From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V6 #376 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, December 15 2000 Volume 06 : Number 376 Today's Subjects: ----------------- This Friday: MPress Records Holiday Party & Concert! [MPressinfo@aol.com] decgrl update [Leon van Stuivenberg ] The Saddest Love Songs ["Bill Adler" ] Re: mylene [karen hester ] Songcatcher [karen hester ] Re: The Saddest Love Songs [Mike Connell ] Re: The Saddest Love Songs [Sherlyn Koo ] Susan 'n Johnny in DC [Jeffrey Burka ] Re: The Saddest Love Songs [Joseph Zitt ] Top Ten albums of last decade [ABershaw@aol.com] Re: The Saddest Love Songs [Russell Van Rooy ] Re: The Saddest Love Songs ["phclark" ] Wendy Rule [RocketsTail@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 03:47:08 EST From: MPressinfo@aol.com Subject: This Friday: MPress Records Holiday Party & Concert! [Unable to display image] You are scandalously invited to... The MPress Records Holiday Party & Concert! WHERE: THE CUTTING ROOM WHEN: THIS FRIDAY, DEC. 15, 10PM (19 W. 24th St. between 6th & B'Way, NYC) WHY: BECAUSE WE ARE HYPER FROM THE COLD & NEED TO BURN OFF STEAM AND: 'CUZ DECEMBER IS GLITTER-SEASON AND WE'RE SEEKING NEW FASHION-VICTIMS INFO: Call Venue at 212.691.1900 or MPress Records, 1.877.TRU.SAGE FREE TIX STILL AVAILABLE - EMAIL MPRESSWALTER BY MIDNITE, 12/14, TO BE ON GUEST LIST. This should be a great night! Please let us serenade you, fill you with enough sugar to last through the end of the year, & express our sincere gratitude for all of your incredible support in '00!!! peace, xoxoxo & happy holidays, - Rachael, Walter, Margo, Sylvia, Rob & Jagoda (The Feathered Folks @ MPress Records) PS - As a special gift to her online supporters, Rachael has posted a pre-release track from her upcoming album on Starpolish.com. The song is "Cyanide & Cinnamon", and the exact link is: www.starpolish.com/rachaelsage. Enjoy ! ******************************* http://www.rachaelsage.com http://www.mp3.com/rachaelsage http://www.cdbaby.com/sage toll free 1.877.TRU.SAGE ******************************* ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 20:28:02 +0100 From: Leon van Stuivenberg Subject: decgrl update http://decembergirl.com/newsreviews.html#3dcdrelease ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 18:32:12 -0500 From: "Bill Adler" Subject: The Saddest Love Songs I'm curious about what people's favorite, saddest love songs are -- songs that put a lump in your throat every time you hear them. I nominate October Project's "Ariel," and Beth Patterson's "Steer by the Stars." When I'm in a mood to feel sorry for myself, these two songs give me self-pity chills. But I'm sure that there are even more potent melancholy love songs out there. If anyone has some to suggest, I'm all tears. - --Bill n.p. Naimee Coleman, "Silver Wrists" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 15:03:52 +1300 From: karen hester Subject: Re: mylene Kia Ora Marcel, thanks for writing, the ecto guide page on Mylene which you helped write is very helpful in explaining her music, which seems so 'other' ("L'autre"?) than most insanely catchy pop I've heard. With music in 'foreign' languages it is usually so easy to tell whether it's sad love-lost ballad or happy song from the music, the instruments, the tears in the singer's voice ... but I didn't pick up the strangeness of Mylene until I noticed a song in English with the sappy chorus "I love you, I do love you" had verses declaring suicidal intentions! It's strange that she and her co-writer/producer Boutonnat are behind "Moi Lolita" and Alize (sp?), so cute and perky. Though for all I know the lyrics might be from the point of view of a murderous Lolita. One hopes. In the English-language magazine indexes I searched, other than Billboard only Village Voice mentions her - sometimes in the context of somewhat ethereal 'gothic' music (they listed Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance & Mylene), and Michael Freedberg wrote (typical music reviewer nonsense): "I don't care what standard Anglo genre you go for: with the exceptions only of house music and the Ani DiFranco-Erykah Badu axis of noise-era folk-and-soul, the best French pop does it better. You insist on rhythmic density, breadth of vision, pop hooks? In all three cases, French pop's really got it going on. ... these songs stick to your chin, tickle your elbows, arouse the innards, always lift you up, even when they're steeped in eruption and melancholy." Then he called Mylene "transcendantly melancholy, operatic diva rock" and said Kate Bush could be a comparison to her "intelligent, stupendous, loud, sweet and sour" stuff, but "where the hell is K.B.? And Farmer doesn't scream." Ahh, music press, ever so helpful. And Farmer does scream, she screams "deshabillez moi" manically, like she'll crumble if not obeyed immediately. I liked that song better before figuring out what it was about :). Karen. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 15:22:16 +1300 From: karen hester Subject: Songcatcher Kia Ora Jeff, Songcatcher was shown in NZ half a year ago and some of my workmates have been trawling the web for references to the soundtrack for ages - thank you for mentioning it. The movie is quite a soap opera and had the audience at my screening sniggering. Bodices are ripped, passions hidden, politics heavy-handed even though I was sympathetic to the director's causes. However the scenery is gorgeous and the music stunning. I'm disturbed by the list of people on the soundtrack though: >The soundtrack sounds pretty awesome--Emmylou Harris, >Iris DeMent, Maria McKee, Dolly Parton, Roseanne Cash, >Gillian Welch, etc. You can read more about it at the >Maria McKee web-site (www.mariamckee.net) under News >from Maria. Soundtrack should be out sometime early >next year. Maria sings "Wayfarin' Stranger" (or "bluffs >her way through it"--as she writes). - - I can only remember Iris & Taj Mahal in the film and Dolly Parton playing over the credits. The real musical charmer was Deladis played by Emmy Rossum, I hope they don't replace her acapella pieces with music not in the film. But if those artists are all in addition to the film music, that'll be just fine. Ka kite, Karen. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:33:29 -0500 From: Mike Connell Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs >I'm curious about what people's favorite, saddest love songs are -- songs >that put a lump in your throat every time you hear them. I have to go back just about 20 years....but I'd have to say Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne". That song nails me every single time. (although a very close second is Jewel's "Don't" performed at JewelStock......it's an unreleased version, but a real heart-tugger. It was her first song of the two show event, and she poured so much emotion into it....well, it slays me) Mike ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 13:47:11 +1100 (EST) From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs Hey folks, >I'm curious about what people's favorite, saddest love songs are -- songs >that put a lump in your throat every time you hear them. Just about any of Cheryl Wheeler's love ballads, and Dar Williams' "February"... - -sherlyn =-= Sherlyn Koo - sherlyn@fl.net.au =-=-=-=-=-=-= [Sydney, Australia] "We will push on into that mystery And it'll push right back And there are worse things than that..." - Dar Williams ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:50:48 -0500 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: Susan 'n Johnny in DC went to the Millenium Stage show this evening at the Kennedy Center. Susan, Johnny, and Aidan were wonderful as always. The set was about an hour long and though Susan and Johnny weren't quite as active in their banter as the last time I saw them, still quite amusing. There was quite a crowd, though I don't know if there was much press about it. And Susan made out like a *bandit* selling discs after the show! One of the highlights was finally getting to hear Susan sing "Auld Lang Syne", one of her recordings. (I spoke to Susan after the show about this (she looked at me and said, "Are you Neil?" I replied, "Nope, I'm jeff -- Neil is still in New Mexico"). She said that this was the first time she's performed it since recording it for _Through the Bitter Frost and Snow_). Interestingly, given that this was a song of winter music, they only played two songs from that album -- the other being the title track. Beyond that, they played stuff from _Lowlands_ and a few other misc songs. Anyway, the major bonus here is that the Kennedy Center webcasts *and* archives all the Millenium Stage shows, so if you can play real media,check out: http://play.rbn.com/?url=kennedy/kennedyg2/g2demand/12142000_1800_MSN.rm&proto=rtsp jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:34:56 -0500 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs On Thu, Dec 14, 2000 at 06:32:12PM -0500, Bill Adler wrote: > But I'm sure that there are even more potent melancholy love songs out > there. If anyone has some to suggest, I'm all tears. The one all-time tear-jerker for me is Harry Nilsson's recording of "Without You". (Mariah Carey's ain't bad, but Harry got there first.) Oddly, I find the songs in that category for me tend not to be love songs -- but lyrics are way down the list of what affect me in songs. Tear inducers for me, off the top of my head include: Rosanne Cash: Western Wall Sinead O'Connor: This is to Mother You David Bowie: Lady Stardust Jeff Buckley: (Leonard Cohen's) Halleluyah Peter Gabriel: Don't Give Up Flo & Eddie: Keep It Warm Tim Curry: Alan Billy Joel: The Stranger Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart Barry Manilow: Mandy (the first time I heard this, in a supermarket of all places, was devastating) The Monkees: Shades of Gray Oddly enough, I tend to cry watching awards shows, especially when bands reunite for them. Go figure... n.p. John Cage/Jan Steele: Voices and Instruments (a long out of print LP I just snarfed via eBay.) n.r. Deborah Hay: My Body, the Buddhist - -- |> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CD: Jerusaklyn http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 23:44:35 EST From: ABershaw@aol.com Subject: Top Ten albums of last decade Hi all, Tossing my top ten of the last decade out there. Happy Holidays! Alan 1990: The Sundays - Reading, Writing & Arithmetic I was completely mesmerized with Harriet Wheeler's voice for a few years there. This played constantly and I was lucky enough to catch them live several times on this first tour. Admittedly, I had little comprehension of a lot of the lyrics but her vocals were so enjoyable, I didn't care! A few years later they published the lyrics and I was surprised when I finally read them. Still really enjoy this from time to time. 1990: Mazzy Star - She Hangs Brightly I loved the album "Happy Nightmare Baby" by Opal. This first Mazzy Star album was the next best thing. (It's all the same musicians, but with Hope Sandoval replacing Kendra Smith on vocals.) 1992: The Sundays - Blind Ditto to the first album. 1994: Sam Phillips - Martinis & Bikinis This album grabbed me faster than anything I've bought in the past 10 years. Loved every second of it immediately. She is something! I've said it before and I'll say it again: The best Beatles album since the breakup! 1994: Cindy Lee Berryhill - Garage Orchestra This is CLB's most rewarding album, in my opinion, and showcases everything she does best. There's particularly brilliant arranging of instruments and vocals and a melodic sense recalling Brian Wilson circa "Pet Sounds," that is totally infectious. 1996: Patty Griffin - Living With Ghosts Incredible songwriter and a haunting voice. That says enough, but also one of the most powerful acoustic guitar/vocal albums I've ever heard. By far, my favorite release that year. 1997: Ghostyhead - Rickie Lee Jones Vast majority of her fans didn't get it and the company pulled it after a very short run. I was knocked out by it for a month or so, obsessed with it for a year and now just plain love it. Lyrically her most intense album and musically, very experimental. I think some of the trip-hop elements turned a lot of people off, but I thought she uses these elements in such an organic way, that it worked really well. The concerts on this tour were incredible and this material was played much more aggressively. When more of her longtime fans eventually widen their musical perspectives, this will be looked back on as her lost masterpiece. 1998: High Llamas - Cold And Bouncy They totally captivated me with this release. I thought they found the perfect balance of melodic pop circa mid 60's with modern electronic playfulness. I've given this to many live sound engineers who play it as break music and get lots of response about it. Phenomenal recording, too. 1999: Joy Eden Harrison - Unspoken A giant leap forward from her 1st album. Her writing still evokes 1920s & 30's jazz, but this has a far greater range of expression and her evocative voice never sounded better. A heavy-handed producer would have been detrimental to these songs but these arrangements (by Cindy Lee Berryhill) are the perfect accompaniment to Joy's voice and guitar. A friend (Gerry L) put it best when he wrote "she displays a unique combination of vulnerability and sharpness of vision; a sensuality that is equally matched by her thought provoking clarity." 2000: Cowboy Junkies - Waltz Across America My current "heavy rotation" disc. Finally, a CJ's album that truly captures the live dynamics of this band. Margoth's voice continues to improve with age and excellent choices of material. Favorites performed better than the studio versions and truly pummeling versions of I Saw Your Shoes, Hunted and Blue Guitar. They're not known for blasting power but listen to this and you'll think again. Great live recording! That's my ten. I'd only add my favorite "posthumous release" of the last decade and that's "Bob Dylan Live at Manchester Free Trade Hall, London 1966," which was finally released 32 years after the fact. This is one of the most frighteningly intense performances of all time. Had it forever from a fan recording, but now it's out in all its glory. That moment in time, when all the folk traditionalists were pissed off that Dylan dared to play an electric guitar. During the electric set, when an audience member yells "Judas!" and many more applaud, Dylan tells the band to "PLAY FUCKING LOUD!" and rips into a pulverizing new song: "Like A Rolling Stone". ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 21:46:55 -0800 From: Russell Van Rooy Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs Here's my short list in order of saddness 1 being saddest. 1. Goodbye - Steve Earle - as done by Emmylou Harris on Wrecking Ball 2. Long and Winding Road - Beatles from Let it Be 3. Hardly getting Over It - Bob Mould via Husker Du from Candy Apple Grey 4. A Man Needs A Maid - Neil Young from Harvest 5. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley from Grace now I wanna cry ! - - Russ > From: "Bill Adler" > Reply-To: > Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 18:32:12 -0500 > To: "Ecto" > Subject: The Saddest Love Songs > > I'm curious about what people's favorite, saddest love songs are -- songs > that put a lump in your throat every time you hear them. > > I nominate October Project's "Ariel," and Beth Patterson's "Steer by the > Stars." When I'm in a mood to feel sorry for myself, these two songs give me > self-pity chills. > > But I'm sure that there are even more potent melancholy love songs out > there. If anyone has some to suggest, I'm all tears. > > --Bill > > n.p. Naimee Coleman, "Silver Wrists" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 23:17:31 -0700 From: "phclark" Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Russell Van Rooy" To: "Ecto" Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 10:46 PM Subject: Re: The Saddest Love Songs > Here's my short list in order of saddness 1 being saddest. > > 1. Goodbye - Steve Earle - as done by Emmylou Harris on Wrecking Ball > Great choice, one of my faves. To overlook Steve doing his own song, however, would be to do it a disservice. He sings it like he lived it, probably did. Peter C ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 01:28:03 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Wendy Rule Thanks again to the ECTOPHILES GUIDE TO GOOD MUSIC...I just checked out the music of Wendy Rule and am mesmerized by what i hear! She's amazing! I'm going to go order a cd now :-). In the song "breath" her voice reminds me of Belinda Carlisle's for some reason, I think it's that vibratto thing...but I cringe making that comparison haha. Thanks for the recommendation! ~eric "trying to find a warm place to hide maybe born before your time how unfair to our human eyes how I wish you were alright 'cause I worry..." ~Sarah Slean ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V6 #376 **************************