From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #378 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, November 14 1999 Volume 05 : Number 378 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Happy/Project Lo at the Wire [moseley@tatrc.org] ecto-tolerable holiday albums [joann.whetsell@oberlin.edu (JoAnn Whetsell] Re: Kris Delmhorst [Ofer Inbar ] Zap Mama, the early albums [Ofer Inbar ] Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums [Jeffrey Burka ] phantasmagoria [Jeffrey Burka ] Re: tori on tv [rebel without a clause ] village voice article [rebel without a clause ] Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums [moseley@tatrc.org] MWABT: so good it's frightening (was Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums) [] Re: _Village Voice_ article [Philip David Morgan ] xmas music; village voice [joann.whetsell@oberlin.edu (JoAnn Whetsell)] Re: weekend music [Michael Curry ] Meredith Brooks / Jewel [Mark Miazga ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 14 Nov 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********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************************* Neil K. (nkg@vcn.bc.ca) ************************* *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Neil K. Thu November 14 1968 Grocible Dave Cook Mon November 15 1971 Scorpio Jeff Pearce November 16 Orpheus Naama Avramzon Mon November 18 1974 Scorpio Jeff Smith Mon November 19 1962 Crash Kevin Bartlett Fri November 21 1952 Scorpio Claudia Spix Wed November 23 1960 Schuetze Anja Baldo Tue November 23 1965 Garbanzo Tommy Persson Wed November 25 1964 Sagittarius Pat Tessitore November 26 Sagittarius Valerie Kraemer November 26 Sagittarius Justin Bur Fri November 27 1964 Sagittarius Sue Trowbridge Sun November 27 1966 Skytten Ward Kadel Tue November 29 1977 Sagittarius Mirko Bulaja Sat November 30 1974 Block Juha Sorva Thu December 02 1976 Sagittarius Chip Lueck Thu December 05 1968 Sagittarius Michele Wellck December 08 Sagittarius Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Renee Canada Tue December 13 1977 Sagittarius - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 13:20:45 -0700 From: moseley@tatrc.org Subject: Happy/Project Lo at the Wire Hello all... I was one of the few privileged ones to catch Happy Rhodes and Project Lo at the Wire in New Cumberland, PA Saturday night, so I thought I'd share my thoughts with the group. First of all, the turnout was dismal. When Happy played there in October, it was mentioned on this newsgroup that the turnout was a disappointing 30 or so. Last night was even worse -- only about 15 to 20 people in the audience total. Bon Logaza said it was like a living room concert. To their credit, nobody in the band came onstage acting as though they were disappointed with the turnout. I'm not a big fan of Project Lo. I bought their "Black Canvas" CD awhile back so that I could have the two Happy tracks. The concert did heighten my opinion a bit of Project Lo's work... it comes a bit more "alive" in the concert setting, and Bon is an impressive guitarist. But it's still not really to my taste, and when the Project Lo material is alternated with Happy material, to me that just magnifies how much more melodic Happy's own work is. But I digress. The band consisted of Bon Logaza on guitars, Happy on keyboards and vocals (she also played acoustic guitar on her own songs), Hansford Rowe on bass... and a guy on drums whose name escapes me, unfortunately (especially since he was quite good). The sound was great, a bit louder even than when Happy was there before, although like the last time Happy played at the Wire, her lower-end vocals often were drowned out by the drums and bass. The Project Lo material was almost completely taken from the "Black Canvas" CD, with the exception of "Hip Hopnosis." They opened with "Your Mind," which is a cool, tribal-sounding song; Happy doesn't sing it on the CD, but she sang it at the concert, and wow -- I wish I had her version of it. Their setlist also included Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" (very nice to hear live), "Rajah," "D.I.E.," "Perfection" (of which Happy quipped that Bon had written it about her), and (I think) "Retribution." Hansford Rowe sang two songs from his new CD, the title of which escapes me. He mentioned that Happy sings on this CD -- does anyone have any info about this? (I'm assuming she contributed background vocals.) The first song he did -- "Muhammad Ali" -- sounded distractingly dissonant, but the second (which they never named, but had the line "I'm a star without a gazer") was much better. Needless to say, the Happy material was the highlight of the concert for me... I almost feel like I should be apologetic to the Project Lo guys; I couldn't help but compare both their songs and their singing to Happy's own as long as she shared the stage with them, and ultimately the comparison doesn't do them good. Maybe I'm not in a good position to judge them, being a die-hard Happy fan, but that's just the impression I got. Anyway, I was very pleased that of the four songs Happy performed last night, only one ("Ra Is a Busy God") was a repeat from her October performance at the Wire. She also did "The Chariot," "Feed the Fire," and "Collective Heart." I'm still waiting for the day when "Down, Down" makes it back into her setlist. The between-song banter was relaxed and nicely unrehearsed (sometimes to the point of the bandmembers interrupting each other), but again I'd have liked to hear more of Happy's trademark kidding around, but understandibly, she graciously left most of the talking to Bon. Anyway... overall a good, solid concert. Happy did make a comment to me after the show indicating that the turnout was a bit of a disappointment. I sincerely hope she doesn't become discouraged and that these numbers aren't typical of Project Lo's current tour. Just thought I'd share... S.P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 13:44:51 -0500 (EST) From: joann.whetsell@oberlin.edu (JoAnn Whetsell) Subject: ecto-tolerable holiday albums someone was talking about festivals of light the other day, and with the barrage of holiday music that's about to begin, it would be nice to have some ecto opinions on good holiday music. i like to add stuff to my collection each year. so, for my part, i'll mention some albums i really like. Jane Siberry-- Child I think enough well-deserved discussion and praise has been lavished on this album that I don't really need to say anything more about it. :) Various Artists-- Winter, Fire & Snow This is a REALLY good compilation with songs from around the world. Includes Jane Siberry, Jewel (on a song that shows that she really does have a beautiful voice when she uses it), Clannad, Anuna, Ottmar Liebert, Manu Dibango, Gipsy Kings, and others. This is probably my very favorite holiday album. And more a winter album. It's pretty secular. George Winston-- December This is one of his better and more distinctive albums. And I love his version of Carol of the Bells Mary Margaret O'Hara-- Christmas EP 4 great songs. A must for fans. Kind of hard to find, unless you're in Canada (which is where I got my copy) but well worth it. Tchaikovsky-- The Nutcracker Suite i don't think anything more needs to be said. :) Venus Envy-- I'll Be a Homo For Christmas This is hands down THE funniest album I own. For queers and allies, but not for people who don't like irreverent treatment of Christmas songs, both traditional religious and secular. Then there's Tori's Spark single that has We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Purple People (Christmas in Space). And Putomayo has a world Christmas collection that's pretty good. Can't remember the exact title, but I think it's World Christmas or something like that. and of course there'll always be a special place in my heart for Johnny Mathis' version of "Sleigh Ride" and the Beach Boys' "Frosty the Snowman" because I grew up with certain Christmas records. JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 13:44:37 -0500 From: Ofer Inbar Subject: Re: Kris Delmhorst Sherlyn Koo wrote: > Drew said: > >14th * Kris Delmhorst - Rose Street > > I am falling absolutely in love with Kris Delmhorst's > album! To me it seems like most of the things that I > like about Ani, without all the stuff that I *don't* > like about Ani, if that makes sense. meredith wrote: > Drew posted: > > >14th * Kris Delmhorst - Rose Street > > Any east coasters got good things to share with > > us west coasters to help talk us into going? > > (Actually, I need no help, I'll be there.) > > Go! She's just so damn cute!!! Oh yeah, and she can sing and play > the guitar and fiddle pretty good, too. :) I hope I'm not too late to chime in, since the show he noted is gonna happen tonight, but Kris actually has two more shows left on her west coast tour: sunday 11/14 @ rose st., berkeley, ca 7pm; 510-594-4000 x687. wednesday 11/17 @ strings, emeryville, ca 510-653-5700. Kris Delmhorst is one of the best singer/songwriters, performers, and jam musicians I know of in the northeast. I love her. She's well on her way to being as much sought after as Jennifer Kimball to be on other albums. She's a member of the Vinal Avenue String Band, she was in Catie Curtis' band playing fiddle & singing backups for part of their recent northeast tour, she was one of the organizers of the Respond compilation, and part of the Respond showcase at Falcon Ridge this year, and you should expect to start seeing her pop up on lots of albums by other people in the coming year, in addition to her next album. I have never left a Kris Delmhorst show anything other than satisfied and happy. It's like going to see The Nields - I can expect the best and never be dissatisfied. She's cheerful, friendly, charismatic but unassuming, and as meredith said, very cute! She has a voice that is a please to listen to, her lyrics are intelligent and well written, she knows how to play guitar and she *really* knows how to play fiddle. At her solo shows you probably won't see her fiddling, unfortunately, you generally only see that when she's playing with other people or in Vinal Avenue String Band. But definitely, by all means, if you can go see her, do. I give her my strongest level of recommendation :) Sample lyrics from one of my favorite Kris Delmhorst songs: I love North Dakota because you have never been there and the days go on forever and the towns all look the same and I can ride the back roads and I can walk the main streets and show someone your picture but they would not know your name [behind that is a haunting percussive ethereal guitar groove] If you go to see her show, but not only her CD, but also her tape is she has it. Ask her if she's got the tape, she may not have it out. It came before the CD, and the recordings aren't as good, but it's got a she no longer does, and the real gem for me, a version of North Dakota with *banjo*! Oh, and definitely tell her I say hi, and I miss her :) -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@polyamory.org http://www.leftbank.com/CosWeb/ -- WBRS (100.1 FM) -- info@wbrs.org http://www.wbrs.org/ "so you think you're hot shit 'cause of the way you made me shake and shiver I can do that by myself going 20 in the breakdown lane." -- Kris Delmhorst ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 13:55:33 -0500 From: Ofer Inbar Subject: Zap Mama, the early albums JoAnn Whetsell wrote: > did no one mention this or did i just miss it or not pay attention (silly > me if i did) that zap mama has a new 1999 album, a ma zone, and it is > sooooo good, and i am sorry that their tour (which was discussed here) Yup, I did mention A Ma Zone. I actually haven't gotten around to buying it yet, but at the shows they were handing out free smapler cassettes with a bit of A Ma Zone, so I have that. The album wasn't out yet when they were in the northeast. I'll have it soon, though. In fact, I think it's in that CDnow package that arrived for me at the office this week while I was in DC, so I should have it on Tuesday... > isn't coming anywhere near me because i would so so go, even several hours > away, and they played here at oberlin the semester i was home on medical > leave. sad, sad, but the album is really fantastic, do check it out, and i > will have to go buy their back catalog because the only other cd i have by > them is 7. Oh my! Do you really mean that Seven is the only Zap Mama album you've heard? Are there other people out there like this? Zap Mama fans, don't do this to yourselves! Zap Mama's first two albums, the self-titled (re-released as "Adventures in Afropea volume 1") and Sabsylma, as a pair, are I think one of the greatest events in musical history. These are the albums where Zap Mama really developed the power and possibilities of the female voice as a musical instrument, before they began putting in a lot of stronger drum & bass instrumentation. The newer stuff still have the ensembled of 6 female voices as the core instrumentation, but listening to the first two albums can give you a much better ability to really hear what they're doing under (or over) all that other sound. If you have A Ma Zone or saw the recent tour, and you're an ectophile, chances are some of your favorite parts were the odd little vocal intros and bridges in a lot of the songs. On the first two albums, those odd little things *are* the songs, and they're explored much further. These two albums are must haves for all ectophiles, IMO. -- Cos (Ofer Inbar) -- cos@polyamory.org http://www.leftbank.com/CosWeb/ -- WBRS (100.1 FM) -- info@wbrs.org http://www.wbrs.org/ Romkey's Law: all unanimous decisions are wrong. Proof: "They can't ALL be right. So if they're all saying the same thing, it must be wrong." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:00:31 -0500 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums JoAnn sez: > it would be nice to have some ecto opinions on good holiday music. > i like to add stuff to my collection each year. thanks for the list... a lot of these come up every year, but I'll mention 'em for the folks out there who're newer... Loreena McKennitt's _To Drive the Cold Winter Away_ -- traditional and original xmas tunage, mostly recorded in big old reverby churches in the uk. Probably the only really xmas-y album I can deal with. She also had an EP, _A Winter Garden_ (or something like that) which I once referred to as sounding like Loreena had gotten bored and decided to run TDtCWA through a Mask and Mirror filter (think that made it into the Guide). Anyway, if you like the more recent stuff, you'd like this. I don't, particularly. Susan McKeown's _Through the Bitter Frost and Snow_. Some of it grates on me (clearly, my tolerance for xmas music is rather low), but I'd gladly have paid twice the price just for her version of "Auld Lang Syne." But frankly, there are so many standout pieces on this album that it really belongs in any self-respecting collection. the recently mentioned _Festival of Lights_ collections from Six Degrees. And finally, one of my very favorite soundtracks, _Toys_. The movie was somewhat dismal, but the soundtrack is mindboggling. Tori and Jane on the same album, along with Wendy and Lisa, Grace Jones, Thomas Dolby, Enya...mmm. tasty. Which reminds me that I need to pick up a copy for my folks...I brought it over to their apartment last december to play during some sort of gathering, and didn't get it back for six months, and only then by force. ;-) jeff n.p. MWABT. This album is SO GOOD IT'S FRIGHTENING. In case you hadn't noticed. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:01:42 -0500 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: phantasmagoria So Craig and I are planning to go to the Project Lo / Happy show at Phantasmagoria in Wheaton Thursday evening. Anyone else in the DC area planning to be there? Anyone know details on ticket price, when doors open, etc.? (I haven't gotten around to calling the club yet and the details aren't on the web site...) jeff n.p. duh. it's only been 30 seconds since my last post. ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:03:29 -0500 From: rebel without a clause Subject: Re: tori on tv when we last left our heroes, JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu exclaimed: >Also, a note from the atlantic records website. Tori will be co-hosting 120 >minutes this weekend. that's an mtv show, i think. and they'll play the >video for "1000 oceans" it airs late sunday night/early monday morning at >1. or maybe at midnight. mtv's listings disagrees tv guide.... also, tori is slated to appear on comedy central's the daily show on tuesday, november 16th. the daily show airs at 11pm. check your local listings for the channel comedy central is on your local cable system. woj ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:10:46 -0500 From: rebel without a clause Subject: village voice article this article from the village voice has been making the rounds of the tori amos lists (for obvious reasons), but also touches on the lilith phenom and the fall-out. ecto-yakking fodder, for sure. ;) woj p.s. slap my fingers if this has already been posted... > > >from Village Voice, November 10-16, 1999 > > ONLINE WITH THE DIVINE > BY BARRY WALTERS > > "The world is a piece of shit." > > That observation, courtesy of Fiona Apple on the occasion of her > first MTV Award, suggests how Apple and Tori Amos, the moment's > prime purveyors of particularly female pop aesthetics, inspire fits > of both devotion and derision. It's the Extreme Metaphor, a trope > as excessive as an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo or a Puff Daddy > sample, and it's a key ingredient of their clit-pop, the female > singer-songwriter precursor to cock-rock's second cumming circa > Woodstock '99. > > After years of multiclimactic success, the clit-pop boom is now > fucked/over, with recent releases from Alanis Morissette, Paula > Cole, Meredith Brooks, Indigo Girls, and maybe even Amos herself > sinking under the current teen-pop and metal-rap waves. Only Jewel > and Sarah McLachlan, the most femme of the platinum females, have > survived the year without surrendering significant chunks of their > mainstream followings. When women-in-rock shifted from movement to > trend, the backlash was bound to happen, and maybe it's necessary > for the survival of the species. Would second-stringers Cole and > Brooks have scored iconic hits in any other era than Lilith's > girls-with- guitars-are-good epoch? > > As evidenced by the latest from Amos and Apple, post-Lilith > clit-pop is shifting focus from the shopping center of daily life > back to the bedroom of dreams. These albums favor passion, art, and > cult followings, and leave mainstream sales pitches to the > salesmen. Amos's To Venus and Back was originally planned as a > double-live package, then reconceived as half B-sides, and > ultimately transformed into a new album with a second disc of > concert obscurities and radically revised favorites, most of the > latter from '94's Under the Pink. The title of Apple's album-a poem > sometimes recited by the singer in concert-says it all and then > some: When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What > He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win > the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter > When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own > Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You > Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and If You Fall > It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right. > > See what I mean about the Extreme Metaphor thing? When you hold > your own hand, you tend to lose your grip on reality. Yet Amos and > Apple suggest the letting-go process allows you to get in touch > with your soul. Or something like that. It's often tough to grasp > what these musical mystics mean, and the ambiguity is both blessing > and curse. Unlike Patti Smith, whose classic tunes command a > directness her lyrics avoid, Amos and Apple are composers first and > rockers second. They don't always speak in hooks and punch lines, > although Apple's latest packs plenty of both, and Amos has > certainly written her share, as that crowd-pleasing "Precious > Things" line-"Just because you can make me cum doesn't make you > Jesus"-reminds us within the live disc's first few minutes. Yet few > chart acts of any gender or genre communicate as deeply through > their instruments and voices as this pair, whose desire-drenched > pianos and pipes seem online with the divine. > > To Venus and Back is Amos at her most demanding, and not just > because of its 123-minute playing time. The studio disc presents > little of the symphonic filigree that sweetened her previous four > albums, and the mostly plugged live set is similarly trebly, even > harsh. Trip-hop's growing influence bends the music toward furry, > gnarly textures, not laid-back grooves, while the tunes are slight > by Amos standards. > > That combo bespeaks the new material's original B-side mindset. > "Lust" is a simple piano ballad gone curvy from copious echo > effects. "Glory of the '80s" could've been a straightforward > rocker, but its gurgling arrangement nearly swallows her vocal. The > two-part "Datura" begins with a list of plants Amos grows in her > garden recited over a lumbering, tricky time signature, then shifts > into a looping shuffle while she chants "dividing Canaan" for > reasons that remain mysterious. The only cut with a coherent lyric, > "1000 Oceans," evokes every McLachlan weeper and would be sappy if > it wasn't for the real disappointments of Amos's career: This is a > woman whom radio avoids, yet she fills arenas. When she creates > something radio-friendly, it seems more fluke than calculation. And > radio still ignores her. > > Whereas Venus serves as an obscurely lovey-dovey tribute to Amos's > new marriage, When the Pawn . . . comes across as candid > documentation of Apple's apparently troubled relationship with > Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson, who also shot the > album's first video, "Fast as You Can." Apple reveals severe > emotional messiness, yet remains self-aware and perhaps > self-defeatingly articulate about her insecurities and > shortcomings, which is very New York of her. You can hear the years > spent growing up on the Upper West Side, a child of performer > parents, melodrama in her blood. > > Apple's arty predisposition and prodigious gifts allow this > 22-year-old to wax poetic and make it rock because her delivery is > so dexterous and forceful. "Please forgive me for my distance/The > pain is evident in my existence," she pleads memorably on "To Your > Love," adding an additional "distance/resistance" rhyme for good > measure. Matching the fluid phrasing of classic jazz crooners and > poets to today's jarring confessions, her dusky alto spews venom as > if it was cinnamon honey flowing from her pretty mouth. Apple > offers 57 reasons why she can't be trusted, tells her beloved to > "fuckin' go" nearly as often, and fights with an intensity that > conceals wounded love beneath the spiteful barbs. She's a brainy > femme fatale straight out of codependent hell. > > Such megamoodiness would be unbearable without a sense of the > absurd. So be thankful collaborator Jon Brion produces and > orchestrates When the Pawn . . . with a retrofuturist wit that > tickles the singer's urbane candor. Brion-responsible for much of > the instrumental character of debuts by Rufus Wainwright and Macy > Gray as well as Apple-references dry Beatle sonics while summoning > electronica's otherworldliness and hip-hop's street savvy. With its > verse, chorus, and bridge sporting unrelated rhythms, "Fast as You > Can" rivals recent Destiny's Child and Jordan Knight hits for > disjointed weirdness. Here and elsewhere, Apple approaches Amos > levels of keyboard mischief, and her self-deprecation is as sharp > as her amorous attack. "I know I'm a mess he don't wanna clean up," > she bebops with newly improved intonation on "Paper Bag." The > whimsy peaks on "A Mistake," where our heroine escapes the weight > of mature expectations with intentional errors. "If you wanna make > sense, whatcha looking at me for?" she queries. "I'm no good at > math." Doh! > > It isn't fair to compare Apple's benchmark with Amos's stopgap. > When the Pawn . . . capitalizes on its uneven predecessor's > strengths, whereas To Venus and Back summarizes the past while > adding a tossed-off present. Amos's reliably wayward discs always > get better with age, whereas Apple is still refining herself, her > album instantly engaging. Both clit-poppers inhabit islands of > mindful, willful adulthood in a fake adolescent sea. Those shallow > waters are OK to visit, but here is where I'd rather live, cuz > sometimes the world is a piece of shit. > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 15:04:08 -0700 From: moseley@tatrc.org Subject: Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums Jeffrey Burka beat me to the punch when he said: >Loreena McKennitt's _To Drive the Cold Winter Away_ -- traditional >and original xmas tunage, mostly recorded in big old reverby churches >in the uk. Probably the only really xmas-y album I can deal with. She >also had an EP, _A Winter Garden_ (or something like that) which I >once referred to as sounding like Loreena had gotten bored and decided >to run TDtCWA through a Mask and Mirror filter (think that made >it into the Guide). Anyway, if you like the more recent stuff, >you'd like this. I don't, particularly. I was getting ready to add Loreena McKennitt to JoAnn's list when Jeffrey beat me to it... although, I have to say, my opinions are kind of the opposite of his: I prefer Loreena's Winter Garden EP to _To Drive the Cold Winter Away_. Something about TDTCWA is just a bit too reverby, and even a tad too bland for me. I do agree with his assessment that "A Winter Garden" sounds like it was run through the Mask and Mirror filter (the percussion on "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" to my ear sounds identical to the percussion on "The Mystic's Dream"), but I still really like the EP thoroughly (especially the new version of "Snow"). And I second the mention of the _Toys_ soundtrack. Excellent stuff, especially the Grace Jones track. It gives me goosebumps, and not much music does. Finally, let's not forget Happy's take on "O Holy Night." I'll forever be grateful that she did such a pretty, calm take on a song that too many singers feel obliged to use for roof-raising. S.P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 15:08:05 -0700 From: moseley@tatrc.org Subject: MWABT: so good it's frightening (was Re: ecto-tolerable holiday albums) Jeffrey Burka also said: >n.p. MWABT. This album is SO GOOD IT'S FRIGHTENING. In case you >hadn't noticed. Amen, brother. The world needs to accept the power of MWABT or suffer the consequences. The more I listen to it (one year and counting), the more convinced I am that it will become and remain my all-time favorite album. Unless, of course, Happy somehow manages to top herself in the future. S.P. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:36:08 -0500 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: Re: _Village Voice_ article Hello, Woj: > this article from the [_Village Voice_] has been making the rounds of the > tori > amos lists (for obvious reasons), but also touches on the lilith phenom and > the fall-out. ecto-yakking fodder, for sure. ;) > > It is also accessible via the _Long Island Voice_ website (both weeklys are published by - and will soon be sold by - the same company).... http://www.livoice.com/ Some on the list might prefer to read the Tori Amos interview in the new Tower Records _PULSE!_ (the issue with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor on the cover). Philip David (talk about crossing here and there) 11/14/1999 np: _Princess Mononoke [Mononoke-hime]_ soundtrack - Joe Hisaishi (Milan/BMG - go see this film if can!) - --- http://members.dencity.com/SakuraNation/ http://dianewolkstein.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 14:42:56 -0500 From: meredith Subject: weekend music Hi! The past few days have been pretty good ones for music. Our copy of Emily Bezar's _Four Walls Bending_ arrived on Wednesday, and on Friday and Saturday we saw a couple good shows. First, Emily. Wow. Throughout my very first listen a barrage of "best of the year" vibes were coming out of the CD player. It's lush, it's demanding, it's gorgeous, and it shakes these four walls when you crank the bass on the equalizer. Tasty doesn't even begin to describe it. I can't stop listening to it ... even to check out Amy X Neuberg's new one, which arrived in the same package. woj has been obsessing over that one, bopping around the house chanting "bison bison bison" incessantly. It's just starting to get annoying. ;> Friday night woj, Mike Curry and I met up at the Acoustic Cafe, a new venue in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. It's run by RichF, who used to run the Acoustic Studio in Stamford. He's just getting it going and there are still some wrinkles to work out (especially with the PA, which due to its placement on the tiny stage created a constant buzzing in the speakers), but it's a really nice, comfortable space and this area desperately needs something just like it. Merrie Amsterburg was on the bill this time, and it was great to see her again. She and Peter Linton did two sets, during which they covered much of _Season of Rain_ and a lot of new material which is going to be on the new album due out in March. Merrie said afterward that the album was being mastered that very day, so it's true -- we'll finally have another CD from her! Whee!!! The new stuff was really good, too. A highlight of the show was her solo mandolin cover of The Pretenders' "2000 Miles", which is her contribution to a holiday music compilation I can't remember the name of. She said she was feeling a bit under the weather, but she sounded fine and appeared to be having a good time. Last night we headed up to Boston to meet up with Paul Kim at the Berklee Performance Center to see Natalie McMaster. woj and I had seen her once before, at the Philadelphia Folk Festival a couple years ago, and she blew me away then with her goofy energy. Last night there was plenty of that, but I wasn't as impressed as the last time -- I think she's got too much rock stuff going on in her band now (full drum kit, electric guitar and bass, Hammond organ). She's still one hell of a fiddler, though, and judging by her between-song banter and all the bouncing around she was doing while she was playing, she is indeed an incurable goofball. I'm still not moved to buy any of her albums, but it was good to see her play again. This week is going to be another good one: Sarah Slean is playing in NYC!!! She'll be at CB's Gallery on Wednesday at 10 pm, and every single area ectophile is expected to be there or I'll personally hunt you down and slap you. ;> Apparently someone else on the roster that night has a pretty big following, so the venue is recommending either pre-ordering tickets via Ticketweb or showing up early. Since people tend only to show up for the hour their favorite artist is playing I don't think Ticketweb is absolutely necessary, but we are planning to get there early just in case. And on Friday, Pamela Means is going to be at the Acoustic Cafe. She rocks. I can't wait to see her play again. (Note for the area Kris Delmhorst fans: I think she's going to be at the Acoustic Cafe on December 11.) +==========================================================================+ | 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, 14 Nov 1999 17:27:11 -0500 (EST) From: joann.whetsell@oberlin.edu (JoAnn Whetsell) Subject: xmas music; village voice I forgot to mention another favorite compilation. BILLBOARD'S TOP CHRISTMAS HITS. this has some really funny songs like alvin and the chipmunks singing i forget what, "i ain't getting nothin for christmas" as well as adult stuff like something by elvis and a really good song by otis redding. and i think it even has that beach boys' version of frosty the snowman. :) the village voice article. That was........ weird. i couldn't tell tell whether the author was being sarcastic, demeaning, or what. Even the complimentary stuff seemed kind of insulting. And clit-pop? I don't even know where to begin with that one. I think that the "confessional" female singer-songwriter thing did get really trendy for a while, and it seemed that there were all these women who wrote unoriginal, uninspired songs who couldn't sing particularly well or play guitar and/or piano particularly well getting signed to record labels, having a top 40 hit or two, and fading into the sunset. IMHO of course. I think that has eased up though, and I'm glad. Still, I think Tori and Fiona don't really fit the female singer-songwriter model. Well, they do partly, and then in many ways they don't. I think they're much more influenced by the psychoanalytical tendencies of our culture. I think the real point is that the female singer-songwriter model is something made up (another cultural construction!!) yes, i have taken women's studies classes JoAnn, who lost her train of thought a while back np: Rebecca Timmons s/t album I LOVE this. i hardly listen to anything else. nr: Italo Calvino Numbers in the Dark a Calvino story a night before going to sleep produces weird and wonderful dreams. :) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 17:28:31 -0500 From: Michael Curry Subject: Re: weekend music I can pretty much just "me too" the parts of Meredith's posts about Emily and Merrie, but I'll actually comment on some of the rest... At 02:42 PM 11/14/99 -0500, meredith wrote: >Last night we headed up to Boston to meet up with Paul Kim at the Berklee >Performance Center to see Natalie McMaster. woj and I had seen her once >before, at the Philadelphia Folk Festival a couple years ago, and she blew >me away then with her goofy energy. Last night there was plenty of that, >but I wasn't as impressed as the last time -- I think she's got too much >rock stuff going on in her band now (full drum kit, electric guitar and >bass, Hammond organ). She's still one hell of a fiddler, though, and >judging by her between-song banter and all the bouncing around she was >doing while she was playing, she is indeed an incurable goofball. I'm >still not moved to buy any of her albums, but it was good to see her play >again. I'm glad it wasn't just me, the purist, who found some of the rock elements annoying. The full drum kit pretty much bugged me constantly, but when the drummer actually did a full-fledged extended drum solo... aagh! When the guitarist was using his electric that didn't work very well either. Actually, what I found most annoying were the parts of the concert where the band would just go off on some cliche rock digression. If you must add rock elements it would be nice of they were at least somewhat original and creative. Having said all of that, Natalie herself rules. She's a brilliant fiddle player, and when she was really going it was easy to more or less ignore the rest of the band. She is also, as Meredith said, quite a goofball. :) Unlike Meredith, I actually have all of her CD's except the latest one, and I highly recommend her more traditional efforts, especially _A Compilation_, which takes her first two tape-only albums and puts them on CD, and _My Roots Are Showing_, which has been available in Canada since early last year but won't be out in the US (on Rounder) until March or April. >This week is going to be another good one: Sarah Slean is playing in >NYC!!! She'll be at CB's Gallery on Wednesday at 10 pm, and every single >area ectophile is expected to be there or I'll personally hunt you down >and slap you. ;> Apparently someone else on the roster that night has a >pretty big following, so the venue is recommending either pre-ordering >tickets via Ticketweb or showing up early. Since people tend only to >show up for the hour their favorite artist is playing I don't think >Ticketweb is absolutely necessary, but we are planning to get there early >just in case. I'll add my encouragement as well. This will be my first time seeing Sarah live, but from what I've heard (mainly on her mailing list, navy-soup) she is absolutely brilliant live and not to be missed. Mike np: Kristin Hersh -- Sky Motel ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 17:41:16 -0500 From: Mark Miazga Subject: Meredith Brooks / Jewel I haven't heard much from Ms. Brooks, except that irritating hit "Bitch," but I'm wondering if anyone has heard her latest release. I'm impressed by anyone who covers Melanie, one of the most underrated songwriters of the last few decades. Brooks' new album has a cover of "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)". Also, any word on Jewel's latest? While I was extremely disappointed with "Spirit," I'm intrigued by the thought of hearing Ms. Kilcher sing "Silent Night" (among others). Plus, I'm a sucker for Holiday music to begin with. Any thoughts? None of the major music publications have run reviews of it yet, presumably waiting until closer to the holidays. I'm interested in hearing thought on either of these. Thank you much. - -- Mark Miazga e-mail: miazgama@pilot.msu.edu 143 West Akers Hall, MSU East Lansing, MI 48825 (517) 353-4936 http://www.msu.edu/~miazgama Program Coordinator of The Common Grounds Coffeehouse. Cheap Concerts every Thursday and Friday night (and more) in the basement of Akers Hall on the MSU campus. Schedule, booking, and mailing list info at: http://www.msu.edu/~cgrounds Academic and Social Activities Coordinator of Akers Hall. Office hrs Mon. & Wed. 2:30 - 4:30 and Sundays 9:30p - 11:30p. English & Secondary Education, Class of 2000 "There's power in words. There's power in being able to explain and describe and articulate what you know and feel and believe about the world, and about yourself." -- Tracy Chapman ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #378 **************************