From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V13 #319 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, November 25 2007 Volume 13 : Number 319 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- For those on Facebook ["Xenu's Sister" ] Re: For those on Facebook [birdie ] holiday albums [JoAnn Whetsell ] Re: holiday albums ["Richard Messum" ] Re: "Lyra" on YouTube [meredith ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:55:23 -0800 (PST) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: For those on Facebook I just created a Happy Rhodes group. I'm not much of a Facebook person, but I figured what the hell. It'd be nice for her to have *some* kind of presence there. I don't know that this link will go there, but if it doesn't, you could probably find it by searching. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6555976193 I tried to add videos, but it wants me to "verify" myself by giving my cell phone number, and then sending me a text message. I don't know if I'm too keen on that. I'm thinking about it. Vickie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:31:28 -0800 From: birdie Subject: Re: For those on Facebook Great! Facebook is shaping up to be more useful than myspace - for indie folks. I'm just networking with indie artists, indie managers, indie promoters, indie tour bookers, indie indie indie. I don't want any companys mooching off our networking efforts....whether its Sony or Nettwerk. My facebook is only for indies and it is easier to manage than myspace which is good as a public shingle. We are just discovering applications, and some of them are fantastic. I get NPR, iLike (music player/site), ReverbNation (musicplayer/site), and I have to see if last.fm will link up....myspace is linked...um...it is brilliant for posting Videos! Photo's Illustrations etc I think of myspace as a place that keeps "bookmarks" of friends, interests, bands, etc and for blogs and show info and to hear samples of new songs... facebook feels like it has more and better TOOLS and it's refreshing! Anyway, if you are indie anything and are into sharing and not just mooching (hahaha) you can find me to make friends over on Vickies or happys sites on facebook. Cheers Birdie Xenu's Sister wrote: >I just created a Happy Rhodes group. I'm not much of a Facebook >person, but I figured what the hell. It'd be nice for her to >have *some* kind of presence there. > >I don't know that this link will go there, but if it doesn't, >you could probably find it by searching. > >http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6555976193 > >I tried to add videos, but it wants me to "verify" myself >by giving my cell phone number, and then sending me a text >message. I don't know if I'm too keen on that. I'm thinking >about it. > >Vickie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:06:10 -0500 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: holiday albums It's that time of year again! If you're like me, you look forward to 24/7 Christmas radio, pulling out albums from years past, and adding new releases to your holiday music collection. I'm guessing there aren't that many people like me here on ecto, at least when it comes to holiday music. But for those who do enjoy celebrating the season with music, here are some recommendations on recent releases (2006 and 2007). Skip Sarah Sarah seems like an ideal artist to record a holiday album, with her angelic voice and the kind of soft adult alternative music she's been making lately. Her original "Song for a Winter's Night" (which appears on this collection) is an example of the kind of beautiful wintry music Sarah can make. But alas, Wintersong is not filled with such gems, but rather with sickly sweet traditionals and standards. Some are too close to the original ("River" and "Happy Xmas" even down to the children's chorus) and some diverge more from the traditional melody ("O Little Town of Bethlehem"). The reviews I read weren't very good, so I was expecting a mediocre album, but I find this entirely unlistenable. Rediscover Enya... I only listen to Enya at Christmastime. Her voice and smooth New Age music just seem perfectly suited to holiday music, which she smartly makes in ep formats - just the right amount of comforting sweet beauty before you get sick of it. Her third ep, Songs for the Season with Enya, available exclusively at Target, is a welcome addition. Sure, she makes "Joy to the World" into a bit of a downer, but she makes "Adeste Fidelis" sound regal and magical. and Moya (Maire) Brennan Maire (now Moya) Brennan released An Irish Christmas last year, and it quickly became one of my favorite holiday albums of all time. It's a lovely set of traditionals, beautifully arranged. There's not a lot of fuss to this album. There's no Santa either. No shopping, no snow. This is a collection that celebrates Christmas the holy day. I think it can be enjoyed by non-Christians as the music itself is gorgeous and the carols are familiar. But I've no doubt that this album is intended to be part of a religious celebration of Christmas. For those who are looking for that kind of celebration, you'll be hard pressed to find an album with the warmth and purity of this one. Get contemporary Kerry Getz - It's a Wonderful Life This isn't so much a holiday album as an album with a holiday theme. There are four originals, 5 traditionals/classics, and 2 covers of modern songs. The style is folk/rock throughout, and even the traditional songs are liberally arranged to match the sound. This is an excellent album, a blend of old and new, and one of the few seasonal albums that really captures the unique sound and vision of a particular artist. Very highly recommended. Mindy Smith - My HolidayA lovely, low-key collection of folk-country originals, traditionals, and modern covers. Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas Five Christmas EPs recorded between 2001 and 2006 as gifts for family and friends are packaged together in one box as a gift for fans. Equal parts holiday and holy day, reverence, irreverence, and cheer. An animated video to one of the original songs in the set can be found at http://www.goodeaton.com/animation/lights.html Have funKT Tunstall - Have Yourself a Very KT ChristmasAnother Target exclusive. The 6 songs on this EP are mostly contemporary classics and don't vary much from the originals, but I enjoy them. Her "Sleigh Ride" is really upbeat and fun. Highly recommended for KT fans.Adrienne Pierce - Making AngelsTwo fun holiday originals on a CD with a write-on surface you can personalize. Great gift for yourself or friends!Happy Holidays! Enjoy!JoAnn _________________________________________________________________ Put your friends on the big screen with Windows Vista. + Windows Live. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/shop/specialoffers.mspx?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_CPC_M ediaCtr_bigscreen_102007 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:52:13 -0500 From: "Richard Messum" Subject: Re: holiday albums Personally, i don't like Christmas music in November. Christmas is magic, and when we start to celebrate the magic too early, the magic is diluted (it seems to me). I don't usually start listening to Christmas music until mid-December. After which i listen to little else. Having said that, one of my favourite Christmas albums of all time, ever, is Amy Grant's "A Christmas Album." It is, to me, the "Abbey Road" of Christmas albums. (Remember that i'm an old fart from the age when vinyl rooled.) Side One of Amy's album, as with Side One of The Beatles', is pretty darned good, but also as with both, Side Two is a masterpiece! (I'd worn out my vinyl copy of Amy's album and in fact just ordered the CD replacement yesterday....) Richard - ----- Original Message ----- .)From: JoAnn Whetsell To: ecto@smoe.org Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 5:06 PM Subject: holiday albums It's that time of year again! If you're like me, you look forward to 24/7 Christmas radio, pulling out albums from years past, and adding new releases to your holiday music collection. I'm guessing there aren't that many people like me here on ecto, at least when it comes to holiday music. But for those who do enjoy celebrating the season with music, here are some recommendations on recent releases (2006 and 2007). Skip Sarah Sarah seems like an ideal artist to record a holiday album, with her angelic voice and the kind of soft adult alternative music she's been making lately. Her original "Song for a Winter's Night" (which appears on this collection) is an example of the kind of beautiful wintry music Sarah can make. But alas, Wintersong is not filled with such gems, but rather with sickly sweet traditionals and standards. Some are too close to the original ("River" and "Happy Xmas" even down to the children's chorus) and some diverge more from the traditional melody ("O Little Town of Bethlehem"). The reviews I read weren't very good, so I was expecting a mediocre album, but I find this entirely unlistenable. Rediscover Enya... I only listen to Enya at Christmastime. Her voice and smooth New Age music just seem perfectly suited to holiday music, which she smartly makes in ep formats - just the right amount of comforting sweet beauty before you get sick of it. Her third ep, Songs for the Season with Enya, available exclusively at Target, is a welcome addition. Sure, she makes "Joy to the World" into a bit of a downer, but she makes "Adeste Fidelis" sound regal and magical. and Moya (Maire) Brennan Maire (now Moya) Brennan released An Irish Christmas last year, and it quickly became one of my favorite holiday albums of all time. It's a lovely set of traditionals, beautifully arranged. There's not a lot of fuss to this album. There's no Santa either. No shopping, no snow. This is a collection that celebrates Christmas the holy day. I think it can be enjoyed by non-Christians as the music itself is gorgeous and the carols are familiar. But I've no doubt that this album is intended to be part of a religious celebration of Christmas. For those who are looking for that kind of celebration, you'll be hard pressed to find an album with the warmth and purity of this one. Get contemporary Kerry Getz - It's a Wonderful Life This isn't so much a holiday album as an album with a holiday theme. There are four originals, 5 traditionals/classics, and 2 covers of modern songs. The style is folk/rock throughout, and even the traditional songs are liberally arranged to match the sound. This is an excellent album, a blend of old and new, and one of the few seasonal albums that really captures the unique sound and vision of a particular artist. Very highly recommended. Mindy Smith - My HolidayA lovely, low-key collection of folk-country originals, traditionals, and modern covers. Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas Five Christmas EPs recorded between 2001 and 2006 as gifts for family and friends are packaged together in one box as a gift for fans. Equal parts holiday and holy day, reverence, irreverence, and cheer. An animated video to one of the original songs in the set can be found at http://www.goodeaton.com/animation/lights.html Have funKT Tunstall - Have Yourself a Very KT ChristmasAnother Target exclusive. The 6 songs on this EP are mostly contemporary classics and don't vary much from the originals, but I enjoy them. Her "Sleigh Ride" is really upbeat and fun. Highly recommended for KT fans.Adrienne Pierce - Making AngelsTwo fun holiday originals on a CD with a write-on surface you can personalize. Great gift for yourself or friends!Happy Holidays! Enjoy!JoAnn _________________________________________________________________ Put your friends on the big screen with Windows Vista. + Windows Live. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/shop/specialoffers.mspx?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_CPC_M ediaCtr_bigscreen_102007 - -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.4/1145 - Release Date: 11/22/2007 11:49 AM ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:53:31 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: "Lyra" on YouTube Hi, Xenu's Sister wrote: > A very nice person on the Kate forum put the song > up, with scenes from the movie. The beginning and > end is cut off, from being played on the radio with > talking cut out. THANK YOU for posting this!! I only just got a chance to watch/listen (ironically, I was *in* London the day the song was premiered on the BBC, but wasn't able to tune in :P). Now I'm even more jazzed for the movie. From what I can see in these scenes, they're doing it right. Yay!! - -- =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== hear at the HOMe House Concert Series http://hom.smoe.org =============================================== ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V13 #319 ***************************