From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V7 #344 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, December 2 2001 Volume 07 : Number 344 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Lori McKenna, Voices on the Verge shows [Jessica Byers ] George Harrison [Steve Molla ] one for the movie fans... [meredith ] Re: [EDA] Shakira [RocketsTail@aol.com] Shakira [JoAnn Whetsell ] Re: Shakira [RocketsTail@aol.com] help wanted ["Harmony Ridge Music" ] heather nova, _south_ [meredith ] favor of any Seattle Ectophiles [Brian Bloom ] Re: Shakira and other musings [JoAnn Whetsell ] Re: heather nova, _south_ [RocketsTail@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 00:11:36 -0700 From: Jessica Byers Subject: Lori McKenna, Voices on the Verge shows Hiya. Here are a few shows coming up that people might wanna check out. Lori McKenna is amazing (and she doesnt play out as much now that she's had her 4th baby). Voices on the Verge is Jess Klein, Rose Polenzani, Beth Amsel, and Erin McKeown. Not to be missed. I havent seen them live since the time they recorded the CD they just released (Live in Philadelphia), but I've heard this round of shows has been incredible. Lots of new songs and arrangements. Anyway, here are the details on all this. Jess Come out and support LORI MCKENNA as she headlines two shows at the Somerville Theater (Davis Square) in Somerville, MA on FRI DEC 7th and SAT DEC 8th 7:30pm with special guests Teddy Thompson + Rose Polenzani (DEC 7th) and Teddy Thompson + Beth Amsel (DEC 8th) and Jess Klein herself will make a few guest appearances on DEC 8th. Tickets 617-628-3390 or ticketmaster 617-931-2000 or the Somerville Theater box office. Also check out www.lorimckenna.com. Lori's new record Pieces OF ME is now in stores nationally in stores everywhere on Catalyst Disc/Signature Sounds. Voices on the Verge shows next week: www.voiceontheverge.com Sun, December 2 : Delaware, OH Ohio Wesleyan University : for more info email: kppalmer@owu.edu Free to campus and open to General Public Doors Open 6:30 : Showtime 7pm : ALL AGES! Mon, December 3 : Columbus, OH WCBE : THIRSTY EAR TAVERN : 1200 West 3rd Ave. 614-299-4987 : open to the GENERAL PUBLIC Wednesday, December 5 : Oberlin, OH Oberlin College : Cat in the Cream : 440-775-8279 Doors Open 7pm : Showtime 8pm open to general public - FREE : ALL AGES! Thurs, December 6 : Pittsburgh, PA Rosebud : 1600 Smallman Street : 412-261-2232 Doors Open 6:30pm : Showtime 7:30pm opener TBA : 21+ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 03:00:10 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: No birthdays, just a monthly listing - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Marvin Camras Sat January 01 1916 Tapehead Jeanne Schreiter Tue January 03 1967 Capricorn John Sandoval Wed January 04 1967 Capricorn Paul Cohen Tue January 05 1954 Capricorn Tony Garrity Mon January 08 1962 Pool of Life Greg Bossert Tue January 09 1962 OfTheTimes Troy J. Shadbolt Thu January 14 1971 Capricorn Chris Sampson Wed January 15 1964 Void where prohibited Dennis G Parslow Fri January 17 1964 ...of the Saint Ross Alford Thu January 17 1957 Positive Nancy Whitney Mon January 19 1959 slippery when wet Sarah Noelle Pratt Ferguson Tue January 20 1970 Seanympf-Aquarius David Beery Tue January 20 1976 drum Terry Partis Sun January 22 1933 Rocker Sarah McLachlan Sun January 28 1968 Aquarius Ilka Heber Mon February 01 1965 Mermaid Bob Lovejoy Sun February 02 1947 Aquarius Diane Burke Sat February 02 1963 slow children Timothy S. Devine Tue February 03 1970 Aquarius Stephen Thomas Fri February 04 1966 Aquarius Doug Burks Tue February 14 1956 Blank Jim Sturnfield Thu February 18 1954 Aquarius Juha Kannisto Wed February 18 1970 Aquarius Joel Siegfried February 19 Penguin Crossing Linda Saboe Tue February 20 1951 aimless Teresa Ross Wed February 23 1977 pisces Michael Curry Fri February 24 1967 Pisces Paula Shanks Mon February 25 1952 Pisces Brni Mojzes Fri February 26 1965 the vanishing boy Pamela Pociluk Fri February 28 1964 Pisces Peter Clark Thu March 04 1948 Pedestrian Tim Steele Fri March 08 1963 Pisces Matt Bittner Thu March 12 1964 Pisces kIrI Hargie Fri March 13 1970 Pisces Bob Dreano Thu March 13 1958 Pisces Randall K. Smith Sat March 15 1969 Pisces Jessica Skolnik March 16 Pisces Alan Sodoma Thu March 18 1965 LuckyLurker Richard Konrad Sat March 18 1944 Pisces Barry Wong Thu March 19 1970 Merlin Graham Dombkins Fri March 19 1965 Pisces Ian Young Wed March 19 1969 Squiggol Jeff Wasilko Wed March 19 1969 Pisces Geoff Carre Sat March 20 1954 Pisces John Stewart Sat March 21 1970 Aries Bob Brown Thu March 22 1951 Ham Valerie Nozick Thu March 25 1971 Aries Tom Proven Sat March 27 1971 Eat at Joe's Jennifer Albert Wed March 30 1966 Aries (w/Cancer rising!:) Warpaint Mon April 01 1991 Brilliant! Michael Pearce Wed April 03 1946 Pegasus Michael E. Bravo Mon April 05 1971 Dandelion Wine Brion McIntosh Sun April 06 1958 Aries Marcel Kshensky Thu April 06 1950 Aries Bill Mazur Mon April 06 1953 Aries Sun/Cancer Rising David Dixon Tue April 07 1970 Aries Heidi Heller Mon April 08 1974 Aries Jill Hughes Sat April 09 1955 Aries Klaus Kluge Sun April 10 1960 Unicorn Steve VanDevender Sun April 10 1966 Racer Art Liestman Fri April 10 1953 Repeat Stephen Golden Sat April 10 1971 Jokey Michael Bowman Wed April 11 1962 Aries Wolfgang Ullwer Fri April 11 1969 Widder Janet Kirsch Thu April 11 1974 Aries Jerry Tue April 13 1971 Aries Stuart Myerburg Mon April 14 1969 Aries T-Bone Wed April 15 1992 happy cat Jeff Hanson Sat April 16 1966 Aries Michael Klouda Mon April 17 1967 Aries Harry Foster Sat April 21 1956 NiceGuy Kjetil Torgrim Homme Thu April 23 1970 Taurus Jeff Burka Thu April 24 1969 GoFlyAKite Christine Waite Tue April 25 1972 Taurus Matt Adams Thu April 26 1962 Taurus Brad Hutchinson Tue April 28 1964 What sign? Geoff Parks Sun April 30 1961 Taurus Marty Lash Sat May 01 1948 Taurus Barney Parker Fri May 02 1986 happy cat Gray Abbott Tue May 03 1955 Suprised Tamar Boursalian Tue May 03 1966 Taurus Richard A. Holmes May 07 Taurus Steve Ito Fri May 08 1970 DA Bull... Brian Gregory Thu May 09 1963 Eclectic Heidi Maier Wed May 10 1978 Taurus Patrick Varker Wed May 12 1954 Torius Philip David Morgan Sat May 12 1962 Chinese Tiger in Bull Clothing Steve Fagg Tue May 13 1958 Nightwol Karel Zuiderveld Fri May 13 1960 Stier Michael Colford Wed May 16 1962 Taurus Christopher Boek Tue May 19 1970 Taurus *Julia Macklin Mon May 20 1968 ethereus Yngve Hauge Fri May 21 1971 Gemini Lisa Laane Tue May 22 1973 Gemini Jewel Kilcher Thu May 23 1974 The Gem Chandra Sriram Thu May 27 1971 Gemini Urs Stafford Thu May 31 1973 Give Way Perttu Yli-Krekola Thu June 02 1966 Kaksoset Alex Gibbs Thu June 08 1967 Betelgeuse Gleb Zverev Tue June 09 1964 Gemini Sonja Juchniewich Mon June 10 1963 Pegasus Joerg Plate Mon June 12 1967 Gemini Chris Montville Tue June 13 1978 Gemini Ectoplasm (original name) Mailing List Thu June 13 1991 Fuzzier blue Paul Huesman Wed June 14 1967 coffee drinker Mark R. Susskind Wed June 15 1966 Gemini Mike Matthews Mon June 16 1969 Sr. SAFH Albert Philipsen Mon June 17 1968 Gemini Neal R. Copperman Thu June 17 1965 Gemini Susan Kay Anderson Tue June 17 1969 Gemini Ecto-The Mailing List Tue June 18 1991 Fuzzy blue Tracy Barber Mon June 18 1956 Gemini Greg Dunn Thu June 18 1953 + Paul Blair Thu June 18 1964 Objectivist Mike Connell Sat June 18 1955 Apollo David Lubkin Fri June 20 1958 OurLady Marisa Wood Fri June 20 1969 Gemini Cheri Villines Sun June 20 1965 Gemini-Leo rising Ray Misra Sat June 20 1970 Gemini Nik Popa Sun June 22 1969 Cancer Teresa VanDyne Thu June 23 1960 Cancer Dave Torok Mon June 24 1968 Cancer Ethan Straffin Thu June 24 1971 Cancer Kevin Dekan Mon June 27 1960 Cancer Samantha Tanner Tue June 30 1970 Wild Goose BunkyTom Tue July 02 1968 Cancer Anders Hallberg Tue July 03 1962 Cancer Kevin Harkins Thu July 05 1973 Cancer Laurel Krahn Mon July 05 1971 Cancer John J Henshon Mon July 05 1954 The Year Of The Horse / Ruled By The Moon Jim Gurley Mon July 06 1959 Cancer Lisa Wilson Fri July 08 1960 Moonchild with Java Rising Courtney Dallas Fri July 09 1971 Catte Michael Peskura Sat July 09 1949 HallOfFamer Finney T. Tsai Sat July 09 1966 Cancer Larry Greenfield Tue July 11 1950 Virgo Rising; Gemini Moon Marion Kippers Tue July 13 1965 Kreeft Ellen Rawson Thu July 13 1961 Double Cancer Mitch Pravatiner Mon July 14 1952 Cancer Rich R. Wed July 14 1954 Cancer John Zimmer Sun July 16 1961 Cancer Dan Stark Sun July 16 1961 Cancer Cathy Guetzlaff Mon July 18 1955 Cancer Vlad Sat July 18 1970 Warning: severe tire damage Jani Pinola Thu July 20 1972 Jonquil Alvin Brattli Sun July 27 1969 Lefthanded Christy Eger Smith Thu July 27 1944 Horse Crossing Shirley Ye July 27 Lioness woj Sun July 28 1968 children at play John Relph Sat July 28 1962 Leo Bob Kollmeyer Wed July 28 1971 Leo Steve Lusky Tue July 29 1952 Bike! Kate Bush Wed July 30 1958 God Chuck Smith Wed July 30 1958 Reboot Yves Denneulin Fri July 30 1971 Lion-Heart Joel Kenyon Wed July 31 1963 Leo Eli Brandt August 05 Leo Amanda Williams Tue August 05 1969 phoenix Martin Bridges Sat August 08 1970 BigGuy Rosana L. de Oliveira Wed August 08 1973 Leo Happy Rhodes Mon August 09 1965 HolyGhost Michael Stevens Sat August 12 1967 For Sale or Lease Loretta Pontillo Tue August 15 1978 Leo Queen of the Jungle Martin Dougiamas Wed August 20 1969 Positive Tori Amos Thu August 22 1963 Leo Sam Warren Tue August 22 1961 Leo Henk Van Wulpen Sat August 22 1970 Leo Kerry White Wed August 22 1951 Exact Leo/Virgo Don Gibson Wed August 26 1959 Virgo Marcel Rijs Mon August 31 1970 A rose growing old Meredith Tarr Wed September 01 1971 Virgo Scott Zimmerman Mon September 04 1972 Virgo Mike Mendelson Fri September 04 1964 Virgo 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 Lord Tyr Mon September 24 1979 Libran 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 Dan Riley Sun October 08 1961 Libra Neile Graham Wed October 08 1958 pen Quenby M. Chunco Tue October 08 1968 Crunchy Frog Mike Garland Wed October 08 1952 Creature_of_the_Night Irvin Lin Tue October 09 1973 Libra Michael C. Berch Wed October 10 1956 No parking Chris Gagnon Sat October 10 1970 Libra Wolfgang Drotschmann Thu October 13 1966 Waage Gracescape Fri October 13 1967 unbalanced Brian Bloom Tue October 14 1969 spam Erik N. Johnson Tue October 16 1962 Handle with Care Kim Klouda Tue October 17 1967 Libra Anthony Amato Sat October 20 1973 Libra Suzanne DeCory Tue October 22 1968 Balancing Libra Dave Steiner Sat October 24 1959 Scorpio Tara MacLean Thu October 25 1973 Scorpio Elin Sjoelie Fri October 25 1974 Scorpio Jessica Koeppel Wed October 29 1969 Scorpio Kathy Clark Sat November 01 1969 Bunnies Katie Dougiamas Sat November 02 1974 Scorpio Anthony Horan Fri November 04 1966 Positive Michael Sullivan Mon November 05 1962 Scorpio Anna Pryde Wed November 05 1975 Scorpio Sun; Sagittarius Moon; Pisces Rising Jens Brage Sun November 08 1964 Scorpio Rising Lynn Garrett Sat November 08 1958 Scorpio Sam Murgie Fri November 08 1957 Scorpio Rachel Kramer Bussel Mon November 10 1975 Scorpio Ken Latta Sun November 11 1951 Scorpio *Craig Gidney November 11 Scorpio Michael Doyle Wed November 12 1969 Scorpio Marla Tiara Tue November 13 1973 Scorpio Dave Cook Mon November 15 1971 Scorpio Jeff Pearce November 16 Orpheus Naama Avramzon Mon November 18 1974 Scorpio Jeff Smith Mon November 19 1962 Crash Kevin Bartlett Fri November 21 1952 Scorpio Claudia Spix Wed November 23 1960 Schuetze Anja Baldo Tue November 23 1965 Garbanzo Tommy Persson Wed November 25 1964 Sagittarius Pat Tessitore November 26 Sagittarius Valerie Kraemer November 26 Sagittarius Justin Bur Fri November 27 1964 Sagittarius Sue Trowbridge Sun November 27 1966 Skytten Ward Kadel Tue November 29 1977 Sagittarius Jesse Hernandez Liwag Wed November 29 1972 Water Rat Mirko Bulaja Sat November 30 1974 Block Juha Sorva Thu December 02 1976 Sagittarius Chip Lueck Thu December 05 1968 Sagittarius Michele Wellck December 08 Sagittarius Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Renee Canada Tue December 13 1977 Sagittarius Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti Sat December 15 1956 queen_nefertiti@prodigy.net Damon Harper Tue December 16 1975 COOL BANANAS Laura Clifford Tue December 17 1957 Sagittarius Dirk Kastens Tue December 17 1963 Sagittarius Milla Wed December 17 1975 Sagittarius Chris Schernwetter Tue December 17 1974 Sagittarius Sherry Haddock Sat December 17 1960 Sagittarius Tracy Benbrook Tue December 18 1973 Sagittarius Mark Lowry Mon December 22 1969 Capricarius Kay Cleaves Wed December 22 1976 Prancing Pony Uli Grepel Wed December 25 1968 Steinbock Joseph Wasicek Sat December 25 1976 Brown Eagle Stuart Castergine Mon December 30 1963 You Are Here ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 08:58:28 -0500 From: Steve Molla Subject: George Harrison And then, there were two... :^( Steve http://www.siscom.net/~smolla/jewelry2.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 12:32:06 -0500 From: meredith Subject: one for the movie fans... Hi, I know there are a few fans of Luc Besson and his film _The Professional_ out there, so I'm passing this tidbit along from AintItCoolNews: >Rumors and stories are popping up all over the place online. Depending >where you go, Natalie Portman has signed on for the sequel... to Luc >Besson will do it if Natalie does it.... to they're all set to go.... to >they are in >negotiations. This is, of course, all complete unsubstantiated rumor but who knows. Harry Knowles tends to get the real scoop more often than not. I suppose I should see _The Professional_ sometime... ======================================= 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, 1 Dec 2001 13:05:33 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Re: [EDA] Shakira I find her incredibly talented and not to mention mesmerizingly beautiful...watching her perform is almost religious lol. I've never been a fan of "Latin music" persay but I've been listening to her English cd non-stop and love the rock influence in her music...of course once she masters our language a little better she'll be a kick-ass songwriter too. I think I'm in love with her haha. Her SPanish songs (check out "inevitable") are amazing, her voice just grabs me. -eric ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 13:46:47 -0500 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: Shakira I like Shakira's music a lot. I have _Pies Descalzos_ _Donde Estan Los Ladrones_ and _MTv Unplugged_, all of which I think are really good, particularly the studio albums. I was curious many months back when I heard she was working on an English language album. I was excited when I first heard she had a new album, weirded out when I saw the cover. I can understand the urge to do the cross-over thing, whether that came from her, the record company, or both. But Shakira was a good singer and songwriter in Spanish and a beautiful woman as a brunette. I readily admit being annoyed seeing her dye her hair blond and vamp around like Britney Spears. (I think she looks terrible, and no, I am not against people changing their hair color, though I do think people generally look better with their natural color). Of course, now she is getting attention, mentions in mainstream magazines, and late-night appearances on the talk shows and SNL. I was ready for Laundry Service to be disastrous. Surprisingly (to me at least), it may be a good album. I have only heard a few clips from her website, and couldn't get these to come in clearly. But the first single "Whenever, Wherever" is catchy and still employs that blend of rock, Latin, and Middle Eastern sounds she has, and the traditional instruments are used on the album. I will probably pick it up sometime, on sale or used. If you have any interest in her at all, I really recommend the albums I mentioned above. JoAnn np: Dar Williams _Out There Live_ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 14:49:26 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Re: Shakira I knew nothing about Shakira until she started the cross-over but I think she looks AMAZING and watching her perform is nearly a religious experience haha. I have "laundry service" and am blown away, I can't wait until she masters English enough to become a kick-ass songwriter like she is in Spanish. her song "inevitable" in Spanish is amazing!!!!!! That's all for now. -eric MP3.COM- The Bubblegum Complex "The music with that fresh squeezed lemon taste" Support Indie Rock!!!!!! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 13:38:11 -0800 From: "Harmony Ridge Music" Subject: help wanted Hi, I'm looking for some part time help, about 10 hours per week to start and possibly more in the near future. The most important technical skills are knowledge of HTML, Real Audio, MP3's and a basic image-editing program such as Photoshop. Also some other experience in the following would be helpful: FTP Lotus Approach data base PageMaker Scanning Abilities Word For Window OCR General PC skills For convenience sake it would be nice if you lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, but that certainly is not a necessity. The most important qualification however, is a love of music. That why I'm looking for an ECTO person, because that's a given for sure. If interested please respond to me privately at so that I can supply you with additional details. Kind regards, Jack Sutton Harmony Ridge Music www.hrmusic.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 18:36:51 -0500 From: meredith Subject: heather nova, _south_ Hi, This week a large pile of CDs arrived in the mail (I keep waiting for postal inspectors to show up on our doorstep for getting too many packages). One of them was Heather Nova's new one, _South_. It pains me to have to say that a Heather Nova disc sucks, but this one does. I really can't recommend it, especially if, like me, your favorite albums of hers are the live ones (_Blow_ and _Wonderlust_). She sounds like she's trying to buy a #1 hit. There are drum machines, which in themselves aren't totally evil, except that she uses the pre-programmed presets on them, so they're just unnecessary. She also doesn't really sound like herself, more like any off-the-rack bimbo-of-the-week diva you'd see on the cover of "Rolling Stone". There are only two tracks that really sound like Heather Nova songs, and that to me isn't worth the price of admission. It's disappointing, but I guess I should've known this was coming. This is the direction she's been heading in, starting with _Oyster_ and continuing with _Siren_. YMMV, but I'm guessing more ectophiles will lean toward my opinion of it than not. Buyer beware. ======================================= 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, 01 Dec 2001 16:11:30 -0800 From: Brian Bloom Subject: favor of any Seattle Ectophiles Howdy all, I wanted to tap the collective goodwill of the Seattle-area ectophiles and see if anyone there could help me out. One of my good friends was only able to get a flight out of SeaTac rather than the "right next door" PDX. Her flight is Sunday Dec 23 at 11 am. She is going to be gone for two weeks and parking at the airport would cost a small fortune so she wanted to find out if anyone would be willing to do one of any of the following: 1) Let my friend (her name is Kerrita) pick them up that morning and take them to the airport, where Kerrita would then be able to catch her plane. The generous ectophile would then drive Kerrita's car back to their own place and park it someplace hopefully safe for the next two weeks. Then when Kerrita returns the night of Jan 4, either pick her up from the airport or at least be on a safe bus route so Kerrita can get back to her car... 2) Alternately, Kerrita could meet you at the airport if you have someone (say a friend or spouse) that could drop you off there. Kerrita would turn her car over for you to drive back to wherever, and the rest is basically the same as #1. 3) If you're on a bus route, and have some floor or couch space, perhaps you could act as a one-night ectohostel for Kerrita to drive up the night before, crash at your place, and have enough time to take a bus or shuttle to the airport. Again, safe parking would help. At least this way, no one has to drive Kerrita's car. The whole dilemma stems from the fact that SeaTac is about 2.5 hours away for us Vancouverites (the ones south of you guys, not the BCers ;) and the airports want that 2 hour arrival window on top of it, so it would be very hard for her to otherwise make it up there that morning and not risk everything on a late bus or missed connection. Plus being so close to Christmas, her options are somewhat limited by the fact that every friend she has in Seattle is already planning on being out of town by that weekend. If anyone can help, or offer any suggestions, that would be great. Kerrita is an artisan and has promised a gift along the lines of some custom earrings or something similar to anyone who helps her out. Thanks! Brian (mooman) Vancouver, WA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Dec 2001 19:11:15 -0500 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: Re: Shakira and other musings Well, Shakira will be on SNL tonight, so anyone who wants to can check her out. I will do so, and with an open mind. I don't mean to get into a big thing about this. I think we've all heard plenty of debates about artists evolving, changing themselves, whether it's different styles or different languages. And I am supportive of people changing, experimenting, trying new things, even if I don't like the results. What I don't like is the impetus to change often coming from outside, that people change themselves (and/or their labels change them) to appeal to mass market white American tastes. There are, of course, many people who look outside the box, outside their own culture/geographical area/language/race, etc., like the many people on ecto, but there are many more people who don't. I don't mean to suggest that Shakira (or any other artist) shouldn't change themselves. Or that anybody who hasn't heard of her before is only interested in mass market tastes. Only that it's another example of how going mainstream can bring success. Not that she wasn't mainstream before. She's always been a pop artist, and she wore tight clothes before. I think she's a good pop artist. It would just be nice to see more people expand themselves to different kinds of artists. On a tangent, I think of rap music, which is often denigrated here, and which started off as an empowering/validating form of music. And as it evolved, and now that the primary consumers are young white men, activist artists are marginalized. This musical form that started off by bringing marginalized people's sounds, issues, experiences, feelings to a larger, mainstream audience became mainstream. And now you rarely have innovation or intelligence in it. And groups that are good who become mainstream, stay only for a bit. What happened to Arrested Development after they won the best new artist grammy? They released a second album that was musically and politically more interesting than their first--and it went nowhere. I won't stay on this topic much as I don't know enough about it. And I've kind of lost my train of thought. But it's nice to introduce partially thought-through thoughts here, to have the ability and the right to, at the risk of inducing argument. At the same time, I welcome argument, because I think people too much (including myself) want to play it safe and don't want to argue, don't want to be accused of being bigoted or whatever. I don't think people will get anywhere until they stop being afraid of stepping on other's toes. That said, I'm NOT trying to start an argument. Only that if someone has something to say, I'd rather they say it. After all, I'm a perfectly reasonable person, rather mercurial, and capable of and willing to change my mind if given good reason. JoAnn np: Erin McKeown, Monday Morning Cold ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 19:28:18 EST From: RocketsTail@aol.com Subject: Re: heather nova, _south_ I hate to agree but I'm going to lol. Now, the CD is not all that bad if you scratch out Heather's name and just think of it as "someone else" because then you don't think of things like "Walk this world" or "Glowstars" when you're listenign to it. There are a few good tracks on the cd but none of them are Heather Nova...some fans are arguing that she's trying new things but to me it's more like she wants to be famous REALLY bad. Even the lyrics to the songs don't seem like Heather. I accepted "Heart and Shoulder" and "london rain" as viable "singles" to help sell SIREN to record companies but SOUTH is just too much. "Heaven Sent" is the only song that stands out in my mind right now, and it's pure pop radio too. Oh well. -eric ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V7 #344 **************************