From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V3 #111 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, December 21 1997 Volume 03 : Number 111 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: 32 flavors ["Chris Beckwith" ] best of 1997 [00jnweiser@bsuvc.bsu.edu] Re: warning: opinions ahead [Paul Blair ] Sarah Slean/Tory Cassis/Dayna Manning [Steve Ito ] Re: The ecto list (warning, LONG) [Alvin Brattli ] may as well get it over with... [sspan ] Re: Sessions [Michael Curry ] Re: warning: opinions ahead ["Jeffrey C. Burka" ] Sessions update [kerry white ] Re: sTuff [Neile Graham ] Re: warning: opinions ahead [Alvin Brattli ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 09:19:50 -0500 From: "Chris Beckwith" Subject: Re: 32 flavors The Watcher wrote: > Who has recently done a cover of Ani's 32 Flavors? Driving around, > I heard this on the radio (twice! on different stations, almost one > right after the other). I assume it's a cover; the voice and > singing style don't sound like Ani to me. You mean you actually listen to commercial radio? Blasphemy! ;) Anyway, I can confirm that it is indeed Alana Davis' cover version that you heard. It originates from her superb debut album "Blame It On Me," which is a leading contender for debut album of the year on many people's lists, including my own. I can assure everyone that Ani is fully credited in the liner notes with having written "32 Flavors;" anyone who claims otherwise should immediately consult their eye doctor. ;) Indeed, by virtue of "32 Flavors" position in the track listing, Ani is credited *ahead* of Alana's originals! Do give the album a listen at Borders if you get the chance. For my money, the best track on the album is "Turtle." Apparently I am not alone, as this track was #1 on John Sakamoto's "Anti-hit List" last week. Here's his take: > > Once every two or three years, an artist delivers the kind of impossibly mature debut that seems to arrive fully developed, without so much as a hint of the lapses of youth that generally plague first albums. This remarkably sophisticated product of New York's Greenwich Village brings to mind everyone from Phoebe Snow to Seal, Joni Mitchell to Bill Withers. The ease with which Davis has both absorbed and reconfigured those influences has produced what is quite possibly the most impressive debut by any singer-songwriter this year. (From "Blame It On Me", Elektra/Warner) < < Take care, Chris NW: "Davey and Goliath" on the Odyssey Channel. Should I address the current list controversy? I don't knowwww, Davey! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 11:12:54 -0500 (EST) From: 00jnweiser@bsuvc.bsu.edu Subject: best of 1997 Okay, I usually never, ever post to this list, but I've posted my favorites of 1997 to other lists, so I figured I'd do it here as well. :) CDs 10. Dave Matthews Band "live at red rocks" 9. Chantal Kreviazuk "Under these rocks and stones" 8. Jann Arden "Happy?" 7. Ani Difranco "Living in Clip" 6. Delerium "Karma" 5. Dar Williams "End of the summer" 4. Sarah McLachlan "Surfacing" 3. Jonatha Brooke "10 cent Wings" 2. Tara MacLean "If you see me" ep 1. Tara MacLean "Silence" (okay, so they aren't necessarily the _best_ of 97, but they are my best of 97. :) Concerts Sarah McLachlan "Surfacing" tour, Tara MacLean Borders Instore, Dave Matthews Band, Ani Difranco Highlight of my year Going to Vancouver, Canada, buying and teaching myself the guitar, pursuing music futher, dropping one of two majors (English) and sticking with the one I actually like (Photography) :) Jessica! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 10:20:48 -0500 From: Paul Blair Subject: Re: warning: opinions ahead I guess I'm surprised at the baffled reaction to Kenn's pointed request to unsubscribe. A person of the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" school is not going to feel comfortable on this list. Admittedly I'm just speculating about Kenn, but his initial post on this thread seemed to me to reflect this point of view. I don't think we should judge ourselves by whether we please everyone, because some people aren't going to be happy whatever you do. Perhaps I have less trouble accepting this because I don't view tolerance as a coherent ideal; what I'm after is honest discussion. - --Paul ***************************************************************************** "Let her out? But she's a killer!" "No she's not. And give her your coat." SINED "Why me?" "Because you're perfect." Paul Blair "You have a point there..." psfblair@ix.netcom.com ***************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 14:48:05 -0500 From: Steve Ito Subject: Sarah Slean/Tory Cassis/Dayna Manning Hi everyone, I tried to write this post a couple of days ago but my computer spazzed and froze just before I hit "send"... grrr Anyway: Monday night I met with Dan the man Stark and Gian Covello and a non-ecto friend to see Sarah Slean play at Holy Joe's here in Toronto. Sharon Tiessen, her cellist rejoined her for the show after having missed one the last one. At that show I realized just how much I'd come to need Sarah's cello accompaniment, and it was really good to have Sharon back. Sarah alternated sets with another local singer/songwriter named Tory Cassis. Tory fit the kind of introspective lyrical folky singer-songwriters that Dan doesn't care for so much, but he REALLY impressed me. He had a kind of a leaning toward bluesey songs which was helped along by his hangdog Ross Geller-ish Sad Sack aura (OK no more pop TV culture references from me don't worry). Judging from the chorus of sighs, sharp intakes of breath, giggles, and murmurs emanating from the bevy of swooning female fans behind us following each song intro, this guy's going to be a hit with the heterosexual young female population. :-) Wednesday night Dayna Manning played the same intimate venue, and she mentioned being very happy to be back home after a mini tour of the US. Indeed she positively glowed, and repeatedly remarked about how happy she was and how good she was feeling. I won't speculate whether simply being home was the source of all that happiness. Anyway, her performance was quite good, far better than the one I'd seen a couple of months ago which was somewhat disappointing. I've decided I just love her song "Walking on the Moon" which she says was the first song she ever wrote. I still haven't heard her CD, but this young woman is capable of putting on some darn good shows. She also has a terrific cellist and backup vocalist, Kevin Fox. He added so much to the show for me, both with his string instrument and his startlingly good falsetto backup vox. Steve ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Steve Ito | Check out Toronto artists Sarah Slean & Emm Gryner Toronto, Canada | at NORTHERN SOUNDS: http://xoom.com/northern ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 03:19:09 +0100 From: Alvin Brattli Subject: Re: The ecto list (warning, LONG) Neile Graham wrote: > >I'm finding this whole list problem a frustrating experience. Maybe it's >because I simply have been on the list too long to be able to see it with >any perspective, but I don't understand where these bad feelings about the >list come from and would appreciate private clarification. I was a bit surprised to see this posting, and I completely fail to understand what the problem with this list (if there is one) might be. Being a lurker, I am not very active on this list, so I feel this is an opportunity, as a kind of observer, to sum up my opinions about it. >Maybe it's because I see the list as a collection of individuals, [snip] >I am unable to see the list as an entity in itself. [snip] >Yes, there are opinionated individuals on the list, but I personally >welcome that. Is it that we "shouldn't" welcome opinions if we consider >ourselves a friendly list? Should we be asking people not to be so >opinionated? I would feel sorry for the list, and would consider unsubscribing if the postings to Ecto degenerated (yes, degenerated) to everybody expressing the same opinions, like a flock of sheep. Differing opinions is one of the absolute strengths of this list, and I do not hesitate a millisecond to say that that's one of the most important reasons I love it. A second important related reason is that people _tolerate_ opinionated postings, and _do_not_flame_. What is there for the subscribers to discuss if everybody have the same opinions about everything, and cannot discuss in a civilized manner? >I love its high signal-to-noise ratio, It all depends on what you call signal, and what you define as noise :) >the wide-ranging tastes of the >people here, its tolerance of opinionated people and disagreements about >musical tastes, and most of all its unwillingness to say what ecto is or >isn't. [snip] >I truly don't see the list as having strong boundaries as to what is ecto, >but I've been here long enough to see appreciations of all kinds of music. I have often asked at my local record shops about artists mentioned here on this list, and many, many times, the answer is "Never heard of her/him/them". This is yet another prime reason why I love this list: All kinds of music is being discussed here, not only Happy Rhodes. For me, this means that whenever I want to widen my horizon, this list is one of two primary sources for new artists (the second one being a local record shop, specializing in alternative music, but it is by far not as important as Ecto). I find that after I started subscribing to this list, my preferences when it comes to music have changed a lot, and my tolerance for new and other artists and musical styles has become much higher. To sum things up (and generalizing a bit), here are my my (opinionated, of course :-) observations about this list, in a compressed format: Alvin's first Ecto observation: The subscribers have different opinions. Alvin's second Ecto observation: Every subscriber accepts that the other subscribers have differing opinions. Alvin's third Ecto observation: Differing opinions, the acceptance of differing opinions, and the fact that new artists are introduced all the time are absolute strengths of this mailing list. Alvin's fourth Ecto observation: An opinion is not something that you criticize or (God forbid) flame, for the above reasons. Alvin's fifth Ecto observation: Subscribers use Ecto actively as a source of information about new and interesting artists. Alvin's sixth Ecto observation: Positive "I just _love_ this artist/album/whatever" postings far outnumber negative postings and reviews, making it a pleasure to subscribe to the list. No wonder I love Ecto! >--Neile aLViN - -- | | | ----------------------------------------------------- | | The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a | | beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. -- T. H. Huxley | ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 21:03:14 -0600 (CST) From: kerry white Subject: Sessions Hi, Tonight: Leo Kottke and Laura Love. The 27th, I don't know yet. Jan 3rd: ANI DIFRANCO! and Tricky. Kerry R White ............................... ............................. zzkwhite@ktwu.wuacc.edu KTWU PBS TV kerrywhite@webtv.net Topeka KS KrW "Pastor Flash..are you all right?" "I'm ok, Bob, just a little argument with my co-pilot!" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:04:23 -0800 From: sspan Subject: may as well get it over with... Here's my top 10 list and such.. 1. Grey Eye Glances - Eventide 2. Jaci Velasquez - Heavenly Place 3. Lisa Loeb - Firecracker 4. Deborah Gibson - Deborah 5. The Sundays - Static and Silence 6. Mary Arden Collins - Mary Arden Collins 7. Diana Krall - Love Scenes 8. Loreena McKennitt - The Book of Secrets 9. Alison Krauss - So Long So Wrong 10. Lili Haydn - Lili other favorites of the year, 10,000 Maniacs, Adiemus 2 and Toni Price and EP's from Tara MacLean and Liza Warfel. Hmm.. I think that was even more un-ecto than last years.. - -- ++ -dave- ++ + irc.Dal.net #Panic_Beach + + Maria McKee/Grey Eye Glances/Lisa Loeb + ++ ++ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 21:40:33 -0600 (CST) From: Michael Curry Subject: Re: Sessions On Sat, 20 Dec 1997, kerry white wrote: > Hi, Tonight: Leo Kottke and Laura Love. The 27th, I don't know yet. > Jan 3rd: ANI DIFRANCO! and Tricky. I believe the show on the 27th is supposed to be the one that includes Jane Sibbery. Mike np: Milla Drumke -- Illinois | Michael Curry / mcurry@io.com / mcurry@compuserve.com | | http://www.io.com/~mcurry | | Am I bitter? Do I sound bitter? -- Veda Hille | ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:39:40 -0500 From: "Jeffrey C. Burka" Subject: Re: warning: opinions ahead meth sez: > -- Loreena McKennitt, _The Book of Secrets_ (would probably have had a > ranking if I'd had a chance to listen to it more) gee, after all the boostering, this didn't hit top-ten? ;-) > -- Sarah McLachlan, _Surfacing_ ("Quick Pierre, we've got to finish this > album now!" [...] > Songs of the Year (these are the tracks that demand the "repeat" key and > much, much volume -- listen 15 times in succession and call me in the > morning): [...] > -- Susan McKeown and Lindsey Horner, "The Winter King" Ping. I've been thinking that I may need to use this song for kite ballet competition next season...seems like it would be entirely too much fun to fly to. Me, I haven't actually started putting together a list...hell, I'm still getting discs. And I'm pretty sure I won't manage to actually come up with a copy of _Red Hand_ this year (sez he who liked _Anima Mundi_ that much more than _A Darker Passion_ and hopes to get the same boost out of the new album). jeff n.p. _Lovesongs for Underdogs_, Tanya Donelley (WOW!) n.r. _Journeys and Arrivals_, Lev Raphael - -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | moving to jburka@cqi.com -- come say hi | |http://www.cqi.com/~jburka | at the new digs...now up and running! | ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:02:45 -0600 (CST) From: kerry white Subject: Sessions update Hi, 27th will be Jane SIBERRY and K.D.Laing. KrW "It's crackers to slip the rozzer the dropsy in snide!!" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 20:58:32 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: sTuff A several-days-late reply to one of meredith's messages: >I also think Loreena's case is more like Jewel's. Someone at Warner >decided to give her a promotion budget for once, and the suits who >coordinate focus groups and then return to their computers to churn out >playlists for "AAA" stations nationwide are getting checks in the mail to >include "The Mummers Dance" on their lists for the next few months. I'm >sure she didn't sit down and say, "I'm going to make a million-selling >record this time around." I must say that I was very surprised to see the video for "The Mummer's Dance" on last Sunday's night's MTV's _120 Minutes_. Not that MTV would play a Loreena video, but I thought _120 Minutes_ was supposedly for alternative stuff. >Jeffy slammed: > >>oh -- and don't forget that there have been a number of us who've dumped on >>Loreena for two albums now...not just because "Mummers Dance" is suddenly all >>over the radio. ;-) > >And I have to state that you're all confused. So Loreena got tired of the >Celtic thing after 4 albums of it. If you can't deal with that, just listen >to those 4 albums, then. Why can't people respect an artist's right to >explore new things and go off in new directions if they choose to do so? For me it's not that Loreena moved away from the Celtic music, it's that I can't find any but superficial differences between the Celtic music and what's she's doing now. All her songs sound familiar and smoothed over to me, and less punchy because of that. >Wow. _Suzanne Vega_ is one of my favorite albums *ever*. I discovered it >at a very critical time in my life, and the songs meant so much to me and >the album as a whole has so many deep personal connections in my brain, I >could never find it boring. But I guess that's a personal thing. :) I had a similar experience with this album. I found it simple and affecting in a way unprecidented in my listening experience. I'm not sure that it hasn't been overshadowed by other music, at least as far as my favourite albums go, but it will always have a special place in my heart. - --Neile n.p. Robin Holcomb, _Robin Holcomb_ (I'd forgotten how great this is!) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham ..... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ..... neile@sff.net The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music .... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 05:59:00 +0100 From: Alvin Brattli Subject: Re: warning: opinions ahead Meredith wrote: >Top 10 Albums Of The Year: Ah! I have been looking forward to this one! Your recommendations have become quite valuable shopping lists for me :) During 1997, I have "discovered" quite a few artists that were new to me, and whose music I have learned to appreciate and love, although there were a disappointment or two in there. The following list is highly subjective, and lists artists I was _introduced_to_ in 1997, and whose CDs are present in my office at the time of writing. Thus, many of them were released in 1996 or earlier. I have of course more CDs at home that would deserve being mentioned here, but I have to limit the list somehow. The score system I use here is like this: * Don't like it at all ** So-so. It is not among my favourites. *** Good. An album that IMHO is very listenable. **** Very good. An album I do not hesitate for a second to put in my CD player. ****+ Somewhere between **** and ***** ***** Excellent! This is an album I play again and again, and which have a tendency to stay in the CD player for a longer period of time. I have concentrated on rating the individual albums, and have avoided any comparison and ranking of artists. Only albums with a score **** or better have been commented further. There are no * or **-albums here, simply because I would not care to bring them with me to work. OK, here goes: Emily Bezar: ***** _Moon in Grenadine_ I just _love_ this album! Emily Bezar's voice, combined with the jazzy instrumentation reaches out and touches something in me. As is often the case with albums I end up loving as much as this one, I had to listen to it quite a few times before I discovered how great an album it really is. I am highly tempted to say that I have become addicted to it. Technical note: This is an HDCD recording. Dalbello: ****+ _Whore_ For a couple of weeks, I had _Whore_ rated *****. The reason I have rated it ****+ now is _not_ that I like it less, but rather that the addictiveness I had to this album wore off. It's still a very, very good album, though. *** _Whomanfoursays_ Goya Dress: *** _Rooms_ Maria McKee: ***** _Life is sweet_ I have commented on this album before, so I won't repeat myself. I will only say that this is definitely my favourite Maria McKee album. =20 *** _Maria McKee_ *** _You gotta sin to get saved_ Milla: ***** _The divine comedy_ Milla Yovovich, not only a model with a pretty face, but also an artist I have learned to respect. From being a quite ordinary album on the first two to three listens, it exploded right in my face, and caught me totally off guard. The result: it is currently among the albums that spend most time in my CD player.=20 The Nields: *** _Gotta get over Greta_ Kari Ruesl=E5tten: **** _Spindelsinn_ Norwegian artist, Norwegian lyrics. Being a kind of folk-pop album, it is heavily inspired by traditional Norwegian music and Norwegian folklore, with all its trolls and faeries. _Spindelsinn_ has a sort of faery-tale atmosphere about it; when listening to it, I feel just like I am participating in the old, traditional Norwegian faery-tales most Norwegians have been reading at some point in their lives. Richard Shindell: **** _Blue divide_ Although Richard Shindell plays music that I normally do not listen much to (and in some cases avoid), I must confess that after I had listened to _Blue Divide_ a few times, I felt I had to reconsider my attitude towards it. It seems to me that some people like _Sparrows Point_ better than _Blue divide_, but I don't. I don't know why, but to me, _Blue Divide_ is just considerably better than _Sparrows Point_. *** _Sparrows Point_ Jane Siberry: ***** _When I was a boy_ Jane Siberry's musical style made this album a little hard to digest the first couple of times I listened to it, but I soon realized that it is a truly excellent album. Rather than go into details, I will just say that Jane Siberry is on my list of artists I need to buy more of. Patti Smith: **** _Peace and noise_ This album immediately caught my interest when I heard it being played at my favourite local record shop (which, by the way, prides itself in still pushing vinyl). I only needed a few minutes with one of the shop's headphones and CD players to decide that I just _had_ to buy it. It has this rough edge to it, which makes it ideal to play at work when I try to be productive. In musical style, I tend to compare this album to some of the works of P.J. Harvey. Velvet Belly: *** _Lucia_ Dar Williams: **** _Mortal City_ **** _End of the summer_ Although both albums are very good, I would rank _Mortal City_ higher than _End of the summer_. The reason might be that I heard MC first, and that it therefore formed my impressions and expectations of Dar Williams. Of course, your mileage may vary... aLViN - --=20 | | | ----------------------------------------------------- | | The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a | | beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. -- T. H. Huxley | ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V3 #111 **************************