From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V6 #50 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, February 21 2000 Volume 06 : Number 050 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] larua nyro and sheila nicholls ... ["Drowned Ophelia" ] cd's for sale [Telisa827@cs.com] Neile's Late 1999 Music Report 2/5 [Neile Graham ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2000 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********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******************** Linda Saboe (SABOE@UCIS.VILL.EDU) ******************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Linda Saboe Tue February 20 1951 aimless Teresa Ross Wed February 23 1977 pisces Michael Curry Fri February 24 1967 Pisces Paula Shanks Mon February 25 1952 Pisces Brni Mojzes Fri February 26 1965 the vanishing boy Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Peter Clark Thu March 04 1948 Pedestrian 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 - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2000 05:17:02 -0800 From: "Drowned Ophelia" Subject: larua nyro and sheila nicholls ... hello everybody ... i was wondering whether i might ask some advice. i) i am wanting to get into laura nyro. i have "stoned soul picnic" (the double CD) ... what would you recommend next? ii) has anybody else heard sheila nicholls? i'd be really, really interested to hear what everyone thinks! oracle. *********************************** chickclick.com http://www.chickclick.com girl sites that don't fake it. http://www.chickmail.com sign up for your free email. http://www.chickshops.com boutique shopping from chickclick.com *********************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2000 18:46:45 EST From: "JoAnn Whetsell" Subject: calling kay hi. i'm trying to get in touch with kay cleaves, so if you could e-mail me off-list when you get this... thanks. JoAnn ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2000 19:23:28 EST From: Telisa827@cs.com Subject: cd's for sale I have the following CD's for sale, $6 postage paid each. I'm willing to part with all 5 of them for a total of only $23 postage paid. Ingrid Karklins-"Anima Mundi" Laurie Anderson-"Mister Heartbreak" Kym Brown-"Pygmalion" Berlin-"Count Three & Pray" Zoe-"Hammer" telisa827@cs.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2000 17:36:00 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Neile's Late 1999 Music Report 2/5 Hi, all-- This is the second part of my five-part list, with the discs that got a lot of play, second only to the "adored" list, ie., the "A" list as opposed to the A++" list. - --Neile These are discs I loved this year (alphabetical order): *Tori Amos--to venus and back I like this better than I thought I would (I had bought the two singles released before the album and wasn't as drawn to them as I have been with her previous work, and I still don't particularly like either of those songs). But Tori has wondrous moments like no other. "Datura" and "Spring Haze" particular catch me and "Glory of the 80's" is quite charming and I keep finding the chorus of "concertina" in my head at odd moments, but I haven't been caught by this disc with the fishhook that lurked in her first three discs. It seems that while her songs individually catch me, somehow these last two albums as a whole haven't. Weird. I am quite enjoying the live, still orbiting disc. The versions are great, and "Cooling" here sounds like the gem the shone in the middle of the concert I heard her do. (Widely available.) Fiona Apple, when the pawn... _When the Pawn..._ shows growth and it's wonderfully produced (not overdone, which is what I feared). It seems a little more focused than _Tidal_, and even stronger and perhaps even more inventive. I'm particularly impressed that this how she answered the success of _Tidal_: not by watering down the sound that made her individual as others have done (Jewel for example) but by simply taking her music to another depth (rather like Tori did). Good for her. And what a fine album! (Widely available.) Annika Bentley, see you around lifeguard I can't remember who on ecto first mentioned Annika Bentley (Ofer?) and posted her website to the list, but whoever you are, thank you. I downloaded the sound samples on her website, and at first I wasn't particularly impressed, but I kept hearing them and they haunted me enough that I sent for the disc. I really like it. A stripped-down but still lush sound and mournful vocals. Interesting songwriting and (after a shaky start to the song) probably the best cover of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" that I've ever heard. She's doing some individual work here--different and more mournful than nearly anyone else, exploring a down, dark, deep, sound but with a delicate moodiness. (Available from the artist and maybe a few other places.) Iva Bittova, Classic This is a collection of classical, folksongs, and Iva Bittova's own compositions. Like all her work it is edgy and experimental but also profoundly beautiful. Some pieces seems truly from classical sources, others like early music, others like folk music, and yet others like extreme experimental music--yet it's always listenable and seems of a piece. A remarkable album. (Available in Europe.) Mari Boine Band's, Balvvoslatjna/room of worship I find it hard to distinguish between her discs but I like them all! This one has more of a focus on her band, but has the same earthy, folky feel of the previous ones. This is "world" music at its best: universally appealing but with a strong flavour of her homeland. (Available in Europe and as an import in the U.S.) Cooldown, ether ep_ This is a delightful ectronic ep that came in as a submission to The Ectophiles' Guide, and the label owner was kind enough to send us an extra copy so I could keep one myself. Andrew Fries just reviewed it for The Ectophiles' Guide and I don't have too much to add to his description over than Miss Benny's vocals are really lovely--high, clear, ethereal. I like the collection of tunes a lot, and will definitely track down their upcoming full-length. Like Andrew, I'll be fine with it if turning into a band doesn't change their sound much. This is great! (Available in Canada.) Bloem de Ligny, Zink I spent many weeks in 1999 obsessed with Bjork's vocal twin, bloem de ligny from The Netherlands. There's one dancey tune, but overall it's what Bjork would sound like if she were doing less dancey more odd alterna-pop-electro-rock stuff. I worry that I should be more disturbed how much her vocal style imitates Bjork--I mean, I can't imagine a review of this that wouldn't discuss the similarity--but I find myself just enjoying the album, maybe as much as I enjoy Bjork's. Her songs are very darn good. (Available in Europe only.) ani difranco, to the teeth The best of ani's albums since _Dilate_ for me--I find the overall sound and lyrics more compelling than either _Little Plastic Castle_ or _Up..._. Not too much to say about it other than this is one of her better albums to my ears. Not quite another _Dilate_ which I couldn't stop playing but definitely a repeat play. (Widely available.) Garmarna, Vengeance A knock-out wow conjunction of traditional Swedish folk and contemporary music. Their best and most unforgettable effort yet. It's really wonderful. (Small label, but widely available.) Smoke City, Flying Away After getting the "Underwater Love" song stuck in my head after hearing on MTV's _Amp_ (see? those horrible programs can sometimes bring something good to your attention!). It's Brazilian-flavoured dancey trippy ectronica with catchy hooks and great vocals. I love this. (Available in Europe.) Kristin Hersh, Sky Motel She's Kristin, which means that she's magic at writing the kind of songs that seem instantly memorable, and _Sky Motel_ shows this even better than some of her others. I think this might be my favourite of her "solo" discs after _Hips and Makers_. And from the "Echo" single I particularly love her version of "Pennyroyal Tea": wow. (Widely available.) *jr, the vision of the fool ep (Seattle release) Great jazzy/folky/pop/rock from a member of Seattle's Persephone's Circle group (she has a full-length disc just out in 2000). Not sure who to compare her work. She's got a throaty rich voice kind of like Joan Osborne, and the songs aren't that far from her earlier stuff, especially the way she uses her voice. Strong songwriting here, too, hooky and haunting. (Available from the artist and a few online sites.) Meg Lunney, The Margaret Anns This sent to me by a friend in Ottawa who was sure I'd like it, and I really do. She's a little hard to describe--more like early _No Borders Here_-era Jane Siberry than anything else I can think of. Maybe a touch of Mary Margaret O'Hara, too, particularly in the voice. Some Kristin Hersh-ishness in there, too. And a couple of Celtic songs on the disc. Interesting and different. (Available in Canada.) Mandalay, empathy Another ectronica disc, but this is more mellow than most in that area. Really lovely vocals and good songwriting. For me it was definitely worth paying the price to import it. (Available in Europe.) Linda Perhacs, Parallelograms This was done in the early '70s and is the only album Linda Perhacs released. It's psychedelic folky, beauitful, raw in places. It sometimes sounds like early Joni Mitchell and sometimes sounds like contemporary experimental music. I found it captivating. (As far as I can tell, only available through one online site, http://WWW.FORCEDEXPOSURE.COM/.) Steeleye Span, Horkstow Grange This is Steeleye Span's first album without Maddy Prior, and I like it far more than I thought I would--I almost didn't buy it. Like all of their later albums it's a bit of a mixed bag, and parts are better than others, but the high points are _very_ good--and are among my favourite moments from the band. The album opens well, with "The Old Turf Fire", then "The Tricks of London", and "Horkstow Grange" (the song the group gets its name from), then misteps (for me) with the next two songs "Lord Randall" and "Erin"--just a little lacking in verve for my tastes. "Queen Mary/Hunsden House" is nice, and then I _love_ their long version of "Bonny Birdy" which alone is worth the price of admission. "The Bonny Irish Boy" is lovely, and "I Wish That I Never was Wed" a delightful romp. The next, "Australia", is another I don't like much, but that last two tracks are quite strong, "One True Love" and "The Parting Glass". Overall, this is a surprisingly good album! (Originally a U.K. release but I think it's now available in the U.S.) Rebecca Timmons, The Turing Event This is one of those rare sophomore recordings that equals or perhaps even exceeds an amazing debut. On this disc Rebecca Timmons' rich, raspy voice sometimes croons and other times knocks you out with its power. The songwriting is equally strong--ranging from lovely soothing/haunting ballads to full-out grabbing rockers, not neglecting the kinds of pop hooks that keep a song ringing in your head but inventive enough so that the songs don't wear out their welcome there. This album, like the first, is beautiful, fierce, inventive, and highly recommended. (Available from Canadian site and one of the bigger online sources.) Underwater, you could lose A new electronic-fusion-sampling next-step-from-Cocteau-Twins album from an Atlanta group which has members of a group previously mentioned on ecto, Rosewater Elizabeth. I like this a lot, especially their use of a sample from Sixteen Horsepower on one song. Love the vocals. Another great example of ectronica, and highly recommended. (Available only from the band, I believe. Probably could also be found in Atlanta-area stores, since that's where the band's from.) *Willow, Willow (a tape and a CDR, two difference releases) The tape ep is a little uneven in recording (on the first song the vocals are buried) but the songwriting is strong in the darker contemporary folk/pop tradition, and so is her dark, deep, strong, expressive voice with a hint of raspiness in it. Really promising. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for deeply emotive, acoustic music. I find it really affecting (not affected!!). (Available only from the artist.) Zara, Avuntu She has a deep dark voice, and while she's making pop music (sounds very Turkish though), it's a little edgy. I love this. (Available in Turkey.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V6 #50 *************************