From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V15 #299 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, December 21 2010 Volume 15 : Number 299 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- AUTO: Donald R. Barthel/111527/EKC is out of the office. (returning 12/27/2010) [donald.barthel@k] 2010 round-up (ish) [Adam Kimmel ] Thea Gilmore's Wintertide Tour [Ellen Rawson ] 2 questions [JoAnn Whetsell ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 02:47:55 -0500 From: donald.barthel@kodak.com Subject: AUTO: Donald R. Barthel/111527/EKC is out of the office. (returning 12/27/2010) I am out of the office until 12/27/2010. I will respond to your message when I return. Please contact Rita Doran for assistance, x74263 or Bill Heyen x23747 for Color Print/Aerial B-38 codes, or any B-38 formulation technician. For 8272/9272/X468/2470/3021: Jim Fitzgerald x21993. Frank Ciliberto x25523 for X321,X056,X925/5419,X110,X948,X949 Thanks, Note: This is an automated response to your message "ecto-digest V15 #298" sent on 12/20/2010 1:55:05 AM. This is the only notification you will receive while this person is away. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:51:46 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: 2010 round-up (ish) Ibve already given my bit on my favourite albums of the year and I've recieved but not heard the new Alison Crowe, but here (Ibm afraid) is a more comprehensive list of my highs and lows. Best albums (in no order and IMHO): Murphybs Heart by Thea Gilmore.B Ibve already raved about this at length but, I have to say, I still canbt get enough of this album. Hadestown by Anais Mitchell.B This one took me by surprise, as b despite recommendations b I just canbt get into Anais Mitchell, mainly due to her cutesy voice.B (Indeed, a subsequent hasty purchase of her previous album set the record for bLeast Time Spent on My MP3 Playerb).B This, however, is brilliant, loaded with guest stars and rich with influences, as if Tom Waits had descended on a 30s shantytown and organised the denizens into performing a musical based on the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice.B Hugely enjoyable. This Charming Life by Joan Armatrading.B Ibm not a fan b I bought this for my partner who is b but this was another very pleasant surprise.B Sharp, spikey and full of fun, she performs on pretty much every instrument herself but the sound is still full and funky.B Ibd rate it up there with her best, with the shouty chorus of bBest Dress Onb as a highlight, and recommend it highly. The Golden Archipeligo by Shearwater b More haunting landscapes from these guys.B Not instantly appealing, but a grower. Have One On Me by Joanna Newsome b another one that needs repeated listening to, and pays it off in long-term dividends.B Like wandering around a particularly idiosyncratic gallery and realising that the beautifully strange music following you from room to room, changing around every corner, IS the exhibit. Together by the New Pornographers.B Good fun, catchy tunes, and inventive use of the cello, but Ibm baffled as to what theybre on about, lyrically. Band of Joy by Robert Plant b the way retro should be done, with respect and soul. July Flame by Laura Viers.B My first Viers and thoroughly enjoyable, but I donbt know if Ibm a convert. Oh Little Fire by Sarah Harmer.B After a couple of indifferent albums, this is Sarah back on form with her best album since You Were Here. Let the Hard Times Roll by David Ford b this was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest:B the excellent EPs he released in the run-up to this promised a lot more, and this is decidedly patchy and his voice sounds strained. Still, for the title track and the beauty of songs like bStephenb and bTo Hell With the Worldb, this squeaks in. Bubbling Under: The Long Surrender by Over the Rhine.B To be honest, this was something of a disappointment, as well, but I still need to give it time.B I was expecting a natural progression from the fun and funky "Trumpet Child", but this is more of a return to the languid grace of their previous albums. Beautiful enough, but I was expecting something different.B Also, I couldnbt find my name on it.B Moan, moan. Five Ghosts by Stars.B Somebody did ask about this, but my mental jury was still out, and pretty much still is.B I hated it when I first heard it (sounding, as it does, as if it was composed and performed on a Casio keyboard) but after a while there was something quite enchanting about its cold, fragile beauty. Albums I wished I liked more:B "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire, "I Speak Because I Can" by Laura Marling (I loved her very promising debut, but this feels like a regression, a college sophomore coffee-house strummer whobs been listening to way too much Nick Drake) and "Age of Adz" by Sufjan Stevens (elecronica squall that drowns almost everything, but I look forward to the acoustic remix if it ever comes); "Through Low Light and Trees" by the Smoke Fairies (a bit like the Dear Janes on their last album). Disappointments:B Katell Keineg (half baked and lazy); Tom McRae, Patty Griffin, Delays. Best Album not of 2010:B "Gown" by Jo Hamilton.B Itbs pure ecto, and highly recommended for fans of Jesca Hoopbs latest and Noe Venable.B A dreamy trip down a winding river where Ms Hamilton, as your guide, sings through the mist from the riverbank. Least Favourite Album:B An unprecedented three-way tie:B the overstuffed and yet curiously flaccid "Forgiveness Rock Record" by Broken Social Scene, the obnoxious, juvenile synth-pop of Yeasayersb "Oddblood" and the monstrous waste of time, talent and resources that is "Leave Your Sleep" by Natalie Merchant. Best Film:B I saw very few in the cinema, but I really enjoyed Up in The Air and Shutter Island. Worst Film:B Inception (the only film Ibve nearly walked out on). B B yeah, that's about it for this year. Merry Christmas to anyone who's read this far. Adam K ____________________________________________________________ Publish your photos in seconds for FREE TRY IM TOOLPACK at http://www.imtoolpack.com/default.aspx?rc=if4 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:08:31 -0800 (PST) From: Ellen Rawson Subject: Thea Gilmore's Wintertide Tour Hello all, Said tour ended last night in Winchester. Amazingly enough, the world was ending, as, once again, it's been snowing down along the Solent in southern England. However, we called the Tower (venue) in Winchester and the gig was on. As Thea later said, they drove down from Cheshire (where they live) that day, and although driving was a little tricky around Oxford, the roads were fine. And this ex-pat Coloradan, who laughs at the tiny bits of snow closing down England, found the roads fine also. Okay, the side streets were a tad icy, but the main roads were pretty much clear. Thea's voice was clear also last night, despite her warning us about how, during this tour, she's been a germ carrier and has been fighting off a chest infection, meaning that her voice could shift from sounding like Charlotte Church to resembling that of Leonard Cohen in 2.5 seconds. Nigel Stonier was the opening act, playing songs from his own albums on acoustic guitar. The man is a damned fine songwriter and guitarist, and he can sing also. Good stuff. Later on, it was Thea on acoutic guitar and vocals, Nigel also on acoustic guitar (it was an acoustic night) and backing vocals, and Fluff on violin, whistles and various other instruments and backing vocals. That was the line-up except for one song when four-year-old Egan Stonier ran on-stage clutching a child's-size violin. I'm not sure if he was miked up, but when it was time for Fluff to play, she'd cue him and they'd play together. In between, he'd run between Fluff and his father, on opposite sides of the stage, whilst Mum sang in the middle. He earned a round of applause, and Thea joked that if she trained him up now, he could take over for her in a few years. They didn't have the dartboard of cheesy Christmas songs as they did last year, where an audience member would throw a dart and they'd play the song. (Our gig had "Winter Wonderland".) The bulk of the evening's material was pulled from Thea's far more cynical seasonal offering, Strange Communion, which was, as Nigel confirmed earlier, the reason for touring when the weather was so bad. (He wasn't cynical about the snow, though. He admitted that whilst it was pretty annoying having to dig out your car that they'd seen some beautiful snow scenes whilst travelling around England.) Other music was played also, though, with the audience clapping appreciately when songs such as "Old Soul" started. An interesting political note. Before launching into "God's Got Nothing on You", the second song on "Murphy's Heart", Thea's latest release, and the one I loved so much I started hitting the repeat button over and over again, she discussed how people will tell her what her songs are about. With this one, people have been telling her it's an excellent song about Tony Blair. She merely smiled and said how now, with our current government, there are so many people it could be about. How true, alas. (Btw, the night before, we'd been at home watching "Folk Music at Christmas", a themed show that had been recorded in Shoreditch earlier in the month, featuring Bellowhead, the Unthanks and Thea Gilmore. Thea got to sing the song I'd wished had been the Christmas number one last year. With lines such as "faith, hope and gluttony/that'll be Christmas", it certainly rings true for many folks.) Anyway, it was a good closing night gig, and I'm glad we ventured out into the cold for it. The only sad news is that the venue will not be used for music in the near future; they're the last band to play there. ("It's nothing we did!" Thea insisted.) The Tower in Winchester actually is a converted 19th-century water tower that was converted into an arts space in the late '60s. In 2008, the King's School (which really is right next door) took it over. Nobody working there last night had a definitive answer, so we're guessing that it just isn't profitable as a music venue any longer, although every time I've been, it's certainly been packed. (It wasn't that crowded last night, but more tickets had been sold. A lot of people simply didn't venture out into the snow.) Or perhaps the school only wants it for its own use, but that's going against trends locally, as more schools and colleges seek out ways to make money from the public what with governmental budget cuts. However, Nigel did announce they just learned last night that they're playing the Brook in Southampton in March, so watch out for a spring tour. Ellen "Literature stops in 1100. After that, it's just books." - -- JRR Tolkien ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:49:32 -0500 From: JoAnn Whetsell Subject: 2 questions 1. Does anyone know a good way to do custom backups of iTunes stuff? I want to backup more than just purchased items but not everything. Last time I tried to do this I think everything got saved as audio files, and it took up 49 CDs. 2. Is anyone planning on going to the holiday carol sing-along at the Knitting Factory in NYC tonight? $7 gets you entrance plus a free egg nog or hot chocolate. Same for $6 if you wear a Santa hat. I plan to be there with a friend, so e-mail me if you want to meet up. JoAnn ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V15 #299 ***************************