From: owner-ecto-digest To: ecto-digest@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: ecto-digest V2 #322 Reply-To: ecto@nsmx.rutgers.edu Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, 29 December 1995 Volume 02 : Number 322 The Ecto digest is now being generated automatically. Please send problems and questions to: ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: maeldun@i-2000.com (Michael Doyle) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 22:48:27 -0500 Subject: Re: Ars Poetica At 09:24 PM 12/27/95 -0600, Kerry White wrote: > But what happens when one is ignorant of both LSD and RC? First, get _Idylls_ and _Ardor_ by Love Spirals Downward. Second, think of Cocteau Twins with the heart of...I want to say Big Hat, but if you don't know LSD, you probably don't know them. Cocteau Twins put through the filter of (I know this is weak) "Night of the Swallow" by Kate Bush. Note: vocals do _not_ sound like Kate (but are very good). Third, send Woody at C'est La Mort a check for $15 (or thereabouts) and wait in breathless anticipation for Ars Poetica. - - Mike Michael Doyle maeldun@i-2000.com =================================================================== "You sleep like a haiku: You're still; you move. It's that simple." - - C-Cat Trance ------------------------------ From: Kerry White Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 23:07:03 -0600 (CST) Subject: Re: Ars Poetica Hello, On Thu, 28 Dec 1995, Michael Doyle wrote: > At 09:24 PM 12/27/95 -0600, Kerry White wrote: > > But what happens when one is ignorant of both LSD and RC? > > First, get _Idylls_ and _Ardor_ by Love Spirals Downward. First, I go to Blockbreaker Music Monolith and listen for free to both. Then, if liked, I go to *locally-owned* cd store. > Second, think of Cocteau Twins with the heart of...I want to say Big Hat, > but if you don't know LSD, you probably don't know them. Cocteau Twins put > through the filter of (I know this is weak) "Night of the Swallow" by Kate > Bush. Note: vocals do _not_ sound like Kate (but are very good). Not sure the tune in my head is NotS, will have to relisten to The Dreaming. Not terribly into Cocteaus, much. 8-) But have heard. > Third, send Woody at C'est La Mort a check for $15 (or thereabouts) and wait > in breathless anticipation for Ars Poetica. Maybe. 8-) KrW It was the least I could do! And never let it be said that I didn't do the least I could do. ------------------------------ From: smarks@westdat.com (Mark Salamon) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 23:22:20 -0800 Subject: i know i am late (tributes) Hello people, i know this thread was about a week ago, but i just read all my mail for the last week or so (about 600 messages) and had to mention some good tribute discs.... When valerie first posted her comment i went and grabbed my tribute discs and found 8 that i feel are worth repeated listens as a whole...four have been mentioned: Sweet Relief (of course...), Stay Awake, Red Hot & Blue, and Beat the Retreat...those not mentioned, but quite good: kiss my ass: classic kiss regrooved - i was a HUGE kiss fan in my youth so i basically know all there older stuff by heart and it was great to hear some great new versions of their songs...like lenny kravitz doing 'deuce' and toad the wet sprocket doing 'rock and roll all nite' as if they were the most laid back people in the world..... stone free: a tribute to jimi hendrix - aside from pat metheny (who is on my top ten list of musicians worthy of a boot to the head) this disc is packed with good artists (seal, living colour, pretenders)...even nigel kennedy and his violins is a treat to hear again and again.... folkways: a vision shared (a tribute to woody guthrie and leadbelly) - the first tribute i ever owned....aside from turning me on to the originals, this disc is chock full o' pleasant listens.....sweet honey in the rock not once, but twice.....emmylou harris....brian wilson....u2..... tulare dust: a songwriter's tribute to merle haggard - not to be confused with the crappy "popular country artist" tribute released about the same time...this one is on hightone records and features breathtaking performances by iris dement, peter case, marshall crenshaw, lucinda williams, john doe, and more.... well, that is my take on the tribute albumk thing....i have a few others that i got basically fomr one song (many of which i was lucky to find used) and try to include that one song on comp tapes i make so i don't have to actually listen to the whole disc.... mark **************************************************************************** * Even now, God's mistake * * Sets us up for one more heartbreak * * -Tears For Fears * **************************************************************************** * Mark Salamon smarks@wdc.net * * Orange, CA * **************************************************************************** ------------------------------ From: smarks@westdat.com (Mark Salamon) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 23:22:33 -0800 Subject: recent purchases Hello people, well, having recently read the ecto commandments, i decided to post my thoughts on the new (some used) discs i picked up this past week....solstice gifts to myself..... Ben Folds Five / Ben Folds Five - somewhere i read these guys are sort of a Elton John for the 90s and the analogy kinda fits...in a good way. I love elton john..old elton john...yellow brick road-tumbleweed connection type stuff and some of this is quite enjoyable in that vein with a 90s twist. Most of the disc is just piano bass and drums and sounds quite cool..... The Police / Live! - haven't listened to it yet, but i am sure it is essential for any police fan...and who isn't? (now, don't go posting or emailing me that you aren't a police fan...you are just in denial) The Subdudes / The Subdudes The Subdudes / Lucky The Subdudes / Annunciation - well, i scored this week finding all three of this fabulous band's discs used for $1.99-$3.99 US at two different stores....my friend had dubbed the second two albums for me about a year ago and i have played them repeatedly, but never bought them.....they are based in New Orleans and Colorado and there sound reflects it.....no drums on most songs, just a stick and a tambourine and guy who knows how to play the hell out of it...add in some accordian and some harmonica to go with the bass and guitars and you get some interesting sounds...kinda soul...kinda rock....really cool.... The Rugburns / Hitchhiker Joe (cd single) - 99 cents!! basically i bought it for completeness since it only has hitchiker joe (from morning wood) and a radio version of 'me and eddie vedder' (from taking the world by donkey)...and it was only 99 cents!! Vance Gilbert / Fugitives - never heard of this guy before, but i read the back of the disc for some reason and there was a quite enthusiastic quote from Lydia Hutchinson from _The Performing Songwriter Magazine_ which mentioned his having opened for Shawn Colvin and receiving a great response and being quite amazing or some such fluff.....well, the disc was cheap so i plunked down the $2 without a listen and i am quite thrilled.....it is very beautiful and funny in parts. Only just got it today so only listened to it once, but it is great so far and Jane Siberry makes a guest appearance so you know it is cool! Generic Blondes / Mean American Dream - another $2 impulse buy...it caught my attention due to the fact that there is a blond-chick-with-an-acoustic-guitar on the cover, often a good sign....flipped it over and saw "Produced and Arranged by G.E. Smith"...i know he is that annoying shmoe from SNL, but he is actually a good guitar player, he just mugs atrociously and can't sing worth crap....so i figured i was getting some kind of bluesy thing, maybe like marcia ball...well, it turns out to be quite ectoish sounding....there are a few songs which are country-rockish, but much is just great acoustic sounding folky alternative enjoyable music.... well, it just finished its third straight run through on my disc player, so i guess i'll go plop Vance back in whilst i write up my top ten o' the year post.....see ya'll soon...... mark **************************************************************************** * Even now, God's mistake * * Sets us up for one more heartbreak * * -Tears For Fears * **************************************************************************** * Mark Salamon smarks@wdc.net * * Orange, CA * **************************************************************************** ------------------------------ From: smarks@westdat.com (Mark Salamon) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 1995 23:22:45 -0800 Subject: top ten of the year! Hello people, Well, after reading all of your beatiful lists i decided it was time to post my own...it was very hard this year, i don't know whether I bought tons of stuff or there was just a lot of good stuff, but narrowing it down to ten took some time.... first, here are two discs that woulda bumped numbers 9 and 10 off my list for last year: Jewel/Pieces of You and Rebecca Pidgeon/The Raven......get em if ya can...and now this years top ten!!!! 10) James Harman Band / Black & White - the absolute best blues band working today....this band just blows away any other i've seen and i see alot of blues since it is my favorite thing to do when there isn't a ectoish show to see.... If you even mildly like the blows, you will like this album...the ultimate party album.....favorite track: Hollywood Girls (a song about those 900 girls) 9) Tears For Fears / Raoul and The Kings of Spain - Proof that great songwriters can keep getting better and better....and i thought that elemental was a fluke after that other guy left......fav track: God's Mistake (probably due to my recent string of heartbreaks) 8) Jayhawks / Tomorrow The Green Grass - simple, but great and intellectual country rock. I only hope that the guys in this great band can go on and make music anywhere near this enjoyable......fav track: Blue (my second favorite single of the year) 7) October Project / Falling Farther In - maybe my viewpoint is distorted by having attended one of their magical shows recently, but this is a great album! In a year without new stuff from tori or sarah or kate, this did the trick. fav track: Johnny 6) Prince / The Gold Experience - well, it's not really prince..it's that symbol dude who once-upon-a-time was called by the name of prince......you may think he's lost his way recently, but the royal dude has been writing some great stuff and a whole bunch of it is crammed onto this album...the best single of last year is included (the most beautiful girl in the world) along with some totally funky rockers and dance tunes. The best Prince album. fav track: (o) Hate You (that is an _eye_ for the prince virgins) (a love song about hate!) 5) Melissa Ferrick / Willing To Wait - The absolute best album by anyone named melissa ever! I loved her first album and this one is about ten times better...fav track: whichever one i am currently listening to 4) Boy George / Cheapness and Beauty - Don't laugh. This guy (?) has the best voice in pop music and he has written a superb bunch of songs to showcase it. The requisite gorgeous ballads are there alongside some surprisingly rocking tunes. Go to Blockbuster and make them open one and give it a spin. fav track: il adore (simply a beautiful song, beautifully sang) 3) Natalie Merchant / Tigerlily - I guess leaving those other 9999 maniacs was a great idea. I think you all probably know why this album is great, so i won't go into it. fav track: Wonder 2) Del Amitri / Twisted - For awhile I thought i was the only person in the world who'd heard of this band, then i start hearing them on the radio every day. The variety of the songwriting is what gets me the most along with the superb musicianship. fav track: It Might As Well Be You 1) Dar Williams / The Honesty Room - what more can i say that hasn't already been said. The best song to grace the radio this year (When I was a Boy) and 12 other songs that are its near equal. Finding one disc like this in a year's worth of cd shopping makes buying discs worthwhile. fav track: Tracks 1-13, but When I Was A Boy makes me cry every time i hear it so that gets the edge.... There ya have it....i hope someone is actually reading this all the way to the end..... Honorable mentions in no particular order: Robert Cray / Some Rainy Morning (the 2nd best blues album of the year) Alanis Morissette / Jagged Little Pill Joan Osborne / Relish Smashing Pumpkins / Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Emmylou Harris / Wrecking Ball PJ Harvey / To Bring You My Love hope ya enjoyed.... mark **************************************************************************** * Even now, God's mistake * * Sets us up for one more heartbreak * * -Tears For Fears * **************************************************************************** * Mark Salamon smarks@wdc.net * * Orange, CA * **************************************************************************** ------------------------------ From: pink Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 01:53:41 -0600 (CST) Subject: new music.... so i bought about $150 worth of music today. tsk tsk. couldn't help myself. i actually only paid about $30 for it so i feel a little better, but still. it is a lot of music. still trying to plough through it. you are surely wondering what i got. so i will inform you: HAPPY RHODES THE KEEP. finally i find it, and at such a reasonable price (BORDERS has it on sale for $11.99). they actually had quite a few of happy CD's but nothing that i didn't have, (i am missing her early early stuff, I and II and rearment and no one seems to stock them). i went to best buy the other day, they had three (count them) three little place cards that said HAPPY RHODES (two under "r" and one under "h" which i moved to the "r") and only one CD (rhodesongs). ah well. my thoughts on it? well it's great, but i only listened to part of it, so i can't give it full credit. other acquired treasures include: MARY LOU LORD MARY LOU LORD. nice indiepop stuff. i was wrong on my last post though, she is on KILL ROCK STARS a label i always always mix up with k records. SATURDAY MORNING cartoon's greatest hits. stand outs include liz phair's tra la la song (banana splits) mary lou lord doing sugar sugar, and juliana hatfield with tanta donelly doing the josie and the pussycat song ann magnuson: the luv show. this is high cheese at an artform. love it. don't know why, but i do. she doesa decent parody of tori amos in DEAD MOTH (at least i was told it was a parody and i can see it) but it would have been right on target if only she had used a piano instead of a guitar. ann was in the band BONGWATER for those who know that...she was also in desperately seeking susan (minor part but still...) san francisco seals (which i had to find under SF seals....) truth walks in sleepy shadows. haven't fully listend to it, but it sounds a little more mellow. why didn't anyone tell me it was out already? i had to rely on some stupid music magazine article. i felt so...so common. the 6ths. wasps nest. really really nice. indiepop stuff. gotta love it. i actually like it better than stephen's magnetic fields stuff. LORI CARSON: where it goes. have i been blatantly blind here? has everyone discussed this and i wasn't reading? probably. the voice behind the latter golden paliminos does a solo album and it is really really nice. i think her voice is a little thin, but i really like the music. the second song waking to the dream of you is beautiful. and finally i bought a 2 CD set called ANON. it is a compilation put out by castle von buhler. some label in boston i guess. 50% of the proceeds go to an AIDS action commitee in BOSTON. it is beautiful package and the thing is actually a limited edition art package too. includes 30 postcards of artists visually interpretting the 30 songs. sorta like US by peter gabriel. but some of the art is really nice (some is kinda bland, i only just looked at it. really really beautiful stuff. i highly recommend it, if for the package alone. as for the music, some of it is not to my taste. some rather goth sounding stuff, some rather industrial sounding things, a few gems here and there though. it features a new song by lisa germano called angels turn to devils which is only okay. a typical lisa song. pretty, haunting, violins, ho hum. also a band called sirensong (pretty, ethereal kinda stuff), edsel, eardrum (which is the cranes guitarist's side project) and april march and really those are the only bands that i recognise (funny how those are also the bands that are the front label promoting the set, i guess the others are way unknown local bands? anyway it is alte, i should go to sleep and i am sure no one wants to read my ramblings any more. sleep tight luv and hugs irvin ------------------------------ From: Erich Ian Domingo Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 02:45:11 -0600 (CST) Subject: San Fransisco Hi there people I will be visiting SF from Jan 8 to Jan 11 and would like to know some recommendations of where to go to have fun, in terms of music, clubs, and food.... email me at calamari@gate.id.iit.edu asap. thanx much mahalo Erich Ian Domingo ------------------------------ From: Stephen Golden -27100 Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 05:12:12 -0500 (EST) Subject: Diamanda G. Howdy ectophiles, All this talk about Diamanda G has caused me to add in my take on her work. Diamanda was performing Plague Mass in Philadelphia ( when I was living there ) and I didn't go see it. Shortly afterwards, a discussion of her work followed in either gaffa or ecto. I was very curious, so I purchased Plague Mass shortly thereafter. That evening, I put it on in my friends car. Warning: Do not try this at home. Diamanda and driving do not mix. We learned this very quickly. My friend had to pull over to the side of the road as she was so disturbed by the music. Afterwards, I listened to the album in bits and pieces. I found in generally unpalatable, but shocking nonetheless. A year or two later I went to a concert in NYC which featured a couple of bands...and Diamanda was a part of it. She sang a few songs at her piano ( probably from The Singer ). It was one of the best performances I had ever seen. I bought my "Diamanda Galas/We are all HIV +" shirt on the spot. You should have seen the looks I got on the subway ride home. I quickly set out to collect her other works. When she was touring Vena Cava, I went to see it in Philly. It wasn't as good as her singing in the previously mentioned concert, but it was very good theatre. I've also seen her recently performing with John Paul Jones supporting "The Sporting Life". Once again this concert didn't quite live up to the first one ( as the album is less theatrical ) but it was good fun. Sadly, my Diamanda collection only seems to come out on Halloween and other festive holidays as my roommate doesn't really care for her style ( and I like to play her loud ). - -- Stephen ------------------------------ From: gzverev@RPC.glas.apc.org (Russian Privatization Center) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 95 12:36:04 Subject: Re[4]: My Top 10 >>Can't resist to ask: How many of them you played more than twice? > >Hmmm. I bought somewhere around 300 discs this year and I've listened to >almost every one at least 5 times. But then, being a programmer, I get to >listen to 'em at work. Anyway I doubt you obtain 3000 of them by 2006. I accumulated about 1000 albums during 15 years (taking into account that I heard (sold/swapped) another 5000 or so. One day you just realize that there is less and less to discover in music itself and in new bands too. Especially if your tastes do not compatible to anyone you know. And you can more and more often listen the same CDs, which music you associate with brilliant moments of your life... Gleb ------------------------------ From: KEKETC@ritvax.isc.rit.edu (Ken Kindler) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 10:30:31 -0500 Subject: "Dear God" cover Today while I was at the eccentric revampped warehouse converted to stores place buying comics when I heard a cover of XTC's "Dear God" on the hallway muzak. The artist was female and sounded really familiar but I couldn't place her. Does anyone by chance know who this might have been?? I'd really like to get my hands on it to hear it again. Thanks in advance.... Take upon 's the mystery of things, As if we we're God's spies __ _______________________________________________________________._.. \/ Ken Kindler --- mailto:KEKETC@RIT.EDU --- http://129.21.204.63/ ------------------------------ From: "Matt Bittner" Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 12:25:10 -0500 Subject: Re: "Dear God" cover On 29 Dec 95 at 10:30, Ken Kindler typed diligently: > Today while I was at the eccentric revampped warehouse converted to > stores place buying comics when I heard a cover of XTC's "Dear God" on the > hallway muzak. The artist was female and sounded really familiar but I > couldn't place her. Does anyone by chance know who this might have been?? > I'd really like to get my hands on it to hear it again. Thanks in > advance.... Let's just see if I'm the first: It's Sarah McLachlan. Matt - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Matthew Bittner WW1 Modeler, ecto subscriber, semi-new dad, meba@cso.com PowerBuilder developer; Omaha, Nebraska Disclaimer: opinions expressed by me are my responsibility only. "You cannot make anything foolproof, because the fools are so ingenious." - Christian Walters - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ From: Yngve Hauge Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 20:48:19 +0100 (MET) Subject: Muses video on the web (fwd) Hi, Saw this on Subbacultcha ... might interest someone around here :) - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 13:25:01 -0500 From: Emily Arkin To: subbacultcha@cs.mcgill.ca Subject: Muses video on the web There are quicktime clips from the Bright Yellow Gun video and the Your Ghost video at "http://www.southern.com/Convulsion/tv/" The file names are "muses.mov" and "kirsten.mov". ------------------------------ From: Charley.Darbo@harpercollins.com (Charley Darbo) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 15:01:02 -0500 Subject: TopTen 1995 Commentary [Commentary finally finished:] charleydarbo's TopTen List for 1995: Honorable Mention: The Henrys: _Puerto Angel_ Susan Voelz: _Summer Crashing_ Carmel: _World's Gone Crazy_ 10. Melinda Miel: _The Law of the Dream_ Glinda the Good sings Kurt Weill. PopOperatic weirdness. Nina Hagen, Klaus Nomi, and Jeannette MacDonald all come to mind. Marc Almond participated. 9. Foetus: _Gash_ JGThirlwell is back. One of the progenitors, along with Einsturzende Neubauten, of today's industrial music. Satanic BigBand music. The wild, haunted humor of Diamanda Galas with the clean -- astringent, even -- Pop of NIN. 8. Bjork: _Post_ Bjork chirps and twitters like an otter at play; at times she nearly achieves a dolphinlike whistle. On _Post,_ the sheer exuberance of her voice glitters like a diamond against the dark weight of the beat and the density of Nellee Hooper's production. Except for her numbingly faithful reproduction of Betty Hutton's "It's Oh So Quiet" (not even the screams originate with Bjork), _Post_ is a nearly perfect Pop confection. 7. Nine Inch Nails: _Further Down the Spiral_ Technically not a new album, _Further Down the Spiral_ comprises remixes of tracks from _The Downward Spiral_. But both versions (US and UK) are longer than their antecedent and, subtracting overlap, combine to be nearly twice its length. With guest remixers (e.g. JGThirlwell and Aphex Twin) contributing their own styles, the overall sound is surprisingly varied and complex. 6. PJHarvey: _To Bring You My Love_ This album is just as dark and wounded as their previous ones, but with a new producer -- NIN/DepecheMode/Anna Domino's Flood replacing Nirvana's Steve Albini -- it's not as raw. Seamless, bluesy, and haunting, _To Bring You My Love_ weeps rather than rages, though just as operatically. 5. The 6ths: _Wasps' Nests_ Hip, cynical, urban fun. With titles like "Dreamhat," "Movies in My Head,"and "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket;" a publishing company named "Gay and Loud;" a different vocalist on every track; innumerable, buzzing tracks of bizarre little synth sounds; and a thoroughly unapologetically- Poppy sound (ABBA's a big influence), this has been one of my most successful gift-discs this year. 4. Ruby: _Salt Peter_ Technically a 1996 release, but promos and imports have been around since October 1995. Even though I can't get this out of my player, I haven't yet heard it enough to have a facile description. It's loud, angry, fun, danceable; evokes Caterwaul, Portishead, PJHarvey; seems to be a member of the Garbage/Poe school of PostApocalypticSyntheticPop. 3. Holly Cole: _Temptation_ Holly treats these Tom Waits songs like the standards that so inform his writing. She's toned down her sometime-showtuny style to darken and soften Waits's often-strident pieces; taken his demonic blues and made it world-weary jazz. This album would do Mary Coughlan proud. 2. Tricky: _Maxinquaye_ Truly a leap forward in Pop music. Less reliant on jazz or hip hop than GURU, yet somehow more of both; sharper-of-tooth and darker-of-eye than Portishead. The beats and textures continue to surprise listen after listen. 1. Jane Siberry: _Maria_ No artist has achieved what Jane has in the medium of Pop. _No one._ Her relationship to Pop music is the relationship of a poet to language or a painter to paint. No one this side of Mozart has been able to infuse music with the kind of raw emotion, with the authentic, palpable-but- ineffable spirituality that Jane has as a matter of course. Alone among people working in Pop (with the possible [though moot] exception of Mary Margaret O'Hara), this seems to be her artistic intention. _Maria,_ a quasi-live jam session (in the last track of the album proper, she sings little introductions of the musicians) firmly rooted in the jazz vocabulary, reaches new heights -- penetrates new depths -- in the abstract representation of human emotion. By so successfully accessing and exposing her own "soul," Jane seems to be singing from the listener's. ------------------------------ From: Brian Bloom Date: Fri, 29 Dec 1995 16:18:50 -0600 (CST) Subject: Apologies for my Diva spam Mucho apologies for my 'Diva Anyone?' spamming. The mailserver seems to have backed up and I thought I could get it unstuck by flooding it with retries. ;) *sigh* - -- __ ____ __ ____ __ __ (__==__) /\ \ / \_\ / /\ / \ \ / |\ / /\ (oo) ( moo.) / \_\ / /\ |_| / / /| /\ \ \ / ||/ / / /-------\/ -' / /\ | |\ \/ /_/_ / / / \ \/ \ \ / |/ / / / | || br!an / \/ |_| \ __ \_\ /_/ / \ /\ \_\ / /| / / * ||----|| bloom / /\ ./_/ \ \ \/_/_\_\/ \ \ \/_// / | / / ^^ ^^ \ \/ |_| \ \_\ /_/\ \ \_\ /_/ /|_/ / brianb@intex.net \__/_/ \/_/ \_\/ \/_/ \_\/ \_\/ http://www.intex.net/bb/ She didn't even give me credit for my professional clear plastic binder!-Calvin ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V2 #322 ************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to ecto-owner@nsmx.rutgers.edu