Fegmaniax Digest <==----------==> (Send posts to the list to fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send adminstrative commands to majordomo@nsmx.rutgers.edu) (Send comments, etc to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu) <==----------==> Volume 3 Number 198 Today's Topics: ------- ------- Airscape Another poll airscape (disillusion, golden showers, & feglaxitivity) Ranking songs from 1-10?! No! Re: Ranking songs from 1-10?! No! Worst songs Portland Arms Airscape etc. Re: Worst songs astrology (no RH content) Re: astrology (no RH content) Re: Worst songs Robyn Self-Portrait Re: astrology (no RH content) Re: Worst songs Re: astrology (no RH content) Song Rating Poll Backwards guitar (was Re: Airscape) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 95 16:45:20 CST From: Bram Tchaikovsky To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Airscape Hmm..... I always found "Airscape" pretty thin, myself. Never understood why it was everyone's favorite tune. Don't jump on me all at once, please :). I don't remember what I picked as my all-time favorite, but I suspect it was "I Often Dream of Trains". I think that album as a whole is stronger than "Element of Light", but then again, I think "Eye" is too. Maybe I just have an acoustic fetish :). Susan Who wonders why "This Could Be The Day" didn't make it to the list........ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 17:47:23 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Another poll To: The Devil You Know Hmmm. How about a poll where you go through all of Robyn's songs and rank them from 1 to 10 points (1 low, 10 high)? I'll tabulate, but I don't have the most updated list. Bayard...could you mail it to the list, please? Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Dec 95 17:54:02 EST From: kenster@MIT.EDU (ostrander) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: airscape (disillusion, golden showers, & feglaxitivity) greetings bright green lobsters everywhere, this is the tune that converted me. the sultry backwards guitar resonates with the psychedelia of an era i thought long gone. when i hear complaints that robyn has gotten too serious at this point of his career, i can't supress a chuckle (sort of like mumbly or scooby doo if you need a cartoon reference) because i can name a 'serious' bent all through his work. from "human music" to "insanely jealous" to most of his one man show (TRAINS and EYE) albums. by the same token, his goofy aquatic tales of lust and death run throughout as well. there is a bittersweet and tragic beauty of loss and recovery contained within the lyrics here. whether it's light (which represents knowledge or truth), summer (symbolizing youth?), darkness (despair), or laughter (joy) there is a positive slant. the ocean reference that runs throughout the song is very powerful. i think of the idea that the ocean seems to absorb everything. "the pacific has no memory" seems to tie in here. there is a purifying power. somehow the line "the tide recedes upon the bones of something beautiful and drowned" indicates sorrow and regret, but also a sense of survival. summer seems sophomoric with the tiny figures as the world that doesn't stir (or even come close to our level) our sense of drama or importance. the cliffs and clouds perhaps show the difference between our desires and what we have to settle for. the knowledge of ourselves is there, still we can enjoy the moment despite our limitations. even despair sounds beautiful. the starlight (the horoscope calls for pain) is like little bits of reality in the midst of confusion and doubt. there is no perfect lover. "we live as we dream alone". all we have is our illusions and to share them is to disappoint. we do need them though. ken p.s. regarding the subject of golden showers i would out of propriety refer you to the film 'bitter moon' with hugh grant where the subject is given as much detail as it deserves. (in passing) p.p.s. and in the element of light the sun reflects upon the waves the shore it spangles a child of air is borne upon the wind that blows across the sea and in the element of summer the cliffs suspended in the heat the air in columns the tiny figures of the world are walking underneath your feet underneath your head where angels wander i'll wander too where angels wander over you and in the element of darkness the starlight shimmers on a spray and falls toward me your perfect lover's never there and if she was she wouldn't be neither would you save your illusions for someone else save your illusions for yourself and in the element of laughter the quick explosion and the slow release of heat the tide recedes upon the bones of something beautiful and drowned in color and in jade where angels hover i'll hover too where angels hover over you p.p.p.s. here's my top ten that i sent: the tunes: a happy bird is a filthy bird sinister but happy fifty-two stations uncorrected personality traits airscape autumn is your last chance linctus house executioner queen elvis devil's coachman the albums: eye element of light i often dream of trains fegmania! black snake diamond role queen elvis invisible hitchcock you & oblivion gotta let this hen out! respect gravy/groovy deco/decoy/decay globe of frogs p.p.p.p.s. feglaxitivity begins with the stars. i'm a leo. astrology and tarot i have found more than just entertaining, which is why i first paid attention. single, but my friends are very patient with my obsessiveness. not many takers, but a few. henry miller, milan kundara, william shakespeare, fyodor dostoevsky, leo tolstoy, anton chekov, earnest hemingway, william faulkner, james joyce, kurt vonnetgut, ayn rand, charles bukowski, jack kerouak, ken kesey, dr. seuss. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 18:08:06 -0500 (EST) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu (Robyn Hitchcock Mailing List) Subject: Ranking songs from 1-10?! No! From: "Mike O'Connor" That's just way too linear for dealing with Robyn's music. -- Michael J. O'Connor Internet: mjo@dojo.mi.org InterNIC WHOIS: MJO http://www.coast.net/~mjo "I need a vacation." -The Terminator ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 18:10:37 -0500 From: "32 flavors...and then some" To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Ranking songs from 1-10?! No! "Mike O'Connor" sez: >That's just way too linear for dealing with Robyn's music. it's too linear for *anyone's* music. +w ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:12:45 -0800 (PST) From: Glen Uber To: Satellites and Stags Subject: Worst songs fegs, We now know which songs are among the favorites of the list...how about which RH/RH&E/SB songs are among the least favorites? By least favorite, I mean which songs could you do without or always skip over while listening to the album in which it is contained? Or even which songs do not fit into the overall concept of their albums? I'll start: "Lady Waters & The Hooded One" "Luminous Rose" "Knife" "Child Of The Universe" Also...how did "52 Stations" and "All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love" make the top 10? Perhaps someone could explain the appeal of these two songs as the appeal of "Airscape" was explained. BTW...I don't know if "Airscape" is my fave, but it's definitely in the top three, depending upon my mood. Thanx --g "Bach had twenty children because his organ had no stops" --Leo Kottke "Don't concern yourself with people's peception of you, but rather, with the true essence of who and what you are. You can't change the world, but you can change yourself." --Coach John Wooden Glen E. Uber Department of Linguistics hirsute@u.washington.edu University of Washington 206.547.8936 Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 17:51:23 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Portland Arms To: The Devil You Know Does anyone know who sings I Like Bananas, In the Mood and Wish I Had my Baby back By My Side in Portland Arms? And...anyone interested in, perhaps, compiling a tape of feg bands covering acoustic/a capella songs (sort of Portland Fegs or something)? Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks a013645t@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 17:45:57 -0600 (CST) From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" To: Have we got any of those sticky things left? Subject: Airscape etc. Just thought I'd weigh in with the pro-"Airscape" crowd: a beautiful song, one of his best. On the astrology question: I'm a cynic. So how come no one's ever done a survey involving people all born at the same time and place (like, look at a particular hospital's birth records) and see if there's any correlations? My guess: disproof, which would be likely, would be a disaster to all those "professional astrologists" out there. Isn't James Randi still offering $10,000 to anyone who can demonstrate, conclusively, any paranormal abilities in indisputible fashion? On polls: let's be more creative. I mean, songs, records, etc.--blah blah blah. Howsabout "favorite amphibians," or "favorite non-human objects," or "favorite squishy things," or "favorite things whose names begin with the letter 'z' found beneath rocks"? Just a thought... --Jeff Jeffrey Norman "Verbosity leads to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee unclear, incoherent things" Dept. of English & Comp. Lit. e-mail: jenor@csd.uwm.edu --Dan Quayle In my CD changer: Sweet _The Best of Sweet_ Hum _You'd Prefer an Astronaut_ Michael Penn _March_ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 21:09:57 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Re: Worst songs To: Glen Uber cc: Satellites and Stags On Fri, 8 Dec 1995, Glen Uber wrote: > fegs, > > By least favorite, I mean which songs could you do without or always skip > over while listening to the album in which it is contained? Or even which > songs do not fit into the overall concept of their albums? Reminds me...I reworked all of the Egyptians albums (+Eye) and now I've got a definite tracklisting... It's at the end of the message....responses wanted > > Also...how did "52 Stations" and "All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love" make > the top 10? Perhaps someone could explain the appeal of these two songs > as the appeal of "Airscape" was explained. BTW...I don't know if > "Airscape" is my fave, but it's definitely in the top three, depending > upon my mood. Hmm. I put in 52 Stations as one of my top 10 (along w/ Love, The Devil's Coachman, Lysander, Autumn is your last chance, Globe of Frogs (acoustic), When I Was Dead, Mr. Deadly, Railway Shoes, and something else..) Well, 52 Stations is a very good song, musically (It's better live, and acoustic than on GD. If you can get a copy of the Neurotic In-Store Sessions, get it, if only for this song and Bass) Also, the chorus is really really catchy.. I'd say something about the lyrics, but I can't think of anything.... And here's the listing Fegmania!: (10,5) //My Wife and My Dead Wife, Egyptian Cream, The Man with the Lightbulb Head, Midnight Fish, Trash, Sometimes I Wish I Were a Pretty Girl //I'm Only You, Mr. Deadly, Goodnight I Say, Dwarfbeat, Dr. Sticky ++Let there Be More Darkness, Trash, Another Bubble, Insect Mother, I Got a Message For You Queen Elvis: (12,3) //Madonna of the Wasps, The Devil's Coachman, Globe of Frogs(acoustic), Dark Green Energy, Birdshead, Veins of the Queen, Freeze //Spoken Word Intro, Wax Doll, One Long Pair of Eyes, Beatle Dennis, Ruling Class, ++Freeze(shatter mix), Knife, Globe of Frogs (electric) Eye: (14) //You've Got, Cynthia Mask, Clean Steve, Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom, The Dust, Queen Elvis, The Ghost Ship //Some Body, Glass Hotel, You and Me, Raining Twilight Coast Executioner, Linctus House, Aquarium Perspex Island: (12,3) Original lineup, but Heaven, Clean Steve instead of Child of the Universe +Superman, Arms of Love, Victorian Squid Falling Leaves: (13,4) [An Egyptians Album made in about 1992 or so, with either Andy or Matt Seligman on keyboards] //All I Wanna Do is Fall in Love, Chinese Bones, Unsettled, Falling Leaves, August Hair, A Skull a Suitcase and a Long Red Bottle of Wine, The Abandoned Brain // The Moon Inside, More than This, Bright Fresh Flower, Then You're Dust ++Star of Hairs, Vegetable Friend, Don't You, Strawberry Mind Respect: (14,3) //Balloon Man, Railway Shoes, When I Was Dead, Flesh Cartoons, Wreck of the Arthur Lee, Messages of Dark++The Fly, Vegetable Friend, Wafflehead Satellite //The Yip Song, Mr. Rock'N'Roll, Child of the Universe, Radio Storm, Listening to the Higsons, Satellite, Allright Yeah!, Surgery Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 12:16:37 +0000 To: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" From: Jim Subject: astrology (no RH content) Cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu >On the astrology question: I'm a cynic. So how come no one's ever done a >survey involving people all born at the same time and place (like, look >at a particular hospital's birth records) and see if there's any >correlations? They have....read Jung's 'Synchronicity,' which is very interesting on this subject...there was a study by some French bloke called Gauquelin (or something) which also appeared to prove correlation between birth chart and lifestyle. I'm cynical too about astrology, though I can think of a great way it could work - who's to say that the formation of your DNA is not affected by gravitational forces (Jupiter pulls one tiny strand towards it and hey presto, you're an artist...whatever). My guess: disproof, which would be likely, would be a >disaster to all those "professional astrologists" out there. Isn't James >Randi still offering $10,000 to anyone who can demonstrate, conclusively, >any paranormal abilities in indisputible fashion? The whole thing about the paranormal is that it it difficult to prove by empirical science (this defines 'paranormal') but things like telepathy and 'remote viewing' have been well documented under lab conditions. The US govt funded 'psychic spying' programs during the cold war, and they worked. Randi should therefore pay up to his own govt. Newspaper astrology has always been bullshit, but that doesnt necessarily disprove the fundamentals of astrology in the same way a hoax UFO picture doesn't disprove the existence of aliens. Randi blindly de-bunks everything in the same way that some people blindly believe in things. If we were all like him, nothing new would ever be learned and we would only examine the explainable. Jim Bower ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 05:58:59 -0800 (PST) From: Livia To: your mom Subject: Re: astrology (no RH content) On Sat, 9 Dec 1995, Jim wrote: > The whole thing about the paranormal is that it it difficult to prove by > empirical science (this defines 'paranormal') but things like telepathy and > 'remote viewing' have been well documented under lab conditions. The US > govt funded 'psychic spying' programs during the cold war, and they worked. > Randi should therefore pay up to his own govt. where can the results of these programs be found? what basis do you have for saying "they worked"? a book? an article? reading the original reports? being there when the original experiments were done? > Randi blindly de-bunks everything in the same way that some people blindly > believe in things. If we were all like him, nothing new would ever be > learned and we would only examine the explainable. not blindly at all. i've read several of his books, and subscribed to the sceptical enquirer off and on for quite a few years (he is, or was, a major contributor). the 'debunkings' are extremely careful and systematic you're the one who seems to be reacting a bit blindly here, i must say. scepticism isn't anti-"new", it just wants to have its newness solidly grounded. you seem to be indulging in a little fit of that peevishness that the would-be believer often feels towards the sceptic ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 06:09:57 -0800 (PST) From: Livia To: your mom Subject: Re: Worst songs On Fri, 8 Dec 1995, Glen Uber wrote: > > Also...how did "52 Stations" and "All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love" make > the top 10? Perhaps someone could explain the appeal of these two songs > as the appeal of "Airscape" was explained. BTW...I don't know if > "Airscape" is my fave, but it's definitely in the top three, depending > upon my mood. terry had first shot at 52 stations, so i'll put in a few words for all i wanna do is fall in love: it's musically intense (and i count singing as part of music), it does a great job of conveying urgency-without-desperation, and there's an awesome solo/musical bit/whatever the hell you musicians call it in the middle (that's another thing that i don't really like about airscape. he sings it in that sort of sad breathy high-end way. i generally prefer his singing when it's a bit deeper and rawer) ------------------------------ From: DougMash@aol.com Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 12:08:08 -0500 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Robyn Self-Portrait I have a self-portrait Robyn drew for me (1989) available in .JPG format. Robyn is joined by the rest of my "collection" (Rotten, Squeeze, Weller etc.) that I've had the nerve to ask for over the years. If you want a copy, E-Mail me at (DougMash@aol.com) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 13:03:56 -0500 From: mikeb@usa1.com (Mike Breen) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: astrology (no RH content) >I'm cynical too about astrology, though I can think of a great way it could >work - who's to say that the formation of your DNA is not affected by >gravitational forces (Jupiter pulls one tiny strand towards it and hey >presto, you're an artist...whatever). One thing I've noticed is the crazy stuff that goes on when there's a full moon out. Me and a couple of friends came up with the theory that there's got to be a corrilation between tides and behavior. The moon yanks on the Earth, and not just the oceans. Scientists have measured land tides as well, but ocean tides are the only ones noticeable by the human eye. Anyway our theory deals with the energy present in the human brain and gravitation. The gravitation from the moon, while yanking the heck outta the oceans and land, is also playing havoc with the energy in the brain. This causes some wierdness, which people (rightfully so) attribute to a full moon. Then people begin feeding into it, making the end result crazier than the cause, creating a vicious circle, which causes people to drive like idiots, be arguementative, and generally wierd, all blaming it on the full moon. ---Mike (THIS SPACE UNDER CONSTRUCTION) Check out the Other Days home page at http://www1.usa1.com/~mikeb/odays.html mikeb@usa1.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 13:03:53 -0500 From: mikeb@usa1.com (Mike Breen) To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Worst songs >Reminds me...I reworked all of the Egyptians albums (+Eye) and now I've >got a definite tracklisting... >It's at the end of the message....responses wanted Terry, you've got _far_ too much time on your hands down there in Florida. Surgical extraction from the state o' old pholx is the only cure for you, I'm afraid. ---Mike (THIS SPACE UNDER CONSTRUCTION) Check out the Other Days home page at http://www1.usa1.com/~mikeb/odays.html mikeb@usa1.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 13:08:51 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Re: astrology (no RH content) cc: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu On Sat, 9 Dec 1995, Jim wrote: > I'm cynical too about astrology, though I can think of a great way it could > work - who's to say that the formation of your DNA is not affected by > gravitational forces (Jupiter pulls one tiny strand towards it and hey > presto, you're an artist...whatever). Well, if that's the way it works...DNA continues to replicate as you get older, which means that anyone over 80 ought to be a frog... Terry ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 13:20:10 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Song Rating Poll To: The Devil You Know Hmm.. Thinking of how to organize my songrating poll.. I post a list of songs, and you rate them all 1(low) to 10(high) Now...the question is..which songs do I post: Definitely in: Ryko/Rhino/A+M releases Definitely Out: Greasy Quiff Jet Set Flier Any Cover songs that he's done Songs that Robyn wrote that were performed by soemone else Spoken Word Pieces Those songs in the Can of Bees liner notes, since copies do not seem to exist The McCabes songs (basically anything that he only performed once, live) Uncertain: Two Halves for the Price of One Soft Boys outtakes Portland Arms NetSurfer Ghost Ptolemaic Terrascope and BOB flexi's Tell me your opinions Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks a013645t@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 21:16:48 +0200 To: fegmaniax@ns2.rutgers.edu CC: hirsute@u.washington.edu Subject: Backwards guitar (was Re: Airscape) From: Aaro.Koskinen@Helsinki.FI (Aaro Koskinen) > > BTW, is anyone knowledgeable about where RH fits in, in the Evolution of > > the Backwards Guitar? REM seem to be doing a Robyn on "WtF,K?". But > > who did backwards guitar work before RH? > > The Beatles, "I'm Only Sleeping" > Adrian Belew, too many songs to list Roy Harper "China Girl" (1966) Syd Barrett "No Good Trying" (1969) -- Nowhere nuthin' fuck-up. http://www.helsinki.fi/~akoskine/ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] The End of this Fegmaniax Digest. Archives can *not* be found at ftp://fegmania.wustl.edu/fegmaniax/archives/ The Archives are temporarily unavailable. For administrative questions, send mail to owner-fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu For subscription requests, send mail to majordomo@nsmx.rutgers.edu. Slipping you the midnight fish...