copy of the PJ Harvey 4-Track Demos CD. Thanx, Neile, for the Polly tip. Hell, with the poster Courtney sent me, we could have had our OWN CD release party! A beautiful postcard arrived today from Dr. Beth of Orkney. (She has lovely handwriting :) She's probably back in 'civilization' by now, but sends a big hello to the ectophiles. PLUS! My Nordic Sampler tapes also arrived courtesy of Doug Burks. So, i'm in Hog Heaven as they say here in Northern Exposure country! (And with the pathetic KaTe fan turnout this morning, i really feel like we live in Cicely, Alaska. :( Pass me the blubber, will ya?) I should also point out that i've finally learned to appreciate KaTe's version of 'Candle in the Wind' -- took me a while! But i have to beg to differ with Meredith regarding Natalie's cover of 'Because the Night' ... no cover of a Patti Smith song (even if she DIDN'T write it) will ever sound as good as the original. To me. ----- Michael Peskura -- University of Washington -- Seattle USA ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 16:53:50 -0500 From: scasterg@cd.columbus.oh.us (Stuart Castergine) Subject: Communists listening to Happy? >From: Jeff Dalton >Subject: Everything and nothing > >Communism: > So if being a member is illegal in the US, how come Gus Hall > gets to run for President again and again and Angela Davis for > VP? Good grief! Who ever said it was illegal to be a member of the Communist Party in the U.S.? Of course it is not illegal. One of the fundamental assumptions underlying our system is the necessity for freedom of political thought and discourse. It is entirely legal and feasible for the United States to actually become a communist state should enough of the citizens of the U.S. ever decide that is the form of government they want. All that is needed is to call a constitutional convention and rewrite the Constitution. Lord knows, we're well on our way to becoming a socialist state without even resorting to that method. You can form or be a member of just about any party you want in the U.S. There are some restrictions -- being a member of the "People who Casually Murder Total Strangers Party" will get you put away if you start practising your beliefs. In general, parties which engagte in or promote illegal activity are not allowed. The theory is that any political system or theory deserves to be heard, but if you want to make it the law of the land you have to be willing to work within the existing political structure to do it. On the other hand, many (all?) of our founding fathers were staunch believers in the right of the people to revolt against an unjust government. But in all fairness, you can never just expect a government to lie down and say "Well, they *do* have a right to revolt, we should just give up now." when things get to that stage, the country is pretty much a shambles already. What? I didn't mention Happy, you say? There! I just did! -- scasterg@delphi.com == Stuart Castergine --- "Have you ever spent days and days and days making up flavors of |/ ice cream that no one's ever eaten before? Like chicken and |\ telephone ice cream? Green mouse ice cream was the worst. I didn't like that at all." -- Delirium ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 17:05:44 -0500 (EST) From: Andy Scoggins Subject: Dhalgren - HELP! I'm looking for a copy of Dhalgren to give to someone for Xmas. Any help is appreciated! -A ______________________________________________________________________ | | | | Andy Scoggins... | You can pull the wings from a dragonfly | | ...visualizing | And you can kill the flight of a butterfly | | whirled peas | But you can't harm me for I live with the | | | freedom to decide - Happy Rhodes | |________________________|_____________________________________________| ======================================================================== Subject: Fumbling From: Tim Breitkreutz Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 15:10:39 -0700 Ummm... I've had the new Sarah album since it was released here in Canada a week or so ago. I think it's growing on me. I suspect if you are a ``Solace'' fan you will like it a lot. I'm more of a ``Touch'' fan, so it might take me a while to fully appreciate it, much as Solace took me a while to get into. I'm going to see her perform here tomorrow night. I'll post a review as soon as I've recovered :) Tim ======================================================================== Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1993 16:39:00 CDT From: Subject: Re: Big ecto Mitch mitches: >Chip luecks: >> [...] I didn't see any >>ecto hostiles in that area >Of course he didn't. This is, after all, the friendly, fuzzy blue list; not >a hostile one in the bunch :-). Unless he meant our detractors from without. >:-) Boy oh boy. I usually see stupid mistakes when they are pointed out to me, but I kept looking at this one and couldn't figure out what you were talking about! Then it finally hit me over the head! I'm so glad we have such sophisticated spellcheckers on ecto! :-) -chip the hostility seeker ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1993 16:06:44 CST From: Subject: Life in these United States and other stories Jeff Dalton wonders about the mysteries of the land across the pond: >Communism: > So if being a member is illegal in the US, how come Gus Hall > gets to run for President again and again and Angela Davis for > VP? As I understand it, the Smith Act, which technically outlawed the party, was enacted in the 50s, during the golden age of McCarthyism. I'm not sure offhand whether it was repealed, declared unconstitutional by the courts, or simply ignored en masse in recent years. In any event, I doubt if much threat is felt anymore about a smallish band of mostly old people, most of whom--so the joke goes--were on the FBI's payroll as double agents in the days when the FBI went in for such things. While on the subject of the American spirit: The other day, the broadcast booth for the TV coverage (such as it was) of the Chicago Marathon was in front of a cluster of national flags. This particular set consisted, in order, of the flags of Poland, Portugal, the District of Columbia, and Switzerland. Is this somebody's way of asserting that Washington might as well be a foreign country to the masses outside the Beltway, or what? While on the subject of the Seat of Government and Humidity: On Saturday, I too received a letter from Beth, postmarked the previous Monday and dated the Monday before that. She noted that that day in Orkney was replete with cold, rain, snow and hail. As fate would have it, the weather in Chicago was the same the day the letter arrived. Is it considered a mixed metaphor to state that going from summer in Washington to autumn in Orkney is like going from the frying pan into the fire, weatherwise? :-) Mitch ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 02 Nov 1993 21:59:28 -0400 (EDT) From: MIKEDEPUMPO@delphi.com Subject: A Critique of "The Red Shoes" :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 03 Nov 1993 08:07:51 +0000 (U) From: TalbotJ Subject: Jane Siberry I got a copy of the new Wem Wenders' film soundtrack "Faraway, So Close" There is a song by Jane Siberry called "Slow Tango" Ooooo la la. Lovely. In addition, there are two tracks by Laurie Anderson. I do recommend. Johnny ======================================================================== From: Tree of Schnopia Subject: Those Red Shoes Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 02:30:36 -0500 (EST) I've been having one long, tremendous Kategasm since about 2 PM, November 2, 1993. I now have _The_Red_Shoes_, cassette, CD, and *enormous* promo poster that the good folks at Record Archive were nice enough to give me. As I type I'm listening to "Moments of Pleasure", and I'm working my way through the album, and loving it. The lyrics looked a bit iffy, but the music is nice so far. I like "Eat The Music" more and more, believe it or not, and "Rubberband Girl" less and less. But, of course, She Really Is. For those who are interested, I also bought the new Concrete Blonde and Cocteau Twins. I'll give my impressions when I get around to listening to them. Ahhhhhhhh. Drewcifer ======================================================================== From: Tree of Schnopia Subject: Sci-Fi, Of All Things Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 02:46:26 -0500 (EST) As my close friends know, one of my favorite ways of dealing with a nuisance is to embrace it. Therefore, I shall join in the sci-fi (or SF, as it is properly abbreviated, according to my professor) discussion... ...is there any human on the planet besides me who found Robert Heinlein's _Stranger_In_A_Strange_Land_ to be one annoying, pretentious, repellent, cardboard piece of shit? I *hated* that book, and here's why: - The characters were all just brilliant, and clever, and perceptive, and witty, and wise, and I just wanted to turn their faces inside out. Ugh. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an author who makes every character a prodigy and basically neglects real characterization. These authors are usually subtly sexist as well. Heinlein does not disappoint in this regard. - There was a slight disdain for homosexuality going on in what was apparently a parable about sexual openness. That was simply inexcusable. - The conceptualization partially dissed laughter. Laughter is lovely. - Pretentious, pretentious, pretentious. At the time, I'm sure it was a rather groundbreaking book, but that doesn't change its essential nature. It's an incredibly unpopular view, I know, but I also detest Shelley's _Frankenstein_. Yeah, it was important to what came after, but that doesn't make it a good book, just an influential one. - It was too bloody feelgood. If I want to feel good, I'll read A.A. Milne, damn it! Although I'd classify myself as a writer of speculative fiction (which includes SF and fantasy), I have little respect for the majority of SF or fantasy. But then, "as you know, Bob," at least 90% of everything is crap. Hell week in the theater. Sorry. We open this weekend and I'll be fluffy again. Oh. Would someone remind me what "Bob's your uncle" means? Drewcifer ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 03 Nov 93 10:53:20 GMT From: GTP10@phx.cam.ac.uk Subject: My Latest Musical Discovery - Iona Iona - a 5 piece band from Yorkshire, fronted by vocalist/keyboard player Joanna Hogg. They play an intriguing mixture of Celtic folk and progressive rock - the most obvious comparisons musically are to Clannad, Capercaillie and Camel. Many of their tracks are instru- mentals and many of their songs feature long instrumental passages. They have three releases on What Records: Iona WHAD 1266 The Book Of Kells WHAD 1287 Beyond These Shores WHAD 1300 What Records is a Christian music label and their albums are all concept works on Christian themes - Iona being about Iona and Lindisfarne, The Book Of Kells being about The Book Of Kells (!), and Beyond These Shores being about the voyage of St Brendan. They seem to have a world-wide distribution network: America - Forefront Communications Group Australia - Word Australia Canada - Word Communications Benelux - GMI Music Partners Germany - Pila Music Try your local religious book store. Geoff Parks PS Do not be put off by the fact that they are a Christian band. I am a devout atheist and I have no problem with their lyrics. ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 3 Nov 93 07:47:12 -0500 From: colford@clsn1231.noble.mass.edu (Michael Colford) Subject: New Kate, of course Okay, I admit it, I was worried. How foolish of me. _The Red Shoes_ is superb! _Moments of pleasure_ is one of the most honestly, moving songs I've heard in a while. The title track is thrilling! Hell, even _Eat the music_ sounds good in context! Footnote: Not being content with just Kate (gasp!) I also picked up the new Dead Can Dance (solely on the strength of the posts they get here) and Bel Canto's first CD, _White-out conditions_, which as several of you know, I've been searching for and have now found. I even managed to listen to them in between Kate! They're both fantastic. Naturally, I've gotten into DCD after their concert. Kate has returned! Michael ======================================================================== Date: 03 Nov 1993 09:59:25 -0400 (EDT) From: Cordelia's Mom Subject: Bob's your uncle "Bob's your uncle" is a British expression meaning, more or less, "absolutely", usually in response to a question. The full expression is "As sure as Bob's your uncle." Maura ======================================================================== From: "Greg O'Rear" Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 10:20:47 EST5EDT Subject: Re: ecto #832 Chris B. wrote: > Also read Stephen Fry's 'The Liar'. Not exactly what you'd call good > catholic reading, but one of the best books I've read in a long time! I was excited when I found this, but I'm afraid I found it just a little to self-consciously clever. Maybe it's because I was also reading Beryl Markham's "West With The Night" (OK, I hear it was ghost-written, but it is one of the best-written books I have ever read...and Hemingway agrees with me!). "The Liar" certainly was odd, and entertaining at times, but it was just too flamboyant for its own sake, and not what I would call great humo(u)r. A good try, though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greg O'Rear E-mail: orear@ise.ufl.edu Industrial and Systems Engineering Department Phone: (904) 392-3389 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida FAX: (904) 392-3537 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 3 Nov 93 07:36:28 PST From: tjshadb@ecto.sandia.gov (Troy J. Shadbolt) Subject: The Red Shoes Officially picked my copy up at 3PM Tuesday and haven't turned it off yet. I'm not quite sure if I'm totally enamored or just in ectasy over a new album. That's not true-- THIS IS A GREAT ALBUM. This is the first KaTe album to really swollow you whole, you just kind of fall into it, and I don't think I want to escape! Favorite song (so far) Moments of Pleasure and And So is Love. Does anyone else think KaTe and Sony made a BIG mistake not making one of these two the "grabber" single? Oh, and I saw a note that "The Curve, The Cross, The Line" (which I believe from TRS is the correct order) was supposed to be showing in 70(?) cities around the U.S. Anyone know which ones? (Translation- how far must I drive to see it). Another Item: Called the Oakland ad agency about Happy Ad- they say all request for information must be on Corporate letter head, and they contact you. I now return to _Lily_. ***************************** Troy J. Shadbolt tjshadb@ecto.ca.sandia.gov ***************************** ======================================================================== From: "Greg O'Rear" Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1993 10:53:07 EST5EDT Subject: Happy at last Well, I'm back from my sojourn into the land of Tori (North Carolina). There were a couple of pretty good record stores where I was, so now, at long last, I have heard Happy Rhodes. I picked up a copy of RhodeSongs (the one with the live-performance-looking photo on the front and the pink back cover and label). Yes, she does have a great voice. But, on songs like "Save Our Souls", a friend and I listened, and the general feeling went along these lines: (First part of song, where she sings low): "Interesting voice. She sings well. Nice." (High-pitched part of song): "No way! That isn't the same person. She must have called Kate and had her come over and put on some vocals. I swear this is Kate Bush circa 1979!" Wouldn't it be a bit of a drawback to Happy's success? I mean, people have compared Tori to Kate, but that's mostly superficial (she's a woman who plays piano and sings; the most Kate-like I have heard Tori sing is "Here, In My Head"). But this! This isn't similar, this is "I'd be prepared to swear in a court of law that it's Kate Bush" kind of stuff. I like it, but then, I like Kate. So am I liking Happy, or am I liking Kate once-removed? The other, lower stuff was good, so I'd have to say I do like her anyway, but really! Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but what would you say about *duplication*? Anyway, I also found the new Sheila Chandra (haven't listened yet) and a Dead Can Dance on Ryko (didn't like it; all the titles were just a little too self- consciously precious and "more literate than thou"; if I want to hear Balkan vocals, I'll listen to Les Mysteres des Voix Bulgares, who do it much, MUCH, better). Seems like there was some other music I bought, but I don't remember. I blew the rest of my money on some signed Edward Gorey stuff. BTW, if you know of any place that has some neat Gorey stuff, let me know, OK? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greg O'Rear E-mail: orear@ise.ufl.edu Industrial and Systems Engineering Department Phone: (904) 392-3389 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida FAX: (904) 392-3537 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== 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)