From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V5 #382 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, November 18 1999 Volume 05 : Number 382 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Recent listening [anna maria "stjärnell" ] Re: New to list - some new recommendations ["glenn mcdonald" ] Re: ecto holiday music [JoAnn Whetsell ] RE: ecto holiday music ["Foghorn J Fornorn" ] poll [Steve ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 01:56:49 -0800 (PST) From: anna maria "stjärnell" Subject: Recent listening Hi.. Thought I'd write about some things I've heard recently.. Sandy Dillon-Electric Chair A female Tom Waits..modern electrified blues with terrific growly vocals. Very nice. Dot Allison-Afterglow Excellent atmospheric stuff. Evocative vocals and music.Great to relax to. Ingy-Unlikely Heroes Swedish singer who vocally resembles Tanya Donelly and Victoria Williams. Muscially it all over the shop-from Björkish whimsy to Velvet Undergoundesque drones. Ryan Downe-Hypocrite Sounds like James Hall if anybody knows of him. Skyscraping vocals and nice guitars. Anna Maria ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 09:28:02 -0500 From: "glenn mcdonald" Subject: Re: New to list - some new recommendations > Splashdown - "Stars and Garters" Splashdown has a new EP out, called _Redshift_, which is a preview for their major-label debut, due out early next year. One song is co-written by Glen Ballard, although he doesn't appear to be producing, as an earlier rumor suggested. glenn ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 09:21:01 -0600 From: Amy Lotsberg Subject: RE: New to list - some new recommendations >Gordoja@aol.com sez: >> Albums that I cannot get out of my CD player recently: >> Kristin Mooney - "Living Alone" Jeffrey Burke Said: >This is Peter Himmelman's long-time BV singer (she's on the albums >from the late 80's and early 90's). If this is the same Kristin Mooney I am thinking of, she also played with Matt Wilson around here (Minneapolis) for awhile. She might even appear on his CD, "Burnt White and Blue". (Matt is the younger brother of Semisonic front man, Dan Wilson for those of you going, "huh?"). I was not all that impressed with her but that could have been the fact that they didn't have her singing harmony, but in unison with Matt which I think sounds just yukky. But that's a pet peeve of mine. Her voice just didn't sound good with his, but maybe she is better on her own. I did hear at the time I saw her perform with him, that she was working on her own recording (this was over a year ago). Maybe I should give her a listen. ~Amy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 18:30:35 +0200 From: Juha Sorva Subject: Ani show, plus Sandra, Tori, Sarah, Jill, Sanna, and London stores Hello, Ecto, While some privileged people have been seeng Happy live (*green face*), I had to make do with a show by artist whose music I was only very superficially familiar with, though I'd sure heard about her a lot, namely, Ani DiFranco. And as it turned out, she wasn't a bad substitute at all. Ani might be big in the States, but she sure isn't very well-known in these parts (those parts being Helsinki, Finland), as was demonstrated by the measly attendance of a few hundred people. Well, that had its good sides, too. A friend of mine came to the show with two American exchange student friends of hers, and one of them especially was a big Ani fan. She told that she'd only seen Ani perform back home in way bigger venues with a thousand screaming teenagers separating them ("Ani's always been this little dot to me."), and we were all happy about getting to stand right there next to the the low stage, barely a meter away from Ani. And the what the crowd lacked in numbers was compensated for with enthusiasm, especially during the later parts of the set, so in the end it wasn't half bad. And maybe it's just me, but I thought Ani seemed grateful to the audience for (mostly) shutting up during the quieter songs. Before yesterday, I had heard half of _Not a Pretty Girl_, the whole of _Up Up Up Up Up Up_ twice, and a few other songs (though I hadn't _really_ listened to them). Well, with many other artists, knowing about twenty songs would have served as pretty decent background info, but with Ani... heh, I was lucky to recognize three songs out of a lengthy set. Well, it didn't much matter. No warm-up band, so it was just Ani and her show, and a butt-kicking show that was, too. Ani plus band of three came onstage with "So we're here, in Helsinki, now for the first time. You know, we we're just looking at the map and going.... fuck!" and then "Ain't this just the place for us to be in... looks like Christmas!" (Refers to the fact that we just got our first snow of the winter here yesterday.) I can't tell exactly which songs they played, since I didn't recognize them (someone near my left ear obviously did, since she was singing along loudly most of the time). I was told later that many of the songs were from _Little Plastic Castle_ - perhaps she knew that that's her only album that's widely available here (for some reason. You can get others, too, but it can be tricky.). There were a few new songs ("kinda like the old ones, only much better"), but fewer than might be expected considering that this was the start of her new tour and yesterday was the release date for _to the teeth_. The only new song I can name right now is "Providence". Anyway, whatever the songs were called, I really enjoyed them beyond my expectations. It was a thrill hearing them delivered live with a strong and pure sound, and it was a thrill seeing her deliver them. (Charming facial expressions she has, by the way. :)) At least as far as my current relationship with her music goes, she's at her best when she's at her weirdest and rockiest... my, that song "Jukebox" is good, and it wasn't the only one. Other highlights: The "serious folk action" of the blugrass song about her parents. Then there was a funny episode where she forgot the lyrics to a (new?) song ("my mind is blank... this has happened before") which resulted in amused quips between band members as the jammed on. Also, there was a brand-new song ("wrote this last week... I pretend to know how to play it") which she performed solo with the acoustic guitar, seemingly having trouble hitting the right notes in the beginning, and which seemed to be about machines making silence, kisses, bacteria, and a crazy fucker who built a statue out of butter and propped it up at the Bonanza breakfast club, among various other things... I'm afraid I can't tell you just what the connecting line of thought between these elements is without seeing the thing written down first. And last, the to all appearances impromptu final encore. After they'd already come back once and disappeared again, it turned out that no more encores had been planned for. Us in the crowd, however, kept applauding, undeterred, for minutes after the regular lights and background music came back... and were rewarded with another song. They had the new album on sale there, of course, and I got myself a copy, too. Got to listen to it soon. And you can count me an Ani fan from now on. That said, it's not nice to end this on a negative note, but despite everything, I still was left wondering what exactly is that something that makes so many people (here on this list and elsewhere) place Ani in their musical Holy of Holies. I would most definitely go see her again, and I'm considering buying more albums (perhaps _Dilate_ which I got to hear such a load of praise about yesterday, first?), but for me she's not one of those artists (like, say, Happy is) whose dozen-or-so-album catalogues inspire pure joy at getting to purchase so much great music with complete disregard for my financial situation. And I don't think she will be, either - to me, she's an excellent artist, but no goddess. Well, knowing myself, I should be watching my words here now that the spark's been ignited. Perhaps I should take a closer look at those lyrics booklets... Now some quick comments about a few other things... I never really got around to properly thanking you, Neile, for sending me Sandra Lockwood's _Shell_. And you were right... I do like it, a lot! ithout your help, I'd probably never have heard of this, or been able to get my hands on a copy, for that matter. Beautiful, and fierce, too, just brilliant. There's something oddly appealing in that insanely, almost messily hectic song "Bath" that makes me feel really funny. And that old Kristeen Young stuff rocks, too! On the list of recent disappointments, I'll have to mention the new Tori album. _from the choirgirl hotel_ would have been a great album on almost anyone else's scale but Tori's, but with _to venus and back_, I'm starting to despair. "Datura" is cool, and I kinda like many of the other songs as well, but listening to this album just doesn't do much for me. And "1000 Oceans" has to be the worst Tori song ever for me... if there ever was a song by Tori that I could imagine Celine Dion singing, this would be it. And this is not for lack of trying... I've listened to the album a lot. But when I put this album in the player, I don't get all anticipatori like happens with, say, _Boys for Pele_, every time. I'm beginning to give up. Another disappointment for me has been Sarah Slean's _Blue Parade_. Somehow it doesn't grab me at all like _Universe_ did right from the start. Maybe it just needs some more time to grow on me. Then some brief replies: Anna Maria wrote: > Am suffering from EWS..But before that occured I found > a treasure in Jill Tracy's fabulous album Diabolical > Streak. Fans of Rasputina and Kristeen Young will like > this album. Its theatrical, delightfully strange and > lovely. She plays the piano and sings in a seductive > whisper. At times the songs remind me of Kate's Coffee > Homeground and Hammer Horror.You can get it from > www.jilltracy.com or amazon.com. Many thanks for the recommendation! Listened to samples - wow, this is definitely my kind of music. My order has been made. I like the look of her web site, too. (And, by the way, isn't "Coffee Homeground" cool... I don't know how people can bash _Lionheart_ when it's got such a song on it. :)) Alan the Boulder Kit wrote: > my alley. For you nordic music heads, you may want to know about > a Hedningarna side project called Musta, featuring one of the singers > from Hedningarna, and it is every bit as good as anything that I've > heard by the full band. Sorry for being nit-picky, but I'll just mention that I find naming the thing a "Hedningarna side project" a bit dabatable. It's more like a separate project of the ex-Hedningarna singer, and _Musta_ is the album title. I'm not a huge Sanna fan myself, but I do second the recommendation for Nordic music heads to check this out. And, Alan, you might want to see if you can find something by Loituma, Sanna's earlier band. Listen to it before buying, though, it's not quite like Hedningarna. While were on the subject of Nordic music, I'll just have to mention again how absolutely brilliant Niss Kerstin's album _Träd_ is. I don't know how accurate the "jazz-folk" description is, but I can't think of a better one either. It's definitely not regular Nordic folk, and I think it might be appreciated also by people who aren't into that genre. There's only a tiny sound clip of one song available at http://www.amigo.se/amcd_739eng.htm but just believe me - she's great. :) Very highly recommended. Jay wrote: > I'm going to be in London in a early December and [...] > appreciate any advice about used CD shops, particularly in > Covent Garden. You might want to check out a London record hunting guide at http://www.wmin.ac.uk/~clemenr/lonrec.html I don't know how well up-to-date that guide is now, but at least two and a half years ago when I last visited London, I found it very useful. At least the guide still is in that address. A powerful address, that one, by the way. Last time I gave it to someone, a couple of years back, it resulted in a conversation that ultimately led to that someone becoming my girlfriend. Use it wisely. :) Phew... that's it for now. Bests, Juha n.p. Höyry-Kone: _Hyönteisiä voi rakastaa_ (A killer sort-of-progressive fusion rock band that, sadly, almost no-one's heard of.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 08:35:51 -0800 From: "Drew Harrington" Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Ballet_m=E9canique_in_MA?= Let me start by saying I'm sorry for this grovel, but I know Ecto has a large adventurous readership on the east coast. The world's first performance of George Antheil's "Ballet mécanique" will occur in Lowell, MA tommorrow evening at 9:00. Although it is sold out, it is being broadcast live on WGBH, and I'm hoping that if some curious soul is going to watch, they'd be willing to make me a video tape. I'd be more than glad to reimburse you for the tape and postage in whatever form you would prefer. (Cash, trade, taping request in SF, etc.) The performance including commentary should be less than an hour. Ballet mécanique is a symphony written for three xylophones, four bass drums, a tamtam (gong), two pianos, a siren, three airplane propellers, seven electric bells, and 16 synchronized player pianos. You can find more information at: http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/radio/balletmec/ Much thanks in advance, Drew ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 15:46:15 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: A don't-miss show in Seattle Sunday night FYI for anyone in the area. This sounds brilliant. Mary Lydia Ryan is great live and her new material is knock out stuff. - --Neile n.p. ani difranco, _to the teeth_. Wow. This works for me like her previous 2 haven't. >Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 13:17:59 -0800 >From: "Mary Lydia Ryan" >To: "Neile Graham" >Subject: Sunday Show at the Alibi Room >MIME-Version: 1.0 > >Hi Neile: > >I know this is late notice, but I wanted to let you know that I am hosting >a night of female pianists this weekend at the Alibi Room in Seattle. Here >are the details: > >When: Sunday, November 21st >Where: The Alibi Room - 85 N. Pike (downstairs at Pike Place Market in Post >Alley) >Who: Mary Lydia Ryan, Jordan Corbin, Marit Peters >Time: 7 p.m. >Cover: $5 > >Backing Mary are: > >Drums: Andrew Hasseries >Stand up Bass: Lawrence Martin > >Joining me will be Jordan Corbin and Marit Peters for a song circle and a >night of music you won't want to miss. Jordan is well known for her weekly >show at the Baltic Room. Marit who is usually >accompanied by her band will give us a sampler of her newly released CD >"Dead Reckoning". > >If you have never been to the Alibi Room, this is a small and intimate >venue that has become one of my favorite spots in the city. They serve >great food and wine. > >I hope to see you Sunday! > >Mary Lydia Ryan > >http:www.marylydiaryan.com > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 22:24:36 -0500 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: Re: ecto holiday music Sharon wrote: Perhaps I missed a mention of this one, but The Cocteau Twins' Snow EP with "Winter Wonderland" and "Frosty the Snowman" is a definite add. "Frosty the Snowman" is also on the _Coolest Christmas_ compilation. Another mentionable is Shawn Colvin's _Holiday Songs and Lullabies_. It's just beautiful. Tish Hinojosa's Memorabilia Navidena, with songs in Spanish and English (you get to hear O Christmas Tree sung in Spanish! and little kids in a bilingual class singing on the chorus of 1 song-- really cute) including the traditional Spanish lullaby, A La Nanita Nana, which is really beautiful. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't the Roches also have a Christmas album, called We 3 Kings or something like that? And doesn't Holly Cole's _Treasure_ compilation have Xmas stuff on it? JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 23:08:51 -0500 From: "Foghorn J Fornorn" Subject: RE: ecto holiday music Yes, The Roches' We Three Kings, from 1990. Picked it up last January at an xmas music closeout at the local Wall, of all places. Only listened to it once or twice, but I recall liking it. It will be time to reacquaint myself with it in, oh, say, a week or so. Another one I'm glad I found many years ago is Jon Anderson's 3 Ships. I don't think it ever came out on CD. It was one of my first vinyl-to-CDR experiments last year about this time. Came out OK. >> Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't the Roches also have a Christmas album, called We 3 Kings or something like that? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 01:22:43 -0500 From: Steve Subject: poll Hope all you philes at Sarah Slean's NYC show give a full report! Anyways I'm going to be working on a new website soon and I'd like to take a bit of an informal poll... 1. What's your favourite official major label artist website? Why? 2. What's your favourite official indie artist website? Why? 3. What keeps you coming back to an artist's website? Tour dates? Message boards? Chat rooms? Keep in mind I'm talking favourite websites, not artists. It's OK to name a great website for a crappy band. For example I'm not a big Counting Crows fan but I do think they have a pretty cool looking website. I'm not sure I've seen an indie artist's site that I really like. Anyway I'd really appreciate the feedback because it's folks like you all that are our target audience for the website. Steve ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V5 #382 **************************