From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V7 #353 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, December 11 2001 Volume 07 : Number 353 Today's Subjects: ----------------- HEATHER NOVA [Irvin Lin ] Re: HEATHER NOVA [RocketsTail@aol.com] Karan Casey - The winds begin to sing ["Karen Hester" ] Re: Replacement Happy CDs? [FAMarcus@aol.com] Replacement Happy CDs? [Steve VanDevender ] Re: HEATHER NOVA [RocketsTail@aol.com] Mary Margaret O'Hara on Apartment Hunting Soundtrack [Neile Graham ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 00:13:20 -0800 From: Irvin Lin Subject: HEATHER NOVA okay. this is belated belated, but am the only one that likes SOUTH? granted it may be an anomaly, but that happens to be why i like it. i never really like what i have heard by her. true, my experience with HEATHER NOVA isn't all that extensive, but after hearing her first semi-hit here in this states (WALK THIS WORLD) i found and picked up OYSTER in the used bin for $5. for me, it just didn't do much for me. overproduced rock/pop, with relatively nonmemorable songs. skip six years later, my brother loans me SOUTH and tells me that it's something that he thinks i would like. i told him i'd give it listen, but the past experience i have had with HN wasn't all the best. not bad, but not great. BUT something about SOUTH really appealed to me. perhaps it was because of the obvious pop appeal (anyone that knows me knows, i have an affinity to ear candy). i realized that HN is someone that people always say i have to experience live before i can appreciate fully. i felt the same way about ANI DIFRANCO (her albums always fell flat, while her live experiences - pre-LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLES - were amazing). i never picked up BLOW or any other live HN album because i guess i was turned off by OYSTER. re-listening to OYSTER i realized what i didn't like about the album was it's pretentions to be something more than a rock or pop album. it was too precious, too contrived for my tastes. i can understand why people like it, but for me, it fell flat. perhaps this can be chalked up to the production, but regardless, it wasn't my cup of tea. on the other hand, SOUTH rings more true. it has no pretentions of being anything but a rock and pop album. hooks abound on the album, and remind me of what a good pop song is all about. the songs are relatively straightforward, and the production clean and basic. a bit reminiscent of an AIMEE MANN (sans angst) album perhaps, or later day SARAH MCLACHLAN (at her perkier moments) heh. speaking of SARAH. i was playing the album and my friend asked me who was covering SARAH MCLACHLAN...i was confused, until i realized that it was playing GLOOMY SUNDAY and i had to explain to her that the song was actually quite old and was once covered by BILLIE HOLIDAY, which is probably the most popular US version of the song, and was not an original SARAH song. anyway i just wanted to email a dissenting vote on SOUTH. i think if you were looking for something to hold you over while waiting for the next AIMEE or SARAH album, SOUTH might be the answer. on the other hand, if you are a long term HEATHER NOVA fan, sounds like you will be disappointed. good thing i'm not. heh. irvin ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 03:31:30 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Re: HEATHER NOVA I think I'm going to have a problem with you comparing "SOUTH" to anything by Aimee Mann...seems almost sacreligious to me in a sense. Even Sarah mclachlan never got THAT "pop"...yet (I'm waiting for it, I am). SOUTH is good for what it is, but it's not what I like from Heather...the lyrics bore me. Aimee Mann is 10000000000 times the songwriter Heather Nova has ever been and her albums are classic ("Bachelor #2" especially). There I said it haha. -eric ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 13:46:56 +1300 From: "Karen Hester" Subject: Karan Casey - The winds begin to sing Kia Ora Has anyone heard Karan Casey's 'The Winds begin to sing'? It was on the 2001 folk journalist's best-of list that Meredith forwarded. I first came across Solas (then with Karan) through reviews on this list, and any opinions on her new solo lp will be much appreciated. Her clear-water voice and passionate politics and .. blah blah, anyway, I'm fond of her music, though I missed Solas' energy, and don't listen to much Irish folk. Karen ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 16:53:19 -0800 (PST) From: kitty kat Subject: Replacement Happy CDs? What would people's advice be as to where I could get copies of RhodeSongs, Rhodes II, and Building the Colossus? While I was at the mall in the middle of the day yesterday, someone broke into my trunk and stole my CD Changer. Happy Holidays.... *bleh* I think they were just randomly popping trunks and hoping for people's Christmas Shopping. I lost my Susan Court CD, my 2 "Chess" discs that I'd just bought from Barnes & Noble for about $40 including shipping, the 3 Happy CDs, and 6 others that I'm not sure of (Hanging Garden soundtrack, Crow soundtrack, ummmm... IndieGrrl sampler - OK, 3 others that I'm not sure of). Bah, humbug. I think the Happy ones are the only ones I'm going to replace right off the bat, if I even can. - -Grumpy Kat ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 21:26:17 EST From: FAMarcus@aol.com Subject: Re: Replacement Happy CDs? In a message dated 12/10/01 8:05:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, kat@vaxer.net writes: > What would people's advice be as to where I could get copies of > RhodeSongs, Rhodes II, and Building the Colossus? a friend that i turned on to happy just bought 8 of her cd's on the auntiesocial site. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 18:31:36 -0800 From: Steve VanDevender Subject: Replacement Happy CDs? kitty kat writes: > What would people's advice be as to where I could get copies of > RhodeSongs, Rhodes II, and Building the Colossus? While I was at the mall > in the middle of the day yesterday, someone broke into my trunk and stole > my CD Changer. Happy Holidays.... *bleh* I think they were just randomly > popping trunks and hoping for people's Christmas Shopping. Happy sells her own CDs (including, for a limited time, _Many Worlds Are Born Tonight_ which you would otherwise have to order through Samson Music) at her web site: http://auntiesocialmusic.com/store/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 23:17:08 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: HEATHER NOVA Hi, Irvin dissented: >this is belated belated, but am the only one that likes SOUTH? Apparently. >granted it may be an anomaly, but that happens to be why i like it. i >never really like what i have heard by her. true, my experience with >HEATHER NOVA isn't all that extensive, but after hearing her first >semi-hit here in this states (WALK THIS >WORLD) i found and picked up OYSTER in the used bin for $5. for me, it >just didn't do much for me. overproduced rock/pop, with relatively >nonmemorable songs. If "Walk This World" were my first taste of Heather Nova's music, I wouldn't have become a fan of hers, either. To me, _Oyster_ marks the start of her descent . Fortunately, the first thing I heard of hers was _Live At The Milky Way_, followed by _Blow_, her first two live European releases. (_Glowstars_ was in there too, but I never listened to it much because the studio versions of the songs weren't very interesting compared to the kickass live ones on _Blow_.) >BUT something about SOUTH really appealed to me. perhaps it was because of >the obvious pop appeal (anyone that knows me knows, i have an affinity to >ear candy). The problem is, a Heather Nova album shouldn't *be* ear candy. She's so much better than that, which is my biggest problem with _South_. >i realized that HN is someone that people always say i have to experience >live before i can appreciate fully. i felt the same way about ANI DIFRANCO >(her albums always fell flat, while her live experiences - pre-LITTLE >PLASTIC CASTLES - were >amazing). Bingo. Exactly. (I feel the same way about Ani, too.) >i never picked up BLOW or any other live HN album because i guess i was >turned off by OYSTER. You really really really should experience her live, either on CD or (better yet) in person. Then you'll know what her fans have been going on about. >on the other hand, SOUTH rings more true. it has no pretentions of being >anything but a rock and pop album. hooks abound on the album, and remind >me of what a good pop song is all about. the songs are relatively >straightforward, and the production >clean and basic. Back to my problems with _South_ ... Heather used to be a pretty good songwriter. Not up in the upper echelons, but much better than your dime-a-gross vapid popsinger. None of that talent is in evidence on _South_ (with the possible exception of two songs, which doesn't an album save). When I listen to Heather Nova, I don't want hooks. I want intensity, a kickass bass line (which will be stunningly represented by cello onstage), and over it all her gorgeous voice. Even her voice doesn't sound like hers on this one. > a bit reminiscent of an AIMEE MANN (sans angst) album perhaps, or later > day SARAH MCLACHLAN (at her perkier moments) Aieee!!! Please, no Aimee Mann comparisons! Comparisons to _Surfacing_, however, are apt. :P ======================================= Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth "an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind" -- mahatma gandhi ======================================= Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://www.smoe.org/meth/muzak.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 23:37:01 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Re: HEATHER NOVA In a message dated 12/10/2001 10:22:12 PM Central Standard Time, meth@smoe.org writes: > If "Walk This World" were my first taste of Heather Nova's music, I > wouldn't have become a fan of hers, either. "Walk this world" was my first Heather Nova song, a friend of mine gave me a mix tape of some of her stuff (mostly from OYSTER) and I listened to it repeatdly, I really really love OYSTER and think it's a great cd...there I said it haha. ~eric "i think, I could like you if you'd let me drive your car" ~throwing muses ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 20:28:25 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Mary Margaret O'Hara on Apartment Hunting Soundtrack Hi, all-- This soundtrack arrived in today's mail. I had emailed the movie's contact email address, info@apartmenthunting.com, asking for info about the soundtrack and whether it was available anywhere, and they said I could buy a copy from them for $15 U.S. cash or money order. Feeling too lazy to go and buy a money order, I just carefully hid $15 cash in an envelope and mailed it off. The disc is mostly Mary Margaret O'Hara's compositions (several are co-written) and her vocals, though there are a couple of others. Overall it's quite jazzy, with a couple of songs that sound like natural follow-ups to _Miss America_. tI's lovely and odd and I heartily recommend it to any Mary Margaret O'Hara fans. - --Neile n.p. Mary Margaret O'Hara's Christmas EP - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.ectoguide.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 22:52:27 -0700 From: "phclark" Subject: Re: Mary Margaret O'Hara on Apartment Hunting Soundtrack Thanks, Neile. You are, as always, looking out for us little folk. Peter C -=High Performance Analogue=- www.redpoint-audio-design.com - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Neile Graham" To: "Ecto" Sent: Monday, December 10, 2001 9:28 PM Subject: Mary Margaret O'Hara on Apartment Hunting Soundtrack > Hi, all-- > > This soundtrack arrived in today's mail. I had emailed the movie's contact > email address, info@apartmenthunting.com, asking for info about the > soundtrack and whether it was available anywhere, and they said I could buy > a copy from them for $15 U.S. cash or money order. Feeling too lazy to go > and buy a money order, I just carefully hid $15 cash in an envelope and > mailed it off. > > The disc is mostly Mary Margaret O'Hara's compositions (several are > co-written) and her vocals, though there are a couple of others. Overall > it's quite jazzy, with a couple of songs that sound like natural follow-ups > to _Miss America_. tI's lovely and odd and I heartily recommend it to any > Mary Margaret O'Hara fans. > > --Neile > > n.p. Mary Margaret O'Hara's Christmas EP > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 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.ectoguide.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 23:30:26 -0700 From: Neal Copperman Subject: Lynn Miles I promised Sherlyn I would say something about Lynn Miles so that everyone will quit ignoring her and go buy Lynn's CD's :) To be honest, you definitely should. Jeff lent me two of Lynn's CD's: Night in a Strange Town and Slightly Haunted. I like Slightly Haunted a lot better, but I like it so much that calling Night in a Strange Town inferior is hardly an insult. I can't quite figure out what I like so much about Lynn. It seems like it's just a confluence of a lot of things done right. Her voice is pure and beautiful, her arrangements catchy but not cloying, and her songwriting is subtle. Bonus points in my book for taking the title of Slightly Haunted from a line in I Always Told You The Truth. I love it when a title is mysterious and slightly hidden. ("I never told you that I would do what you wanted but I tried to tell you that I'm slightly haunted.") I also love how she quotes Joni Mitchell in the lovely winter song Last Night: Last night I watched the first snow come floating down and land on the streets of this sleepy town Well, I got out my mitts and I got out my hat Ain't it funny how the seasons change just like that Then I watched the neighbors' kds try to lick the flakes and all the passing car stopped to check their brakes And pretty soon we'll be singing Christmas songs Like "I wish I had a river that I could skate away on." ==== I'm sorry to have waited so long to listen to her stuff. I suspect lot's of other folks will be just as enamoured when they finally hear it. We were hoping to have Lynn do a house concert here in May, but that's fallen through. Now we're hoping for October. It's something I have become a lot more enthusiastic about now that I've finally heard her music. BTW, Lynn will be at Club Passim on December 16th for anyone in that part of the country (Cambridge MA) neal p: The Captain - Kasey Chambers ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V7 #353 **************************