From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #71 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, February 26 1999 Volume 05 : Number 071 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation [Bill Mazur ] Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Richard Shindell (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) [cos@wbrs.org (Of] Fela Kuti (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) [cos@wbrs.org (Ofer Inba] straight from the horse's mouth [John Drummond ] Re: Jingle vs Genius ["Joseph S. Zitt" ] Re: Jingle vs Genius [Chris Sampson ] Re: Fela Kuti (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) ["Joseph S. Zitt" ] Compilation update ["Foghorn J Fornorn" ] Re: Compilation update [Rubber DeNiro ] Male Vocalists, Pianists, and Live Recordings.... [Hiptones@aol.com] Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation ["Kevin Pease" ] wyrd sisters [Neal Copperman ] Re: world music, Fela [cos@wbrs.org (Ofer Inbar)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 22:56:05 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation Jeff, I'm still playing catch up for this week's posts and my responses. When you start talking about vocalists it's hard to just select a just a handful. I didn't even think of Mark Hollis and Martin Fry. I do really like their voices. Talk Talk is a wonderful band. One of my 80s faves. I also admire McCartney's singing, even though I love John Lennon's voice much more. I can't believe that I forgot Freddie Mercury on my original list. He is an amazing singer. He is a pretty decent piano player as well. Can you please tell me a little bit more about Richard Shindell. The Real Audio clips that I have heard sound like he is in the folk/country vein. How would you describe his voice and his music? What recording of his would you recommend and why? Thanks in advance for your answers Jeff and anyone else that answers. Bill ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 03:00:04 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******************* Brni Mojzes (mojzes@monet.vill.edu) ******************* *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Brni Mojzes Fri February 26 1965 the vanishing boy Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Tim Steele Fri March 08 1963 Pisces Matt Bittner Thu March 12 1964 Pisces kIrI Hargie Fri March 13 1970 Pisces Bob Dreano Thu March 13 1958 Pisces Randall K. Smith Sat March 15 1969 Pisces Jessica Skolnik March 16 Pisces Alan Sodoma Thu March 18 1965 LuckyLurker Richard Konrad Sat March 18 1944 Pisces Barry Wong Thu March 19 1970 Merlin Graham Dombkins Fri March 19 1965 Pisces Ian Young Wed March 19 1969 Squiggol Jeff Wasilko Wed March 19 1969 Pisces Geoff Carre Sat March 20 1954 Pisces John Stewart Sat March 21 1970 Aries Bob Brown Thu March 22 1951 Ham Valerie Nozick Thu March 25 1971 Aries - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 03:11:10 -0500 (EST) From: cos@wbrs.org (Ofer Inbar) Subject: Richard Shindell (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) This question was addressed to Jeff, but since I brought up Richard Shindell I'll take it... Bill Mazur writes: > Can you please tell me a little bit more about Richard Shindell. The > Real Audio clips that I have heard sound like he is in the folk/country > vein. How would you describe his voice and his music? What recording of > his would you recommend and why? Richard Shindell is definitely a folk singer/songwriter, though he can do convincing country if he wants to. Although I brought him up in a thread on male vocals, and he is indeed one of my favorites, he also really shines in his songwriting. He can write about any subject and make it new, and his lyrics are evocative and intelligent. I call him a "songwriting genius" and I don't think that's overstated. He's also got a weird talent for writing songs that, upon hearing, I think I've always known. It's as if some of the songs he writes were always there in our collective subconscious and he discovered them and made them real. A paraphrase of a conversation I had with meth (I think it was her): meth: ... yeah, but how can you write a folk song about a truck? cos: There's Richard Shindell's "Kenworth of My Dreams" meth: well, sure, but he's Richard Shindell. He can do things like that. My favorite Richard Shindell album, and the one I think most shows off his songwriting skills, is "Blue Divide". On this album is Fishing, a really creepy song that's probably one of my top ten favorite songs of all time. Also on this album is The Ballad of Mary Magdalene, a classic example of the sort of song that seems to have always existed. After Blue Divide, I'd recommend Cry Cry Cry. This is not one of Richard's, but rather a collaboration between Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell. All the songs on the albums are covers, and all three of them sing on all the songs, with a different person taking lead on each. You can hear Richard Shindell at his most "country" in the cover of Robert Earl Keen's "Shades of Grey", which Richard sings lead on. You can hear Richard put even *more* power into James Keelaghan's "Cold Missouri Waters", a near-impossible feat. And there's also a cover of Richard's own Ballad of Mary Magdalene, with Dar Williams singing lead. By this time, you'll probably be wanting to buy Richard Shindell's other albums, and be rather dissappointed to find that there are only two more: Sparrow's Point and Reunion Hill. If your reaction is at all like mine, you'll find his voice somewhat addictive, and want to hear more more more more... -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@leftbank.com cos@cs.brandeis.edu -- WBRS (100.1 FM) -- WBRS@brandeis.edu http://www.wbrs.org/ Love: a blurring of the distinction between selfish and selfless. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 03:38:55 -0500 (EST) From: cos@wbrs.org (Ofer Inbar) Subject: Fela Kuti (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) For some reason, when I posted in this thread the other day, Africa slipped my mind. Some of the best male vocals I've heard come from Africa. I can't imagine why I didn't mention Baaba Maal, for example. But especially Fela Kuti. Fela was a god of music in many ways, his voice just one of them. He had expressive power, agility, and subtlety that continues to amaze me when I listen to his recordings. With just a single vocalization, be it a word or just a meaningful sound, he could bring about the mood of his choice. He could be the wise old man, the storyteller, the tribal leader, the funked up musician, the wild man, the bard. He could communicate complex combinations of emotions and meaning all together, with the subtlety of a master chef whose secret recipes cannot be copied. It's easy to overlook his mastery of voice, because he did so many other things, so extremely well. He played saxophone and piano, he led huge bands, and he wrote such a wide variety of music. Because of the way he used his voice, it just fit. It was often so perfect that it really didn't call much notice, when he wanted the listeners to concentrate on the music or the instruments. It often takes several listens to a Fela recording, before you really notice just how much he's conveying with his voice. It's probably because of this that I failed to mention him the first time I posted. Even though he may be the best male vocalist I've heard, I just don't think of him as a "male vocalist" because he excelled at so many other things. Some of you may recall, from the "pantheon" thread we had last year, that I placed Fela in my very small pantheon of only five artists. I said I didn't feel I could add any more this select group because if I did it would feel like I was "diluting" the set. But in truth, it makes me uncomfortable putting *anyone* in the same category as Fela. When Fela died, it was one of only two times in my life that I've actually cried upon hearing of the death of someone I did not personally know. It meant that I would never get to see him perform live. I have little doubt that if I had seen him live, it would be Fela rather than Alison Brown who I'd call "my favorite musician". Recommending a Fela Kuti recording is difficult. Even I, with my access to so much music and my great love of Fela, have only heard a fraction of what he put out in his too-short life. The man was blessedly prolific. I remember finding a discography on the web that listed over 150 Fela Kuti recordings, and included a note saying something like "we know there's a lot more out there, but it's hard to track down. If you know of a Fela recording that's not on this list, please send us email with details." But keeping that in mind, I do have a few favorite songs among what I've heard that I would recommend to someone new to Fela. These are also among the easier tracks to find, because they've either been recorded on multiple albums, or are on a major release with good distribution: Lady Sorrow, Tears, and Blood Beasts of No Nation Just Like That Oh, for anyone unfamiliar with Fela Kuti: He was from Nigeria, began recording in the 1960s, spent some time in the US, including Berkeley, in the late 1960s. Went back to Africa, blended American pop, protest music traditions, and Nigerian and other African influences, and is considered "the father of afrobeat". In addition to his own music and his own bands, Fela was instrumental in supporting and promoting afro pop music throghout the world. It was Fela, for example, who hooked up Hugh Masakela with his first African band. Fela had many wives, all of whom he married in one mass wedding ceremony. He continued recording despite police harrassment and several episodes of imprisonment by the military government of Nigeria, and died in August 1997. He had a club / compound in Nigeria, the shrine, which was home to his band, and which was once burned to the ground by police. All Nigerians I've spoken to who had been to the shrine while Fela was alive and playing music relate it as a profound spiritual experience. -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@leftbank.com cos@cs.brandeis.edu -- The Left Bank Operation -- lbo@leftbank.com http://www.leftbank.com/ "What I am asking of you is not to die for the sake of your country, but something far more difficult, try to live for it." -- Itzchak Rabin ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 02:36:12 -0800 (PST) From: John Drummond Subject: straight from the horse's mouth Y'all, All righty, then... in the wake of the apparent "controversy" caused by my last little letter, I have a few things to say: 1. Okay, no, if you could make the universe cry with one note, it *wouldn't* make you a virtuoso, and especially not the greatest of them all. Insofar as I know the word (though I'm sure many of y'all will feel the temptation to bust out a dictionary and include the entire definition complete with "n." and all 17 billion definitions, but please avoid it), a virtuoso is someone with masterful technical ability with an instrument or tool of some kind. I could write a song on a banjo that may be very moving, but that doesn't mean I'm a virtuoso of banjo; it means I know how to arrange music in a way that is emotionally affecting. And by that same token, not every virtuoso can communicate emotionally through their music... it's like what Tori Amos said about the Peabody, about everybody knowing that Opus 10 up and down, but nobody writing an Opus 10... the greatest technical pianist in the world may not be able to move anybody an inch, much less a country mile, since all of the swift fingers in Texas aren't going to give you the ability to communicate emotionally... y'all are all assuming I'm saying that only people with extraordinary ability make good music... but as *I MYSELF* recall, in reading what I said in my letter *without* the conclusion-jumping on the part of everybody ELSE on the list cluttering the basic shining fact, the point and original question of what started my whole little letter a few days ago was merely to ask who were very accomplished keyboardists... and I said that not everybody with piano on their album is an accomplished keyboardist. And now, of course, the meaning of "accomplished" is going to be completely overanalyzed as well, and I'm going to be made to look like a massive idiot for not being as semantic and I daresay petty as all y'all. My point was to illustrate the difference between good arranging and good playing. I can't play guitar to save my life, but if I decided to learn one song really well, and was able to PERFORM it well, that doesn't mean I'm a virtuoso... it means I know one song. And yes, I understand virtuosos don't know every song written or anything ridiculous like that, so don't even go there, people. All I wanted to do is communicate that not everybody who has touched a piano has a magical inborn gift that deserves lauding to Olympus and all the high heavens. That's all. Thank you. 2. This of course brings me to a similar point. I'll use this little quote yonder of Andrew's, which as I recall Bill Mazur said was very-well put or something along those lines: > I disagree with you John. If you could make the > universe cry it would indeed make you a virtuoso, > and if you could do it with just one note you'd > be the greatest of them all. This ties in (in a rather fortuitous way, for my argument) to the idea I posited of virtuosity versus presence... I'll admit that Andrew did indeed use words effectively in attacking my idea; however, and this is where it does get a bit gratuitously mean, that doesn't indicate any real level of communication on his part. Is this a flame war yet? My point here is that yes, Andrew used words well, but there was nothing actual behind them, seeing as how I already said above that virtuosos were only those with, I repeat, masterful technical talent. No, it doesn't require technical talent to move people with music, dammit. It just simply does not, and I don't understand how this could be misinterpreted. Now, then, of course, comes the encroaching "No, John, it's YOU who misinterpreted," but please, spare me. Andrew was skilled with twisting my words, but didn't put anything pointier than a thimble behind them. It was virtuosity, not presence. 3. I don't recall attacking Christine McVie or Rufus Wainwright at all... I personally like Rufus Wainwright (voice *and* piano skills included) VERY much. I don't much care for Fleetwood Mac, but then, I don't much care for Eric Clapton either, but I *do* recognize that he is a very capable guitarist, and that Fleetwood Mac are overall good musicians. I'm not saying that everybody who doesn't agree with my opinion or play music I myself love more than words can convey deserves public mutilation or execution, either. I'm just trying to get y'all to understand that not everything we like is amazing and going to change the world. I'll repeat here, for emphasis: Not everything we like is amazing and going to change the world. I sure as hell know that Dr. Pepper hasn't changed the world, and it's one of my favorite things ever... and if any of y'all know some ridiculous obscure trivia about Dr. Pepper changing the world, can it. I don't want to know. 4. "Your Honor, my client pleads 'guilty' to having spoken the incorrect utterance that Diamanda Galás is capable of speaking tongues in Italian. He now understands (and indeed, understood at the time of the perpetration of the crime, but was merely trying to make a point in saying such with some perhaps-fallacious ideas that were more about feeling than literal interpretation) that no one can speak tongues in any specific language, as that contradicts the very idea of speaking in tongues. My client throws himself upon the mercy of the court and of Holy God and prays that his life will be spared, despite all of the snickering and semantic ideas of 'justice' from those sitting behind us." 5a. This music theory attack-thread is pretty unrelated to what I was trying to say. As I recall, one of the only two times I really mentioned theory was in referencing "7ths and 13ths" Fiona Apple uses in her piano playing. I'll admit that my knowledge of theory isn't what it should be, seeing as how I've played piano for 13 years, but I suppose the Ecto list can be rather like a court, in that I'm hung on the technicality that No, 13ths are NOT "real jazz". Okay, perhaps they're not. I'm sorry. Here's where I got the impression that Fiona was a technically-capable writer from, though: I bought the piano book for "Tidal" and brought it home, and although they are not direct transcriptions of any kind, they can't escape the general complexity of the music. Several of the songs ("No, my client can't remember off the top of his head how many specifically, Your Honor,") were transcribed *up or down a half-step* from the original recording to ensure the ease of playing. Yes, that definitely sounds to me like she's amateurish and underwhelming. When I'm writing songs on piano, I don't want to write in insane keys like F# minor. I just don't, it's too much of a headache, may the sound of the song be damned. Fiona at least deserves some kind of recognition for that. And half the time the vocal lines Fiona is singing are in almost ("May the court now hold witness to the fact that Exhibit N is the word 'almost', uttered by the defendant.") different time signatures that her piano lines are. Now, I don't know that she recorded piano and vocal together or separately, but I know that it's a task of extreme concentration to me (and extreme concenetration can lead to very little soul coming through in the music, though not for Fiona) to be able to play the tricky piano parts *and* sing the so-differing vocal lines at the same time. Fiona may not have done it, and perhaps some of y'all have obscure knowledge that she in fact didn't record "Sullen Girl"'s voice and piano at the same time because your grandmother's best friend's sister's niece's next-door-neighbor went to third grade with Andy Slater's daughter and the information filtered back up to you or WHATEVER, but the simple fact remains that the music is complex. This doesn't mean Fiona's a virtuoso... it does, however, mean that she is a capable keyboardist and songwriter, whether in front of an audience or not. 5b. The factor of theory having to do with transcribing Sarah McLachlan's version of "Possession" is one that was I'll admit a bit exaggerated... twenty minutes, no. But still... the song IS in the same key, the chords ARE the same, the vocal line is the same except without the shimmery harmonies (and if you personally don't think the harmonies are shimmery, and that they are in fact not only NOT shimmery, but in essence the utter OPPOSITE of shimmery, don't send me a whole letter telling me in detail more and explicit and rude than THIS letter exactly *how* un-shimmery, since I really don't care!), and so yes, Paul "not glenn gould" Kim, you *could* figure it out, whether you knew your way around a piano or not, since you *do* play an instrument and have (I would assume, since you're at the Berklee College of Music) some clue of what each note on a piano is, or the location of middle C, at LEAST. Music theory affecting songwriting doesn't have anything to do with my other points, so that whole extra thread was pretty unnecessary in my genius-of-hindsight vision. I suppose I'm done with whatever specific things I had to say. It's time for the big tympani-filled orchestral conclusion: In the future, I'll avoid opening my big yap in the first place. I suppose it's too much to ask that I could speak my mind in whatever offensive way I choose; I'm not sorry if anybody's feelings were hurt, since mine were hurt enough that I felt I had to leap to the defense of what I consider good sense and a committment to preventing idiocy from overriding all of us. And anyhow, this is the INTERNET, for the love of GOD; it's not like we all know each other in person (though I understand there ARE, of course, exceptions) and have to deal with each other on a day-to-day basis. Our interactions with each other end the second we close our email servers. So, I hardly think I've done anything all that wrong in the first place by being a horrendous banshee in the light of all of this. As a matter of fact, I think I rather serve a unique place on Ecto as the Token Asshole. It's good to have the curmudgeon on the list who won't hesitate to holler at everybody and present different opinions beyond those of niceness, herbal tea, justice for all, and the Democratic Party, so perhaps I'm actually useful to y'all. I know I am one of the few champions of Diamanda Galás on this list, or at least, one of the few *vocal* champions (though there isn't much that I'm not vocal about, as I'm sure y'all haven't noticed in the slightest), and I know that most of the music I hold so dear the majority of y'all may only listen to passingly, or dislike, and most of the music y'all hold dear I very actively loathe, or else am indifferent to. As the Clintons most likely say, "It takes all kinds," and so I guess now that I've sort of established my underdog little role in all of this Ecto list business, things can get back to normal. "Ah, but what is normal," I'm sure many of y'all are itching to ask... well, don't ask me. I doubt my ideas of normal and y'alls' colletive ideas of normal coincide in any way... and then, of course, there's ALWAYS the dictionary definition, but going there may be even worse. Semantics, anyone? We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming. *5... 4... 3... ... ...* John Drummond == lyrics flow like spirits from the waters Moses parted _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 08:20:37 -0600 (CST) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: Jingle vs Genius On Thu, 25 Feb 1999, Kristen Weissleader wrote: > I thought I was goofy for liking some of those commercial jingles. I liked > the car commercial mentioned and I also like the bit used for Showtimes > commercials. I hear them and wonder if they are only jingles or if there is > an actual artist's CD that they used. I could, however, do without the VW > "Da Da Da" song. Remember that "actual artists" make the music for commercials. Remember Kate Bush's music for Fruitopia, John Zorn's for some advertising company or other, Karl Jenkins' "Diamond Music", etc. - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 09:33:45 -0500 From: Chris Sampson Subject: Re: Jingle vs Genius Joseph S. Zitt wrote: > Remember that "actual artists" make the music for commercials. Remember > Kate Bush's music for Fruitopia, John Zorn's for some advertising company > or other, Karl Jenkins' "Diamond Music", etc. And... remember that EcTo's own KB sometimes pays the bills this way... He may be one of the most notable examples of the interrelatedness of jingles and genius (and not just because he's probably listening in)... It's not that the composers CAN'T be geniuses... It's that a clever, hummable jingle (as its own entity) shouldn't be mistaken for genius just 'cause you can't get it out of your head. Chris ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 08:33:11 -0600 (CST) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: Fela Kuti (was Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation) On Fri, 26 Feb 1999, Ofer Inbar wrote: > For some reason, when I posted in this thread the other day, Africa > slipped my mind. Some of the best male vocals I've heard come from > Africa. I can't imagine why I didn't mention Baaba Maal, for example. > > But especially Fela Kuti. Oh, yeah! Fela ruled. (Literally, actually, having declared his own country :-]) Whenever I need music to really get me going, I put on one of his discs. For a comparison: when Talking Heads got into their extended dance material, on "Remain in Light", "Stop Making Sense", and "Speaking in Tongues", this is what they were listening to. I'd recommend "Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Volume 1 and 2" if you can find it. His stuff has been put out in a lot of different configurations, mostly on labels that blink in and out of sight, but his work was quite consistent, and you can't go wrong with any of them. - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 08:55:49 -0600 (CST) From: "Joseph S. Zitt" Subject: Re: Jingle vs Genius On Fri, 26 Feb 1999, Chris Sampson wrote: > It's not that the composers CAN'T be geniuses... It's that a clever, > hummable jingle (as its own entity) shouldn't be mistaken for genius > just 'cause you can't get it out of your head. This, however, begs the question of what "genius" is, how it can be conclusively spotted, if at all, and how a perception of genius can be shown to be "mistaken". - - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 10:09:19 -0500 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: Compilation update Here's the list of contributors I've received so far: Jessica Weiser [Songbird22@aol.com] John Drummond [johnxxiii@yahoo.com] Heather Russell [hrussell@bellsouth.net] Joseph S. Zitt [jzitt@humansystems.com] 5:00 Holly J Tominack [htominack@erols.com] "Stimulous Bound" Bill Mazur [wpm@value.net] and Katheleen Michaels 10:30 Dirk Kastens [Dirk.Kastens@rz.uni-osnabrueck.de] 6:00 Kim Justice [justicek@home.com] Of those who have given me a hint of their intent, it ranges from existing demos/tracks, new tracks yet to be recorded, original material and covers of Happy's or other's material. I am presuming no one has a problem with any of these categories. After all, most have programming functions on your cd players, right? Also, if time permits and no one objects, I could probably contribute a track or two on behalf of my friends Denise and Dawn (aka Sweeter Than Wine), who are little known outside of Connecticut (and by no means a household name within!). I am not a musician nor an artist, I just do computer stuff. Still looking for sleeve art volunteers. Don't make me attempt something truly creative, people could get hurt! Mike (aka Fog) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 09:04:15 -0800 (PST) From: Rubber DeNiro Subject: Re: Compilation update I'd like to contribute a track. I've been working on my singing recently and have sung at a friend's wedding to gratifying reviews. I've also been seeing a vocal coach who's been very encouraging. I'll also contribute design time; that's where most of my professional experience lies--that and writing. Any need for liner notes contributions? I'd be happy to edit a collection of Ecto-wide contributions, which is kind of how I imagine the liner notes of this project. - --charley - ---Foghorn J Fornorn wrote: > > Here's the list of contributors I've received so far: > > Jessica Weiser [Songbird22@aol.com] > John Drummond [johnxxiii@yahoo.com] > Heather Russell [hrussell@bellsouth.net] > Joseph S. Zitt [jzitt@humansystems.com] 5:00 > Holly J Tominack [htominack@erols.com] "Stimulous Bound" > Bill Mazur [wpm@value.net] and Katheleen Michaels 10:30 > Dirk Kastens [Dirk.Kastens@rz.uni-osnabrueck.de] 6:00 > Kim Justice [justicek@home.com] > > Of those who have given me a hint of their intent, it ranges from existing > demos/tracks, new tracks yet to be recorded, original material and covers of > Happy's or other's material. I am presuming no one has a problem with any of > these categories. After all, most have programming functions on your cd > players, right? > > Also, if time permits and no one objects, I could probably contribute a > track or two on behalf of my friends Denise and Dawn (aka Sweeter Than > Wine), who are little known outside of Connecticut (and by no means a > household name within!). > > I am not a musician nor an artist, I just do computer stuff. Still looking > for sleeve art volunteers. Don't make me attempt something truly creative, > people could get hurt! > > Mike (aka Fog) > > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 13:24:50 EST From: Hiptones@aol.com Subject: Male Vocalists, Pianists, and Live Recordings.... 'Lo all, It's so funnt, but in the past few days, volume on the list has been pretty high. That's always nice to see. And although I sometimes have some opinion on many of the discussions, being the lurker that I am, I am just contented to read the articles and not post. I find myself wanting to now just because the discussion of male vocal players, keyboard/piano players, and a short discussion on the quality of live recordings have brought one name overwhelmingly to my mind. I am biased. I'll admit that right from the start, as he is one of my favorites and I'd fork over my soul to have his abilities. The name that comes to mind is Billy Joel. As far as his voice is concerned, it's very flexible. He can do the straight ballads, rock and roll, and blues. He has a lot of soul in his voice that you don't see in a lot of pop artists. You can almost tell that his giving you everything he's got in the music that he makes. I believe that his piano skills are top notch. I would put him right up there at the same level as Elton John. Hell, they shared the same stage together on two, well, one and a half tours. That shows at least a little mutual admiration going on there. And lastly, his live shows are superb. If you've ever seen or heard his live concerts from Russia, or seen him live yourself, you can hear the difference between his music live as compared to his recorded material. There are only a portion of artists (especially small in the mainstream pop realm) that sound as good or better live than they do in the studio. Billy Joel is a prime example. I find that after hearing him live that it's a little difficult to listen to some of the studio work. Songs like Only the Good Die Young, Sometimes a Fantasy, and Stilleto are nice on the album, but they come alive in concert. I think it's the difference between something inert and something alive. His enthusaism and effort can't exactly be caught in a recording studio, but is evident at his shows. That's why when he came to town, I layed down the $40 I really couldn't afford to see him in person. This may have been his last tour for a while as he's concentrating on classical music in the near future and I didn't want to miss what might've been my last chance at seeing him live. I've rambled for long enough....later all, Chad ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 14:50:01 -0500 From: "Kevin Pease" Subject: Re: Male Vocalist Recommendation >>Bill Mazur writes: >Can you please tell me a little bit more about Richard Shindell. The >Real Audio clips that I have heard sound like he is in the folk/country >vein. How would you describe his voice and his music? What recording of >his would you recommend and why? I've only heard him on the Cry Cry Cry album, but I'm definitely interested in hearing more of his stuff... as far as what his voice sounds like, I would say that to me, he sounds similar to James Taylor... not an exact match, I'm sure, but that's the closest comparison I can make... Kevin - ---------- Kevin Pease kbpease@boston.crosswinds.net ICQ UIN: 3106063 AOL IM: kbpease http://www.crosswinds.net/boston/~kbpease/ "I know it's been quite a long time since I / Sang a hymn without guilt in my eyes / But I believe he truly wouldn't care 'cause if you / Really tried he'd save a place for you there..." ---(Sarah Slean, "John XXIII")--- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:03:30 -0800 From: "Neil K. Guy" Subject: Re: straight from the horse's mouth At 2:36 AM -0800 2/26/99, John Drummond wrote: > [...] As a matter of fact, I think I >rather serve a unique place on Ecto as the Token Asshole. It's good >to have the curmudgeon on the list who won't hesitate to holler at >everybody and present different opinions beyond those of niceness, >herbal tea, justice for all, and the Democratic Party, so perhaps I'm >actually useful to y'all. [...] blah blah blah One of the great things about Ecto, and one of the main reasons I suspect many of us subscribe to this list, is that people generally *choose not* to be assholes. Strong opinions, yes. Deliberately inflammatory shit, no. There's no shortage of asshole-laden lists and groups out there. The world is full of them. So, personally, I think it's terrific that there's this small outpost of civility on the Net. Long may it last. - Neil K. - -- t e l a computer consulting + design * Vancouver, BC, Canada web: http://www.tela.bc.ca/tela/ * email: tela@tela.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 14:16:46 -0700 (MST) From: Neal Copperman Subject: wyrd sisters I've been having a stupendous time crashing Folk Alliance. I owe a ton of reviews, plus comments on Peter & Wendy in Berkeley too, though I don't have time for that at the moment. Folk Alliance is insane. Since I'm not registered, I can't go to any of the daytime and evening events (except a few public ones). However, the entire area goes nuts when the main events end at 10:30. Then, the showcases start. I stayed in the Hyatt last night, though there are showcases in the Convention Center and Doubletree as well. These are wide open. So I saw Laura Love twice and a slew of others I'd have to check my fliers to identify by name. These showcases run from about 10:45 until roughly 3 am. In the Hyatt, there were close to a dozen showcase rooms. Then there is the music that is just happening. Pickup groups filled lobbies and hallways. Top Swedish fiddlers sat in the hotel bar area with a handful of fans/fiddle players and jammed the whole time I was there (11 to 2:30). I have no idea when they stopped. I was wandering down a hallway and I heard some excellent music coming from one of the rooms. This was a real hotel room. One bed, with a second stacked up against the wall to make room. There were maybe 10 people inside, and a woman with a guitar singing amazing songs. No mics, lit only partially by the rooms lamps. When she was done, I was amused to find out that it was Trina Hamlin, who Ofer has mentioned a number of times. (I mentioned this to her afterwards.) Anyway, I actually started writing this cause one of the artists being in the main daytime showcases (that I can't go to) is the Wyrd SIsters. A friend who joined me in the early evening to scoop up fliers had heard them and thought they were wonderful. She's really eager to get ahold of some of their discs, but I couldn't find any places on-line that carried them. (I did only a cursory search.) Any suggestions? They are a Canadian band, and have a future page planned for the ecto guide. thanks, neal np: The Cello Suites Inspired by Bach - Yo-Yo Ma ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 16:38:31 -0500 (EST) From: cos@wbrs.org (Ofer Inbar) Subject: Re: world music, Fela Yes, this is old... So old I'd better quote all the context. On Mon, 05 Oct 1998 11:59:21 -0700, "C. K. Coney" wrote: > Ofer Inbar wrote: > > > I started it, so I guess I'll continue it :) > > > > Joseph Zitt wrote: > > > C. K. Coney wrote: > > > > Is anyone else on ecto heavily into world music...or am I straying > > > > off topic by wanting to compare notes on this genre? > > > > > > Hmm... depends what you mean by World Music. My last major in college > > > was ethnic and electronic music, and my first published composition was > > > for gamelan ensemble, so I guess I count. I get annoyed by the groups > > > that sample arbitrary ethnic musics to drop on top of banal beats, so > > > there's some stuff in the field that I don't go for, but I do like a > > > lot of the stuff that gets farther out and stays closer to its sources. > > > > World Music, to me, means music that takes two or more different > > ethnic roots forms and blends them, or combines an ethnic roots form > > with something else that is not of the same source, and ends up being > > something new. It can, like any other form, be bland and uncreative. > > > > The term "world music" is being misused when it's simply referring to > > anything that is not "ours". If we in the USA can call Gamelan "world > > music", then the Javanese can call cowboy poetry "world music". In > > that sense, the only music that isn't "world music" is the music that > > comes from the same culture as the speaker. > > Good distinctions made here! But if you do a radio show, for > example, that features music from all around the world, none from > the U.S. at all, what would you call your offering? "International > music" perhaps? Just curious, maybe searching for more elaboration. Here are some actual show names and descriptions that have been on the WBRS program schedule over the past decade, some of which are current and some of which are not. Homeland: Ethnic and roots music from America and around the world Roots Connection: African, Caribbean, and Latino music All Genre All Night: Freeform programming drawing on our diverse collection of music of all genres. When you're dealing with the industry, such as reporting to trade magazines or finding the right radio service department at a record company, you have to deal in their terms. AAA, World, Alternative... But when you're designing a program schedule or arranging your music library, you can use your own words, names, and definitions. -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@leftbank.com cos@cs.brandeis.edu All genre ethnic diversity... 24 hours/day, 365 days/year programming... FREE live music three times weekly... WBRS in Waltham, FM 100 in stereo, your FM connection with the world. -- WBRS (100.1 FM) -- WBRS@brandeis.edu http://www.wbrs.org/ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #71 *************************