From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V7 #330 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, November 18 2001 Volume 07 : Number 330 Today's Subjects: ----------------- New Solex album - Low Kick And Hard Bop [Gabriel Laverdiere ] ky/01 ["Donald G. Keller" ] recent shows [meredith ] Re: millennium album? [Joseph Zitt ] Re: New Solex album - Low Kick And Hard Bop [Jeff Wasilko Subject: New Solex album - Low Kick And Hard Bop IF you don't know who Solex is and you like trip-hop and weird pop music, you should peek at it. Her new record is out and it's just as good as her other 2. She uses a lot of sampling of crummy records and plays with those. Very interesting music. ______________________________________________________ E-mail gratuit - Multimania - http://www.multimania.fr ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 14:27:38 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: millennium album? Calling Marianne Nowottny's =Manmade Girl= "=probably= the most important album of the new millennium" (exact quote, my emphasis; Joe S. Harrington, =New York Press=; link to the review from the Abaton website) was, I'm guessing, a deliberate piece of inflated rhetoric on the reviewer's part; remembering that the millennium is only a year (or two) old, and thus the =semantic= equivalent of his statement is "the most important album released in the last couple years," which phrasing would have raised fewer eyebrows, I suspect. But here's why I think he meant what he said, and why I agree with him: Marianne Nowottny just turned 19. =Manmade Girl= is her second album, a double CD nearly 2 hours long, very richly and densely arranged. While the vast majority of teenaged recording artists, even those who write their own material (think Debbie Gibson), even the most talented (think Tori Amos), are writing derivative material (however accomplished) at that age, Marianne Nowottny's two albums don't sound =much= like anything else I've ever heard. Both albums (her debut, =Afraid of Me=, came out when she was 16) took me a while to assimilate; and I had to be intrigued enough by the bristling incongruities of the music's surface to keep listening. (It probably makes a difference that I've also been lucky enough to hear her perform live fairly frequently, where the thinner texture--just voice and keyboard--can help "frame" the songs in one's mind.) And both albums have proved very satisfying to get to know: i.e. it's music with both vision and substance. The electronic keyboard is for her a folk instrument, the musical companion to her notebook full of poetry (instead of, say, the more traditional acoustic guitar); and her absolutely unprejudiced ear has made considerable use of the special effects possible on even a relatively inexpensive keyboard like the Radio Shack Concertmate she favors. Too, her earliest works were a series of avante-garde tape collages she composed in collaboration with her best friend Donna Bailey (the other half of the duo Shell); one of these bedroom tapes has been released on cassette by Abaton, and it's =even more= challenging listening than her two solo albums. What this adds up to, for me, is this: nearly every pop musician today is a late 20th century artist, i.e. their music is a clear extrapolation of their influences. But just as Stravinsky, even more than Schoenberg, was clearly an early 20th century musician (as of =Rite of Spring=, at least), Marianne Nowottny is one of the two pop musicians I can think of (the other being Tricky; I say this at least partly because I haven't figured out what he's doing) who are clearly early 21st century musicians. (Because I know somebody reading this is asking the question, Kristeen Young, for all her bizarrerie, is still a late 20th century musician.) I'll close by making a comparison that will have me treading on heresy, I fear, in this company: let's consider two albums by 19-year-olds, Marianne Nowottny's =Manmade Girl= and Kate Bush's =The Kick Inside=. I heard =The Kick Inside= shortly after it was released in America, and although it was initially startling and clearly something new (arguably, the first "ecto" album, whatever we exactly mean by that term), for someone who had been listening to Joni Mitchell or Grace Slick, and who was concurrently listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Heart (leaving aside a lot of other stuff--prog rock, modern classical, Led Zeppelin--totally unlike it that I was also listening to), =The Kick Inside= was =relatively= easy to assimilate; in retrospect only a step on the road to the artistic complexity of =The Dreaming= a few years later. =Manmade Girl=, released at the same age, is as finished an artistic statement as =The Kick Inside=, and much more innovative: essentially, Marianne Nowottny has already reached the complexity level of =The Dreaming= two albums and several years ahead of Kate Bush's schedule. All the above, by the way, is only an introduction to a proper review of =Manmade Girl=. Another time. Footnote: While I was writing this I dragged out Tricky's =Maxinquaye=, his debut and the only album of his I've kept, but which I haven't listened to in a while; I was astonished to discover that one of the singers on the album is Alison Goldfrapp, of the (literally) semi-eponymous current group. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 14:30:42 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: ky/01 Kristeen Young's early November show at CBGBs was was her last of the year (she'll be back around in January), so it seems like a good opportunity for a wrapup. Show after show, one of the highlights this year (frequently the peak moment of the set, in fact) has been "Touch Tongues." The sheer massiveness of its keyboard chords (especially the huge crash into the final chorus), the rapid-fire spitting out of the verses, the eerie clarion call that frames the central chorus, all make it unerringly thrilling. And right with it has been "Top Rock Girl." Where "Touch Tongues" is gloomy and menacing, "Top Rock Girl" is bright and exuberant, with intricate and irresistible rhythms and very funny lyrics; it's always a high-energy showstopper. Both these songs were introduced in September of last year, and a year-plus seems enough of a test of time to say that they are not only two of her most compelling stage numbers, but among her finest compositions: perhaps not unique conceptions like her trio of masterpieces "Incubator," "Skeletons," and "...HI-TEK," but otherwise no lesser achievements. Bidding fair to join this august company, though it was introduced only this July, "Rock Radio" is singular in a number of ways. Unlike nearly all her songs, which work quite well onstage with only a single live voice, "Rock Radio" is driven by a complex arrangement of overlapping antiphonal vocal parts; as a result it is neither played live at the keyboard nor programmed into said keyboard, but played from the soundboard (which is why Kristeen referred to it as "a karaoke song" the first time she performed it). Ordinarily this sort of practice makes be a bit queasy (live music should be =live=), but given the necessity in this case and the quality of the result, I'm waiving my reservations. Structurally, it's like nothing else she's written, built from two very disparate parts: a driving rock rhythm on two alternating chords a half-step apart; and a slinky dance-groove firmly nailed to the first chord. (Only in the bridge, related to the latter, is there briefly some harmonic movement.) Since the rock part is sung, to the same lyrics each time, it's the chorus (a rare song that begins with the chorus); the dance part, mostly spoken to the beat (but it's not rap), with different lyrics each time, is therefore the verse. The two parts share only a tonal center and a repeated "dowhatyougottado" in triplets: they're even in slightly different tempos, so that the listener at first trips over the transitions; but eventually the conflict becomes a treaty, and each switch slingshots the song more strongly forward, until the last dance section, functioning as a coda, consists entirely of an ever more urgently hypnotic repeated phrase ending "oh, oh, oh-oh"; the very end is all the Kristeen voices in choral unison, a cappella. "Rock Radio" is an odd, off-kilter, but utterly killer piece. (And another hilarious diatribe about the music industry.) She has tended to perform it next-to-last, and it's well worth waiting through the set for. (The other oddity is that she's taken to prefacing it with a brief version of Pink Floyd's "Mother" from =The Wall=, I think the only cover I've ever heard her do.) Her October shows saw her introduce four even newer songs. The only programmed one of the bunch is "Flash," which features a soundscape new to her work: synth bass below, bleeping repeated figures above, not so much electronica as 80s synthpop. Its mock-gentle verses mask a sardonic jab at "rock royalty"; generally it subscribes to one of her common strategies ("Top Rock Girl" et al.) of one-chord verses and big hooky choruses. A fun song. "Spin" opens with a quiet arpeggio interrupted by loud, distorted chords (a la "Fishnet" or "Devil Girl"), but stays mostly muted throughout, distinguished by a hushed tension to its rapid keyboard figures. "Buddy Boy" is a near-twin of "Final Score" which she introduced this May, and has replaced it as the set-closer. Where "Final Score" is fairly calm, "Buddy Boy" is busier but still (in her universe) on the sedate side; both let loose a bit in the chorus. It's kind of a tossup between them: a couple people who have heard both favor "Buddy Boy," but I'm more attracted to "Final Score," its spareness and extended lyrical metaphor. "Buddy Boy" does achieve an atmosphere of wistful regret. My absolute fave of the new songs is "21st Century Ride." Distantly related to the "blues triplets" ("For the Record," "Monkey on My Breast," "Breasticles," all left behind some time ago) with its steady 3/4 beat, it's her most exaggeratedly Bartokian piece, all angles and corners and Dirac functions (thanks, woj), unabashedly minor-key and bangingly dissonant: even more exactly to my taste than most of her songs. It's also one of her showiest keyboard parts. The first time she performed it I was already enjoying it so much that when she hit the final theatrical cluster chord it surprised a laugh out of me; she shot me a look, but I think she understood that it was a laugh of delight. Curiously, the three songs introduced in May, the excellent "Wake the Dead" and "Sing Like the Mississippi" plus the aforementioned "Final Score," have unfortunately dropped off the setlist for the nonce, as has the splendid "Valuable": something had to go to make room for the newer songs, I guess. Still, she has retained "Fishnet" from =Meet Miss Young...= (a good but not essential song) in every set, as well as the topnotch ballad "Devil Girl" (which I am always glad to hear); and "Incubator," absent for the first two October shows, has since returned in the leadoff slot. Even in a down year like this year I typically go to 75 or so shows and see a like number of different bands; and so it's no idle praise for me to say that this year, as was true the previous two, Kristeen Young has consistently been the most exciting performer I've seen. Some shows, of course, are better than others, within the generally high level. Perhaps the best this year was the rescheduled CMJ Festival show at CBGBs on October 12th. Kristeen went on about midnight, after two extremely loud and heavy guitar bands; but she had the inspiration to open with "Touch Tongues," and once she launched into that, the set was off to a roaring start that never let up. She is always an intense performer who =projects= (the sheer amperage of her voice assures that), but on this occasion the energy she generated was even fiercer than usual: during "Top Rock Girl" she jumped up and down so hard to the beat she nearly fell over. "Rock Radio" also was a particular highlight. In her black T-shirt with her white KY lozenge on it, she looked even more like a cartoon superhero than usual. The festival setting dictated a shortened setlist (no "Incubator" or "Devil Girl"), but one did not feel cheated. Two of the next three weekly shows back at CBs Gallery were near that level; during the other she appeared to have a cold (she called for lemon a couple songs in), but only someone who sees her frequently would have noticed the slight strain in the transition between her upper and lower registers: a first-time listener would still have been impressed. Last year, after discussing her Halloween show, I speculated on the quality of her next album. A year later no album has appeared (she's still looking for a label deal), but it seems to me now that the album that might come out in 2002 will be even stronger than the one that could have come out in 2001: she has half an album more of first-rate material to choose from. Her last eighteen months of composing have been terrific. One can't really say until the track list is finalized, but it seems likely that some worthwhile songs will fall by the wayside in the process. The result will surely be, in any case, a grade-A next album. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 15:10:28 -0500 From: meredith Subject: recent shows Hi, I've been identifying with Sandy Denny lately ... where DOES the time go?!? I have no clue, and apparently nobody else does, either. woj and I have been to just a few shows lately. On Wednesday the 8th, we went down to the Living Room in NYC to see Beth Sorrentino (of Suddenly, Tammy! fame) come out of hibernation. It was a nice set -- the piano there is horribly out of tune, but she made do. Kenny, the erstwhile bassist of ST! sat in on some songs, and she appeared to be more comfortable when he was on stage. She has written a bunch of sophisticated new songs, and I hope she can do a solo album soon. I talked to her afterwards about getting her up here for a house concert - she didn't seem too enthused by the idea, but I'll email her and see if I can change her mind. That would be amazing. Last weekend we had a complete calendar collison: a wedding on Long Island, SONiA playing at the NHFA's monthly concert series across the street, and tickets to see Jane Siberry at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport. We managed to go to the wedding (to make an ecto connection, the bride is a dead ringer for Dar Williams :) and get back to Bridgeport in time to see Jane, and fortunately my colleagues in the Folk Alliance didn't hold it against me that I blew off SONiA - most of them are huge Jane fans and wanted to hear all about it when I got back. :) (I am bummed I missed SONiA, though - -- I heard she did a great show. Not to mention that Anne Heaton opened. Argh!) Neal, I'm sorry you were disappointed in Jane's Tucson performance. I'd been thinking of encouraging my mom and dad (who just moved to the area) to go, and now I'm glad I didn't. I think she'd have been a bit too disconnected for them. That said, her Acoustic Cafe show was transcendent. She had already done one show there that night, but she didn't come across as tired at all. She was funny and typically self-deprecating and in fine voice. I didn't mind the backing tracks, though I don't think they added very much to the proceedings. Every Jane show is a unique experience. We all left very happy to have been a part of it. Rich, the owner of the Acoustic Cafe was very pleased by how things went, and Jane said from the stage that she loved the venue, so hopefully she'll be back soon. I should note that I kind liked the opening act, too. Her name was Ashley Cox, and she hails from Syracuse. She had kind of a Katell Keineg-meets-Ani DiFranco thing going on, and as horrifying as that sounds it actually worked for her. I didn't rush out to buy her CD, but I'd see her again if given the chance. The next night, woj, Sherlyn and I headed down to The Turning Point in Piermont, NY to see Susan Werner. Again, that was the second of two shows. It ended up being the best, most fun Susan Werner show I've seen in years. She was tired and kind of loopy, and the usual set list ended up going out the window. This meant we heard some songs she hasn't played in a long time, including "Got To See The Body" (with various audience members helping her when she forgot the words), as well as newer songs she doesn't do very much (she started things off with "Nefertiti's Dream", my favorite song from her new album _New Non Fiction_). She talked a lot more between songs than she has done in a while -- the Turning Point is so small (absolute legal capacity 63) that she was interacting with folks in the audience the whole time. When she went to the piano she did an impromptu revue of Oscar-winning songs that was absolutely hysterical, starting with the songs that are really really good (she did a wonderful version of "When You Wish Upon A Star"), then moving to the winning songs that totally suck (her Barbra Streisand impression has to be heard to be believed ;). Susan has standardized her set over the past year and cut down on the between-song banter, which is fine, but I'd almost forgotten just how entertaining she can be when she just lets go and loosens up. She could make a living in stand-up if (gods forbid) the music ever left her, and we just don't get to see that so much on stage any more. It was great fun to see her like that again. Last night, we went back to the Living Room to see Trina Hamlin. We got there in time to catch Sam Shaber's set, and while she started off slowly (and a bit freaked-out, as halfway through her first song a big guy who was clearly high on something burst in (almost knocking me over, as I was standing next to the door) and created a huge disruption until the sound guy was able to convince him to take it outside) but she got better as the set went on and ended with a bang. I'd never seen her do a solo gig before, only catching her as part of Live From NY -- she is just as funny alone as with her LFNY buddies. The Living Room (which is aptly named) had filled up to nearly bursting as her set went on, and most of the people stuck around to see Trina. What can I say besides she rocked?? She started off with a scorching harmonica number, and just went on from there. The sheer power of her voice will never cease to amaze me. She only did one song on the Living Room's crappy piano, which left me wanting more. But then she went back to guitar and harmonica and it was fine. :) "Down To The Hollow" almost literally brought the house down. The screaming crowd managed to convince the Living Room people to allow her to do an encore, a haunting a cappella version of Jimi Hendrix's "Angel" that was dedicated to all the victims of the various awful things that have happened to NYC lately. Stunning. It looks like she'll be playing in our living room (which has a real piano that by then will have been tuned) sometime in January. I can't wait. Celebrity sighting at The Living Room: a newly healthy Rachael Sage. :) Good to see you, Rachael!! Tonight's planned performance is the Leonid metor storm. Between 3-5 am EST, we're supposed to get the meteor event of a lifetime. In a shocking turn of events the weather here is actually forecast to be clear, so we're going to get up at oh-god-o'clock and find a dark place outside of town to go and look up. Y'all should do the same. ======================================= 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: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 22:14:42 -0600 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: millennium album? On Sat, Nov 17, 2001 at 02:27:38PM -0500, Donald G. Keller wrote: > What this adds up to, for me, is this: nearly every pop musician today is > a late 20th century artist, i.e. their music is a clear extrapolation of > their influences. But just as Stravinsky, even more than Schoenberg, was > clearly an early 20th century musician (as of =Rite of Spring=, at least), > Marianne Nowottny is one of the two pop musicians I can think of (the > other being Tricky; I say this at least partly because I haven't figured > out what he's doing) who are clearly early 21st century musicians. Depending on what you consider "pop", one other musician strikes me as clearly being in that category: Bjork. - -- |> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <| | jzitt@metatronpress.com http://www.metatronpress.com/jzitt | | Latest CDs: Collaborations/ All Souls http://www.mp3.com/josephzitt | | Comma: Voices of New Music Silence: the John Cage Discussion List | ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 01:28:30 -0500 From: Jeff Wasilko Subject: Re: New Solex album - Low Kick And Hard Bop On Sat, Nov 17, 2001 at 10:22:15AM -0500, Gabriel Laverdiere wrote: > IF you don't know who Solex is and you like trip-hop and > weird pop music, you should peek at it. Her new record is > out and it's just as good as her other 2. She uses a lot of > sampling of crummy records and plays with those. Very > interesting music. I heard the review of this on NPR Friday afternoon, and actually made a point of calling my home answering machine and leaving a message with the band's name so I wouldn't forget about it! The bits they played sounded quite tasty. I'm heading to Newbury Comix tomorrow to see what I can find... - -j ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V7 #330 **************************