From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V7 #276 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, September 28 2001 Volume 07 : Number 276 Today's Subjects: ----------------- LISA GERMANO [Irvin Lin ] Re: LISA GERMANO [Sue Trowbridge ] Re: LISA GERMANO [Andrew Fries ] The first ever Scottish Ecto post?? [Andrew McMichael ] RE: The first ever Scottish Ecto post?? ["Dirk Kastens" ] Re: jane tour dates [Valerie Richardson ] closing songs [dmw ] Re: ecto-digest V7 #275 [Cyoakha ] Regina Spektor, Gits, Melissa Ferrick ["Emily Perkins" ] Re: Cowboy Junkies @ Toad's Place, New Haven [ABershaw@aol.com] Re: Sigur Ros/Tresspasser William/Merrick/ new his name is alive [Jason G] Re: jane tour dates [meredith ] [none] ["Lyle Howard" ] Re: new autour de lucie / suzanne vega [meredith ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 23:27:42 -0700 From: Irvin Lin Subject: LISA GERMANO > Or how about Lisa Germano "Happiness"? At least on my version of this CD > (because I remember there was another), the last track is 'the darkest night of > all". It wraps things up perfectly - how fitting this obsesive, depressing > outpouring should end on a note of such gorgeous, hopeless sadness. THE DARKEST NIGHT OF ALL was the the closing song on both versions of HAPPINESS (the CAPITOL version and the remixed remastered 4AD version). if i remember correctly the songs were pretty identical in their mixes. speaking of LISA does anyone know what she is up to? i had heard that after her collaboration with OP8 and her last album SLIDE in '98 she had decided to retire from music. but recently i remember seeing her name in the paper opening up for someone here in the SF Bay Area at SLIMS. i didn't go to the show so i never found out what she was up to... anyone have a clue? irvin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 02:57:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Sue Trowbridge Subject: Re: LISA GERMANO On Wed, 26 Sep 2001, Irvin Lin wrote: > speaking of LISA does anyone know what she is up to? i had heard that > after her collaboration with OP8 and her last album SLIDE in '98 she > had decided to retire from music. but recently i remember seeing her > name in the paper opening up for someone here in the SF Bay Area at > SLIMS. i didn't go to the show so i never found out what she was up > to... Last time I saw her was last year, on tour with the Eels, as a member of that band. - --Sue ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 17:42:05 +1000 From: Andrew Fries Subject: Re: LISA GERMANO on 27/9/01 trow@interbridge.com wrote: >On Wed, 26 Sep 2001, Irvin Lin wrote: > >> speaking of LISA does anyone know what she is up to? i had heard that >> after her collaboration with OP8 and her last album SLIDE in '98 she >> had decided to retire from music. but recently i remember seeing her >> name in the paper opening up for someone here in the SF Bay Area at >> SLIMS. i didn't go to the show so i never found out what she was up >> to... > >Last time I saw her was last year, on tour with the Eels, as a member of >that band. ..and then there was her appearance on last year's Ekova CD, "Space lullabies and other fantasmagorie". But she only played a very small part, in fact unless you read the credits you'll never know she was there. Don't get me wrong - it was a very cool album I happily recommend. Just don't buy it for Lisa Germano. - ---------------------------------------------------- "People who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable." - ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 10:43:38 +0100 From: Andrew McMichael Subject: The first ever Scottish Ecto post?? Hello everyone! This is my first ever post to Ecto, having read it now for many years - so please be gentle with me! What prompted me to write (at last!) was the recent discussion about Sam Brown. I happen to be a huge fan of the lady, and have been since her late 80s 'Stop' days. I have pretty much everything (including her duet with Fish, ex-Marillion frontman) - mostly vinyl as those were the times I was living in, but if any information is required then feel free to mail me privately. The one thing about Sam that always impressed me was the quality of her B-sides, the girl really had imagination and they were often better to my ears than her album tracks. She continually improved through 'Stop', then 'April Moon'..and '43 Minutes' was up there with my favourites... I've been disappointed with 'Box' and 'Reboot', I have to admit, but these days if something doesn't grab me within two listens then I'm pretty dismissive these days! She's great live - I've seen her once solo, at the Renfrew Ferry here in Glasgow..a great night-time venue, and I'll never forget that she had a toilet roll sitting on top of her piano, 'Just in case I need it!'.. I also saw her on stage with Jools Holland a couple of years ago, where she was a backing singer and had one song solo - I was clapping with much more enthusiasm than anyone else, they must have thought I was mad!! So, in a nutshell, I'd urge anyone to seek out '43 Minutes'..I can't see how any Ectophile worth their salt wouldn't like it. It's sad that Happy isn't more widely recognised, and that she'll probably never come to Europe to play..(sob).. My g/f and myself were going to come and see her play in the states this autumn, but of course that never came to fruition - so I wait with baited breath to find out when her next appearance will be. The only thing is that being so far away, I need plenty of notice, but to see her live I'd practically swim the Atlantic! And finally on the subject of mix tapes and that perfect last track.. I made a couple of tapes up recently, one dedicated to Happy, and the other a compilation of other artists..my final song on that tape was 'Mundesley Beach' by Anne Clark, so utterly soothing that you're liable to fall asleep if someone doesn't poke you with a stick! Anyone else heard of her? Before I go, I'd just like to recommend a couple of albums - I recently got 'The Wheel' by Amy Meyers and it's rarely been out of my player since..she has a strangely theatrical way of singing at times that appeals to the Kate fan in me, and also 'Cruel' by Jennifer Terran. Quite a sombre album of mainly piano-based ballads but there's a real beauty in the melodies and her voice is great, she deserves a much wider audience. Keep posting folks, and thanks for all your recommendations! Andrew. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 11:09:53 +0100 (BST) From: adamk@zoom.co.uk Subject: Sigur Ros I'd just like to second Craig and Neal's praise of Sigur Ros, and urge everyone to give it a try. I cited this album as one of the best (if not THE best) album I got last year, picking it up late in the year at the recommendation of a fellow music junkie who's usually into the more hardcore dance stuff, but who had fallen for the swooning epic beauty of Sigur Ros, and INSISTED I get the album. And I'm glad I did. Oh yes, glad. adamk Get your own zoom email - click here - http://www.zoom.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 03:20:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Filicat Subject: Angelique Kidjo I'm not a good reviewer, so this will be brief :) Angelique Kidjo was playing tonight (er, last night) at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom. Doors opened at 8pm and the show got underway a little after 9:15pm. We timed our entry well enough to get seats with a view for the solo opening act, but moved down to the floor when it became apparent that the people behind us simply were not going to stop talking! This was a good move on all counts, as the musician was very cool to watch up close. Many curious instruments were played. I especially liked his section with a small hand-held drum which he expertly played with pretty much every possible piece of his other hand. He was also fond of the kind of vocal percussion that Sheila Chandra makes abundant use of, and managed to get the audience joining in to the best of their ability :) His final piece was with a regular guitar... a short way through it he quickly adjusted a string rather drastically, which I thought was curious; especially as I couldn't see how he could have gotten it to a precise position. It turned out he'd loosened it quite significantly, as later in the piece he suddenly pulled it down across all the other strings and proceeded to rapidly strum away with a now very staccato sound, producing another percussive variation. After playing in this manner for a while, he released the string and his playing returned to the melodic playing it had started as. Very cool to watch and hear, and there was much applause :) Sadly I don't remember his name, and it's not shown on the ticket... (Any idea, Sherlyn???) Angelique and band (two percussionists, guitar, and bass guitar) took the stage at something after 10pm, and proceeded to instigate much dancing. Her music is something of a fusion of African rhythm and song with, er, other stuff :) Musical deconstructonist I am not. The music was good (including a good percussion-only piece as was half-expected given the pair of them), Angelique was rather animated on stage and seemed to be enjoying herself, and the keen dancers among the got to take the stage for a couple of songs which was also fun to watch (from which you can ascertain that I wasn't quite keen enough to join them :) That about sums up the evening really -- it was a great deal of fun. I would recommend that you want to be close to the stage (and it's perhaps worth making your way to the very front if there are some tallish people ahead of you), and prepared to dance a little (or a lot:) during the main set. The band finished around midnight, which seemed like a good amount of time on stage. Definitely a good night out. And the bass player was from New Zealand. Yay! :) - -fil (who managed to be a bit more verbose than expected...) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 12:25:09 +0200 From: "Dirk Kastens" Subject: RE: The first ever Scottish Ecto post?? Welcome Andrew, > So, in a nutshell, I'd urge anyone to seek out '43 Minutes'..I can't see > how any Ectophile worth their salt wouldn't like it. 43 Minutes is indeed a wonderful album. I stopped following Sam Brown after this one. I only heard about the weakness of The Box but I never listened to it. > Before I go, I'd just like to recommend a couple of albums - I > recently got > 'The Wheel' by Amy Meyers and it's rarely been out of my player > since..she > has a strangely theatrical way of singing at times that appeals > to the Kate > fan in me, and also 'Cruel' by Jennifer Terran. Quite a sombre album of > mainly piano-based ballads but there's a real beauty in the melodies and > her voice is great, she deserves a much wider audience. Thanks for the recommendations. I have to check them out. Dirk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 09:29:24 -0400 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: jane tour dates Is this a nice venue to see Jane in? How far is it from New Haven? I have a friend to visit at Yale. >Sat Nov 10 at The Accoustic Cafe (Bridgeport CT) JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 10:44:48 -0400 From: Valerie Richardson Subject: Re: jane tour dates The Acoustic Cafe is a lovely venue. It's very small and intimate. In fact, it's so small that I almost fell off of my seat when I heard that Jane was booked to play there. I would make reservations now if you're planning to attend. Bridgeport is about 25 minutes from New Haven, between New Haven and New York City. - --Valerie Richardson JoAnn Whetsell wrote: > > Is this a nice venue to see Jane in? How far is it from New Haven? I have > a friend to visit at Yale. > > >Sat Nov 10 at The Accoustic Cafe (Bridgeport CT) > > JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 10:49:53 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: closing songs A couple that come to mind, not necessarily ecto ..on _the beatles_ i love how "good night" comes after "revolution 9" and the juxtaposition makes paul's slight little lullaby sounds so creepy & sinister. not that there's a whole lot of agreement on the point, but the copy of big star's _third/sister lovers_ that i have ends with "thank you friends" which i always thought was perfect. alex chilton apparently doesn't agree. scott miller's loud family always had a pretty good way with last songs, with "motion of ariel" (attractive nuisance) "sister sleep" (days for days) being particular favorites. i always thought mclachlan's _fumbling toward ecstasy_ would've been stronger if it just ended with the title track rather than tacking on the other version of possession -- without the extra track, the record is more like an emotional journey towards a state of resolution & acceptance (imho) -- hearing possession again makes it more of a loop, which i think weakens it. the kinks "better things" (give the people what they want) - -- d. - ------------------------------------------------- Mayo-Wells Media Workshop dmw@ http://www.mwmw.com mwmw.com Web Development * Multimedia Consulting * Hosting ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 13:20:56 -0700 From: Cyoakha Subject: Re: ecto-digest V7 #275 jeff, amazing someone else has found "Free" on SKIN from Peter Himmelman and loves it. One of my favorite songs, it is such a high. Songs like that help keep me here right now. I know it is part of a concept album but highly listenable alone also. I just offered a free cdr of my song for peace, a new version of "mother" to my email list, if it got on this list already, then excuse me, if it didn't, anyone that wants one just send me your address. Just dulcimer, vocals and violin. Free. No money from this tragety. love, cyoakha grace >************************** > > TO ALL, I have changed my email address to cyo@landoftheblind.com please update your address book, thanks Cyoakha O'Manion Music PO Box 198 Mill Valley, CA 94941 cyo@landoftheblind.com http://www.landoftheblind.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 16:15:01 -0700 From: "Emily Perkins" Subject: Regina Spektor, Gits, Melissa Ferrick A few recommendations from my last CD Baby binge. Unfortunately, none of these are on the list of artists donating all proceeds to the Red Cross, but they're still well worth looking into: Regina Spektor - 11:11 The closest comparison I can think of is Fiona Apple, but jazzier and bluesier. She's quite young, and that shows in some of the songs, but overall it's an impressive album, with a lot of variety. The Gits - Seafish Louisville Their lead singer was murdered in 1993, but this is an album of old unreleased and live material that was just put out last year. Highly recommended for fans of Caterwaul and similar bands. I'm also wondering, from anyone familiar with them, if it's worth getting their older albums, or if this is the best one. Melissa Ferrick - Skinnier Faster Live at the BPC I picked up Everything I Need a while ago and wasn't impressed but had heard she was better live. Well, now I know what the big deal is about her. It's amazing how much better this is than the studio material I'd heard. - -Emily ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 23:30:44 -0000 From: "neal copperman" Subject: Kristin Hersh dates and favors I was glancing at Kristin Hersh's web page and noticed her latest tour schedule. I bring this up for mostly selfish reasons. The web site says that there will be a KH and a Throwing Muses bootleg available only at the shows. I'm interested in getting ahold of the KH boot (2 CD's, $15 - what a deal!). If anyone is going to a show and wants to shop for me, let me know. It also says she's donating $100 from each of these shows to the Red Cross. neal np: Sky Motel - Kristin Hersh October 4 - Davis, CA - Palms Playhouse October 6 - Santa Monica, CA - McCabe's (2 shows) October 7 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's October 13 - Seattle, WA - Shoreline Community College October 17 - Austin, TX - Cactus Cafe October 19 - New Orleans, LA - The Mermaid Lounge October 21 - Atlanta, GA - The Echo Lounge October 26 - New York, NY - The Knitting Factory October 27 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's November 3 - London, England - Barbican Center ('mini set' as part of larger festival) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 20:45:49 EDT From: ABershaw@aol.com Subject: Re: Cowboy Junkies @ Toad's Place, New Haven I was also at the this unusual Cowboy Junkies show and can elaborate and pick up where Paul left off. And I agree that the amount of loud songs and lengthy jams, including a 15 minute long "Lay It Down " early on, was really out there. They just did a stint through the southeast and were in Florida when the attack happened. They'd had a few weird and depressing nights earlier in the week (details in the tour diary on their site) and doom and gloom was in the air. I'm sure we can all relate to being deeply dissipointed with humanity, if nothing else... They too were in low spirits Tuesday night and it seemed they were releasing a lot of anger through the music. Anyway, back to where Paul took off. After "First Recollection" it was back to anger in the form of "Bread & Wine," a tune about adultery, that had Margo again practically spitting out the vocals and the band rocking hard behind her. Then into the rarely played Townes Van Zant cover "Lungs" that kept things cookin'. Next up was "Something More Besides You" which spaced out a bit and relaxed the tension. They began the 2nd two thirds of their River Trilogy with Bea's Song, which was the only semi-mellow song in the show and this transitioned into an astounding 13 minute long "Draggin' Hooks" that pulverized what was left of anybody. Another terrific guitar solo from Michael that soared and screamed like he didn't want to stop. "Miles From My Home" followed and then the usual band/crew intros before saying goodbye and launching into another meltdown of a jam with "Murder In The Trailer Park" into "Hunted." Each of these tunes were the most agressive tunes on the albums on which they appeared and they both smoked with anger here. The relatively small crowd (I'd guess 500 tops) enthusiasticly got them back for an encore of covers. First was the CJ's rarity "Highway Kind," which they recorded for a Townes Van Zant Tribute CD, followed by Springsteen's "Thunder Road." I've seen this band too many times to remember, but I can say it was the most agressive CJ's show I've ever heard and possibly one for the books in Cowboy Junkies lore. Alan NP: Opal live at SDSU 11/17/87. (Kendra Smith where are you?) NR: "Timeless Flyte" by Johnny Rogan (big Byrds bio) In a message dated 9/27/2001 1:57:50 AM, ciriwe@phobot.net writes: <> ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 21:52:40 -0400 From: Jason Gordon Subject: Re: Sigur Ros/Tresspasser William/Merrick/ new his name is alive I'd also throw my two cents in and say to pick up the first Sigur Ros album as well (if you can find it...of course it is much easier if you are stopping over in reykjavik for no particular reason :) ) Speaking of music that you cannot pluck from your cd player, I just cannot stop listening to Tresspasser William's "Anchor" and Merrick's self titled debut (both available at cdbaby) I also just got the new His Name Is Alive in the mail today but have yet to listen to it...time to change the n.p. :) Cheers jason n.p. Lori Carson - "house in the weeds" - -----Original Message----- From: adamk@zoom.co.uk To: ecto@smoe.org Date: Thursday, September 27, 2001 6:11 AM Subject: Sigur Ros I'd just like to second Craig and Neal's praise of Sigur Ros, and urge everyone to give it a try. I cited this album as one of the best (if not THE best) album I got last year, picking it up late in the year at the recommendation of a fellow music junkie who's usually into the more hardcore dance stuff, but who had fallen for the swooning epic beauty of Sigur Ros, and INSISTED I get the album. And I'm glad I did. Oh yes, glad. adamk Get your own zoom email - click here - http://www.zoom.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 22:47:40 -0400 From: meredith Subject: Re: jane tour dates Hi, JoAnn wondered: >Is this a nice venue to see Jane in? How far is it from New Haven? I have >a friend to visit at Yale. Valerie covered the basics, but I'd also add that it is very small, and the food is good (especially the desserts ), and I too just about fell over when I saw her on the calendar there. I already passed the word on to Rich Franzino, the owner that he is a god for booking Jane. :) I would seriously recommend getting reservations in ASAP. If you're coming to New Haven and your friend doesn't want to accompany you to the show, let us know and we'll be happy to give you a ride. ======================================= Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth "an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind" -- mahatma gandhi ======================================= Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://www.smoe.org/meth/muzak.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 02:56:50 From: "Lyle Howard" Subject: [none] Hi, There is an article on David Torn in the October 2001 issue of _Electronic Musician_. I just glanced over it, the library was closing, but it is mostly about his gear and composing, so it will be a good article, ipso facto. If your memory is failing you, Torn provided guitar on _Building the Colossus_ and loops on _Many Worlds Are Born Tonight_. Bye, Lyle n.p. My newly re-installed Yamaha sound card is wailing on a MIDI file. I've been without it since the great lightning strike back in May of aught 1. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 22:56:40 -0400 From: meredith Subject: Re: new autour de lucie / suzanne vega Hi, Damon posted: >just finished another cd shopping spree (i avoided ews for a long time but >it seems to be back in force; luckily i *usually* confine myself to >secondhand stores now but not tonight). i noticed but did not pick up the >new suzanne vega album, _songs in red and grey_, and also found a new one by >autour de lucie i didn't know about, called _faux mouvement_. so i'm >wondering if anyone has any comments on them? i'm sure the vega one, at >least, has been discussed here, but i don't remember anything. i've liked >everything else of hers so i don't know why i didn't just pick it up. Suzanne Vega's new one is really good. I guess you could call it her "divorce album". I think it would most closely compare to _Days Of Open Hand_, in that the acoustic guitar has precedence but there are other cool and interesting sounds on it too, and it clearly wasn't produced by Mitchell Froom. :) I would highly recommend it (sorry, Damon :). ======================================= Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth "an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind" -- mahatma gandhi ======================================= Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://www.smoe.org/meth/muzak.html ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V7 #276 **************************