From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V14 #131 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, May 14 2009 Volume 14 : Number 131 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, friends... [Mike Matthews ] new music, strange days [Adam Kimmel ] Re: abnormally attracted to sin [Karen Hester ] Re: abnormally attracted to sin [Michael Quinn ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 03:00:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friends... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ********************** Steve Fagg (no Email address) ********************** ******************* Karel Zuiderveld (no Email address) ******************* *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Steve Fagg Tue May 13 1958 Nightwol Karel Zuiderveld Fri May 13 1960 Stier Michael Colford Wed May 16 1962 Taurus Christopher Boek Tue May 19 1970 Taurus Julia Macklin Mon May 20 1968 ethereus Yngve Hauge Fri May 21 1971 Gemini Lisa Laane Tue May 22 1973 Gemini Jewel Kilcher Thu May 23 1974 The Gem Chandra Sriram Thu May 27 1971 Gemini Taina Sahlander Mon May 28 1973 Gemini Urs Stafford Thu May 31 1973 Give Way Perttu Yli-Krekola Thu June 02 1966 Kaksoset Alexander Johannesen June 03 Gemini Alex Gibbs Thu June 08 1967 Betelgeuse Gleb Zverev Tue June 09 1964 Gemini Sonja Juchniewich Mon June 10 1963 Pegasus Joerg Plate Mon June 12 1967 Gemini Chris Montville Tue June 13 1978 Gemini Ectoplasm (original name) Mailing List Thu June 13 1991 Fuzzier blue - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 01:16:20 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: new music, strange days I'm sitting at work in the early hours and one of my many bosses, a lovely enough man who I've lent the first two King Crimson albums to (to his delight) is telling me that he'll lend me Mike and the Mechanics because "they're lyrics for chaps our age".B He's lean, deadpan and droll, impeccably turned out with a sharp parting in his hairB and, indeed, my age, but he is our police liaison and has told me that he feels the police did a sterling job at the G20 "riots" (my sarcastic quote marks, not his).B but we talk about music a lot and he used to be a biker and a Led Zeppelin and Wishbone Ash fan, so there's some sort of universal language going on. Meanwhile, I've been wearily working my way through new music, including the new Antony and the Johnsons (which I've found impossible to work out where one song ends and another begins, so similar in tone are they), my first Alela Dane (like it, but a similar feeling still lingers) and the new Bob Mould (voice shot, surrendering to machinery like a Borg version of his younger self).B These all need some work on my part, and I'll come back to them, but sometimes I resent the labour required.B And then, on my way to Spain to scatter my father's ashes and trying to work out why, decked out in a cheap brown linen suit and inexplicably expensive shoes all bought for the occasion, I reluctantly crack open The Decemberists' "The Hazards of Love" and find myself suddenly wrapped up in a weird and wonderful world of lust, violence and nature set in a blasted, timeless landscape.B Words cannot describe how much I love this album, right down to the nasty infanticide of "The Rake's Song" and the sinister children's chorus of "The Hazards of Love (Revenge!)".B Gothic and uncompromising, this is one weird trip, and it's been a long, long time that I've gone back to the lyrics (impossibly small on the CD leaflet) to try and work out what was going on, and it's alsoB been quite a while since I've listened to an album five times back to back.B My favourite album of the year, so far, by many a mile. I have also (for the few that have followed so far) just listened to the new Indigo Girls album, "Poseidon and the Bitter Bug".B The Girls, in recent years, have never ceased to be a source of disappointment to me, as they drift off into the middle of the road, check their political leanings in their liner notes but have turned out several albums in a row chock full of pleasant little love songs and folksy musings.B I thought I'd given up on them, but decided one more go, even though I wasn't expecting much.B This time, I read the lyrics first -- something I never do --and things looked promising.B But on initial listening, it was business as usual, with the instrumentation and Mitchell Froom's production turning everything into a smoooooooth experience, music that wouldn't be out of place on an easy listening radion station or in a lift or a mall orB a lift in a mall that plays easy listening radio.B The Girls, however, have attached an extra disc of acoustic versions of the same songs.B I'm only a few tracks into it, but it's enough to make me fall in love with them all over again.B Suddenly, stripped down to the basics, the edge is back in their voices, the simple sweetness and harmony and clear emotion rings through.B It may not pan out over a whole CD, but it's intriguing and very, very refreshing, like a drink of clear water after the milkshake gloop of the first disc.B Oh, but it all might change.B As I often ask, how many plays does it take a CD to take shape?B How many plays does a CD deserve?B Why do I continue to ask these kind of questions? Interesting to see a Genesis entry in the Ectophile Guide -- many thanks to JoAnn, it looks like, for being brave enough to tackle that one.B Maybe I will do my Gentle Giant entry, after all.... Adam K ____________________________________________________________ FREE 3D MARINE AQUARIUM SCREENSAVER - Watch dolphins, sharks & orcas on your desktop! Check it out at http://www.inbox.com/marineaquarium ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 11:08:12 -0400 From: Karen Hester Subject: Re: abnormally attracted to sin > From: morayati@email.unc.edu > I don't know. I've only heard the one song, but from what you've said, > this actually sounds rather promising. Well, half promising. The "lite > pop" sounds profoundly boring - I still haven't gotten into Beekeeper - > and the extraneous tracks, from what you've said, seem like they'd > trend towards that category wrong. Is this a misjudgment? > There are 5 that I classify as lite poppy Beekeeperish (or poppy Doll Posse, to be honest) so there are many left if you ditch them! I like most of the pop songs and they help the album with pacing, but only 'Welcome to England' is OK-for-Tori. Maybe solo versions will help; solo England has been praised. I prefer 'Bouncing off clouds', 'Beauty of speed' (esp live) and 'Almost Rosey' better than most of these. Lots of fans who didn't like American Doll Posse are praising this album, but that just seems weird to me. It's much easier to like something after disappointment, even if the qualities you like were present in the disappointing album. >But electronics and guitars are things I can get behind. I *liked* >"Teenage Hustling." I like "Body and Soul." I liked American Doll Posse >because it was just a complete 180 from Beekeeper. Of the noisier numbers, 'Strong black vine' and 'Police me' aren't as melodic as 'Body and soul', which I also like lots. They make me think of how complex and magical 'Hotel' was :) The atmospheric electronic-y stuff (Give, Flavor, Starling, Abnormally attracted to sin, maybe Curtain Call..) aren't much like American Doll Posse to me. I like all these, but their melodic structures are quite long and unvarying. If they existed in physical space, they'd be long flat rugs with intricate patterns (all the noises). You walk and walk, admiring the patterns at your feet, wondering if that bit was the chorus, feeling like the song is longer than it is, and then you trip over a big fold in the rug where an out of place bridge is. This is why the lesser pop songs are necessary on the album - they have really identifiable pop structures and energy and pull you along. > So I'm not going to >dismiss it until I hear it. Maybe it's a case of mileage varying. Hell yes, listen to it! Anyone who enjoyed American Doll Posse will enjoy bits of this. It depends on whether one can bother, since no one can enjoy the entire thing. Creating your own tight album out of "here's 17 songs wot I recorded" isn't worth the time to some people, but is to me. I'm one of those dopey people who has given enough time to Beekeeper to rustle around and discover songs to enjoy (Marys, Beekeeper, Barons, Parasol). Tori said some interesting stuff in recent interviews about Beekeeper being recorded in a few takes, how it's a 'live b-sides' album. Odd that it is polish and niceness that many of us dislike in it, as opposed to rawness and experimentation! From: Doug > And yes, I'm one of the (hopefully many) people who ranks Doll right > up there with her pre-Venus material. It rocks IMO. 'Sin' doesn't rock as much, but hopefully you can find enough enjoyment among the non-poppy tracks. K ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 12:20:18 -0400 From: Michael Quinn Subject: Re: abnormally attracted to sin I find The Beekeeper to be her weakest album. Some of it is good but there is a lot of stuff that just bores me. ADP actually suffers from the same problem to a lesser extent, although there are more songs I like on it compared to The Beekeeper. Both albums strike me as if she had a certain amount of quality songs (an EP in the Beekeeper's case, a shorter album in ADP's) and just added a bunch sub-par B-sides to fill up the CD. It's funny because Tori used to have the exact opposite problem in my eyes. Some of her early B-sides are just brilliant and I can't fathom at all why she left them off the albums (Sugar,Honey,Upside Down etc.) I've only heard "Welcome To England" off the new one and it's OK but certainly nothing spectacular. If it's one of the best songs on the album I will be disappointed but it's not as bad as some stuff Tori has come out with in the last four years. Scarlet's Walk was just such a masterpiece, Maybe I'm just expecting too much of her after that. Karen Hester wrote: >> From: morayati@email.unc.edu >> >> > I don't know. I've only heard the one song, but from what you've said, > >> this actually sounds rather promising. Well, half promising. The "lite >> pop" sounds profoundly boring - I still haven't gotten into Beekeeper - >> and the extraneous tracks, from what you've said, seem like they'd >> trend towards that category wrong. Is this a misjudgment? >> >> > > There are 5 that I classify as lite poppy Beekeeperish (or poppy Doll Posse, > to be honest) so there are many left if you ditch them! I like most of the > pop songs and they help the album with pacing, but only 'Welcome to England' > is OK-for-Tori. Maybe solo versions will help; solo England has been > praised. I prefer 'Bouncing off clouds', 'Beauty of speed' (esp live) and > 'Almost Rosey' better than most of these. > > Lots of fans who didn't like American Doll Posse are praising this album, > but that just seems weird to me. It's much easier to like something after > disappointment, even if the qualities you like were present in the > disappointing album. > > >> But electronics and guitars are things I can get behind. I *liked* >> "Teenage Hustling." I like "Body and Soul." I liked American Doll Posse >> because it was just a complete 180 from Beekeeper. >> > > Of the noisier numbers, 'Strong black vine' and 'Police me' aren't as > melodic as 'Body and soul', which I also like lots. They make me think of > how complex and magical 'Hotel' was :) > > The atmospheric electronic-y stuff (Give, Flavor, Starling, Abnormally > attracted to sin, maybe Curtain Call..) aren't much like American Doll Posse > to me. I like all these, but their melodic structures are quite long and > unvarying. If they existed in physical space, they'd be long flat rugs with > intricate patterns (all the noises). You walk and walk, admiring the > patterns at your feet, wondering if that bit was the chorus, feeling like > the song is longer than it is, and then you trip over a big fold in the rug > where an out of place bridge is. This is why the lesser pop songs are > necessary on the album - they have really identifiable pop structures and > energy and pull you along. > > >> So I'm not going to >> dismiss it until I hear it. Maybe it's a case of mileage varying. >> > > Hell yes, listen to it! Anyone who enjoyed American Doll Posse will enjoy > bits of this. It depends on whether one can bother, since no one can enjoy > the entire thing. Creating your own tight album out of "here's 17 songs wot > I recorded" isn't worth the time to some people, but is to me. > > I'm one of those dopey people who has given enough time to Beekeeper to > rustle around and discover songs to enjoy (Marys, Beekeeper, Barons, > Parasol). Tori said some interesting stuff in recent interviews about > Beekeeper being recorded in a few takes, how it's a 'live b-sides' album. > Odd that it is polish and niceness that many of us dislike in it, as opposed > to rawness and experimentation! > > From: Doug > >> And yes, I'm one of the (hopefully many) people who ranks Doll right >> up there with her pre-Venus material. It rocks IMO. >> > > 'Sin' doesn't rock as much, but hopefully you can find enough enjoyment > among the non-poppy tracks. > > K ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V14 #131 ***************************