From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V8 #33 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Saturday, February 2 2002 Volume 08 : Number 033 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Suzanne Vega European dates? [Ellen Rawson ] Re: Suzanne Vega European dates? ["n'woj" ] new stuff (for me) [adamk@zoom.co.uk] Re: new stuff (for me) + SONiA [Sherlyn Koo ] Hi folks. [Jessica Koeppel ] Re: Hi folks. [Neile Graham ] Re: Hi folks. [Jessica Koeppel ] Re: Hi folks. [meredith ] Re: Hi Folks ["Robert Lovejoy" ] Re: Hi folks. [Andrew Fries ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 03:00:14 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ********************** Ilka Heber (no Email address) ********************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 03:55:57 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Suzanne Vega European dates? Does anyone know about Suzanne Vega's European tour? I know she's coming to Shepherds Bush Empire (where IG played this week) in March because I saw it advertised there. However, her web site has nothing past some February US dates, and I was wondering if she was playing some other gigs on this side of the pond. Ellen ===== "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 10:14:19 -0500 From: "n'woj" Subject: Re: Suzanne Vega European dates? when we last left our heroes, Ellen Rawson exclaimed: >Does anyone know about Suzanne Vega's European tour? >I know she's coming to Shepherds Bush Empire (where IG >played this week) in March because I saw it advertised >there. However, her web site has nothing past some >February US dates, and I was wondering if she was >playing some other gigs on this side of the pond. suzannevega.com is not the place to look for up-to-date info on suzanne's activities. http://www.vega.net/gigs.htm is the place to go -- and they have the other dates for europe in late february through march. woj n.p. wpkn (valerie's playing the will ackerman piece with happy's vocals - woo!) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 15:19:54 +0000 (GMT) From: adamk@zoom.co.uk Subject: new stuff (for me) Trawling through my fave Soho place, to find it an ecto Aladdin's cave -- Over the Rhine and Sarah Harmer discs going for a fiver each(both of which I got from the US over the net -- doh!)and a handful of other promising looking stuff, some of which I'd heard of, some I was just taking a chance on. I'm sure they're familiar to a lot of you out there: Juliet Turner -- Burn the Black Suit. Some really good stuff going on here --- great lyrics, a lovely Irish-accented voice, some imaginative arrangements and really engaging tunes -- all wrapped up in the worst production I've heard in ages. It all sounds like it's coming from a bucket in the basement, muddy and indistinct. Listening to it on headphones improves it a bit -- the bucket sounds like it's at least in the same room. Apart from her and Brian Kennedy joining forces to murder a Tom Waits cover, this is definitely one to watch out for, and would be classic ecto.if you could hear it. Ben Lee -- Breathing Tornadoes. This is already a couple of years old, but it's worth checking out. A sort of David Gray with a snarl in his voice, electric beats bubbling under pensive musings from left field. Although performed almost totally by Ben and his producer, Ed Bueller, there are a couple of odd guests - - - Sean Lennon does backing vocals on one track, Donovan Leitch on another, Buffy St. Marie is sampled, and Harmony Korine is co-credited on one of the songs. (Yep, Harmony Korine, filmmaker and --more importantly, imho -- grandson of Bowery Boy Huntz Hall. Now THAT's pedigree.) Ben's working on a follow-up, which promises to be a lot poppier, but he's worth keeping an ear out for. Cathie Curtis -- My Shirt Looks Good on You. Hmmm. Dunno. Average folkie songstress, Sarah Harmer minor. There's nothing wrong about it -- she sings well, her heart's in the right place and the songs kick along nicely -- but nothing particularly standout. Still, I'd buy another of hers. Just to see where it's all going. Heather Eatman -- Real and Mascara Falls. Thanks to whoever on the Patty Griffin list mentioned this. I like these, like them a lot -- kind of like Jill Sobule, without the cheeky, observational sense of humour. Count me in. adam k. np -- Tanya Donnelly/beautysleep (but that's another story..) Get your own zoom email - click here - http://www.zoom.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2002 08:18:23 +1100 From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: new stuff (for me) + SONiA Hey folks, Adam said: >Ben Lee -- Breathing Tornadoes. >This is already a couple of years old, but it's worth >checking out. Definitely worth checking out - and he's Australian too. If you like Ben Lee you might also be interested in another Australian, Alex Lloyd. Lloyd is a bit more poppy but he's in the same musical category as Ben Lee, in my head at least. >Cathie Curtis -- My Shirt Looks Good on You. >Hmmm. Dunno. Average folkie songstress, Sarah Harmer >minor. There's nothing wrong about it -- she sings well, >her heart's in the right place and the songs kick along >nicely -- but nothing particularly standout. Still, I'd >buy another of hers. Just to see where it's all going. This is Catie's last (I think her fourth?) album. It doesn't do all that much for me, although I loveloveloved her previous album, "A Crash Course in Roses". I think that one was much more ecto-friendly than the newer one. Stronger songwriting, too. I don't know if there's anybody on this list in Adelaide but if so, SONiA of disappear fear is playing at the Folk Centre on Friday Feb 8. I'll be there... Cheers, sherlyn - -- Sherlyn Koo - sherlyn@fl.net.au "Raise your hands, raise your hands high Don't take a seat, don't stand aside this time Don't assume anything - just go, go, go..." - Indigo Girls ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:29:14 -0800 (PST) From: Jessica Koeppel Subject: Hi folks. I've rejoined the list! Not that I was ever *off* it - but it's been going to a machine I haven't even logged into for over a year. I have a new job, and it's almost identical to my last job. But *i've* changed, so hopefully I will continue to take the time to be a part of this group. I've missed you guys, and I'm finding it wonderful to see so many fondly-remembered names going by. - --jessica ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 16:31:09 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Hi folks. Yay, Jessica! Welcome back! For those who don't know, Jessica was the first owner of this list--she created it and kept it running for its first several years. Delightful to see you here again! - --Neile At 1:29 PM -0800 2/1/02, Jessica Koeppel wrote: >I've rejoined the list! >Not that I was ever *off* it - but it's been going to a machine >I haven't even logged into for over a year. > >I have a new job, and it's almost identical to my last job. >But *i've* changed, so hopefully I will continue to take the >time to be a part of this group. > >I've missed you guys, and I'm finding it wonderful to see so >many fondly-remembered names going by. > >--jessica - -- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 16:56:41 -0800 From: Jessica Koeppel Subject: Re: Hi folks. Neile Graham wrote: >Yay, Jessica! Welcome back! Thanks :) I'm terribly out of the loop on good new ectophilic music of the last few years. I can't wait to get caught up. I'm curious - I missed the entire napster existence and end. Did ectophiles make use of it to share music, let people get a taste of something new and see if they liked it? More importantly now, you find that in general, most musicians that are talked about here have samples available online? I can no longer afford to just go buy every CD that anyone mentions - those were the fun days when I was irresponsible:). But now I've bought a house (yay!) and was affected by the diminishing bay area high tech market (boo!). So I'll need to be more careful, and only buy music when I know I must have it! Another question - have you guys talkedd about Fairtunes? If so, if someone could point me at where to look in the archives, that'd be great. If not, I'm curious what people think. I just became aware of it and haven't made up my mind yet. There's lots more I want to know. - --jessica ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 22:52:13 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: Hi folks. Hi, Jessica announced: >I've rejoined the list! Yay!!!!! Wow, first Greg returns, then Jessica ... it's like the good old days around here again! :) It's great to see your phosphors again!! ======================================= 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, 1 Feb 2002 22:56:57 -0500 From: "Robert Lovejoy" Subject: Re: Hi Folks Hi Jessica, Quite a few of us old names are still on the list. I read it every day, but I've become much more of a lurker than I used to be. Ecto remains fuzzy and blue, and welcome back! Bob Lovejoy ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 16:25:14 +1100 From: Andrew Fries Subject: Re: Hi folks. On Fri, 01 Feb 2002 16:56:41 -0800 Jessica Koeppel wrote: > I'm curious - I missed the entire napster existence and end. Did > ectophiles make use of it to share music, let people get a taste of > something new and see if they liked it? More importantly now, you find > that in general, most musicians that are talked about here have > samples available online? Hi Jessica - While I wasn't there for the glory days when you run the list, I can guess your significance from the enthusiastic welcome you're getting. So I thought I'd better jump on the bandwagon - welcome back! :) Now to answer your question - I certainly used Napster a fair bit, mainly to check out some more mainstream releases I wasn't completely sure about. As the result I ended up buying some, and not buying others. Those I deleted sooner or later; moral issues aside, if I wasn't interested enough to buy it, I didn't want it to clutter my disk, either. I miss Napster; my success rate with Napster downloads would be probably around 80-90% (ie,I'd be able to actually download 80-90% of the tracks listed in its database). With those totally decentralised peer-to-peer systems like Gnutella that ratio is much, much lower - it feels more like 10%. I'd be very curious to know if my dial-up connection is to blame for this, or is it something others find as well? Thankfully, most indie musicians are now well aware of the importance of the net and usually have websites and some samples available for download. I also find I cannot afford to buy records indiscriminately, and while Ecto recommendations always count, in the end my decision to buy or not to buy will usually depend on hearing those samples... - ---------------------------------------------------------------- "All I know is that I'm being sued for unfair business practices by Microsoft. Hello pot? It's kettle on line two..." - Michael Robertson, founder of Lindows - ---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V8 #33 *************************