From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V13 #335 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Wednesday, December 12 2007 Volume 13 : Number 335 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Today's your birthday, friend... [Mike Matthews ] Holiday albums [Greg Blair ] Best albums of 2007 ["Paul Jensen" ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [Timothy Jones-Yelvington ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [morayati@email.unc.edu] Re: Best albums of 2007 ["Paul Jensen" ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [Ethan Straffin ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [Timothy Jones-Yelvington ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [Timothy Jones-Yelvington ] Re: Best albums of 2007 [morayati@email.unc.edu] Re: Best albums of 2007 [Timothy Jones-Yelvington ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:00:02 -0500 (EST) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******************* Jeremy J. Corry (no Email address) ******************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jeremy J. Corry Fri December 11 1970 Sagittarius Renee Canada Tue December 13 1977 Sagittarius Julie C. Kammerzell Sun December 15 1968 Sagittarius/Scorpio combo Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti Sat December 15 1956 queen_nefertiti@prodigy.net Laura Clifford Tue December 17 1957 Sagittarius Dirk Kastens Tue December 17 1963 Sagittarius Milla Wed December 17 1975 Sagittarius Chris Schernwetter Tue December 17 1974 Sagittarius Sherry Haddock Sat December 17 1960 Sagittarius Tracy Benbrook Tue December 18 1973 Sagittarius Mark Lowry Mon December 22 1969 Capricarius Kay Cleaves Wed December 22 1976 Prancing Pony Uli Grepel Wed December 25 1968 Steinbock Joseph Wasicek Sat December 25 1976 Brown Eagle Stuart Castergine Mon December 30 1963 You Are Here Marvin Camras Sat January 01 1916 Tapehead Jeanne Schreiter Tue January 03 1967 Capricorn John Sandoval Wed January 04 1967 Capricorn Paul Cohen Tue January 05 1954 Capricorn Tony Garrity Mon January 08 1962 Pool of Life Greg Bossert Tue January 09 1962 OfTheTimes - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:48:55 +0000 From: Greg Blair Subject: Holiday albums I find it interesting that everyone here has a "ultimate christmas album" that's different than everyone else's. I still feel that 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' soundtrack is The Best Holiday Album EVER, but I must say that 'A Renaissance Christmas' by the Boston Camerata is really good too. "Heil Mary, full of grass!" The person who picked that album knows what I mean by that. Heh heh. _________________________________________________________________ im is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a difference. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_Cause_Effect ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:40:48 -0600 From: "Paul Jensen" Subject: Best albums of 2007 I hope that everyone will chime in with their favorites of the year. I look forward to this time of year for this very reason.. seeing what my fellow Ecto-folk enjoyed throughout the year, and finding new discoveries and things I've missed among the lists.. Here are my picks for the best albums of 2007. There were certainly some important releases this year.. Tori Amos made an incredibly strong comeback with the unexpectedly fantastic "American Doll Posse". Happy Rhodes released an album after a 9 year wait, and it's some of her best work ever. Nellie McKay gives us a blessedly bizarre album in "Obligatory Villagers", proving that she's impossible to predict and has an incredibly fierce imagination. But after a lot of thought, I think it's Nicole Atkins' debut, "Neptune City", that impresses me most. Her voice is clear and powerful, and her compositions are really unusual. Hers is a confident and assured release, brimming with originality and charm. The songs are catchy, challenging, and sometimes surprisingly complex. It's an exciting album, from an exciting new artist. 1. Nicole Atkins: "Neptune City" 2. Tori Amos: "American Doll Posse" 3. Happy Rhodes: "Find Me" 4. Nellie Mckay: Obligatory Villagers" 5. Sigur Ros: "Hvarf/Heim" 6. Stars: "In Our Bedroom After the War" 7. Rilo Kiley: "Under the Blacklight" 8. El Perro Del Mar 9. A Fine Frenzy: "One Cell in the Sea" 10. Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band EP 11. Rasputina: "Oh Perilous World" 12. Mika: "Life in Cartoon Motion" 13. St. Vincent: "Marry Me" 14. Marissa Nadler: "Songs III" 15. Husky Rescue: "Ghost is Not Real" 16. Au Revoir Simone: "The Bird of Music" 17. CocoRosie: "The Adventures Of Ghost Horse And Stillborn" 18. Amiina: "Kurr" 19. The Bird & The Bee 20. Imperial Teen: "The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band" 21. Keren Ann: "Keren Ann" 22. Laura Veirs: "Saltbreakers" Biggest disappointments: Bjork "Volta", Air "Pocket Symphony", Eisley "Combinations", Paula Cole "Courage", Rufus Wainwright "Release the Stars" Paul - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This is the time. And this is the record of the time." -Laurie Anderson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:07:08 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 I keep forgetting to purchase Nicole Atkins. I have a feeling she'll end up being my favorite album of 2007 that I don't discover until 2008. And I'm thrilled to see that you placed "Obligatory Villagers" so highly. I was beginning to worry that I was the only person who paid any attention to it. I have to say, though, that I have trouble understanding a list where such rote and generic releases as those by Rilo Kiley, Stars and A Fine Frenzy top something as thrilling and unusual and "Holy shit where did that come from!?" as St. Vincent. Also think "The Bird and the Bee" deserve better than 19. ~tim On 12/11/07 5:40 PM, "Paul Jensen" wrote: > I hope that everyone will chime in with their favorites of the year. I > look forward to this time of year for this very reason.. seeing what > my fellow Ecto-folk enjoyed throughout the year, and finding new > discoveries and things I've missed among the lists.. > > Here are my picks for the best albums of 2007. There were certainly > some important releases this year.. Tori Amos made an incredibly > strong comeback with the unexpectedly fantastic "American Doll Posse". > Happy Rhodes released an album after a 9 year wait, and it's some of > her best work ever. Nellie McKay gives us a blessedly bizarre album in > "Obligatory Villagers", proving that she's impossible to predict and > has an incredibly fierce imagination. But after a lot of thought, I > think it's Nicole Atkins' debut, "Neptune City", that impresses me > most. Her voice is clear and powerful, and her compositions are really > unusual. Hers is a confident and assured release, brimming with > originality and charm. The songs are catchy, challenging, and > sometimes surprisingly complex. It's an exciting album, from an > exciting new artist. > > 1. Nicole Atkins: "Neptune City" > 2. Tori Amos: "American Doll Posse" > 3. Happy Rhodes: "Find Me" > 4. Nellie Mckay: Obligatory Villagers" > 5. Sigur Ros: "Hvarf/Heim" > 6. Stars: "In Our Bedroom After the War" > 7. Rilo Kiley: "Under the Blacklight" > 8. El Perro Del Mar > 9. A Fine Frenzy: "One Cell in the Sea" > 10. Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band EP > 11. Rasputina: "Oh Perilous World" > 12. Mika: "Life in Cartoon Motion" > 13. St. Vincent: "Marry Me" > 14. Marissa Nadler: "Songs III" > 15. Husky Rescue: "Ghost is Not Real" > 16. Au Revoir Simone: "The Bird of Music" > 17. CocoRosie: "The Adventures Of Ghost Horse And Stillborn" > 18. Amiina: "Kurr" > 19. The Bird & The Bee > 20. Imperial Teen: "The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band" > 21. Keren Ann: "Keren Ann" > 22. Laura Veirs: "Saltbreakers" > > Biggest disappointments: Bjork "Volta", Air "Pocket Symphony", Eisley > "Combinations", Paula Cole "Courage", Rufus Wainwright "Release the > Stars" > > Paul ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:25:15 -0500 From: morayati@email.unc.edu Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 I actually haven't listened to much music from 2007, but I plan to rectify that as soon as the holidays are over and my funds aren't tied up in gift shopping. But of what I do have (in alphabetical order): Tori Amos - American Doll Posse: I'd been resisting Tori for a long time, for all the usual reasons - "Oh, she's just too out there," etc. This album broke my resistance. I heard some of the songs on Pandora and had to buy it. It's in my top of 2007 list, even if it's uneven - some tracks I love, some I can't just stand. Cathy Davey - Tales of Silversleeve: I've raved about Cathy's album before. I still love it. Perhaps on the poppier side of ecto, but it's inventive, catchy, and just great. All of the tracks are amazing. It hasn't lost its staying power yet. Christine Fellows - Nevertheless: OK, this one's cheating. I don't actually own the album yet. But the three tracks I've heard from it (i.e. the ones on her Myspace) are so good that they already secure it on the list. Amazing stuff. Quirky, rich, beautiful, and literary (in those three tracks alone, you've got a song-length Marianne Moore homage *and* a Yeats reference! joy! rapture!) I'm surprised it hasn't been discussed more yet. Happy Rhodes - Find Me: You expected this, right? Great stuff. Actually my first Happy album (the others are so difficult to find these days for non-exorbitant prices.) Once (soundtrack): Everything good you have heard about this soundtrack (and movie) is absolutely true, and every Grammy nomination it received is absolutely deserved. It's probably the most haunting album of 2007 that I've heard, and I'd be willing to bet that it's the most haunting even out of those that I have not heard. Noe Venable - The Summer Storm Journals: It's growing on me. To be honest, my first reaction was that it was too "precious," but I'm liking it more and more. I can certainly appreciate the artistry, in any case. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:28:32 -0600 From: "Paul Jensen" Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 Tim said: "And I'm thrilled to see that you placed "Obligatory Villagers" so highly. I was beginning to worry that I was the only person who paid any attention to it." I'll admit, at first I was put off by the album.. it was just not at all what I expected. But then I really started to get into it. I love the theatricality of the songs.. it's just Nellie having a great time with some great musicians. She's not taking herself too seriously here. I do hope she gets back to her razor-sharp lyrics soon, but this was a great break in the action! Paul - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This is the time. And this is the record of the time." -Laurie Anderson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:27:22 -0800 From: Ethan Straffin Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 Paul, Nice list, which may inspire me to spend a great deal. I'm in love with the new Tori as well, and also the Stars album. (They invited personal hero Lloyd Cole along to open for their recent Bay Area shows, and for that alone, let alone "Take Me To the Riot" and "Personal," I must give them major thumbs up.) I will clearly need to check out Nicole Atkins and catch up on my Sigur Ros as well. My latest things are Mew's _And the Glass Handed Kites_ (from 2006) and Blue October's _Foiled for the Last Time_ (which is packaged as a 2007 release, with a live disc from 2007 and the original studio version from 2006 -- I have a bit of a problem with this type of marketing, but the songs remain spectacular). Ethan Paul Jensen wrote: > I hope that everyone will chime in with their favorites of the year. I > look forward to this time of year for this very reason.. seeing what > my fellow Ecto-folk enjoyed throughout the year, and finding new > discoveries and things I've missed among the lists.. > > Here are my picks for the best albums of 2007. There were certainly > some important releases this year.. Tori Amos made an incredibly > strong comeback with the unexpectedly fantastic "American Doll Posse". > Happy Rhodes released an album after a 9 year wait, and it's some of > her best work ever. Nellie McKay gives us a blessedly bizarre album in > "Obligatory Villagers", proving that she's impossible to predict and > has an incredibly fierce imagination. But after a lot of thought, I > think it's Nicole Atkins' debut, "Neptune City", that impresses me > most. Her voice is clear and powerful, and her compositions are really > unusual. Hers is a confident and assured release, brimming with > originality and charm. The songs are catchy, challenging, and > sometimes surprisingly complex. It's an exciting album, from an > exciting new artist. > > 1. Nicole Atkins: "Neptune City" > 2. Tori Amos: "American Doll Posse" > 3. Happy Rhodes: "Find Me" > 4. Nellie Mckay: Obligatory Villagers" > 5. Sigur Ros: "Hvarf/Heim" > 6. Stars: "In Our Bedroom After the War" > 7. Rilo Kiley: "Under the Blacklight" > 8. El Perro Del Mar > 9. A Fine Frenzy: "One Cell in the Sea" > 10. Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band EP > 11. Rasputina: "Oh Perilous World" > 12. Mika: "Life in Cartoon Motion" > 13. St. Vincent: "Marry Me" > 14. Marissa Nadler: "Songs III" > 15. Husky Rescue: "Ghost is Not Real" > 16. Au Revoir Simone: "The Bird of Music" > 17. CocoRosie: "The Adventures Of Ghost Horse And Stillborn" > 18. Amiina: "Kurr" > 19. The Bird & The Bee > 20. Imperial Teen: "The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band" > 21. Keren Ann: "Keren Ann" > 22. Laura Veirs: "Saltbreakers" > > Biggest disappointments: Bjork "Volta", Air "Pocket Symphony", Eisley > "Combinations", Paula Cole "Courage", Rufus Wainwright "Release the > Stars" > > Paul ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:43:26 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 I feel like live musicians are what her music has called for all along. Even more impressive that she composed all of the orchestrations herself. The programmed instruments have always kept her work from having the freshness and vitality and urgency it deserves, particularly on "Pretty Little Head," which I thought had some stodgy and/or cheesy production elements. She has such freakishly innate musical instincts that cross multiple periods and genres (most with a retro flair of one kind or another), that it's refreshing to hear her work in a more organic setting with room to breathe. It's also great, for once, to see her edit an album to a length that leaves you wanting more instead of leaving you oversaturated. I'm really hoping her next project will be to partner with a playwright to write the next great leftist American musical (I kind of feel like she's already written three, they just happen to lack plots, dialogue or characters). I don't think this is a "break in the action." I think it's her most mature work yet. Musically speaking, it feels less ironic and more committed. ~tim On 12/11/07 7:28 PM, "Paul Jensen" wrote: > Tim said: "And I'm thrilled to see that you placed "Obligatory > Villagers" so highly. I > was beginning to worry that I was the only person who paid any attention to > it." > > I'll admit, at first I was put off by the album.. it was just not at > all what I expected. But then I really started to get into it. I love > the theatricality of the songs.. it's just Nellie having a great time > with some great musicians. She's not taking herself too seriously > here. I do hope she gets back to her razor-sharp lyrics soon, but this > was a great break in the action! > > Paul ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:53:52 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 re: Noe Venable: "I can certainly appreciate the artistry, in > any case. That's ultimately why I decided to make it my #1. I usually give that honor to something that feels very deliberately crafted, from start to finish, as an album with a shape and an arc. Noe self-produced this one, and it's really clear how much effort she put into creating something complex, rich and layered. Subdued on first listen, but with multiple layers to peel back on repeated listens. The music is as intricate as the delicately-drawn cover image of the tree branches. I think "precious" is another one of those supposedly objective critical terms that in its usage can in fact be quite gendered and can reinforce gendered hierarchies in the music business under the guise of judging "good" and "bad" art. ~tim On 12/11/07 6:25 PM, "morayati@email.unc.edu" wrote: > I actually haven't listened to much music from 2007, but I plan to > rectify that as soon as the holidays are over and my funds aren't tied > up in gift shopping. > > But of what I do have (in alphabetical order): > > Tori Amos - American Doll Posse: I'd been resisting Tori for a long > time, for all the usual reasons - "Oh, she's just too out there," etc. > This album broke my resistance. I heard some of the songs on Pandora > and had to buy it. It's in my top of 2007 list, even if it's uneven - > some tracks I love, some I can't just stand. > > Cathy Davey - Tales of Silversleeve: I've raved about Cathy's album > before. I still love it. Perhaps on the poppier side of ecto, but it's > inventive, catchy, and just great. All of the tracks are amazing. It > hasn't lost its staying power yet. > > Christine Fellows - Nevertheless: OK, this one's cheating. I don't > actually own the album yet. But the three tracks I've heard from it > (i.e. the ones on her Myspace) are so good that they already secure it > on the list. Amazing stuff. Quirky, rich, beautiful, and literary (in > those three tracks alone, you've got a song-length Marianne Moore > homage *and* a Yeats reference! joy! rapture!) I'm surprised it hasn't > been discussed more yet. > > Happy Rhodes - Find Me: You expected this, right? Great stuff. Actually > my first Happy album (the others are so difficult to find these days > for non-exorbitant prices.) > > Once (soundtrack): Everything good you have heard about this soundtrack > (and movie) is absolutely true, and every Grammy nomination it received > is absolutely deserved. It's probably the most haunting album of 2007 > that I've heard, and I'd be willing to bet that it's the most haunting > even out of those that I have not heard. > > Noe Venable - The Summer Storm Journals: It's growing on me. To be > honest, my first reaction was that it was too "precious," but I'm > liking it more and more. I can certainly appreciate the artistry, in > any case. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:23:49 -0500 From: morayati@email.unc.edu Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 I see where you're coming from, but that was my first impression - not my current thoughts - and first impressions are often rather impolite and not-quite-formed. Some of my favorite artists went through the initial-dismissal phase (rhyme not intended). For example, the first time I heard Stina Nordenstam my immediate reaction was "My God, this is the worst singer I've ever heard." She's in my top three artists of all time now. So first impressions don't always stick. Quoting Timothy Jones-Yelvington : > I think "precious" is another one of those supposedly objective critical > terms that in its usage can in fact be quite gendered and can reinforce > gendered hierarchies in the music business under the guise of judging "good" > and "bad" art. > > ~tim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:01:48 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Best albums of 2007 I hear that. I just mean that the word "precious" sometimes sends up little red flags or puts me on the defensive for the reasons described. I'm not necessarily accusing you of using it that way. And... Noe (not unlike Stina, actually) does have a very child-like timbre, and children are precious. Relatedly, sometimes I'll hear someone at one point in my life and not particularly connect with their work, and then I'll hear them at another time in my life and they get under my skin instantaneously. Laura Nyro was like that, once-upon-a-time, which is now difficult for me to imagine. And I actually think I was alienated by Kate Bush and Jane Siberry the first time I heard them as well, and went crawling back to my Sarah McLachlan and Indigo Girls records. Such unsophisticated and childish ears my younger self had! ~tim On 12/11/07 11:23 PM, "morayati@email.unc.edu" wrote: > I see where you're coming from, but that was my first impression - not > my current thoughts - and first impressions are often rather impolite > and not-quite-formed. Some of my favorite artists went through the > initial-dismissal phase (rhyme not intended). For example, the first > time I heard Stina Nordenstam my immediate reaction was "My God, this > is the worst singer I've ever heard." She's in my top three artists of > all time now. So first impressions don't always stick. > > Quoting Timothy Jones-Yelvington : > >> I think "precious" is another one of those supposedly objective critical >> terms that in its usage can in fact be quite gendered and can reinforce >> gendered hierarchies in the music business under the guise of judging "good" >> and "bad" art. >> >> ~tim ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V13 #335 ***************************