Errors-To: ecto-owner@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 #849 ecto, Number 849 Sunday, 7 November 1993 Today's Topics: *-----------------* Re: Those Red, Red Shoes! Kirsty MacColl Deepspace Upgrade! The 1st listen to Red Shoes/poetry Listening to Kate I'm entralled Del Palmer in decent engineering shock! Pass me that packing crate! Another Opinion on "The Red Shoes" The party 3 "Things" Re: Holly Cole Trio ======================================================================== From: p.cohen@genie.geis.com Date: Sat, 6 Nov 93 02:39:00 BST Subject: Re: Those Red, Red Shoes! Hi all, Without quoting Vickie's long message regarding artists trashing their early work, I'd like to say I agree fully with what she said. And "Treasure" is _MY_ favorite Cocteau Twins album too. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Paul Cohen +---+ P.COHEN@genie.geis.com +---+ +---+ 5500 Wissahickon Ave +---+ 70703.3126@compuserve.com +---+ +---+ Apt 512B +---+ PMCOHEN@aol.com +---+ +---+ Philadelphia, PA 19144 +---+ PMCOHEN@delphi.com +---+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Date: Fri, 5 Nov 93 21:29 EST From: robert@deepspace.nj00802.sai.com (Robert Lovejoy) Subject: Kirsty MacColl Hello there, Today's Philadelphia Inquirer did a story on Kirsty MacColl, who will be in town tomorrow night at the Chestnut Cabaret. Unfortunately, I can't make the show :( The article, however, included a major revelation. You folks remember my "Well-nigh Perfect Songs" list? Near the top was a wonderful ditty sung by Tracey Ullman: "They Don't Know". Turns out to have been written by Kirsty MacColl! I checked my 45 this evening and lo and behold, there it was. This is one great song. Kirsty has a great talent for melodies. I first heard her in her own right when WXPN played a fantastic song from "Electric Landlady" ("Not Too Far" (?)). They've been playing cuts from the new album as well, and it is wonderful. Sigh. What a week! I'm sorry I can't make the show, hope she comes back soon. And I missed DCD and will miss Firesign. Ah well. Thanks for your time, see you all on Monday! Bob. Just plain Bob. -foop- ======================================================================== Date: Fri, 5 Nov 93 21:17 EST From: robert@deepspace.nj00802.sai.com (Robert Lovejoy) Subject: Deepspace Upgrade! Hi folks, I wanted to share my good news with the net; I'm trading in my 386sx for a new 486dx2 66Mhz MonsterClone with CDRom, 8 Megs Ram, 370Mb of hard drive and a 14.4 modem. The system will be ready Monday afternoon. Once I send this and my next message, I'll be offline for the duration backing up files, disconnecting, and then turning in this computer. Needless to say I'm more than a little excited. I shan't stop my mail as I'll be back online Monday night and ecto is generally rather quiet over the weekend. The hardest part will be wresting the system from my children long enough to pick up my mail and transfer it to a floppy to read at work. This is pretty monumental to a techie like myself, and - well, sheesh! I'm a little tempered in my joy to hear that Meth's computer is down. As I have to trade, I'm sorry I can't help. I hope you get a new system up and running soon; meanwhile I'm glad you're still able to post. Thanks everyone for letting me share a little good fortune with you! Bob the still pinching himself! ======================================================================== From: shark@cs.ucla.edu (Jeanne B. Schreiter) Subject: The 1st listen to Red Shoes/poetry Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1993 22:06:02 -0800 (PST) Forwarded message: ======================================================================== From: shark@CS.UCLA.EDU (Jeanne B. Schreiter) Subject: Listening to Kate Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1993 21:22:26 -0800 (PST) a First Impression 11-05-1993 All the worlds on a paper picture perfect I see my hand in front of my face and I touch myself just to know my skin i feel alive i look up to see the cloth looking down houses with skies of stars woven and webbed on scraps of thread someone carved them out did you? it just gives me joy seeing these stars smiling back at me green flashing gold redness runs in returning suns Maybe I should call my mother she makes me smile when the weather reminds me of coldness damp and chilly i dream of her voice lilting echoes in my head touching my hand squeezing it tight breathing the curl of my lips back into me Maybe I should call her now -JB Schreiter ======================================================================== From: shark@cs.ucla.edu (Jeanne B. Schreiter) Subject: I'm entralled Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1993 22:11:03 -0800 (PST) I've been sitting here listening to Kate's album. The last/final song on the album, beats me like a sad movie's tears at the end. it makes me feel like someone close died in my arms and I'm still moving foward, trying hard not to look back, even though I can't get the picture out my mind, outward looking in. I've been doing some writing to Kate's songs too. I think some of the music will take some getting used to, but some of it, such as this last song, really hits the mark. I'm not impressed with Prince's ideas. They kind of felt flat and inhuman. IMOO, In My Own Opinion Jeanne vv/|vv ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 6 Nov 93 02:17:47 AEDT From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Subject: Del Palmer in decent engineering shock! (Grin :-) I just picked up my authentic, colour-label, UK pressed copy of "The Red Shoes" today, thanks to EMI who took pity on me when I expressed disappointment that the Australian release has been put back till Monday November 15th. No reason has been given; they must have some stock, as they gave me a copy from a huge crate full of the things; maybe they're delaying so they can press some CDs here to cope with demand. Bet they don't do the picture label on the Australian copy. Anyway, I'm listening to it now. My initial reactions (I'm up to "Big Stripey Lie" but felt moved to post immediately... :-) * Del Palmer has had four years to learn how to engineer a recording that doesn't sound like it was a PortaStudio demo. He's succeeded. Whether Kate's updated the equipment in her studio, or Del's been learning, or it was Kevin Killen's fault all along on TSW, but this one is very nicely recorded thank you. And no tape hiss either. Nice change. :-) * Kate may Eat The Music. I have to Eat My Words. I expressed doubt about the quality of the album after hearing "Rubberband Girl" - which I still don't like, BTW - but this is a very strong album, streets ahead of TSW (there's none of that album's guitar histrionics and dead spots), and just from this first listen, I can tell it's going to be up there in my top five for the year. It doesn't beat Margot's album, though, Uli! :-) * Prince should find another $$%#^%ing backing vocal style. It's too intrusive. * Jeff Beck is old. So is Eric Clapton. Nigel Kennedy isn't. * I'd have preferred a stapled booklet instead of a fold-out. * That Prince-laden song is probably the first thing he has ever played on that he hasn't either produced or mixed... Now, as always, back to your regular programming, and a backlog of 268 EctoMessages I have to clear before I call up to get some more... :-) Anthony ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au "I kind of feel like I'm Metallica..." - Tori Amos on the perils of long tours, November 1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 6 Nov 93 16:40:06 AEDT From: anthony@xymox.apana.org.au (Anthony Horan) Subject: Pass me that packing crate! Hi y'all, I'm recovering from moving, or close to it. Work is stopping me from getting much done until tomorrow, though. But I did have time to read my backlog of EctoMessages. Here we go... Philip Sainty laments; > Well the first thing I did when I got into town this morning was go to an > automatic teller and draw out sufficient funds (read pretty much all that > was in there) for me to purchase "The Red Shoes" and Margot Smith's > "Sleeping With The Lion"... > I consoled myself with the thought that at least I'd leave with one CD - > after all, it's been at least a couple of weeks I think since Anthony told > me SWTL had been released here - and so thinking went to the shelves... > Several minutes later I was back at the desk again without my prize... > > "Who?" he asked... > > Arrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's been happening to a few friends of mine here too. It seems EMI have Margot as a low-priority artist, and a lot of the reps haven't bothered to even listen to it (the "reps" being the people that actually go to the stores and persuade them to order records). I suggest you ask at a few places - find a chart store if you can. If they don't have it, get them to order it - according to Margot is is most definitely out in New Zealand. Unless EMI there have done one of their famous delaying sessions. :-) I'd be interested to know if the packaging is the same (do you get mostly Australian pressed CDs there still?). Bob Lovejoy reports; > Susanne got back to me today regarding the ad idea, and again, she > earnestly requests that we refrain. She sends ecto her deepest thanks for > the idea, but would truly prefer that we do not place an ad for Happy in any > magazine. She did mention that they are in the process of putting together > for Pulse anyway. So please, we have to drop the ad idea. Hmmm. I don't want to take anything away from Susanne's efforts at this point, but I have to point this out... about six months ago I was planning on giving a DAT tape of Happy to a friend of mine at Mushroom Records in the hope of them being able to license Happy's CDs locally. I mailed Bob about this and he asked Susanne, who said to refrain as she'd rather approach them herself. I rang Mushroom anyway and told them all about Happy and to expect a call, and called Susanne myself a few times. The last time I spoke to Janet at Mushroom, she'd never heard a word from anyone connected with Happy - all that interest gone to waste. Representatives from Mushroom were at the New Music Seminar in New York the other month. I rang Susanne and told her about it, and she seemed enthused. They never saw her. :-( I know it's "only" Australia, but by default if Mushroom licence the catalog then it's also New Zealand and possibly the Pacific Islands and Asia as well. I'm still ready and willing to do anything I can to help Happy get distribution here, and I am in a position to do exactly that, but until someone in New York decides to press the button there's zip I can do. *RANT OFF* :-) Kelly (*HUG!*) writes; > kate's coming out in november, kate's not coming out until february, > kate's out in october in europe...i'm so confused! is the latest word that > she *is* coming out in the states on nov 4 after all? or that you've > ordered it on import? if so, from where? It is out in the US, as you all in the US know by now. :-) US import copies showed up here on Wednesday and have been selling like wildfire due to EMI's delayed release locally. mjm palidromatises; > I tried sending mail to brni at: > > mojzes@monet.rutgers.edu > > and it came back with user unknown. Same thing happened from here a while ago when I tried to mail brni to thank him for his car-accident story. So belated thanks, brni! :) Vickie brrred; > Retroactive & belated *Hugs* & HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to > > Dave Steiner, Mortimer, Jessica-Ecto Goddess Lady, Katie Dougiamas > and Anthony Horan (if you don't read this until after midnight Oz > time) Thank you! *MASSIVELY BIG HUG* Steve points out; > Elton has a new book out, sorry I didn't catch the title, dealing with > similar themes to "Stark". The text of his stage play "Gasping" is > also available and deals with the privatisation of air. "Stark" is to > be made into a film with Elton playing the lead character. This > information comes via a friend who is a fan of Elton. It's been done already; it was a TV miniseries actually, comissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Commision and Channel 4 in the UK. 2 hours 40 minutes in all, directed by Nadia Tass, of "Malcolm", "Rikki And Pete", "The Big Steal" and "Pure Luck" fame. Set in Perth, shot here in Melbourne! It screened a couple of months back on TV here and is now out on video. High point of the whole thing for me was the casting of Jacqueline MacKenzie, a brilliant new Australian actor, in one of the lead roles. Anthony ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony Horan, Melbourne Australia - anthony@xymox.apana.org.au "I kind of feel like I'm Metallica..." - Tori Amos on the perils of long tours, November 1992 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 06 Nov 93 12:34:38 GMT From: GTP10@phx.cam.ac.uk Subject: Another Opinion on "The Red Shoes" I've been plucking up courage to write a review of "The Red Shoes" all week. I've given the album innumerable listens in the hope it would grow on me, and in the end all I can say is that I'm glad CD players are prog- rammable. I now feel secure in posting to Ecto (a) because it is so flame free, and (b) because I broadly agree with what Meredith and Jessica have already written. My song by song take on it: Rubberband Girl: Catchy? Yes. Commercial? Yes. But none the worse for that. Not a KaTe classic, but a well crafted pop song with just enough wierdness to sustain interest. And So Is Love: Pleasant enough, but it doesn't really grab me. In fact, I like it less each time I hear it. Eat The Music: The real problem with this is that it is too damn long. At about half the length it would be fine as a change of style, tempo, mood etc., but I always lose interest about two minutes in and skip to the next track. Moments of Pleasure: Every time I hear this I get a shivering sensation. I find it incredibly moving. It may be flawed compositionally but it works (for me at least). The Song of Solomon: The thing which really bugs me about this is the chorus - not the use of the word "bullshit" but the "yeah"s. Whenever I hear someone end a line with a "yeah" for no apparent reason, I think: here's someone who has written a nice melody line and is such an incompetent lyricist that they cannot fit some words to it. KaTe is not an incompetent lyricist - so why? The rest of the song is OK though it does meander rather aimlessly at times. Lily: In a word - brilliant! The Red Shoes: I like this one a lot. Not as much as some, but a lot. Like "Eat The Music" this song is basically made up of one musical phrase used repeatedly, but unlike ETM it doesn't get boring. Top Of The City: Just like Meredith, this song evokes images of "Brazil" for me. I still haven't made up my mind about this one. I certainly don't dislike it, but neither am I particularly enthused by it. Constellation of the Heart: There are moments when I quite like this (the verses) but the chorus is just horrible. The unison singing just doesn't work for me - the voices don't blend well and the melody is awfully twee. Big Stripey Lie: The only problem with this is that it is too short (by about the same amount that ETM is too long). It is great, but so much more could have been made of it. Why Should I Love You: Pass the sick bag! This has no redeeming features whatsoever. You're The One: Like ASIL this one has no stamina. OK for a few listens but ultimately lifeless. Overall, the biggest disappointment this year and only the third best album released in the UK this week. All IHMO, of course. Geoff Parks ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 6 Nov 93 14:32:53 MET From: Albert Philipsen Subject: The party Perttu writes: >I'm heading my Ectomobile towards Wuppertal on Saturday mourning ^^^^^^^^ Oh come on, it can't be that bad! :-) >next week. If anyone along the route (Scheveningen - Utrecht - >Arnheim - Wuppertal) wants to come along drop me a note. Chris, >Albert, Holly - are you coming? Karel, are you still in SF? I'm sorry, but I'm not coming. I've already met you, Chris, Klaus & Claudia, and I don't know who else is coming. I would have loved to meet Beth, but she's not coming either. I would be very surprised if Holly would be coming, because she lives in Baltimore, in the USA. I hope you'll have a great party without me! :-) > - Perttu Albert ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 06 Nov 1993 09:03:46 -0500 (EST) From: HOLLY@umbc2.umbc.edu Subject: Re: The party >> Chris, >> Albert, Holly - are you coming? Karel, are you still in SF? I didn't know I was invited! :) How lovely! Of course, I know I'm not the only Holly in the world. > I would be very > surprised if Holly would be coming, because she lives in Baltimore, > in the USA. Albert, you wouldn't be *half* as surprised as *I* would be if I showed up at the party! *smooches* Holly ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 6 Nov 93 14:58:32 EST From: mojzes@monet.rutgers.edu (brni) Subject: 3 "Things" hi all, just a couple more rambling things from the brn-meister: 1) i've seen a lot of people really trashing "why do i love you?" and i agree that it isn't the best track in the world (i think kate manages to get a better "prince sound" without him, like in "rubberband girl"), but i think that the first part of the song, up until the first chorus, is truly beautiful. its unfortunate about the rest of the song. 2) gosh. what *was* i going to say...maybe it'll come to me later. 3) paul cohen sez: > Without quoting Vickie's long message regarding artists trashing their early >work, I'd like to say I agree fully with what she said. > >And "Treasure" is _MY_ favorite Cocteau Twins album too. > as a musician, i've looked back at some things that i used to be really proud of and said "god, what was i *thinking*?" same thing with written texts. there are other things that i listened to at the time and was supremely dissatisfied with, but that aren't all that bad (i pulled out some old band tapes last month, and a lot of it had worked better than i'd thought it did). distance from something gives you a different opinion of it than you have when you are working on it. some would say that it is "more objective," but since i have never seen anyone actually be objective, i think it is something else. as time goes by, different things become important to you, and how what is important to you interacts and relates to what you did before at least partially determines how you feel about that thing in the present. i don't see an artist looking back at what they did in the past and cringing as unusual or as unhealthy, or as immutable either. i also don't think that just because an artist looks back at something and says "that is trash" that it really *is* trash. artists can produce the manifestation of the Truth, but this doesn't mean that they *know* the "truth." 2 (refrain): i remembered now. i personally don't think that placing an ad for happy is the best of ideas. i'm not sure that we as a group have the proper personal and financial resources to run a successful advertising campaign for her, and an unsuccessful attempt could even be worse than nothing. another aspect of this is that i think it is important for happy to keep control over how she is presented to the public. this is *her* public face that we are talking about playing with, and it seems to me that this really is not much better (other than in intention) than a record company producing an image of an artist. the best advertising we can do is to keep bugging radio stations, to get reviews and interviews for her, and stuff like that. i think that the DID idea is great--i know that i try to at least listen to unknowns in lists that i find to be consistently good. well, time for food, i think (i really don't understand this food obsession i've had for the last few days...) love brni ======================================================================== Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1993 13:52:19 -0800 (PST) From: Ectophiles Guide Subject: Re: Holly Cole Trio This is Jim borrowing the ectophiles account for a minute, just to apologize for this appalling typo. On Fri, 5 Nov 1993, Jim Gurley wrote: > I just wanted to second (etc.) Vickie's feelings about Hole Cole. Neile and Make that Holly, please. Egad. 30 lashes with a wet noodle for my inability to type. Jim ======================================================================== 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)