Fegmaniax Digest Volume 4 Number 60 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: ------- ------- Bay Guardian Re: Bay Guardian Frank Tovey (minimal Robyn content) Robyn and Morrissey Re: Tell me about your drugs Last Egyptian Show... Free To Be You And Me darkness and light Re: Frank Tovey (minimal Robyn content) (fwd) Re: darkness and light Band Names Message to John Jones (No RH content) Re: Band Names CRD: September Cones ------------------------------ From: TPJSHEDS@aol.com Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 19:54:44 -0500 Subject: Bay Guardian Included in the "San Francisco Bay Guardian" ( a free thing see "Village Voice") this week is a report/review from SXSW. Writer writes: "East Bay Express columnist and freelance writer-gal Gina Arnold moderates the provocatively titled 'Why Does Rock Criticism Suck ?' panel, which includes the ever witty and intelligent Robyn Hitchcock among the bitter rock critics. It doesn't take long for me to want to slump down in my seat and find a new career, so overwhelming is the self-importance oozing from the stage. Hitchcock says that 'English critics are deformed yet intelligent; just a lot of imbalanced, middle-class wise guys.' " 'Thought I'd go ahead and share. Tim. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Mar 1996 18:13:53 -0800 From: librik@netcom.com (David Librik) Subject: Re: Bay Guardian Tim writes: >"East Bay Express columnist and freelance writer-gal Gina Arnold moderates >the provocatively titled 'Why Does Rock Criticism Suck ?' panel ... >From the East Bay Express, March 22, Gina Arnold's column "Fools Rush In": WHY ROCK CRITICISM SUCKS This was a topic we touched on at the "Why Rock Criticism Sucks" symposium, thanks to a letter I received from Express reader Kelly Solari. In response to my plea for input on the topic, Solari wrote that too often critics try to "mask the fact that they think music created when they were in their teens and twenties will always be what they really want to listen to in their free time ... they just can't help themselves from a) loving one or another of the twentieth albums from the favorite bands of their youth, b) hating new bands for "ripping off" some sound of their youth, and c) loving some new band for "being inspired by" the same sound of their youth." I think Solari is absolutely right, although I should add that, when I read this letter to a crowd of some 200 conferencees, they denied it -- almost across the board. In fact, guest panelist Robyn Hitchcock, who had played Jimi Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary" the night before at his showcase, summed up their attitude by saying, "I freely admit to being stuck in 1967, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and sometimes the world comes around to me and sometimes it doesn't." ====================================================== The only trouble with this passage is that -- like the bit from the Bay Guardian that Tim quoted -- it makes Robyn sound like a loser rock critic. But I think Robyn's attitude is perfectly reasonable, and in fact praise- worthy, as "sticking to his artistic ideals as a musician." Gina also calls Robyn's show a "high point" of SXSW this year. - David Librik librik@cs.Berkeley.edu ------------------------------ From: RxBroome@aol.com Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 02:48:26 -0500 Subject: Frank Tovey (minimal Robyn content) Just scored a CD copy of one of my fave college-era LP's, Frank Tovey's "Tyranny and the Hired Hand". This is an album composed mostly of traditional- sounding covers of folk- and protest- type songs. It might (I stress "might") be of interest to Fegs, as, in this context, Tovey's voice sounds so simililar to Robyn's that you might think it's the Man himself on a cursory listen. So if you're into "Polly on the Shore" or "Sleeping Knights of Jesus" (as I am), or if you dig Billy Bragg, here's an album for you. My question for those in the know is this: I know Tovey was a member (the only member?) of Fad Gadget, whom I've never heard. My impression is that Fad Gadget was either A) a proto- industrial / techno art outfit along the lines of Throbbing Gristle / Psychic TV, or B) a particularly odd permutation of the Euro- electro- pop thing (maybe sorta like Soft Cell?) I know they were kinda dance-y, but assume they must've been pretty odd on the basis of Frank's very earnest turn towards the socialist folk thing. Is any of his other stuff worth a listen? I ask because you've all been terrific in responding to my obscure muscial queries in the past, and oh- so- swell at turning me onto exciting new (well, usually old) stuff. Worth a shot at least. Thanks in advance, Rex ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 11:38:56 CST From: The Goddesss Subject: Robyn and Morrissey It seems that some people misunderstood my posting. I don't dislike Morrissey; I just found the connection strange. Also I don't know the person who made the comparison I just know her friend. I do know that the person I know said her friend had "Fegmania" (actually she called it the one with "The Man with the Lightbulb Head" on it), which makes me think the friend made the comparison based solely on that record. I don't particularly think of Robyn as happy myself, although compared to most of Morrissey's songs ("Ask" is an exception to the man who wrote such songs as "November Spawned a Monster", "Girlfriend in Coma", and other depressing songs whose titles I can't think of now), he seems downright perky. I would agree with most of the responses by saying that both men's work is a lot more complex than the comparison made them. That's part of the reason I thought it would be interesting to the list. I still find it rather amusing, even if not well thought-out observation. The Goddess AKA Sarah ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 16:32:57 +1200 (NZST) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Tell me about your drugs >I would love to see a biographical time line done for any contemporary >word-smith(whether sung or written), tracing exactlly what chemicals were >being ingested (perscription and non) while which works were created. >In terms of Robyn--hes bever done another albumn quite as dark as IODOT. >Is that because of recent improvements in anti-deppressents? Or other >forms of medication? I dont know, but I wouildnt be suprised if at some >points he might have taken/take perscribed psychotropic substances. Anyone >know the true gen? I sure doubt it would be through taking any of the "mood-decreasing" drugs such as Prozac... from the little I know of it (It's *not* a specialty area for me) the reduction of mood extremes associated with it are very likely to reduce creativity - ever tried writing songs without having some powerful emotions brewing away somewhere? Certainly you wouldn't get what (in the same digest as this question) our friend the Blatzman refers to in the following: >...the writing is so much more emotional and passionate... >...the songs have "feeling"... >...real sorrow... >...painful mature honesty... Lots of disclaimers on the above - the Dept of Psych would probably have a tonic-clonic episode if I didn't dis-associate (or even dissociate) them from these thoughts. They're all mine, I tell you!!! 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: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 10:52:54 -0800 (PST) From: Griffith Davies Subject: Last Egyptian Show... I was just thinking about the note from Mrs. Wafflehead about Robyn & the boys going their separate ways. What was the last Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians Show? After going through several lists, the last performance date I can see is 19 May 1993. I guess the final date could be some sort of sentimental document to collectors. ______________________________________________________________ Griffith Davies griffith.davies@csun.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 14:11:22 -0500 (EST) From: David Willems Subject: Free To Be You And Me Does anyone have the chords to this?? I would greatly appreciate them. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 15:32:32 -0500 From: kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander) Subject: darkness and light >RH isn't all that happy. How many happy songs can you think of? I can >only think of a couple offhand... beautiful girl, flesh#1, maybe satellite.. >they're not really his best, either, though they're not bad at all. All >the rest of the songs are bittersweet at best, (the love songs anyway). happiness is not pure with uncle bobby. most often it is tainted with darkness. sometimes he's just plain silly and it's difficult not to see that as joy. tales of sex, tales of dispair, tales of hope; he can make them all sound funny. isn't that happy? morrissey has the same kind of effect. robyn sounds happier because he doesn't sing the same way. for me,'filthy bird' gets right to the heart of the matter. we are happiest when at our basest level. definitely a robyn motif. some other tunes (hell, i could stretch my definition pretty thin) that could be construed as happy: bass, agony of pleasure, brenda's iron sledge, alright yeah, star of hairs, smoothie, furry green atom bowl, devil's coachman, balloon man, how do work this thing?, mellow together, beautiful girl, midnight fish, if you were a priest, tell me about your drugs, all i wanna do is fall in love, airscape, certainly clickot, uncorrected personality traits, egyptian cream, my wife and my dead wife, the man with the lightbulb head, flesh number one, postman's knock, it sounds great when you're dead, more chinese boys, de chirico street, i something you, meat, wafflehead, clean steve, radio storm, autumn sea, superman, the cars she used to drive, sometimes i wish i was a pretty girl, i got a message for you, yip song. >In terms of Robyn--hes bever done another album quite as dark >as IODOT. Is that because of recent improvements in anti-deppressents? >Or other forms of medication? I dont know, but I wouildnt be suprised if >at >some points he might have taken/take perscribed psychotropic >substances. >Anyone know the true gen? i disagree. i think his albums have increased in darkness since then. i would be hard pressed to choose the "darkest" robyn, but _i often dream of trains_ seems to be rather sweet to me. _eye_ is full of piss and vinegar and _respect_ has a lot of death imagery. here's a nifty table to measure the happy factor: black snake diamond role: strong balance of happy and dark i often dream of trains: bittersweet joy groovy/gravy decay/decoy/deco: from goofy to melancholy fegmania! most happy gotta let this hen out! pretty happy element of light element of melancholy invisible hitchcock belly laugh with darkness a plenty globe of frogs goofy darkness queen elvis compressed darkness eye bittersweet and very dark perspex island dense dark pop respect corruptably lush you & oblivion happy to be dark ken p.s. "everyone was terrified of doug. i've seen grown men pull their own heads off rather than see doug. even dinsdale was frightened of doug. he used... sarcasm. aw! he knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. he was vicious." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 18:58:12 -0800 (PST) From: Ricardo Wang Subject: Re: Frank Tovey (minimal Robyn content) (fwd) Fad Gadget would be on the verge of new wave skinny tie bullshit, if they weren't so damn good at going off in tangents. they came about around the time of early post-punk/no wave stuff and are generally lumped in with that, but the disaffected british vocals and general synthiness might actually appeal to some depeche mood fans/dorks. if wire's late 80s pop albums had been any good they might have sounded like fad gadget. if "arty" is a bad word, steer clear, but i like everthing i've heard so far, which is admittedly not that much. they seem to have a very satirical post-modern bent to their lyrics and song contet that makes them very charming. - rwang On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, Brooks Martin wrote: > Hey Jim, can you help this guy by describing Fad Gadget? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 02:48:26 -0500 > From: RxBroome@aol.com > To: fegmaniax@ecto.org > Subject: Frank Tovey (minimal Robyn content) > > Just scored a CD copy of one of my fave college-era LP's, Frank Tovey's > "Tyranny and the Hired Hand". This is an album composed mostly of > traditional- sounding covers of folk- and protest- type songs. It might (I > stress "might") be of interest to Fegs, as, in this context, Tovey's voice > sounds so simililar to Robyn's that you might think it's the Man himself on a > cursory listen. So if you're into "Polly on the Shore" or "Sleeping Knights > of Jesus" (as I am), or if you dig Billy Bragg, here's an album for you. > > My question for those in the know is this: I know Tovey was a member (the > only member?) of Fad Gadget, whom I've never heard. My impression is that > Fad Gadget was either A) a proto- industrial / techno art outfit along the > lines of Throbbing Gristle / Psychic TV, or B) a particularly odd permutation > of the Euro- electro- pop thing (maybe sorta like Soft Cell?) I know they > were kinda dance-y, but assume they must've been pretty odd on the basis of > Frank's very earnest turn towards the socialist folk thing. Is any of his > other stuff worth a listen? I ask because you've all been terrific in > responding to my obscure muscial queries in the past, and oh- so- swell at > turning me onto exciting new (well, usually old) stuff. Worth a shot at > least. > > Thanks in advance, > Rex > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 01:16:28 -0500 (EST) From: ! Subject: Re: darkness and light On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, Ken Ostrander wrote: > p.s. "everyone was terrified of doug. i've seen grown men pull their own > heads off rather than see doug. even dinsdale was frightened of doug. he > used... sarcasm. aw! he knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, > bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. he was vicious." yeah! just you wait, bub. i'll conjugate you so hard, you won't be able to see which side the participle comes from. -- danglin' doug ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 07:35:48 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: Band Names I am sorry for the fact that this has nothing to do with Robyn. It's just that this group is easily accessible and I trust your judgement. I'd like any opinions at all on the following Band Name ideas: Jendolari The Franklins The Modern Lizard Quartet Or The Franklins Basilisk Thank you all. Sorry about the Robynlessness of this... Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks a013645t@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 10:19:09 -0600 From: mbrage@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu (Michael Brage) Subject: Message to John Jones (No RH content) John, Please email me. I've lost your address. Michael ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:18:41 -0500 The Lobster Gang From: Mike Breen Subject: Re: Band Names At 07:35 AM 3/27/96 -0500, Terry Marks wrote: >I am sorry for the fact that this has nothing to do with Robyn. It's >just that this group is easily accessible and I trust your judgement. > >I'd like any opinions at all on the following Band Name ideas: It really depends on the type of music being played ---Mike Check out the new FASTER home of Other Days Interactive! http://www.channel1.com/users/mikeb/odays.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 20:59:36 -0500 (EST) From: Terry Marks Subject: CRD: September Cones Someone asked for this one... Turned out to be easy, 4 chords.. September Cones (5:20) --------------- D G D G D G D I'll find a way G (I'll find a way) D To make you see G (To make you see) G Just what your love D C G Has done for me Right from my skin D C Down to my bones G D September Cones D G (September Cones) G D G September Cones The horses tramp Beneath the tree Their breath is mist It seems to me They're solid ghosts Each one alone September Cones (September Cones) September Cones (September Cones) The phonebox glows (The phonebox glows) Beside the sea (Beside the sea) There's no-one there But you and me So let's make love In the ozone September Cones (September Cones) September Cones F#m And when she's lonely (And when she's lonely) She just gazes in the glass And when she's lonely (And when she's lonely) She just counts the blades of grass The glider crashed Into the hill Where your time stopped My time stood still And overhead A bomber drones September Cones (September Cones) September Cones Here comes a boy (Here comes a boy) He's looking pale (He's looking pale) He's growing horns He's grown a tail He needs a love To call his own September Cones (September Cones) September Cones (September Cones) September Cones (September Cones) September Cones (September Cones) Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks a013645t@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest.