From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V4 #456 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Wednesday, December 30 1998 Volume 04 : Number 456 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Kitchens of Distinction [Neile Graham ] Re: My Short List of 1998 Faves ["C. K. Coney" ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction [Jeff Burka ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction [Michael Colford ] Re: My Short List of 1998 Faves [Dirk Kastens ] Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds [jfrancis@villagenet.com] Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds [Neile Graham ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer [J Wermont ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer [Jeff Burka ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer [Old Spice ] Re: Merrill Bainbridge and other Eponine's points [Stuart Myerburg ] most listened to of 98 [Dave Williamson ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction [Stuart Myerburg ] Michael Stipe (was Re: Kitchens of Distinction [Old Spice ] Re: now reading... [Stuart Myerburg ] sickly-sweet [desmond in a tutu ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction [desmond in a tutu ] Re: Kitchens of Distinction ["Tim" ] Re: disagree with Woj on Sister Soleil... [desmond in a tutu ] Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds [Richard ] Hockey Night In Canada [Jo Yoshida ] Moving east! [DanS ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 10:33:29 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction Michael Colford wrote: >n.p.: Liz Phair - Whitechocolatespaceegg (which has no gay connection >that I can think of off the top of my head!) Well, Pansy Division did a hilarious cover of "Flower", the most explicit song from her first album, _Exile in Guyville_. That's a rather roundabout connection but it is one at least. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 13:40:59 -0800 From: "C. K. Coney" Subject: Re: My Short List of 1998 Faves Eponine wrote: > I have not yet heard these artists' '98 releases (but would like to > eventually): > > Lauryn Hill > Beck > REM > Golden Smog > Smashing Pumpkins > Patty Griffin > Marilyn Manson > K's Choice > October Project Wait a second...my heart wants to leap for joy, but still I think there's some mistake here, 'cause I heard they had broken up. Am I totally out of the loop, somehow missing important and exciting news that would definitely improve my quality of life? Carol ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 13:39:41 -0500 (EST) From: Jeff Burka Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction charley sez: > > The Klezmatics have come up on ecto several times in the last several > > months (in conjunction with a planned-then-canceled concert with Susan > > McKeown, in the Saddest Songs thread, etc) and nobody mentioned that > > they're a queer band either. (gotta love a man singing a line like > > "But a man so greek in his physique in New York I adore". > Now see, I never knew the Klezmatics had lyrics like that. I kind of > wish someone had mentioned it before; now I'm curious about them. Now > what do you suppose _that_ means? For future reference: two of the five Klezmatics are gay, Lorin Sklamberg (lead singer and accordionist) and Alicia Svigals, violinist). One of the other 3, one is straight, goy Paul Morrissette, straight Frank London, and a-clarinetist-who-seems-to-change-with-every-album. As they mostly perform traditional music in that oh-so-NY klezmer-jazz-whatever fusion that they helped invent (reinvent?), they haven't done too much with explicitly gay lyrics (though there _is_ that verse they added to "Alle Brider" which, in yiddish, sez "We're all gay, like Jonathan and King David"). And I can't in good conscience really recommend klezmer to most people; it's an acquired taste. The earlier song I mentioned is "Man in a Hat" on _Jews With Horns_. To scare the hell out of Charley, I will now point out that this song has BVs by Moxy Fruvous. Also of note is that the Klezmatics have worked with Tony Kushner (of _Angels in America_ fame), who wrote the lyrics to some pieces on _Possessed_. For those keeping score: I wasn't offended by Charlie's post, I'm not about to launch an all-out flame war, and y'all can stop worrying. > > np: _Up_, REM (fronted, of course, by finally-out-homo Michael Stipe) > > I must really be out of it; this is the first I've heard of this. > What's the story? I don't know the details, but every time I see an article about REM in the planetout e-mail digest, they refer to him as "openly gay Michael Stipe." I vaguely recall him mentioning it in an interview last year. Maybe someone else has more details. jeff ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 13:49:58 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Colford Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction On Tue, 29 Dec 1998, Neile Graham wrote: > Michael Colford wrote: > > >n.p.: Liz Phair - Whitechocolatespaceegg (which has no gay connection > >that I can think of off the top of my head!) > > Well, Pansy Division did a hilarious cover of "Flower", the most explicit > song from her first album, _Exile in Guyville_. You're right! I loved their version! It was quite an interesting version of her excellent song! Thanks Neile! Michael n.p. - Holly Cole Trio - Treasure - -------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Colford | Reading Public Library Head of Technical Services | Reading, Massachusetts colford@noblenet.org | *North of Boston Library Exchange* - -------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 21:40:33 +0100 From: Dirk Kastens Subject: Re: My Short List of 1998 Faves At 11:58 29.12.98 -0800, Eponine wrote: >the Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets Yes, I have this, too. It contains only two great songs: The Dreaming Tree (one of the best songs of 1998) and Rapunzel. The rest of the album is below this level, IMO. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 15:16:19 -0500 From: jfrancis@villagenet.com Subject: Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds >Charley(Old Spice) wrote: >Sadly, yes, for you, and for others who would wish artistic stagnation >upon Kate or any other artist. >No; sheís simply outgrown the emotional state that produced _TD_ and >_HoL_ as honest artistic expressions, and has become the woman for >whom _TSW_ and _TRS_ are closer to her present truth. >How much harder for Kate to continually reinvent herself artistically; >to reevaluate her relationship to her art with every new foray. For us >to demand that she continue recycling husks of her greatest creations >is to demand that she be true to her fansí desires, not to her own art. Yes , I totally agree with you and understand the music produced at a certain time in an artists life is a snapshop of where they're at. I'm not against evolution and am as much against stagnation as yourself, I like each album to be different; after all its quite a leap from Kick Inside to Lionheart to Never for Ever to Dreaming to Hounds! What I mean to say is ,that, inspite of this, the last two seemed to me the beginning of the dimunition of that "creative spark." Sort of like how an actor is critiqued to have "walked through the part" And yes, the listeners personality changes too, and may not empathize with the artist. I'm very curious about the artist/fan dynamic and what this relationship means. What, perhaps goes through the artists mind as fans gush over them, and the artist is left to wonder, "why all this fuss about me?" As Kate B. has said..."Enough about Kate! ; she's not that interesting" These threads don't catch on, apparently. Either it has no value here or 'cause I'm not a regular poster. Perhaps a listing of my all time fave songs........... And what they mean to me. Nevertheless; Thanks for your opinions, Charley! :>) >Steve VanDevender chimed in: >From long experience I've found that the best response to many a >fool's foolishness is to leave it unanswered. Especially when >some fools are so persistently foolish. >If you lurk here, and think ecto is >missing something that you want to see, the best way to get it >out there is to post something yourself. Feeling like you're not >"in" enough to post here is like sitting in a corner at a party >and thinking "this party sucks, no one is talking to me" without >ever trying to introduce yourself to anyone. Well, H-E- double hockeysticks! For Gosh sakes, Steve, I did say no offense; it was my perception. Charley focused on the meat of the post concerning Kates artistry, you chose to focus on my little jibe. Did Santa get you a lump of coal for Christmas and you're taking it out on me? ;>) Sorry if I ruffled your feathers >To: Richard See above Ooh -Ooh! Kitchens of Distinction....... I have one of their albums! Oh , you nasty man ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 12:33:34 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds jfrancis@villagenet.com wrote: >Yes , I totally agree with you and understand the music >produced at a certain time in an artists life is a snapshop of >where they're at. I'm not against evolution and am as much >against stagnation as yourself, I like each album to be different; >after all its quite a leap from Kick Inside to Lionheart to Never for Ever >to Dreaming to Hounds! Yes, it is a leap. >What I mean to say is ,that, inspite of this, the last two >seemed to me the beginning of the dimunition of that "creative >spark." Sort of like how an actor is critiqued to have "walked through >the part" For me it's not that she's stopped developing as an artist, but more that instead of leaping forward she's growing deeper, sinking roots farther down into "her" territory. While I see the flaws that others see in _The Sensual World_ and _The Red Shoes_, particularly, I still find them deep albums, and for me in some ways they are richer even than _The Dreaming_ and "The Ninth Wave" sequence. "The Sensual World" itself is probably my favourite Kate song. "The Red Shoes" is one of her most powerful songs. The core of _The Red Shoes_ album is amazing to me. I seriously don't like several songs on the album, but those central songs to me are among her best, most complex-&-simple-at-the-same-time songs. But I've said this here before. >These threads don't catch on, apparently. Either it has no value here or >'cause I'm not a regular poster. More likely because people feel a little talked out about Kate--probably most people on this list already know my feelings about her and her albums. It's interesting to me, though, that I'm the same age as Kate, and my own creative endeavours have paralleled hers in some small ways. I was smart enough to suppress my equivalent to Lionheart, though, but I feel as I get older my writing gets richer because of knowledge and experience and I'm doing work now that I could never have done in my teens or twenties, and I think that's true of Kate's work, too. - --Neile - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 13:18:29 -0800 (PST) From: J Wermont Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer I feel vaguely responsible for this conversation since there was a quote from me asking about them. Amazingly, I posted that question about 3 or 4 months ago. Better be careful what I say around here. :) I like KoD in theory - that is, I love the whole idea of their layered, textured sound. But somehow it doesn't seem to come together most of the time, I don't know why. Maybe it's that I don't like the lead singer's voice. Most of the songs sound annoying to me. The one song that really captures what I would like the band to be is the title track to their album... now I can't remember the exact name - Cowboys and Aliens? You know the one I mean. That's such a great tune - love that rushing momentum. Nothing else they've done really measures up to that, IMO. So, I'm queer and I have mixed feelings about KoD - what does that mean? For that matter, I'm Jewish and I hate klezmer music. What does *that* mean? :) Joyce ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:44:48 -0500 (EST) From: Jeff Burka Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer On Tue, 29 Dec 1998, J Wermont wrote: > So, I'm queer and I have mixed feelings about KoD - what does that > mean? For that matter, I'm Jewish and I hate klezmer music. What does > *that* mean? :) Heh. I know lots of queer jews who hate klezmer, straight jews who hate, and hell, we haven't even gotten to the the feygeleh goyim who hate it, and, well, all the other people who hate it. Definitely an acquired taste. Hence my comment in an earlier post today about not actually recommending it to anyone. ;-) jeff np: _The Covenant_, Wally Brill (finally managed to get through _Up_, after lots of fits and starts) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 16:55:12 -0500 From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction Jeff Burka wrote: > I don't know the details, but every time I see an article about REM in the > planetout e-mail digest, they refer to him as "openly gay Michael Stipe." > I vaguely recall him mentioning it in an interview last year. Maybe > someone else has more details. I'm not sure exactly when he finally started talking about it. But I just saw an R.E.M. Behind the Music special on VH-1 and Michael Stipe was talking about his "queerness" and said he felt forced to talk about it after much media speculation. He implied this happened at least 4 or 5 years ago. Stuart np: Isle of View - The Pretenders nr: Good Times/Bad Times - James Kirkwood - -- ______________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart ______________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:03:09 -0800 (PST) From: Old Spice Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction, and klezmer - ---J Wermont wrote: > > > > So, I'm queer and I have mixed feelings about KoD - what does that > mean? Um, that you dig chicks but not necessarily KoD. > For that matter, I'm Jewish and I hate klezmer music. What does > *that* mean? :) Um, that you're circumcised and have good taste. > Joyce - --charley (don't anyone even MAKE me say I'm just kidding about the circumcision) _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 17:03:12 -0500 From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: Re: Merrill Bainbridge and other Eponine's points Andrew Fries wrote: > > I heard a song by Merrill Bainbridge on a TV drama [snip] > > Does anyone here at Ecto like her? Can recommend one of her CDs? Or is > > she a crap prefab artist ala Natalie Imbruglia?! Any comments > > apprreciated! > > " Crap" is in the eye of the beholder - but she's not prefab. She's just > genuinely into writing terribly chirpy, bubble-gum happy songs. Sort of > like the Cardigans, or St. Etienne... If you like these, you might enjoy > MB. I can't really speak to Merrill Bainbridge since I've only heard "Mouth" and thought it was indeed too sickly sweet. But as far as the Cardigans and Saint Etienne, I wouldn't call them "bubble gum" or overly happy. Both of their recent CDs are in my top 10 of this year (which I need to write up eventually). The new Cardigans is much, much darker than their previous output. But even the earlier stuff that sounds happy and bouncy on the surface is actually much less cheery when you actually listen to the lyrics. And, while Saint Etienne have a number of songs which are very upbeat, I would hesitate to call their music perky or cheery. Stuart still playing: Isle of View - The Pretenders - -- ______________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart ______________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:07:57 -0800 (PST) From: Old Spice Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction - ---Stuart Myerburg wrote: > > just saw an R.E.M. Behind the Music special on VH-1 and Michael Stipe > was talking about his "queerness" and said he felt forced to talk about > it after much media speculation. He implied this happened at least 4 or > 5 years ago. I don't THINK so, unless I'm WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more out of it than I thought. Unless maybe me means he began five years ago to talk to his goldfish about it or something. ("Bubbles, I think you should sit down.") - --ch _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 17:07:11 -0800 From: Dave Williamson Subject: most listened to of 98 A top 10 seems arbitrary, but here is the list of CDs released and purchased this year that found their way onto my private airwaves on a frequent basis (in no particular order). They all fit certain moods and activities, and require different volume levels for appreciation. A * marks a personal surprise for me - gems that appeared after low expectation of a strike. Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road R.E.M., Up *Liz Phair, whitechocolatespaceegg Pearl Jam, Yield *Hole, Celebrity Skin Kristin Hersh, Strange Angels Patty Griffin, Flaming Red Cowboy Junkies, Miles from our Home Tori Amos, The Choirgirl Hotel The Afghan Whigs, 1965 Dave Matthews Band, Before These Crowded Streets *Elivs Costello with Burt Bacharach, Painted from Memory Probably a sacrilege to not include MWABT on my list when posting here, but this one just didn't do a lot for me. In my opinion, it just felt a little too over-executed. Those that felt the same way about it will know where I'm coming from. And those that don't I've probably just pissed off... :) But my disappointment with MWABT is trivialized by Joni Mitchell's Taming the Tiger which was far from the mark of something I care to listen to at any meaningful frequency. Regards, Dave. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 17:29:20 -0500 From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction Old Spice wrote: > > just saw an R.E.M. Behind the Music special on VH-1 and Michael Stipe > > was talking about his "queerness" and said he felt forced to talk > about > > it after much media speculation. He implied this happened at least > 4 or > > 5 years ago. > > I don't THINK so, unless I'm WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more out of it than I > thought. Unless maybe me means he began five years ago to talk to his > goldfish about it or something. ("Bubbles, I think you should sit > down.") He's definitely one of those celebrities who acts as if this is no big revelation, even though they've danced around the subject for years. But I do remember reading an interview with him in some gay publication many years back where he was asked about his orientation and he referred to himself as an "equal opportunity letch," at least hinting at being bisexual. But whatever the case, he's completely out now. Stuart - -- ______________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart ______________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:43:04 -0800 (PST) From: Old Spice Subject: Michael Stipe (was Re: Kitchens of Distinction - ---Stuart Myerburg wrote: > >...he was asked about his orientation and he referred > to himself as an "equal opportunity letch," at least hinting at being > bisexual. But whatever the case, he's completely out now. These are mutually exclusive, of course; I still want to see a smoking gun! - --ch _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 14:42:30 -0800 (PST) From: J Wermont Subject: now reading... Stuart wrote: > nr: Good Times/Bad Times - James Kirkwood This was my #1 favorite book for many years! (It's been quite a while since I've read it, and other favorites have since come and gone.) Is this your first time reading it - or maybe your 2nd or 10th or 20th? :) Joyce ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 18:48:34 -0500 From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: Re: now reading... J Wermont wrote: > > nr: Good Times/Bad Times - James Kirkwood > > This was my #1 favorite book for many years! (It's been quite a while > since I've read it, and other favorites have since come and gone.) Is > this your first time reading it - or maybe your 2nd or 10th or 20th? :) It's my first time. I have a friend who's been pressuring me for years to read it because it's one of her favorites. I absolutely love it. I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally get around to it. It was also impossible to find a copy since _GT/BT_ (along with all of his novels) are all out of print for some reason. Stuart - -- ______________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart ______________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 19:09:36 -0500 From: desmond in a tutu Subject: sickly-sweet the only sickly-sweet thing about ecto is everybody reminded everybody else over and over that ecto is a wonderful place! bleah bleah! ;) +w ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 19:07:19 -0500 From: desmond in a tutu Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction also sprach Old Spice: >Why is it important--or even relevant--that a >band's queer identity be mentioned whenever such a band is referred to >on Ecto? frankly, i don't know if it is ever important, but it can be relevant, specifically when the artist in question makes their queerness an issue. >but I have less respect for public >figures who don't choose to be honest about themselves than I do for >those who do; I've always felt kind of let down by Michael Stipe. do you think not explicitly identifying yourself as queer when there is no need to is dishonest? woj n.p. his name is alive -- ft. lake ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 11:49:30 +0000 From: "Tim" Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction - ---------- >From: Old Spice >To: ecto >Subject: Re: Kitchens of Distinction >Date: Tue, Dec 29, 1998, 3:17 PM > >--and I drop _that_ theory. Anyone have any other theories? I don't >remember; did KoD come up in the gay-artist thread of a couple months >back? Tim, Jeff, did you know they were gay? Wow. One innocent post and twelve hours later a whole thread's gotten going and already gotten off the topic. Well! Yes I knew that Patrick of KoD was gay, firstly through lyrics, though I think the album I have is the least obvious in that regard, because half the album is about women (not in a love sense so much as a sympathetic observation of their lives sense...um...does this sound coherent?) Also I've read a few online interviews and a biography, so I know a bit of the background (performing in drag and whatnot, the (false) rumor that they met in a Turkish Sauna etc. etc. etc.) I didn't mention it though because I was chiefly referring to the band's sound, which is great on record at least. I am quite interested in KoD's position in musical history, as the post-Smiths, pre-Britpop period of British music is perhaps the most interesting musical era for me (although I was too young to appreciate it.) KoD perhaps best encapsulated all the trends that you see - The Smiths' jangle and meloncholy, at times the baggy beat of The Stone Roses and Madchester, the thick, layered guitars of the shoegazer scene and the androgynous/bisexual Bowie-references of Suede. I consider them to be much more "important" in subverting genre roles than gender roles. Oh god, I'm going to be a music historian, I can just tell. Anyway, I love Patrick's lyrics, but while the fact that they are gay-oriented should appeal to me (what am I saying? Heh!) it is not that factor which I appreciate most in them. What I love about Patrick's words is his capacity for empathy. Something like "Quick As Rainbows" is fantastic lyrically because Patrick uses his experiences as a gay man to make observations about a lifestyle completely foreign to him. When he does talk about his homosexuality, it is in reference to relationships just as universal as heterosexual ones, and people who are either thrilled or disgusted by it are probably incredibly narrow-minded either way, as these words could often just as easily be the product of a female singer as a gay male singer. Patrick's miserable stories remind me of Morrissey anyway, whose tendency towards homoeroticism is more interesting simply because it is so vague and unsubstantiated. I recently bought Hatful Of Hollow (The Smiths) and the way he runs "This Charming Man", "How Soon Is Now?", "You Handsome Devil" and "Hand In Glove" together suggests some sort of conceptual thread which, if I were to guess, details some formative experience. The fact that this is being sung by an otherwise apparantly heterosexual male makes it more of an ilicit thrill - strange then that nobody talks about it really, yet the world still likes to define bands like KoD as ostensibly "gay" bands. You'd think it wouldn't matter, but its a symptom of music appreciation today - we still seize upon anything *except* the music to talk about. Regards, Tim ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 19:54:29 -0500 From: desmond in a tutu Subject: Re: disagree with Woj on Sister Soleil... also sprach Melissa B: >I some how missed my ecto email from Dec. 13th until yesterday. I read >Woj's opinion on Sister Soleil and I really disagree. However I do >understand that this music may not be his cup of tea. i wouldn't say that electronic music is my cup of tea either, but i don't automatically dismiss it just because it is electronic. i confess to not being bitten by the "electronica" bug, but i don't think it takes more for an electronic-based band to impress me than any other genre. (for what it's worth, my "review" of this album was "interesting, but not enough to keep me listening".) >I admit this is not music for most ecto listeners but many >ecto listeners are into the electronic music also. This is an album for >those listeners.... perhaps. depends on if they like any electronic music, or just certain segments of that rather ill-defined and wide-ranging genre. woj n.p. his name is alive - ft. lake (again!) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 20:52:14 -0500 From: Stuart Myerburg Subject: Top 10 for 1998 1. From the Choirgirl Hotel - Tori Amos I was a bit concerned that this CD was too instantly likeable and might not have the staying power of _Boys for Pele_ for me. But even though I liked it almost immediately, I have yet to tire of it. "Spark" and "Hotel" still amaze me every time I listen to them. And for some reason, the melody and layered background voices on "iieee" always sound to me like something Happy would record. 2. Try Whistling This - Neil Finn The songs are not quite as linear and poppy as Neil's work with Split Enz and Crowded House. But once you wrap your brain around the complex melodies, you discover an album that is filled with rich, haunting music. 3. Is This Desire? - PJ Harvey PJ melds the electronics she experimented with briefly on _To Bring You My Love_ and the sparser sounds of the highly underrated _Dance Hall at Louse Point_ to excellent effect. There are a couple of missteps (like "Electric Light"), but overall it's PJ's most mature album yet. 4. Many Worlds Are Born Tonight - Happy Rhodes I fell in love with the second half of this album on my first listen. Songs like "Tragic" and "Looking Over Cliffs" are instant Happy classics. And, "Proof" reminded me of something that should be on David Bowie's _Outside_. But the first half of the album actually didn't click with me until last week when I was listening to it and it all just seemed to work. The whole CD just has a wonderfully lush feel to it and shows that even though I didn't think there was any need for improvement, Happy just keeps getting better. 5. Big Calm - Morcheeba I hate to call it trip hop, but I guess that's the category they would fit into. Their sound is like an upbeat Portishead, with more lush orchestration. Some songs also incorporate elements of jazz, reggae, and folk. A very impressive sophomore effort. 6. Gran Turismo - The Cardigans This is a big leap for the Cardigans. I personally didn't think _First Band on the Moon_ was that treacly. But I can understand how some people would be put off by it. _Gran Turismo_ is darker and moodier than that album, though. There are also major hints of electronica and trip hop, which could have sounded like bandwagon hopping but instead work very well in the context of the new sound. 7. Up - R.E.M. To me, this is still classic R.E.M., just a little bit more electronic in spots. Another great record from a band that rarely makes bad ones. 8. Rufus Wainwright His voice could probably irritate a few people, but I actually don't mind it. However, it's the music I really love on this album. It's unlike anything else out there right now, harkening back to music of decades ago. Thoroughly original. 9. Version 2.0 - Garbage Their eponymous debut is still better. But as glossy and calculated as I thought this was on first listen, I now think it's actually filled with extremely catchy, well-crafted songs that shine through the occasional gloss. 10. Little Plastic Castle - Ani DiFranco While she's not breaking any new ground on this one, it's still a good collection of Ani tunes. My only complaint is that the version of "Gravel" that made it on to the album pales in comparison to the one on _Living in Clip_. Honorable Mentions: 1. Ray of Light - Madonna 2. This is Hardcore - Pulp 3. Formica Blue - Mono 4. Tin Planet - Space 5. Good Humour - Saint Etienne 6. Celebrity Skin - Hole 7. The Sky is Too High - Graham Coxon 8. Duality - Lisa Gerrard 9. In a Doghouse - Throwing Muses 10. The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian Disappointments: 1. Fort Lake - His Name is Alive While this album is a huge improvement over _Stars on E.S.P._ and especially the _Nice Day_ EP, I still don't like it. I know I can't hope for a remake of _Mouth by Mouth_ every time. But I just hate the direction HNIA is going. 2. Strange Angels - Kristin Hersh This is not a bad album at all. It just sounds very bland after the utter brilliance of _Hips and Makers_. I did like _Murder, Misery, and Then Goodnight_, though, so hopefully Kristin will put out another batch of originals that are as powerful as _Hips and Makers_. Stuart - -- ______________________________________________ Stuart Myerburg http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~stuart ______________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:09:55 -0500 From: Richard Subject: Re: no output from k.b./love-hounds jfrancis@villagenet.com wrote: > > Well, H-E- double hockeysticks! For Gosh sakes, Steve, I did say > no offense; it was my perception. > Charley focused on the meat of the post concerning Kates artistry, > you chose to focus on my little jibe. Did Santa get you a lump of > coal for Christmas and you're taking it out on me? ;>) > Sorry if I ruffled your feathers > > >To: Richard > See above No feathers ruffled and no offense taken, buddy.... :) I merely responded to the part of your message that piqued my interest, the "jibe"- I really had nothing of value to add to the "meat", so I didn't. :-P Richard, who is enoying his newly aquired coal lumps - ----double hockeysticks??? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 21:44:47 -0700 From: Jo Yoshida Subject: Hockey Night In Canada At 22:09 -0500 29/12/98, Richard wrote: [ ----double hockeysticks??? H-E-L-L Sorry, being a Canuck and all, I had to show me appreciation. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 23:33:07 -0500 From: DanS Subject: Moving east! Hi folks, I'm unsubscribed right now due to a move, so I hope this makes it onto the list.... First of all, it seems like it's been forever since I posted. I've been occupied for the last couple of months travelling back and forth between my hometown of Toronto, ON and New York City. The trips have paid off, and I will be starting a great new job in New York next week. So I hope to see some of you east coast ectophiles at some shows in the next little while, and please feel free to add me to your contact lists for organizing such rendezvous. :) Meanwhile, I'm also searching for an apartment in the New York City area, so if any of you live around there and have a suitable lead to pass on I'd love to hear from you :) I did manage to catch a few shows in New York during my trips there in November-December, including Sarah Slean, Steve Poltz, and not one but THREE Tori concerts - Poughkeepsie, Newark and State College, PA. Not bad considering I thought I had missed Tori altogether on this tour, but my friend in NY is an obsessed fan (well aren't all Tori fans?) who convinced me to go to all three, and it worked out amazingly well as we scored better seats at two of them on the day of the show than we had in Newark, where I had bought advance tickets. The happy news is that the shows were all quite different from each other, so it wasn't like a rerun the second two times around. Tori manages to mix up the setlists quite nicely. Newark in particular featured lots of older stuff, including some B-Side material I never thought I'd hear live (ie: Mary). I also caught Imogen Heap at CBGB's Gallery in NYC while I was there. Wow, she was wonderful - I was instantly hooked, bought the CD at the show and got to say hello to her. :) If you've heard her CD but haven't seen her live, you might be surprised to know I thought her live performance was way better than the CD! She performed solo, accompanying herself only on piano to songs that have no piano whatsoever in them on the CD. The difference was remarkable - the songs stood on their own without all that production and distortion, sounding much more passionate and sincere to my ears. In concert she reminded me a little of Tori, naturally, along with Tasmin Archer - same sort of deep smooth voice and pronounced British accent as Tasmin. I heard none of the Alanis sound that comes across on track one of the CD in particular. That seems to be a product of the CD's dense, layered production. Sadly, due to a mind freeze I missed Veda Hille when she was there. I was in the tunnel to New Jersey at about 11pm when I looked at my friend and gasped, "what day is it???" Too late, we'd spent the evening running trivial errands and had forgotten all about the show, even though we had both marked it in our date books, which obviously neither of us refer to often enough. Next time we'll be there! Anyway, I must get back to my packing...looks like I should be in NYC in time to celebrate the New Year. :) I'll resubscribe as soon as I get a place of my own and can start using Eudora and a POP account. In the meantime, feel free to forward any replies directly to me at this address. I'll be back on the list when I get settled. Best! DanStark ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V4 #456 **************************