From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V13 #107 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Saturday, April 28 2007 Volume 13 : Number 107 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Music new to me (warning: IMHO! Expect the usual!) [adamk@zoom.co.uk] Re: Music new to me (warning: IMHO! Expect the usual!) [Yngve Hauge ] **RACHAEL SAGE VIDEO DEBUTS @ #9 ON MTV LOGO'S "CLICK LIST"! [SpiritWe@ao] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:44:38 +0100 From: adamk@zoom.co.uk Subject: Music new to me (warning: IMHO! Expect the usual!) Regarding the lack of Happy-specific content: While I sincerely hope that Happy steps back into the public eye soon, Ive always admired the way this list has adapted and grown, and its always been a great place to share and discuss new music: Ive learnt a lot from everyone, and I definitely want you all to know how grateful I am. I certainly hope to learn more and grow musically, no matter how much it hurts my wallet. I'm sorry if I rub people the wrong way every now and then, but, believe me....I'm even worse in person. I mean well, but I really am a bitter, twisted, opinionated old git. That was the good news. The bad news is I have some reviews of the new music thats been coming my way, recently (Neal, wheres me emoticon?!). The Crane Wife/The Decemberists: I know this came out last year in the States, but its new over here, so Im cheating a bit to say this is already one of my top discs of 2007. I got it a couple of days ago and only got around to listening to it yesterday, instantly replaying it twice. My god, I love this album. What a great, stirring, sprawling beautiful thing it is. I had mixed feelings about Picaresque, but have fallen in love with this right away. I look forward to burning it onto my music player so I can listen to it again. And again. And again. The Neon Bible/Arcade Fire: An interesting companion piece to the above, and another great album. Murkier and darker, but its hard to believe that music this dark could be quite so uplifting. Be Careful What You Wish For/Jonatha Brooke: Im slowly coming around to this, but its a weird beast. First impressions were of Jonatha trying just that little bit too hard for a commercial breakthrough, with snappy choruses, lots of guitars and her wonderful voice robbed of its bluesy edge and pitched at a very youthful-sounding level. Jonathas always written great tunes, of course, but here the emphasis seems to be very much on FM appeal. Still, it has a great, brash, poppish feel to it, even if it doesnt have the introspective quality of her previous work or even the adventurous feel of her last one. Its good fun, and I like it, even love it in parts. Children Running Through/Patty Griffin: And this is an interesting companion piece to Jonathas work. Ive always loved the way Patty confounds my expectations, playing with and blending genres seamlessly until suddenly I think, Wait, is this country? I hate country but. I love this. Is this country? On this release, however, she seems to delineate a few of the songs: heres the blues number, heres the country number, heres the rock number. Shes at her best  and achieves this several times on the album -- when shes not plumping so squarely for a specific genre, but I get the feeling, as with Jonathas, that shes trying to make things simpler for a larger audience. This Little Bird/Alison Crowe: Many thanks to Alisons management, who sent me this, and it was the first thing to arrive in the new house amid the upheaval of leaving 20 years worth of memories behind. Another album I instantly fell in love with. Alison has a great, bluesy voice and  if the two other albums I immediately ordered after hearing this are typical  this sounds like a huge progression for her, with new textures and a wider musical palette. I cant recommend this album highly enough. This is one for ectos everywhere. And next, I really need my warning emoticon (and a flame-proof box, I suspect). Boys and Girls in America/The Hold Steady: This steaming pile of Produce seems to have been designed by committee (Hey, how can we get the baby-boomers on board and yet still appeal totoyou know, da yoof?). Undigested chunks of Springsteen, Thin Lizzy and even a thin, diluted stream of Husker Du are spewed out on the back of boneheaded cut-and-paste lyrics accompanied by a singer who cant actually sing and a keyboard player who can barely keep in time. Listening to this cynical excretion made me despair. Thank god for everything else. adam k. np: Thea Gilmore's "Threads" EP - ----------------------------------------------- This mail sent through http://webmail.zoom.co.uk ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:36:21 +0200 From: Yngve Hauge Subject: Re: Music new to me (warning: IMHO! Expect the usual!) Hi you all, This topic just tricked me out of lurky-mode, cause this week I heard the solo debut by Katharina Nuttall who among other things produces Ane Brun's albums. And WHAT an album it is!!! If you are gonna get one album this year then all my votes goes to Katharina Nuttall's This Is How I Feel. You can hear samples at her myspace entry : www.myspace.com/katharinabnuttall - -- Yngve n.p. Katharina Nuttall - This Is How I Feel n.r. Eric Flint - 1812 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:25:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Neile Graham Subject: Re: Music new to me (warning: IMHO! Expect the usual!) Besides the upcoming Feist which I already mentioned, through an article in Mojo magazine I discovered Lisa Knapp. She does mostly stripped-down versions of traditional English folk. There's something fragile and powerfully evocative about her versions which I'm not sure I can pin down. Maybe like if Kathryn Williams did trad folk? I've been obsessing on it. http://www.lisaknapp.co.uk takes you to her myspace page. I like the first two songs on the Amy Winehouse album. After that, I skip to the next disc. Not sure I dare look forward to the Tori, as Beekeeper did less than nothing for me, though I am looking forward to the Bjork. I think "Earth Intruders" is great fun. - --Neile ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:21:55 -0500 From: Carolyn Andre Subject: More on Internet Radio Royalty issue For those following this issue, I found this article to expand on some of the issues in a relatively balanced fashion: http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/apr07/webradio04_07.asp It does bring up some of the "pluses" of the SoundExchange that were omitted from the previous heated comments - which I had actually been aware of from a couple of presentations by John Simson at Folk Alliance several years ago - such as the distribution going not only to the name performer but also band members, who have been ill-served by the terrestrial radio/PRO collections. Regards, Carolyn Andre - --- candre@house-of-music.com Chicago, IL / USA Support Independent Music! Use the Internet http://house-of-music.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:57:30 -0400 From: 2005.carnivore99@verizon.net Subject: Re: More on Internet Radio Royalty issue There's actually a positive development on this today. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Congress by Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), that would invalidate the CRB's decision and set a 2006-2010 royalty rate at the same level currently paid by satellite radio services (7.5% of revenue); reset the royalty rules for noncommercial radio such as NPR stations that offer Internet radio music; and change the royalty rate-setting standard used in royalty arbitrations, so that the standards applying to webcasters would align with the standard that applies to satellite radio royalty arbitrations. Here's Cnet's coverage: http://news.com.com/Lawmakers++propose+reversal+of+Net+radio+fee+increases/2100-1028_3-6179627.html Carolyn Andre wrote: >For those following this issue, I found this article to expand on >some of the issues in a relatively balanced fashion: >http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/apr07/webradio04_07.asp ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:55:41 -0400 From: "JoAnn Whetsell" Subject: more on recent releases 2007 has been if not stellar, then quite solid in terms of new releases. Here are some of the albums I've been listening to lately. Innocence Mission - We Walked in Song Light folk-pop. Another solid album by the Innocence Mission. Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up An odd little album, frum cheerful pop to crunchy guitars. 11 songs covering a lot of territory in 30 minutes. When it's over, it seems like it flew by, yet somehow it feels just right. Jonatha Brooke - Careful What You Wish For Jonatha's most rocking album to date. I like this one more with each listen. Favorite song since the first listen: "Prodigal Daughter". I could really have done without the French language "Je N'Peux Pas Te Plaire," but I do like this album more with each listen. Not to harp on Jonatha's French, but why is it "Je N'Peux Pas..." instead of "Je Ne Peux Pas"? Is it simply incorrect, or is there some rule I don't know about? Nathan - Key Principles I don't know if I've ever heard such cheerful alt-country-folk before. At least in sound. Lyrically, the songs are reflective, somewhat melancholy, or wistful maybe. And the band does moody well too. "The Wind" is lovely and haunting, with eerie wind noises. It's directly followed by "You Win," a 2/4 toe-tapper with brass accents. And that's followed by the circus waltz "Key Principles of Success." It's wonderful and different and fun, and if this description sounds at all intriguing, you'll want to check it out. Sia - Lady Croissant Sia's second solo disc, Colour the Small One, was nice but didn't really do anything for me. I LOVE her new live album though. It showcases her voice much more without all the electronic draping. Songs from Sia and Zero 7 albums. Killer version of "Breathe Me". Ane Brun - Live in Scandinavia The DMF String Quartet really sets off Ane's songs and gives them a wonderful new sound. The 18 track album includes one new song, a cover of PJ Harvey's "The Dancer," and a Jeff Buckley cover. Highly recommended for fans. There are some samples at her website, and if you like those, you will love the album. Jenny Owen Youngs - Batten the Hatches For anyone who missed buying this debut album, it's been recently reissued by Nettwerk. All-music Guide says she "sounds like an entirely successful fusion of Liz Phair's perceptive and brashly funny lyrics and the orchestrated folk-pop of Regina Spektor and Erin McKeown, with just a hint of Nellie McKay's jazzy cabaret leanings and Cat Power's throaty, confessional angst." Ecto's own Paul Kim called her "an avowed fan of Erin McKeown and basically like a version of Erin if she grew up listening to Liz Phair." Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers Laura is another artist who gets better and more individual with each record (which says a lot since even her early albums are very good and worth listening to). Thoughtful indie alternative folk set off by light touches of electronic noise. Po' Girl - Home to You For their third album, the group is now a quartet, but still making their unique blend of bluesy urban folk. This album comes closest to capturing the energy of their live performances. Cowboy Junkies - At the End of Paths Taken Only 2 listens so far, but this one seems to have staying power. Unlike their last studio album, One Soul Now, AtEoPT seems to have identity and personality. It sounds like the Junkies while not sounding like any particular album they've released before. It's dark, but not in the way that Open was. JoAnn _________________________________________________________________ Download Messenger. Join the im Initiative. Help make a difference today. http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGHM_APR07 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 23:31:44 EDT From: SpiritWe@aol.com Subject: **RACHAEL SAGE VIDEO DEBUTS @ #9 ON MTV LOGO'S "CLICK LIST"! Hey y'all...THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who voted last week - yes, you all helped Rachael Sage & her new video "Wildflower" debut at #9 on MTV LOGO's Click List, woo hoo!! The next deadline is Wednesday around midnight for the following week's chart announcement. Anyone can vote as many times as they want. Remember that special yahoo and/or hotmail address you invented just for bad blind dates? Now's your chance to resurrect it :) **Please keep up the voting, and let's try to get Rachael to #1!** The Click List premieres tonight at midnight on LOGO and repeats next week. Here's the voting link: http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/the_click_list/videos.jhtml Thanks so much for all your amazing support, and hope to see you soon at a live show. As always, please visit www.rachaelsage.com for the latest Tour Updates and other groovy Rachael-News :) And don't forget to pick up a copy of "New Arrivals: Vol. 2", MPress Records' new charity compilation featuring Melissa Ferrick, Gregory Douglass, Kristy Kr|ger & more...in stores & on iTunes May 8th! xoxox & rugulah, Team MPress ps - research Rachael's favorite Jewish pastries: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rugulah MPress Records - The Muscle Behind the Glitter! * * * RACHAEL SAGE ON TOUR NOW - VISIT WEBSITE FOR UPDATES! The New Full-Length Album "The Blistering Sun" in stores NOW! www.rachaelsage.com * www.myspace.com/rachaelsage Bookings: www.sectalentgroup.net * elizabeth@sectalentgroup.net * * * "NEW ARRIVALS: VOLUME TWO" IN STORES MAY 8th & ON TOUR NOW! A Benefit CD for Artists Against Hunger & Poverty from MPress Records... Upcoming New Arrivals Shows: NYC, Boston, LA, SF, Chicago & Atlanta! www.newarrivalscd.com * www.mpressrecords.com * 1.212.481.7243 ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V13 #107 ***************************