From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V6 #326 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, November 2 2000 Volume 06 : Number 326 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Bride of the son of Napster [Ted ] Correction to Bride of the son of Napster [Ted ] Re:favorite instruments [Jerene Waite ] No birthdays, just a monthly listing [Mike Matthews ] vampire songs [anna maria "stjärnell" ] Re: Favorite Instruments ["Tom Masapollo" ] Re: vampire songs [Jeffrey Burka ] Re: vampire songs ["Matt Bittner" ] RE: vampire songs [jjhanson@att.net] Re: vampire songs [Craig Gidney ] RE: Bride of the son of Napster [Phil Hudson ] Re: vampire songs ["Rosana L. de Oliveira" ] Miss Polly Jean does it again ["JoAnn Whetsell" ] Re: vampire songs ["Rosana L. de Oliveira" ] RE: Bride of the son of Napster [GSS ] The Ecto cover [Steve VanDevender ] liz phair and the girlysound tapes [Loretta Pontillo ] vampire songs ["ReNeEz DaBoMb" ] rhea's obsession ["Donald G. Keller" ] ky halloween! ["Donald G. Keller" ] Re: vampire songs [Neile Graham ] Favorite Instruments [tenthvictim@mindspring.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 02:11:58 -0500 From: Ted Subject: Bride of the son of Napster > Tuesday October 31 7:24 PM ET > Napster/BMG Alliance Draws > Mixed Reviews From Users > > LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - News that entertainment giant > Bertelsmann AG (BTGGga.D) forged an alliance with > song-swap service company Napster (news - web sites) > drew mixed reviews on Tuesday from users of the > phenomenally popular free service. > > Bertelsmann (BTGGga.D), parent of music company > BMG, said it would drop its suit against the song-swap > company once it implements a membership-based service > that pays royalties. > Well, in light of the most recent news that 1 of the big 5 has broken ranks, and the rest are sure to follow, I thought I might take some time to reflect. Apparently BMG no longer views Napster users as thieves, and we will not need to build 38 million more jail cells to house them. Napster users should feel vindicated, the jails will not be overcrowded with them. Instead we can concentrate on using that jail space to hold all the pot heads that are afflicting society with thier...um, whatever it is that pot heads do that is evil. My only regret is that Kid Rock did not starve to death as was predicted. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 02:27:31 -0500 From: Ted Subject: Correction to Bride of the son of Napster Ted (hey that's me!) wrote: > > Well, in light of the most recent news that 1 of the big 5 has broken ranks... Actually, Bertelsmann AG Time Warner's Warner Music and Bertelsmann AG's BMG are two of the five big music companies. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 23:35:26 -0800 From: Jerene Waite Subject: Re:favorite instruments I really like didgeridoo and theremin--especially together. Or flute and tambura together, with dissonance. And certain unusual female voices, especially with cello. - --Jerene ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 03:00:04 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: No birthdays, just a monthly listing - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 05:50:23 -0800 (PST) From: anna maria "stjärnell" Subject: vampire songs hi.. A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. Anna Maria __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 09:30:11 -0500 From: "Tom Masapollo" Subject: Re: Favorite Instruments Yes, I am partial to harpsichord and keyboard instruments in general. You might also like the sound of the hammered dulcimer, which is a beautiful instrument that sounds like a harpsichord. I play synthesizers so I would always have a supply of new sounds. As far as harpsichord music goes, there are many classical albums that feature the harpsichord and there was a local group in the late 60's, early 70's in my area (Philadelphia) called "Mandrake Memorial" that used the harpsichord as the lead instrument! Their music would still hold up today and probably be considered upbeat gothic music. They have 3 albums that were re-mastered onto CD but try to get the vinyl if you can because it will sound much better than the CD. (They didn't do a good job on the remastering.) later, tom m. At 10/30/00 05:42 PM Monday, Datura Child wrote: >I've noticed that many of my friends have a soft spot for certain >instruments (usually ones they play themselves). They always keep an ear out >for artists with new and inventive ways of playing them. In my case, I know >I have a particular weakness for harp, cello, and harpsichord. Does anyone >else care to share their preferences? > ____________________________________ Tom Masapollo Haddon Heights, NJ E-mail: masapollo@moorestown.tt.slb.com _____________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 21:40:32 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: PJ HARVEY new album Today I went out and bought Pj Harvey's new album "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea"...and I just want to say that I LOVE it. It is by far my favorite album by them (her). It's just SO easy to listen to, compared to "Rid of Me" or "To Bring you My Love" (which I also love). It's the album I've been wanting PJ Harvey to make for awhile now! I can't get enough of it. ~eric "Give me all your disappointments I'll give you my secrets We could lay our heads downs Or be forever sleepless" ~Jann Arden ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 09:50:23 EST From: KBolin0418@aol.com Subject: Re: favorite instruments In a message dated 00-11-01 02:56:12 EST, Jerene writes: << I really like didgeridoo and theremin--especially together.>> Can you please name some records with this combination? Thanks, Karen ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 09:56:20 -0500 From: Loretta Pontillo Subject: RE: vampire songs one that comes to mind is "Moon Over Bourbon Street" by Sting, off of good old Dream of the Blue Turtles. - -----Original Message----- From: anna maria "stjärnell [mailto:stjarnell@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 8:50 AM To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: vampire songs hi.. A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. Anna Maria __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 10:05:29 -0500 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: Re: vampire songs "anna maria stjärnell" sez: > A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I > know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire > waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. funny you should ask...I just ripped Concrete Blonde's _Bloodletting_ and was listening to it on the way to work this morning. The opening track is actually called "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)". Also, don't forget Sting's "Moon Over Bourbon Street." shouldn't there be something on the buffy soundtrack album? I have a feeling I'll think of more... jeff n.p. _Spirit_, Caroline Lavelle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 09:16:08 -0600 From: "Matt Bittner" Subject: Re: vampire songs On Wed, 1 Nov 2000 05:50:23 -0800 (PST), anna maria "stj„rnell" wrote: > A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I > know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire > waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. Sting wrote one that tied in with Anne Rice's _Interview with the Vampire_, but I don't remember the title. There was also one by Concrete Blonde that escapes memory as well. Matt Bittner __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 15:24:18 +0000 From: jjhanson@att.net Subject: RE: vampire songs Isn't there a Vampire song of some sort on Concrete Blonde's Bloodletting album? (just looked it up-- it's "Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)". Jeff Hanson > one that comes to mind is "Moon Over Bourbon Street" by Sting, off of good > old Dream of the Blue Turtles. > > -----Original Message----- > From: anna maria "stjärnell [mailto:stjarnell@yahoo.com] > Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 8:50 AM > To: ecto@smoe.org > Subject: vampire songs > > > hi.. > A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I > know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire > waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. > Anna Maria > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. > http://experts.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 08:09:28 -0800 (PST) From: Craig Gidney Subject: Re: vampire songs Amber Asylum, "The Vampire" - --Craig - --- anna maria stjärnell wrote: > hi.. > A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I > know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire > waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. > Anna Maria > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts > has your answer. > http://experts.yahoo.com/ ===== Craig L. Gidney http://profile.yahoo.com/quisquose11 Reviews of books and music, http://www.egroups.com/group/Ethereality __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 11:03:09 -0800 From: Phil Hudson Subject: RE: Bride of the son of Napster Ted sed... "....Instead we can concentrate on using that jail space to hold all the pot heads that are afflicting society with thier...um, whatever it is that pot heads do that is evil....." Nobobody expects the Spanish Inquis- oops, wrong sketch! Our chief weapons are surprise, fear and a fanatical devotion to the dope. Our favorite trick is stealing babies from their cribs and selling them into slavery to finance our pot debased habits. Our avowed mission is to overthrow the government by putting lime Jello in the water supply, but we haven't fully thought it through yet, and Dennis spent all the Jello money on beer again. I forget what the third thing was, but I think it had something to do with getting Napster users to take up all the available jail space. Resistance is - er, something! EPA ( Evil Potheads of America) " Only users lose drugs" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 17:59:53 -0500 From: "Rosana L. de Oliveira" Subject: Re: vampire songs At 05:50 AM 11/01/2000 -0800, Anna Maria wrote: >hi.. >A new thread..Does anybody know any vampire songs..I >know Happy's He Will Come and Hannah Fury's Vampire >waltz. A seasonal topic and all.. >Anna Maria Hello, There is a Sunshine Blind (a gothic band with a female vocalist) song titled "Burned at the Stake" in the album "Love the Sky to Death". Regards, Rosana rioliv@br.homeshopping.com.br http://www.geocities.com/jerayna - ------- n.p. Faith And The Muse (a gothic/medieval duo) - Evidence of Heaven ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 15:25:22 -0500 From: Ian Clysdale Subject: Re: vampire songs > n.p. Faith And The Muse (a gothic/medieval duo) - Evidence of Heaven How is this? I have (and quite enjoyed) Elyria and Annwyn, but I seem to recall having heard that Evidence of Heaven was very different from the two earlier albums. I'd really appreciate hearing any impressions of this disk. ian. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 15:35:57 EST From: "JoAnn Whetsell" Subject: Miss Polly Jean does it again I am so psyched to have this new album. Especially after having to wait a whole extra week for it. And unlike many of you lucky ducks out there with mp3's, I had no prior musical tidbits. I even stopped in the record store on my way to work even though I was already late, just to get my hands on it. And what a great album! Much in the same style as "Is This Desire?" but with a somewhat harder edge, and back in the trio format of her early days (although a 4th person, Thom Yorke, does appear on 3 songs). And I love how some of her growl-singing and some of those classic PJ wail/scream/moan sounds are back. I played it twice in a row last night (all I had time for). And I can't wait to go home and play it again. And again. JoAnn _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 18:58:51 -0500 From: "Rosana L. de Oliveira" Subject: Re: vampire songs At 03:25 PM 11/01/2000 -0500, Ian Clysdale wrote: Hello, >> n.p. Faith And The Muse (a gothic/medieval duo) - Evidence of Heaven > > How is this? I have (and quite enjoyed) Elyria and Annwyn, but I seem >to recall having heard that Evidence of Heaven was very different from the >two earlier albums. I'd really appreciate hearing any impressions of this >disk. Hmmm, I wouldn't say "Evidence of Heaven" is so very different from the other two... My big favorite is "Annwyn", but "Evidence of Heaven" follows on the same trail, with the slight difference that it's influenced by Elizabethan and Victorian melodies ("Annwyn"'s main influences were more on Celtic myths). But I can see pretty much the same style from "Annwyn", so if you liked it, I don't think you would be disappointed with this one. If anyone is interested, there are some sound samples on their site at http://www.mercyground.com/sounds/home.html Regards, Rosana rioliv@br.homeshopping.com.br http://www.geocities.com/jerayna - ------- n.p. Faith And The Muse - Evidence Of Heaven ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 13:06:45 -0800 From: Phil Hudson Subject: The Ecto cover Are there any discussions/FAQs in the archives concerning the cover of Ecto? It's very interesting graphically, but gives little indication of the style of music on the CD. Anyone have any ideas about its conception? Thanks Phil ( deliriously happy today, having just found a mint Ecto CD in the thrift store - $1.99!) Now I can give Bill Mazur his copy back! :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 15:22:15 -0500 (CDT) From: GSS Subject: RE: Bride of the son of Napster > Our favorite trick is stealing babies from their cribs and selling them into > slavery to finance our pot debased habits. Unless of course we have the munchies, then we sell the tough stringy parts to research facilites in Lima. I meant Cuba. The Cubans give us more for a single tendon than the Vatican gives us for a whole boy. Did I say Vatican? I meant France gss ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 13:26:39 -0800 From: Steve VanDevender Subject: The Ecto cover Phil Hudson writes: > Are there any discussions/FAQs in the archives concerning the cover of Ecto? > It's very interesting graphically, but gives little indication of the style > of music on the CD. Anyone have any ideas about its conception? > > Thanks > Phil > ( deliriously happy today, having just found a mint Ecto CD in the > thrift store - $1.99!) Now I can give Bill Mazur his copy back! :) If I remember correctly, the cover of the Ecto tape was a deliberately blurred photo of a painting by Happy, and the cover of the Ecto CD has a sharper photograph of the same painting. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 17:14:43 -0500 From: Loretta Pontillo Subject: liz phair and the girlysound tapes Is anyone here a Liz Phair fan? have you heard any of the girlysounds tapes? I "inherited" a bootleg of them from an ex and I think a lot of the songs are great. some of them deserve to have been buried but some kick butt, particularly "sometimes a dream can make you a slave" and "can't get out of what I'm into." rough, but killer good. some of the songs are sort of versions 1.0 of songs that appeared on later albums, and it's fascinating to see how they started out. also, some lyrical themes recurr and you can sort of trace Liz's mind moving around. I recommend looking for it. :) Loretta ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 19:04:19 -0500 From: Michael Curry Subject: Merrie Amsterburg out west! Merrie Amsterberg tour dates for those interested. Since she doesn't play out west as often as she plays here in the northeast, I strongly urge all area ectophiles to catch her if you can. Of special note is LA show with Sarah Harmer! >Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 17:56:39 -0500 >From: Jessica Smyser >Subject: Merrie Amsterburg Out West > >** Thursday, November 2 >Merrie will be performing at the Starbucks Belltown in Seattle, >WA at 11 PM as part of the Rockrgrl Music Conference. The cafe >is at 2326 1st Ave. For more info on rockrgrl go to > http://www.rockrgrl.com/conference > >** Friday, November 3 >Merrie will be at Lola's Room (below the Crystal Ballroom) in >Portland, OR. go to: http://www.mcmenamins.com/Crystal/crysched.html >This is an EARLY SHOW. Part of a happy hour series that starts at 4 >pm every friday, Merrie will go on about 5. Come on down after work, >it's free! > >Later that evening, Merrie will be performing at the Borders >Books & Music store in Gresham, OR at 8 PM. The store is at the >intersection of Division street and Eastman parkway (which is >also 223rd I'm told). the phone # there is 503-674-3917. > >** Saturday, November 11 >Music Millenium In-store Portland, OR. Around 2:30. Stay tuned >for details. > >** Wednesday, November 15 >The Troubador, Los Angeles CA w/ Sarah Harmer > >** Thursday, November 16 >Borders Books & Music Torrance, CA 5 PM > >Highland Grounds, Los Angeles, CA 8 PM > >Hopefully we will have a couple more shows to tell you about next >week...thanks! >__________________________________________________________ > >Visit our web site at http://www.qdivision.com >where you can buy CDs! >Q Division Records 363 Highland Ave Somerville, MA 02144 617-625-9900 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 21:04:22 -0600 From: "ReNeEz DaBoMb" Subject: vampire songs How about, "love you to death" by type-O Most people think Goth is all about vampires and stuff.... Most people don't know Goth at all. You guys seem to, though. ~renee I just saw Best in Show, it was great. I liked Waiting for Guffman much better, but it was still funny! - -- ThIs Is WhY pEoPle Od On PiLlS, aNd JuMp FrOm ThE gOlDeN gAtE bRiDgE... aNy ThInG tO fEeL wEiGhTlEsS aGaIn! - -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 22:46:34 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: rhea's obsession Rhea's Obsession CBs Gallery October 30, 2000 I believe I first read about Rhea's Obsession here on the list; the idea of a "goth" band with Middle Eastern and Celtic inflections sounded really delicious. At first I couldn't track down either of their albums for less than chain-store full price; when I finally ran across them in an indie store, I ended up buying the earlier one, =Initiation=, since it's harder to find. I liked it well enough that when they showed up at CBs Gallery (on their weekly "goth night" Alchemy, after the DJ) I took the opportunity to see them live. I try to avoid unfair comparisons; but as this was the stage I've seen Kristeen Young play on the most often (and several times on Alchemy night), and Sue Hutton of Rhea's Obsession, like KY, is what I think the opera aficionados call a dramatic soprano (and her outfit--fantastical hairdo, nearly-transparent muslin dress, fishnets, combat boots--was in KY mode), it was hard not to think of Miss Young. In the midrange she favors, Sue Hutton has a strong, clear, low- vibrato voice--a little like Annie Haslam, or Valerie Forgione of Mistle Thrush--and a ringing, flexible high end she chooses not to show off very often (twice or three times the whole set). I also thought of Kristy Thirsk, but I think that's more a matter of looks and body english than vocal similarity. Her unadventurousness is characteristic of Rhea's Obsession's music as well. A typical song begins with a droning groove (typical of many styles of folk music) with strong Middle Eastern rhythmic accents (the drummer is terrific, whether on trap set or doumbek); the substance of the harmony is in the keyboards (seldom more than two chords), while the electric guitar is mostly atmospheric obbligato. Over this the vocal will be in mostly long-note melody. There might be an interlude of changing chords for the chorus, or there might not. The effectiveness of such a song, therefore, depends on how much heat they can bring to a fairly unchanging layered groove; and in fact the answer is, quite considerable. I found myself going along with the sweep of the songs (to the point where I thought a couple of them were too short), even though the music was simpler than I had hoped for when I first heard about them. The show's finale, "Memento Mori" from =Initiation=, begins with a powerful vocal peroration in the manner of Lisa Gerrard, one of those rare moments I spoke of, and the song was probably the set's highlight; but when I got home I discovered it's a cover of a Sheila Chandra song, so it's not typical of their own compositions. As I said, I'm being unfair here; just because Kristeen Young pushes the envelope until she rips a hole in it doesn't mean that everyone else has to, too. If Rhea's Obsession has found a style that suits them and pleases their fans, that's all that really matters; and the proof of the pudding is that I enjoyed the show just fine, like the first album and plan to buy the second, and I'd go see them play again live the next time they come through New York. (But speaking of the formidable--French pronunciation, please--Miss Young...) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 22:49:44 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: ky halloween! [As though on Meredith's cue...I feel like I write about Kristeen Young too much, but it's actually been a long time now. So here goes.] Kristeen Young Downtime October 31, 2000 The scariest thought, when I first found out that Kristeen Young was playing a show on Halloween (at Downtime's "Batcave" goth night, to boot), was: what does a woman who treats every night like Halloween wear =on= Halloween? Attend. When I arrived at Downtime (which is in lower west midtown, an awkward subway ride from my East Village hole-in-the-wall), I first encountered Kristeen's band members, in costume themselves on this occasion: bassist Brian as a priest, with pencil mustache and narrow hornrims; drummer Jeff in denim overalls, chin beard, rustic hat and corncob pipe ("I'm from Missoura," he greeted me--i.e. St. Louis). And then I caught a glimpse of Kristeen out of the corner of my eye. As is often the case, it was the "headgear" that first arrested my attention. Her two jet-black braids stuck out about six inches from her head and then bent straight up and a little out at the ends: kind of a Texas Longhorn effect. When I got close enough to speak to her in the din, I could see she'd magic-markered freckles on her cheeks and a big backwards P on her forehead. (Figured it out yet? I asked to be sure:) "I'm Evil Pippi Longstocking!" she revealed. (Mistress of the Wild Hunt, no doubt.) She was wearing a long coat, as she sometimes does before a show, so it wasn't until she got up on stage that the rest of the outfit was revealed: pointy black shoes, black stockings with white stripes, a shiny black overall-bib dress, a white shirt with sparkly stripes...sort of Scandinavian, in an odd sort of way. Black nail polish with white tips (very Drusilla-like, for all you =Buffy= fans). And the true KY final accessorizing touch, a row of eight clothespins running down her spine, from her shoulderblades to the small of her back. (This isn't the first time she's done this. Makes her look like a stegosaurus.) And then she unbent her braids. Data point: when Kristeen's hair is down it hangs past her waist. That will give you an idea of how long the braids were. (It was obvious she'd wound the braids around wire: they were corkscrewed like a narwhal's horn.) Stuck straight out, they extended--what? A foot and a half? Two feet?!? Well past her shoulders, at any rate; farther than the rearview mirrors she sported at one memorable show; at a venture, if she'd extended her arms at shoulder length, the braids =might= have reached her wrists. A sight truly a wonder to behold. Oh, the music? Yeah, there was plenty of that, too. She has moved "Devil Girl," the one song she plays completely solo, to the opening slot in her set, so that she crashes into the opening cluster chord before you're quite aware she's begun. From there she builds up the main riff in a very classical manner from fragments, showing off the keyboard chops she claims not to have. And then she rolls into the main body of a keening ballad. It's a characteristic of the artists we call "ecto" that their ballads are often their strongest work; but though Kristeen has written a handful of very good ballads, it's not her natural mode of expression. (=Her= strongest songs are the most radical ones.) To my hearing, "Devil Girl" might be her best ballad. An older song, it dates from the =Meet Miss Young...= era, but is unrecorded. It's more poignant, expresses more vulnerable feelings, than her usual aggressive power (though the piano part as usual is strongly rhythmic). Killer Vocal Moment #1: The second time through the verse, when she gets to the latter half, sung in her highest register, she lightens the accompaniment and slows down the pace. In the loud but very clear acoustic that night, her voice, nearly a cappella, floated out over the space with angelic beauty. Killer Vocal Moment #2: And she comes out of that part and into the chorus with a loud, midrange, wavering wail fit to curl the hair. Now, if I say that the first moment reminds me a bit of Kate Bush, and the second rather more of Tori Amos, or if I say that "Devil Girl" is slightly reminiscent to me of the former's "Under the Ivy" and the latter's "Here. in my Head" (three songs which I adore), it's more as a listener's guide to those who haven't heard the song. Clearly Kristeen Young is one of the most individual (idiosyncratic!) composer/performers around; you'd never mistake even this more "normal" song for anyone else. She followed with "Mouth to Mouth" from =Enemy=, the first of her programmed (the keyboard plays by itself!) songs, where she takes center stage to do the lead-singer thing. (Those who have seen her perform may remember that one of her stage moves involves dipping her head down to one side as she grabs the microphone. This time she managed to get her arm caught over her braid, and couldn't get her head back up until she untangled herself. That was the last mishap of the set, though.) Then back to the keyboard for the "Kashmir"-like "Take Me." Killer Vocal Moment #3: The "bridge" of the song is the verse, wordless and an octave higher, full-bore operatic, holding the last note across the transition to the cascading descending figure of the chorus. Purely thrilling, never more so than this time. Then straight into "Incubator," also programmed, though the music box/harpsichord countermelody is played live. It's probably her masterpiece; no matter how many times one sees her perform it, it's always a little boggling to see the apparent ease with which she negotiates the minefield of squeaks and register breaks that constitute the vocal line. Killer Vocal Moment #4: The wordless end of the chorus goes up a minor triad then slow trills off the top note. Her recent habit has been to treat the triad as a slow glissando (rather frightening) and double or triple the trill until her breath gives out. This time she held the note at the top of the glissando so long she could only trill once or twice. Fascinatingly different every time. "Saviour" is a newish song, played at the keyboard. Unusually for her, the keyboard sound is wash-y and spacy, the verse more major- key and melodic, and the chorus darker and more rhythmic; it also features as bridge-coda a striking minimalist keyboard solo. The peak of the set, as I hoped, was the two brand-new songs, both programmed, that she introduced at her CBs Gallery stand last month. Slightly the newer of the two is "Touch Tongues," the darkest song she's written since "Skeletons," with a slow, ominous beat and icy staccato minor chords. Kind of a trip-hop feel: imagine a cross between Portishead's "All Mine" and Tori Amos' "Cruel." But the vocal is pure KY. The verse is a rapid, hectoring rant, though in a sense like operatic recitative (by the end of each line she's singing a clear pitch); the chorus mixes in a major chord in alternation, and the vocal is slightly warmer, but the mood remains chilling, especially when she frames the chorus with an eerie vocal fanfare. Tremendously gripping throughout. And then straight into the very different "Top Rock Girl." Here the comparison, of all things, is the Red Hot Chili Peppers: funky little repeated riff under the verse, fiercely syncopated rhythm breaks, blazeup into power chords for the chorus. Though it's all keyboards, one can easily imagine it being played on loud guitars (there's even a line in the chorus about playing the piano like a guitar). The vocal line bears an initial resemblance to "Incubator": cartoony tone, stuttering stops and starts; but on the whole it's not quite as eccentric. Which suits the song: the chorus is big and full of hooks, and it makes sense that she's thinking of it as a possible single. It generates tremendous rhythmic excitement, especially in the battering transition to the chorus; it's a real kick of a song. The previous batch of programmed songs ("Year of the Woman" and "Skeletons" in addition to the other three she did at this show) had been written about three years ago, and these two new ones are the first since then; all of them are among her best work. They allow her to layer in more keyboard parts than she could play live, and frees her (since she isn't playing simultaneously) to recomplicate the vocal line as well. It's a mode that really shows off her compositional skills. The last live-keyboard song was the bluesy, triple-time "Breasticles," with its pitch-wheel inflection at the end; the set closed with a slightly scrappy version of the barn-burning "Have you ever worked with anything HI-TEK?" (And the minute she left the stage, she bent the braids back up again.) I've been lucky enough to see her perform often this year, so the shows blur together a bit, but this was certainly a terrific one, in the high-average range. Even with the steep entrance fee and the fact that I had to skip an Elysian Fields show, it was an extremely satisfying trip. The news is that she's busily recording, but no clear end in sight (not before 2001, surely). It should be a fine new album: among the songs she =didn't= play at this show (but has played at other recent shows) are the upbeat, hook-y "Automatic Love" and "Startripblazer"; the rousing, well-named "Reveille"; the triplet (pun intended) siblings of "Breasticles," "For the Record" and "Monkey on My Breast"; and the brooding, labyrinthine "Valuable," one of the best of the batch--I'm really sorry she seems to have stopped playing it for the nonce. And for people living within range, she'll be at CBGBs on December 7th; there =might= be a November show as well. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 20:04:03 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: vampire songs And there's always the brilliant Iva Bittova's "the vampire's ball". - --Neile np: PJ Harvey _To Bring You My Love_ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, 1 Nov 2000 22:55:13 -0600 From: tenthvictim@mindspring.com Subject: Favorite Instruments Hello, Boys and Girls, Regarding favorite instruments and their sounds: I like the sound of the concert zither. I was listening to public radio one day and they played recording after recording of super guitar playing, at least that's what it sounded like. I knew a guitar couldn't make all the sounds coming out of the radio and understood what was happening when the dj announced that we were listening to zither music. I have since bought a couple of Ruth Welcome albums. She played 60s schmaltzy hits (Happy Wanderer; Poor People of Paris; Oh, My Pappa) on zither, but you forgive her her choice (or her record company's) of songs when you realize how technically proficient she is and how beautiful the songs are. My one complaint about the two records is she is accompanied by a bass and accordion on many cuts and I sometimes wonder if I'm hearing the zither bass notes or the bass bass notes. The vibrato zither players get by pushing the string from side to side is wonderful. Makes you want to attempt it on guitar, but your E-strings would fly off the fretboard if you tried it. If you're having trouble figuring out what a zither sounds like, remember The Third Man Theme from the movie. The man who played that is supposed to be the greatest zither player ever. There is a zither in a case not ten feet away, but I haven't learned how to play it yet. It's hell (pardon my French) on the fingers. Hammer dulcimer is also a beautiful instrument. I have the pleasure of knowing two good dulcimer players. Mountain dulcimer, too, is beautiful, especially on modal English/mountain tunes. It's kind of like the blues in its ability to raise the hairs on the back of your neck with its spookiness. I must second Meredith's thoughts on piccolos. Am I the only one who wants to run out of the room every time the theme to MASH comes on the tube? Are the piccolo players on that song incapable of staying in tune or is it just nasty overtones clashing with all the other notes? Every now and then I hear a classical piece with nice flute sounds and it turns out to be piccolos playing. So maybe there is a way to play one beautifully. I have a cassette recording of the Brandenburg Concertos with some poor sap playing the baroque trumpet solos way off key (on his behalf, I would like to point out that the baroque trumpet is supposedly very difficult to play). I would hate to have my bad intonation forever captured on commercial recordings. This is an el cheapo cassette, so maybe only we poor people are subjected to it. I have heard other recordings of the Brandenburgs where the trumpet solos are spot on. Gamelan orchestras are also weird, spooky, repetitive, and beautiful. There is a beautiful saw part on Ricky Lee Jones' Ghosty Head. Which brings to mind theremins. I have the soundtrack to The Outer Limits. It has wonderful theremin music. Bernard Herrmann used the sound too, at least on The Day the Earth Stood Still. Fifties horror movies wouldn't be the same without theremins warbling all over the place. And what would the world be without Whistling Jack Smith? Remember I was Kaiser Bill's Batman? Pretty wretched stuff, actually. There must be some good whistlers out there somewhere. Lyle n.p. Percussive Oompah: Rudi Bohn and his band. Just heard a whistled version of Mack the Knife. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V6 #326 **************************