From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V8 #2 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, January 3 2002 Volume 08 : Number 002 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Should auld acquaintance be forgot... [Jerene Waite ] Auld? ["Robert Lovejoy" ] Natalie Merchant interview [Sherlyn Koo ] Re: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... [Joseph Zitt ] Re: lynn canfield (and kirsty thirsk?) ["n'woj" ] Anne Heaton ["Emily Perkins" ] Kathleen Yearwood in Vancouver, BC [Neile Graham ] Discs I bought this year and love (aka Best of 2001 mostly...and one great one from 1999) [Jason Gordon Subject: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... To the ecto-sprites: After reading the latest best-of lists and beginning a new notepage of titles to seek.... I reflect that my music buying is less now that stores don't let me listen before buying. I am less likely now (after nearly a half century (!) of music purchasing to buy a cool-looking package. A half century of music purchasing? Well, ok, Mom bought the Little White Duck (Burl Ives) and I didn't actually purchase my own music until I was 9, so I have a few more years to go before making this grandiose statement true. It was a 45 for 98 cents, Dark Moon by Gale Storm, growing out of the My Little Margie days. Anyone else as old as I am here? I can still sing the entire song of course. Wondering, as Meredith mused once, what valuable information could be stored in this brain partition if I didn't have to remember the entire song.... Thank You for mp3's and on-line ordering. Progress happens. Best Musical Experience of ummm the Millenium of course: Ectofest West. Also, wondering how the Left Hand is doing.... Last night's exploration of Border's music on display netted Sigur Ros and Voices on the Verge, only 2--not 10. Best Film: I just finished watching Goodbye My Concubine, but this is too horrific for me. Obviously, I'm slow at getting to movies, but I will eventually get to the good ones. Maybe Requiem for a Dream, because of the cinematic artistry and Ellen Burstyn; slightly less horrific than GMC. A trip to Hawaii earlier last year reintroduced me to the old Hawaiian chants--the melodic language is beautifully expressed in these, exemplified in some of Vol. II of Songs from the Source "Na Kumu Hula". Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, especially Vol 3 grabbed another brain partition--I love the humor and the romance--especially when "we still dance on whirling stages in my Busby Berkely dreams." A well executed, richly woven drone is still a winner for me. I listened frequently to the Lama Gyurme/Jean-Philippe Rykiel collaboration of Vajra chants. But I am still undecided whether I prefer Randy Graves' Didgital or Michael Vetter's Overtones for absolutely enchanting, spell-binding, drone majique. I guess Vetter wins because he uses less equipment. I enjoyed Dar Williams and Melissa Ferrick and Veda Hille's continued excellent new musical releases. I expect it of them, so no surprises there, mere appreciation. Sorry. n.r. Wicked (Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West); not the most high-brow (yet), but a few lovely phrases here and there. I want a basket of simples. n.p. Power supply fan. I don't recommend it. I fade back into quiet listening, thanking y'all once again for being there as loudly as y'all are...into the neatly pallindromic new year. Jerene ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 06:59:55 -0500 From: "Robert Lovejoy" Subject: Auld? Jerene asks if anyone here is as old, but neglects to give out age! I will be 55 this February, if that helps! First music I heard was from my Dad - he was a Frankie Laine fan. I always loved music, but when I heard Freddie Cannon's "Buzz Buzz A Diddle It" as a teenager I got hooked on Rock 'n' Roll. Big time. Happy New Year everyone, Bob Lovejoy "Uncle Ecto" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2002 00:03:14 +1100 (EST) From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Natalie Merchant interview Hey folks, Happy new year to all! I haven't read it, but there's a Natalie Merchant interview at http://www.smh.com.au/news/0201/02/entertainment/entertain4.html. - -sherlyn ps - I definitely recommend the Woodford Folk Festival in Woodford, Queensland, Australia. It's definitely the biggest and most diverse festival I've ever been to. Thumbs up! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 08:17:55 -0600 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... On Wed, Jan 02, 2002 at 12:22:02AM -0800, Jerene Waite wrote: > A half century of music purchasing? Well, ok, Mom bought the Little > White Duck (Burl Ives) and I didn't actually purchase my own music until > I was 9, so I have a few more years to go before making this grandiose > statement true. It was a 45 for 98 cents, Dark Moon by Gale Storm, > growing out of the My Little Margie days. Anyone else as old as I am > here? I can still sing the entire song of course. Wondering, as > Meredith mused once, what valuable information could be stored in this > brain partition if I didn't have to remember the entire song.... I wonder what other people's first record (or other format) purchases were. My first 45 was "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by the Fifth Dimension, and my first LP (from a dollar bin) was Art Garfunkel's "Angel Clare", closely followed by the Electric Prunes' "Release of an Oath". And the first record that I got that wasn't from a cheap bin was David Bowie's "Heroes". - -- |> ~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: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 08:30:17 -0500 From: runly@hvi.net Subject: Happy New Year Just want to wish everyone a wonderful, palindromic 2002. And may the best of last year be the worst of this year. Sharon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 09:47:55 EST From: KBolin0418@aol.com Subject: Re: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... In a message dated 1/2/02 7:29:25 AM Central Standard Time, jzitt@metatronpress.com writes: << I wonder what other people's first record (or other format) purchases were. >> Vinyl: Cowsills, Captain Sad & His Ship of Fools...still have it...still like the Cowsills, still a big Continental Drifters fan. 8-track: Simon & Garfunkel greatest hits Don't remember the first CD or cassette. Karen ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 10:18:32 EST From: NeverForever22@aol.com Subject: Re:Should auld aquaintance be forgot... << I wonder what other people's first record (or other format) purchases were. >> My first music purchase (all by myself) was Madonna's Ray of Light on cassette. Happy New Year all! :-) Nancy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 18:22:54 -0000 From: "neal copperman" Subject: Re: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... Jerene Waite said: > Last night's exploration of Border's music on display netted Sigur Ros > and Voices on the Verge, only 2--not 10. Be curious to see what you think, about both. > Best Film: I just finished watching Goodbye My Concubine, but this is > too horrific for me. Obviously, I'm slow at getting to movies, but I > will eventually get to the good ones. Maybe Requiem for a Dream, > because of the cinematic artistry and Ellen Burstyn; slightly less > horrific than GMC. Um, was this Farewell, My Concubine (Chinese movie), or something else. If so, I don't think Requiem for a Dream is less horrific than that movie at all. RfaD is actually quite unpleasant to watch, though still a good movie. > n.r. Wicked (Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West); not the most > high-brow (yet), but a few lovely phrases here and there. I want a > basket of simples. I still haven't read Wicked, but if you want to stick with the Wizard of Oz theme, check out the amazing Was by Geoff Ryman. neal np: Nothing... struggling with resetting all my properties after upgrading to Real One (possibly better then Real Jukebox if I can get it to stream and after turning off all(?) logging and reporting "features".) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 13:28:35 -0500 From: "Brad Hutchinson" Subject: RE: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... My first single was "You're So Vain" by Carley (sp?) Simon. brad, returning after a year long unsub > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org]On Behalf Of > KBolin0418@aol.com > Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 9:48 AM > To: ecto@smoe.org > Subject: Re: Should auld acquaintance be forgot... > > > In a message dated 1/2/02 7:29:25 AM Central Standard Time, > jzitt@metatronpress.com writes: > > << I wonder what other people's first record (or other > format) purchases > were. >> > > Vinyl: Cowsills, Captain Sad & His Ship of Fools...still have > it...still like > the Cowsills, still a big Continental Drifters fan. > > 8-track: Simon & Garfunkel greatest hits > > Don't remember the first CD or cassette. > > Karen ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 14:50:13 -0500 (EST) From: "Donald G. Keller" Subject: bestof01 BEST ALBUMS OF 2001 ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Shipping News: =Very soon, and in pleasant company= Now that both Rodan and June of 44 are defunct, Shipping News is guitarist Jeff Mueller's main band as he carries on the post-Slint math-rock tradition. Some of the album (especially the opening "March Song") is uptempo gnarly dissonance; but much of it is quieter and more balladlike. "Quiet Victories" is a little of both: it prostrated me at their terrific Knitting Factory show in February, with its aching waves of distortion-drenched echoplexed descending chords and piercing solo-note accents, plus a riveting loud coda. It proves again (as did Slint's "Washer" on =Spiderland=) that the influences of King Crimson and Neil Young can coexist within the same consistent style. THE REST OF THE BEST (in alphabetical order): Natacha Atlas: =Ayeshteni= It felt a little weird for a couple months listening to Middle Eastern music, but I picked this up early in the year (having heard only a small sample of her work), and it has easily held on to my attention. Less eclectically "worldbeat" (crosschecked by later picking up her very solid =Gedida=) and more authentically Egyptian (crosschecked by making the acquaintance of the magisterial icon Umm Kulthum) than her previous albums, it's dominated by modal scales and powerful rhythms (especially the one with the heavy accents on beats 2 and 7 of an eight-beat cycle), even on her fascinating covers of "I Put a Spell on You" and Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas." I'm helplessly susceptible to this sort of music. Bjork: =Vespertine= Very quiet and very beautiful from beginning to end, much in the vein of "Amphibian" (unfortunately not here) which played over the end credits of =Being John Malkovich=. Exotic textures (electronic percussion noises, music boxes, Inuit choristers) support odd but very strong melodies. Her work seems to be getting subtler and less scattered while continuing to be extremely innovative. (Is she, as someone suggested, another 21st-century musician? Quite possibly.) Veda Hille: =Field Study= There's no accounting for these things, such as why I felt rather lukewarm towards Veda Hille's previous two albums but was so struck by this one from the first listen. The many passages of rapid piano figurations are particularly fascinating, and the considerable variety of compositional styles that make up the album's two "suites" keep the ear alert (though =this= ear finds the 18th century hymn grounding "Tuktoyaktuk Hymn" musically, and therefore spiritually, stale despite excellent lyrics). And a swell Brecht/Eisler song perfectly rounding things off. Marianne Nowottny: =Manmade Girl= Two hours of very unusual songs and even more unusual instrumentals, a major challenge to absorb but rewarding the effort. Amazingly accomplished music for a performer of any age. And her live performances, less dense but unafraid to vary, continue to be a fascinating counterpart. What's that old line about "I have seen the future"? Jenny Toomey: =Antidote= Long-awaited and well worth it, a double CD of highly literate, well-arranged songs by one of the most important musicians--both musically and extramusically--of the last decade or so. In November she performed some of these songs with an excellent band at the Knitting Factory, prefacing it with a 50-minute speech about the current state of the music industry, illustrating her thorough grasp of every aspect of music from creation through marketing. U.S. Maple: =Acre Thrills= From the Chicago "neo-new wave" scene, this is music at the very edge of coherence: restless atonal guitar licks, spasmodic rhythms, muttered vocals--but with just enough continuity that the brave of ear can follow. This album is a bit easier to listen to: some of it sounds a little like that other Chicago scene, math-rockers like June of 44. The most extreme of a list of fairly extreme albums. VPN: =For Nearby Stars= Followup to the 1998 Album of the Year =Small Wire=, another eleven first-rate edgy guitar-pop songs from prolific leader Austin Hughes. (There's another album's worth of older unrecorded songs, and half an album of even newer ones). Kudos in particular to the plangent guitar chords and breathtaking long coda of the opener "Flypaper"; but the quality doesn't flag after that. VPN has also been for five or six years now one of the most consistently excellent live bands in New York. shannonwright: =Dyed in the Wool= With more variety than her singlemindedly relentless =Maps of Tacit= (my Album of the Year 2000), it is by the same token less intense. Still, it gives her several directions in which to grow: the grimly dissonant rocker "Less than a Moment" which opens the disc, the orchestrated (if that's the right term) "Method of Sleeping," and the lugubrious piano instrumental "Colossal Hours" are particularly notable. She also produced the best EP of the year, =Perishable Goods=, with two variant versions of tracks from =Dyed in the Wool= (which, since I heard them first, I prefer), and a handful of others including a cover of the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke" (the encore to her excellent New York show, also notable for a hair-raising performance of "Dirty Facade" from =Maps of Tacit=). BEST 2000 ALBUM NOT HEARD UNTIL 2001: Ida: =Will You Find Me= This is the great Ida album, the core of their splendid live shows over the last several years: the gorgeous and heartrending "Maybelle" and "Don't Get Sad," the more harmonically-challenging "Down on Your Back" and "Shrug," the somewhat odder Karla Schickele songs "This Water" and "Man in Mind," and eight more songs of the same quality. The sheer beauty of their three blended voices and the surface simplicity of many of the instrumental parts makes it easy to miss at times their tremendous musical sophistication. BEST LIVE PERFORMERS (besides those mentioned above): Kristeen Young: For the third year running, not only the performer I saw the most often, but the one I found the most satisfying. The eight songs she debuted this year were among the best music I heard all year. 'Nuff said. Jane Jensen and the Dolls: Jane Jensen is a Rock Star--she has everything one could want, looks, attitude, charisma, a accessible pop-rock songs with an edge, and terrific backing band capable of keyboardy ballads and Rolling Stones covers. All she lacks is exposure and success. In the early months of the year, there was no group I saw more often, and it was always a rocking good time. Bee and Flower: Dark, mysterious, rich yet spare (and very hard to describe), Bee and Flower is one of the finest and most original bands in the New York area right now. Their upcoming album is a cinch for a future Best Album list. DISCOVERIES OF THE YEAR: Erase Errata: A California all-female band who are genuine inheritors of the early 80s tradition of bands like the Raincoats and Gang of Four: heavy dissonant counterpoint, not-quite-sung vocals, and political lyrics. What I've heard so far (their album =Other Animals= and some live tracks, though I haven't seen them in person yet) is just tremendously exciting. Joanna Erdos: =Mahalo Heart=/Nina Hynes: =Creation= If say, glibly, that Joanna Erdos is "the indie Fiona Apple" and Nina Hynes is "the Irish Bjork," it's just a quick tracking-shot to indicate the low-voiced intensity of the one and the high-voiced quirkiness of the other. Neither of these debut albums is a fully-achieved work of art, but both have enough arresting moments that I'll definitely want to hear what they do next. Suran Song in Stag: Urgent female voice, bass, drums, Gang of Four and Throwing Muses covers, heavily performance-arty shows--there's nothing quite like them (though God Is My Co- Pilot might be within a few zip codes). BEST CLASSICAL CD: Morton Feldman: String Quartet (II) I only bought a half-dozen classical CDs this year, and this is the only one I've listened to much. It's a landmark recording: Feldman's 2nd Quartet is the longest in existence, lasting between four (Kronos Quartet's abbreviated 1983 premiere) and six (Flux Quartet's live performance in New York in 2000, which I saw) hours; this performance, by the Ives Ensemble (from the Netherlands; only the third quartet to play the piece, I believe) lasts five hours, and squeezes onto four CDs (at a modest price for the import Hat Art label). Like Feldman's other late pieces, it's very quiet and very repetitive, with many beautiful and fascinating passages; I'm enjoying the opportunity to really get to know the piece. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 18:09:56 -0500 From: "n'woj" Subject: Re: lynn canfield (and kirsty thirsk?) when we last left our heroes, Andrew Fries exclaimed: >Ah, indeed. I got so excited when I found this site I didn't realise >until later how out of date it was. So, the mystery remains - what is >Lynn Canfield up to? dunno, but she does have two tracks on the latest edition of projekt records' christmas compilations, _excelsis 3: a prelude_ (if you perused her site at fbdc.com, you proably already knew that she had a track on the second excelsis compilation). she does "edelweiss" (from "the sound of music"), accompanied by jesse brown, billy herriot, megan mcginty, and brandon t. washington (a bunch of presumably urbana, illinois-based names i don't recognize) and "let your little sister pet the kitty too" (a rather humorous ditty dedicated to her cat chuck). her website is listed as www.lynncanfield.com in the excelsis 3 liner notes, but that site appears to be a somewhat-refurbished (flash!) but still incomplete site as well. you can supposedly e-mail her at lynn@lynncanfield.com if you want to ask the horse's mouth. woj n.p. angels in venice -- awake inside a dream (whoa!) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 15:53:31 -0800 From: "Emily Perkins" Subject: Anne Heaton Anne Heaton news (including a new album in Feb.), for those interested: - ---------- From: Anne Heaton Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2002 12:20 PM To: anneheaton@anneheaton.com Subject: Anne Heaton Record Release & Jan/Feb 2002 hey there ~ happy new year! :) i. record release shows ii. other january & february shows iii. buy cds (no matter where you live! :)) iv. the real deal i. Black Notebook the new full band record featuring....... Take Your Desire * Your Heart is for Breaking * Black Notebook Old Man by 21 * Too High * Spinning * Bellyside * Megan & Kevin I Want to Fly * Mary * & Melancholy will be released on February 6th. Below is a list of the record release shows..... New York City * Wed February 6 @ FEZ * 380 LaFayette St * 7pm $8 Reservations are recommended. Call (212) 533-3000 after January 9th to get your reserved seat. Chicago * Sat February 9 @ SCHUBA'S * 3159 N.Southport * 7pm $8/$10 Advance tickets avail now w/credit card at www.schubas.com For other info, call (773) 525-2508 Cambridge * Sat February 16 @ CLUB PASSIM * 47 Palmer * 8pm $8/$10 Reservations are recommended. Call (617) 492-7679. For other info, visit www.clubpassim.org ii. other shows: Decatur, GA * Tues January 29 @ Eddie's Attic with Live from New York! (LFNY) Andrew Kerr, Sam Shaber, Edie Carey, and Teddy Goldstein * Trina Hamlin opens the show * 515 N. McDonough Street * 404-377-4976 Tampa, FL * Thurs February 21 @ WMNF (Morning Interview w/Edie Carey) * (813) 238-8001 or www.wmnf.org Gainesville, FL * Thurs February 21 @ University of Florida w/LFNY * 8pm (check back for more details) Jacksonville, FL * February 22-24 * Folk Alliance Showcases * Not open to the public :( Tampa, FL * Sun February 24 * Benefit for WMNF w/Melissa Ferrick, Edie Carey & Nini Camps* Skippers Smokehouse 910 Skipper * For more info, call (813) 238-8001 or visit www.wmnf.org Fredonia, NY * Thurs February 28 * The Unicorn Series @ SUNY Fredonia w/LFNY * another email will go out at the beginning of February with any additional shows..... :) iii. how to buy the record: As of February 1st, you can buy Black Notebook at either.... www.cdbaby.com or www.folkweb.com The first 30 people who buy the record online at one of these sites will get a signed copy! :) of course, you can get signed copies at the cd release shows too...:) iv. the real deal: releasing a record is a little more complicated than i could have imagined so i thought i would explain a little about this process. it turns out that i won't be actually releasing the record in retail (stores) or to triple aaa radio until later this year. i'm really only releasing it to you the fans in february (so it's kind of like a pre-release) because we've been waiting a long while and i really wanted to make it available to you. we'll get it into stores by september 2002 (and perhaps "officially" release it then) but you have all been waiting so patiently (and me too!) so i figured it was about time. i look forward to seeing you at the shows in february and throughout the rest of the year. the rest of the 2002 tour dates will be forthcoming in the next few monthly emails and you can always check the website www.anneheaton.com (which is being completely renovated this month!) . thanks so much for your support and happy new year! :) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 16:21:43 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Kathleen Yearwood in Vancouver, BC For those in the area. - --Neile >Date: 1 Jan 2002 23:28:29 MST >From: KATHLEEN YEARWOOD > >Hi Everyone, happy new year. I'll be playing at the Railway Club in Vancouver, >BC on January 24th, and at Cafe Vasco de Gama on Commercial drive in Vancouver >on January 23rd. Opening at the Railway: Jen Paches and also Geoff Berner. >I'll be playing a special song I wrote about Vancouver, and well, it should be >fun, right? Do come. k > - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.ectoguide.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 22:57:16 -0500 From: Jason Gordon Subject: Discs I bought this year and love (aka Best of 2001 mostly...and one great one from 1999) Time for me to chime in with my top 10 [plus 10 honorable mentions] of the discs I really loved this year... In no particular order the top 10: Sophie Moleta - Dive (how can you not like a disc whose first track is called octave war - lovely and minimalistic and powerful and addictive) Jonatha Brooke - Steady Pull Rachel Sage - Painting of a Painting Veda Hille - Field Study Over the Rhine - Films for Radio Willow - Sweet Dark Demon (I can just get lost in Willow's voice - and never want find my way out of the sonic forest. Lori McKenna - Pieces of Me (a couple of her songs are what I want Patty Griffin to sound like...) Si Se - Si Se (seductive and beautiful) Club 8 - Club 8 (the most fun poppy album of the year) Oh Susana - Sleepy Little Sailor Honorable Mentions to the second 10: Amanda Thorpe - Mass Vienna Teng - Waking Hour Lamb - What Sound Brenda Weiler - Live Deb Talan - Sincerely Anja Garabek - Smiling and Waving Mira - Apart Annika Bentley - With Link, Blink and Breath Sally Taylor - Apt 6s The Nields - Live in Northampton Also a great cd that I picked up released in 1999 was Aimless's "seven stars one supernova" - the closest description I can give is to imagine Kristeen Young fronting Slowdive (web site - www.aimless.de) Best concerts of the year: Veda Hille's North American Premier of Field Study in Meth's living room, Jonatha Brooke in New Haven, and Veda/Erin McKeown/Jess Klein at Acoustic Cafe Random superlative category: 3 Songs most likely to be blasted in the car in 2001 - 1. Hooverphonic "Mad About You" / Jonatha Brooke "how deep is your love" / Poe "Walk the Walk" Happy new year and keep the wonderful music flowing from the stereo :) Jason n.p. Lily - Running From The Sky (anyone waiting for a new Susan Court album should definately check this one out - it should hold you over for a bit :) ) ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V8 #2 ************************