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 #825 ecto, Number 825 Sunday, 24 October 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Jane's WIWAB Annotation McLachlan article Jane Siberry article/interview Dead Can Dance and Margot Re: Ecto: Threat or Menace? Message In A Box track listing (was: Re: My own private Arizona) A video of interest Mercedes Lackey Lookie who I found... ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 2:20:53 EDT From: WretchAwry Subject: Jane's WIWAB Annotation Hi. This is Vickie's friend Charley. I'm sort of an honorary Ectophile: I drove to Philadelphia in March of 92 to see Happy at the University Museum Auditorium. I've been a fan ever since Vickie first played "I" for me 3 or so years ago. The only reason I'm not a real Ectophile is because I don't have a computer. But before I was an Ectophile I was a Jane Siberry fan. In fact, I met Chris and Vickie at a Jane concert. I'm working on an annotation of Jane's new album, and Vickie suggested I post it. So here: I'm posting it. I'll finish it soon and post the rest. I'd be interested in any feed- back (care of Vickie, of course). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jane Siberry's W H E N I W A S A B O Y an annotation by Charley Cvercko *When I Was a Boy*, Jane Siberry's sixth album, is a song cycle about birth, life, death, and reincarnation. (I must emphasize that I speak only about what Jane has written; I don't happen to believe as she does.) It is about the brevity, but preciousness, of our physical existence--our incarnation--and the equal reality of our nonphysical selves. In fact, the title makes sense only when read in the context of reincarnation. *When I Was a Boy* is quite literally a song cycle; it ends at the beginning: in the last song, unincarnated souls sit awaiting their chance to be born, and the first song, "Temple," is about a birth: an incarnatation. It's point of view is that of a soul, impatient to enter the body (your body is your temple) that awaits it. 1. TEMPLE mmm...gimme you call that hard? [Eager as she is, the as-yet-unicarnated soul is you call this cold? unimpressed by physical life; it can't be, she's that's nothing. saying, as big a deal as it's cracked up to be.] come on come on let me into your temple [Nonetheless, she's very impatient to inhabit the come one come on body. She seems immature; eager to prove herself.] i want into your temple mmm...gimme you call that far? you call that hot? you call that darkness? well, it's not. come on come on let me into the temple come on come on i want into the temple stop [Second thoughts?] i mean...go [Naw, she's not afraid.] you call that loving? you call that rain? you call that giving? you call this [2] pain? [2. At this point (right after the second you call that rough? use of "this"--at all other times, she you call that sad? uses "that," referring to things as other you call that tough? than of herself), the whole board is well, it's not tough enough faded down for a beat, making this the central moment of the song. Is this the come on come on "pain" of childbirth? The word "pain" is let me into your temple followed by a groan that might suggest it.] come on come on i want into your temple come on come on let me into the temple come on come on i want into the temple The second song, "Calling All Angels," is about learning to inhabit a physical body: "Whatever it is that looks out our eyeholes," as Russell Hoban says in *Riddley Walker*, "we don't come natural to it." In "Calling All Angels," Jane has the incarnated soul petitioning the angels for guidance. In this song, she moves from the specific (the soul in the previous song seems to have an individual personality) to the general: in "Calling All Angels," the "we" is all of us: 2. CALLING ALL ANGELS santa maria, santa teresa, santa anna, santa susannah santa cecelia, santa copelia, santa domenica, mary angelica frater achad, frater pietro, julianus, petronilla santa, santos, miroslaw, vladimir and all the rest a man is placed [1] upon the steps, a baby cries, [2] [1: This man is dead: he's_placed;_he does not get there himself.] [2: The classic metaphor for reincarnation: For every death, there's a birth.] and high above the church bells start to ring [3] [3: Commemorating the previous momentous occasions.] and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in [4] [4: Perhaps the most explicit allusion to reincarnation on the entire album: The soul feels the physicality of its temple. somewhere you can hear a mother sing [5] [5: See note #2.] then it's one foot then the other as you step out onto the road [6] [6: The beginning of life's journey.] how much weight? how much weight? [7] [7: Tentatively learning how to walk.] then it's how long? and how far? [8] and how many times before it's too late? [9] [8: Tentatively learning where to walk.] [9: I don't know this one.] calling all angels walk me through this one [10] [10: through this particular life.] don't leave me alone calling all angels we're cryin' and we're hurtin' and we're not sure why... [The previous line and the following verse need no annotation.] and every day you gaze upon the sunset with such love and intensity it's almost...it's almost as if if you could only crack the code then you'd finally understand what all this means but if you could...do you think you would trade in all the pain and suffering? ah, but then you'd miss the beauty of the light upon this earth and the sweetness of the leaving calling all angels walk me through this one don't leave me alone callin' all angels we're tryin' we're hopin' we're hurtin' we're lovin' we're cryin' we're callin' 'cuz we're not sure how this goes The trepidation of "Calling All Angels" becomes, in "Love Is Everything," a sense of mystery; of wondering why we're incarnated, and this soul seems to believe that we're put here to love. To be continued. . . . ---Charley ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "I might be thought a crank if I were to suggest that these tomatoes are an index of Western Civilization. But surely a civilization cannot *ascend* on such tomatoes." (Quoted [clumsily from memory] from Russell Hoban's *Turtle Diary*. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== From: neilg@sfu.ca Subject: McLachlan article Date: Fri, 22 Oct 93 23:49:49 PDT Hello, all! If anyone's interested there's a piece on Sarah McLachlan - who lives in town - and her new record in this week's issue of the Georgia Straight, a free local arts & entertainment paper. I could post it if anyone wants me to. - Neil K. -- 49N 16' 123W 7' / Vancouver, BC, Canada / neil_k_guy@sfu.ca ======================================================================== From: Philip Sainty Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1993 20:29:22 +1300 Subject: Jane Siberry article/interview Hello all... Charley's annotation of _When I Was A Boy_ just arrived, and it reminded me that I had an issue of "Rip It Up" in my bag that had an interview with Jane in it which I had intended to type out and post here. And so I did. Hope you find it interesting, Philip ----------------------------------------------------- Four years in the making and sporting the rather enigmatic title of _When I Was A Boy_, Jane Siberry's sixth album is causing quite a stir, not only among critics but also among fellows like Peter Gabriel (who invited Siberry to his annual songwriting workshop in England last year) and Brian Eno (who worked on the album and prior to that wrote gushing letters to Siberry calling her "overwhelmingly lovely" and "indisputably great"). _When I Was A Boy_ is what some like to call a cerebral album ie you're unlikely to hear it on the top 40 radio or down at your local, but see a Wim Wender's movie and she'll be there (_When I Was A Boy_ includes the duet with KD Lang 'Calling All Angels' which appeared on the soundtrack of Wenders' film _Until The End Of The World_). Songwriting for Siberry often "comes from a concept and before that it's a primordial shape... a shape that I feel and then it's like unravelling a ball of thread to find the words that somehow respond to it or the music. It's like it exists but you have to get better and better at unravelling it." Siberry is well known for being a - how shall we put it - colourful interview subject. Phrases like "and then the veil of ignorance was pierced" literally roll off her tongue. How often that tongue is in her cheek is another matter. So, Jane, how was it working with Brian Eno? "He would take two minute catnaps and awake totally refreshed while I was slaving over a hot computer." (laughs). "He's very fast... too fast sometimes, very efficient. He was frustrated that a lot of the record was on computer and not on tape... there were too many options that slowed him down and if I wanted to fiddle with the kick drum or anything I had to do it in my lunch hour when he was away. But he was actually very encouraging and wise." And what about the title - did you want to purvey a sense of androgyny or were you a tomboy as a girl? "No I wasn't" (giggling) "but I'd like to be one now... ahhh and yeah now I'm starting to look around at people like Prince, kd lang and the films that are coming out about reversing genders and constantly pulling the rug so we can't quite be sure and that leads to people communicating more on a soul level and that's not important enough in these times... but the title itself, well, I was just sitting on my couch and I just got this flash..." So what sort of music do you listen to at home? "I go for music that I trust... where I believe the person is speaking about things that are important to them without self-consciousness that changes it, so I listen to Prince because I want to hear someone talk about sexy things, sometimes I listen to Van Morrison because I want to hear someone quoting from the Bible." New Zealand left an indelible mark on Silberry, who was last here promoting her fifth LP _Bound By The Beauty_. "I keep thinking about it because there is something very peculiar... some strange energy there. I have a picture taken in Wellington which is of the sun going down, taken from my hotel room and I keep looking at this picture trying to figure out what makes it so special. Something's happening there but I don't know what it is." GREG FLEMMING ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1993 14:40:59 -0400 (EDT) From: consid Subject: Dead Can Dance and Margot I've caught up with all the ectodigests just in time to second a couple of opinions -- first of all, Kiri's post on Dead Can Dance. I have a couple of their albums, but probably wouldn't have gone to the concert if I hadn't read all those posts on ecto from people desperately trying to get tickets. So it must be good, eh? WOW. Probably one of the best concerts I've ever seen. They played at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C., which is also where I saw Tori Amos last year. As with Tori, the audience was so quiet and attentive, not wanting to miss a single note. They started promptly at 8:30 p.m., played for 90 minutes, and got a standing ovation, which led to 25 minutes of encores. Apparently about 2/3 of the music they played was non-album material. One of my favorites started with Brendan turning on a drum machine; Lisa added her voice, and several minutes later it ended with all the members of the band playing different percussion instruments with wild abandon. A magic night! Those of you who were lucky enough to get tickets are in for a real treat. (p.s. Tower Records across the street still files Happy under H. sigh.) I was the other North American recipient (East Coast division) of Margot Smith's "Sleeping With The Lion." I really love it -- there are echoes of Kate, Enya, Jane and other ecto-friendly artists. Let's hope the album gets released in the U.S. soon, or Anthony might go broke buying copies for all his friends across the Pacific! :) -Sue Trowbridge * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * There's nothing as frustrating as trying to write. There's nothing more fulfilling as having written. -B.J. * * * * * * * * * * consid@access.digex.net * * * * * * * * * * ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 15:13:42 EDT From: woj@remus.rutgers.edu (dressed to ingest) Subject: Re: Dead Can Dance and Margot consid sez: >One of my favorites started with Brendan >turning on a drum machine; Lisa added her voice, and several minutes >later it ended with all the members of the band playing different >percussion instruments with wild abandon. A magic night! Those of that's "cantana," one of my favorites from the 1990 tour. forget which album it's on though. >I was the other North American recipient (East Coast division) of Margot >Smith's "Sleeping With The Lion." mine's not here yet...sigh. +woj ======================================================================== From: Aeren Hawkins Subject: Re: Ecto: Threat or Menace? Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1993 16:25:34 -0500 (CDT) Oh, did I say PC? I meant to say Mercedes Lackey! See, I remembered reading that Happy liked sf and fantasy, and I was wondering...you're not buying this, are you? woj, I've heard the flammable/inflammable thing is another example of Americans slaughtering the English language, but I'm not sure. Steve, Anthony, do they have different meanings in your neck of the woods? Perfect songs? I dunno, I kind-of liked some of the stuff Full Force produced for Samantha Fox. Aeren ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 02:35 MET From: uli@zoodle.robin.de (Ulrich Grepel) Subject: Message In A Box track listing (was: Re: My own private Arizona) > Ilka - I've been eyeing that Police box myself. Finally, a box I want where I > have very little stuff. Do they mix all the B-sides in or do they preserve the > order and spirit of the albums, but squash them onto 4 discs? Since Ilka is in Spain right now and since I have Ilka's Police CD set right now right here and since I even already typed in the track listing and since I'm not a Police expert who can answer the question itself, here is the track listing: Police - Message in a Box 287:10 ---------------------------------------------------- CD1: 74:56 1) Fall Out 2:01 2) Nothing Achieving 1:54 3) Dead End Job 3:33 4) Next To You 2:49 5) So Lonely 4:48 6) Roxanne 3:09 7) Hold In My Life 4:50 8) Peanuts 3:58 9) Can't Stand Losing You 2:59 10) Truth Hits Everybody 2:52 11) Born In The 50's 3:39 12) Be My Girl-Sally 3:21 13) Masoko Tanga 5:40 14) Landlord (Live) 2:36 15) Next To You (Live) 3:09 16) Landlord 3:07 17) Message In A Bottle 4:48 18) Reggatta De Blanc 3:04 19) It's Alright For You 3:12 20) Bring On The Night 4:12 21) Deathwish 4:12 CD2: 73:05 1) Walking On Th Moon 4:59 2) On Any Other Day 2:54 3) The Bed's Too Big Without You 4:23 4) Contact 2:36 5) Does Everyone Stare 3:45 6) No Time This Time 3:17 7) Visions Of The Night 3:03 8) The Bed's Too Big Without You (Mono) 3:28 9) Truth Hits Everybody (Life) 2:25 10) Friends 3:34 11) Don't Stand So Close To Me 3:59 12) Driven To Tears 3:19 13) When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around 3:34 14) Canary In A Coalmine 2:21 15) Voices Inside My Head 3:49 16) Bombs Away 3:03 17) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da 4:04 18) Behind My Camel 2:52 19) Man In A Suitcase 2:15 20) Shadows In The Rain 5:02 21) The Other Way Of Stopping 3:23 CD3: 64:30 1) A Sermon 2:31 2) Driven To Tears (Live) 3:27 3) Shambelle 4:58 4) Spirits In The Material World 2:58 5) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 4:18 6) Invisible Sun 3:43 7) Hungry For You (j'aurais toujours faim de toi) 2:52 8) Demolition Man 5:57 9) Too Much Information 3:42 10) Rehumanize Yourself 3:09 11) One World (Not Three) 4:46 12) Omegaman 2:47 13) Secret Journey 3:32 14) Darkness 3:13 15) Flexible Strategies 3:42 16) Low Life 3:43 17) How Stupid Mr Bates 2:39 18) A Kind Of Loving 2:03 CD4: 74:39 1) Synchronicity I 3:23 2) Walking In Your Footsteps 3:36 3) O My God 4:01 4) Mother 3:05 5) Miss Gradenko 1:59 6) Synchronicity II 5:01 7) Every Breath You Take 4:13 8) King Of Pain 4:58 9) Wrapped Around Your Finger 5:13 10) Tea In The Sahara 4:10 11) Murder By Numbers 4:35 12) Man In A Suitcase (Live) 2:16 13) Someone To Talk To 3:07 14) Message In A Bottle (Live) 4:49 15) I Burn For You 4:46 16) Once Upon A Daydream 3:29 17) Tea In The Sahara (Live) 5:03 18) Don't Stand So Close To Me '86 6:24 ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1993 16:37:54 CDT From: Subject: A video of interest Last night's _Friday Night Videos_ closed out the episode with the video of John Mellencamp's "Human Wheels," which gives significant exposure to Lisa Germano on the mandolin and otherwise. Mitch ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 22:50 EDT From: robert@deepspace.nj00802.sai.com (Robert Lovejoy) Subject: Mercedes Lackey Hi all, Aeren mentions Mercedes Lackey - oddly enough, my older son Richard, with whom I fight for precious computer time, is a big Wing Commander fan, and has a book called "Wing Commander/ Freedom Flight" by Mercedes Lackey and Ellen Guon. I'd guess the book was politically correct? Or, is Mercedes just a lackey for great German car manufactures? And why are the borders of this missive coming out so even? Will the Phillies pull off a win, or is the current tie in game six a delusion of hope? (Tune in tomorrow, if "Murder, She Wrote" is on, well, oh well!) Noneless, all of this seems a rather unfortunate off-topic meandering, the original point being that my son has indeed read Mercedes Lackey, liked it a lot, but hasn't given any thought at all to its relative PCness, other than the relevation that the storyline is based on a game played on the PC. So there you go, Aeren, I submit for your approval a true PC paradox, and now I take my leave, that I may ponder the stranger significance of this letter's construction, and wonder out loud why I have somehow justified this explanation so rigidly. Bob the typesetter ======================================================================== Date: Sun, 24 Oct 93 0:46:59 EDT From: WretchAwry Subject: Lookie who I found... It's the Vickie Mapes show, with Special Guest Star fellow ectophile Valerie Nozick! I'm here in beautiful Chicago, sitting in the middle of the kate shrine, seething with jealousy over all the great happy/kate/jane/others stuff that vickie has thhat i don't. mike mendelson is here too, and a quick thanks to him for boarding me. wow! for those of you who haven't seen chicago, run to thhe airport right now and buy a ticket. I got in last night, and spent today exploring the evanston campus of northwestern univ. and downtown chicago. and it is one of the most beautiful cities in the u.s. last night as the cab drove down lake shore drive i hhad an eerie experience, as the highrises loomed over the road to my left, andthere was no sign of light over the lake to my right. it felt like i was driving on the edge of thhe world, precariously balanced on the rim. and the trip to see vickie and chris' place is alone worth thhe trip! their apartment is covered in all things bright and kate. mike tried to prep me for the experience last night, but it's impossible to describe the plethhora of goodies thhey have. my only regret is that chris is not in town...thhis is the second time i've missed him. :-( actually, my other regret is that i hhaven't gotten the chance to meet all the other chhicago torch holders, but since i might be moving here soon ( hence the trip), I still have time. tomorrow is hopefully a trip to the airport to see thhe cool thing! hurray! both mike and vickie make me realize how puny my record collection is, and hhow far i have to go...*sigh* i hhave the feeling that moving to chicago is going to be more expensive than i thought... but happily so. :) and seeing mike again has been great. his place is great - hardwood floors, lots of rooms, and great company. we met in jersey only a few months ago, but alrready i feel like he's a good friend. and he has been fantastic, putting up with me for three probably long days. one last thing about chicago...it will always be a special place to me, because it is thhe place where i discovered happy. twoyears ago i met vickie for lunch in between train trips, and she had reserved me a copy of warpaint. so it's grreat to be back. well, it's time to free up the computer. goodnight! => valerie ======================================================================== 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)