From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #29 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, January 25 1999 Volume 05 : Number 029 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Graham's website [dave ] Mila Drumke in Boston [Chris Snyder ] Looking for ectophilic Chinese music [Kay S Cleaves ] Upcoming (good stuff) on Sessions at West 54th, Beth Orton album info [So] Re: Looking for ectophilic Chinese music [Jack Sutton ] Re: rachael sage in nyc [Paul Blair ] danielle howle in nyc [rachel kramer bussel ] Belated best of 1998 [Greg.Jumper@Eng.Sun.COM] Laurie Anderson's "Moby Dick" [Mark Lowry ] Re: Dan Stark [Paul Schreiber ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 02:46:22 -0500 From: dave Subject: Graham's website Just took another look at the Celestial Voices site.. was happy to see several things I suggested (grey eye glances, michelle tumes) in the list of new stuff he's listening to. Someone actually paid attention to me :) Hope you're enjoying them Graham.. Really great idea for a site.. nicely done. - -- +-----------------------------------------------------+ + dave + + irc.dal.net #Panic_Beach female music artist chat + + http://magpage.com/~sspan/ music clips/pics/links + +-----------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 03:18:35 -0500 From: Chris Snyder Subject: Mila Drumke in Boston Hello According to the Schedule at Borders Books in Boston Mila Drumke is playing an in-store Friday Jan. 29th at 5pm. You can get more info about the store at Borders.com. Good cheer, and good music. Chris ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 02:31:56 -0600 From: Kay S Cleaves Subject: Looking for ectophilic Chinese music Hey folks! Alright, this is an odd request, but anyways... I've been expanding my collection globally (no, seriously!) and was wondering, are there any Chinese or Chinese-American ectophilic or recommended rock artists out there? I've seen lots of talk around here about Japanese artists and I've managed to locate some of those, but China seems to be keeping its music to itself. I've found lots of music done with traditional instruments, but nothing with a more modern feel to it--I know there must be something coming out of Taiwan, or even the R.O.C. Any ideas? - --Kay ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 09:46:53 EST From: Songbird22@aol.com Subject: Upcoming (good stuff) on Sessions at West 54th, Beth Orton album info Sessions at West 54th (check local listings): Jan 30th - PJ Harvey and Chocolate Genius Feb 6th - Tori Amos (one hour special) Feb 13th - Beth Orton (!) and Joe Henry Beth Orton's new release "Central Reservation" is due out on March 23rd. - -- Jessica N. Weiser http://adam.nettfriends.com/Jess ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 08:55:35 From: Jack Sutton Subject: Re: Looking for ectophilic Chinese music Hi, We just listed an artist named Magdalen Hsu-Li at http://www.rahul.net/hrmusic/discos/fafram14.html. She is a Chinese-American singer songwriter you may of interest. Jack Sutton Harmony Ridge Music www.hrmusic.com At 02:31 AM 1/24/99 -0600, you wrote: >Hey folks! > >Alright, this is an odd request, but anyways... > >I've been expanding my collection globally (no, seriously!) and was >wondering, are there any Chinese or Chinese-American ectophilic or >recommended rock artists out there? I've seen lots of talk around here >about Japanese artists and I've managed to locate some of those, but >China seems to be keeping its music to itself. I've found lots of music >done with traditional instruments, but nothing with a more modern feel to >it--I know there must be something coming out of Taiwan, or even the >R.O.C. Any ideas? > >--Kay >___________________________________________________________________ >You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. >Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html >or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] > > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 12:03:06 -0500 From: Paul Blair Subject: Lunasa at Fez Last night's Lunasa show at Fez was terrific! Had to wait intolerably long to get in--someone had done a good job of publicizing the show and the place was packed. Fortunately, I ran into John Henshon, who had arrived a lot earlier than I had, and he saved me a very nice spot up front. I owe him one. The music was all manner of reels and jigs in sets of twos and threes, with the occasional fling, air, or gavotte; one of the encore pieces was a klezmer piece. It was all very catchy. The band was (excuse my spelling): Kevin Crawford on wooden flute, whistles and bodhran, Sean Smyth on fiddle (with occasional whistle-playing), Donogh Hennessey on guitar, Ivan Goff on pipes and wooden flute, and Trevor Hutchinson on bass (do you call it a "double bass" when it's one of those slimmed-down numbers with volume and tone knobs on it?) Kevin Crawford kept everyone entertained between pieces with funny stories and witty banter. The audience was very enthusiastic. I don't generally listen to this kind of music on recordings, but live it's a lot of fun. - --Paul ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 12:22:47 -0500 From: Paul Blair Subject: Re: rachael sage in nyc meth wrote: >Rachael Sage is playing in NYC next Tuesday, 1/26. The show is at a place >called "Joe's Pub", which apparently is in the Public Theater on Lafayette >just off Astor Place. Show starts t 8:30 and is $10. (All this from an ad >in the current issue of the Voice.) Can't make it. Some other shows I won't be able to make on Tuesday: - --Timothy Hill @ CB's Gallery, 9pm, playing with full band including Michelle Kinney - --Danielle Howle @ the Knitting Factory Monday night Danielle Howle will be at "The Cyclone at Coney Island," wherever that is. I can't make that one either. - --Paul ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 16:05:27 -0500 (EST) From: rachel kramer bussel Subject: danielle howle in nyc On Sun, 24 Jan 1999, Paul Blair wrote: > --Danielle Howle @ the Knitting Factory > > Monday night Danielle Howle will be at "The Cyclone at Coney Island," > wherever that is. I can't make that one either. It's part of Coney Island High, which is on St. Marks Place between 2nd and 3rd avenues...usually a punk club, but since it's Danielle Howle and Martha Wainwright on the bill, I guess they're making an exception...although I had actually thought this show was on Tuesday, but I'm not sure now... rachel ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 14:12:56 -0800 (PST) From: Greg.Jumper@Eng.Sun.COM Subject: Belated best of 1998 It's taken me a while to get my first "best of" out to Ecto, as it's taken me this long to catch up with all the digests that piled up while I was gone for the holidays. I've really enjoyed reading other people's list, so here's mine: 1) Kristin Hersh, _Strange Angels_ This album rates first both by number of times I played it and on sheer artistic merit, in my view. I can never say enough about _Strange Angels_, but you should imagine that it is really number one on my list and the others are all tied for tenth place. Kristin's delivery is an acquired taste for some, but comparison of _Strange Angels_ with her other 1998 release, _Murder, Misery, and then Goodnight_, provides a powerful demonstration of the synergy between Kristin's own material and her presentation. MM&tG is quite good, but _Strange Angels_ inhabits Kristin's special alternate musical dimension, which is where I'd rather be with her. 2) Imogen Heap, _I Megaphone_ I liked this album immediately, although not as much as I hoped to, as I expected something a bit different. Once I got past my preconceptions, Imogen's inventive combination of musical elements quickly climbed to meet my expectations (and more), although in a somewhat different way. 3) Simon Raymonde, _Blame Someone Else_ This album was really a 1997 release, but I didn't hear about it until late '98. (Thanks to Carol for mentioning it here on Ecto). The music reminds me somewhat of Tony Banks' (Genesis' keyboard player) early solo work: eclectic, somewhat oblique keyboard-rich pieces. 4) Mark O'Connor, _Midnight On The Water_ Ashley MacIsaac sounded impressive and Eileen Ivers amazed me, but this guy is superhuman: cross the world's best fiddler with a world-class classical violinist, and you might get Mark O'Connor. While his violin pieces wow me, my favorite works on this album feature mandolin and guitar (both of which he's no slouch on either). 5) Cowboy Junkies, _Miles From Our Home_ They just keep getting better -- Margo's voice is like smooth, somewhat smoky brandy, and Michael's writing and production really shine. "Darkling Days" is one of my favorite songs of the year. 6) Deanna Kirk, _Where Are You Now_ Really nice, typically sad, piano ballads. Deanna would be my first choice to provide the music for a romantic candle-lit dinner. 7) Chris Isaak, _Speak Of The Devil_ If you like this kind of music, you know what I mean :); if you don't like it, I'm not sure I can say anything meaningful... 8) Sarah Slean, _Universe_ What everyone else said. Along with Imogen Heap, the best debut of the year, and a striking example of girl-with-piano done right. 9) Happy Rhodes, _Many Worlds Are Born Tonight_ I haven't actually gotten past the diamond-hard sheen of this album's layers and production, but I immediately respected it, and I anticipate that it will continue growing on me for a long time. 10) Genesis, _Archive 1967 - 1975_ I had to include this release for sentimental reasons, at the very least. The rare material on disc three is what made the set truly worthwhile for me. In no particular order (well, alphabetical, I guess :), here are some other noteworthy release of the past year: Tori Amos, _From the Choirgirl Hotel_ Less affectation and more plain-old songs, which is a good thing in my book. Astrid, _Boy For You_ While her voice isn't classically pretty, I like her somewhat gritty and emotional delivery of good folk-rock songs. Melissa Ferrick, _Everything I Need_ Not another _Willing to Wait_ (will anything be?), but a strong release nevertheless. Sue Garner, _To Run More Smoothly_ Quirky songs reminiscent of Julee Cruise's singing for Twin Peaks. Nick Heyward, _The Apple Bed_ Not as good as his previous release, but another fine example of Beatlesesque pop. I would expect fans of the Finn brothers to like this (but I think Nick's voice is a lot easier on the ears). Steve Hogarth, _Ice Cream Genius_ Somewhat uneven, but fans of recent Marillion should like it. Mark Hollis, _Mark Hollis_ This album demonstrates that Hollis (formerly of Talk Talk) is kind of the musical negative of artists from the Kate, Happy, and Jane school: rather than wielding a rich sonic palette with iron-fisted control to create complex, densely-layered songs, Hollis uses equally disciplined understatement to achieve a similar effect as much with what's not there as with what is. Madonna, _Ray of Light_ Collaboration with Williamn Orbit is the best thing she's done in years. Niagara, Niagara (Soundtrack) Another example of Michael Timmins' powers; plus, a very cool Patty Griffin song (better than anything on _Flaming Red_, IMO). Rachael Sage, _Smashing The Serene_ It hasn't grabbed me the way it has many on this list, but I hear definite potential. Seal, _Human Being_ While definitely a descendant of his ballad-heavy second album, this release includes some elements which hark back to the power tunes I loved on his first album. Sixpence None The Richer, _Sixpence None The Richer_ Some will consider it sappy, but the lead singer has a cute little-girl voice which lends a certain "adorable" quality to the songs. The Why Store, _Two Beasts_ If you like deep, gravelly male vocals and the twang of twelve-string guitar, you can't go wrong with this straight-ahead rock album. Wild Strawberries, _Quiver_ Some very catchy, "loungy" songs I found myself playing a lot early in the year. Catchiest single of the year: "Would You", by Touch and Go. I defy anyone to keep from bouncing and cranking the volume for this song, the "lyrics" of which prominently feature the word "um". Here's hoping '99 is as enjoyable musically. Greg ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 18:43:34 -0600 From: Mark Lowry Subject: Laurie Anderson's "Moby Dick" Hi, For anyone interested, she'll present her new performance piece (based on the Melville classic, natch) in Dallas on April 29. Supposedly it's the only Southwest engagement on her "Moby Dick" world tour. Tickets are on sale now, I've already got mine. It's a fairly small auditorium, so it'll sell out quick. Anyone heard anything about it? Something has happened every time she has come to town and I've always missed her. (OK, just the last two times. Before that, I didn't even know about her). Mark n.p. Tori _Cruel/Raspberry Swirl_ single, which has an ambient mix of RS and a wildly cool mix of "Spark." Plus a slightly different mix of "Cruel" (which is easily my fave song on FTCH) and another dance mix of RS. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 01:42:20 -0500 From: Paul Schreiber Subject: Re: Dan Stark >Nearly forgot to mention that Dan Stark (transplanted from Toronto to New >Jersey) was at the Kristeen Young show the other night and asked me to >send his best to all here; he hopes to be back on the list soon when he's >settled in. Woah...that Dan gets around. :) I saw him in Toronto last July or so at a Sarah Slean show. Say hello for me. Oh, btw, hi everyone...I'm new to ecto, and will do an intro RSN. :) Paul shad 96c / 3A CS / mac activist / eda / fumbler fan of / jewel / sophie b. / sarah slean / steve poltz / emm gryner / / x-files / buffy / dawson's creek / habs / bills / 49ers / t h i n k d i f f e r e n t. "It's like signing a record contract is like signing away your human rights." -- CMG ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #29 *************************