From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #301 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, September 7 1999 Volume 05 : Number 301 Today's Subjects: ----------------- ectofest was the best ["Foghorn J Fornorn" ] Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] everycd, a word of caution [Leon van Stuivenberg ] Re: everycd, a word of caution [Ricardo Salinas ] food and music [JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu] Yellow CD ring [Sue Trowbridge ] RE: Yellow CD ring ["Foghorn J Fornorn" ] re: Yellow CD ring [Philip David Morgan ] [Fwd: Yellow CD ring] [Ricardo Salinas ] ectofest warm & fuzzies [Suzanne Cerquone ] Re: everycd, a word of caution [neal copperman ] Re: Lamb-Fear of Fours [rjk1@cs.wustl.edu (Bob Kollmeyer)] Re: Yellow CD ring [Greg Dunn ] Re: Neile's June & July Acquisitions [Dave Williamson ] ectofest P.S. [Paul Blair ] ectofest '99 [Jeffrey Burka ] IM, was: Neile's August Acquisitions [Andrew Fries ] Ectofest [Joseph Zitt ] Anna Homler? [Joseph Zitt ] Re: IM [Neile Graham ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 02:21:33 -0400 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: ectofest was the best A hopefully reasonably short statement of my opinions of yesterday's events. Years ago I saw Genesis on the Selling England by the Pound tour (yes, that'd be with Gabriel). Shortly thereafter, I remember reading a U.K. Melody Maker newspaper that stated that Genesis (at the time) was one of the few bands that could turn a mere concert into "a treasured memory of a lifetime". Ectofest ranks as such in my mind. I arrived at about 12:20 pm, and quickly found Meredith, asked what'd I miss, to the reply of nothing. Not many had arrived by the scheduled noon starting time. Once started, everything went pretty close to the slightly delayed schedule. Very excellent planning and coordination by all, who you have no doubt read their own surprise that the whole thing actually happened. Like professionals, all, despite their denials. All the acts were wonderful. The audience displayed the pinnacle of respect for everyone playing. It just don't get any better. The opening acts were splendid all, in their own right. I was familiar with Rachael Sage's 2nd disc, I bought her first CD there and loved her show. I was not familiar with Sloan Wainwright, I bought her discs and loved her show. I was familiar with Susan McKeown, I have the discs, I loved the show. I was not very familiar with Mila Drumke, bought her discs and loved her show. I've listened to all these discs today and am very very pleased. I want to see them all again. And then there was Happy... I've seen Happy at the Bottom Line in '96, at Bearsville and Troy on the early MWABT gigs, and now this. It seems that when she's not playing to impress anyone she lets her sense of humor fly. I noticed this at Bearsville (which was a free show, and apparently a dress rehearsal for the paid shows that followed), and especially here. It was a benefit, and she headlining, she knew she was playing for fans and friends. Her stage banter was so wonderfuly funny. She had me laughing in Bearsville but she had me howling here. Such a mix of great music and comedy. I agree with a previous post... if I had a girlfriend half as funny as Happy demonstrated yesterday, I would be the happiest guy on the planet. The Sloan/Susan duet of Meet on the Ledge was another once in a lifetime experience. I knew the song from a Fairport Convention live album I have (bought shortly after seeing them open for Jethro Tull) and to hear those two voices go at it... wow. Chills down the spine. I shudder just remembering it. Met several ectophiles I knew only from this list and sending them Ectopias. BTW, I introduced myself to Happy and gave her a copy. Had to explain the concept a little, and got a little diverted over the question of credit to her for the "ecto ear" (she did not recognize it), but she did seem interested to hear what y'all had done. Treasured memory of a lifetime. Thanks to everyone involved, making it happen, playing it, attending it. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 03:00:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ********************* Richard Dean (no Email address) ********************* *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Richard Dean Wed September 06 1967 Virgo David Blank-Edelman Sat September 09 1967 Neon Holly Tominack Thu September 10 1970 Virgo Sharon Nichols - Terra Incognita Wed September 11 1963 Victim of Christianity Heather Russell September 11 Total Virgosity Karron Lynn Lane Tue September 14 1751 Ophelia Virgo Troy Wollenslegel Mon September 18 1972 Virgo Mark Frabotta Sun September 19 1965 Don't even THINK about parking here Joe Zitt Sat September 20 1958 Will Hack for CDs Ani DiFranco Wed September 23 1970 Virgo Paul Kim Sat October 01 1977 fetal position JoAnn Whetsell Fri October 01 1976 Pendulum William Gill Wed October 05 1960 A wide-eyed wanderer - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 18:47:50 +0200 From: Leon van Stuivenberg Subject: everycd, a word of caution FYI: www.everycd.com lists a lot of Happy's albums as normally available on the Aural g. label, and as being of 'limited availability' on the Samson label. Ofcourse, as I suspected and found out after placing an order, the ones on the AG label are not available at all at this shop; I didn't check the ones on Samson. These out-of-date entries in their database wouldn't be much of a problem if they didn't require you to become a member at their place for an annual fee before you can order anything. I sent two emails requesting info on the status of my order; no reply after waiting for 6 days. So, after giving them a call, the subscription and order have been canceled... good thing they have a trial period before they actually charge anything.. Regards, Leon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 09:57:20 -0700 From: Ricardo Salinas Subject: Re: everycd, a word of caution As I had posted a few weeks ago, I was exploring the Sam Goody webpage, when I came across several of Happy's hard to attain discs. Jokingly, not expecting much, I ordered 5 of these titles. Back in Early August, after a 4 week wait, they sent me these discs ON the Aural Gratification Label!: ECTO WARPAINT & RHODES I, with a note that they would soon send me the remaining two, RHODES II and REARMAMENT, which were on backorder. I think that I paid $10.99 each plus shipping for these discs. Try contacting www.samgoody.com and see if you can get them from this company (of whom I have no financial attachment to...) Ricardo in San Francisco Leon van Stuivenberg wrote: > FYI: > > www.everycd.com lists a lot of Happy's albums as normally available on > the Aural g. label, and as being of 'limited availability' on the Samson > label. > Ofcourse, as I suspected and found out after placing an order, the ones > on the AG label are not available at all at this shop; I didn't check > the ones on Samson. > These out-of-date entries in their database wouldn't be much of a > problem if they didn't require you to become a member at their place for > an annual fee before you can order anything. I sent two emails > requesting info on the status of my order; no reply after waiting for 6 > days. So, after giving them a call, the subscription and order have been > canceled... good thing they have a trial period before they actually > charge anything.. > > Regards, > Leon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 13:20:24 -0400 From: JoAnn.Whetsell@oberlin.edu Subject: food and music Hi. I just wanted to share my excitement that I was just elected a head cook for my co-op at Oberlin. For people who don't know what that means, I live and eat in a co-operative at my college, and I will be planning, ordering food for, and be in charge of (with help) cooking a meal one day a week. I am VERY excited. And of course, I will play lots of wonderful ectophilic music in the kitchen. It is my mission to turn everyone into mushroom and ecto music lovers by the end of the semester. Yes, that would make my college career complete. :) JoAnn (who better make that Food mix tape soon) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 11:36:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Sue Trowbridge Subject: Yellow CD ring Perhaps the collective wisdom of this group will be able to help me solve a mystery. I bought a used CD a couple of weeks ago, and was surprised when I opened the jewel case to see a yellow ring adhered to the outer nonplaying surface of the disc. It is maybe half an inch wide and seems to be made of a soft plastic. What purpose could this possibly serve? I remember a few years ago that there was a rumor saying if you used a green Sharpie pen to draw a circle on the outer edge of your CDs, it would improve the sound quality. Could this be something similar? In any case, I have never seen it before, and it looks kinda weird, although the disc plays just fine. - --Sue Trowbridge * albany, california trow@slip.net * www.interbridge.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 15:13:31 -0400 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: RE: Yellow CD ring Sounds almost like one of those snap on adapters for the little 3 inch CD singles that never really seemed to catch on. In certain players you needed the adapter to make it a regular sized CD. Tray loading machines didn't need them, most have a sub-depression in the cd tray to accommodate the 3 inchers. ------------------------------ Date: 06 Sep 99 15:21:48 -0500 From: Philip David Morgan Subject: re: Yellow CD ring Hey, hey, Ectofolk: > Sounds almost like one of those snap on adapters for the little 3 inch CD > singles that never really seemed to catch on. In certain players you needed > the adapter to make it a regular sized CD. Tray loading machines didn't need > them, most have a sub-depression in the cd tray to accommodate the 3 > inchers. Funny, though... they still turn out 3-inch CD singles in Japan...I wish I had a few of those rings... Philip David (my ghetto blaster has no problems with 3-inchers) 9/6/1999 - -- http://hometown.aol.com/Daevidarts/myhomepage/ - -- "If the Goddess wanted us to VOTE, She would have given us CANDIDATES." Download NeoPlanet at http://www.neoplanet.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 14:32:13 -0700 From: Ricardo Salinas Subject: [Fwd: Yellow CD ring] This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------CD065D12FB237A4CC7684169 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit - --------------CD065D12FB237A4CC7684169 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Message-ID: <37D43040.28864E22@pacbell.net> Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 14:21:05 -0700 From: Ricardo Salinas X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en]C-PBI-NC404 (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Sue Trowbridge Subject: Re: Yellow CD ring References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi; I have tried this "green marker" trick and, as far as I'm concerned, it works. I particularly notice it when I play music that is mostly instrumental. Give it a shot; the worst that can happen is that you have to clean it off with alcohol, and it won't damage the disc, in my experience! Ricardo in San Francisco Sue Trowbridge wrote: > Perhaps the collective wisdom of this group will be able to help me solve > a mystery. I bought a used CD a couple of weeks ago, and was surprised > when I opened the jewel case to see a yellow ring adhered to the outer > nonplaying surface of the disc. It is maybe half an inch wide and seems to > be made of a soft plastic. > > What purpose could this possibly serve? I remember a few years ago that > there was a rumor saying if you used a green Sharpie pen to draw a circle > on the outer edge of your CDs, it would improve the sound quality. Could > this be something similar? In any case, I have never seen it before, and > it looks kinda weird, although the disc plays just fine. > > --Sue Trowbridge * albany, california > trow@slip.net * www.interbridge.com - --------------CD065D12FB237A4CC7684169-- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 18:14:32 -0500 From: Suzanne Cerquone Subject: ectofest warm & fuzzies Life is good. For $10 I saw eight great acts, AND got chauffeured from the train station to the gig, AND got fed a wonderful dinner afterwards. AND it all went to charity! Also, the ectofest merchandise and food at the gig were fairly priced. No riots here over $4 bottles of water! :) It was great putting ecto names/e-addresses to faces. Meth, Chuck and all the volunteers: I am really warmed by your efforts. Next year is sure to be bigger and better. And next year charge me $20-25, will 'ya?! - --Suzanne ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 18:36:42 -0400 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: everycd, a word of caution At 9:57 AM -0700 9/6/99, Ricardo Salinas wrote: >As I had posted a few weeks ago, I was exploring the Sam Goody webpage, >when I came across several of Happy's hard to attain discs. Jokingly, not >expecting much, I ordered 5 of these titles. >Back in Early August, after a 4 week wait, they sent me these discs ON the >Aural Gratification Label!: I'm curious, is there such a thing as the back catalog on the Sampson label? It is my understanding that all they are doing is selling the AG back catalog that they acquired, but not actually pressing any more CD's. That's why they don't have Rhodes I & II. Has anyone seen any Happy disc besides MWABT that is on Sampson? neal np: Bachelor No. 2 (or the last remains of the dodo) - Aimee Mann ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 17:57:03 -0500 From: rjk1@cs.wustl.edu (Bob Kollmeyer) Subject: Re: Lamb-Fear of Fours neal copperman writes: > At 7:13 AM -0500 9/3/99, Matt Bittner wrote: > >On Fri, 3 Sep 1999 00:56:12 -0400, neal copperman wrote: > > > >> np: Mississipi Nights - Dar Williams with Katryina and Nerissa Nields > > > >I have seen this on a number of np's. What is this, and where can it be > >obtained? > > It's a very nice bootleg made by Bob Kollmeyer in April of last year. (Can > I say that? Is it too late to ask?) It's from a place called Mississipi > Nights in St Louis. I'm perfectly happy to make tapes. Genie - who let you out? ;) Not a problem, though I bristle a bit at the use of the word "bootleg"... I'm willing to make copies for blanks & postage (computer grade blanks okay - audio grade blanks would work too, but aren't necessary) & postage or to trade. I have to head out to Vegas on the 19th, but will be Leaving Las Vegas on the 22nd (yes, 2 days before Tori plays there - but hey, there's always Wayne Newton... uggg), though, so be warned. Dar does suggest that those trading recordings consider a contribution to her not-for-profit environmental trust - details at http://www.connix.com/~greener/dar/MortalEarthFund.txt and http://www.connix.com/~greener/dar/snowdenupdate.txt I believe the PO Box mentioned will still get it there even though she's recently changed management (Young/Hunter still manage Cry Cry Cry...) Bob np - Signature Sounds Collection 1997 sampler ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 18:08:48 -0500 From: Greg Dunn Subject: Re: Yellow CD ring >Perhaps the collective wisdom of this group will be able to help me solve >a mystery. I bought a used CD a couple of weeks ago, and was surprised >when I opened the jewel case to see a yellow ring adhered to the outer >nonplaying surface of the disc. It is maybe half an inch wide and seems to >be made of a soft plastic. Every so often, someone markets a device aimed at selling more gewgaws to CD consumers. The ring was supposed to increase the moment of inertia of the CD, evening out any potential variation in speed and thereby reducing error count. In practice, all modern CD players (< 10-15 years old ) have sufficient buffering capability that any speed variation less than about 50% would never even be noticed by the self-clocking D/A circuit. The adhesive could cause the CD's aluminum backing to etch or detach, too, making it unplayable. The green marker had even less (read: nothing) to recommend it scientifically, and in fact many markers contain a solvent that would dissolve or detach the aluminum backing on the CD, rendering it soon unplayable. Alcohol could do the same thing; an extremely mild solution of Windex and water is as strong a solvent as I would ever dare to put on a CD. Bottom line: don't bother with either one, unless it's on an easily-replaceable CD. :-) - -- | Greg Dunn | I don't have low self-esteem. | | gregdunn@indy.net | It's a mistake. I have low | | The Sultan of Slack(tm) | esteem for everyone else. | | http://www.indy.net/~gregdunn/ | Daria | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 20:45:24 -0700 From: Dave Williamson Subject: Re: Neile's June & July Acquisitions Notably Sarah has put Weeping Tile to bed for the time being - most around these parts figure for good after some so-so shows at the end of the summer of 98. She's been doing the folk circuit around Ontario this summer playing solo (or with small band), and is supposed to be working on a new disc. The one time I caught her show back in May, the new material was rock solid and the renditions of Weeping Tile material were a step up on the old lineup. Luther Wright (WT guitarist) has also been touring about with his own band. Dave. Neile Graham wrote: > Sarah Harmer & Jason Euringer, _Songs for Clem_ > > This is Sarah Harmer of Weeping Tile, doing a bunch of country-sounding > songs like "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Tenesses Waltz" "Stormy Weater," "Your > CHeatin' Heart" "Summertime", "Sentimental Journey". Its says "recorded on > the back porch" and it definitely has a home-grown feel to it. Fun, and I > love Sarah Harmer's voice, even when she goes country. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 21:20:38 -0400 From: Paul Blair Subject: ectofest P.S. Those of us who attended ectofest got to hear innumerable thank yous to Chuck and Meth during the course of the day, and also to Tony and John for the sound, and to the volunteers for their help. Now the thank yous are being carried over to the list--but as I read over my review, I notice none from me. At the risk of being tiresome, I wanted to add my voice to the chorus. As Chuck said, "It's like... it's like having your favorite artists in your backyard!" (Chuck, it *is* having your favorite artists in your backyard...) Thanks again. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 21:23:21 -0400 From: Jeffrey Burka Subject: ectofest '99 First off, a huge 'n heart thank you to Chuck, meth, and the entire ectofest crew for the work they did in making it possible for the musicians to show up and play for us. Without them, this couldn't have happened. The second thanks goes to the musicians themselves, who were kind enough to answer the call and donate their time for these good causes. Without them, the aforementioned crew would have been running around looking very silly for no reason. The venue was wonderful, the weather was perfect (too hot? sez who? you'd rather it had rained?), and the company was great -- got to put even more faces to names. Most everything I would have said has been said, so I probably won't say much more. Drama Chic were surprisingly fun and engaging and awfully folky for people who seem to ascribe so much inspiration to punk. Major kudos for "Knuckleheads," a song about a bar they used to play in, featuring the line, "Sometimes you want to go / where no one knows your name." Heh. Rob Brereton was pleasantly mellow. I suspect he might have mistaken us for the wrong audience when he held up his dulcimer and explained that it was a dulcimer...I have a feeling that at least a majority of attendees would have known that. I could be wrong, of course. The songs he sang with his fellow bandmate from Boys Night Out were my faves, and I truly loved the ditty 'bout Martha Stewart. Rachel Sage...well, I've been waiting a long time to see her live, and she did not disappoint. Mixing new stuff and tunes from _Smashing the Serene_, she did a fun and lively set. Particularly powerful was the song which spoke of Warsaw, which she played near the end of her set. Wow. The Ectoplasms were fun, but to be honest, by then I just really needed to stand and move around, so I spent their set over to the side of the "stage". Wish I'd been with each of the performers when their names were mentioned. Sloane Wainwright was someone I'd been hearing about on ecto for _years_. I once tried to listen to some RA samples of her music, and couldn't get a decent stream, and never got around to ordering her albums. Big mistake. She's got such a wonderful voice (I don't understand why everyone used to compare her to October Project...she's got this definite Mary Fahl thing going (er...Mary Fahl has this definite Sloane Wainwright thing going. Let's keep our chronology straight)) and her songs were well matched. I loved watching her play with her hair or hold her gut as she sang. "I Eye the Lady" would have been the high point of her wonderful set if she hadn't dragged Susan McKeown out for their duet. That was just flabbergastingly wonderful. I've been waiting to see Susan live for a couple of years now; the few times she's been in the DC area, I've been unable to attend for one reason or another, and I was ecstatic that I was to get the opportunity. Susan did _not_ disappoint me. I was, however, a little let down by the mix; particularly at the beginning of the set, I could barely hear her vocals over her guitar. Things improved somewhat, but I think she probably had the worst sound of the day. Now, having said that, let me back up and thank thank thank John and Tony for the fabulous sound they provided all day long. I'm sure it wasn't easy getting all these diverse instruments/singers to sound great on such a tight schedule, and while I've just complained about the sound for Susan, really, that's not a REAL complaint. Bad sound would be, say, when I saw the Black Crowes in '90 and it was a big, reverby, muddy mess...in a theater capable of fabulous sound (Indiana University Auditorium). The sound for Susan wasn't bad -- she still made me melt. So really, it's all relative. Mila Drumke was probably the biggest disappiontment for the day, and that's probably because I had completely wrong expectations for her. What those expectations were I couldn't really tell you, so perhaps I'm not being fair. I particularly dug Lyris' contributions, both on vocals and violin. I was not bowled over by "Under the Ivy," mostly because, well, Mila isn't KaTe. And I don't just mean that in terms of "I want to hear KaTe's voice sing the song" - -- I think KaTe has a better understanding of the song and how it builds, and I felt that Mila tried to force the song to be intense all the way through, which caused it to lose some (much?) of its power. Of course, I'm sure I'll end up getting at least one of her CDs, so maybe I should just shut up now. Finally, moving on to Happy's set, well, it was wonderful. Too short, especially when compared to the set list Neal lifted, but it was still wonderful. I love watching her sing, watching that range of sounds appear so effortlessly from her lips. The arrangements were fairly straightforward, given the lack of guitar-based noises, loops, embellishments, and leads. The drum kit is a nice touch. I know at least one other person has mentioned that Happy seemed more layed back than usual, aware of the kind of crowd to which she was playing. One clear sign of this was her wardrobe -- old overalls with both knees blown out! Her humor was in fine form, not only when she sang "The Ballad of Sir Robin" but also as the audience traded Monty Python quotes with her. I'm still trying to decide if "Ra" had a different arrangement from last October, and I'm fairly sure it does...seems like back then it started out as it does on the studio version; the new arrangement has it beginning with her singing, fairly low, the lines beginning "Even the leaves laugh...." Wonderful! To make things groovier, Craig Gidney and I were the ones who managed to answer Happy's movie trivia. Nobody managed to come up with the movie after her first quote, so Mike Mendelsohn requested a hint. Happy responded by squinching up her face and sputtering, "Their filling sack with rancid dirt" (or whatever the actual quote is) and then adding, in her own voice, "And it was delivered exactly that way." At which point I exclaimed, "That had to be Keanu in _Dracula_!" Craig said "Dracula!" at almost the same time I did, so when Happy asked who'd said the answer I pointed to the both of us. She said, "Oh, but I only have one mouse pad." Meth walked over and delivered it, as I suggested, to Craig, who later turned around and forced me to take it from him. I wasn't prepared to argue. Thanks, Craig! After the show, we cheated by wandering back to the hotel, showering, and then driving to Brewster to the party Chuck organized/catered. As we pulled into tiny downtown Brewster, Craig saw the scads of rainbow flags and exclaimed, "Wow, a gay bar *here*!" At about the same time, I was exclaiming, "That must be the place!" Sure enough, it was. In addition to procuring the establishment and cake and making the food, Chuck had also found time to burn a CD of music to play, and I would now like to say that, at least for that one evening, Brewster Station had the coolest music of any queer bar ever. One last note...as has been noted, Susan embarrassed meth tremendously by calling her out to be serenaded with "Happy Birthday" and meth graciously noted that her birthday was long since past (4 days) and that she happened to know that it was another attendee's birthday, and that he had traveled all the way from Chicago to be at the show...Mike Mendelsohn. - -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | http://burka.jeffrey.net ||||"I've got time to rest / | ||||||||||||| And I've got a clear, able mind that sees my life going fine. | | 'Cause everything I need is right here in my hands..." --Melissa Ferrick | ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 11:59:15 +1000 From: Andrew Fries Subject: IM, was: Neile's August Acquisitions On Sun, 5 Sep 1999, Neile Graham wrote: >Innocence Mission, _The Birds of my Neighborhood_ > >Okay, yes, I'm disappointed. I loved _Glow_, and their first self-titled >disc. This has some wonderful moments like the lovely "The Lakes of Canada" >but also a skip-every-time tune, their cover of John Denver (ack!)'s >"Follow Me"--a song I never liked even in the brief period when I liked >John Denver. In a lot of ways this sounds like home demos, no, no, no - I respectfully submit that you missed the point, indeed the soul of this record! It is wonderfully stripped down and somber, it's all about space and silence and stillness. This is Innocence Mission reduced to its core elements, the voice and guitar with minimal embellishment. Notice how subtly they use the keyboards, how the drum kit appears only twice! It makes their previous records sound jangly in comparison. They were like busy summer days buzzing with activity, this one is like a quiet winter morning. Far from being disappointed, I think in the long run it'll be my favourite. But I agree "Follow Me" is one weaker moment on this CD and I'd much prefer to hear another of their own tunes instead. - ------------------------------------------------------ "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." --Helder Camara - ------ http://www.zip.com.au/~afries/hall.html ------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 22:48:18 -0500 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Ectofest Wow. To avoid massive redundancy, I'll point to everyone else's posts and mumble "What they said". A wonderful afternoon, in terms of music and poeple and everyone else. And I'm amazed that, with all the ectophiles that I did meet, I still missed about half the people who have been mentioned as being there. Kudos to John and Tony for the sound (and my apologies for being gruff to John when he was talking to me -- I had just been informed by my arms that they had received the sunburn from hell while I wasn't paying attention), to Meth and Chuck for organizing things, and, well, to everyone else involved. Not to mention The Ubiquitous Mr Puppycakes for being at Happy's beck and call :-) The performances were all excellent (though I couldn't really click into Mila Drumke -- but that may have been due to music overload). The two musicians who knocked me out the most were Lyris the violinist from the Mila Drumke Band and that guy with the keyboards and the amazing high voice in Happy's band. And I think I want Sloan Wainwright to be my mother :-)... Two artists who stood out for me this weekend weren't there, but I heard them on CD. Liz Nicrenz(?)'s music was played on the PA before Happy's set, and a minor horde ambled over to the board to find out what it was. Really sharp production and lyrics (and I usually don't notice lyrics right off). And on the way home, Jeff put on Craig's CD of Louisa-Jon Krol (?)... ahhh... when I come off my self-imposed CD fast next paycheck. I gotta grab both. And the party was just major fun and warmth. I understand that people in the distance, seeing Jeff Wasilko and me meet for the first time, wondered if we were Separated At Birth. The Ethan Allan Inn was weird, a combination of posh elegance and clueless disarray. Evidently, no one who worked there actually knew anything about the town it was in, and the quite deserted halls were under renovation. If a caretaker came around the corner doing Jack Nicholson impression, I woulda been outa there. All in all, a magnificent weekend. ("But trust me on the sunscreen." D'oh. Ouch.) - -- |> "The only thing that is not art is inattention" --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CD: Shekhinah: The Presence http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 22:56:41 -0500 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Anna Homler? Hi. Can anyone point me toward available Anna Homler CDs? I only have tracks by her on two compilations, and they don't seem to show her own work too clearly. None of the vendoes that I've checked seem to carry anything of hers. I've been working on my own sorta improvised alien language project, so I'm curious to hear how she does it. (For my new thing, which some people here may enjoy... or be frightened by :-] ... check out http://www.mp3.com/zittmatis/ for both MP3s and RealAudio. Picture Mitch Elrod's "Wrong Century" vocals over guitars somewhere between David Torn and recent King Crimson... I'm pretty excited...) - -- |> "The only thing that is not art is inattention" --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CD: Shekhinah: The Presence http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1999 22:54:36 -0700 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: IM Andrew Fries wrote about my comments about the Innocence Mission's new album: >no, no, no - I respectfully submit that you missed the point, indeed the >soul of this record! It is wonderfully stripped down and somber, it's all >about space and silence and stillness. It's not a case of missing the point--I couldn't have missed it and listen to the album. It's a case of that not being the point I wanted to get to, and not yet being convinced to change my mind. It's just a direction that's not for me. That doesn't mean I won't give the rest of the album (after "Lakes of Canada") many more tries. - --Neile - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Neile Graham ...... http://www.sff.net/people/neile ....... neile@sff.net Les Semaines: A Weekly Journal . http://www.sff.net/people/neile/semaines The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ....... http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #301 **************************