From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V13 #2 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, January 8 2007 Volume 13 : Number 002 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- New Happy links (rhodeways.com and videos) ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: 2006 -- a personal (and rather long) review ["Xenu's Sister" Subject: New Happy links (rhodeways.com and videos) All the PDFs of the fanzine are now online and hot. http://rhodeways.com Sorry, but for now, the PDFs are all I can provide. I can't make make anything else available right now. If any 2nd/3rd generation of Happy fans ever want to pick up the torch, all the files are at the following URL (the SIG account allows for a direct directory look-see. The wretchawry account, which is where rhodeways.com is parked, does not): http://suspended-in-gaffa.com/terra/ All of the live clips are now linked via the Rarities page (http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities) in 3 different ways. YouTube videos - Embedded (all the videos, on the same page, in chronological order...takes a while to load) http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/video.html YouTube videos - Linked (a list of all the videos, in alphabetical order, with links to the YT pages, loads very fast) http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/videolist.html Google Videos - Embedded (all the SUBTITLED videos, on the same page, in alphabetical order. Takes longer to load than a list, but there aren't all that many (yet). Includes a direct link to the Google page.) http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/googlevideo.html Vickie - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Music's the way, the only way I know... Happy Rhodes MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/happyrhodes Happy Rhodes song samples: http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples Happy Rhodes on YouTube: http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/videolist.html Happy Rhodes Subtitled videos: http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/googlevideo.html Suspended In Gaffa: http://suspended-in-gaffa.com Streaming audio: http://www.myspace.com/gaffashow - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 15:05:05 +0000 From: Adam K Subject: 2006 -- a personal (and rather long) review And a happy new year to you all. Ive been away for the past couple of months, and have had only sporadic and brief access to my e-mail through an erratic dial-up account, so have not had time to read anyone elses re-cap of 2006. I trust that they were as eclectic and amusing as I have come to expect of the ecto community. I also have a deep foreboding that they contain a lot of what Im about to reveal a deep ambivalence about, so some sort of disclaimer and/or context will be necessary. First of all, its all IMHO. I know this should go without saying, but sometimes it just needs to be noted. Second: In 2006 I finally decided to call time on the one thing I've always wanted to do with my life. Advance apologies, then, for any toes stepped on, and feel free to put it down to the rantings of a bitter old man. Third: I initially wrote this in Word before cutting and pasting onto an e-mail, which I sense is a recipe for disaster. Apologies for any rogue code. Top music of 2006 (in no particular order): / Pull the String/ by Sandy Dillon. Ms Dillon definitely coming of age, combining the melancholic swoon of her previous album, /Nobodys Sweetheart,/ with the ramshackle strut and swagger of her earlier work. A distaff Tom Waits, she growls and croons her way through a carnival of rollicking tunes. Definitely her best work to date. /Slow Motion Addict/ by Carina Round. Oddly unreleased over here, this strays further from the jazzy and occasionally feral feel of her debut, but the set of tunes on offer here are so good, so sharp and full of feeling and commitment and it's all so bright and full of punch, it's just brilliant. /You See Colours /by Delays. It doesnt have the shimmering, summery sound of their debut, but it has a big, epic feel, a real sense of fun and some wonderfully danceable tunes. A feel-good album, for sure. /Broken Social Scene/ by Broken Social Scene, an album of swirling and spiralling beauty and barely-contained chaos, with subdued vocals and a stunning rhythm section, Ive never untangled this album beyond one long, musical yelp of joy to the sky. /Singularity/ by Peter Hammill. I make no secret that Mr Hammill is one of my all-time idols, but that never guarantees a place in my heart for his individual albums, which are inconsistent and erratic in their quality. Difficult, to understate the case. So, it was with some trepidation that I approached this new album, in which absolutely nobody else but the man himself was involved. And, as it turns out, its his best in years, pointed reflections on life and mortality. Between this and the excellent re-issues of his early solo albums, Mr Hammill has provided a light in a dark year. /Love, Loss and Lunacy /by Mary Lees Korvette. A bright and breezy collection of punchy and hook-laden songs, her best so far. Good, good fun, despite the false step of /Where Did I Go Wrong, Elton John?/ She can do funny, but this is just cringe-worthy. /Fur and Gold/ by Bat for Lashes. For once, the critics and I were in tune. A weird and wonderful album, haunting and atmospheric, sounding at times like Bjork and PJ Harvey jamming on a bleak moor beneath a full moon. /Surprise/ by Paul Simon. Short of revealing that he is, in fact, a member of TV on the Radio, theres nothing that Mr Simon can do to acquire credibility in the eyes of todays critics, who have been holding an unspecific grudge against him for many decades. If theyre not ignoring him, theyre putting the boot in. Thus, this album has been unjustly overlooked, when its really quite glorious. I got it for my partner for Xmas and have played it several times myself, just out of sheer love of it. /Sieze to Amaze/ by the Fits. Frivolous but good fun, a side project for Veda Hille in which she and others perform a lo-fi mash-up of old music hall, musicals and pop -- anything from Ann Murray's "Snowbird" to "Sodomy" from Hair and "My Little Horse" from Father Ted (actually Neil Hannon). It won't change the world, but it's fun. Maybe, maybe not: /Harpos Ghost/ by Thea Gilmore. Quite a disappointment, this should have been a breakthrough album for her, but despite some great moments, its stuffed with filler and just doesnt bring it all home. /The Blistering Sun /by Rachel Sage. Drawing a bit heavily on the Ani influences, perhaps, but an accomplished and beautifully realised album. /Modern Times/ by Bob Dylan. Sounds like /Love and Theft pt II/, with a retro-rockabilly/blues feel that I'm not fond of, but it's definitely a grower. /The Trials of Van Occupanther /by Midlake. Not the work of genius I think the critics said, and as someone who grew up in the 70s I dont see the critical comparison at all (the one critic who claimed it was Peter Hammill fronting Fleetwood Mac only proved hes never heard either) but a pleasant and tuneful album, nonetheless. /Ys/ by Joanna Newsome. Bit of a mystery, here, the amount of money thats been poured into the sophomore album by an artist with what can only be described as cult appeal (Not one but two legendary producers working on it, and one of the most expensive packaging jobs Ive ever seen), and the critics, with one voice, citing it as one of the all time greats. Whats going on here? Did someone have a bet on? Despite my conspiracy theory, however, I quite like this album. Its weird and wonderful and sounds like shes making it up as shes going along (and, yes, her voice is an acquired taste), but it sure is unique. /Burlesque /by Bellowhead. English folk given a full blown, ramshackle, horns and strings, kinda Brechtian feel, with dashes of music from all over the world. Again, a lavishly presented package, but a fun album. Least fave: /In the Maybe World/ by Lisa Germano. Ive always been a stalwart supporter of Ms Germano, but this about does all good will in. A dreary, droning album, in which she cant even summon up the semblance of a recognisable tune and each song blurs wearily into another. Worst Cover: After Dar Williams' dull "Comfortably Numb" last year and this year's hands-down winner, this could become a regular feature. Yep, I nominate Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins for "Handle Me With Care", a dreary, weary, plodding and gutless rendition, sounding for all the world like a mediocre bar-band under contract to play it five times a night. There is no reason for this to exist. Business as usual: Sparklehorse and Flaming Lips, turning out critically acclaimed albums that are really just inferior retreads of everything theyve done before and, in the latter case, with a higher irritation factor. Indigo Girls, whose /Despite Our Differences/ marked their first album on the new label. It starts out well, but pretty soon, after Emilys fifth or sixth tuneful, pleasant and formulaic love song, I started to wonder if these two would ever really matter again. Things I just didnt get: Which just about covers everything else this year. From the portentous and emotionally cold TV on the Radio (drone, groan, buzz, clatter) to the bloodless and anaemic sittin and a-strummin round the old family bible sounds of Jenny Lewis and the Watson twins (see also Sarah Harmers latest) and the bland and forgettable Josh Rouse. I really wanted to like these, but they left me cold and quite baffled. Fave film: /Children of Men/, by a mile. A bleak, violent but beautifully realised, beautifully filmed and beautifully acted piece of work that restored my faith in the art of cinema. Least fave film: /Hidden/, again by a mile. I also set myself a task to read nothing but female authors last year (I admit, I dont read enough of them), and my faves include /Wise Children/ by Angela Carter and /The Stone Diaries/ by Carol Shields, while my least faves were /Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell /by Susannah Clarke, /Unless /by Carol Shields and /Wuthering Heights/ by Emily Bronte. Time can change everything, maybe even my views on some of the above. You know, some music you go back to months later and go, "Wow". So, not only is it IMHO, but IMOFN (in my opinion, for now). Next year: well, we already have the new Jonatha Brooke on the horizon, and Thea Gilmore, having now given birth, is touring again and Ive already got my ticket for Van der Graaf Generator (sadly without sax player David Jackson, who seems to have suffered a rift with Mr Hammill) at the Barbican. Added to which, in just under two weeks, my partner and I move from the house weve lived in for 20 years to another part of town altogether. Major changes. Anyway, hope it's a good one for all, Adam K. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2007 13:01:19 -0800 (PST) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: 2006 -- a personal (and rather long) review - --- Adam K wrote: > Fave film: /Children of Men/, by a mile. A bleak, violent but > beautifully realised, beautifully filmed and beautifully acted piece of > work that restored my faith in the art of cinema. Good choice. An amazing film. I've seen it twice already and want to see it again (and read the book). I haven't made up a solid numbered list but it was a decent year in film and a GREAT last month or so in movies. My favorite film of the year was Apocalypto. Following that, in no concrete order: Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Good Shepherd, The Good German, Idlewild, The Science of Sleep, V For Vendetta, Casino Royale, A Scanner Darkly, Shut Up and Sing, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Marie Antoinette, Thank You For Smoking, American Dreamz, An Inconvenient Truth, Volver, Wordplay, Crank, The Prestige, Flushed Away, Clerks II, Ideocracy, and I know there's more that I can't think of at the moment and I'll kick myself when I remember. > Least fave film: /Hidden/, again by a mile. Cachi? Was that this year? I can't remember when I saw it. I was intrigued and fascinated, but puzzled. I definitely want to see the director's next film (director being Michael Haneke). It's got a great cast list: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, and Siobhan Fallon (Edgar's wife in Men In Black, Bjork's prison guard in Dancer In The Dark). Sounds like a modern-day Straw Dogs. Vickie (who can't comment on your musical choices because I haven't heard a one of them, but I'm sure they're great if you like them) - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Music's the way, the only way I know... Happy Rhodes MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/happyrhodes Happy Rhodes song samples: http://wretchawry.com/happy/samples Happy Rhodes on YouTube: http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/videolist.html Happy Rhodes Subtitled videos: http://wretchawry.com/happy/rarities/googlevideo.html Suspended In Gaffa: http://suspended-in-gaffa.com Streaming audio: http://www.myspace.com/gaffashow - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V13 #2 *************************