From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V10 #84 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, March 25 2004 Volume 10 : Number 084 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: ecto-digest V10 #82 ["jessica weiser" ] CD Baby Finds ["Collected Sounds" <1234@collectedsounds.com>] new(ish) stuff ["Adam K." ] Fancy meeting you here... [Paul Blair ] Re: Indigo Girls [Lauren Young ] Re: Indigo Girls [Sherlyn Koo ] Re: Folk? Alliance musings (long) [neal copperman ] Re: Vienna Alert ["Doug" ] Radio Paradise ["Doug" ] Susan Robkin ["Doug" ] Re: Indigo Girls ["JoAnn Whetsell" ] Re: Vienna Alert [Ethan Straffin ] Re: Vienna Alert [meredith ] Re: Fwd: Susan McKeown on NPR this week [fingerpuppets ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 07:29:39 -0500 From: "jessica weiser" Subject: Re: ecto-digest V10 #82 Wade writes: > I was going to pickup a copy, but it looks like they are currently out of > stock. :-( > Ack! I'm sorry guys, for some reason I got a bunch of normal sales--people who hadn't even seen the $5 sale yesterday and I didn't realize CD Baby was so low in merch from me... I will send them some this weekend so they'll be back in stock asap. :) jessica - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - jessica weiser :: www.jessicaweiser.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 08:47:03 -0600 From: "Collected Sounds" <1234@collectedsounds.com> Subject: CD Baby Finds Jason gave us his list then wrote: > anyone else trawl anything else of interest? Well, first I have to say I'm happy you got TERAMI HIRSCH + DAN LLOYD: from the ash...it's really nice! I also am a fan of Bob & Wendy. Both those CDs are good. I hope you like them. I also got Julia Macklin (I have "Half Wild" and LOVE it). I also was interested in Kate Schutt's but decided against it. But here's my list: 1 of: CHARITY KAHN: firstborn 1 of: GABRIELA KULKA: between miss scylla and a hard place 1 of: MONIQUE BERRY: monique berry 1 of: JESSY GREENE: blue sky 1 of: KAREN IRES: karen ires 1 of: REY: hidden vibrations <--wanted to throw in a random male and this one was interesting 1 of: HOLLY FIGUEROA: dream in red 1 of: KYLER: a flower grows in stone 1 of: JULIA MACKLIN: julia macklin I would have picked more, but the site was so damn slow it took me all day as it was. I ran out of paitence. Anyone else? ~Amy Lotsberg Producer, Collected Sounds www.collectedsounds.com (Jason't picks for those who deleted it: > but i did manage to pick up a bunch of random stuff - a small > tax refund was eating a hole in my pocket I guess :) > 1 of: VORTEX: vortex ($5.00 each) > 1 of: TERAMI HIRSCH + DAN LLOYD: from the ash ($5.00 each) > 1 of: DEEPFRIED: incense ($5.00 each) > 1 of: BELLEHORSE: time now ($5.00 each) > 1 of: ARIN SIMONIAN: all these wounds ($5.00 each) > 1 of: CAITLIN JAENE: a million for ten ($5.00 each) > 1 of: JULIA MACKLIN: julia macklin ($5.00 each) > 1 of: BOB AND WENDY: little light ($5.00 each) > 1 of: BOB AND WENDY: behind the blue ($5.00 each) > 1 of: KATIE BARBATO: the tapestry room ($5.00 each) > 1 of: JENNIFER PASKOW: somewhere to rest my head ($5.00 each) > 1 of: CARLA RYDER: acoustic & live ($5.00 each) > 1 of: RENEE COLOGNE: the opposite of ($5.00 each) > > the other most interesting disc I saw was Kate Schutt's album > called Brokenwing (which I already own)... > > anyone else trawl anything else of interest? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:15:33 -0000 From: "Adam K." Subject: new(ish) stuff I've just ordered some new stuff (new eliza gilkyson & sarah harmer) from the states, so i thought i'd clear the mental decks and vent unwarranted opinion about my last batch. Poverty means I can't join in the cdbaby feeding frenzy, but still, god bless the current rate of exchange for such things as I spring for. (does any of this make sense? i've been reading jacobean tragedy all night. it's kinda catching) Disclaimer: The following is, naturally, IMHO. Take it or leave it. Jonatha Brooke/Back in the Circus: This has gotten a lot of flack from the cyber-critics at amazon, especially her decision to include, on her first album in three years, not one but three covers. Thing is, I think they work, and really well. So, she does "Fire and Rain", but she has the voice for it, which on this album I think is stronger than ever. And you've got to admire her for taking on Alan Parson's "Eye in the Sky" and winning, hands down. After the "rawk" leanings of Steady Pull, she pares things back, again, even dabbling in electronica and simple pulses and programmed drum beats. It's daring, and I think she pulls it off. I was disappointed by a lot of artists this year, so I approached this with trepidation, but I was far from disappointed -- I love this album, and I just hope to god she comes to England this year. Vienna Teng/Warm strangers: I think Vienna was just about getting started when I joined this list, and I kind of went along, originally, out of curiousity and newbie curtesy. I thought her debut was really good, and certainly way ahead of the usual Toriaoke's. This, however --- this is fantastic. I can't stop playing this album, and "Harbour" hasn't left my head for the last month. For me, this is such a perfectly realised, structured and executed album, full of such jagged beauty and tenderness and energy, it's taken a running leap into my BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR SO FAR category. I'm amazed because I expected the usual 2nd album syndrome, more of the same, but instead I find she's blossomed and moved forward with determination and class. Here's hoping she also makes it to the UK sometime soon. Indigo Girls/All That We Let In: Umm, excuse me while I climb into my flame-proof suit......there, that should come in handy. So: The girls continue their steady drift to the Middle of the Road, asleep at the wheel, the radio tuned to an easy-listening station. This doesn't have anything as cheesy as the sax break on their last album's You've Got to Show, nor any song quite as dire as Andy from the one before that, and it certainly picks up about halfway through, but...well, Amy finally turns out (IMHO, just to repeat myself) a dud -- the shuffling ska beat of Heartbreak for Everyone has got to be her worst song yet, and typifies what's going wrong, for me, here. They now seem content to produce -- on the whole -- nice, tuneful, clap-along, singalongs, with simplistic, inoffensive lyrics, stuffed full of folksy homilies. Just when we need the anger and commitment that they are more than capable of, they seem happy to sit on their front porch and whittle and strum. There are still a few good songs here, definitely, but they're mostly down to Amy (once you get past that dud, Cordova stands out a mile). Emily, whose songwriting burned so fiercely in Swamp Ophelia and Shaming of the Sun, seems to have settled back into pleasant whimsy. I think my disappointment is disproportionate to the virtues of this album, though: It's inoffensive, pleasant enough and very listenable. And that's about it. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:57:46 -0500 From: Paul Blair Subject: Fancy meeting you here... I was just in Austin, Texas for a few days; on Saturday I was flipping channels and stopped on KOOP where something sounded familiar. Let's see, girl with a piano... sounds like... is that Rachael Sage? Sure sounds like Rachael Sage. It was Rachael Sage, in town for SXSW. I've never heard a radio host gush so much. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:03:46 -0800 (PST) From: Lauren Young Subject: Re: Indigo Girls Hi Adam, > Indigo Girls/All That We Let In: Umm, excuse me while I climb into > my > flame-proof suit......there, that should come in handy. So: The > girls > continue their steady drift to the Middle of the Road, asleep at > the wheel, > the radio tuned to an easy-listening station. > I think my disappointment is disproportionate to the virtues of > this album, > though: It's inoffensive, pleasant enough and very listenable. > And that's about it. I'm glad to see your review of the new Indigo Girls. As a matter of fact I was planning to post to the list to see if anyone yet had anything to say about this. You've reinforced my expectations. Up through Shaming of the Sun, I pretty much would buy anything IG unheard, knowing that I'd love it. IMHO the Indigo Girls only got better and better up through Swamp Ophelia. Shaming of the Sun was a step down for me, especially at first, but I came to appreciate their attempt to rock a little harder as time went on. Some of Amy's songs (Shed Your Skin; Cut It Out) sacrificed tunefulness for anger, but she wrote some real gems (Shame on You; Hey Kind Friend, easily the album's high point for me). Emily's songs were more consistent but less interesting. (Admittedly I've always preferred Amy's more rock-oriented writing and singing.) And then, Come on Now Social...this is where the bottom fell out for me. Virtually everything here seemed like an experiment rather than a song, and nothing really stuck. There are a couple of traditional IG songs but the weren't particularly interesting ones. The oversize guest list seemed to be little more than overcompensation for songs that weren't finished. Become You was billed as a return to the older IG style, but for me it was more like a whole album of the blander stuff from Come on Now Social. I've listened to this a number of times and can't remember a single song except Moment of Forgiveness...probably because it's first. It sounds like All That We Let In is more of the same. I guess I'll give it a pass for now and content myself with the new Meshell Ndegeocello and Joan Armatrading. I'd be very interested to hear if the CD grows on you, though. Lauren np: Richard and Linda Thompson, "First Light" nr: Brooke Kroeger, "Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are" __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 07:57:56 +1100 From: Sherlyn Koo Subject: Re: Indigo Girls Hey folks, On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:03:46 -0800 (PST), Lauren Young wrote: >It sounds like All That We Let In is more of the same. I guess I'll >give it a pass for now and content myself with the new Meshell >Ndegeocello and Joan Armatrading. I'd be very interested to hear if >the CD grows on you, though. I've had "All That We Let In" for the better part of a week now. I haven't had a chance to give it a really dedicated listen but based on about half a dozen spins in the car I'm glad to report that the album definitely is growing on me. I was worried it wouldn't. I still can't really tell Emily's songs apart yet but I've got a fairly good handle on Amy's songs and man, some of them are good! "Tether" is a big old Southern Rock Ballad and I can't wait to hear it live. "Dairy Queen" is another fine effort. I generally agree with what Adam said about "Heartache for Everyone" and yet... I haven't been able to get the chorus out of my head for five days, so it must be doing something right. I've basically followed the same progression as Lauren - I love each of their earlier albums on a scale that's roughly exponential, culminating with "Swamp Ophelia", which is possibly my favourite album of all time. Then it pretty much drops back down again - I like each succeeding album less than the previous one. The last few years have been weird for me because I really thought that IG were going to be *it* for me, forever. But I guess not. On the earlier albums I generally thought that Emily brought the songcraft and musicianship, and Amy brought the passion. That's pretty much changed ever since "Swamp Ophelia" - Amy's songwriting seems to be getting better and better and she still has as much passion as she ever did, while it feels that Emily just keeps going over and over the same ground. But I don't know. I'll keep listening until either I "get it", or I'm forced to admit that Emily just doesn't speak to me at this current place in my life. On a somewhat related note - SONiA from disappear fear has a new album called "No Bomb Is Smart". It's currently only available at shows (which is fine for me since she's been here in Australia for the better part of the last 3 months) but I think will be shipping via Amazon from April 14. This is a *fantastic* album, full of great songs and - as an added bonus - it has harmonies from Cindy all over it. I'm giving this album 10 out of 10 and definitely recommend any disappear fear, SONiA or IG fans check it out. Cheers all, sherlyn - -- Sherlyn Koo | sherlyn@pixelopolis.com | Sydney, Australia ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:47:21 -0700 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: Folk? Alliance musings (long) At 9:35 AM -0800 3/18/04, Jerene Waite wrote: >Myshkin: http://www.myshkinsrubywarblers.com/index.html Wonderful, >rich voice; interesting, well-crafted musical execution; but somehow >I don't connect. Why is that? I don't find her passion. I thought >that might be less of a problem on a cd, but somehow it is still. I really love Myshkin, but it seems like she's been kind of low energy and distant the last few times I've seen her. She's also doing a mellower, jazzier thing then she was doing when I first saw her a few years ago. But I still love her singing and her songwriting. And, at Folk Alliance, I thought her set with the Ruby Warblers was stellar. I think maybe she needs people to play with to keep pushing her. >In contrast, the Ginn Sisters are less musically expert, but their >harmonies and their expression are nicely dramatic and compelling. >They have a cd called Generally Happy, but I didn't get one there >and I can't find a webpage for them or a source to order from. :-( I thought they were a lot of fun. A little on the lite side, but quite entertaining. A touch rough too, but killer harmonies and occasionally letting lose into a bit of Maria McKee territory. I think they'll be someone to watch. >Sons of the Never Wrong http://sons.com/ include Bruce Roper, >Deborah Lader, and Sue Demel. In true ecto fashion, I recommend >that the 2 women dump the guy and produce their own music. Agreed. I thought they were a blast, but he definitely was the weak link for me. Very fun live. Clever lyrics, good harmonies, and fun, expressive performances. >Thank you especially to Neal and Jeff for easing my way into this >cultural experience called Folk Alliance. It was great to see you again Jerene. Sorry we didn't have more time to visit. Anyone set to crash next year - in Montreal?? neal np: The Stars Are So Big, The Earth Is So Small ... Stay As You Are - Pram ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:27:12 -0600 From: "Doug" Subject: Re: Vienna Alert I just caught the last 30 minutes of this...I'm amazingly surprised. I had been turned off a bit by the name, and hadn't even taken time to learn whether it was a band, a man, or a woman. Now that I've heard her, I'm quite pleasantly surprised. She's a good bit like a cross between Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Paula Cole. I think I'll look her up... Look out, Limewire, here I come! ;-) - --Doug "Instructions are for those people who don't know what they are doing." - Bob the Builder - ----- Original Message ----- From: "meredith" > Hi, > > Hereby resolving not to let hot Vienna Teng news go by unforwarded again... :) > > I haven't seen this listed at viennateng.com, so I just want to make folks > aware that she's going to be live on radioparadise.com this Monday, March 1 > at 3:00 pm Pacific time. Radio Paradise is an awesomely cool Internet > radio station that I know some ectophiles are already familiar with, since > this is where I first heard about it :). They have a variety of MP3 > streams available. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 15:33:11 -0600 From: "Doug" Subject: Radio Paradise Indeed, that's a great Shoutcast radio station. I just heard the original to Sarah McLachlan's cover of "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" on it....wow. That's a first. - --Doug "Instructions are for those people who don't know what they are doing." - Bob the Builder - ----- Original Message ----- From: "meredith" > Radio Paradise is an awesomely cool Internet > radio station that I know some ectophiles are already familiar with, since > this is where I first heard about it :). They have a variety of MP3 > streams available. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 16:24:51 -0600 From: "Doug" Subject: Susan Robkin Any other fans of Susan Robkin out there? (Susan who?) ;-) - --Doug ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 09:02:03 -0400 From: "JoAnn Whetsell" Subject: Re: Indigo Girls I'll chime in even though my review I was writing for the Guide isn't done yet. I agree about a lot of stuff that's been said about the new album. There are some really good songs - Tether and Cordova among them, I'd probably include Perfect World too. But there is a lot of blandness. Still, it's growing on me, as the last few albums have, though I too haven't really loved an album since Swamp Ophelia, though I've loved songs. I guess I like their harmonies and instrumentation enough that I enjoy their music even if/when I don't consider it all that inspired. I actually like Come On Now Social a lot. Though I was worried the guest list would swamp the duo, I don't think it did. On the new album, I think it's the first time I've preferred Amy's songs to Emily's. Emily's songs here are not bad, but simply ordinary (which may be worse). So if you're a dedicated fan, you'll find stuff to like on the new album. If you didn't like their great albums, you should skip this; you won't like it either. I haven't looked at the accompanying bonus DVD yet, so I can't say how much of a draw it is. JoAnn PS: Adam, Sherlyn, Lauren, can I use your comments for the Guide? >From: Sherlyn Koo >To: >Subject: Re: Indigo Girls >Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 07:57:56 +1100 > >Hey folks, > >On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:03:46 -0800 (PST), Lauren Young wrote: > >It sounds like All That We Let In is more of the same. I guess I'll > >give it a pass for now and content myself with the new Meshell > >Ndegeocello and Joan Armatrading. I'd be very interested to hear if > >the CD grows on you, though. > >I've had "All That We Let In" for the better part of a week now. I >haven't had a chance to give it a really dedicated listen but based >on about half a dozen spins in the car I'm glad to report that the >album definitely is growing on me. I was worried it wouldn't. I >still can't really tell Emily's songs apart yet but I've got a fairly >good handle on Amy's songs and man, some of them are good! "Tether" >is a big old Southern Rock Ballad and I can't wait to hear it live. >"Dairy Queen" is another fine effort. I generally agree with what >Adam said about "Heartache for Everyone" and yet... I haven't been >able to get the chorus out of my head for five days, so it must be >doing something right. > >I've basically followed the same progression as Lauren - I love each >of their earlier albums on a scale that's roughly exponential, >culminating with "Swamp Ophelia", which is possibly my favourite >album of all time. Then it pretty much drops back down again - I >like each succeeding album less than the previous one. The last few >years have been weird for me because I really thought that IG were >going to be *it* for me, forever. But I guess not. > >On the earlier albums I generally thought that Emily brought the >songcraft and musicianship, and Amy brought the passion. That's >pretty much changed ever since "Swamp Ophelia" - Amy's songwriting >seems to be getting better and better and she still has as much >passion as she ever did, while it feels that Emily just keeps going >over and over the same ground. But I don't know. I'll keep >listening until either I "get it", or I'm forced to admit that Emily >just doesn't speak to me at this current place in my life. > >On a somewhat related note - SONiA from disappear fear has a new >album called "No Bomb Is Smart". It's currently only available at >shows (which is fine for me since she's been here in Australia for >the better part of the last 3 months) but I think will be shipping >via Amazon from April 14. This is a *fantastic* album, full of great >songs and - as an added bonus - it has harmonies from Cindy all over >it. I'm giving this album 10 out of 10 and definitely recommend any >disappear fear, SONiA or IG fans check it out. > >Cheers all, >sherlyn >-- >Sherlyn Koo | sherlyn@pixelopolis.com | Sydney, Australia - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get reliable access on MSN 9 Dial-up. 3 months for the price of 1! (Limited-time offer) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 18:34:34 -0700 From: Ethan Straffin Subject: Re: Vienna Alert Doug, I'm including below a message I sent a few weeks back, in case you missed it the first time and are interested. Vienna's debut album, _Waking Hour_ is easily among my favorite albums of the past few years. I'm not quite as fond of her new one, _Warm Strangers_, but lotsa folks seem to prefer it, so YMMV. Make sure you check out the free MP3s on her site (http://www.viennateng.com/listen/). I'd she's chosen them well; I might have replaced "Homecoming" with "My Medea," but that's nitpicking, innit? Plus she's a truly sweet person, and I'm not just saying that because she graduated from the same program that I did. :) Ethan - -- Thought I'd share these clips of a couple Vienna appearances this week. First, some MP3s from the Radio Paradise (www.radioparadise.com) segment: http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/Harbor.mp3 http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/MissionStreet.mp3 http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/Shasta.mp3 http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/GreenIslandSerenade.mp3 Second, an MP3 and a RealMedia video clip of her appearance on the Wayne Brady Show: http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/HarborBrady.mp3 http://highwire.stanford.edu/~straffin/HarborBrady.rm Enjoy! Ethan On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 02:27 PM, Doug wrote: > I just caught the last 30 minutes of this...I'm amazingly surprised. > I had > been turned off a bit by the name, and hadn't even taken time to learn > whether it was a band, a man, or a woman. Now that I've heard her, I'm > quite pleasantly surprised. She's a good bit like a cross between > Sarah > McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Paula Cole. I think I'll look her up... > > Look out, Limewire, here I come! ;-) > > --Doug > > "Instructions are for those people who don't know what they are > doing." - > Bob the Builder > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "meredith" > > >> Hi, >> >> Hereby resolving not to let hot Vienna Teng news go by unforwarded > again... :) >> >> I haven't seen this listed at viennateng.com, so I just want to make >> folks >> aware that she's going to be live on radioparadise.com this Monday, >> March > 1 >> at 3:00 pm Pacific time. Radio Paradise is an awesomely cool Internet >> radio station that I know some ectophiles are already familiar with, >> since >> this is where I first heard about it :). They have a variety of MP3 >> streams available. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:28:55 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: Vienna Alert Hi, Doug responded: >I just caught the last 30 minutes of this...I'm amazingly surprised. Did you hear the rebroadcast today, then? I just about fell off my chair when I heard it start up again this afternoon. Wasn't expecting that at all. >I had >been turned off a bit by the name, and hadn't even taken time to learn >whether it was a band, a man, or a woman. She's a quite lovely young woman ... and an ectophile too! :) >Now that I've heard her, I'm >quite pleasantly surprised. She's a good bit like a cross between Sarah >McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Paula Cole. I think I'll look her up... She's definitely worth it!! =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org =============================================== ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:53:48 -0500 From: fingerpuppets Subject: Re: Fwd: Susan McKeown on NPR this week for anyone who missed this (i.e., me) this program is available in glorious streaming realaudio at . woj >Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 17:03:17 -0500 >To: chanting@earthlink.net >From: Sheila-Na-Gig Music >Subject: Susan McKeown on NPR this week > >Hello everyone. >Last Monday Jon Spurney and I recorded a segment for the NPR program 'The >Infinite Mind'. A weekly radio show focusing on the art and science of the >human mind and spirit, behavior, and mental health, the program is hosted >by the former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. >Fred Goodwin. This week's subject is 'Pregnancy and The Mind' and we >performed the song "Mother of Mine". Then I discussed the song and my >recent pregnancy with host Marit Haahr. The program is produced in >association with WNYC and is airing in 200 markets across the country >including in such top ten cities as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, >Atlanta, Washington, DC, and Boston. >We're on during the second half of the hour-long show. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V10 #84 **************************