From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V10 #156 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, June 6 2004 Volume 10 : Number 156 Today's Subjects: ----------------- pj prelim ["Donald G. Keller" ] The other thing going on in NYC last Wednesday [meredith ] Re: The other thing going on in NYC last Wednesday [neal copperman Subject: pj prelim As a matter of fact, PJ Harvey's new album hasn't been released in the U.S. yet (Tuesday's the day)--don't know about the U.K. But if you check her website (pjharvey.net), you can listen to all the songs from the new album--which I did at work on Friday. My first reaction is that it seems to work both ends of her output: some of the tracks have that strummy, smooth, almost ethereal sound of the last two albums, while a few others--particularly "The Letter" and "Who the F#%$"--are the nastiest guitar songs she's written since =Rid of Me=. I like them tremendously. But I haven't really heard the whole album but the once, and I'm reserving judgment for now. (The shortness of some of them, I agree, is frustrating.) I will say, though, that the individuality of new songs is something that comes very late in the process--as I also noticed with Kristeen Young's new album. At first (especially with an artist we know very well) the songs sound more like the artist's previous songs than they sound like themselves (as they will eventually). The double single of "The Letter" contains three B-sides, and they're all three worth hearing: "The Phone Song" is slow and intense and uplifting, with a striking use of strummed acoustic and squally electric guitars, while "Bows and Arrows" is a driving =acoustic= rocker. And "The Falling," the only B-side on the other single, is downright anthemic, in an almost U2 kind of way, and I've found it running through my head already. But "The Letter" really kicks ass all over the joint. More to be said later, obviously. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2004 13:26:44 -0400 From: meredith Subject: The other thing going on in NYC last Wednesday Hi, While Don was at Pianos seeing Mudville and Kristeen Young (and all I have to say about that performance of "Hi-Tek" is ARGH!!!! -- woj's reaction is a bit less printable), we were at Fez seeing Dorothy Scott's first New York performance in half an age. Fortunately, it was worth the subsequent lack of sleep and yes, even missing KY's last song over at Pianos. The show started off with two songs by Jane Kelly Williams, who was a darling on WFUV in the mid-90's but retreated from making music for several years and is just starting to get back into it again. Her second song was a poem written by a Holocaust victim that she had set to very evocative music, and she was accompanied on percussion and vocals by five senior boys from a Jewish high school in NYC where she teaches music. It was very touching and very well done. Next a duo called Crescent and Frost did a song, and they were very intriguing. (Unfortunately their web site is a Flash monstrosity, so I won't put a pointer to it here, but for those so inclined the URL is what you'd expect.) The singer, Maryann Fennimore has a nice voice, kind of like if Patty Griffin could ever learn to *just stop shouting*. Then, finally, Dorothy took the stage and did a couple solo songs, before she was accompanied by drummer Denise Jalbert and pianist Peter Kiesewalter for the rest of the set. Dorothy was very much herself: loopily falling apart in between songs, then gathering herself up once she was finally able to get the music started again and presenting her songs with their usual intensity. It was great to see her again. She gave me a CD-R with one new song on it, called "Peace Within". It's lovely, with piano and cello and layered backing vocals. (She played it during the show as well.) I also bought a DVD of a show she did in Wisconsin back in February, but haven't had time to watch it yet. The big news is, one of my all-time favorite Dorothy Scott songs, "Down To The River" is in a movie! It's called _Virgin_, written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier (who was in attendance the other night, apparently). Katell Keineg and Jane Siberry also have songs in the film, and Kristeen Young sings backup on another song, but I don't know who that one's by. It's gotten good notices at film festivals, and will be screening at the Angelika in NYC on August 13-14. , and IMDB also has an info page on it. It looks like a pretty interesting film. =============================================== 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: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 12:07:02 -0600 From: neal copperman Subject: Re: The other thing going on in NYC last Wednesday At 1:26 PM -0400 6/5/04, meredith wrote: >The singer, Maryann Fennimore has a nice voice, kind of like if >Patty Griffin could ever learn to *just stop shouting*. When did you last hear Patty Meredith? I love her shouting, so I am probably less sensitive to it, but it seems to me she has become much more restrained in the last 3 or 4 years. She's really been using her voice more, which is a wonderful thing to see. I'd recommend checking out her more recent work, or even seeing her again. neal now editing: AMP House Concert with the Kennedys ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V10 #156 ***************************