From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V11 #349 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, December 22 2005 Volume 11 : Number 349 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: 2006 Favorites [Ms Heidi Maier ] Best and Worst of 2005 (a long one, but it's been a long year) [adamk@zoo] what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? [gordodo@optonli] Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? [alan ] Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? [wojizzle fo] BOA (was Re: My Top of 2005) ["R. N. Dominick" ] Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? [andrew frie] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 17:30:10 +1000 From: Ms Heidi Maier Subject: Re: 2006 Favorites jeff hanson wrote: > Year's end is quickly approaching--kind of hard to believe. Time > to recap my favorites of the year: > > Kate Bush - Aerial > Anthony and the Johnsons - I am a Bird Now > Anna Wolfe - My Treasure > Rory Stitt - Taurero > Michael Buble - It's Time > Jann Arden - Jann Arden > Jorane - The You and the Now > Martha Wainwrgiht - Martha Wainwright > Moby - Hotel > Cheryl Wheeler - Defying Gravity ditto the kate bush [still revealing itself to me with every listen], antony and the johnsons, michael buble, and martha wainwright. i'd also add fiona apple's "extraordinary machine" to my list, sarah harmer's "i'm a mountain," and dar williams' "my better self" [i finally found an import copy!] on the local [australian] front, i confess that i've still been listening to missy higgins' "the sound of white" [released in 2004] a lot and also clare bowditch and the feeding set's "what was left." local guy bernard fanning's solo effort, "tea and sympathy," continues to grow on me. > Surprisingly not on my best of (not bad, but rather luckluster > releases)Maria McKee - Peddlin' Dreams > Tori Amos - Beekeeper > Lynn Miles - Love Sweet Love > Happy Rhodes - New CD Promo - (I'm waiting for the real release) i must be the only ecto in the world unfamiliar with happy's music, i swear ... i could blame it on a student budget and its being difficult to get here, i suppose, both of which are true, but that still seems like a bad ecto excuse ;) i continue to listen to tori's "the beekeeper" quite a bit, but ... i don't know ... i still don't quite know what to say about it, all these months later! i will say one thing, though: her first concert in brisbane in ten years [back in may] was *wonderful*. > Best Concerts: > Michael Buble yes! i saw him when he first toured australia a couple of years back and i also caught him on his second, most recent tour and he was *amazing*. the first time i saw him was excellent, but this time around it was obvious how much more comfortable he is onstage -- he had such fun cracking jokes and conversing with the audience and his voice has such depth and range, his records really don't do it justice. i'm still pondering my best concerts, though i definitely know that kd lang, r.e.m, tori. and broad [a show put together by deborah conway featuring different, diverse female musicians] make the cut. poor miss emiliana torrini didn't do much for getting on my 'best of' list a couple of weeks back: she was lovely, but it was a boiling hot night [the joys of a queensland summer] and she was playing a venue that has no air conditioning [!] and demanded that all of the fans be turned off! they were doing bugger all to begin with, but the place became even more of a sweat bath once she made that strange request ... heidi. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 09:21:18 +0000 From: adamk@zoom.co.uk Subject: Best and Worst of 2005 (a long one, but it's been a long year) Happy Solstice, everyone: the days now get longer. Hurrah! Gotta say, its been a crap year, a really crap one for me. Out of step culturally, out of form physically, out of sorts spiritually. There were a few gems, however. (Disclaimer: IMHO, right? IMHO!) Best album: 1. Veda Hille/Return of the Kildeer. Its one of my big regrets that I had to miss her gig this year, but there was nothing I could do. This album, however, is easily the best thing Ive heard this year, a wonderful mix of textures and styles, all delivered with an undercurrent of humour. Everyone should have this album. 2. VdGG/Present. The boys are back in town, fierce and as tight as ever. A wonderfully spiky, tumultuous noise with intelligence and passion and Hammill, rediscovering the joys of working with other people, on top form. Only slightly ruined by the extra disc of jams, which have their place, but not in my heart. 3. Antony and the Johnsons/I Am a Bird Now. My god, the Mercury Prize got it right! This totally surprised me, being a beautiful, soulful, soaring slab of tunefulness. Imagine Bryan Ferry with added soul (and vibrato). This just brings tears to my eyes. 4. Meredith Meyer/Items You Wont Find Elsewhere. She sent this to me for review after reading a really crap review I wrote for Eleni Mandel (they share a producer), so youve got to admire her moxie. As it turned out, this is a brilliant debut, confident, compelling and utterly listenable. Catch her now. 5. Kathleen Edwards/Back to Me. No great departure from her debut, but she fires through it with gusto and commitment, and there are just some glorious songs on here. 6. Arcade Fire/Funeral. Bucking the current genre of posturing New Wave revivalists, these guys serve up an epic, pounding sound that is at once uplifting and exhilarating. 7. Tracy Chapman/Where You Live. Shes fallen off the popular radar of late, but this, like her previous album, show that shes turning out some of the best music of her career. 8. Joseph Arthur/Our Shadows Will Remain. A late entry, here, and a pleasant surprise to finally find a male solo act who doesnt whine. He sometimes sounds like a one-man Remy Zero, which is no bad thing in my mind. Bubbling under: Sigur Ros/Takk; Imogen Heap/Speak for Yourself; Cousteau/Novia Scotia (good to have you back, guys); Aimee Mann/The Forgotten Arm (not bad return to form from her);David Ford/I Sincerely Apologise for All the trouble I have caused (and thanks to Mike Gray for tipping me this  fans of Damien Rice and Tom McRae get yours NOW!) Best music not of 2005: Moby Grape/Crosstalk: An anthology, and my first exposure to this oft-namechecked band. Brilliant stuff, straddling a weird, psychedelic/rock/country vibe with some great tunes and tight hooks. Least Faves: Dar Williams, My Better Self. Dreary drudge from someone who seems to have lost her spark or even her will to record. She sounds detached and bored throughout, and on the most pointless cover EVER, Comfortably Numb, even Ani DiFranco sounds barely conscious. The cover arts crap, as well. Really, Dar, you shouldnt have bothered....Oh. You didnt. Second booby prize: Brian Eno, Another Day on Earth. I had different expectations on this, from what Id read from him. I thought it would revive the surreal wit and off-beat pop of his first solo releases. What I got was more self-indulgent po-faced wank, just in shorter bursts. The Eels, Blinking Lights The critics loved it and I have to admire his continuing confessional tone, but its everything hes ever done before merely recycled, put through a blender and spread out over TWO GODDAMNED CDs. Sundry disappointments: La Pina, Bob Mould, Eliza Gilkyson, Michael Penn, And, yes, I did buy the James Blunt CD, back in May. Im sorry, okay? Best re-releases: As the Nektar series dribbled to an end, Van der Graaf Generator stepped in to pick up the slack. Brilliant re-issues with wonderful notes and photos, the only drawback being the odd live extra track that was bootleg quality only of interest to the rabid fans. Worst re-releases: Gentle Giants back catalogue via vocalist Derek Shulmans own label. Remastered and tucked in an extraneous cardboard cover, but with no notes or photos to put things in perspective. A wasted opportunity. Fave book: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Fave film: Close tie: The Beat that My Heart Skipped, Serenity, Sin City. Least fave film: Sideways, indisputably. Here's hoping good health and good fortune for all, and may sanity prevail in 2006. A Very Ecto Xmas to all. Adam K. - ----------------------------------------------- This mail sent through http://webmail.zoom.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:45:52 -0500 From: gordodo@optonline.net Subject: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? Lalala in dreamland after just getting engaged last week and hopefully closing on our house tomorrow. Everything is happy - especially visa and mastercard - but that's another story... My question is this...who would be the ideal band/singer to get to play at a wedding (ie mine) and who would be awesome but still realistic :) Current Thoughts Incredible but delusional ideas: Jonatha Brooke (although most of her love songs are sorta twisted) Imogen Heap (probably not the best for dancing but I would improvise) Wendy Rule (ditto) Borderline Possible Over the Rhine (dragging them to New England from Ohio could be a problem) Probably Possible and Would Still Be Pretty Cool Dave's True Story Mila Drumke (especially her valentine's jazz outfit) Susan Werner Probably not possible but would make an interesting wedding: Cyoakha Grace Si Se Lamb (btw is there a remix version of gorecki that doesn't really up the tempo two thirds of the way through the song???) [the wedding is still 18 months off probably but is it a good idea to line up entertainment that far in advance? at least i can drool over the possibilities] thanks for any ideas :) jason np Jen Trynin (something i havent listened to in years but came across in packing up my cds...packing up 3000+ discs really is a pain in the butt) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 09:11:21 -0800 (PST) From: alan Subject: Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 gordodo@optonline.net wrote: > Lalala in dreamland after just getting engaged last week and hopefully closing on our house tomorrow. Everything is happy - especially visa and mastercard - but that's another story... > > My question is this...who would be the ideal band/singer to get to play at a wedding (ie mine) and who would be awesome but still realistic :) The Tiger Lillies - -- "George W. Bush -- Bringing back the Sixties one Nixon at a time." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 13:44:17 -0500 From: "robert bristow-johnson" Subject: Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? - ----- Original Message ----- From: gordodo@optonline.net To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:45:52 -0500 > > Lalala in dreamland after just getting engaged last week and hopefully > closing on our house tomorrow. Everything is happy - especially visa and > mastercard - but that's another story... Congrats!!! > My question is this...who would be the ideal band/singer to get to play at a > wedding (ie mine) and who would be awesome but still realistic :) a dream i had (for either of my daughters in a couple of decades) was Jeff Pearce (who plays a solo electric guitar or Chapman Stik, both using a "10-finger technique" a.la. Stanley Jordon with lots of looping electronics), at least for the processional. there is this **really** pretty and appropriate song on his Tenderness and Fatality CD named "Marionette" (track 5). it is a simple "ABAB" structure, during the first "A", the groomsmen take their place, the first "B" the bridesmaids process up the aisle, the second "A" up goes the groom and the clergy/officiate, and during the final "B" the bride and daddy go down the aisle. it's just, in my opinion, breathtakingly pretty, especially the "B" sections (where the ladies would be processing). Jeff is a nice guy living in Indiana. i have been in contact with him about 6 years ago. he might remember me. lemme know if you want an MP3 of the song, i think the CD will be hard to get (ca. 1993). > thanks for any ideas :) FWIW. - -- r b-j rbj@audioimagination.com "Imagination is more important than knowledge." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:16:14 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: My Top of 2005 This was an excellent year for music for me. Here's my top ten (not really in any order, except Veda is #1): Veda Hille - Return of the Killdeer This is a totally brilliant album, playful and smart. Fiery Furnace - EP Loud, fun music. Hooray! Christine Fellows - Paper Anniversary Christine has a knack for bright, haunting songs. Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself Who knew I could fall in love with something so pop? Sufyan Stevens - Illinois Beautiful music and wonderful constructed songs. This album totally won me over from the instant I heard the intro track at a coffee shop Broadcast - Tender Buttons This is probably their best album so far. Full of catchy, noisy wonders. Kate Bush - Aerial A mellow album, mostly, but so beautiful. I still feel I need to listen to it more and know that if I do I'll get more and more out of it. Charlotte Martin - Veins ep This is a real leap for her to my ears -- she's stretching herself into new and wonderful places. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine I like both versions of this album. It's wonderful, catchy, all good things. Sigur Ros - Takk Delightful to lose yourself in. Bits and pieces (not all from this year) that helped make my year even better: Jorane - The You and the Now A little uneven, but I'm glad she's back to musical hooks and more song-like songs. The Decemberists - Picaresque Great fun! Story songs. Drama! Lust! Revenge! Boa - Get There The lead singer has such a lovely voice. Duplex - Ablum We play the two cat songs a lot -- they're so much fun -- and there are several other tracks of interest to us here even though we're not kids Fun is good! Eliza Carthy - Rough Music Yet another strong traditional English folk album. Eliza is wonderful. Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir A strange, yet surprisingly listenable album. Hank Dogs - bareback I fell in love with two of the tracks off this album. Lead singer has a terrific voice. It's mostly mainstream contemporary folk so while I know it's good it's not my thing, but "bareback" "Let Go" -- wow! Hanne Hukkelberg - Little Things She's channeling Billie Holiday, I swear. Jaggery - in lethe ep Strange, gorgeous, individual -- a CD Baby find Lanterna - Highways Always lovely. Inga Liljestrvm - Elk A surprise that I could fall in love with another triphop-type album. I thought I was over it. This is gorgeous and has a range of styles. Myshkin's Ruby Warblers - corvidae Myshkin's music is powerful folk, and what a voice! Petracovich - we are wyoming A little gentle, but lovely Rasputina - A Radical Recital They are always terrific. Aiko Shimada - Like Hannah Lovely. Need to listen to this more. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods Always good rock. Andi Starr - supergirl ep A CD Baby find. I think a lot of people would like her. Good pop/rock. I recommend her album, too. Worm is Green - push play The lead singer is the focus here, so I like this album better than the previous one (which I did like). Some really, really catchy music on here. Biggest disappointment: Tori Amos The Beekeeper (boooring) When I put this in the player, I keep skipping songs because they're boring and right away I'm at the end of the album without a song I want to listen to. For a long time Tori was my favourite artist. What a fall! Current favourite single: Final Fantasy "The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead" http://www.blocksblocksblocks.com/mp3s/final_fantasy/FF-CN%20Tower.mp3 I can hardly wait to get this album. Strange, story indie rock. - --Neile - -- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neile Graham .... neile@sff.net/@drizzle.com ... www.sff.net/people/neile Les Semaines: A Weekly Journal ........ www.sff.net/people/neile/semaines Editor, The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music ........... www.ectoguide.org Workshop Administrator, Clarion West ................ www.clarionwest.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:21:50 -0500 From: wojizzle forizzle Subject: Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? one time at band camp, alan (alan@clueserver.org) said: >On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 gordodo@optonline.net wrote: >> Lalala in dreamland after just getting engaged last week and hopefully closing on our house tomorrow. Everything is happy - especially visa and mastercard - but that's another story... >> >> My question is this...who would be the ideal band/singer to get to play at a wedding (ie mine) and who would be awesome but still realistic :) >The Tiger Lillies bwahahahahahahahahaha! that's one wedding i would crash! woj ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:31:13 -0500 From: "R. N. Dominick" Subject: BOA (was Re: My Top of 2005) On 12/21/05, Neile Graham wrote: > Boa - Get There > The lead singer has such a lovely voice. Mmm. Now "Duvet" is going to be stuck in my head all afternoon, and my copy of the first album is at home in a box waiting to be ripped. Unfortunately, to me, the rest of _Twilight_ just wasn't up to this one gorgeous song. What's "Get There" like? (Other than darn expensive, sigh.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 09:35:38 +1100 From: andrew fries Subject: Re: what ecto band would be perfect to perform at a wedding? gordodo@optonline.net wrote: > Lalala in dreamland after just getting engaged last week and > hopefully closing on our house tomorrow. Everything is happy - > especially visa and mastercard - but that's another story... > > My question is this...who would be the ideal band/singer to get to > play at a wedding (ie mine) and who would be awesome but still > realistic :) Conratulations Jason! And I have the perfect candidate for you: Greta Gertler! (ex Peccadillo) - - she's an Aussie, now based in New York - - she used to play many weddings around Sydney - - she has many poppy, bouncy songs as well as gentle romantic ones, and a few jewish wedding classics as well. it would be fun! ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V11 #349 ***************************