Errors-To: owner-ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Reply-To: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu Sender: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu From: ecto@ns1.rutgers.edu To: ecto-request@ns1.rutgers.edu Bcc: ecto-digest-outbound@ns1.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto #376 ecto, Number 376 Tuesday, 1 December 1992 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Suzanne Vega on 120 Minutes-NOW Welcome! Suzanne Vega Re: Doody from Dita, or: a turkey speaks on the occasion of turkey day rump up the volume Psychowelders Recent additions picking up loose threads and starting a few more stuph Unconnected ramblings just saying hi! Re: just saying hi! (and other stuff) ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 0:08:53 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: Suzanne Vega on 120 Minutes-NOW Sorry to the folks out of the US, or those who'll log on tomorrow and read this, but if anyone is on-line right now, and likes Suzanne Vega, and can get 120 Minutes, she's the guest host tonight. She'll be showing her newest video for 99.9 (the song.) Just in case it pertains to anyone... Vickie ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 1:51:39 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: Welcome! I was just talking to Jessica, and she said that there are now 123 people on Ecto, so I wanted to say "WELCOME" to all the new folks. WELCOME! (123...that's pretty amazing for someone who is so obscure and who doesn't even have a record contract.) Vickie ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 12:03:03 -0500 From: barry@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Barry Wong) Subject: Suzanne Vega Yup, I managed to catch Suzanne on MTV last night, vickie. :) Finally found out why she named the album 99.9F :) Did you remember to catch her on Letterman on friday night? It was a dual treat because Letterman had Janine Turner from Northern Exposure on too :) Barry ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 12:13:40 EST From: Laura Clifford Subject: Re: Doody from Dita, or: a turkey speaks on the occasion of turkey day Mitch's subject line reminds me that over the weekend I saw reference to Dita Parlo as the star of the old French film L'Atalante which has been restored and is being released to video (a truly wonderful film). I'm pretty sure this must have been the Dita I read about earlier, but didn't verify her nationality in my film encyclopedia... Laura ======================================================================== Date: Wed, 25 Nov 92 16:41:48 EST From: a virtual stranger Subject: rump up the volume heh. typo noted. yeah, "pump up the volume" was released on 4ad by m/a/r/r/s which, if i recall correctly, was members of colourbox. or was it a.r. kane? probably the later now that i think about it. catalog number 707 (a 7" and 12" singles release) if anyone cares. 4ad wasn't always "etheriel" either. it isn't now for that matter. it's just that cocteau twins and dead can dance are the most known bands of the 4ad stable. the first release on 4ad was a bauhaus single and with artists like the birthday party (nick cave's band before the bad seeds) and lydia lunch on the label in its early days, etherielness was as far from being a concern as possible. (just a wednesday afternoon rant) woj ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 19:41:42 EST From: Laura Clifford Subject: Psychowelders Well, my Psychowelders CD arrived today, and I guess Rhondda MUST be busy, cuz she stuck a note meant for Angelos in my package... Angelos - here it is: Dear Angelos, I apologize for taking so long to get this to you. I've been caught up in the tempest and turmoil that is end-of-semester, combined with signing, touring, et al. Plus we had run out of covers and I had to find the time and materials to print some more. Black shirts will be back from the printer next week, but since Vicki alerted me to yur concerns, via the net, I'm going to end the CD now and the shirt as soon as it's available. So thanks for your patience! I hope you find it's been worth the wait. Drop me a line and let me know what you think of our music. Sincerely yours, Rhondda (Angelos - if you'd like me to send this to you hardcopy, just send me your address!) As to the CD - well I've listened to the first 8 tracks while running around packing for a trip to Ireland (and The Cure's LAST concert) tomorrow, so I haven't given it a REAL listen, but I'm not bowled over. I'd imagine they're the type of group that's much better live - the music sounded somewhat simple to me somehow, although Rhondda does have a really good voice. This is an unfair review, to be sure - will send another opinion when I've heard it more. Laura ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 20:08:52 -0500 From: barry@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Barry Wong) Subject: Recent additions Hi all, just came back from Tower Records and made a feww additions to my cd collection :) Oh before I forget, they finally got Happy's cd's here, even have a special slot for her, though a bit misleading, her card/divider reads RHODES II, I guess they got that cd first. Anyhow to my recent additions, just had to ask something about them. I bought a Limited edition version of Suzanne Vega's 99.9F cd. I was just wondering how long it's been out? I also got a new Sarah McLachlan Live cd, I also got a new Sugarcubes cd entitled It's-It, also a new Peter Gabriel cd entitled Revisited(I think it's just a compilation of old stuff) Anyways, can someone please tell me is all this new or did I just miss them when they came out? Barry ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Nov 92 22:48:49 EST From: a virtual stranger Subject: picking up loose threads and starting a few more kIrI sez: >Court lent me the soundtrack to the film Gothic. yum! i used to start off my radio show (alas, no more...sniff) with "the devil is an englishman" every saturday night at midnight (after playing a hourly program of ethic music which made for a really weird transition). _gothic_ is one of those soundtracks that is really an accompanying body of music that adds to the movie instead of being a parallel item that is produced for sheer commercialism. with regards to "bram stoker's dracula," i'm kind of neutral on the film at this point. i enjoyed it and was impressed by the cinematographic (is that a word?) effects. at the same time i was rather underwhelmed by them too since i was wowed by them only on a technical level (hey, i used to do some video work so give me some slack :) far as acting goes, i wasn't too impressed by winona ryder, rather neutral on keanu reeves (didn't find him as distasteful as other have, but he cer- tainly could have been better as harker), neutral on oldman (as a whole, i don't like the romancing of the vampire mythos and this movie took that much too far in my opinion) and utterly impressed by tom waits as renfield and anthony hopkins as van helsing. related to that last statement, i found the comic elements of these two characters to be heavily distracting from the "love never dies" theme of the movie. i was looking forward to a more faithful treatment of the re- lationship between mina murray and dracula as well as a look at a the romantic side of the stoker novel, which is noticeably absent from pre- vious film adaptations. however, renfield's rants, van helsing's obses- sion and the overdoing of the romance theme did not work together as a whole very well. i won't dismiss the movie as a whole though. it does have its worthwhile moments and, on average, delivers an entertaining two or three hours, but i don't consider copolla's effort a resounding success either as a movie itself or a rendition of stoker. see it once and don't worry about paying full price for it. i've not really listened to _99.9 f deg_ yet to comment on suzanne vega's new songs, but i have to agree with jeff: my soft spot for suzanne is the first album as well. i think i've mentioned when i first heard her music before: "the queen and the soldier" left me a huddled wreck in the corner when i heard it on the radio one autumn afternoon. the next day, the album was a favorite for years to come. it's also one of those albums that i've attached great sentimental value to as well - so much that i was unable to listen to it for a year after the relationship that it was involved with dissolved. besides that though, the sheer lyricism of the album has always been the light that draws me back to it. i am glad that suzanne has not kept to being just an acoustic perfomer, but i don't think that she's been able to remain as lyrically exciting on her new albums as she was on that first one. on a completely unrelated note, rykodisc and haninibal records are having a vinyl clearout sale with really cheap prices on a number of releases. i picked up marta sebastian's _muzsikas_, muzsikas' _the prisoner song_ and an album by vujicsics which is a collective of musicians including marta sebastian playing all sorts of serban music from souther hungary. all for $4 apiece. vinyl junkies take note! you can contact rykodisc/hannibal at: 530 north 3rd street minneapolis, mn 55401 612/375-9162 voice 612/375-0272 fax call 'em and i'm sure they'd be glad to send you a catalog. um, one question: anyone have any information on a artist named ingrid karklins? she's listed in the new green linnet catalog. the cover art looks most interesting (a photo of her from behind with doodles on her back. the bio in the green linnet catalog says that she's influenced by a latvian background and an texan upbringing. needless to say, this sounds *intriguing*! for that matter, has any heard the new altan album? is it worth getting? while i have not heard the album, i think i can safely recommend the new album by cherish the ladies on green linnet. i saw them perform a few years ago and loved it - traditional celtic dance and music by a consort of american women. they were absolutely wonderful. the album is called _the back door_ and i'll probably get it eventually. (as you can tell, i just got a new green linnet catalog :) in case you'd like to receive a green linnet catalog as well (lots of great celtic and otherwise releases), send a note to them and ask for it: green linnet 43 beaver brook road danbury, ct 06810 203/730-0333 that's it (that's all?) for now. sleep well. i'll try. woj ======================================================================== From: depeche@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca (Acme Instant Dehydrated Boulder Kit) Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 15:46:26 EST Subject: stuph Thanks to whoever posted all that extra info about Bel Canto!! I am one of their biggest fans, but I really know almost nothing about them. I sent a "general delivery" letter to Anelli Drecker, in Tromsoe, but I haven't gotten any reply yet. However, I am pretty sure that ONE song on White Out Conditions is in Norwegian - upland, is it? I could be mistaken, but in the printed lyrics, there are a's with little circles over them (angstroms?) and that is fairly unique to the scandanavian countries, right? As for "Bad Wisdom" by Suzanne Vega, I thought it was interesting that other people interpreted it as her being pregnant. I thought that the character sung about had aids, m'self. It seems more scary and depressing if you look at it that way. A couple of the lines in the song are very much open to interpretation - "just like the woman who walks in the street, I must pay for my life with my body" seems to imply that she has ALREADY sold her body in some way, not necessarily in the fashion as a "lady of the night". It could be that she "experienced life" and as a result, her body is going to die. That is why I thought of AIDS. Regardless, it appears "Bad Wisdom" definitely means "not enough info about safe sex", and the consequences could be pregnancy or some STD, and each person who hears it can decide for him/herself. Kiri mentions the soundtrack to "GOTHIC" by Thomas Dolby... Yes, it's an incredible soundtrack - some of the songs sound so scary that it wouldn't matter WHAT visuals went with them, you'd piss in your pants. I saw the movie itself when it first came out, and I found it very stomach-churning - I didn't enjoy it, but that doesn't mean it isn't any good. I just felt very unpleasant watching it, and was very glad when it was over. Perhaps I should see it again now that I am older. The only reason I _DID_ see it was because T.Dolby did the soundtrack... Same goes for Howard the Duck. Has anyone heard the new Thomas Dolby CD yet? I see it in stores, and I am very tempted to buy it, as I used to be a HUGE fan of TD (before May the Cube Be With You), but I look upon his new stuff with wary skepticism. Granted, there were a couple of great tracks on Aliens (I really liked Budapest and Ability to Swing, and Pulp Culture was pretty cool), but ever since One of our Submarines, I've been hoping he'd do something equally inspired, and he hasn't. I hear that the Kate Bush Canadian Boxed Set is going to be available again come X-Mas... I sure hope so, 'cause it'll cost half price compared to the British version... This time I'll get it, for sure!! -- | Alan Ezust depeche@cs.mcgill.ca McGill University Computer Science | |------------------------Montreal, Quebec, Canada (?)------------------------| | I'm not much of a night person. I'm *definitely* not a morning person. | | I'm not really an afternoon person either. Does this mean I'm a nobody? | ======================================================================== Date: 1 December 1992 16:16:58 CST From: Subject: Unconnected ramblings Let me add my name to the list of happy Northern Exposure viewers on ecto. If you liked the movie _Local Hero_, you'll like NEXP. About a year ago, when gaffa was going through one of its periodic flame wars, an analogy occurred to me that Vickie didn't mention: Twin Peaks is gaffa, Northern Exposure is ecto. BTW, you can subscribe to the NEXP episode guide by emailing Andy Bates at bates@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov . Once again, I don't know my own strength :-). As Letterman was having both Suzanne Vega and Janine Turner on Friday, I was on the phone to Vickie, so we both missed it (I didn't know who he was having on). Speaking of SV: is the flip side of that cassingle Jeff mentioned available on the CD of 99.9F? If not, it sounds like it's worth the extra outlay. On Turkey Day+1, I was not the only ectophile, it seems, to buy stuff at Tower. Pulse, in addition to tagging Happy as a dance artist, had an ad touting an attractive sale price on 5-packs of high-end Maxell blank tape (XL-II and XL-IIS, a brick of the latter going for $10.97+tax). Naturally, I stocked up. Tower also had a magazine, whose name I'll have to get back to you about, with a cover story on Diamanda Galas. Laura's revelation that Dita of the Silent Screen (as opposed to Dita the Dickhead from _Sex_) was actually French rather than German reminds me that another German classic of the 20's was _Kameradschaft_, a melodrama of French and German miners working together to extricate a colleague from a cavein. In the political climate of the time and place, it was a commercial flop in both countries. So it is possible to get them confused, I guess :-). Mitch ======================================================================== From: Deschenes nancy Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 19:27:53 -0500 Subject: just saying hi! I just subscribed to ecto for the second time... I was on for a while, but lost and then regained net access. So, since I didn't say hi the first time, and life's given me a second chance, here we go: HI EVERYONE! :) How I got introduced to Happy: Well, as for a number of artists, it's all Alan's fault! (Thanks, BTW :-) First there was Dead Can Dance, then Area, The Legendary Pink Dots (ok, that took a bit of getting used to...) Loreena McKennitt,... So, when he gave me a tape of Happy's stuff, I figured it just may be worth listening to. The first side of the tape had _Warpaint_ on it, and I found it enjoyable. It usually takes me a while to get the lyrics, but I thought the music was nice. A few days later, walking the the bus stop, I decided to listen to the other side. That side had songs from the 1st4. That's when _Ode_ hit me, and almost threw me to the ground... It was a bit like having something on your mind, opening a book at a random page, reading anywhere on that page, and finding the answer... Most definitely a shocking experience. Then I started paying closer attention to the lyrics, and I was truly impressed. That was last winter... then I got a CD player (about time :) and then I got Ecto and Rearmament at the Tower in Cambridge, while down there to see the Tori Amos concert, then on a trip to NYC, I dropped by the Tower there and found VII. I haven't mail-ordered Warpaint yet, but that's coming really soon now. Bel Canto: I'll agree with Vickie and Jeff that Bel Canto's "Shimmering warm and bright" is particularly good. But after hearing how much better it is compared to their previous albums, I'm worried that I'll be disappointed if I get them... Any suggestions? Justin: the Skydiggers were playing at McGill about a month ago... I didn't get to see them, but one of my co-workers was supposed to go. She didn't say much about them, though. I'm not even sure she went... but I do believe they're canadian. Nance ======================================================================== Date: Tue, 1 Dec 92 19:45:36 EST From: WretchAwry Subject: Re: Unconnected ramblings Mitch writes: > Let me add my name to the list of happy Northern Exposure viewers on ecto. > If you liked the movie _Local Hero_, you'll like NEXP. About a year ago, > when gaffa was going through one of its periodic flame wars, an analogy > occurred to me that Vickie didn't mention: Twin Peaks is gaffa, Northern > Exposure is ecto. Yes, very good! The analogy to Local Hero and Ecto is perfect! > Once again, I don't know my own strength :-). As Letterman was having > both Suzanne Vega and Janine Turner on Friday, I was on the phone to Vickie, > so we both missed it (I didn't know who he was having on). I was trying to think of what I was doing that I missed it...it will be re-run though. Besides, I always enjoy talking to you. > I stocked up. Tower also had a magazine, whose name I'll have to get back > to you about, with a cover story on Diamanda Galas. It's Mondo, a very stooopid, cyber-geek magazeen. The kind of magazine that Diamanda would puke on, if she knew what it was like. I'll bet she'd never seen, or at least, read, a copy before the interview. The interview was pretty good though, and the cover photo is worth picking it up for. Vickie ======================================================================== Subject: Re: just saying hi! (and other stuff) Date: Tue, 01 Dec 92 22:53:42 -0500 From: jeffy@syrinx.umd.edu >I just subscribed to ecto for the second time... Welcome back... >Well, as for a number of artists, it's all Alan's fault! (Thanks, BTW >:-) First there was Dead Can Dance, then Area, The Legendary Pink Dots (ok, >that took a bit of getting used to...) Loreena McKennitt,... I s'pose I'm going to have to check out LPD some day. The name keeps cropping up. >Bel Canto: >I'll agree with Vickie and Jeff that Bel Canto's "Shimmering warm and >bright" is particularly good. But after hearing how much better it is >compared to their previous albums, I'm worried that I'll be disappointed if >I get them... Any suggestions? Whoops--you've just taken my name in vain. I belive that was Vickie 'n _Woj_ who extolled the virtues of _Shimmering, Warm, and Bright_. I was loaned _White-Out Conditions_ and _Birds of Passage_ and I adore them both. I think both are slightly uneven, containing songs that I am neutral about. Both, however, also contain songs that, having heard, I wouldn't ever want to do without. Some of those include "White-Out Conditions", "Time Without End", and "Dewy Fields." I heard 2 or 3 tracks off _S, W, & B_ a couple of months ago, but it was to some extent background music. I recognized it as something I'd really like when I had the chance to hear it properly. I'll borrow that disc when I return these two to my friend (and regain my copy of _The Innocence Mission_ from him! He says he really likes--though he didn't expect to. He didn't expect Karen's voice to have so much character, or the songs to be so deep) On a completely unrelated note, I finally got a copy of the first _Concrete Blonde_ album and I absolutely love it. Couple of questions for anyone out there with answers: 1) "I'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out" is wonderful. But what the hell is the _other_ version of the song which appears as what would be the 4th track of the CD, between "Dancing On the Edge" (or whatever it's called" and "Song For Kim"? When I copied the titles down off my friend's CD, there was nothing else listed. I actually prefer the lyrics to the first version (particularly the verse about the Queen of LA), though I like the closing monologue of "Chew You Up". It's really a great album, with lots of crunchy, tasty songs. Very much in line with _Free_, and it's easy to see the roots of "The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden Tonight", which is the harshest song they've recorded since some of the louder tunes on _Free_ (such as "God Is A Bullet" (a superb song!). Anyway, my next question: The liner notes thank Michael Stipe for "concrete blonde." Did he coin the term? Is it from an old R.E.M. song? Mitch--hoping you've read this far--no, "Men Will Be Men" is not on the CD of _99.9F^o_, though I wish it were. Not sure where I would stick it though I think it would fit pretty well between "Fat Man & Dancing Girl" and "If You Were In My Movie". And the album's so short that there's plenty of room for more music. I still haven't had a chance to scout around for the various CD singles to see what CD the song _is_ available on. I know it's not on the import single for "99.9F^o"; that contains, as I recall, "In Liverpool," and live versions of "Queen and the Soldier" and another song or two. I'll try to get back to you. I'm also going to try to transcribe the song from my sister's cassingle tomorrow (oh no! jeffy's going to do more transcriptions!) Jeff ======================================================================== The ecto archives are on hardees.rutgers.edu in ~ftp/pub/hr. There is an INDEX file explaining what is where. Feel free to send me things you'd like to have added. -- jessica (jessica@ns1.rutgers.edu)