Fegmaniax Digest Volume 4 Number 32 Send posts to fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu Send subscribe/unsubscribe commands to majordomo@nsmx.rutgers.edu Send comments, etc. to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@nsmx.rutgers.edu FegMANIAX! Web Page: http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/fegmaniax/ Archives are available at http://archive.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/fegmaniax/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Topics: ------- ------- Re: And now the fake NEWS! Re: Finnish weirdos could robyn have a hit? Mass-uh-bation Re: Mass-uh-bation Re: Beefheart trib Me109s What if... videos/reissues sales Re: And now the fake NEWS! Re: Mass-uh-bation Authentic GITTSB Lyrics groupies Re: That Hot Pink Pic Disc ------------------------------ From: ZeroSummer@aol.com Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 22:38:12 -0500 Subject: Re: And now the fake NEWS! Let us not forget about the February 26 stateside release of "Luminous Rose: The EP," featuring the long-awaited "mellow" version. Joe, who has been up for days. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 17:41:13 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Finnish weirdos From: spaced heater >>Also worthy of >>several mentions are a band which cannot be described as British by any >>stretch of the imagination, a group of wild eyed vikings from Sweden and >>Finland called Hedningarna. > >yes, *yes*, *YES*! hedningarna was a favorite discovery of 1993 (or was >it 1994?). besides the headrush that is _kaski!_, check out their more >recnt album _tra_ which is just as insane. if you like this kind of >thing, another band in a similar vein worth checking out is garmana >whose album _vittrand_ is just plain great. > >while we're still on a finnish folk kick, i'll also chip in >recommendations for anything by varttina and maria kalameini (whose >name is just forgot how to spell). there are a ton of other finnish >stuff that i've been going gaga over for the past couple years, but >it's late and my brain can't think of them right now and i really >should be going to bed. woj - while we're on the subject of weird Finns and the like, have you ever heard the music of Mari Boine? She's a Sami (i.e., a Lapplander), recording songs in the Sami tradition but with a more western feel. She's put out one great album on Real World records called Gula Gula. Well worth a listen. James ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 12 Feb 96 23:57:04 -0500 From: "T.L.R. III" Subject: could robyn have a hit? i usually just lurk here, but i thought of a (perhaps) viable thread (and besides, i'm trying to avoid studying soc 01H): a number of times i've seen people hoping robyn will get some radio play, which makes me wonder a couple of things: would we really want/do we really think robyn could become the next rem (or even an mtv alternapick--could robyn get a buzz clip?) having watched robyn interact w/vjs on the video bootleg, i personally think he'd even confuse kennedy into an awkward pause. . . and also: what songs would have been hits, had a producer/record company been brave enough? (i'd think she's just another bubble, i wanna destroy you, and she doesn't exist are all possibilities on that front. . . others? i've no idea who thought "driving aloud" would do well on mtv--neato video, though.) be seeing you. . . .tom * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * "questions are a burden for others. addresses: * * answers are a prison for oneself." small documents: tlr121@psuvm.psu.edu * * --village sign large documents: tom@tlr121.rh.psu.edu* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** ------------------------------ From: RxBroome@aol.com Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 01:03:42 -0500 Subject: Mass-uh-bation Thank God you're all as twisted as I am; before offering my own theory, I hadn't seen the other speculations as to the private, self-gratifying habits of the Wide Boys. (The image, to me, evokes Camel wides, a disgusting brand of cigarettes--which is saying something-- and the penis-nosed dromedary that is their emblem, and makes me, unfortunately, wonder what such a creature would be doing should it perform the self-violation in question. But I fishing-well digress...) But while on the topic (sort of) of divergent versions of "Give It", lemme describe this bizarre vinyl SB artifact I came across some seven years ago at Tower Records in Washington, DC. The track listing approximates the "Ventilator" EP, I think... it's tracks 4-8 on the Soft Boys box set, with the addition of "Vyrna Knowl is a Headbanger" --(Various spellings of the title have come the light, and the eponymous character's name is pronounced in the song like "Vera"; I'm simply transcribing the title as listed on my little EP.) "Vyrna" here features exactly the same instrumental backing tracks as "Ventilator". All of which sounds pretty normal, BUT... It's a PICTURE DISC, in a nasty hot-pink color. The photos on one side are a pair of hysterical band photos (check out Robyn's beard and a tres-70's t-shirt with iron-on lettering reading "GIVE IT TO THE SOFT BOYS"), while side B reproduces an early Robyn-penned press release and a live review from "Sounds" circa 1978. There's no sleeve, except for a see-through vinyl deal. The label is Delorean Records, and there's no title listed other than "Soft 1P". More properly, side 1 is called "Soft 1P A", side 2 "Soft 1P B". It's labeled as "Manufactured in the UK". What've I got here? Common crap or something interesting? When I first found it, it was the only SB release I'd ever found after a few years of tracing Robyn's solo career, but since then I haven't heard anything quite like it described. Fegs? -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 00:27:16 -0600 From: vlyg Subject: Re: Mass-uh-bation That EP is widely available and when i left the great shores of England in 1989 was still in general release,I have seen it here in the States on numerous occasions,Still worth picking up though,just to here how the Soft Boys should be with scratchy vinyl. VLYG #!/bin/perl -s-- -export-a-crypto-system-sig -RSA-3-lines-PERL $m=unpack(H.$w,$m."\0"x$w),$_=`echo "16do$w 2+4Oi0$d*-^1[d2%Sa 2/d0to whomsoever it was that suggested it: but there *has* been a Captain >Beefheart tribute album! I can't remember the name of it, and Robyn wasn't >on it - all I can remember about it is that XTC did "Ella Guru". Perhaps nobody IS interested, but I thought I'd just note that the title is "Fast 'n' Bulbous," released on the now-defunct Imaginary Records in 1988. Highlights include the aforementioned XTC track plus Sonic Youth's version of "Electricity," The Scientists' version of "Clear Spot," Good & Gone's version of "Harry Irene," and The Mock Turtles doing "Big Eyed Beans From Venus," which I believe is one that Robyn covered at one point. Better than your usual tribute LP. --John Hedges ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 11:59:16 +0000 (GMT) From: M R Godwin Subject: Me109s I thought it was "One O Nine ZONE", which doesn't make much sense. I will have another listen to the Portland Arms version. - MG ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 96 08:43:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: What if... > do we really think robyn could become the next rem (or even an mtv > alternapick--could robyn get a buzz clip?) At this point I think Robyn's been around a little too long to be the next hip new artist. My guess is his best bet for a wave of popularity would be through a movement where it suddenly became trendy for musicians to proclaim they were influenced by Robyn Hitchcock. > and also: what songs would have been hits, Queen of Eyes, Flesh No. 1, The Man Who Invented Himself, Driving Aloud... > i've no idea who thought > "driving aloud" would do well on mtv--neato video, though. Maybe it's an odd pick for TV but it's a great pick for radio. Someone dropped the ball with that tune. Incidentally, looking at the video compilation, I'd have to say Robyn's best looking video is the one for SYTYIL, not coincidentally his biggest hit. I wouldn't call it one of his best songs, however, and I don't think it's a very good representation of Robyn's overall body of work. That may have worked against him. opinions by Russ. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 12:23:30 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: videos/reissues sales I agree with James and Russ that Queen of Eyes should have been a hit. Strange that they chose IWDY as the single from that album. I'm told that the reissues did very poorly in sales, with Y&O selling the most (12,000 worldwide). Would a box set have done better? This begs the question, how many fegs are there in the world? We know there are piles of rabid american fans (I proudly number among them), quite a few UK fegs and a few sprinkled throughout the rest of Europe, one each in Singapore and Japan, and at least three in New Zealand. What can we do as a group to mobilize and get RH the recognition he deserves-- and does he _want_ this? Anyway, I'll conclude this mindless babble by saying I agree that the SYTYiL video is the most pleasant of the A&M videos. The others are far from stellar (who are the "groupies" dancing in robyn's backyard in the DA video, btw?) I think the videos for RCeve and IODoT are enjoyably mellow. abbrev. yours, bayard ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 10:20:36 -0800 Subject: Re: And now the fake NEWS! From: Tom Clark "fegManiax" >I have some news: A&M, trying to cash in on the Robyn momentum generated >by the Rhino reissues :) and the recent WB contract, is releasing a >Wafflehead remix EP. It features 5 remixes by some of today's hottest >names: > >1. Wafflehead (radio edit) 2:57 >2. Wafflehead (Moby remix) (w/french vocals!) 6:15 >3. Wafflehead (Flood remix) 5:45 >4. Wafflehead (Aphex Twin remix) 5:32 >5. Wafflehead (Touched by the Hand of The Orb remix): 24:06 >6. Wafflehead (Bobby Ferrin remix) 3:32 I guess the Bruford/Fripp remix didn't make the cut... -tc ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 10:28:35 -0800 Subject: Re: Mass-uh-bation From: Tom Clark >It's a PICTURE DISC, in a nasty hot-pink color. The photos on one side are a >pair of hysterical band photos (check out Robyn's beard and a tres-70's >t-shirt with iron-on lettering reading "GIVE IT TO THE SOFT BOYS"), while >side B reproduces an early Robyn-penned press release and a live review from >"Sounds" circa 1978. There's no sleeve, except for a see-through vinyl deal. > The label is Delorean Records, and there's no title listed other than "Soft >1P". More properly, side 1 is called "Soft 1P A", side 2 "Soft 1P B". It's >labeled as "Manufactured in the UK". > >What've I got here? Common crap or something interesting? When I first >found it, it was the only SB release I'd ever found after a few years of >tracing Robyn's solo career, but since then I haven't heard anything quite >like it described. Fegs? > > -Rx I picked this up in Boston around 1988 or so. I don't know the rarity of it, but those band photos are indeed priceless. -tom ------------------------------ From: rooneya@pilot.msu.edu Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 13:29:31 +0000 Subject: Authentic GITTSB Lyrics You, know, the way I always heard it, I thought the song was about a Geologist/professor who loses his graduate student during a series of tests he's conducting amidst earthquakes in Vietnam. The only hole in my theory seems to be that there's no divorce/horse type rhyme scheme going on here: Real time masking a trefoil on the graph. Hanoi still lies shaking rough in the aftermath. Four o' the graphs don't tell. Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh Give it to the Soft Boys. Soooft Boys. Well I toiled through Tuesday. That was a four-point-one. Red eyed tests and squelch; Oh, my, there's another one. Machines did jerk. Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh Give it to the Soft Boys. Soooooooft Boys. Heart noise grew and white noise amassed on it. But them south ploys wounded my Dr.'s candidate. It was a 4.9 zone. Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh Give it to the Soft Boys. Soooooooft Boys. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 96 10:42:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: groupies (who are the "groupies" dancing in robyn's backyard in the DA video, btw?) Robyn's daughter and friends, I'm told. -Russ. "We are NOT GROUPIES. We'd just like to come in your bus" -Flo or Eddie ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 16:17:41 -0400 (EDT) From: daramsey@vassar.edu (david's ramsey) Subject: Re: That Hot Pink Pic Disc Regarding the hot pink picture disc...I've got a copy too, and it's pretty cool. It's got the same songs as on the "Raw Cuts" disc. Also, there's a plain normal black vinyl version of the pink pic disc called "Wading Through A Ventilator" which comes in a green sleeve (You might still be able to find this at Pipeline Records in Cambridge Mass., which is where I saw it) with some more photos from the same session as the photos which appear on the pic disc. Hope that made a modicum of sense. daveR. ---there's only one way of life, and that's your own--- Levellers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest.