From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #437 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, December 15 1998 Volume 04 : Number 437 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friends... [Mike Matthews ] Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! ["Tim" ] Happy *Can* Be a Star! ["C. K. Coney" ] Re: A depressed tangent [Dirk Kastens ] More about 'The Keep', more about Happy [Eponine ] moxy gruvous ["Mike Mendelson" ] Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy!/ Crappy Job [jfrancis@vi] Bjork's success --> Happy ["Tim" ] Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! [Paul Blair ] [meredith ] Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! ["Xenu's Sister" Subject: Today's your birthday, friends... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ***************** Julie C. Kammerzell (kammerzj@peak.org) ***************** ************* Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti (goddess@prostar.com) ************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti Sat December 15 1956 Sagittarius Damon Harper Tue December 16 1975 COOL BANANAS 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 Sherry Haddock Sat December 17 1960 Sagittarius Tracy Benbrook Tue December 18 1973 Sagittarius Mark Lowry Mon December 22 1969 Capricarius Uli Grepel Wed December 25 1968 Steinbock Joseph Wasicek Sat December 25 1976 Brown Eagle Stuart Castergine Mon December 30 1963 You Are Here Marvin Camras Sat January 01 1916 Tapehead Jeanne Schreiter Tue January 03 1967 Capricorn John Sandoval Wed January 04 1967 Capricorn Paul Cohen Tue January 05 1954 Capricorn Tony Garrity Mon January 08 1962 Pool of Life Greg Bossert Tue January 09 1962 OfTheTimes Troy J. Shadbolt Thu January 14 1971 Capricorn Chris Sampson Wed January 15 1964 Void where prohibited - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:15:37 +0000 From: "Tim" Subject: Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! - ---------- >From: Eponine >To: "All @ Ecto" >Subject: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! >Date: Mon, Dec 14, 1998, 7:45 PM > >I plan to get more of her CDs. I am thinking of 'Rearmament', >'Equipoise' and 'Rhodesongs'. I will have to see if my local record >store can get them for me. If not, I plan to break my vow to NOT shop >online and get them from MusicBoulevard!! If any of you think there are >others that I should buy first, by all means, I welcome your opinions. Although perhaps given that you've reacted so strongly to Happy's acoustic side you should by Rhodes I soon, I would suggest that Rearmament would be an excellent choice for your next purchase. The reason why I say Rearmament is that, despite its mostly electronic nature, I feel it is spiritually the closest to The Keep, in that the songs exist more as single entitities than as step-by-step creations (what I'm guessing you might have disliked in MWABT). Rearmament is also her most emotional album, which is highlighted by her best vocals - an aspect that has become less distinct recently as studio wizardry. I'm saying this as someone who also felt absolute awe on first hearing the acoustic Temporary And Eternal, because I find the most similar moments occur on Rearmament - the emotive power-balladry (as it should be) of Till The Dawn, the nervous wail of The Issue Is, the gauzy atmosphere of Dreams Are, the sheer beauty of I Have A Heart, the embittered yet wonderous harmonies of Because I Learn, and the haunting pull of Baby Don't Go. There are a few mistakes (Box H.A.P perhaps), but the highs are so amazingly high that it doesn't even matter. Anyway, just a suggestion! Note that I am largely biased... Tim ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 09:50:23 EST From: AURALG@aol.com Subject: Re: ecto-digest V4 #435 Happy holidays to you all Just wanted to chime in and let you know that finding Happy's back catalog in stores may soon be impossible. As our inventory transfers to Samson, word goes out to all the stores and distributors. In all likelyhood they start returning Happy CDs for credit and we in turn return them to Samson. It took many long months of negotiations to have Samson agree to making these titles available once they were out of our hands. At best they agreed to make them available through mail order. So they can be bought from Samson. My hope is that they find their way back to retail, but if they prove to be a rarity, you can still order them from the new label. Hopefully the stores can order them for you as well, but now at least you'll know where they are. Love ya, Miss ya KB ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 16:58:52 +0100 (CET) From: Yves Denneulin Subject: Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! Hello Eponine and the rest of the ecto crowd, Like everyone here, I am glad you finally found something to your tastes in Happy's work. I think most of us had the same shock the first time we really discovered her work but few expressed it as well as you did. Thanks for your message and welcome to "the crowd of the lucky ears". ;-) I will join woj in suggesting _ecto_ for your next purchase. As my first ever Happy album it will always keep a special place in my heart. I also used it convert a few peoples to her music and it mostly worked (3 out of 4 tries) so I guess it is a good start point. You can also go for _Rhodesways_ which has the big advantage of including _the wretches gone awry_, one of her top 3 song for me (the other two being _ecto_ and _When the rain came down_ both from the _ecto_ album) I got MWABT a week ago and have to admit I have mixed feelings towards it. While what I have always prefered, and what caught me at first, in Happy was her voice, this time I am always trying to ignore it to concentrate on the music. I think this says more about me than it does about the album but it is still weird. This can be due to my writing my whole thesis with the instrumental version of _Ra is busy god_ as background music. I couldn't imagine how she could add lyrics to this perfect piece of music and I was, of course, disappointed by the result. More generally when it comes to ambient, prog or ethreal I have always prefered instrumental pieces over vocal ones so I guess it figures. The exception being Lisa Gerrard's _Mirror pool_ but she uses her voice like an instrument so it doesn't really count. Best, - -- Yves. (who is working on his top 10. Gosh, it's gonna be hard this year!) n.p.: Melissa Ferrick _Everything I need_ that wins the "obsession of the week" award. I received it at the same time than MWABT, the new Kristin Hersh and the new Jewel. The Kristin is wonderful of course but can't be played while working, the Jewel is, well, predictable. The Melissa was on the contrary a big surprise, it has both catching songs (I played the title track 10 times in succession during my first listen) and it has depth too. I don't know if I will still play it in one month but now I am seriously hooked. n.r.: Jim Harrison _Dalva_ (prequel to _The road home_) a wonderful view into a side of america I didn't know at all. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 11:05:32 -0500 From: "Tom Ditto" Subject: The speed of silence Bob Lovejoy wrote: > ...last Sunday's 60 Minutes had a segment on Daniel Barenboin (sp?), a classical pianist/composer, who astonished me when he said: "Music is like life. It is an ephemeral thing, surrounded by silence. Every note..." (he stuck a note on the piano) "...dies." (the sound decayed and was gone). I had never heard music explained so poignantly, so profoundly. < I listened with interest after Daniel Barenboim hit that note, wondering if he could sustain the metaphor. No, he took his finger off the key and *killed* the note. I suspect that he knows something about journalism. They weren't going to use a one note performance if he let the vibration sustain through its natural life, so he cut it off. The shortened performance landed his metaphor both on the trailer and in the main body of the program. It's even on the internet. Still, would Bernstein have cut the note off to make it play to the CBS 60 Minutes interviewer? I don't think so. Tom ditto@taconic.net "Do you copy? Over..." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 11:19:42 -0800 From: "C. K. Coney" Subject: Happy *Can* Be a Star! desmond in a tutu wrote: > much as it sucks and much as i'd like to be proven wrong, i don't think > happy is ever going to be well-known or even recognized outside the > slowly-widening circle of ectophiles (knowing and unknowing) and musicians > she's worked worked with. mind you, that doesn't diminish what she does or > how we react to it, but i don't think happy has enough mass appeal to be > more than a "cult" (for lack of a better word) artist or a musician's > musician. > Whoa, Woj...now *I'm* going to get depressed (any room for me on that couch, Vickie? ;-) I would like to know your reasons for believing this. Sure, Happy's been around for years and has been a cult favorite of a 1,000 or so folks, mostly due to word of mouth and some radio play in a few markets. But Aural G. didn't have the resources to promote her properly in the very competitive music markets we've got out there. I think Samson can and will do very good things for Happy as they develop their own "name brand" for their label. Already they've got Happy on listening station at Borders stores...that's an example of just one big step forward for Happy's career, because lots of people like to sample new stuff at listening stations. (I really appreciate that Happy's stuff is so visible during this holiday buying season, too...what great timing for product placement!) Sooner or later (hopefully sooner) Happy is going to "click" with many more people, and her name will become known, she'll get feature stories in music (and even other) publications in the mainstream. It happened with Tori (as different from "the pack" as she can be), it happened with Bjork (a total oddball...how do we account for *her* success?), it happened with Fiona Apple (who has trouble even singing on key). So, I think it can and *will* happen for Happy, who has an extraordinary voice, fine (and getting better) songwriting and production chops, and a wonderful stage persona. She just needs a lot more exposure and a stroke of good luck and timing...and she'll be on her way! Carol ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 17:47:00 +0100 From: Dirk Kastens Subject: Re: A depressed tangent *lurking mode off* At 23:18 14.12.98 -0500, you wrote: >much as it sucks and much as i'd like to be proven wrong, i don't think >happy is ever going to be well-known or even recognized outside the >slowly-widening circle of ectophiles (knowing and unknowing) and musicians >she's worked worked with. mind you, that doesn't diminish what she does or >how we react to it, but i don't think happy has enough mass appeal to be >more than a "cult" (for lack of a better word) artist or a musician's >musician. No-one ever knows who will enter the top of the music charts and who not. Nobody could have foreseen the success of Laurie Anderson who had a number one hit with "O Superman", at least Laurie herself. The worst that Happy could do is to look at the charts and align her music to the "public taste", whatever this is. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 11:59:08 -0800 From: Eponine Subject: More about 'The Keep', more about Happy Hi all - Well, gee, so many people have sent me messages saying which Happy CDs to get next based on my screaming raving dam-bursting declaration of love for 'The Keep' that I really don't know if I've done the right thing, but I called my local record store (I'm dating myself: I still call them "record stores"!) and special-ordered 'Rhodes I', 'Rhodes II', 'Rhodesongs', and 'Equipoise'. However after the rather disheartening post from Aural Gratification today I doubt they will be able to obtain them. All of these are listed at both Borders.com and MusicBoulevard .com, but I know that doesn't mean they're actually available, as I've learned the hard way. Still, my local record store owner says he has more sources than the cyber-stores do. So we'll see what he can get for me. In the meantime, I would be *ETERNALLY* grateful to anyone who could see fit to e-mail me all/some/most/part/ANY of the lyrics to all/some/most/part/ANY of the songs on 'The Keep". Happy enunciates very well in her singing compared to a lot of people, but there are still parts here and there that I'm having trouble making out. I've checked the Ecto website and there is no lyric page for 'The Keep', at least not that I can find. Any help would be appreciated! If I could chime in regarding the discussion of whether Happy could really "break" in a bigger way, I absolutely know that she could. I mean, look at me: I took one listen to 'The Keep' and became an instant, ardent, devoted, slave - er, I mean, fan. The people that I used to be in band with years ago, I *KNOW* - I swear it on my grandmother's grave - would also become instant fans if they heard 'The Keep'. Of course I don't know yet about the other CDs; 'The Keep' may turn out to be my favorite and I may have lukewarm or even negative reactions to her other work. Ya know, despite my protestations to the contraary maybe I AM a dyed-in-the-wool hippie chick. Because some producer that I admire - I can't be sure but I think it might have been Sir George Martin - once said that, "...you can ruin a good song with bad production, but you can't make a bad song good no matter how good the production is..." And maybe this is why I love bare-bones style acoustic music as on TK: because there is nothing to distract you from the songs, nothing to fancy-up the songs, they are just there, naked, and you KNOW they're good because they aren't hiding behind anything. I guess what I'm saying is just that low-key, low-tech production values are the most honest. Anyway - I got off on a tangent there, I think - someone mentioned Fiona Apple, and I think hers is an interesting case-in-point. No, she can't sing. But I happen to love her CD 'Tidal'. Having said that, though, I realize that a lot of what went into marketing her had to do with her extreme youth and her cover-girl style beauty. Not that this is RIGHT, just that it IS. I persosnall think that Happy is beautiful, but not in the same fashion model/movie star way that Fiona is. This is my cynical opinion, that sexism DOES still exisit in the post-Lilith music world, because the suits at the record labels are still looking for the pretty, sweet young things. I don't know if I can imagine Happy ever being as "big" as Tori Amos, say, but then again, would Happy WANT to be that big? Sorry for rambling. Just the point I wanted to make is that I feel Happy has a much larger potential audience out there, not just us. She just needs more - and the right kind - of exposure. I mean, who would have thought that Loreena McKennit, 39 years old and a well-kept secret with the oft-cited "small but devoted cult following", would suddenly "break" as she did last year with 'The Book of Secrets'? It can happen for Happy, too!! Love to all o' ya, Eponine ------------------------------ Date: 15 Dec 1998 20:09:18 +0000 From: Tim.Cook@Swift.Com (Tim Cook) Subject: RE: More about 'The Keep', more about Happy >'Rhodesongs', and 'Equipoise'. However after the rather disheartening >post from Aural Gratification today I doubt they will be able to obtain >them. All of these are listed at both Borders.com and MusicBoulevard The local Borders in Fredericksburg had a couple of the early ones (Rhodes I or II - can't remember which) as well as RhodeSongs when I was browsing last week. I've also got a couple spares at home which I picked up in a used bin a few years ago for $5 apiece. I'd have to look to see exactly which ones. Anyone who wants them can have them at cost + postage. tim ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 14:54:26 -0600 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: More about 'The Keep', more about Happy (I'm working on other parts of this thread, since I was only on-line for a few minutes last night, but I wanted to pass this along right away...) At 11:59 AM 12/15/98 -0800, Eponine wrote: >In the meantime, I would be *ETERNALLY* grateful to anyone who could see >fit to e-mail me all/some/most/part/ANY of the lyrics to >all/some/most/part/ANY of the songs on 'The Keep". Happy enunciates >very well in her singing compared to a lot of people, but there are >still parts here and there that I'm having trouble making out. I've >checked the Ecto website and there is no lyric page for 'The Keep', at >least not that I can find. Any help would be appreciated! Hi! I just sent meredith all the lyrics for The Keep to put up on the Ecto Home page, but since she only has access at home, at night, she's not going to get to them right away. In the meantime, I have a section of the FAQ - which can be found at http://web.wwa.com/~vickie/happy/faq/ - specifically about The Keep, and there are lyrics to the non-album songs there. That's at: http://web.wwa.com/~vickie/happy/faq/keep.html The links to the album songs (those songs that appear on other albums, that is) are to the Ecto Home page lyrics, but once meth has put up what I sent her, they'll all be on the same page. Sorry I didn't mention the FAQ before now. I now have an account on smoe (thanks Jeff!) because we're going to have a fanzine web site there (to be announced...it's still weeks away) so if meth doesn't have time, I'll put up the Keep page myself. Either way, it will all be in place in the next couple of days and either meth or I will announce it. Until then, I think you can find basically what you need in the FAQ. Later! Vickie ps, I know I have yet to change the FAQ wrt Sharon's fanzine, which is no longer being printed. I'll do that. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 15:12:34 -0800 From: Eponine Subject: To Vickie re the Happy FAQ pages Wow - is that serendipity or what??!!! I just e-mailed you about your FAQ and I check my "In" box and - boom - there's a post from Xenu's Sister telling me exactly where to find what I'm looking for! Thanks!! E. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 16:30:05 -0600 From: "Mike Mendelson" Subject: moxy gruvous Some people said: >> ... and I greatly pity you the Moxy Fruvous tickets. Seen 'em twice; >> would rather mate with an epileptic walrus >> than see them again. But I'll be curious to read your review. >> >Ouch. Actually, I don't know a thing about Moxy Fruvous, but my friend in >NYC -- who doesn't know much about them either -- got tickets because he >read something about them and thinks that I would enjoy them because I >like "eclectic, bizarre stuff." Go figure. > >So, what are they like? > To be very fair, I am a huge fruvous fan. But their stuff does cover a range of styles. If you are interested in getting to know the band (well worth your while if you ask me), and if you are not befuddled by a wry canadian spirit and sense of humor (as clearly some here are), then I would urge you to check out Bargainville, their first major label release. This is the classic fruvous album, and IMHO a work of genius. It is a large part a cappella (a particular interest of mine), but also lots of wry humor (a song about a guy who's girlfriend would rather read and hang out with authors than go out; an ode to the lazy boy as an informed commentary on our pop-sofa-culture, etc.), but overall very very fun. The rest of their albums are good too, but different (more instrument based but still with lots of strong harmony). B-sides is another must-have collection of hilarious songs. As far as seeing them live, a large concert hall (a la the Holly Cole opener denegrated by charlie) is *NOT* the way to see them. Go see them at a club, where you can stand right up close to the stage and heckle! They are all actors by upbringing and education, and they have a great stage-presence and repartee with the audience. And make sure to sing along to King of Spain. - -mjm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 18:39:56 -0500 From: jfrancis@villagenet.com Subject: Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy!/ Crappy Job >Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 16:13:53 -0800 >From: Eponine >I MAY disappear just as suddenly from this list, as I did before. I am a >classic under-achiever and work at a dull, mind-numbing, spirit-crushing job >(lines taken from 'Trainspotting'!) which has me near tears every single >day and >minus the "near" on some days. I am getting ready to just up-and-quit. I hate it when I see somebody in a despiriting situation. It' s too big of a topic to explain, and I don't want to sound to "oprah winfrey-ish" pop psychological about it....... Although there are many degrees/styles of how a person has digged a real big hole in which they can't get out off, I want to say that if I could do it, you can do it. I turned myself around but it takes a certain amount of different thinking, a long range outlook, and a faith or understanding how this existance can give rewards to those who grasp some fundamental concepts. Just for an idea, figure out where your talents lie and persue them. Set down small goals and feed them with positive thoughts and visualizations. Understand that what at first may look like a setback, may actually be setting you up for positive action. Ect. and so on..... One day you'll find yourself several years down the road in a totally new and what would have seemed at the beginning, an impossible achievement. This is not airy~fairy stuff. The movers and shakers in this world are well aware of these concepts. I'm far from some sort of new age fanaticist. A few short years ago I had nothing, now I run my own business and make my own hours! The only boss I have to answer to is me! ;-) jon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:45:09 +0000 From: "Tim" Subject: Bjork's success --> Happy - ---------- >From: "C. K. Coney" >To: desmond in a tutu >Subject: Happy *Can* Be a Star! >Date: Tue, Dec 15, 1998, 7:19 PM > >it happened with Bjork (a total oddball...how do >we account for *her* success?) First, my answer to the question, and secondly, my musings on Happy's chance for success. 1. Her voice 2. Her first two albums have very catchy, yet distinctive tunes which adapt to different environments (radio, home listening, the dancefloor) 3. Bjork was broken in the UK first, a place where success can be more closely linked to critical acclaim than in the US where it hardly matters. The Sugarcubes had a lot to do with it - Birthday was, is and always will be one of the most perfect guitar-pop songs ever. The critics, who might have initially ignored Bjork's solo offerings, were so desperate for another band like The Smiths to hero-worship, that they trumpeted Birthday to the hills. Everyone was terribly disappointed to find Einar Orn ranting all over The Sugarcubes' albums, but Birthday kept them interested in what the band were doing. Thus, when Debut came out, not only did they have an album that was superior to all of Bjork's former band's work, but was also free of annoying male vocals, and showed a remarkable shift in genre to something more aligned with Massive Attack and Soul II Soul - who were terribly cool and in demand. And from there she became huge. Anyway, what does this have to do with Happy? Well it suggests that if Happy were to become huge, it would depend on a number of factors, of which I think the most important would be carving out a niche for herself in the collective conscience of the music industry. Its true that many artists have critical acclaim but poor sales, but Happy has hardly even been noticed yet. I think if critics fell in love with her, everyone else would topple a bit faster. What is Happy's most distinctive feature? Her voice (especially multi-tracked), and her haunting arrangements. Her lyrics too, but I would give that less priority because I don't think they're the first thing you notice in a Happy song (although when you do...). Happy could conceivably be successfully marketed in a similar fashion to The Cocteau Twins - as tough, edgy ethereal music. Where they have Elizabeth's vocal acrobatics and Robin's sonic cathedrals to impress with, Happy can harmonise herself to within the edge of her existance, and is also amazingly adept at complicated, singular arrangements. If Happy released songs which captured both of these elements successfully (I'm thinking of cross-mutating "Baby Don't Go" with "Ra Is A Busy God" myself), she would have a whole little area all to herself in which to play - and if there's one thing that critics love, its something new. However I think that Happy's studio abilities would have to increase even further. MWABT showed that Happy can sound up-to-date, but I think she has the ability to sound truly innovative. Perhaps she should (gasp!) find a producer who can bring the best "sound" to the recordings. It restarted Madonna's career, didn't it? So, how do we make Happy famous? 1. Send her to the UK for a working holiday - it worked for Tori and they really do adopt talent quickly. Already they're acting like Australia's Paradise Motel are Brits born and raised, and are giving them many a four-star rating to prove it. And who do The Paradise Motel sound remarkably like? 2. Get her in a big shiny studio with lots of things to play with, and perhaps a low-but-rapidly-rising profile studio partner. Anyway, just my thoughts... Tim ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 19:46:51 -0500 From: Paul Blair Subject: Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! eponine sed: >There is something - as Tom Ditto wrote - strangely, thrillingly >familiar about her music. It's as if every single song on 'The Keep' >sprang into existence fully-formed and perfect, and has been hanging >there in the atmosphere on a different frequency, waiting for those like >me to wake up and tune in. Yeah. What he said. I remember when I first heard Happy live at the Bottom Line, having this strange disconnect: as if it wasn't possible that I was seeing the person who had written the music; the music had been there, somehow, forever. > "Temporary and Eternal" is extraordinary and beautiful and transcendent > and now owns a special place in my heart. to which Jeff answered: - --Strangely, this was always my least favorite piece on _Equipoise_, one I'd - --often skip, but the version on _The Keep_ just makes me *quiver*. Wow. and ectoj replied: }this is probably my favorite track of _equipoise_, an album i'm otherwise }not too fond of. or rarely listen to at any rate. ...but it's one of those perfect }instances of music -- kinda like roy harper's "frozen moment", which, }despite being on chord strummed over and over is anything but boring. }totally gorgeous. } }that said, the living room concert version of "t&e" on _the keep_ is }light-years beyond the original. again, whoa i say. I *love* the version of "Temporary and Eternal" on *The Keep,* but since it was the first version I heard, the one on *Equipoise* never did that much for me. Just to add to the disagreement, I'm one of the people who doesn't listen to *Ecto* much, but really *loves* *Equipoise* and *Building the Colossus.* And despite all the warnings eponine's gotten about them, I put them in an entirely different class from *Many Worlds Are Born Tonight,* which is a lot harder to get into. Although I could sort of get MWABT from a theoretical point of view, it wasn't until I heard Happy do it live that it really clicked: "Oh, this really IS Happy Rhodes music!" I don't think it's about the electronics at all. When I listen to music I often like it or dislike it according to the image it projects of the person who wrote or performed it. To me Happy's music has always carried with it a very strong sense of her unique personality, intelligence, and sense of life, of the person behind the music. But there's something about MWABT that's so ... polished ... that it's hard to get behind the music to the person. ectoj continued: }(parenthetically, "i say" is a close second -- what is it about the last }song on happy's most recent records? "i say", "glory", and "serenading }genius" are all fargin' brilliant!) Abso-fargin-lutely. "Be Careful What you Say" also has that Happy Rhodes-end-of-album feel to it, though I'm sure I'll be reminded that it wasn't originally the last track on *Rearmament.* }you know, oddly enough, the fact that _the keep_ is a compilation has }stigmatized it for me. i'm just not as interested in exploring a }compilation (by a single artist anyways) as an album of all-new material. That's probably why I don't listen to it as much as I otherwise would, as with *Rhodesongs,* but the one thing that keeps me coming back to it is my recollection of the fact that every time I listen to it, I think, "You know, that's a damn good album; I really ought to listen to it more." - --Paul ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:42:36 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: More about 'The Keep', more about Happy Hi! Eponine posted: >In the meantime, I would be *ETERNALLY* grateful to anyone who could see >fit to e-mail me all/some/most/part/ANY of the lyrics to >all/some/most/part/ANY of the songs on 'The Keep". Happy enunciates >very well in her singing compared to a lot of people, but there are >still parts here and there that I'm having trouble making out. I've >checked the Ecto website and there is no lyric page for 'The Keep', at >least not that I can find. Any help would be appreciated! Patience, grasshopper ... :) Vickie has been hard at work, and I have on my hard drive the lyrics files for _The Keep_ right this very moment. I just have to add a couple navigation things and upload them, maybe even tonight. It'll definitely be very very soon. (I uploaded the lyrics files for _MWABT_ last night. I was waiting to publicize that fact until I was sure nothing's broken, but what the heck. :) Thanks go to Vickie for putting these files together, too.) +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | | *** TRAJECTORY, the Veda Hille mailing list: *** | | *** http://www.smoe.org/meth/trajectory.html *** | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:52:02 -0500 From: meredith Subject: In my infinite wisdom, I fonted: >Patience, grasshopper ... :) You'd think after almost 10 years on the net I'd know to read everything before I send out a reply. Sorry to waste the bandwidth ... but now I guess you all know for certain and for sure that those lyrics for _The Keep_ *are* going up on the ecto pages, dammit! :) +==========================================================================+ | Meredith Tarr meth@smoe.org | | New Haven, CT USA http://www.smoe.org/~meth | +==========================================================================+ | "things are more beautiful when they're obscure" -- veda hille | | *** TRAJECTORY, the Veda Hille mailing list: *** | | *** http://www.smoe.org/meth/trajectory.html *** | +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 21:00:31 -0600 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: A new confession: I was wrong about Happy! At 11:45 AM 12/14/98 -0800, Eponine wrote: >Dear Vickie, Neile, Kevin E. and everyone else, > >I took your advice and listened to 'The Keep'. From the first few >strains of "Temporary and Eternal" I thought, "Oh, yes!" When Happy's >voice comes in, "he is broken, far from free/words were spoken 'tween >him and me..." I was thinking, "Oh I LOVE this!" and by the time her >lower register voice appears several lines later, "well he walks to the >gate and he looks behind..." in my mind I was screaming, "Omigod, >omigod!! I *LOVE* this!!! This is my kind of music!!!" I listened to The Keep (I've been on a Keep binge since you posted) and reading your writing while listening gives me goose bumps. What's wonderful about this is that you're so good at expressing emotions. As I'm listening, I try to hear it the way you're hearing it, as an instant fan starting from scratch. It's impossible, I have too much history, not to mention being very familiar with the original versions of album songs, but no matter. It's still thrilling to *imagine* how these songs are opening themselves up to you, and your words transport me back to the first time I heard all my favorite songs. (Not all of my favorites, simply because many of my favorite Happy songs took me quite a few listens, or quite a while, to appreciate. They needed to settle themselves into a comfortable niche in my psyche. Some songs went to sleep there for years, then they'd wake up at some point in the future and yell "HEY, remember me?" and I vaguely would, and I'd listen again with new ears and they'd become my new best friends, or at least, really good friends.) Btw, I think you'll *love* the original version of this "Temporary and Eternal" too. It's magical. (It's way too short though) Pay no attention to those heathens in the peanut gallery. :-) And anyway, it's thrilling just to listen to these songs, because they're so great! I can tell you that I am *lovinglovingloving* hearing your reactions. You are so articulate, and especially with regards to emotions. When you talk, I go "yah! yeah! yep! that's it!" and just seeing your name in the header causes me to break out into a big old grin. I think you're wonderful! >There is something - as Tom Ditto wrote - strangely, thrillingly >familiar about her music. It's as if every single song on 'The Keep' >sprang into existence fully-formed and perfect, and has been hanging >there in the atmosphere on a different frequency, waiting for those like >me to wake up and tune in. These songs of hers lack that quaint, >self-conscious awkwardness that most things created from scratch by >humans possess. I'm hooked!! : ) That is so great! You and Tom have hit it on the head. The Keep versions and especially too most of the songs on the "1st4" are exactly like that for me too. They were so familiar, but not because I'd heard them before, not because I'd heard anything like them before, and not because of Happy's high voice sounding like Kate's. "Strangely, thrillingly familiar" "Shock of recognition" ...yeah, it's impossible to explain, but I know, I know what you're talking about. You'd better give me your phone number, because if you lose net access before (or after!) you get the albums you ordered, I'm going to have a heart attack. >"Temporary and Eternal" is extraordinary and beautiful and transcendent >and now owns a special place in my heart. I consider it my first real >Happy Rhodes experience. It has a melancholy beauty that really appeals >to me, on top of some really spare but profound lyrics. But every song >on 'The Keep' touches me; yes, every single one. Yes, me too. (If I don't watch it I'll turn into an AOL ad). The song that owns a special place in my heart because it was the one to smack me upside the head and tell me I was going to be a Happy fan for life is one from the album Ecto, called "Off From Out From Under Me." It was on a tape someone made for me. (If you're interested I'll write the story of how I got into Happy. It's a very convoluted story, as Carol unfortunately found out when I tried to condense it for her in person) > I even love her Yes >medley, and Yes is a band that I don't know at all other than those two >songs that got radio airplay back in the mid-seventies. I know, I love it too. I was very very into Yes at a certain time in my life, which is that same '70's Fragile, Close To The Edge, Relayer, Tales time frame. I think the last Yes album I bought was Tormato. I didn't stop being into them because I stopped liking them, I just...I don't know, was buying other things. Happy's a real Trevor head though, so I've been meaning to catch up from 90215, but I, well, keep being out of round Tuits (not to mention money). This Yes Medley is a revelation. Truly wonderful. I wonder if any current or former members of Yes have heard it. (Suzanne?) >I came out of my reverie at one point to discover myself sobbing at "Bye >Moon", just thinking, "Oh she was SO YOUNG here. So young and so >talented: I wish it were me!" As Jeff said, wait until you hear "The Wretches Gone Awry." Or "Given In" or "Step Inside" or "Oh The Drears" or "Possessed" or "Come Here" or "Under And Over The Brink" or "To The Funnyfarm" or "Til The Dawn Breaks" or "Friend You'll Be" or "Dreams Are" or "Crystal Orbs" or "Because I Learn" or really, damn, just about every song on her first 3 albums, all written between the ages of around 14 to 20. It's really disgusting how talented she was. (Still is, of course!) She wrote most of the songs for the album "Ecto" when she was 22, in a 2 week period. Every song on that thing is jaw-droppingly wonderful, but some are true classics, like "Would That I Could" and "If So" and "Ode" and "Don't Want To Hear It" and "To Be E. Mortal" (and of course, for me, "Off From Out From Under Me"). You have so many treats ahead of you! I wouldn't worry about not liking anything else Happy does. I don't see that happening. I see you falling in love with most of it, and the ones you don't like will end up being a minority number. (How's *that* for a bold prediction!) >'The Keep' is an instant classic for me, like finding a long-lost, much >beloved teddy bear that you have a vague memory of from when you were >still in your crib. Oh the mix of emotions one would feel if he >stumbled across that teddy bear at a garage sale! Again, there is >something inexplicably familiar, giving me a strange, dizzy, deja-vu >feeling. I've heard that a lot of people feel an unaccountable sense of >familiarity, of rediscovery, when they visit Africa for the first time, >the birthplace of our species. This is something like the emotions I >felt when listening to 'The Keep' (over and over and over again!) this >weekend. It is truly angelic music, if I may borrow that description >from Kevin E. I also enjoyed reading the playfully witty liner notes. >But they made me realize how much I've been missing. I love it! Love it all! I just had to quote it again! >Mea culpa to all. (Gee I hope Happy didn't read that first post where I >said I didn't like her. Nah, she doesn't read Ecto. But I did send her *this* post. I hope you don't mind. I can't speak for her reaction (she hasn't told me) but I'll bet it made her cry (or at least sniffle a bit). Well, it would me if I were her. It made *me* cry! >MWABT will be set aside to be re-evaluated in a >new light at a later date!) This will go into a new message. I'm glad to hear you say it. > NOW I understand why this woman inspires >such devotion from her fans. We none of us want to be alone in our >existence in this life, and we live in constant denial that we ARE >alone. Those special ones who make us feel *CONNECTED* to one another >through media liked music deserve to be admired and, yes, loved, even >when we don't know them personally. Yesyesyesyesyes. >Now I must go back to the Ecto home page and learn all about Happy >Rhodes. Like for example: why is she called "Happy" when her music >expresses a decidedly melancholy bent?! Her lyrics can be quite dark, especially the earlier ones. (Oh, wait 'til you see her monsters). You'd never know it to meet her and/or see her live. She's a born comedian, funny as hell! (She wasn't really like that at these most recent shows though, at least not the 3 I saw, but I think that's because she had a lot of pressure on her, and the technical problems were frustrating. I'm not basing this on anything Happy said, it's just my own theory.) >Please pardon my effusiveness. I'm sure I will be embarrassed of it >later. But can y'all tell I'm excited to have finally discovered >Happy?! I hope the reactions you've gotten have quelled any embarrassment you may briefly have felt just after sending the post. I know that Carol and I could listen to you talk like this all day long. > And to think: I've had 'The Keep' since August, and only just >now, at you folks's urging, unwrapped it. How strange that it might >have gone unlistened to forever if I hadn't posted my original post. >Hmmm. Amazing too! There's something special about this mailing list that's hard to put into words. It started with a philosophy of tolerance and it's kept up, without a moderator or a leader, through all these years. If you had been flamed, you would gone away and never listened to Happy again (by choice, anyway) and I am *SO PROUD* of us, that by our responses we turned a sad, distressing (for some of us) situation into one that ended up being so joyful and thrilling (definitely for me). >Eternal thanks to all of you for beseaching me with all your might to >give 'The Keep' a listen. I feel fortunate to own this recording. It >is really a treasure. Vickie (that melted puddle on the floor) np: Rearmament, yes, that's helping with the melting. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #437 **************************