From: owner-ecto-digest To: ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto-digest V2 #19 Reply-To: ecto@nsmx.rutgers.edu Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, 10 February 1995 Volume 02 : Number 019 The Ecto digest is now being generated automatically. Please send problems and questions to: ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gmcdonald@zdi.ziff.com (glenn mcdonald) Date: Thu, 09 Feb 1995 09:28:07 -0500 Subject: Re: 54-40 >Can someone tell me if they [54-40] have a new album out in Canada? Their last album, released in 1994 in Canada and just now showing up in stores here in Boston, was called "Smilin' Buddha Cabaret". A little more raw and raucous than _Dear Dear_. I recommend it. ------------------------------ From: Hail Ants Date: Thu, 09 Feb 1995 10:57:42 -0500 (EST) Subject: Last Call!! - Upcoming EctoGathering in Maryland this Saturday (Feb 11) This is the last call for all Ectophiles interested in attending a gathering at my house in Severn, MD on Saturday Feb 11th. There will be music, video, food and great company. :) This is a chance to meet some of the people who you've been writing to on Ecot. If you'd like to attend, please e-mail me and let me know so I can give you directions. We still have space available for anyone who needs a place to crash. Here are the basics: What: EctoGathering When: Saturday February 11th, 1995 Time: ~4:30 until whenever Where: Our house in Severn, MD (About halfway between Washington and Baltimore). John ------------------------------ From: Chandra Lekha Sriram Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 10:50:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: jane song the arcane thing is a realworld compilation (you know, peter gabriel) so one is most apt to find it in the world music bins. the rest of the album is ok too. she is also on another of these realworld items, jam nation, which also has jah wobble. i was underwhelmed by the latter, but you might like it, who knows. chandra ------------------------------ From: Richard Holmes Date: Thu, 9 Feb 95 11:19:39 -0800 Subject: Re: Jewel on CMJ sampler And all this time I thought that CMJ stood for "Computer Music Journal", which is the one my wife subscribes to ;-) But it is unfortunate that there's two music journals with the same acronym -- from now on, since I think that Contemporary MJ is more mainstream, I'll always spell out "Computer Music Journal" completely in my posts. But I think I'll take a look at CMJ as well, if its got ecto-ish people on it. What would you say the proportion of stuff is that would be ecto? Cheers,, Richard ------------------------------ From: Neile Graham Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 11:43:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: Jewel on CMJ sampler Richard Holmes asks: > But I think I'll take a look at CMJ as well, if its > got ecto-ish people on it. What would you say the proportion of stuff > is that would be ecto? Someone else may be better able to answer this than I am--I've only seen a couple of issues (I don't subscribe, but a friend does and shares)--but from that small sample I would say there's always a couple of things that interest me on each sampler. They usually have 20 something songs, so maybe 10% on the sampler itself is worthwhile, but they have interesting reviews, and I enjoy reading those. The range of taste in the reviews is pretty broad. This issue's sampler not only has Jewel on it, but also a wonderful selection from a new EMI disc by Lena Willemark and Ale Moller, called Nordan. This is a collection of folk-jazz songs mostly based on traditional Swedish music. Judging from the song on the sampler this is a must buy for me. Definitely a must for those fans of the Agnes Buen Garnas and Jan Garbarek collaboration. Maybe we should have an ecto magazine discussion. I don't subscribe to any music magazines, but through friends I see copies of ROLLING STONE, CMJ, OPTION, WIRE, and sometimes CD REVIEW and B SIDES. So far B SIDES and OPTION have had the most interesting articles to me, but come nowhere near to how good just reading ecto is. It makes me realize that if ecto were a magazine I would pay for it, or if I had to pay for email access I certainly would. I'm grateful that I have such great access through work--another reason not to quit my job. Maybe that's why I've been here 5 years--3 years longer than any other job I've held. Or maybe I'm just getting old and settled. Heh. - --Neile ------------------------------ From: jeffw@triple-i.com (Jeff Wasilko) Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 14:18:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: Massive Attack? I heard a mention of a band called Massive Attack, from the UK. Is it true that Tracy Thorn from Everything But The Girl is singing vocals for them? Thanks, Jeff - -- Jeff Wasilko, Systems Rep., Information International Inc. +1 617 937 9400 (jeffw@triple-i.com, jeffw@jane.camex.com) "With all the confidence I have, it seems I could go forever, but forever has no rest stops."--Happy Rhodes [smoe] ------------------------------ From: David Dalton Date: 9 Feb 95 14:50 -0800 Subject: jewel boxes, Milla's humour, s-wet nothings No, this is not a post along the lines of "Jewel boxes Sarah, who would win", like the "Jesus boxes Odin" noise thread on alt.pagan recently, but a comment that for me the name "jewel" now has some negative connotations because of those stupid jewel boxes, very environmentally unfriendly, and prone to breaking at the corners at the slightest provocation. Also, another strike is that her name doesn't end in a vowel sound, which seems to be required for ecto-goddess-hood. But anyway, the reports of her voice have piqued my interest, how about the musical arrangements and instrumentation, what are they like? Also could someone post a few of your favourite Jewel lyric exerpts, so that I can see if they are good enough for me? Of course a good singer can make simple lyrics divine, (and bad/hokey lyrics can make the best singer lose interest). Speaking of Milla, I liked her sense of humour when she played here, although I was one of the few who laughed; what a dead crowd! She made one cute crack about Princess Cruises (cruise ships from Alaska to Vancouver, I think) that she may have been on, and hardly anyone laughed. But it was one of those s-wet nothings that make a concert memorable for me. It would be good to get some a digitized s-ample of Jewel on the web, as well, although I still haven't bothered to configure my sound player for xmosaic. David D ------------------------------ From: father bungholio Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 18:30:41 -0500 Subject: magazines Richard Holmes sez: >And all this time I thought that CMJ stood for "Computer Music Journal", actually, cmj = college music journal, not contemporary music journal. cmj was started in 1980 in nyc as a networking magazine for college radio stations and has evolved into a rather monolithic (imho) force for blandness in the college radio arena. the magazine that neile an i have been talking about is a side project of cmj called "cmj new music monthly". cmj nmm started up sometime last year. incidentially, they can be e-mailed at cmj@cmjmusic.com. Neile Graham sez: >This issue's sampler not only has Jewel on it, but also a wonderful >selection from a new EMI disc by Lena Willemark and Ale Moller, called >Nordan. meredith mentioned this to me. i think she'd heard a song or two by them on wfuv. as with the jewel track (and the jenn vix track for that matter), since it was near the end of the disc, i never quite made it all the way through to it. i still haven't listened to that track. however, a friend of mine was selling a copy (probably the very review copy at cmj since said friend is the world music editor there) so i'm buying it from him and will review soon. he said glowing things about and we usually agree on things scandinavian. >Maybe we should have an ecto magazine discussion. i get the cmj new music monthly thingie, cd review and stereo review. the latter two are dinosaurs from some magazine deal i stupidly bought into four years ago. basically, i'll be getting those two magazines (whose reviews i browse but mostly for amusement value) until 1996 whether i like it or not. like neile, i rely a lot on ecto and the rest of the music lists i'm on for music info. other sources are the local radio stations, wfmu and wfuv (the former i listen to and the latter meredith does). >It makes me realize that if ecto were a magazine I would pay for it, or >if I had to pay for email access I certainly would. i certainly do. fortunately, not much. :) woj ------------------------------ From: speedygo@acs.bu.edu Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 18:42:06 -0500 Subject: All Boston Lisa Germano/Simple Minds fans... ...they are scheduled to appear together at Avalon (Landsdowne Street) on February 25th. MAG ------------------------------ From: milquetoast Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 18:51 EST Subject: Re: lush + i need _btc_ ordering info... as stated in the subject, I need the info for ordering _Building The Colossus_ I have yet to see it in stores here and am pretty sure that I never will. I'm pretty sure that I have the address for AG somewhere but I could be wrong. What I really need is the cost of the CD plus any shipping etc... charges. Thanks in advance. I'd also like to chime in on lush's latest album _split_. It is easily their best to date. It simply is brilliant. Had I made up a top ten albums of the year (I didn't b/c I still have to get a lot of things that would probably end up on it and didn't feel it fair to compile the list w/o them) it would have been second after a three-way tie for first of (in order of release--the fairest way since they are tied): _Under The Pink_ (our beloved Tori); _The Downward Spiral_ (nine inch nails) and; _Fairytales of Slavery_ (Miranda Sex Garden). Anyway, _split_ is a great album and I can heartily recommend it. Kevin (miharki@indsvax1.indstate.edu) Calm Down. It's Only Ones And Zeros. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ /_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_\ // \\ \\ / \/ \/ \ // // "Your evil is that / / >< \ \ * * * \\ \\ you cannot be evil ! ! ! \ \ \ ! ! ! // // and I shall suffer * * * \ \ >< / / \\ \\ for it no longer!" \ /\ /\ / // // \\ \\_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _// \_-_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- -_-_/ This Message Brought To You By The Network. "I wanted a Death that I'd like to meet, in the end. Someone who would care. Like her." ------------------------------ From: Jeffrey Hanson Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 17:18:57 -0800 Subject: Jewel Kilcher Okay folks--here is a summary about what I know about Jewel (it's long, so if you're already sick of hearing about her, feel free to skip it). Most of this information is what I've gathered from the stories she herself tells during her performances, and from some of the articles in the local press. Jewel is 20 years old. She currently lives in San Diego. She started playing guitar in a local coffee house about two years ago, when she got fired from her waitress job for talking too much, and then fired from a computer job for talking too much. She decided she was sick of living her life this way in dead-end jobs and that she wanted to make it as a singer. So she found a coffee house called the Inner Change, in Pacific Beach (a part of San Diego), and started playing every Thursday night. At first no one came, but gradually people started coming until the place was overflowing, she was charging $4.00 cover, she was doing two shows every Thursday night and they were turning people away. Somewhere around this time, record company execs started to come investigate what the big deal was. She ended up being signed by Atlantic Records. At the time she was signed, she was living in a VW Van, eating carrot sticks and peanut butter, while being whisked away in limos and taken to fancy dinners in New York for the New Music Showcase, and the like. I believe she has a 5 album deal with Atlantic--pretty amazing for someone with no real experience. But I don't remember where I heard this so don't quote me on it. When Jewel performs, its usually just her and her guitar, though I've also seen her perform with Steve Poltz, one of the two main members of the Rugburns, another local San DIego band that have national distribution (but not a major label deal). The musicians on the album reportedly include members of Neil Youngs band, the Crazy Gators, and CHarlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's. From hearing Who WIll Save Your Souls, I'd personally say that the arrangements are passable--but aren't going to be the thing that sell you on her. She herself has only been playing guitar for about 3 years (so she says), though she's been singing for quite a while. When she was young she used to sing with her family in a show they did for tourists in Alaska. She grew up on a 400 acre homestead in Homer, Alaska. She went to a private music school in Michigan for a couple of years, starting when she was 16. From what she says, she went to sing blues, but ended up singing opera. Some of her big influences range from performers like Bob Dylan, John Prine, Ella Fitzgerald, and Yma Sumac. The only cover song she does is Behind the Wall by Tracy Chapman--and if you weren't looking at her you would swear it was Tracy. Her songs range from the poetic, to the humorous, to the downright silly. I don't have any of her tapes with me at the moment, so I can't type any lyrics. I could try to do some from memory, but doubt I could get a complete song. Anyone else? If not, I'll try to get some later. Its hard to say what her style is because she really varies. Some songs remind me of something Juliana Hatfield would do--others remind me more of something Rickie Lee Jones might do. Her voice is incredibly versatile and she has incredible pitch and range. She has a certain naivete and innocence that is charming, but she's also very worldly and wise. SHe's very young--she acts young, she looks young, but when she picks up her guitar and opens her mouth, you'd never know she was only 20. It's hard to believe that she can write the songs she does at such a young age. For example in Painters, we hear the story of couple who lived their lives as if it were a painting, "they thought blueprints were too sad so they made them yellow." In She Cries, we hear the story of a woman who's cheating on her husband, wondering why she's crying as she washes her hands in the sink. Certain songs can make the audience rather uncomfortable, as in Pieces of You, where she talks about the different prejudices the world has, against ugly girls, pretty girls, faggots and jews (her words--not mine by the way). Daddy is also a song that can make the audience a little uncomfortable. The Morning Song is a simle sweet love song about wanting to jump back in bed with the one you love and stay there all day. Sometimes It Be That Way is a song written in the spirit of Bob Dylan, and is an incredible song that lists about 500 reasons why she's sorry a relationship ended including "I'm sorry that Jesus died for my sins, and I swear to God it won't happen again," and "I'm sorry that I never had a match, to start a fire big enough for your heart to catch." "My Own Private God's Gift to Women" is a hilarious song about the way men try to pick up women (like sticking out their tongues lewdly). Some of the lyrics are: "I'm just a nice girl, thought I had everything, Until you flashed me, and I saw what I'd been missing. I'd been savings myself my whole life for some motherf*** like you to come along, and I am so desperate, I'm writing you this song-- and you're so vain--you probably this song is about you. I get this tiny little boost of adrenaline everytime I start thinking about you, oohh, my own private god's gift to women, my own private god's gift to women..." "Who Will Save Your Souls" and "Little Sister" deal with the problems of society and how we feed ourselves with junk food and addictions rather than nourishing our spirits and seeking to create beauty in the world. These are just a few of many, many songs she's written. Everytime I've seen her she's added a few more to her repertoire. She also yodels faster than anyone I've ever heard (not that I've heard that many people try!), and sings everything from a blues number she wrote for her dentist after having her wisdom teeth pulled called Toothless Valentine,to a Swedish lullaby. Her outlook on life may be a little optimistic, naive and unrealistic, but at such a young age she's entitled to it. I really wish her the best of success--because, as she's sure to tell you if you ever see her perform, she truly loves her life, and is truly grateful for being able to do what she loves and make a living at it. Jewel's album, "Pieces of You", is scheduled for release Feb. 28th. Jeff Hanson P.S. Neile Graham and I are trying to get Doug Burks a tape of some of her performances that Neal Copperman recorded for the Ecto tape dubbing project so you can all check her out for yourselves. BTW Doug, I haven't seen you post lately. Is the tape project still going strong? Unfortunately, I don't have the capabililties to put any samples on a Web page. ------------------------------ From: THE OLIVE-LOAF VIGILANTE Date: Thu, 09 Feb 1995 21:55:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: sometimes you just gotta say... Hi! Kim Justice replied: >Maybe. When I have the misfortune to enter a local bookstore on their >periodic Writers' Night nights, I note that cliches and hackneyed >phraseology are equally in force for both sexes of performer. I think I >know what you mean, but I can't agree that either sex has is superior in >terms of musical talent, ability, or what-have-you. I agree with you. I put the "gross generalization warning" in there for a reason -- I was trying to make a rant point. :) But I do think that there is, to some degree, a fear in the Music Industry Establishment that my generalization might be true... or am I just succumbing to those silly conspiracy theories again? (Remember, Mulder, Trust No One. ;) >Another angle on this: when you go in a CD store, there seems to be a >reasonable percentage of female artists in the bins, but when you look >closer you see that the bulk of them fall into the category I call "girl >and drum machine." Usually, the "girl" can dance really well. It's a >problematic category because it allows record company people to say "Oh, we >have plenty of women on our label" when the fact is they view these women >almost as interchangeable parts--the (male) producer's the one who wrote >and arranged everything, then just dropped the Voice/Face on top of it to >complete the package. Agreed 100%. Sad, isn't it? Almost as sad as a Bon Jovi laserdisc... Sue Trowbridge (currently enjoying her 15 minutes of fame ;) called: >Anyone want to volunteer to write such a thing? Is there a journalist in the house? Would the real Valerie Nozick please stand up! Uncle Bob reported: > The news from AG is...interesting. To cover a main point, Kevin has >requested that the Prism Concert Dubbing Project be put on hold. Based on >advance footage they have seen, they are not entirely satisfied with >several elements of the production, esp. The Mix. I respect Happy and Kevin's decision, and will honor their wishes. (What time to we need to appear on your doorstep on March 10?) On the other hand, however, I fear that one of these days Happy's perfectionism is going to end up depriving her of a prime opportunity for exposure. This obviously doesn't apply to this case, since the tapes would only be distributed to ectophiles, but that brings me to this point: Since the tape would only be viewed by people who, presumably, would by and large love everything she does uncon- ditionally (another generalization, I know, so shoot me), why the ban on tape distribution? Is AG going to be lobbying Prism to forego broadcasting the concert video? I don't think so. The entire metropolitan Philadelphia area will have the opportunity to see it... why not ectophiles who live in areas where she hasn't yet played live, and may never do so? As I said, I respect AG's decision 100% and will abide by their wishes 100%. Still, I had to wonder aloud on that point... remember that Mercury is retrograde again, and will remain that way until February 26th, so if you feel you must flame, wait until then and I'm sure you'll feel *much* better. :) >Now onto some more happier news. There is another concert scheduled >after the Bottom Line, this one to be on April 22 in the Philadelphia area. Mmmh, yes! And on a Saturday, too!!! Hey, has there been any official communication to ecto about the Bottom Line show? I know it's happening and WFUV has started to mention the lineup on the air, but not one peep out of AG... Bob, did Kevin mention if Happy will be playing acoustic or with the band? woj responded: >jeff also adds about the cd spine: >>Is there any particular reason you don't just put the jewel box in your >>rack upside down so that all your titles are nice 'n neat and easy to read? > >how about a neurotic, anal complex? Um, isn't that what would make you want to put the titles nice and neat and easy to read? I know that my neurotic, anal complex is why I arrange my CDs that way... Neile elucidated: >This was obliquely mentioned in a rather long post from Meth about woj >and music and all, Obliqueness Is Us. As Emo Phillips put it, "Ambiguity... the Devil's volleyball." :> +==========================================================================+ |Meredith Tarr meth@delphi.com| |Boonton, NJ USA finger info at: mtarr@eagle.wesleyan.edu| +==========================================================================+ |Excuse me Newt, but I don't recall being asked to sign on any dotted line!| +==========================================================================+ ------------------------------ From: Philip Sainty Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 16:14:05 +1300 Subject: Re: Aural Gratification CDs "upside down"? r. wrote: > jeffy writes: > >> Is there any particular reason you don't just put the jewel box in your >> rack upside down so that all your titles are nice 'n neat and easy to read? > > The main annoyance for me and BtC's "upside-down"ness is that I'll pull > it out of the rack, rightside up for the writing but upside-down for the > case, and try and open in the wrong way, causing me to wonder for a > moment if I'm a victim of spontaneous crystal-case combustion (or at > least fusing) until I remember that it's upside-down, curse, turn it > over, open it, put the CD in the spinner, and then replace the CD in the > rack. > > With the text upside-down. > > *SIGH* You'd love my collection then - 90% of my CDs have the booklet inserted upside-down :) (and thus the cases placed upside down in the rack so that the pictures are the right way up :) The very good (imo) reason for this being that you avoid the cover of the booklet aquiring two dents where it hits those little plastic bits every time you try to take the thing out of its case. With the booklet upside down, it's the spine that rests against the plastic things, and thus the booklet can be easily slid out without damage. This is especially useful for very large booklets. Of course, a few booklets are designed such that the 'right way up' is the best way for my purposes (Victoria Williams' "Swing the Statue", for example) but such is life :) Philip _ _ ___ _ _ _ (_ / | / \ |_) |_| | | (_ Philip Sainty (_ \_ | \_/ | | | | |_ (_ sainty_p@ix.wcc.govt.nz - -------------------------------------------------------------- "This is where I want to be, this is what I need." --Kate Bush ------------------------------ From: mcb@postmodern.com (Michael C. Berch) Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 20:46:31 -0800 Subject: Re: ectopics (Lush really) veronica sawyer writes: > i think _split_ is meaner (in the good way) and chunkier than _spooky_. > Robin Guthrie's out and Mike Hedges is in at producer... except the band > said they didn't like Hedges' production so Alan Moulder (yay!) got to do > most or all of the final mixing. and it *shows*. it's still the same Lush > icecream, but with a whole different topping than _spooky_, gone from > something airy and smooth and creamy to something in sharp crunchy little > bits. like going from, say, whipped cream to chopped M&Ms... from Cocteau > Twins to Curve. but still it has moments of purepain-full beauty, and some > nice string arrangements too, especially on "desire lines" and "when i > die". > > there are at least two four-track singles, one for "desire lines", which i > don't have here, and one for "hypocrite", which i do 'cause it's my favorite. > it also has "love at first sight", "cat's chorus", and a *9+ minute* > dancey/trancey remix of "undertow" (DJ Spooky) which i *love*. Yeah... "Undertow" is definitely my favourite of all the songs on SPLIT -- it just seems the most, well, *layered*, by which I don't mean overproduced in a recording/mixing sense, but getting all the voices in this sort of synchronous matrix of pitch, colour, and timing. Hard to describe, but I love it, especially (on the CD version), you know: Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free Let me try to pull you free which seems to go on forever and just melt into the landscape... - -- Michael mcb@postmodern.com ------------------------------ From: Dave Cook Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 12:57:08 +0800 (WST) Subject: Re: Massive Attack? On Thu, 9 Feb 1995, Jeff Wasilko wrote: > I heard a mention of a band called Massive Attack, from the UK. > Is it true that Tracy Thorn from Everything But The Girl is > singing vocals for them? > Jeff, I have their latest album "Protection" in front of me.. Yes, Tracey Thorn does do vocals for them, but for 2 tracks only :( The two tracks concerned are "Protection" and "Better Things". Hope this helps. Cheers, Dave +---------------------------------------------+ | Dave Cook Perth, Western Australia | | Internet: davecook@yarrow.wt.uwa.edu.au | +---------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ From: jeffy@wam.umd.edu Date: Fri, 10 Feb 95 00:21:12 EST Subject: too late for a recount? Well, having had _The Belle Stompe_ for a couple of days now, I find that I really need to reconsider my top 10 of '94...if only I'd had the sense to buy this that one time I saw it in Tower when it first came out, but I was in a hurry (and probably broke...) tHThe only problem is that I can't quite remember exactly what my 10 were, so I'm not sure which spot _The Belle Stompe_ should get. Such problems. Am I the only one who thinks that the beginning of "Risk in This" sounds just like the beginning of...um...I think it's called "Difference" -- the last song on Pearl Jam's _Vs_? On a completely unrelated note, all this talk about _T "The Lion of Symmetry" made me go look for my vinyl copy of _Soundtracks_, but alas it wasn't at my folks' house, which means it's in storage somewhere along with my other Genesis-related vinyl (including "Spot the Pigeon" and "Smallcreep's Day" -- the only decent solo album Mike Rutherford has managed to come up with, but oh what an album it is!). It seems that the only vinyl I have in the house are a few KaTe 12" and a Big Country 12". Odd. Jeff (joining in with the hoarde of people who've acknowledged having that Banks album...) |Jeffrey C. Burka | "When I look in the mirror, I see a little clearer/ | | | I am what I am and you are you too./ Do you like | |jeffy@wam.umd.edu | what you see? Do you like yourself?" --N. Cherry | ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V2 #19 ************************* ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu