From: owner-ecto-digest To: ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto-digest V2 #260 Reply-To: ecto@nsmx.rutgers.edu Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, 27 October 1995 Volume 02 : Number 260 The Ecto digest is now being generated automatically. Please send problems and questions to: ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Marion Kippers Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 18:01:40 +0100 Subject: RE: Suzanne Vega Hi all, Sage wrote: >Sitting here listening to Ani Difranco's "imperfectly" album and >thought I'd ask if anyone out there knows if Suzanne Vega is supposed >to be coming out with anything new in the near future. Suzanne will start recording a new album (called "Love Hotel") in November, and it should be released some time next year. I don't know what sort of music she'll do on it, but I think her husband Mitchell Froom will have some part in recording/producing the album. Best wishes, Marion ______________________________________________________________ Marion Kippers Wolters Kluwer Academic Publishers Automation Department Dordrecht, The Netherlands Marion.Kippers@wkap.nl "Leave the shadows dancing..." (OP) ______________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ From: Date: 26 Oct 95 12:51:26 EDT Subject: oct. proj. in the windy apple Saw Oct. Proj. last night. Jeff Hanson said it all pretty well, and most goes to hold for chicago show. Except, the venue (Double Door) stunk -- a few small tables with bar stools, then people standing in a very small standing space. It was packed, though -- obviously OP has some fans. They are a great, tight band, with fantastic vocals (all of them). Mary is something else. Carolyn thought she had some operatic training. Also, apparently Take Me As I Am was *not* motivated by Anne Rice, though it could apply well to that context. The worst thing about the show was that in between songs (esp. near the end) the crowd was *louder* than the band! And the band was pretty loud. I've never seen so many people screeching at the top of their lungs. I had to put my fingers in my ears *between songs*!!!! Very bizarre. Anyways, I was as impressed, or more, as I thought I'd be. They have a 7-piece band. I thought the guitar histrionics at the end missed the point -- but of course the crowd ate it up. I thought it was really unnecessary for OP. Apparently that guitar guy is new. I wonder if they recruited him just for this reason. The opening woman (Something Dale Williams) I thought a bit more highly of than Jeff... her keyboard songs were very good. Guitar playing was a little sparse. Plus, she was wearing, shall we say, a rather distracting outfit [sorry, I'm just a man with my hormones...:-)], making it hard to be completely objective. Nonetheless, she was pleasant enough and I've seem some pretty woeful openers so this was fine. There is something about October Project that is depressing... after too much listening, their songs start to sound somewhat formulaic and predictable, and also pretty dark and a little too soulful for my tastes. I love their sound and the vocalist is *perfect* for these songs -- she really emotes on stage. They have definitely carved a niche musically -- although there were times when they sounded like a) oldish Genesis [trick of the tale era], b) newish Sarah McLachlan [FTE-era], which I thought was nifty. Yesterday when I said their latest album wasn't really great but wasn't a dud, I think it sounded kind of negative. Actually, I like the Falling quite a bit -- but like their first CD, the darkness and depressingness of it will keep me from listening too much. What I should probably do is go thru it once with the lyric sheet, to at least get a better grasp of what the songs are exactly about -- that might change my take on the doom and gloom. Anyways, many more good shows to come in November -- Sat. is Livingston Taylor, Sun. is the Bobs, Wed. is Ferron, next Tue. is Moxy, Wed. is Jane (the tickets are "moving" apparently), Thu. Maura O'Connell (not sure if I'll go to that one). - -mjm ------------------------------ From: "jeffrey hanson" Date: Thu, 26 Oct 95 12:29:19 cdt Subject: Re: Jewel as Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ???? Don Gibson writes: I just heard some interesting news on Jewel. She will be on stage at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC as Dorothy in a benefit performance of the Wizard of OZ. Also in the cast are Roger Daltrey, Jackson Brown as Tin Man and Scarecrow. Natalie Cole as good witch, Debra Winger as the wicked witch, Sissy Spacek as Auntie Em. I think the date was Nov 2. I guess this is the type of information Neile was talking about--this has been discussed quite a bit on the Jewel mailing list. The cast seems to change everytime I read something about it--originally it was Jewel as Dorothy (the one member who seems to be consistent), Susan Sarandon as Glinda the Good Witch, Debra Winger as the bad witch, Roger Daltry, Tim Curry and Tim Robbins as the Tin Man, Scarecrow and lion respectively. Then there wasn't going to be a lion. Then I heard Jessye Norman was going to be in it. Now its Jackson Brown, etc. I also remember hearing the date was Nov. 5, but I could be wrong about that. Supposedly its a benefit for the Children's Defense Fund, and Jane Fonda, Ted Turner, and Hilary Rodham Clinton are on the Board of Executives. TNT is supposed to be airing the performance Nov. 22nd. Tickets range from $350-1000 and include a pre-show and post-show meeting with the celebrities. Apparently there are $50 tix as well. Haven't heard much about the Jewel shows lately--not sure if she's cancelled the rest of the tour with Catherine Wheel and Belly or not--they've quit mentioning her name on the ads for the shows tonight and tomorrow at First Avenue here in Minneapolis--I sincerely hope not. Neal requested something from The Wizard of Oz when Jewel performed in D.C. last, but unfortunately she declined. Jeff ------------------------------ From: mfgr@bart.nl (Marcel Rijs) Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 20:46:22 -0100 Subject: Re: All about Eve Hi, Urs wrote to ecto about All About Eve and their album "Scarlet & other stories", and wanted more info. Just in case you didn't get it already, I will tell you a little more about the band. The UK-based foursome started their career in the eighties, with gothic music and a few very obscure single releases. Their first album "All About Eve" (1988) was released in England to great critical & commercial acclaim. No less than 6 singles were released, most of which contained extra tracks on different formats (7", 10", 12" and later CD-singles), making them one of the more interesting "collectors" groups. "Scarlet and other stories", a more mature-sounding version of their debut album, was released in 1989, with even more critical acclaim, but a little less commercial success. Three singles and a very hard-to-find live CD-single ("13") were released, again with extra tracks not to be found elsewhere. After this album a change in personnel followed, when lead singer Julianne Regan fell out of love with guitarist Tim Bricheno. He left the group (stating a few years later that the whole AAE-period was a "mistake"), and was replaced with Church-guitarist Marty Willson-Piper. A maybe logical result was the rather different-sounding third album, "Touched by Jesus", filled with less "folky" tunes, and revealing a sound that was described as "more polished" and "commercial" by some fans. The album didn't receive many critical acclaim, and furthered the decline of AAE's popularity, causing the record company (Phonogram) to drop the band. However in 1992, AAE resurfaced on MCA records, with the "strange" album "Ultraviolet". This album didn't sound anything at all like their previous work and resembled much of the guitar bands that were popular at the time in the UK, like Curve and others. Many fans felt betrayed that the band had broken all ties with the past and made this noisy collection of screaming guitars and vocals all mixed way back and way down in the tracks. Phonogram, anticipating the release of "Ultraviolet", which, not surprisingly, failed to achieve any success at all, released a compilation album called "Winter words: hits and rareties" [including the typo] which is very interesting for the additional tracks: not only are all the singles contained on this CD, but also 4 B-sides and 2 demo tracks, recorded with The Mission's Wayne Hussey on guitar. KTS Italy released a bootleg live CD called "Blessed by Angels" in 1992, comprising 3 live tracks with Marty Willson-Piper and 8 with Tim Bricheno on guitar. The final AAE release was a "BBC Radio One Live in concert" CD, released in 1993 on Windsong Records, featuring 14 live tracks recorded in 1989 at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK. The group broke up after "Ultraviolet", when MCA dropped them following the disappointing sales figures of that album. Julianne Regan has finished recording a solo album to be released early next year, following the release of a single next month. It is said that the material won't be "folky" at all. It is not known what remaining members Mark Price and Andy Cousin are up to, but I hear Marty Willson-Piper is still with The Church as well as enjoying a solo career. For more information and interesting discussions on All About Eve and the members' escapades today, you can subscribe to the All About Eve mailing list, which was founded a year ago. It is bounce only, but there aren't that much messages per day. E-mail: aae-request@thechurch.ebay.sun.com for a subscription. Maybe the members can help you get CD's as well, since they aren't very easy to get outside the UK. Greetings, Marcel F G Rijs "Conan the librarian" CAN NOW BE REACHED AT: mfgr@bart.nl and 100276.2176@compuserve.com ****************************************************************************** "Tori Amos Covered" -- e-mail now to order! Kate Bush Covered" -- e-mail now to participate! ** Marcel F G Rijs - "Conan the librarian" ** mfgr@bart.nl ** 100276.2176@compuserve.com ****************************************************************************** ** Zoveel uren minuten seconden gaat het noodlot al tekeer ** De tijd heelt alle wonden maar slaat er nog veel meer. ------------------------------ From: Neile Graham Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 12:57:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: MUZSIKAS featuring MARTA SEBESTYEN ITINERARY Found on rec.music.folk Truly amazing voice if you like world/traditional music at all. They're from Hungary. - --Neile - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MUZSIKAS featuring MARTA SEBESTYEN ITINERARY 10/25/95 DATES CITY ST/COUNTRY VENUE 03/16/96 CHICAGO IL OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC 03/23/96 PITTSBURGH PA CARNEGIE LECTURE HALL 03/24/96 VIENNA VA THE BARNS AT WOLFTRAP 03/30/96 SOMERVILLE MA SOMERVILLE THEATER ** BA: CONCERTED EFFORTS, INC. ** RC: HANNIBAL/RYKODISC ------------------------------ From: Date: 26 Oct 95 14:22:57 EDT Subject: Friend's Lyrics Controversy My friends and I are arguing about what the *real* lyrics to the Friends theme are. In the last verse (I think) it goes: "but she didn't tell you when the world was brought down to your knees" Or at least that's what I hear on the Rembrandt's LP CD. But others argue for: "But she didn't tell you when the world was dropped down to your knees." and "But she didn't say the world would make you drop down to your knees." The last makes the most "sense" but I'm sure it's not right. The other 2 sound closer, but have semantic problems in the context of the song. There are no lyrics in the liner notes. Any takers? - -mjm ------------------------------ From: Neal Copperman Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 17:25:34 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: oct. proj. in the windy apple On 26 Oct 1995 MJM@zylab.mhs.compuserve.com wrote: > Saw Oct. Proj. last night. As I mentioned when I saw them, I really enjoyed the show, but thought there was a sense of sameness to it, and that the band didn't expand on, so much as recreate, the music. THere were a few songs that were notably more emotional, but otherwise it sounded mostly like excellent versions of the album. I did really enjoy it though. (Just wanted to make that part clear before I disagreed on a few things.:) > They are a great, tight band, with fantastic vocals (all of them). Hmmm, I really thought the keyboard player had a fine backing/blending vocals type voice, but when she went head to head with Mary on a song or two, she generally came up short. > Mary > is something else. Carolyn thought she had some operatic training. While she has a stunning voice, it didn't strike me at all as having the kind of power or control opera singers have. Course, I don't know that much about opera either. > They have a 7-piece band. I thought the guitar > histrionics at the end missed the point -- but of course the crowd ate it > up. I thought it was really unnecessary for OP. Apparently that guitar > guy is new. I wonder if they recruited him just for this reason. > Yeah, that was definitely the worst part of the show for me. Mary made a clear distinction introducing the members of October Project versus the people who were there on the tour. It seemed like she was saying that that guitar player, the keyboard player (and maybe the drummer?) were not actually members of October Project. > The opening woman (Something Dale Williams) I thought a bit more highly > of than Jeff... her keyboard songs were very good. Guitar playing was a > little sparse. Plus, she was wearing, shall we say, a rather distracting > outfit [sorry, I'm just a man with my hormones...:-)], making it hard to > be completely objective. Nonetheless, she was pleasant enough and I've > seem some pretty woeful openers so this was fine. My impression was pleasant enough, but veering strongly towards the boring side. Only the song that Jeff says is the single (Show Me How TO Catch A Fish) caught my attention at all. > There is something about October Project that is depressing... after too > much listening, their songs start to sound somewhat formulaic and > predictable, and also pretty dark and a little too soulful for my tastes. I don't mind the darkness, there is sort of an elegant beauty in it. And after listening to the first album a lot, I tend to look at the songs as subtle variations on the same theme, both lyrically and musically. The new songs sounded good and slightly different, but they had a sameness too. Perhaps repeated listenings to the album versions would bring out subtleties that are more striking? At the Birchmere they had Falling coasters on the tables. Did they have those in Minneapolis? I've never seen promo coasters printed up before. Neal ------------------------------ From: Date: 26 Oct 95 16:35:57 EDT Subject: correction: chicago shows I'm sure at this point no one cares, but I posted some chicago dates and there were mistakes so here are the corrections: = Oct. 28 -- Sat -- OTSFM -- B.Williams & C.Newcomber -- 10pm -- ??x5 This show is actually Nov. 10. = Nov. 11 -- Sat -- susan werner -- schubas This show was cancelled because she is now opening for Joan Armatrading - -- the chicago show will be Nov. 18 at the Park West (same night as Flash Girls at Abbey Pub). Apologies for any inconvenience. - -mjm ------------------------------ From: beach house tiki god Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 18:28:30 -0400 Subject: RE: Suzanne Vega Marion Kippers sez: >Suzanne will start recording a new album (called "Love Hotel") >in November, and it should be released some time next year. suzanne has also posted to the undertow mailing list that she wuold like to release two colelctions as well. one would be a sort of "greatest hits" collection with, as she phrased it, "only the tried and true" songs. the second collection would be early songs from before the first album, featuring all-new, unreleased material. as you might guess, i'm more excited about the latter than the former. woj ------------------------------ From: pink Date: Thu, 26 Oct 1995 19:37:09 -0500 (CDT) Subject: more randomly thrown muses answering a whole slew of things thrown at me and others.... On Thu, 26 Oct 1995 owner-ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu wrote: > nope. me me! after seeing you rave about ivy long and hard, i finally > picked up their album (at a little shop which has been around for three > years but i hadn't noticed until three weeks ago) and i like it lots > too. just, good, hooky pop with a little sugar on top. yummy. that is exactly what they are! BUT if you like their album buy the CD EP they released before it. it only has 5 songs, but it has two of their best songs on it. i hate december, and i'm sensitive (not to be confused with the jewel song). good enough to give ya a cavity. > so whatchu think of licorice (their single has been languishing on the > desk for months, i really should listen to it sometime). what single do you have by them? THEY ARE GREAT. i really really like them. jenny toomey from tsunami and grenadine fronts liquorice and it has to be one of my favorit albums that i have gotten in the past 6 months. i love the song 2nd most beautiful girl in the world, it makes me want to figure out who she is singing about. if anyone wants a nice sampler of indiepop stuff, check out the CD RED HOT AND BOTHERED a guide to indie to love. originally released via two 10 inch vinyl booklets that include a nice pseudo guide to love and dating, the CD collects most of the stuff together on CD form. all the proceeds go to and AIDS charity (same people who put out the RED HOT CD's). it has HEAVENLY, LIQUORICE, LISA GERMANO and a bunch of otehr people...okay so lisa germano isn't really indiepop, but she's on there anyway, she is indie enough. good cause, good music, what else can you ask for (gosh i sound like a commercial) > Sitting here listening to Ani Difranco's "imperfectly" album and > thought I'd ask if anyone out there knows if Suzanne Vega is supposed > to be coming out with anything new in the near future. I wasn't thoughts on suzanne vega....according to her mailing list (which i don't know if i have unsubscribed from, or if it is just REALLY slow trafficwise) she has a new album due out sometime in 1996. Suzanne sometimes writes to the mailing list, so it is straight from the horse's mouth. the new album is tentatively titled LOVE HOTEL. after that she is thinking of releasing a best of type of album which will include just her singles and hits (okay so she's only had two hits, but you know what i mean). also in the works is an cd of early demos and songs that she has never released (13 early demos was the working title). i don't know if she is thinking of releasing it seperately from her best of, or if she was thinking of releasing the best of together with demos as a 2 cd set. she can be found on the HECTOR ZAZOU album (i forget the title but it has a rainbow on the cover) singing with john cale a song called teh long voyage. oh wait, the album is called SONGS FROM A COLD SEA. also included was jane siberry, bjork, and siouxsie sioux as well as others. she is also on a tribute album (was it the XTC one? no it was the one with tori singing blue umbrella...who wrote that song, leonard cohen? stoopid irvin is having a brain freeze). damn. check it out though if you can figure out what the hell i am talking about. i haven't gotten it, but i hear tori is amazing on it (well when is she not?) can someone submit the jane WFMU show to the ecto tape dubbing project, i woudl love to hear it. :) > Etheridge. Air dates are Nov 22, 24, and 26. Also, look for "Sewanee Jo", a > Paula demo included on the new "Blue in the Face" soundtrack, compiled by does anyone have this? is it good? i saw it at blockbuster music, but didn't want to buy it for just one song....even if it is paula. > I just heard some interesting news on Jewel. She will be on stage at Avery > Fisher Hall > in NYC as Dorothy in a benefit performance of the Wizard of OZ. Also in the > But it is possible since Jewel was a no show at the Catherine Wheel/Belly show > here > in Ann Arbor a few weeks back. i also think jewel would make an amazing dorothy. she fits the cuteness part to a T. i was majorly upset to hear that JEWEL wasn't to play the CATHERINE WHEEL/BELLY show. i ran into my friend and she told me that she BOUGHT the ticket jsut to see her, and came BY HERSELF! she was devasted when a guide told us that JEWEL had to cancel because she was sick. she nearly left, but i conviced her to stay, and we had a good time anyway, BELLY were much better than i thought they would be. though i still like THRowing MUSEs better anyway. IF ANYONE GETS TO SEE JEWEL soon. PLEASE tell her to come back to ST. LOUIS. we all missed her. the local paper (riverfront times, our version of the village voice, only not as cool) even ran a nice big side article about her (entitled POP GEM). i would post it if there is interest in reading. i wish i could have seen her. :( and on a final note, i was browsing through the SPIN GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE music. what a joke (i'm laughing) there were SO many MAJOR omissions it was not even amusing though. kate bush was in there (i love the way they said..."kate has been compared to peter gabriel and brian eno. the thing is though, is that BUSH is, well, just plain weird") along with Tori Amos, but of course SARAH MCLACHLAN wasn't. um hello? i didn't bother to look up jane siberry, or loreena mckennitt or happy rhodes (yeah right). other glaring ommissions were the HOUSEMARTINS/BEAUTIFUL SOUTH (though echo and the bunnymen and the smiths were in there), LOIS and HEAVENLY (though BARBARA MANNING was in there, and was listed in the top 100 best alternative albums, go barbara!), and also not listed was SUZANNE VEGA. who was? public enemy, cyndi lauper, erasure, madonna, among other numerous...ahem...alternative bands. hmmmmmmm....... weird thing about it was, they also listed some groups in really odd places. morrissey was listed UNDER the smiths (this isn't tha big of a suprise) though johnny marr side projects were not listed anywhere. frank black was listed under the pixies (though kim deal got her own seperate listing under the breeders). bjork was listed under the sugarcubes. AND the SUNDAYS were listed under...THE CRANBERRIES???!!!??? i did not see this connection at all. i mean when they listed opal under mazzy star at least the band members were in both bands. were their band members in both the sundays and the cranberries? not that i know of. i might be mistaken, but things like that are just plain, well lets face it weird. but not in a kate bush type of way. ahem. in a stupid way. just my gripe of the day and half. god i hate music journals. whatever.... bitter and angst filled irvin bids you adieu ------------------------------ From: Garry Potter Date: 27 Oct 95 12:22:41 EAT Subject: Religious experience Hi ectophiles, I've been lurking around for a while but have not posted a lot of news, but I thought you would be interested in the fact that I heard Happy for the FIRST time last night. I imported a copy of the "Building the colossus" CD, picked it up from the store yesterday, rushed home and stuck it on. From the first note I was captivated. I had to do a reality check because I thought I was listening to KaTe, then the voice changed and I thought I was listening to a man. I pulled out the cd booklet to check the credits and discovered that all of the vocals are by Happy and immediately thought wow! what depth. Although Ive only had a chance to listen to the CD once, I cant wait to get home and give it another listen tonight. It seriously looks like Im going to have to order all of Happys back catalogue now (Ive got the Keep on order). What really amazed me though, was when I went into the CD store to order BTC I was really amazed when the guy behind the counter said he knew he I was talking about. Yours in ectosy, Garry Melb, Australia ------------------------------ From: Neal Copperman Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 01:28:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: lisa cerbone band upcoming performances Thought I'd pass these on in case anyone is in these areas. Lisa's music is not quite folk and not quite pop. The songs are snapshots of your neighbors lives, and maybe their neighbors too. (Or maybe yours, but I hope not since the songs tend to be a bit depressing.) - Neal friday, oct. 27th -- border's music store richmond, va 6:00 to 7:00 sat, oct 28th -- the scrap bar atlanta, ga (404) 724-0009 thursday, nov 2nd -- dickinson college carlisle, pa, 9:00 to 11:00 (717) 245-1694 wed, nov 8th -- the acoustic cafe radio show (check your radio stations to find out when this nationally syndicated radio show will air. some AAA stations have it and some don't.) thursday, nov 9th -- canal st tavern dayton, oh (513) 461-9343 sunday, nov 19th -- olssen's books and records in store performance, 4:00 bethesda, md (202) 337-3720 saturday, nov 25th -- iota 2832 wilson blvd, arlington, va (703) 522-8340 9:30 to 1:00 NEWS! "close your eyes" has just been released in germany, austria, and switzerland. it will also be released in the uk in november. ORDERING INFO! cds are $15.00 and cassettes are $10.00. make checks payable to sudden place and send to: pob 1714, ellicott city, md 21041. "close your eyes" would make a great holiday gift! all dates could be subject to change. please doublecheck times and dates bfore heading out! also, check for added shows especially in the balto, nyc, and wash dc areas. ------------------------------ From: "Joseph Zitt" Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 00:25:26 +0000 Subject: Covered Albums? Someone whose message I deleted too quickly mentioned a contact for Tori and Kate cover albums (I guess being done by fans?) I'd run across mentions of this before, and would like to know more -- if they're open to submissions, I've got some stuff I'd like to try. And would anybody be interested in a project where we do Happy songs? - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ==== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Organizer, SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List \|| |/Joe Zitt's Home Page\| ------------------------------ From: Marion Kippers Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 11:11:16 +0100 Subject: More on Abra Moore Hi all, I've found some more information about Abra Moore. This is from a music magazine called Continental News, published by Continental Record Services/Munich Records, a Dutch (I think) record company that incorporates a.o. Rounder labels and licenses for various other labels, mostly in the field of 'roots' music. The magazine is published in the Netherlands but it's all in English. This first (September '95) issue tries to offer a survey of what has been released in the past seven months (through or on Munich/CRS). Abra Moore's album "Sing" is in the A-section: Folk-Country- Bluegrass-Singer/Songwriter, and they describe it as follows: ===== begin ====== Abra Moore - Sing Bohemia Beat BBEA 0004 (I guess this is for Europe) Singer/Songwriter/Alternative Pop Talented and versatile young female singer/songwriter who sang with Poi Dog Pondering. It's impossible to categorize an album with so many different styles, with a singer who reminds us of a range of singers as diverse as Ricky Lee Jones, Edie Brickell and Joni Mitchell. Fascinating songs, performed with a soulfulness and a touch of eccentricity that should not go unnoticed. "Sing" was the Munich's Delight of June. ===== end ====== Mind you, I still haven't heard the album for myself so I don't know whether their description is right. Best wishes, Marion ______________________________________________________________ Marion Kippers Wolters Kluwer Academic Publishers Automation Department Dordrecht, The Netherlands Marion.Kippers@wkap.nl "Leave the shadows dancing..." (OP) ______________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V2 #260 ************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu