From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #15 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, January 11 1999 Volume 05 : Number 015 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Peter & Wendy [neal copperman ] Happy live! I'm in nirvana... ["Larry J. Hernandez" ] Live, Happy Rhodes live marathon Sunday! (Re: Happy live! I'm in nirvana... ["Xenu's Sister" ] 1998 Favorites [Rolf.Peukert@theoinf.tu-ilmenau.de (Rolf Peukert)] Re: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet [neal copperman <] cry^3 in nyt magazine [meredith ] Re: pepper acton [cinders blue ] RE: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet ["Foghorn J Forno] radio free ecto info [meredith ] song from soundtrack [meredith ] yes, it's that time... ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] collectibles (was Re: yes, it's that time...) [neal copperman ] Re: collectibles (was Re: yes, it's that time...) ["Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Peter & Wendy I'm going to be seeing Peter & Wendy at Berkeley on Friday, February 19th, along with Jeff Hanson, Sue Trowbridge, and former ecto lurker Susan Peterson. We'll undoubtedly have dinner first, so if anyone is interested in joining us for either dinner or the show, let me know. Tix are $29 and available from the Berkeley Rep Theater, info at http://www.berkeleyrep.org/html/box_office_info.html I'm flying out on Thursday and back on Tuesday morning, so if there is anything else going on, info would be appreciated (as always). Sue and I are also going to see Susan at Freight & Salvage on Monday night. That's all i have right now. neal np: Cry Cry Cry (My parents went to the show in DC, though they haven't given me a review yet. I wish I would have known they were going in advance, so I could have let DC ectophiles know to look for them. Could be an ok game if you were bored - spot neal's parents.) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Jan 1999 23:59:59 -0700 From: "Larry J. Hernandez" Subject: Happy live! I'm in nirvana... Yo 'philes, Listening to Happy live is like a day with sunshine. At midnight, in Bellingham WA., that's one pretty mean feat. Chatting with Vickie while doing it makes it all the more special. Thanks Vickie. I can't believe I'm listening to Happy live, finally. Even if it is a tape! Happy is an angel. :-) And I'm in heaven now. :) Larry (alundra@cio.net), who got winamp to work! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 05:10:29 -0600 From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Live, Happy Rhodes live marathon Sunday! (Re: Happy live! I'm in nirvana... (Ok, ok, so I lied about not posting to Ecto with this stuff... no apologies) At 11:59 PM 1/9/99 -0700, Larry J. Hernandez wrote: >Yo 'philes, > >Listening to Happy live is like a day with sunshine. At >midnight, in Bellingham WA., that's one pretty mean >feat. Chatting with Vickie while doing it makes it all >the more special. Thanks Vickie. I can't believe I'm >listening to Happy live, finally. Even if it is a tape! > >Happy is an angel. :-) And I'm in heaven now. :) You're an angel too! I'll be playing more later today (Sunday)...I'd like to do a Happy marathon, playing mainly live stuff but also more unusual things like Bartlett/Rhodes, Project Lo, Happy's songs from Kevin's albums, whatnot. The live stuff is so great. The quality of a few are not so hot, the quality of many are excellent. Even if she sings many of the same songs, her between song banter is worth hearing. (Though she turned off her natural personality for the first shows I have - 1992 - and the last, MWABT shows...dunno why, maybe she was nervous. Hear the *real* Happy in the concerts from 1996-97 at the Tin Angel & Bottom Line, and at Bearsville.) Anyway, I'll start playing more live Happy at 2:00pm CST, give or take. Keep in mind that Jeff's server can only handle 10 listeners at a time, so if you can't connect, don't assume it's your fault. The server could be full, it could be down, my system could be down, any number of things could be happening. If something serious goes wrong, I'll post to ecto-announce. If you connect and don't hear anything, don't assume it's your fault. It could be a lull while I'm changing tapes, any number of things. I'll be on EFnet #ecto, and I'll also post to my smoe web page what I'm playing, though it could be a few minutes after it starts before I get it up on the web page. (Imagine me putting a tape in and then html'izing and uploading as fast as possible) http:www.smoe.org/~vickie/sig/ I probably won't be playing things in chronological order, unless she does 2 shows in one night (something she did a lot) and then I'll be playing both of them in order. Don't worry Mac users, I'll do this again once someone comes up with a Mac player that supports Shoutcast. (If someone does). I'll do it again anyway, Mac users or no, but I'd love for my Mac friends to be able to be a part of this. Write to the MacAmp people :-). After what's playing now is over I'm going to put in the Femme Music tape and get some sleep. Vickie Point WinAmp to: http://www2.smoe.org:8000/ ____________________________ http://www.smoe.org/~vickie/sig/ Suspended In Gaffa playlists ____________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 13:14:09 +0100 From: "Eveline" Subject: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet Hi :-) I just found the Ecto website & was in heaven .. it's awesome!! Spent the whole night surfing around, reading about artists etc. And it's great to find someone who shares my taste of music - most of the things I listen to are greek to my friends. Just subscribed to this mailinglist as well, so here's a little bit about me .. ; My name is Eveline, and I'm a 18 years old girl from Norway. I'm in the 2nd grade at upper secondary school, and in my sparetime I do aerobics twice a week, am with friends etc., and when I'm home I'm always listening to music. Music is like air for me, I can't live without it! Almost the only times I'm not listening to music is when I'm sleeping or in school. I'm a huge Tori Amos fan - she's the best!! My personal goddess :-) On a good second place comes Bjørk - another artist I love. Besides from them, I like artists like Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair, Catatonia, R.E.M, Ani DiFranko, Jewel, Sarah Brightman, Tracey Chapman, Enya (and many more), and a lot of Norwegian artists like Velvet Belly, Bel Canto, Ephemera, Bertine Zetlitz, Herborg Kråkevik and Anja Garbarek. I just bought what I think is Liz Phair's most recent CD ? - Whitechocolatespaceeggs - and I love it! Right now it's in my CD player constantly .. :-) *Buying CDs on internet* That's something I discovered while surfing the Ecto website - that several artists have given ut a lot of CDs - and only a few of those are available here in Norway. I guess many of those are possible to buy over the Internet - - but is this safe to do? *Sarah Slean* Another CD I'd like to buy - gotta ask the same question - is it safe? Well, that's all .. I think I'll just keep quiet for a while till I find out what you talk about here and how this works. Am so happy I found Ecto ..! (Cath - thanks!) Eveline ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ hansen@telko.no (Vestfold, Norway) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 17:01:08 +0100 From: Dirk Kastens Subject: Re: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet Welcome Eveline, At 13:14 10.01.99 +0100, Eveline wrote: >Hi :-) > >I just found the Ecto website & was in heaven .. it's awesome!! Spent the >whole night surfing around, reading about artists etc. And it's great to >find someone who shares my taste of music - most of the things I listen to >are greek to my friends. Just subscribed to this mailinglist as well, so >here's a little bit about me .. ; Seems that you have found the right place. >*Buying CDs on internet* >That's something I discovered while surfing the Ecto website - that several >artists have given ut a lot of CDs - and only a few of those are available >here in Norway. I guess many of those are possible to buy over the Internet >- but is this safe to do? Same with me. I discovered many interesting artists here on ecto, but only a few of them are available here in Germany. I consider to apply for a credit card to order directly from the USA. But I won't send my credit card number over the net if the server is insecure. In most cases you can order by snail mail. In German internet CD shops I'm paying by bank transfer. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 12:06:14 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet also sprach Eveline: >I just found the Ecto website & was in heaven .. it's awesome!! welcome to the list! we already have a couple norwegians here (although they have been slightly silent lately), so velvet belly and bel canto and kari bremnes are familiar names here. however, please tell us more about >Ephemera, Bertine Zetlitz, Herborg Kråkevik i don't think i've heard any of their names before. >*Buying CDs on internet* >That's something I discovered while surfing the Ecto website - that several >artists have given ut a lot of CDs - and only a few of those are available >here in Norway. I guess many of those are possible to buy over the Internet >- but is this safe to do? funny, there was just a short discussion of this topic recently. basically, the feeling is that it is at least as safe as giving out your credit card over the phone (perhaps safer since phone conversations usually aren't encrypted), but you just have to be careful. always make sure that the server you are sending credit card info to is secure and, if you are particularly paranoid, check the certificate for that site. for what it's worth, i've been ordering stuff over the net -- music, books, concert tickets -- for a couple years and haven't had any troubles. i use a separate credit card for this sort of thing, just to minimize the pain if something does go bad. however, as dirk suggested, there is always mail order or even phone order if you don't want to risk it. >*Sarah Slean* >Another CD I'd like to buy - gotta ask the same question - is it safe? in this case, you can ask steve ito to pick up a copy for you. he's ultra-reliable and very cool to boot! welcome again! woj n.p. nothing! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 12:21:34 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: The Vapors, CD lengths... also sprach Foghorn J Fornorn: >One band I used to enjoy >immensely almost half my life ago (1980) was The Vapors. Essentially >one-hit, two album wonders, I never expected to find much from them on CD. ah, but no wonder that "turning japanese" was a hit. great hook, goofy lyrics. they were definitely one of the better new wave bands (before the new wave was gobbled up by the new romantics). >I quickly found a new entry in their catalog at >Amazon.com, "Vaporized", which purported to be both their original albums in >their entirety on one CD. Hmph. This was ordered. hmmm. thanks for mentioning this! >But what really impressed me was when I >put it in the player and watched the total time display: 80:30. That is, as >far as I can recollect, the longest single CD in my collection. the mission of burma compilation on rykodisc clocks in over 80 minutes as well. when it was released (1988?), a bunch of people were not happy with that since many cd players of the time couldn't handle it. there used to be a list of long cd somewhere on the net, but i can't seem to find it now. >Anyway, it's a wonderful disc, I am so pleased to hear this stuff again. >Vapors Rock. Good Stuff. Not at the core of Ecto interest, I'm sure, but >Ecto to me is about the vast twisted web we weave. Right? you better believe it, buddy! ;) woj n.p. mission of burma (i'm so susceptible to suggestion) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 99 18:51:54 +0100 From: Rolf.Peukert@theoinf.tu-ilmenau.de (Rolf Peukert) Subject: 1998 Favorites Of all the ecto-related albums I bought last year, surprisingly few were actually released in 1998. So here's my top ..errh.. eight: Happy Rhodes - Many Worlds Are Born Tonight Rasputina - How We Quit The Forest PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? Penelope Houston - Tongue Slapp Happy - Ca Va Garbage - Version 2.0 Tori Amos - From The Choirgirl Hotel Heather Nova - Siren All these have been mentioned here before. And then there's one album I'm not even sure if I should recommend it at all, but it's certainly, for me, the most interesting record of the year: Meret Becker - Nachtmahr ["nightmare"] I first noticed Meret as a singer (she's also an actress) in February last year, when I saw a concert of her and Nina Hagen doing Brecht/Weill songs. Actually I went there to see Nina, but her part was rather disappointing. Meret, on the other hand, gave a very impressive performance, with a voice almost as powerful as Hagen's, yet more flexible and versatile. Her new album is a collection of own compositions, with lyrics occasionally based on novels or poems by other authors. Most of them can be described as bizarre, morbid or downright weird. The songs are in German, except for one each in French and Yiddish. The liner notes include all the lyrics and translations to English and French. Musically it ranges from chanson, street ballad over klezmer to experimental soundscapes created with exotic or self-built instruments (partially responsible for this is Meret's husband and collaborator Alexander Hacke, a member of the band "Einstuerzende Neubauten"). The album is released on Philips Classics, which makes it a little hard to find in normal, pop-oriented stores. Also available from Meret: "Noctambule", a recording of a live performance, with Brecht/Weill and other standards (and some fairy tales), it's an even better showcase for her voice than "Nachtmahr". ciao, Rolf ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 11:10:55 -0700 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet At 12:06 PM -0500 1/10/99, cinders blue wrote: Welcome to ecto Eveline >>*Buying CDs on internet* >>That's something I discovered while surfing the Ecto website - that several >>artists have given ut a lot of CDs - and only a few of those are available >>here in Norway. I guess many of those are possible to buy over the Internet >>- but is this safe to do? I've bought a number of discs on-line without any problems. Most of the time, it seems like the sites I am interested in don't have on-line purchasing set up anyway. I just get the info on-line and then send them a check. Another generally fun option is to set up a trade with someone. I'm sure there are at least a handful of ectophiles who'd be happy to get their hands on impossible to find Norwegian albums who'd be willing to pick things up stateside (or elsewhere in the world). neal np: silt - mistle thrush (and to answer your next question, and a common ecto first... np is now playing, nr is now reading) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 16:00:51 -0500 From: meredith Subject: cry^3 in nyt magazine Hi! There's a teeny tiny little interview with Cry Cry Cry on page 11 of this week's New York Times magazine, accompanied by a rather amusing picture of Dar, Richard, and Lucy. I can type it in if anyone's interested (like I said, it's short). Off to watch the UConn/Tennessee women's basketball game ... go Huskies! :) +==========================================================================+ | 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: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 19:46:28 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: pepper acton also sprach meredith: >I finally got to hear Pepper Acton today. woj bought her EP while I was >gone on holiday and I just figured that out. :} well, actually, marion kippers sent us her copy. (thank you, marion and neile!) >***Tori Clone Alert! Whoop Whoop Whoop!!!*** > >Not that that's a *bad* thing ... but she's SO much like Tori I'm having a >hard time seeing past that to what she's really got to offer. i listened to this album a few times while driving home from visiting my parents over the holidaze and i was struck more by the differences between pepper and tori than by the similarities. pepper's a good pianist, but she doesn't have tori's glorious sense of musicality. on the other hand, pepper also has none of tori's breathy vocals and affections (unlike neile, though, that "feature" of tori's doesn't bother me much, if at all). pepper's voice is clear, less-nuanced, and direct. i didn't really care for the songs or her voice the first listen through, but i liked it more on the second and third listens (i've learned that i can't trust myself on the first listen -- regardless of whether or not i am familiar with the artist). i haven't gone back to listen since then though...so i guess you can consider this an encouraaging pre-review. or something. ;) woj n.p. radio free ecto -- happy at the bottom line ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 20:44:29 -0500 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: RE: new subscriber - intro., buying CDs on the Internet Woj noted: basically, the feeling is that it is at least as safe as giving out your credit card over the phone (perhaps safer since phone conversations usually aren't encrypted), Did you see the article in Newsweek, I think it was, a month or so ago about companies using prisoners serving time for cheap labor? One story that was rather alarming was a major US airline using prisoners to accept flight reservations - and therefore being the one to record the unwary traveler's credit card information. "There have been incidents", was the ominous quote attributed to some spokesperson. Hopefully ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:19:53 -0500 From: meredith Subject: radio free ecto info Hi! I've added a "Radio Free Ecto" page to the ecto home page. It's just a quick rundown of the important info you'll need to get connected, with a link to Vickie's SiG page where the playlists live. Nothing special, but as this Shoutcast stuff gets more organized (that's the plan, anyway :), this will be the place to go for all the info. The page is at . Any suggestions/comments etc., as usual just drop me a line. And enjoy the shoutcasts! +==========================================================================+ | 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: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:23:30 -0500 From: meredith Subject: song from soundtrack Hi! During the X-Files tonight there was an ad for the new Sharon Stone movie, I think it's called _Gloria_. Underneath the trailer, especially audible at the end is a woman singing the Police song "Everything She Does Is Magic", and the singer sounds scarily, frighteningly like Ashley Maher. As in, both woj and I turned to each other and just pointed speechless at the tv screen. So Anthony Kosky, do you know if this is Ashley's big break, or is there just someone out there who sounds *exactly* like her? +==========================================================================+ | 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: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:37:27 -0500 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: yes, it's that time... Geez, but I've been lazy. I actually started this in mid or late december. 1998 faves These discs that I'm listing are largely the releases of the year which I've listened to most often. There were a lot of great albums that, for one reason or another, I ended up not listening to as much and though I still think they were great, they apparently weren't quite great enough to capture my attention. Or, in the case of DMB's _Before These Crowded Streets_, I was *so* overloaded by the singles on the radio that I just never wanted to hear the album. A pity, as I do think it's a great recording. In the past when I've done these lists for ecto, I've always made a point of not putting them in order. But this being ecto, I figure I ought to make special note of what has been my favorite new release of the year... Many Worlds are Born Tonight / Happy Rhodes Happy really outdid herself with this album. After a month or two of playing it at least once a day, I thought I would get sick of it. Silly me. While I've slacked off on the repeated listenings, I still play it very, very frequently, and still love it. Okay, and now in no particular order: Ray of Light / Madonna I haven't been inpspired to buy a Madonna album since _Like a Prayer_, which I still find quite amazing a decade down the road. Still, when I heard she had worked with Orbit, I figured I'd need this, and bought it without hearing a note. While I obviously don't put Madonna on an artistic pedestal, she still manages to come out with amazing material from time to time, and has the sense to surround herself with people who can bring out her best -- something we might all wish from time to time would happen to some of the self-producing folk we listen to. Di Krenitse (The Well) / The Klezmatics and Chava Alberstein Chava Alberstein is an israeli pop diva who's been recording for 30- some-odd years. Though she apparently started her career as just a voice, she's evolved throughout the length of her career -- she's one of those people who went from singing other peoples' music to eventually writing her own, as well as playing guitar. For this album, Chava set yiddish poems of this century to music, which was then arranged and performed by the Klezmatics, with the addition of Chava's very competent acoustic guitar work. While not for everyone, it still might have more appeal than some of the more traditional klezmer albums out there. (Chava had another US release this year, _Crazy Flower_, on Shanachie, which has some utterly brilliant moments (her take on "Chad Gad Ya", with its densely percussioned world-beat-ish arrangement, for one), but too much MOR pop to make it onto this list) Strange Angels / Kristen Hersh Brilliant. Utterly brilliant. I still remember my first post to ecto about this album. I'd listened to it once or twice and had sort of a "Yeah, whatever, I already own _Hips and Makers_" reaction to it. It was only after that that I realized that the arrangements/production of this were *completely* different. Where H&M was all guitar and cello, this was mostly guitar, piano, and cello. And that piano makes a HUGE difference. And of course, with Kirsten's brilliant, quirky songwriting, _Strange Angels_ quickly became one of my most-listened to releases of the year. Kirsten managed a second release this year, _Murder, Misery, and then Goodnight_, and as someone else mentioned in their top 10, if these are the songs on which Kristen was raised, well, we now understand a bit better why she always seems so screwed up. Yikes. Still, a worthwhile addition to the collection if you like love songs that always end in murder... Smashing the Serene / Rachel Sage thanks, meth! another wonderful, quirky songwriter. I just bought a second _Smashing the Serene_ as a chanukah present for my step-mom, and she's equally taken. Rachel, a pianist, lists as one of her big influences the next artist in the list; this is, perhaps, only as it should be... Burning the Daze / Marc Cohn I bought this on a lark while I was serving jury duty (9 hellacious weeks that will forever by my primary memory of 1998) and spending entirely too much money on books and music to keep myself sane. I knew of Cohn's first two albums and the big singles from them, and that my brother was something of a fan. It turned out to be another of those albums I just couldn't seem to stop playing. I eventually picked up Cohn's second album, and found it didn't do much for me; there seems to be something about _this_ album. Universe / Sarah Slean People keep apologizing for including this in their lists, either because the cassette version came out in '97 (so what? this is a different release, with 33% more music!!) or because it's an EP (uh, yeah? and it's so good that you can listen to it a couple of times in a row, making it a good 68 minutes long, right? ;-) Like meth, as I was rather disappointed by Emm Gryner, which made me weary of buying this, as Steve Ito was always pushing both of these artists. But happily, I decided to take advantage of the exchange rate and purchased this online (from indiepool.com, as I recall). Sarah I find to be a stunning up-and-comer, and someone who I'm anxious to see grow throughout their career. For a perfect review, see TWAS... Up / REM I hated _Monster_. Hated it. A few priceless jems buried in a pile of dung, which made me hate it even more than I would have if it had just been all-around sucky. And having been burned, I never bothered buying _New Adventures in Hi-Fi_, even though I was taken with the lead single, "E-Bow, a Letter." Still, something told me to go buy _Up_ when it was released, and I'm very glad I did. They've changed directions yet again, going toward something that is at once modernly electronic and at the same time giving off that late '90's retro chic vibe. It is one of those albums that, when you first hear it, makes you say, "what were they *thinking*?!" but then grows on you as you begin to figure out what that was. Everything I Need / Melissa Ferrick meth sez she'd be happy with Tori singing a laundry list. stick an acoustic guitar in MF's hands, and I'd probably put up with the same. Ferrick *attacks* life, both the happy and the sad, with her voice, with her guitar, with her words. If she gets depressed, she gets over it -- and _we_ get an anthemic reminder to appreciate what we have. On her live album, she says at the introduction to "Willing to Wait" that, "I told them that this should have been the single. Maybe then I wouldn't be looking for a new label, but then who's to say that's not a good thing?" I think few performers could be so pragmatic about their careers after being dumped by their label, but Melissa Ferrick seems to be willing to make her own way on her own terms (sound like someone else we know around here?). I didn't take to this album quite as quickly as the last studio album, _Willing to Wait_, but after a while, I came to appreciate it tremendously. A wonderful release. Hmmm. That's nine. I think I've reached something of an impasse. I'm tempted to include _from the choirgirl hotel_, or _Cry Cry Cry_, or _A Big World of Fun_, but I'm not really sure which way I'm leaning. FtCH was, I've decided, something of a disappointment. And I say that, despite getting it and thinking it was wonderful. The thing is, I barely played it this year. I know I listened to _Under the Pink_ a lot more, and I might have listened to LE and BfP more often as well. And that just doesn't seem right when compared to an album which came out this year. Which makes me realize that FtCH just didn't do it for me the way the earlier albums did. Now, to be fair, late last week I pulled it out and listened to it a couple more times, and once again thought it was mostly wonderful. But that doesn't change the fact that it didn't sit in my CD player for any noticeable length of time. Maybe I'll like it more this year. _Cry Cry Cry_ is wonderful, but perhaps too purty. There's hardly anything on it that can make me cry, despite the title. And finally, there's the Shotgun Wedding release, which I adore...but not nearly as much as I would if Lynn and Brendan's previous release, whilst still in M7x, hadn't been _Sunburnt_, which is perfect. Just...perfect. And while _A Big World of Fun_ has great moments, it's not nearly so perfect. Just...good. Okay. There. Finally done with that. Now, I'm not going to bother with biggest disappointment, 'cause I'm not sure I really had one. But I will give an honor to "Most Dreaded Release," which I *still* haven't heard, because I dread what I will think of it: Jewel's _Spirit_. I've been a Jewel booster in these parts since 2/95, when she did her residency in DC. But I hated what Atlantic did to her (or encouraged her to do; I'm not sure how much blame should rest where) in the long run. It's interesting to note that the songs which struck so big were re- recordings of tracks from PoY -- new versions which I couldn't stand. Her SNL appearance was truly unbearable. And so I've been afraid to hear the new album. Sure, I'll probably break down and buy it eventually, or the curiosity will kill me. But I truly dread doing so. Jewel was one of the freshest voices of the mid-90's, and I'm largely convinced that *that* voice is gone, replaced by something else. jeff np: er, I dunno. it's live Happy on Vickie's SHOUTcast, but her listing on the webpage sez it's the 1996 Tin Angel show, and I'm guessing from the set list and sound that it might actually be the 1992 Philly show. Vickie? Whatever it is, it's *great*. "Possessed" ROCKS. Completely. This is probably my favorite version of the song, in fact, and the version I usually sing when I happen to have an urge to hear this song and new music handy... (and I'm fairly convinced that this is the '92 show, based on this song; if I'd listened closer to "'Til the Dawn Breaks" and heard the flubbed lyrics, that'd be a good indicator too) - -- |Jeffrey C. Burka|||http://www.cqi.com/~jburka|||||"I've got time to rest / | ||||||||||||| And I've got a clear, able mind that sees my life going fine. | | 'Cause everything I need is right here in my hands..." --Melissa Ferrick | ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 22:18:43 -0700 From: neal copperman Subject: collectibles (was Re: yes, it's that time...) At 10:37 PM -0500 1/10/99, Jeffrey C. Burka wrote: >I've been a Jewel booster in these parts since 2/95, when she did her >residency in DC. But I hated what Atlantic did to her (or encouraged her >to do; I'm not sure how much blame should rest where) in the long run. I've been meaning to mention this for a while, and this seemed as good an excuse as any. I'm sort of intrigued by the life span of collectibles. I'm a terrible collector myself. Terrible in that I always get attached to things, so I never get around to selling them. And then the market bottoms out anyway. Like all the comic books I have in boxes somewhere. Seems like there value peaked some years ago, but I like having them cause they remind me of high school and college. Anyway, I recently learned that one of the Shiva Diva Doo Wop tapes that I picked up for many ectophiles in that 2/95 period mentioned above (and I know Jeff got one too), sold for $200! Not a bad profit for a $5 tape. Since I bought around 6 or 8 of these for ectophiles, I thought you might like to know. I can't guess right now if Jewel is peaking, or if, as collectibles, they'll only get more valuable. But, like the other interesting things I have, I couldn't bring myself to sell that tape anyway. I have to imagine, if that is worth $200, that I must have close to $1000 in Jewel paraphernalia, none of which I would part with. (Like Jeff, I also haven't been able to bring myself to buy Spirit. I will, one day, but it's tough. I read the Rolling Stone interview, and that helped. Seems like exposure to Jewel in person helps keep the magic alive, which is pretty much missing from the albums. But while the spirit was in me at that moment, I read the scathing Spin review [which I'm afraid will be close to my own], and the less biting but very insightful comments in The War Against Silence, and lost the urge again. Maybe next time I join BMG.... ) What do you think - has Tori stuff peaked? neal np: veering from the wave - jennifer kimball ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 23:53:34 -0600 (CST) From: "Michael P. Hayes" Subject: Cat Power in The Big Takeover Don't know if this was mentioned already, but there's an interview with Chan Marshall in Issue 43, the most recent one, featuring REM on the cover... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 01:04:28 -0500 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Re: collectibles (was Re: yes, it's that time...) neal sez: > Anyway, I recently learned that one of the Shiva Diva Doo Wop tapes that I > picked up for many ectophiles in that 2/95 period mentioned above (and I > know Jeff got one too), sold for $200! WHAT?! Surely you jest. That would seemingly make it more valuable than any of my KaTe or Tori rarities, my Stephen King limited editions, and on and on! Not that I'd part with mine; it's been personalized. I laughed a lot at the shows I saw, and Jewel signed my tape with "To Jeff -- little giggles go a long way." Besides, I bought my copy when Jewel was low on packaging; I never did manage to get a copy of the cassette liner...that can't help the value. ;-) jeff np: nothing but the dull throb of insomnia. - -- |Jeffrey C. Burka|||http://www.cqi.com/~jburka|||||"I've got time to rest / | ||||||||||||| And I've got a clear, able mind that sees my life going fine. | | 'Cause everything I need is right here in my hands..." --Melissa Ferrick | ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #15 *************************