Fegmaniax Digest <==----------==> (Send posts to the list to fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send adminstrative requests to majordomo@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send comments, etc to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) <==----------==> Volume 3 Number 77 Today's Topics: ------- ------ The Man With The Lightbulb He CRD: Heaven CRD: Queen Elvis CRD: The Man With The Lightbulb Head CRD:Arms of Love Chords Chords, Stanshall, and divers alarums Greetings From The Trouser Press New to the group Rout of the Clones...Live Soft Boys CD.... Stop Press: Robyn/Martin Newell Gigs tribute album [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 22:22:19 -0400 (EDT) From: Eugene B Mirman Subject: Rout of the Clones...Live Soft Boys CD.... To: Robyn Has anyone seen this CD before? Do you know if it's a bootleg or an official CD? Either way it has the following live songs: * Blues In The Dark * The Bells Of Rhymney * Sandra's Having Her Brain Out * The Pigworker * School Dinner Blues * Cold Turkey * Leppo & The Jooves * Have a Heart Betty * I Like Bananas (Sounds like the live version on the 2 CD set) * Wading Through a Ventilator (Seems to be the live version on Can Of Bees) # The Rat's Prayer # Give It To The Soft Boys # Hear My Brane # Return Of The Sacred Crab @ Mystery Train @ Muriel's Hoof/Rout Of The Clones @ (I Wanna Be An) Anglepoise Lam ! Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman * Live at Lady Mitchell Hall, Cambride 27/11/78 # Live at Leister University, 1978 @ Live at Lady Mitchel Hall, Cambridge 3/78 ! Rehersal session, exact date unknown. Some of these versions sound like a tape I heard of live Soft Boys stuff once (maybe 1-10), but most of the other versions I've never heard before. Does anyone know any more info on any of these performances or recordings? Does anyone have any of these concerts in their entirety? And finally, does anyone know more about the Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman song? -Eugene ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I believe the whole concept of monotheism is a gift from the gods" -Emo Phillips Eugene's humor page: http://dawn.pc.cc.cmu.edu/~eugene/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 16:42:49 +1200 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James) Subject: Chords, Stanshall, and divers alarums Firstly, a wee note of congratulations to hardaker@iaccess.za (Mike Hardaker) for managing to get Robyn Hitchcock, Flanders and Swann and Flann O'Brien in one message. I'm impressed (and a fan of At Swim Two Birds and At The Drop of A Hat!) >>Are there many musicians on this mailing list? Are there *any* non-musicians on this list??? BTW, to all Viv Stanshall (RIP) fans, I suggest you check out, if you can, the unexpurgated version of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, as issued in his boxed set but trimmed in the initial release for being too left-field. It contains a guided tour of The Manor by an extremely drunk Stanshall, with Oldfield playing the Sailor's Hornpipe in the background. Weird but wonderful. > Question One: How many people would be interested in the posting > of chords to Our Man Robyn's songs? I've figured out a few, and > would love to share 'em. But, I'd hate to waste bandwith and be a > pest. I've been posting some onn and off for the last few months, and no-one's complained so far. I've even got positive responses, and offers of tapes and toast as a result! Go to it! James James Dignan, Department of Psychology, University of Otago. Ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk St., St. Clair, Dunedin, New Zealand pixelphone james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz / steam megaphone NZ 03-455-7807 * You talk to me as if from a distance * and I reply with impressions chosen from another time, time, time, * from another time (Brian Eno) [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:29:37 +0100 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu From: andyh@pavilion.co.uk (Andy Holyer) Subject: Stop Press: Robyn/Martin Newell Gigs Cc: jangly@pavilion.co.uk I've been asked to post theses Gig announcements: Robyn Hitchcock Plus support "Ezio" Will be at Union Chapel Compton Terrace Islington, Londo Thursday 18 May Price GBP 8.00 RH will be on stage at 9:30 pm. --------------------------------------------- Robyn Hitchcock + Support/MC Martin Newell All Saints Centre, Lewes E. Sussex Saturday 17 June 8pm. Tickets GBP 6.00 For info or to reserve tickets eMail flo@pavilion.co.uk. Andy Holyer, Pavilion Internet plc, Brighton, UK http://www.pavilion.co.uk/ [][][][][][][][][][] From: ajansari@acs.ucalgary.ca Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:23:08 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: CRD: Queen Elvis Howdy, all. Here's the first for today, a veritable classic. I can't decide if the lyric is "'till you breathe" or "'till you bleed", so I sing both. I like it better that way. Oh, and could someone amybe archive all of these chords, for future generations of fegs? Enjoy. Arif Queen Elvis (R.Hitchcock) ------------------------------- from the album _Eye_ D A People get what they deserve Am Time is round and space is curved G Honey, have you got the nerve D To be Queen Elvis D A See that man that mows his lawn Am He'll hang in drag before the dawn G Some are made and some are born D To be Queen Elvis You could break you mother's heart You could break your sister's heart Coming out's the hardest part When you're Queen Elvis G D Justify your special ways G A Justify your special ways Getting blow jobs from the press Oh, I'm jealous, can't you guess? I could never fit your dress Queen Elvis Em D G A Oh, and I'll sculpt you, so very hard Em D A Oh, and I'll sculpt you, 'till you breathe Everybody must get stoned All together or alone Babbling beside the throne Of Queen Elvis Justify your special ways Justify your special ways Two mirrors make infinity In the mirror you and me Find out just what love could be Queen Elvis Oh, and I'll sculpt you, so very hard Oh, and I'll sculpt you, 'till you breathe People get what they deserve Time is round and space is curved Honey, have you got the nerve To be Queen Elvis [][][][][][][][][][] From: ajansari@acs.ucalgary.ca Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:33:04 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: CRD: Heaven Okay, another pop gem. The live version on the re-issue is, musically, quite different from the original. But the words are easier to make out. So this transcription uses the music from the studio version, and words from both the studio and live versions. Just to complicate things. Enjoy. Arif. (ps: this, along with my other chord posts, will probably need some re-formatting - sorry) Heaven (R.Hitchcock) ------------------------- from the album _Fegmania!_ F Dm You've got heaven - heaven in your hand F Dm You've got heaven - running thru your land Bb Why don't you fight for it G F You're right for it, you know Bb Why don't you kill for it G F You're ill for it, oh, so Bb C F Bb You've got h - e - a - ven Bb C F Bb You've got h - e - a - ven G Bb F You've got arms, you've got legs, and you've got heaven Dm Heaven in your eyes F Dm You've got heaven - don't you recognise Bb But when you ache for it G F You wake for it all night Bb And when you dream for it G F You scheme for it all night Bb C F Bb You've got h - e - a - ven Bb C F Bb You've got h - e - a - ven G Bb F You've got arms, you've got legs, and you've got heaven Dm You've got heaven - ev'ry single time You've got heaven - ev'ry single climb And when you fall for it You'll crawl for it the say And when you've chosen it You've frozen it, anyway You've got heaven You've got heaven You've got arms, you've got legs, and you've got heaven [][][][][][][][][][] From: ajansari@acs.ucalgary.ca Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:39:31 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: CRD: The Man With The Lightbulb Head I'm not sure why I like this song so much. It's completely out there. Oh, and here's a question for you all - does Robyn have a fascination with queens? "Queen Elvis," "Queen of Eyes," "The Veins of the Queen," and the line in this song about being "alone, like a queen in bed." Am I making too much of this, or there something going on here? Enjoy, and to paraphrase on of Canada's worst excuses for a songwriter (Bryan Adams), play it 'till your fingers bleed. Arif. The Man With The Lightbulb Head (R. Hitchcock) ---------------------------------------------- from the album _Fegmania!_ (intro: E) F# E I'm the man with the lightbulb head D E I turn myself on in the dark F# E I'm the man with the lightbulb head D E I turn myself on for a lark A B And how's about you, my pretty one D E Do you still love and dream of peace? A B How's about you, my pretty one D E Do you still dream of peace? I'm the man with the lightbulb head I turn myself on all the time I'm alone like a queen in bed With a barrel of vodka and lime And how's about you, my pretty one Do you stil smear yourself with jam? How's about you, my pretty one Do you know who I am? I'm the man with the lightbulb head I turn myself on in the dark I'm the man with the lightbulb head I turn myself on for a lark [][][][][][][][][][] From: ajansari@acs.ucalgary.ca Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 10:52:12 -0600 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: CRD:Arms of Love Whew. One more (I don't have to be at work till this afternoon, so I'm just goofing around). There's a version of this at OLGA, but it's based on the REM version. Now, I love REM, but they absolutely butchered Robyn's song. These chords are more true to the original, and the words are lifted straight off the lyric sheet. Again, enjoy. Arif. Arms Of Love (R. Hitchcock) --------------------------- from the album _Respect_ G C G Maybe tonight you're achin' G C G For someone you're dreamin' of D G C Wait till the dawn is breaking D G C Into the arms of Love Maybe tonight you're crying Like a poor wounded dove Tomorrow you'll be flying Into the Arms of love Maybe tonight you're falling For someone you don't know enough Tell me you'll soon be crawling Into the arms of Love Maybe your world is fading It wasn't strong enough Through all the dirt you're wading Into the arms of Love [][][][][][][][][][] From: BDHMC@jazz.ucc.uno.edu Date: 15 May 1995 13:29:40 -0600 (CST) Subject: Chords To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Respect is due to Arif for his chords. I have a few minor quibbles that I won't bother posting, and one major one that I simply can't let slide: In "Heaven," the G in the verse (on the words "right," "ill," "wake," and "scheme") HAS TO BE minor, or a train wreck ensues, killing countless innocent women and children. We don't want that kind of thing on our collective conscience, do we? In the chorus, the G is probably better off minor there, too, but the major doesn't have quite the lethal consequences that it has in the verse. I can only hope I'm not too late. Peace, Brian [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 15:27:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Eugene B Mirman Subject: The Man With The Lightbulb He To: Robyn Does anyone know what Robyn is saying in the middle of the song? It's the part that he's not singing and the music is a little odd...it sounds somewhat like, "Madame is this your brain?" to which I'm not sure what the responce is, I've heard people mention that they think it's, "Why yes, officer, it is." Does anyone know what I'm talking about? -Eugene ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I believe the whole concept of monotheism is a gift from the gods" -Emo Phillips Eugene's humor page: http://dawn.pc.cc.cmu.edu/~eugene/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][] From: bskaught@nwrain.com Date: Mon, 15 May 95 15:08 PDT To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Chords Chords are great! I'm saving them-- a kind of archive if anyone's interested. If you have posted chords previously (before today!) then feel free to send them to me and i'll throe those puppies on disc for future reference. My best to all of you, and thanks for welcoming me to this carnival of insanity! When I hear the word "security", I reach for my shotgun, Bradley bskaught@nwrain.com [][][][][][][][][][] Date: 15 May 1995 15:34:28 -0800 From: "Mark Gloster" Subject: Re: New to the group To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Reply to: RE>>New to the group >>Are there many musicians on this mailing list? >Hoo boy! Are there musicians on the list! If you're looking for a place >where musicians hang, you've come to the right place. 8) Perhaps we are being hasty by saying that we are. Many of us "musicians" have been working on a compilation of songs as a tribute to RH, and perhaps we should all listen to it before making strong judgement one way or the other. 8-) >---Mike (Nickname o' the month (extended into May) - "Rickenbacker >Boy") -Mark (S.D.Curlee guy?) Gloster (another one who thinks he's a musician- probably best to humor him too) mark_gloster@quickmail.apple.com [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 17:07:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pearson To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Hell yess, I am musically inclined (or more accurately declined). Piano, guitar, bass and vocals. And yeah, I attempt Hitchcock songs all the time... Why does everyone laugh | The Shrug Festival album of the week is at my mighty sword, | still in the negotiation process. Paul Pearson | Thank you for your patience. KAOS Olympia 89.3 | On Sat, 13 May 1995 mikester@bix.com wrote: > >Are there many musicians on this mailing list? > [][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 15 May 1995 17:24:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pearson Subject: Re: CRD: Queen Elvis To: ajansari@acs.ucalgary.ca Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Regarding the "bleed/breathe" lines in "Queen Elvis:" the first bridge says "bleed", the second says "breathe," at least according to the lyrics posted on the web. "Queen Elvis" is the only Hitchcock song I've gotten the nerve to do live in front of an actual, you know, audience and stuff. It worked okay. Since we're at it, can somebody helpfully post the words to "Airscape" here for me? I'd really appreciate it. You are all so beautiful and I mean that sincerely. Why does everyone laugh | The Shrug Festival album of the week is at my mighty sword, | still in the negotiation process. Paul Pearson | Thank you for your patience. KAOS Olympia 89.3 | [][][][][][][][][][] From: bskaught@nwrain.com Date: Mon, 15 May 95 19:56 PDT To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: tribute album The mention of this list creating a tribute tape struck me as (pick one) 1. exciting and thought provoking 2. astonishing and bewildering 3. frightening and nauseating :) Truly, I think it's a great idea, and i'm sure someone could mail it somewhere (antarctica?) where could slip into someone's hands. wink wink. Anyhow, let's do it. I wouldn't have time to compile the recordings but if someone was willing to do this, I know i'd love to contribute. If this has already been discussed and pounded to death, i'm sorry. Not sorry enough to do anything about it-- but sorry. :) My best to all of you and yours--truly! I didn't think you'd be like this, Bradley bskaught@nwrain.com [][][][][][][][][][] From: N0T0P40@aol.com Date: Tue, 16 May 1995 00:05:28 -0400 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Greetings From The Trouser Press Not that you asked, but, a while back, when someone asked about "Exploding In Silence," I referenced that everything I knew about it was taken from "The Trouser Press Record Guide: The Ultimate Guide To Alternative Music," edited by Ira Robbins. The most recent edition (the fourth) was released back in 1991, so it's far from particularly current, but, just in case anyone's curious, here's Mr. Hitchcock's listing in its entirety from that particular edition. If nothing else, I'm sure it has the potential to spark lively debate... Robyn Hitchcock's entire body of work---both as leader of the Soft Boys and as a solo performer---remains one of the great undiscovered treasures of modern pop music. Psychedelic pop of the '60's provides the touchstone for his melodic, emotional compositions, but Hitchcock blends his own ideas with those of John Lennon, Syd Barrett, Captain Beefheart, the Doors and the Byrds to create music that advances the tradition rather than merely recapitulating it. BLACK SNAKE DIAMOND ROLE, his first solo salvo, opens with two jaunty music-hall ditties but quickly descends to Hitchcock's typical deranged concerns. He offers a sardonic knock at authority in "Do Policemen Sing?" (which feautres a chorus like a frenzied hail of blows) and a melodic, cracked-crystal ballad, "Acid Bird," whose mood and production could stand proud next to "Eight Miles High." Alternate takes on emotion---"Meat" (all brash) and "Love" (all heart)---finish off each side. GROOVY DECAY, produced by Steve Hillage, has a smoother sound that somewhat undermines the dark emotion and irony that are Hitchcock's greatest strengths. Still, great songs gleam through the mix. "Fifty Two Stations" stunningly captures the alternation of rage, resignation and hope that follows the failure of love, while "St. Petersburg" views only the black side. "Grooving On An Inner Plane" blends an arch rap-styled vocal into a fluid groove (Sara Lee is the album's bassist) with stirring results. In a surprising move four years later, Hitchcock did it his way by putting out the revisionist GROOVY DECOY. With almost an identical set of songs, the entirely reordered DECOY uses only four of DECAY's recordings, substituting simple but effective demos produyced (and played on) by onetime Soft Boys bassist Matthew Seligman for the rest. The results are a bit rudimentary next to the original release, but Hitchcock fans will want to hear both. After nearly two years of self-imposed retirement, Hitchcock returned in 1984 with a surprising, mostly acoustic album, I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS. Peforming nearly all the instruments and vocals himself, he echoed the solo work of his models---Barrett in the amiably slapdash production and Lennon on an aching ballad, "Flavour Of Night." The album features Hitchcock's usual balance of bitterness and weirdness in unusual settings, rounded off with piano nocturnes at the start and finish. Two bizarre a capella close-harmony essays---"Uncorrected Personality Traits" (about difficult children when they grow up) and "Furry Green Atom Bowl" (about life's biological processes)---make this one of the stranger outings in a career dedicated to strangeness. FEGMANIA!, which features several old Soft Boy cronies in a new band, the Egyptians, shows Hitchcock polishing the best aspects of his craft to a new sheen, achieving a mature merger of lyric with melody (particularly on the morbidly catchy "My Wife & My Dead Wife" and the beautiful emotional study, "Glass") which sacrifices none of the urgency that brings his best songs to life. He has also continued to hone his sound, adding instruments to create a rich, ringing production that highlights his superb guitar textures and Andy Metcalfe's moody bass lines amid a variety of settings. GOTTA LET THIS HEN OUT! is an essential live album recorded April '85 at London's Marquee. Sampling all of his prior albums for items like "Brenda's Iron Sledge," "Heaven," "My Wife And My Dead Wife," and tossing in the acerbic "Listening To The Higsons" (a non-LP single that contains the live album's title, borrowed from a Higsons song), Hitchcock and the three Egyptians---Metcalfe, Morris Windsor and Roger Jackson---do a fine job of putting the songs across in crisp, energetic fashion. A great introduction for neophytes and a treat for fans. (EXPLODING IN SILENCE, available only on picture disc, contains six live cuts, only half of them from the album.) Except for a creeping trace of self-conscious weirdness-for-its-own-sake lyrics, the exceptionally melodic ELEMENT OF LIGHT is another terrific addition to Hitchcock's oeuvre. The descending drama of "If You Were A Priest," the arcing delicacy of "Winchester" and "Airscape," as well as the moddy restraint of "Raymond Chandler Evening" put the well-rehearsed Egyptians (especially Metcalfe on fretless bass) to fine use, while still leaving Hitchcock's plain but appealing voice a clear field in which to operate. Most of the record is unmistakably Hitchcock, although it does include two eerie Lennon re-creations: "Somewhere Apart" and "Ted, Woody And Junior." Recycling a Soft Boys LP title, INVISIBLE HITCHCOCK is a compilation of assorted outtakes dating from 1981-'85. A few songs (like "Grooving On An Inner Plane") had previously surfaced in different versions, but most are heard here for the first time. The simple recording quality and mostly non-electric performances with various assortments of sidemen are entirely adequate, if not strictly consistent. INVISIBLE may not be crucial but it is certainly illuminating, and a handful of rough gems ("All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love," "Trash," "Give Me A Spanner, Ralph," "I Got A Message For You") make it a worthwhile purchase. Thanks to the power of college radio and the music press, Hitchcock's growing popularity brought him a contract with A&M, which released his American major-label debut. Unfortunately, Hitchcock's obscurely lucid liner notes on GLOBE OF FROGS are more fascinating than the album, which neglects tuneful songwriting in favor of big beat exercises that would mask insubstantial content with busy production. "Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)" and "Chinese Bones"---beautiful pop confections feature R.E.M. guitarist Pete Buck---keep things from sinking, but "Balloon Man" and the title track, while both likably silly, underscore Hitchcock's annoying tendency to be selfconsciously absurdist. QUEEN ELVIS is the nadir of Hitchcock's by now substantial body of work. The song structures are overly familiar, the weirdness seems forced and, worst of all, the emotions don't seem real. He seems to have tapped out the veins he'd mined so rewardingly for more than a decade. EYE is Hitchcock's finest release since the first explosion of his post-Soft Boys career. Like I OFTEN DREAM OF TRAINS, this is a predominantly acoustic solo effort on which he casts off the influence of bandmates and producers to create a work of astonishing delicacy, beauty, honesty and power. As if to underscore the improvement, "Queen Elvis" is easily superior to anything on the LP with which it shares only a title. "Linctus House" is a gorgeous meditation on flagging love with the achingly drawn-out chorus "I don't care anymore." "Executioner" teases the entrails of another failed romance ("I know how Judas felt/But he got paid"). But the record opens with the jaunty proclamation "I'm in love with a beautiful girl," so maybe things aren't so bad after all. In any case, EYE finds Hitchcock still playing complex guitar figures, bending song structures and laying bare his emotions as no one has since Barrett recorded his dementia-in-progress. [Michael Pietsch/Ira Robbins] [][][][][][][][] End of this Fegmaniax Digest. Archives can be found at ftp://fegmania.wustl.edu/fegmaniax/archives/ For administrative questions, subscription requests, and all that boring crud, send mail to fegmaniax-request@nsmx.rutgers.edu. Slipping you the midnight fish...