From: owner-ecto-digest To: ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto-digest V2 #287 Reply-To: ecto@nsmx.rutgers.edu Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, 19 November 1995 Volume 02 : Number 287 The Ecto digest is now being generated automatically. Please send problems and questions to: ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jeffy@wam.umd.edu Date: Fri, 17 Nov 95 19:42:56 EST Subject: new songs on _The Keep_ I must say, I find it rather surprising, if not appalling, that there hasn't been more discussion of the wonderful gift that Happy gave us through the inclusion of un-released songs on _The Keep_. I've gone ahead and done preliminary transcriptions of the new songs. These are included below, along with some comments. The elder of the new songs are truly vintage Happy Rhodes. Of course, I'd be surprised if they showed a drastically different direction from the other material written between '84 and '86 that she's released. I apologize in advance for any transcription errors. I've puzzled out most of the lines, but a few spots eluded me. I didn't even try with the bv's on "Life on Mars". If anybody wishes to amend them, please do! - -------------- "Life on Mars" is rather interesting to me...it's at once subversive, tender, and dreamy. The song is a rather lovely lullaby, but what the singer is saying to the child is rather surprising: don't believe your parents, don't believe your teachers. Take life as *you* want to see it, and don't let "them" (typical authority figures) try to hold you back. "Life on Mars" -- Happy Rhodes Sleepy eyes oh your daddy lies Look to the stars above Oh sleepy eyes all your teachers lie Look to the stars, baby, yes there's life on Mars Oh sleepy Throw away your fears If you dare Life is everywhere Oh sleepy eyes Sleepy child oh your dreams defied Trust in the stars above Oh sleepy child life goes running wild Trust in the stars, baby, yes there's life on Mars Oh sleepy child Throw away your fears If you dare Darling, life is everywhere Oh sleepy child - ------ I find "Flash Me Up" to be rather surprising, given that it was written in '94. To my mind, it's more reminiscient of something off _Warpaint_, at least in its theme of desiring recognition and wanting to share one's talent with the rest of the world. At the same time, hints of earlier themes shine through, particularly at the end of the song when the main character says, "If I admit to my madness / then so must you." "Flash Me Up" -- Happy Rhodes My whole life I've worked toward this To shower you with the passion of my youth Flash me on the big screen For to show you my potential I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Did you Hear me? Did you Hear me? If I admit to all that I miss Then so must you Awake and scared and ? And feeling the sting of the doubt of my promise Flash me up on the big screen For to show you my potential I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Flash me up on the big screen For to show you me potential No I don't think you heard me very clearly the first time Did you hear me? Did you hear me? If I admit to all my madness Then so must you... Flash me up and show me who I am... - ---------- "Bye Moon" is referred to as the first song Happy recorded. It certainly shares much with other early Happy songs. The guitar intro is extremely similar to that of "Under and Over the Brink." Both songs deal with death and insanity (while not explicitly mentioned in "Bye Moon", the moon is, of course, a classic symbol for, well, yeah, lunacy). I'm intrigued by the title of the song, as the word used in the lyric seems to actually be "by." Is the title, then, a farewell? I'm *really* unsure of the first line of the chorus. If anybody has a better interpretation of what it might be, I'd love to hear it! "Bye Moon" -- Happy Rhodes By moon I sing By moon I cry By moon I live By moon I'll die On call to moon My harlequin Is laughing at the heart within And deep inside this cloud of gray The hungry strange I am the prey By star you wish By God you pray By name I curse The light of day On call to moon My harlequin Is laughing at the heart within And deep inside this cloud of gray The hungry strange I am the prey By moon I sang By moon I've cried By moon I've lived By moon I'll die On call to moon My harlequin Is laughing at the heart within And deep inside this cloud of gray The hungry strange I am the prey - ----------- Ah, more classic Happy. Monsters, death, destruction, suicide, fear. This might be my favorite of the "new" songs. The end to the lyric is just sublime! Folks who were new to Happy with _Equipoise_ might have been surprised by "Cohabitant," but those of us with a longer history know that this dark thing has been lurking in Happy for a very long time indeed. "Prey of the Strange" --Happy Rhodes Introduce yourself I know you know me well You're my love Introduce yourself Come on Come out I am the prey of the strange And he follows me He is my love I am the prey of the strange Dark thing come out Stay in your place Show me your peaceful grace Oh he is buried here Maker of my every fear He is my friend and my enemy And I'm the creator Of my love But now he's wanting me to die Come on Come alive My anger stirs right here I want to show you fear Of my love The skies are no longer clear Dark thing came out...came out...he's here, he's me. - -------- I haven't entirely decided what to make of "Hand of Mine." On some level, it seems to deal with suicide, but I'm not so sure that this is true...one the one hand, the singer says, "wrap yourself around my neck," but is then asking for life. I haven't decided if Happy repeats "life" or if it's as I've written, "give me light, give me life." If it is indeed the latter, one might interpret this as a desire to see the afterlife, the cliche'd white light and tunnel (and who wouldn't forgive a cliche' in someone as young as Happy was when she wrote this?) I can't help but wonder if there's some sort of Romeo and Juliet or "Gloomy Sunday" kind of thing going on -- take me, but take my love, too... "Hand of Mine" -- Happy Rhodes Oh hand of mine Wrap yourself around my neck And oh give me light, give me life Oh hand of mine Hold my strings(?) to the thread Then oh give them light, give them life Now there's a thing I don't control It festers in my soul It's not the heart and it's not the mind It's a force of a different kind Oh hand of mine Wrap yourself around my love Then oh steal his light, steal his life And oh heart of mine Hold your music deep Then oh give me time, give me time Now there's a thing I don't control It festers in my soul It's not the heart and it's not the mind It's a force of a different kind |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | | | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@wam.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | ------------------------------ From: Mike Matthews Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 00:15:06 -0500 Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************ Naama Avramzon (s3210095@techst02.technion.ac.il) ************ *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Naama Avramzon Mon November 18 1974 Scorpio Jeff Smith Mon November 19 1962 Crash Kevin Bartlett Fri November 21 1952 Scorpio Claudia Spix Wed November 23 1960 Schuetze Anja Baldo Tue November 23 1965 Garbanzo Tommy Persson Wed November 25 1964 Sagittarius Pat Tessitore November 26 Sagittarius Justin Bur Fri November 27 1964 Sagittarius Sue Trowbridge Sun November 27 1966 Skytten Ward Kadel Tue November 29 1977 Sagittarius Mirko Bulaja Sat November 30 1974 Block Chip Lueck Thu December 05 1968 Sagittarius Ken Hoyme Sun December 08 1957 Sagittarius Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Damon Harper Tue December 16 1975 Sagittarius Laura Clifford Tue December 17 1957 Sagittarius Dirk Kastens Tue December 17 1963 Sagittarius Milla Wed December 17 1975 Sagittarius Chris Schernwetter Tue December 17 1974 Sagittarius - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ From: Neal Copperman Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 01:22:47 -0500 (EST) Subject: Nields News Just got back from seeing another Nields show at the Birchmere. This one kind of kicks off the DC ecto weekend, as Jeff Wasilko came up from his temporary November home in Fredericksburg, VA. Nice guy local singer/songwriter (and old Nields pal) Bill Parsons played a warm amusing opening set, and the Nields blasted through another lively and entertaining concert. This was their first show since they had to cancel a bunch due to Katryna being sick. (Well documented in cartoons in the new newsletter, entitled "The Story of Katryna's Incredibly Shrinking Polyp".) Lots of new songs from the impending release "Gotta Get Over Greta". It's their first Razor and Tie release, due out on March 5. They played a bunch of new songs that are on it, and some of them are simply wonderful. Show highlight was one of the most hilarious live performances I have ever seen, of a song that must be called "Superheros in my Soup". A Nields show is always a blast. If you've heard any of their music and liked it even a little, definitely give the live show a shot. It's rocked up folk music that reminds me (in spirit) of early 10K Maniacs, even though there really isn't much resemblance. They'll be touring up and down the East of the US in Jan and Feb, from North Carolina up to Maine. This is a full page of concert dates, which I'm not typing in, but if you really need the heads up for your neighborhood, let me know where you are and I'll tell you if the show is scheduled. March/April will find them heading out west. They also have a new EP called Abigail for sale. I haven't listened to it yet, but it includes a bunch of concert favorites: HAPPY EVER AFTER AFTERNOON, COWARDS, ALFRED HITCHCOCK, WACO LAKE, and GOODNIGHT, IRENE. Neal ------------------------------ From: Neal Copperman Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 01:37:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: Live Garbage Thursday I caught the very crowded Garbage show at the Black Cat in DC. I could tell it was an odd affair for the BC when I saw a tour bus, mobil home, and Ryder truck all parked out front. Usually there are no signs that the bands playing there have come in anything other than a van. There was so much equipment on stage that the cases were piled up in the club. Guess they didn't have room to put them in the back anywhere. Openers Acetone were quite good. They covered a wide range of styles, from brooding Red House Painter dirges to tight, angular thrash. Garbage themselves are a bit hard for me to describe. I had a blast at the show, but I didn't think it was a great show. The band was tight and dead on, recreating the sounds and spirit of the album. It was in the vocals that something was lacking. Lead singer Shirley Manson seemed to miss an incredible number of notes (and I have a really poor ear too). But the hardest thing to adjust to was that there was little edge to her voice. What I like about the Garbage album is that the songs are instantly catchy, but with a dark growl to them. There is a sharpness to the vocals on the album that just wasn't there live. (Strange, since the reverse is more often true.) And some songs went from being catchy to being simple. Without the edge, some of the songs seemed recast as mediocre 80's sounding punk/pop, played with a lot of energy but not all that much originality. Given this, it's not surprising that the most effective songs were the more brooding, trip-hoppy tunes. They successfully established a mood and a groove that was missing elsewhere. Despite these complaints, I had a blast at the show. It's been a long time since I've been to a concert where it seemed so essential to vigorously jump up and down. The band kept the rhythms fast, and even without the originality and edge, there was enough energy to keep all of us leaping in the air. As a balancing note, the show was very favorably received. People were quite forgiving of the missed notes and poured large amounts of energy back to the band. (This apparently was not the case the previous night in Philly, where they must have gotten a poor reception.) I haven't listened to the disc again since then, but it'll be interesting to see if the show changes my outlooks on it. Neal ------------------------------ From: jeffw@triple-i.com (Jeff Wasilko) Date: Fri, 17 Nov 1995 22:51:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: Return of the Nields! I had the pleasure of seeing the Nields tonite in Alexandria, VA. In case you didn't know, The Nields have been on a 2 month hiatus because Katryna had a polyp on her vocal chord. Well, they're back with a vengence and touring in support of a new EP (that's out now) and a new album that's out March 5. They played for over 2 hours, thru 3 encores. They said they were happy to be back on stage, and you could see it from their ear to ear smiles as they opened the show. The new EP is called Abigail (named after a younger Nields sister) and has 5 tracks (Happy Ever After Afternoon, Cowards, Alfred Hitchcock, Waco Lake and Goodnight, Irene). From the liner notes, it will not be avilable in stores (just from 800-5-nields or at shows). In other news, Katryna wants Ben & Jerry to come out with a new flavor, Strawberry Nields Forever. So, drop Ben and or Jerry a note! Also, The Nields new album Gotta Get Over Greta will be released on Razor & Tie Records. Well, that's all for now. Tour dates & other goodies can be found at http://uhavax.hartford.edu/disk$userdata/group/acm/www/nields/ - -Jeff ------------------------------ From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Date: Sat, 18 Nov 95 17:09:04 EST Subject: Sarah transcripts sent! Hi! I've sent Sarah McLachlan interview transcripts to all who requested a copy; if yours didn't arrive, didn't decode properly, or if you haven't asked yet and still want one, drop me some mail. - - Anthony - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au http://daemon.apana.org.au/~anthony/ Physical mail: P.O. Box 40, Malvern 3144, Victoria, Australia "The red sky was bleeding glimpses of heaven, in sections of seven..." - Rose Chronicles reaching lyrical perfection on "Awaiting Eternity" - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Date: Sat, 18 Nov 95 17:06:40 EST Subject: Re: Wow, oh WOW, OH WOW Piquet said: >WOW! > >OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD SARAH SARAH SARAH!!! ( I *had* to do it, Laurel. :) Hee... :-) >I just came back from seeing Sarah McLachlan and The Chieftains in >concert, and it.... it was FABULOUS. Let's compare notes - I saw the show in Melbourne on Wednesday (and hi Neill, who I ran into afterwards). >Sarah was brilliantly wonderfully wonderfully brilliant... she looked >good (dressed all in black), and sounded GREAT. Her voice was wonderful, >it was spot on and beautiful and expressive and it almost made me cry... >well, it *did* make me cry, okay, I admit. She had Ashwin Sood and Brian >Minato with her... wonderful! Her set was excellent, but strangely nowhere near as moving or focussed as the set she did for the Melbourne media a week before. The sound also sucked bigtime, which is rare for the Melbourne Concert Hall. Whoever had the idea of miking the piano with two microphones on booms about three feet above the strings was misguided - there was no bottom end at all. At the media launch Sarah played a crappy 70s electric piano, while at the Concert Hall she played a Steinway. The crappy 70s electric piano sounded better, believe it or not. >She played a fairly short set, including one song on electric guitar: >"Because this is our first trip down here, we wanted to give you a more >rounded idea of what we're all about". The setlist, if I remember rightly: > >- Good Enough - "Kind of a song about sisterhood"... >- Wait - "A song about losing your innocence" (which is, I guess more > than we knew before *grin*); >- Full Of Grace - "The most depressing song I ever wrote, I wrote this > for a movie but it didn't make it... which was good because the > movie sucked!!" (What movie was this, BTW?) - I'd never heard this > before, but it was lovely. Interesting - like Tori, she's saying almost exactly the same things every night. >That was it... 7 songs. She got quite a nice reception from the crowd, >who listened quietly and clapped... there were some whistles from up the >back of the hall, where I think there were a few Canadians and/or Americans >come to see the show. Most of the folks at the concert probably hadn't ever >heard of Sarah - well, I hope they go out and buy all her albums now! :) The Melbourne audience were polite but largely disinterested - where I was sitting people were carrying on conversations through the entire set. The BMG/Arista people here were surprised by the ambivalent reaction as well. >Overheard during intermission: "Gosh, she were a bit morose, weren't she?!" Overheard here: "She's a bit... Tori Amos, isn't she?" :-) >The hall filled right up for The Chieftains though. What a wonderful >wondeful performance!!! They had my foot tapping all the way through, and >their music is wonderful and expressive and lots of fun, and their >musicianship is astounding! I must have caught them on a bad night; I didn't think much of their musicianship at all. It was very lazy, there were a ton of off notes and mistakes, and the band's idea of an exciting solo seemed to be to play a lot of notes really, really fast, be it on the flute, violin, or whatever. Loreena McKennitt's violinist was a power of ten more exciting and interesting than the two in The Chieftans, at least the night I saw them. But they did appeal to the Irish half of me, and were good fun. It's just that I've seen this genre done far better. About half way through I was starting to get the impression that it was all supposed to be comedy, a la Victor Borge... :-) >Sarah came out to sing 'The Foggy Dew' with them (absolutely gorgeous, of >course), and stayed onstage to sing/play in the finale, a huge improvisatory >showcase which was the most fun of the whole evening. Those two were the highlights for me. I liked the way they introduced Sarah as a "brilliant signer AND composer". >They also brought >'special guest' Carlos Nunez (why does this name sound so familiar?) out >to play on a couple of songs... He was hilarious, and very good at the flute thing he was playing. He came on stage like a Spanish bullfighter, bagpipes held high, and proceeded to be the most over-the-top showman of the night. And he's Spanish. :-) > oh, and there were a couple of (I guess) >traditional Irish dancers... wow. :) If they're the same two we had in Melbourne (and they're from Melbourne), they were *astounding*, and the best percussionists of the night to boot. :-) >Gad, I'm gushing, I'll stop now. Suffice to say that this was one of >the best concerts I've ever ever ever seen, and I hope that they have >tickets left for the Canberra concert on Sunday, because I WANT TO GO! :) Two more shows down here too, don't forget...! - - Anthony - -- - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au http://daemon.apana.org.au/~anthony/ Physical mail: P.O. Box 40, Malvern 3144, Victoria, Australia "The red sky was bleeding glimpses of heaven, in sections of seven..." - Rose Chronicles reaching lyrical perfection on "Awaiting Eternity" - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ From: maeldun@i-2000.com (Michael Doyle) Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 22:44:48 -0500 Subject: Re: admission of guilt Sorry I didn't have a chance to join this thread earlier... I do _not_ like Alanis Morisette. But I might like her more if her songs didn't stick in my head with such grating clarity (a trait I find she shares with Abba). I tried to like Jane Siberry and failed. I enjoy "It Can't Rain All the Time" from THE CROW soundtrack, but mostly because it's provides needed relief against the rest of the album. I spun _WIWAB_ several times, concluding that Jane isn't bad, I can see others liking her. She just isn't my cup of tea. I guess the same goes for Jewel, Lisa Loeb and the bulk of those artists who fall into the "female singer-songwriter" genre. I love Happy - my approach to her is through the land of Kate Bush, Cranes, Cocteau Twins, Big Hat, Area/M7x, Lush, Love Spirals Downward. It is less from her "singer-songwriter" component and more from the side of her that's electronic or experimental (for lack of a better word). - - Mike Michael Doyle maeldun@i-2000.com =================================================================== "That's God's plan. He doesn't really want anyone to get together." - - Jerry Seinfeld ------------------------------ From: maeldun@i-2000.com (Michael Doyle) Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 22:43:46 -0500 Subject: Live Garbage RRmtm! Nagmt! Dangit! Somebody else saw Garbage this week and posted before I could! I saw Garbage on Monday at Irving Plaza in NYC and again on Wednesday at the TLA in Philly. I had intended originally to catch only one show, but I was so blown away by the NYC show, I _had_ to see them again. There were three possibilities for the show. 1) Butch and the gang are such studio tweak freaks that the best one could hope from a live show is stripped down versions of the songs, full of buzzing guitars; you'd be reminded of the album only slightly, 2) They lip-sync, or 3) These guys are brilliant enough to bring everything they need on the road to pull off a sound that was equal to the album and combine it with the immediacy of a live show. At the Irving Plaza show, I discovered #3 to be the case. The sound mix was amazing. Before Garbage took the stage, a sample with a bit of rolling thunder played, shaking the floor. When Garbage played, you could hear every instrument and all their nuances. The vocals came through clear and strong. And they did all this without ear-damaging volume. The versions of the songs they played were faithful to the sound of the album, yet they did so much more with them. If Garbage put out a live album based on that show, I'd snap it up. Shirley Manson on stage was exactly as I had imagined her. She conveyed the "supervixen" image perfectly - you felt that the most passionate love you could ever know was her brutal disdain. At one point she reached out to the audience reaching up at the foot of the stage. She brought her hand within the grasp of the fans fingers, but weaved it back and forth so they never could touch it. Gad! Talk about tantalizing. Butch Vig probably had the least "active" stage presence of the band - as he was playing the drums, he looked as if he might just as well be tuning his car. And yet, this was a strong presence, too... like an Aztec god, powerful, implacable. The crowd was extremely enthusiastic, and the performance was high voltage. I never thought I could have feel so good from songs that are basically so negative... guess I'm "only happy when it rains." OK, these impressions were formed by the Irving Plaza show. As Neal inferred, the Philadelphia show was somewhat different. First of all, for those ectophiles who think Irving Plaza is a hole, it is luxury incarnate compared with the Theatre for the Living Arts (TLA). The sound was definitely inferior. Vocals too low, bass too high. The nuances of the instruments that the mix at Irving Plaza had brought out was lost. Shirley also seemed a bit tired. She moved more provocatively than at the NYC show, but it seemed more like she was just playing for the crowd rather than interacting. The crowd sucked, too. They heckled Acetone off the stage. And though they were enthusiastic for Garbage, they were still hostile - some of them talked throughout the show. I mean, the show wasn't mind-blowing as in NYC, but it certainly did not deserve that. The audience's feeble applause barely managed to bring an encore. And for the encore, Garbage skipped "Milk" (which they had played in NYC), playing only one song. When they finished that, they left the stage and there was silence. Dead silence. The lights remained down and it remained silent until I started to clap. A few people joined with me. And then there was a brief rush of applause and howling that was so lame it hurt. The lights came up and the show was over. The Philadelphia audience got exactly what it deserved. Nevertheless, it _was_ Garbage and it _was_ good and it _was_ worth the trip. As for Neal's impressions of the DC show, I can't comment much since I didn't see that performance. I did feel that Garbage's performance in NYC carried all the power and edginess of the album and then some. The vocals were sensational; Shirley never missed a note, but she did play it safe on a couple of songs. There _were_ a couple of songs I didn't recognize, which didn't seem very original - possibly because they were b-sides to singles and thus were only remodeled versions of songs from the album (cf U2's "Lady With the Spinning Head" and "The Fly" or Kate Bush's "Burning Bridge" and "Running Up That Hill.") Regardless, they did not significantly detract from the show for me. On a closing note, I'm starting to like Acetone. I saw them open for Oasis in October. I thought they were awful until somewhere in the last quarter of their set when I said, "Hmmm, dreamy, echoey guitars. I like that." Sort of like Pink Floyd in spots. In other spots, like some 50's band that I just can't place. They'd be much better with a more competent vocalist, though. Finally, I just want to say I really like my Garbage long-sleeve t-shirt - the only part of my wardrobe that glows in the dark! - - Mike Michael Doyle maeldun@i-2000.com =================================================================== "That's God's plan. He doesn't really want anyone to get together." - - Jerry Seinfeld ------------------------------ From: joels@sd.cts.com (Joel Siegfried) Date: Sat, 18 Nov 1995 21:27:46 -0800 Subject: Jewel in San Diego - Review Jewel Sparkled At College Concert Wearing a velour mini-dress a shade between lavender and maroon, and projecting a seductive, but clean-scrubbed, playful sexuality, Jewel entranced the mostly college-age audience Saturday night at San Diego State University's Montezuma Hall with her pure, bell-toned voice, subtle intonations, and brilliant lyrics. To cap off her two hour performance, she even yodeled, to the delight of many in the 300 or so crowd, who were so attentive and transfixed by her music, that the artist made a point of complementing them for being a "perfect" audience to play before. But it was the lack of perfection in her performance that made it so remarkable. At least three of her songs were written in a spiral-bound notebook within minutes of taking the stage, causing the singer to stop to remember her own lyrics, and then repeat and connect them to the melody. She has been writing songs since the age of 6. Her live music is much more emotive and dynamic in tone and color than her 1994 Pieces of You debut CD. Not every artist sounds better in concert. Jewel is one who does. So many of her songs, played in coffee houses and small clubs, are elusive for her to recall. She depends on bootleg tapes to recapture them, a comment on her incredible productivity. By now, she has material for at least a dozen albums, with her next recording studio session scheduled for February of next year. She was trying some of the newer works out here, to test sentiment -- both the audience and her own. For someone so young in life experience - she looks hardly out of her teens - Jewel sings about suicide, child abuse, bigotry, abandonment, the rage that a child feels towards her father ("poetic license", she called it, referring to her own paternal affections), sibling rivalry, and other weighty subjects. (That's why the title of her promotional album, "Save the Linoleum", is so funny.) But she does so with such sarcasm and candor, that the angst seems even more devastating by the juxtapositions in her words, facial expressions, and shrill grittiness that can literally make your teeth hurt, interspersed with a smile so sweet that you almost believe it could charm an Alaskan grizzly bear. She knows how to keep you off balance. What is so refreshing about Jewel, is her openness and unaffected chatter with those in the hall. She hears all the suggestions for songs, makes little comments about each one, talks to you like an old friend about her excitement of appearing on the Conan O'Brien Show (November 28th), "I'm going to play around with his hair, I promise you.", and lets you in on intimate secrets you may not want to hear -- about a childhood friend with a big butt who would swing naked in the sauna, and made everyone smile, but died recently, shot himself out in a field. Oh, my. She is so good at deceiving you. You can't trust her. But you'll always love her. Always. The only disappointment, and it would have been a great coup if it had come about, was that Joan Osborne had promised Jewel that she would come by after her gig at Soma and do a duet with her. It never happened. Around midnight, Jewel asked plaintively if Joan were somewhere in the darkened house. The crowd thought that she was just clowning around. You never know with Jewel. Then she explained. Earlier, at Tower Records, I had talked with Osborne, expressed my admiration for "Relish", her debut album, and commiserated about missing her live performance at Street Fair, Luna Park on Melrose in L.A., and again later that night because of "other commitments". I promised her that I would eventually catch her live. She seemed genuinely sorry that I hadn't seen her perform. It would have completed the circle for me, if she had shown up as the "mystery guest". But it wasn't meant to be. After her performance, I hung around the venue, not wanting the night to be over. A woman told me about growing up in Skagway, an Alaskan town of 700 residents. She spoke of the darkness of the long winter, of drunkenness, family abuse, depression and suicide. "It wasn't like Northern Exposure, the TV show", she said. Jewel's childhood had also been in that state. She said that she knew Jewel from Alaska, but I had my doubts. As if to balance the scales, a man came over and asked me when I had been in Kauai. For a moment I was puzzled by his prescience, until I realized that I was wearing my favorite T-shirt. We talked about hiking the Na' Pali cliffs, the best snorkeling beaches, and other shared experiences. Music connects people together. It also heals them. Just as I was getting ready to leave, Jewel came into the lobby with her personal assistant. Usually I don't want a performer's autograph. It tends to trivialize my appreciation of their artistry, but Jewel had begun to sign, so I offered her the two albums I had with me. On Save The Linoleum, she drew a little picture of what looked like E.T. directly on the label of the CD, and wrote Jewel underneath it. Was she telling me cryptically that she longed to go home, just like the space alien? Maybe. But with Jewel you never know. -=END=- - -- +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Joel Siegfried San Diego, California - USA Voice (619) 222-9236 | | Internet addresses: joels@cts.com ei955@cleveland.freenet.edu | | "But I haven't seen Barbados so I must get out of this." - Tori Amos | | "It's easy when you're blessed with money, love and sex." - Heather Nova | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V2 #287 ************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu