From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #403 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, December 9 1999 Volume 05 : Number 403 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Hocus Pocus [Bill Mazur ] Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Re: Best Albums of 1999 [Bill Mazur ] Re: Best of 1999 lists [Valerie Kraemer Richardson ] Best of 99 [anna maria "stjärnell" ] More exact time for VB's concert [Yngve Hauge ] RE: rem debate [Amy Lotsberg ] Re: Best of 99 [Neile Graham ] Re: Oregon [Zoetrope ] Re: Oregon [Joseph Zitt ] all things come to a close when they're ready to [Cheryl Carlson ] Re: Oregon [Zoetrope ] Re: Ceili Rain [Bill Adler ] Re: Oregon/ Icarus [kerrywhite@webtv.net (kerry white)] Jill Tracy and Claudia Sarne... separated at birth? [John Drummond ] Re: Ceili Rain [Neal Copperman ] Re: Ceili Rain ["Mickey Ferguson" ] Re: Oregon/ Icarus [kerrywhite@webtv.net (kerry white)] Re: Ceili Rain [Neile Graham ] Re: Ceili Rain [Neile Graham ] this was 1999 [Andrew Fries ] Re: Latest from Bruce C.? [JavaHo@aol.com] Re: Oregon [Steve VanDevender ] Re: Latest from Bruce C.? ["Heather Russell" ] Re: Oregon [Billi Mazur ] Re: Oregon [Bill Mazur ] Re: Oregon/ Icarus [Bill Mazur ] Re: Oregon [Bill Mazur ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 23:18:47 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Hocus Pocus dave wrote: > Hocus Pocus comes from 'Moving Waves' (1972), the second album by the > Dutch band Focus. The most noteworthy members of the band were Thijs Van > Leer (same last name as me, no relation though) on flute and organ, and > guitarist Jan Akkerman. > I have the album on CD (I.R.S. X2-13060) I'm not sure if it's still > available though. > Amazon.com lists it as 'lable out of stock' but they do have realaudio > samples. Moving Waves is a wonderful album with many beautiful and powerful pieces of symphonic progressive rock music on it. It is a classic within the Progressive Rock genre. The song "Hocus Pocus" is atypical of the music on Moving Waves. Per the band members of Focus via numerous interviews at the time of the release of Moving Waves, the song "Hocus Pocus" was a throw away track on the album. It was a joke track. They used to jam after a serious rehearsal to unwind and "Hocus Pocus" was one song that evolved from those jams. It does have a little bit of a heavier flavor (perhaps even heavy metal flavor) to it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 03:00:03 -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********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ************** Michele Wellck (mwellck@alumni.stanford.org) *************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Michele Wellck December 08 Sagittarius Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Renee Canada Tue December 13 1977 Sagittarius Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti Sat December 15 1956 queen_nefertiti@prodigy.net Damon Harper Tue December 16 1975 COOL BANANAS Laura Clifford Tue December 17 1957 Sagittarius Dirk Kastens Tue December 17 1963 Sagittarius Milla Wed December 17 1975 Sagittarius Chris Schernwetter Tue December 17 1974 Sagittarius Sherry Haddock Sat December 17 1960 Sagittarius Tracy Benbrook Tue December 18 1973 Sagittarius Mark Lowry Mon December 22 1969 Capricarius Uli Grepel Wed December 25 1968 Steinbock Joseph Wasicek Sat December 25 1976 Brown Eagle Stuart Castergine Mon December 30 1963 You Are Here Marvin Camras Sat January 01 1916 Tapehead Jeanne Schreiter Tue January 03 1967 Capricorn John Sandoval Wed January 04 1967 Capricorn Paul Cohen Tue January 05 1954 Capricorn Tony Garrity Mon January 08 1962 Pool of Life - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 00:24:59 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Best Albums of 1999 NNadelS@aol.com wrote: > It's getting to be that time. Granted, there are still a couple of weeks for > albums to be released, but I've got a preliminary one: Thanks for getting the ball rolling Nick. Here are my choices. Many of them are not all that Ectophilic. 01) Julian Lennon - Photograph Smile (Julian has put out a mature and stunning work here. Highly recommended.) 02) Marillion - Marillion.Com (They always put out consistently wonderful music.) 03) Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream (A well crafted prog rock masterpiece - The Beatles meets Pink Floyd in the 90s.) 04) Moody Blues - Strange Times (Best Moodies release since the Classic 7 of the 60s/70s.) 05) Yes - The Ladder (Best Yes release since "Going For The One".) 06) Tori Amos - To Venus & Back (Not as strong, but it's still Tori - my vote for Ecto Goddess next to Happy.) 07) Eurythmics - Peace (I love this CD! Great new collection from one of my favorites.) 08) Azigza - Whose Portals Are Night and Day (Cy and Aryeh are brilliant! I can't wait for their full length release in a month.) 09) Spock's Beard - Day for Night (Another gem from these guys.) 10) CSNY - Looking Forward (Not as strong as I had hoped for but still quite good. I am sentimental towards CSNY, especially the survivor Cros. He has gained wisdom and humbleness through all of his trials and tribulations.) Bill M. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 04:06:07 -0500 From: Valerie Kraemer Richardson Subject: Re: Best of 1999 lists So, my relatives are all demanding to know what I want for Christmas this year at the same time that this "Best of..." thread was started. What excellent timing!! I'm so glad you all didn't wait until the very end of the year this year. I seem to have bought very little music this year and attended few live concerts. I can blame it on new motherhood, I guess. I look forward to hearing all of the new Christmas booty I'm now going to ask Santa for. - --Valerie Richardson ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 01:35:25 -0800 (PST) From: anna maria "stjärnell" Subject: Best of 99 Hi.. Okay.. here's my list in no particular order. Tom Waits "Mule Variations" Kristeen Young "Enemy" Jill Tracy "Diabolical Streak" Mary Lydia Ryan "Diaphanous" Emily Bezar "Four Walls Bending" Nicolai Dunger "This Cloud is Learning" Ingy "Unlikely Heroes" Sandy Dillon "Eletric Chair" runners up:Cibo Matto,Kym Brown,Siobahn MacGowan,Marc Almond and Creatures. Am selling/trading a copy of Jerry Burns eponymous album if anyone is interested. Anna Maria __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 11:42:40 +0100 (CET) From: Yngve Hauge Subject: More exact time for VB's concert Hi, The record company in the Netherlands says that Velvet Belly will start their concert at 23.30. So if you just want to sem them then that is the time to be there (or some time before that :). You already know that, but I wanted to repeat it - the concert in Utrecht is free. It will be a full concert, so don't worry about that. - -- Yngve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 07:55:50 -0600 From: Amy Lotsberg Subject: RE: rem debate >lyrics to rem's >the sidewinder sleeps tonite. > >is the chorus: > >call me when you try to wake her up > >OR > >i won't even try to wait for her > >OR something else I always thought it was "Call me until I wake up" Because then he said, (I think) "I can always sleep standing up" makes me think he is talking about himself. Not a "her". Funny how we all see things differently!!! ~Amy Women in Music http://www.ecalos.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 07:11:31 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Best of 99 anna maria "stj”rnell" wrote: >Am selling/trading a copy of Jerry Burns eponymous >album if anyone is interested. Hey, I recommend this to anyone interested in the more pop-ish stream of ecto music. Jerry Burns has a lovely voice and some good material. She was one of the people I discovered through Vickie's Femme Music Collection tapes so many years ago, but I haven't had the album that long (thanks Geoff)--I gather it's now out of print. There's a page on her on The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music if you want more info. http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/guide.cgi?artists/burns.jerry - --Neile - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Neile Graham ...... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ....... neile@sff.net Les Semaines: A Weekly Journal . http://www.sff.net/people/neile/semaines The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ....... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 11:09:18 -0500 From: Zoetrope Subject: Re: Oregon neal copperman wrote: >Susan also mentioned a band called Oregon. ANyone know anything about >them? She said they were really great, and that she was using their bass >player on the new album. I heard someone playing an Oregon cd once after a long night of classicly bad live blues rock, and I liked it so much I had to ask the host who it was. From what I understand, Oregon is a group of musicians who have also played with Paul Winter in one of his various incarnations, so if you like well-crafted instrumental world-beat new-age sort of efforts (I forget if what I heard from Oregon had lyrics, it was a late night over a year ago and I only heard it once, but it left enough of an impression on me to tell myself to pick some up if I saw it for a reasonable price somewhere), you will enjoy this band. ~!@L. n.p.: Yo Yo Ma, Inspired by Bach n.r.: a number of software manuals ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 12:08:56 -0500 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Oregon Oregon is quite wonderful. Their music prefigured new age without turning into mindless mulch, with strong instrumental work (I don't think they ever had lyrics). The original memeber were Glen Moore, Paul McCandless, Ralph Towner and Collin Walcott, with Trilok Gurtu in there for a few years. You've probably heard their track "Icarus". Check out their site at http://www.dioxine.com/disco/oregon/oregon.html On Wed, Dec 08, 1999 at 11:09:18AM -0500, Zoetrope wrote: > neal copperman wrote: > > >Susan also mentioned a band called Oregon. ANyone know anything about > >them? She said they were really great, and that she was using their > bass > >player on the new album. > > I heard someone playing an Oregon cd once after a long night of > classicly bad live blues rock, and I liked it so much I had to ask the > host who it was. > > >From what I understand, Oregon is a group of musicians who have also > played with Paul Winter in one of his various incarnations, so if you > like well-crafted instrumental world-beat new-age sort of efforts (I > forget if what I heard from Oregon had lyrics, it was a late night over > a year ago and I only heard it once, but it left enough of an impression > on me to tell myself to pick some up if I saw it for a reasonable price > somewhere), you will enjoy this band. > > ~!@L. > > n.p.: Yo Yo Ma, Inspired by Bach > n.r.: a number of software manuals > - -- |> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CD: Shekhinah: The Presence http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 12:00:12 -0500 From: Cheryl Carlson Subject: all things come to a close when they're ready to For those of you interested in the Ani controversy, check out Alan's cynical-yet-often-oh-so-true stance: http://www.gliff.org/ani/indexLast.html (in case you're not in-the-know, he was formerly THE ani web source, before "she became irrevelant", as he put it. Maybe some of you will know what I'm talkin' 'bout :-) :: sigh :: Oh, by the way, I'm Cheryl, and new to the list about a month ago. - - Cheryl carls146@msu.edu > Yes, she is aware b/c someone mentioned that it was pretty contradictory of > her to go off about ABC, NBC, MTV, etc. in "To the teeth," yet 32 Flavors has > been used a few times now for football, and she has done something for MTV > now too... So, they wrote this letter to her management, and on one of the > websites you can see it, I think, but I can't remember where it is. > > Jessica ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 12:39:09 -0500 (EST) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Ceili Rain Or is that Ceili Reign? Anyway, my co-worker is at it again. This time, a Celtic fusion band by the above name is doing a show at the Ram's Head in early January. I love traditional Irish music, and I love people who modify it in interesting ways. But I've also seen and heard some Celtic fusion bands I thought were pretty horrid. Anyone know this one and have any comments. To put my tastes in prespective. I've seen bands like Tempest and Wolfstone, and have found them either mediocre or dreadful. I felt pretty similarly about Tempest's album too. I like some of Caterwaul, but when I saw them live, anything that wasn't purely traditional sounded shlocky. I have no patience with the light pop (with really no hint of Celtic influence) in the Corrs. I love The Pogues, Afro-Celt Sounds System, the first Mouth Music, and Mary Jane Lammond. I rather like Ashley MacIsaac too. And there is probably more in this vein that I can't think of at the moment. So, where does Ceili Rain fit in? Thanks, Neal np: Strange Little Girl (i think it's called...) - Iva Bittova ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 12:49:39 -0500 From: Zoetrope Subject: Re: Oregon Joseph Zitt wrote: > Oregon is quite wonderful. Their music prefigured new age without > turning into mindless mulch, with strong instrumental work (I don't > think they ever had lyrics). I always hesitate before referring to a piece of music as "new age", no matter how accurate the moniker, because it brings to mind so much of the schlock that is widely available. Fortunately I find that there is a good deal of talented musicianship out there that redeems the genre. But I guess one could say that about any musical category! ~!@L. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 14:14:20 -0500 From: Bill Adler Subject: Re: Ceili Rain Neal, I've never heard of them. But Ceili Rain has their own web site, http://www.ceilirain.com/. There are some rather positive reviews and sound clips at the usual place, Amazon.com. I'd be interested in knowing more about them, too. It was good seeing you at the Susan McKeown performance. (Great show!) - --Bill n.p. Second Story At 12:39 PM 12/8/99 -0500, you wrote: >Or is that Ceili Reign? Anyway, my co-worker is at it again. This time, >a Celtic fusion band by the above name is doing a show at the Ram's Head >in early January. I love traditional Irish music, and I love people who >modify it in interesting ways. But I've also seen and heard some Celtic >fusion bands I thought were pretty horrid. > >Anyone know this one and have any comments. > >To put my tastes in prespective. I've seen bands like Tempest and >Wolfstone, and have found them either mediocre or dreadful. I felt pretty >similarly about Tempest's album too. > >I like some of Caterwaul, but when I saw them live, anything that wasn't >purely traditional sounded shlocky. > >I have no patience with the light pop (with really no hint of Celtic >influence) in the Corrs. > >I love The Pogues, Afro-Celt Sounds System, the first Mouth Music, and >Mary Jane Lammond. I rather like Ashley MacIsaac too. And there is >probably more in this vein that I can't think of at the moment. > >So, where does Ceili Rain fit in? > >Thanks, > >Neal > >np: Strange Little Girl (i think it's called...) - Iva Bittova Bill Adler Adler & Robin Books www.adlerbooks.com/celticmusic.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 14:57:18 -0600 (CST) From: kerrywhite@webtv.net (kerry white) Subject: Re: Oregon/ Icarus Hi, Oregon started up a long time ago. I have always used the word 'morose' in descriptions. The late Mr McCandless' oboe always sounded suicidal. Ralph Towner wrote Icarus, and has done it with every group he has been in, including just guitar and vibes w/ Gary Burton. I have a memory that it was the first music played on the moon. It was also covered by Synergy. I once had a tape with 4 or 5 versions of it. If you like Paul Winter (which absorbed many of Oregon), you'll like Oregon, just don't play it on a grey day. KrW "Yes, it left a great gaping hole in the water!" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 12:51:35 -0800 (PST) From: John Drummond Subject: Jill Tracy and Claudia Sarne... separated at birth? > Our copy of her second arrived today (I haven't > ordered the first yet) and Jim commented that she > sounds like the lead singer of 12 Rounds with Mary > Lydia Ryan's backup band. Yeah, I thought so about the 12 Rounds comparison as well... I'm going to email Jill and ask if she's ever heard them before... I still haven't heard Mary Lydia Ryan, but she's on my buy-it-damn-you list. :D John ===== "However, for all you S&M fans out there, fill your jodhpurs with whatever tickles your fancy, xoxo." - - Kym Brown __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 16:41:45 -0500 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Oregon/ Icarus On Wed, Dec 08, 1999 at 02:57:18PM -0600, kerry white wrote: > Hi, Oregon started up a long time ago. I have always used the word > 'morose' in descriptions. The late Mr McCandless' oboe always sounded > suicidal. Ralph Towner wrote Icarus, and has done it with every group > he has been in, including just guitar and vibes w/ Gary Burton. I have > a memory that it was the first music played on the moon. It was also > covered by Synergy. I once had a tape with 4 or 5 versions of it. If > you like Paul Winter (which absorbed many of Oregon), you'll like > Oregon, just don't play it on a grey day. "morose"? "suicidal"?! Remind me not to leave you alone with a razor and any recording other than "Walt Disney's Happiest Songs"! :-) I hear it as soothing, uplifting, and intriguing. But those who have heard the music that I make know where to put that in context... - -- |> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CD: Shekhinah: The Presence http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 17:09:58 -0500 (EST) From: Neal Copperman Subject: Re: Ceili Rain On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Bill Adler wrote: > I've never heard of them. But Ceili Rain has their own web site, > http://www.ceilirain.com/. There are some rather positive reviews and > sound clips at the usual place, Amazon.com. I'd be interested in knowing > more about them, too. Well, based on the 10 positive reviews on amazon.com, I don't want to go. If I read it right, they fall clearly into the Wolfstone/Tempest crowd. Plus, most of the reviews said things like: who says Christian rock is boring? As a Christian I was scepticle of these scraggly looking guys, but they turned out to be fantastic. It's definitely a bias of mine, but when the Christian angle shows up in front of the music angle, well, that's almost always a bad sign . (It's a questionable sign when it shows up as the second mention too.) I have never read amazon music comments before. I long ago decided the book comments were completely useless, and would expect the same of the music. I like to ask here, cause the opinions mean something to me. Why should I trust the fact that some random person somewhere thinks the music is good? That usually means absolutely nothing. neal np: Ghost Town Girl - Sally Fingerett ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 16:49:24 -0600 From: "Mickey Ferguson" Subject: Re: Ceili Rain Neal Copperman" wrote: : : Or is that Ceili Reign? Anyway, my co-worker is at it again. This time, : a Celtic fusion band by the above name is doing a show at the Ram's Head : in early January. I love traditional Irish music, and I love people who : modify it in interesting ways. But I've also seen and heard some Celtic : fusion bands I thought were pretty horrid. : : Anyone know this one and have any comments. : : To put my tastes in prespective. I've seen bands like Tempest and : Wolfstone, and have found them either mediocre or dreadful. I felt pretty : similarly about Tempest's album too. : : I like some of Caterwaul, but when I saw them live, anything that wasn't : purely traditional sounded shlocky. : : I have no patience with the light pop (with really no hint of Celtic : influence) in the Corrs. : : I love The Pogues, Afro-Celt Sounds System, the first Mouth Music, and : Mary Jane Lammond. I rather like Ashley MacIsaac too. And there is : probably more in this vein that I can't think of at the moment. : : So, where does Ceili Rain fit in? Hi Neal, You sound like you've made up your mind already, but I'll go ahead and give you my opinion of Ceili Rain, and their eponymous CD. I've had the CD for about six months, now. (ordered from BMG Music Club!) I like it. Some of the lyrics are pointedly Christian, especially the first track, "That's All the Lumber You Sent" and "Call Home". What brings me back to this CD from time to time is the (dare I say?) virtuosity of Hunter Lee, who plays whistle, Uilleann and Highland pipes, Irish flute, and didjeridu. He is absolutely incredible on the last track, "666 Degrees". I think I would go and check them out, just to see this guy play. ymmv, of course. btw, I can make available a couple of mp3's if you're interested and able to play them. You'll need a fast connection or a lot of patience, though (I encoded them at 224kbps, for some silly reason) Best regards, - ---Mickey F Austin TX USA n.p. Hovhaness, "And God Created Great Whales" n.r. Good Omens, Gaiman/Pratchett ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 17:46:00 -0600 (CST) From: kerrywhite@webtv.net (kerry white) Subject: Re: Oregon/ Icarus Okay, maybe "has morose moments" would have been closer to it. The oboe has always had that effect on me when not played "brightly". I had 3 or 4 Oregon LPs and I'm not a glutton for morbidity. I believe Mr McCandless did commit suicide and that may have colored my memories. Let me reiterate: if one likes Paul Winter one may love Oregon. bye, KrW "Yes, it left a great gaping hole in the water!" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 16:31:32 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Ceili Rain Neal wrote: >I like some of Caterwaul, but when I saw them live, anything that wasn't >purely traditional sounded shlocky. Neal, you mean Capercaillie here, don't you? Caterwaul, while it does use a mandolin (heh) is not in any way a traditional band. And I, too, have very narrow tastes in traditional Irish/Scottish/English music. I can't stand the stuff that's too mainstream, too New-Agey, too this and too that. I've almost given up expecting to like traditional stuff--just when I do it delights me so much I keep looking and listening. In my eyes Sandy Denny was the best in this field; I'd say now for me it's Eliza Carthy, though I am very fond of Susan McKeown, too. Cordelia's Dad for American. - --Neile - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Neile Graham ...... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ....... neile@sff.net Les Semaines: A Weekly Journal . http://www.sff.net/people/neile/semaines The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ....... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 16:25:37 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Ceili Rain Neal write: >I have never read amazon music comments before. I long ago decided the >book comments were completely useless, and would expect the same of >the music. I like to ask here, cause the opinions mean something to me. >Why should I trust the fact that some random person somewhere thinks the >music is good? That usually means absolutely nothing. I'd like to figure out some nice tidy phrasing that will help me explain to random visitors to the Ectophiles' Guide site why we don't allow anyone with an email address to review anything the way amazon and other sites do. That the value of our site is that it's from people with some common ground. - --Neile - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Neile Graham ...... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ....... neile@sff.net Les Semaines: A Weekly Journal . http://www.sff.net/people/neile/semaines The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ....... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 11:17:16 +1100 From: Andrew Fries Subject: this was 1999 1999 was simply one of the best years I can remember, it was a year of discovery of new, exciting acts, welcome returns of old favourites, few break-ups and above all, so much excellent music! I'll have to be really disciplined if I'm going to stick to just 10... All the same, I have no problem at all choosing my most important and best record of this year: 1. LAMB - Fear of Fours. I love the textures, arrangements and vocals on this record, that's right - - I *love* Lou Rhodes' voice. The way she sings "Lullaby" sends shivers down my spine! And that double bass, ah - this is heaven! The consensus on Ecto seems to be that their first one was better but all I can say is for whatever reason I truly bonded with Fear of Fours while their first remains just "very good" in my book. 2. Povi - Life in Volcanoes. For largely personal reasons: my Goddess is back! But I think I'd love this record anyway, even if I didn't know the first thing about them... 3. Kym Brown - Pygmalion There has been so much said about it already, I've nothing to add. Amazingly strong debut! 4. Suvome - The Sunlight Embassy Another electronica album, another amazing debut! 5. Pavo Cristatus - self titled. Very few people will know about this one, though I posted about them once; they are another local act, very experimental, based around electronic sounds, amplified cello and operatic vocals they are a bit of departure from my usual tastes. That might be yet another reason why I enjoy enjoying it so much. 6. Sarah Slean - Blue Parade. Wow, I'm down to no. 6 already, and this is the first non-electronica entry on my list! This really has been a different year for me! 7. Mary Lydia Ryan - Diaphanous, but that probably includes a few tracks from her first one as well - I got them both at the same time and they blended into one record in my mind... 8. Wendy Rule - Deity/Zero. Another Australian and technically shouldn't be on this list since Deity came out in 98 and Zero even before then - but I only found her this year and I like her so much I've got to squeeze her in somehow... Voice to die for. 9. The Innocence Mission - Birds Of My Neighborhood. My initial opinion still stands: this is my favourite IM album; I love their new, almost slow-core approach. Even more so, because I don't expect it to become their usual style. 10. Electrostatic - this is a new concept for my top-10s as this is not a CD, but a directory on my hard disk with their mp3 tracks I downloaded from mp3.com... another electronica entry, and it gets the last spot here on the strength of the fact that it's been one of the most often played items in my collection and that has to mean something. Actually it probably just means they remind me of my local favourites Kinetic who only released 3-track demo themselves. Honourable mentions: Tori Amos who would probably place if only she wasn't so mainstream by now - yes, I admit it: I'm a snob. Beth Orton whom I really liked at first but she kind of slipped out of my mind as the year went on, and Cowboy Junkies who would've made my list if only top-10 had 11 slots (I guess I should've started counting from 0!). That goes for Lori Carson, too! Finally Cooldown who missed out because their release was just an EP. Jill Tracy I really like, perhaps not enough to place in the top 10 but she has a comfortable position just below. And Natalie Merchant whose live CD doesn't really add any new insights, but hey, it's more Natalie - for an addict like myself that's enough to celebrate. Lino were also pretty good - just not good enough for top-10. Finally, I have to mention Trancevision - another electronica act from mp3.com, just as good as Electrostatic but with only EP's worth of material. Still waiting for: Veda Hille, whose record I think I largely know already from Neile's sampler tape but the CD itself hasn't arrived yet, and Heather Duby whom I think I'll really like, but again, her CD is still on its way. My Scarlet Life, which I'm supposedly getting as a Christmas gift, and Emm Gryner - I still have to order that one... The song I hummed most often: For the second year running this prestigious award goes to Sarah Slean. Either for Blue Parade, or Madeliene - both have been on high rotation in my shower throughout this year :) Some exciting discoveries I can claim myself rather than credit to Ecto: Kinetic and Iliad - two local bands who are still working on their first releases. Suvome who did release a CD and see - it got them a spot in my Top-10; what's left for them to achieve now? Something Urban and Acquiesce are also locals and generating just slightly lower levels of excitement... Electrostatic and Trancevision - I found these two while browsing mp3.com Exciting surprises: Pavo Cristatus: their existence was no surprise since I've been coming to their (very rare) performances for a couple of years but I actually thought they broke up, when they surprised me with a CD instead - please let me have more shocks like that, I know I can handle it! Angie Hart returned with Splendid, and returned to Australia so I could finally see her again! Crista Calero returned with Povi, but so far there are no signs of her coming to play any gigs in my neighbourhood... can't have everything, I suppose... Swirl (also locals) returned from the dead, with a new lineup and improved sound. Disappoinments of the year: I can't actually think of any musical let-downs at the moment, that's how good this year was! (except Ani's Up Up Up... if it was released this year and not 98. I can't check because I sold my copy) I'll also include here the demise of our Ectofest CD project, it could've been our finest hour... it was not our fault, though. I have to question the wisdom or even sanity of any indie artist who would deliberately turn down a chance of exposure and association with Ecto, but naturally that is their right. Ecto itself went through a couple of seismic shocks this year, but hey - we're still here. After all, in internet years Ecto is older than the pyramids; occasional tremor just shows it's still alive :) PS. my movie of the year: Run Lola Run! - ------------------------------------------------------ "Circus dogs jump when the trainer cracks the whip, but the really well-trained dog is the one that turns somersaults when there is no whip." --George Orwell - ------ http://www.zip.com.au/~afries/hall.html ------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 20:23:17 EST From: JavaHo@aol.com Subject: Re: Latest from Bruce C.? Heather is playing: << n.p. Bruce Cockburn - The Charity of Night (still a favorite) >> Me too!!!! What a well-crafted album. Time to haul it out and take it to work. Thanks for bringing it up. Cheers...Lisa ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 17:27:17 -0800 (PST) From: Steve VanDevender Subject: Re: Oregon I have to keep looking twice at all this discussion of whether Oregon is depressing or not, as I am prone to interpret the discussion in a completely different context. :-) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 13:54:24 -0500 From: "Heather Russell" Subject: Re: Latest from Bruce C.? >At 01:55 PM 12/7/99 -0500, "Heather Russell" = wrote: >>Hi everyone, >> >>I remember hearing somewhere that Bruce Cockburn has a new album = coming >>out. >> >>Has anyone heard it? Has it been released yet? >Breakfast in New Orleans. >I was just looking at it last night as I moved my 'to be listened to = again'=20 >stack(s) off of the computer, thinking I need to put it back into = listening=20 >cycling. (It was one of those situations where I bought several CDs at = the=20 >same time, liked this one quite a bit, but was more strongly taken by a = >couple of the other discs; Breakfast got relegated to less frequent=20 >listening of that batch, and migrated down in the stack) >It came out several months ago, I think. Great guest artists on = harmony &=20 >a duet: Lucinda Williams, Margo Timmins, Jonell Mosser. >Regards, >Carolyn Andre Carolyn, Thanks for the info - I will look for it in my local record store this = weekend! :) heather - -------------------------------------------------------------------- Heather Russell My music website: http://www.heatherrussell.com MP3 downloads: http://www.mp3.com/artists/27/heather_russell.html CD "just in time": http://www.cdbaby.com/russell - -------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 20:51:54 -0800 From: Billi Mazur Subject: Re: Oregon Zoetrope wrote: > neal copperman wrote: > > >Susan also mentioned a band called Oregon. ANyone know anything about > >them? She said they were really great, and that she was using their > bass > >player on the new album. > > I heard someone playing an Oregon cd once after a long night of > classicly bad live blues rock, and I liked it so much I had to ask the > host who it was. > > >From what I understand, Oregon is a group of musicians who have also > played with Paul Winter in one of his various incarnations, so if you > like well-crafted instrumental world-beat new-age sort of efforts (I > forget if what I heard from Oregon had lyrics, it was a late night over > a year ago and I only heard it once, but it left enough of an impression > on me to tell myself to pick some up if I saw it for a reasonable price > somewhere), you will enjoy this band. Your description of Oregon is quite accurate. They really were doing a mix of jazz, classical, folk/rock and world instrumental music before the terms world beat and new age became the commonplace labels they are today. Oregon included the talents of their leader, Ralph Towner, who is an amazing and versatile 12-string guitarist. The group also includes the inventive reeds (clarinet, oboe) playing of Paul McCandless. Try the CD "The Essential Oregon" as a starting point. Bill M. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 20:53:20 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Oregon Yeah what Joseph said! ;-) Again Joseph we appear to be on the same wave length. Joseph Zitt wrote: > Oregon is quite wonderful. Their music prefigured new age without > turning into mindless mulch, with strong instrumental work (I don't > think they ever had lyrics). The original memeber were Glen Moore, > Paul McCandless, Ralph Towner and Collin Walcott, with Trilok Gurtu in > there for a few years. You've probably heard their track "Icarus". > > Check out their site at http://www.dioxine.com/disco/oregon/oregon.html > > On Wed, Dec 08, 1999 at 11:09:18AM -0500, Zoetrope wrote: > > neal copperman wrote: > > > > >Susan also mentioned a band called Oregon. ANyone know anything about > > >them? She said they were really great, and that she was using their > > bass > > >player on the new album. > > > > I heard someone playing an Oregon cd once after a long night of > > classicly bad live blues rock, and I liked it so much I had to ask the > > host who it was. > > > > >From what I understand, Oregon is a group of musicians who have also > > played with Paul Winter in one of his various incarnations, so if you > > like well-crafted instrumental world-beat new-age sort of efforts (I > > forget if what I heard from Oregon had lyrics, it was a late night over > > a year ago and I only heard it once, but it left enough of an impression > > on me to tell myself to pick some up if I saw it for a reasonable price > > somewhere), you will enjoy this band. > > > > ~!@L. > > > > n.p.: Yo Yo Ma, Inspired by Bach > > n.r.: a number of software manuals > > > > -- > |> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <| > | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | > | Latest CD: Shekhinah: The Presence http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | > | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 21:00:31 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Oregon/ Icarus Joseph Zitt wrote: > On Wed, Dec 08, 1999 at 02:57:18PM -0600, kerry white wrote: > > Hi, Oregon started up a long time ago. I have always used the word > > 'morose' in descriptions. The late Mr McCandless' oboe always sounded > > suicidal. Ralph Towner wrote Icarus, and has done it with every group > > he has been in, including just guitar and vibes w/ Gary Burton. I have > > a memory that it was the first music played on the moon. It was also > > covered by Synergy. I once had a tape with 4 or 5 versions of it. If > > you like Paul Winter (which absorbed many of Oregon), you'll like > > Oregon, just don't play it on a grey day. > > "morose"? "suicidal"?! Remind me not to leave you alone with a razor and > any recording other than "Walt Disney's Happiest Songs"! :-) > > I hear it as soothing, uplifting, and intriguing. But those who have > heard the music that I make know where to put that in context... I agree wholeheartedly agree that Oregon's music is soothing and uplifting. I guess the tonality of the oboe always tends to give a piece of music a touch of melancholy. I always felt that McCandless' playing really tugged at the heartstrings. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 21:04:36 -0800 From: Bill Mazur Subject: Re: Oregon LOL That was funny Steve! :-) Steve VanDevender wrote: > I have to keep looking twice at all this discussion of whether > Oregon is depressing or not, as I am prone to interpret the > discussion in a completely different context. > > :-) ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #403 **************************