From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org To: fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org Reply-To: fegmaniax@ecto.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@ecto.org Subject: Feg Digest V4 #151 Fegmaniax Digest Volume 4 Number 151 Send posts to fegmaniax@ecto.org Send subscribe/unsubscribe commands to majordomo@ecto.org Send comments, etc. to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@ecto.org FegMANIAX! Web Page: http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/fegmaniax/ Archives are available at http://archive.uwp.edu/pub/music/lists/fegmaniax/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Topics: ------- ------- Beautiful Queen's Messages of Dark The Great Ray TRADE: RH Rarities for Mossy Liquours!! alligator man Not like Brian Wilson? Blasphemy! Select review Re: Wilson, Moss, Alligator Re: Wilson Dispair, thy name is saxophone Re: Beautiful Queen's Messages of Dark Re: What's wrong with Perspex chat session (long) Mossy Poster Re: Moss singles? hanging ten with slime ridden beverages HELP! Can anyone get ML for me? Promo singles available Promo singles available Re: Feg Digest V4 #150 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 09:33:11 -0500 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: Beautiful Queen's Messages of Dark Welly well, After having listened to ME five times (I've got ML, but haven't opened it yet -- being collector scum, I can't decide if I want to spoil it by opening it... nope, gotta hear it), I'll say that it is in fact delicious fun. It sounds more "mature" to me, i.e., the songs seem to breathe a little better with other folks backing Robyn. I don't see how anybody couldn't get a kick out of "DeChirico Street." "I was followed home by a 73." That kills me! It has that up and down, quiet and loud, fun and sublime feeling that Element of Light, Eye, and IoDoT has. I feel like I could listen to it anytime, regardless of setting or mood, and still enjoy the hell out of it. I don't think most American radio is courageous enough to really grab on to one of its songs, however. It has too much "personality" and "merit" and "history." And they'd never get the irony of "Devil's Radio" either, which only justifies the song more. Kind of like Monty Python's "I Wonder If They'll Play This Song On The Radio" song. The production however, irks me every now and then: a couple of the songs are mixed weirdly (drums too quiet, vocals too loud, gourd-knows-what done to that violin), but boy howdy does it have its sublime moments. The recording of "I Am Not Me" rips me up just as much as when I saw Robyn do it solo with a borrowed Stratocaster in Washington, D.C. last year. Anyway, like the subject says, damned if I don't hear an awful lot of "Messages of Dark" in the verses of "Beautiful Queen." Anybody else hear that? Of course, I have no problems with Robyn recycling a chord progression here and there, and MoD is one of my favorite songs, and "Beautiful Queen" has everything a perfect pop song should have: horns, psychedelic flanging and wigginess, a sense of humor and beauty, and no overwrought artist's ego (anybody can record or produce a similar sounding song, but boy can a snotty singer ruin it). The line "ripe tomato here in ecstacy" pretty much sums up Robyn's aesthetic for me, too. "Pornography teaches us what to forget." -- Bruce Adams +++++++++++++++++ Internet Publishing Specialist + Gene Hopstetter, Jr. + Cadmus Digital Solutions +++++++++++++++++ http://cjs.cadmus.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 08:56:00 -0500 From: Jim Moore Subject: The Great Ray >After opening my new copy of Moss Elixer, I noticed the words "The Great >Ray.: It's located under the clear CD tray, on the left-land spine. >Anyone know what this refers to? =================================================== It's probably a ref. to his pa, like someone said, but if you read the enclosed story you'll see that it mentions "The Great Ray" a couple of times -- at least one directly. Perhaps a dual metaphor for both Robyn's father and for some kind of heavenly presence that reigns over the world in the story. Speaking of the story, did anyone else notice that here and there are elements of songs from the CD? You've got the weighing machines, the 73 & its conductor, Milo, as well as the photograph of Robyn & his woman kissing -- all from De Chirico Street. Then there's that cat-headed woman from Heliotrope -- basking in the sun with her flowered dress, and the dancing shadows. It's (the story) also remarkably personal for Robyn -- meaning only that it seems to be Robyn Robyn's talking about. He even mentions his own name, and then there's the allusion to "Moss Elixir" (the CD) itself at the end. In some ways, the story is a lot like the one from Queen Elvis -- but much more personal. Anybody notice anything else? Jim Moore jimm@dbu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 10:17:19 -0400 From: clint@galt.com (Clint Golden) Subject: TRADE: RH Rarities for Mossy Liquours!! HELP!! I can't find that friggin' vinyl anywhere. Not a single store in Pittsburgh even GOT any. Anyway, here's my deal - I've got a few items that are possibly considerably harder to find for those of you in big towns with Tower records. Exploding in Silence - picture disc The Hooded One - vinyl bootleg from '86 Madonna of the Wasps - purple vinyl 12" Flesh #1 - blue vinyl 12" If anyone has access to copies of Mossy Liquor and needs one of the above - I'll do an even swap for each. If you can get multiple copies and you want more than one the above, that's fine, too! I've somehow become the sole Mossy Liquor distributor for Pittsburgh!! thanks clint ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 11:21:33 -0400 From: "Knox, Joseph" Subject: alligator man Apologies if this has already been answered, us digest folk are always a bit behind. Never heard the hitchcock/chilton version but it's probably the same song that Jimmy Cajun Newman and the Cajun Country sang back in the fifties. I heard a cajun band do it at the Smithsonian Folk Festival a couple of years ago, how does it sound with Hitchcock and Chilton? Joe ******************************original post********************************************* Does anyone know who originally wrote/recorded 'Alligator Man' (the, as far as I know only, collaboration between Robyn Hitchcock & Alex Chilton)? It's copyrighted to Chance/Newton, whoever they may be. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 09:00:05 -0700 From: lroberts@oacis.com (Laurence Roberts RD) Subject: Not like Brian Wilson? Blasphemy! Please stop embarassing yourself by badmouthing Brian Wilson until you've heard Pet Sounds. Just listen to those ever-rising vocal harmonies and you'll understand why these are referred to as "teenage symphonies to God." True, it took me years to get past the predjudice built up by "Help Me Rhonda," but I can appreciate even that now that I've heard Pet Sounds. To dismiss him as a surf musician is ridiculous. Brian Wilson has no more to do with surfing than the Butthole Surfers. "You'll never hear surf music again" - FVZ I assume you're trying to attribute this quote to Frank Zappa, but actually, it's Jimi Hendrix. Larry-bob lroberts@oacis.com ------------------------------ From: rkarstro@cap.se Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 18:32:48 +0100 Subject: Select review Griffith Davies wrote: >Now that Oasis have dented the American charts, perhaps this >perennial Brit-pop cult figure may stand a chance of being heard by >more than a select few. Hitchcock's twee sensibility (think Donovan >gone Dada) can be grating, but only a die-hard Aglophobe could deny >the Sgt. Pepper-like charms of swirly ditties like "Beautiful Queen" This reminded me that I haven't seen any posting regarding the review of Moss Elixir that's in the September issue of british magazine Select. Here it follows, totally without permission: ----------------- Last seen on BBC 2's _Sounds of the eighties_ sporting a jacket criminal even by the standards of 1985, RH tries one more time to convince his countrymen that he isn't just a C-list Syd Barrett big with foreigners. Not much has changed: pleasant, light, very English psychedelia remains the order of the day. Variety comes in the form of a couple of folky excursions ('Speed Of Things'). And Hitchcock does seem to have cut down on the jokes, the surrealist anthem 'De Chiraco St' excepted - "I was followed home by a washing machine..." etc etc. Still, none of it's very likely to make the English suddenly love this proffessional Englishman. Rating 3 out of 5. ---------------- This review was written by Mark Morris. On a different subject, which I did make a post about but it seems that it went somewhere else than on this list :( Re: Sven - that's ... RH is quite popular here in Sweden, his first gig was at a festival in 1988. This gig was recorded and broadcasted by Swedish national radio. After that I've seen him solo twice and with the Egyptians once. 'So You Think You're In Love' was a hit on radio. Hang on! Here's a possible new thread!!! The swedish band John Lenin (they were not allowed to call themselves John Lennon, and with a few hardcore socialists in the band - and a tounge in their cheeks - they changed the name to John Lenin) did record a version of RH's 'Heaven' for a single b-side. But they translated the lyrics into Swedish. Is there any other cover versions like that? And to sign off, Shocking Blue were actually Dutch. /Richard ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:35:31 +0500 From: Ken Frankel Subject: Re: Wilson, Moss, Alligator It seems strange that Fegmaniax has become a launch pad for attacks on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. To say that they were just surf musicians who spent their career ripping off Chuck Berry shows ignorance of their later recordings. Let's not forget that the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc. also began their careers playing Chuck Berry tunes. Pet Sounds was cited by the Beatles as the greatest album they ever heard and an inspiration for Sgt. Pepper, etc. I saw an interview with McCartney last year and he was still praising it. Also, in the lists of their top 10 favorite albums, I think Robyn and one of the other Egyptians both included Surf's Up. >From Pet Sounds until the early seventies they had a string of albums including 20/20, Friends, and Surf's Up that were both very listenable and very strange. Wilson may not have been the great lyric writer like Ray Davies or Randy Newman, but he had people like Van Dyke Parks and Tony Asher to collaborate with. I think that their output during that period stands as tall as anyone elses. The other members of the group contributed some good material as well. Also, their harmonies were incredible, only the Byrds, Kinks, and Moby Grape came close to them. There was a lot of chaos in the group at that time, and a diverse mixture of personalities ranging from the sleazy to the mystical, and I think that's what makes these records so interesting. I've listened to Moss three times now. I haven't heard Mossy or any of the songs live or on tape before. Beautiful Queen really stands out as the best song in my opinion. Alright Yeah sounds like a throwback to the Peter Buck guest appearances, that one's pretty good too. I also like the song with the Penny Lane-type horns (forgot the title). A lot of the other songs seem to sound kind of similar. I guess I have to listen some more. I like the fact that no gimmicky novelties like Wafflehead or Uncorrected Personality Traits were included. I don't think Moss will break Robyn into the mainstream, which is just fine with me. Re: Alligator Man, I don't know who did it originally (probably some blues or zydeco person), but I know that Sal Valentino of the Beau Brummels did it as a solo single in the late 60's or early 70's, which I've never heard. Has anyone heard this? He was a great, great singer (listen to the hard-to- find Beau Brummels albums Triangle and Bradley's Barn). The Alex Chilton version was on Like Flies on Sherbert (late 70's?) a crazed and chaotic affair in it's own right. I didn't know that Robyn played on it though... Best regards, Ken ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 11:12:16 -0700 From: gondola@deltanet.com (E.B.) Subject: Re: Wilson >From: M R Godwin > >Brian Wilson is a great surf musician. 'Help Me Rhonda' is fine. 'Fun Fun >Fun' is fun, almost as good as Jan and Dean's 'Little Old Lady From >Pasadena'. That's it. He doesn't rate as a serious songwriter in the >Arthur Lee / Bob Dylan / Lennon-McCartney / Lou Reed league. I think he >even has to pay a percentage to Chuck for 'Surfin' USA'. You're doing Wilson a real disservice by calling him just a "surf musician," based purely on his earliest radio hits. I doubt you've heard much of his late-'60s material (and beyond), which has almost nothing to do with surf music. To me, it's really CHAMBER MUSIC more than anything else. Also, Wilson's Chuck Berry influence stopped being nakedly visible after only a few years of recording. And of course he pays Berry for "Surfin' USA" (not one of my favorite Beach Boys tracks, or even in my top 50). Berry has always been given partial songwriting credit for that tune. And hey, why don't you tear down the Rolling Stones? They have ripped off Berry miles and miles beyond the Beach Boys.... I will say this: It's certainly arguable that Wilson indeed DOESN'T rank as a "serious songwriter" a la Dylan, Lennon, etc. (Arthur Lee? That's a strange name to put on your short list...shrug), because he's not particularly gifted as a lyricist. However, I really think of him as more of a "composer" than a "songwriter." And within that context, I think Brian Wilson is very, very, very special. His melodies are so complex and quirky when you see them on paper, yet when you hear them on album, they flow like the simplest, most natural thing in the world. Astounding. Squeeze is a little bit like that too, but to an infinitely less powerful degree. Brian Wilson simply leaves me breathless. His "genius" label is entirely earned. Gushing like a fresh stab wound to the chest, EB ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 11:18:20 -0700 From: Nick Winkworth Subject: Dispair, thy name is saxophone Hi all. On my way to the airport on Tuesday before a transcontinental business trip, I picked up a copy of ME (9:30am, ONE copy in the bin in Tower Records in Mountainview--I only hope they had more out back!) and so, with much time on my hands and my trusty portable CD player, I have been able to give the item a fair listening over the last few days. Scanning the digests on my return this morning, I think the majority of posts are "right on" in their comments. Anyway, rather than give my personal opinion of each track (which none of you cares about anyway) I thought I'd throw out a few comments in the hope that they generate some discussion. By the way, The Bellman gives it three bells out of five. Very listenable. Carries Robyn's distinctive stamp. Uneven however, with some great highs tempered by some disappointing missed opportunities. *******STANDARD DISCLAIMER******* These comments come from an old SB's fan who thinks Perspex Island is brilliant and Eye is interesting, but ultimately disposable. Bear this in mind as you read on and don't flame me. You know who you are! ...Susan ;) *****END STANDARD DISCLAIMER***** 1) Some people have mentioned in the past the idea that because this album represents Robyn doing "his own thing" it is automatically "a good thing". I disagree. Artists (esp. solo artists) are usually too inward looking IMHO and often benefit from working with someone else who can recognize and encourage the good stuff they do and steer then away from the crap (every artist has his/her share!). This may be anyone. A band, a manager, producer, even a mother! If all else fails there's lots of constructive critisism here on the Feg-list!! Without an external influence we get uneven recordings like this one. As has been said. This is *not* the album which will break Robyn to a larger audience. The pity of it is, it could so easily have been--and I for one would love to see this happen. 2) Along with some of his strongest solo acoustic tracks to date, I note a least four potential radio-worthy songs here--but only one (maybe two, if you add Beautiful Queen) gets the right production. 3) Is it just me or is Robyn's voice mixed too "up-front". I agree the intelligibility of the lyrics is important, but I think a better balance would have been nicer. Also, his voice sounds a little "processed". I think someone went overboard with one of those studio gizmos--"aural exciters" or whatever. 4) What happened to Deni? ML blew away my preconceptions about what Robyn + violin might be like. I think her contributions really lifted the album out of the ordinary. I wanted more on ME, not less. 5) AAARRGGGHHH!! Saxophones! I hate what he's done with those saxophones! They *really* annoy me! Especially on DeChirico Street, the ML version of which, my 100% non-Feg wife actually likes! (a first, BTW!) 6) Morris is god! "Alright Yeah" is the *perfect* 3 minute pop song. Couldn't be better. But what really makes it work is the tambourine. Listen--you'll see. 7) "Alright Yeah" may be the perfect single BUT if it is successful, many who like it won't find much else to like on the album. As has been said before, there are several songs on this album which *should* have been given the same treatment. Devils Radio would make a *brilliant* follow-up single, but the ML version lacks the production values and the ME version just about manages to crawl out of the primordial ooze. It is interesting to note that radio station in Santa Rosa which chose to play the *ML* version! 8) Beautiful Queen is the only song which works equally well on ML and ME. I couldn't do without either version. 9) Of the solo outings, "Filthy Bird" and "Speed of things" are absolutely five-star. The lyrics make them for me. (Though Robyn does his usual thing of trying to be too clever with those middle eights). "Sinister" is pretty good too. What a great way to start! 10) Did WB drop the Website idea? I note that the reference is gone from woj's web page -- and still no mention on the WB site, even though the album is now released. For the next release, I'd like to see a double album. One CD of rocking perfection, with a band who can contribute, not merely back him up. And another of acoustic weirdness and introspection. Preferably with Deni Bonet. And please: No more saxophones. -N ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 13:43:51 -0500 From: alexfw@mail.utexas.edu (Alex Wettreich) Subject: Re: Beautiful Queen's Messages of Dark >Anyway, like the subject says, damned if I don't hear an awful lot of >"Messages of Dark" in the verses of "Beautiful Queen." Anybody else hear >that? Well, I don't hear MoD, but I do hear a melody that sounds like it's of Perspex-era vintage, which leads nicely into my burning question... Exactly why is that the words Perspex Island seem to be shorthand for "unmitigated crap" for so many on this list? Do you attempt to deny the great production on "Ride" (oh those 12-string acoustics!), or the incredible bridge on Lysander? What about So You Think...what's the matter, do none of you like The Beatles? :) I'm just a little mystified, is all, as, melodically, I feel it's one of his strongest. OK, it's got a pretty big sound (hardly commercial...when was the last time that full-on pop music was dominating the charts?) but I don't think that detracts from the songs at all. Just curious Alex (a newbie) ------------------------------ From: "Aaron J. Sparrow" Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 15:34:03 -0500 Subject: Re: What's wrong with Perspex > Exactly why is that the words Perspex Island seem to be shorthand for > "unmitigated crap" for so many on this list? Do you attempt to deny the > great production on "Ride" (oh those 12-string acoustics!), or the > incredible bridge on Lysander? What about So You Think...what's the matter, > do none of you like The Beatles? :) Nothing's the matter with "Lysander" or "So You Think You're in Love". It's just that almost every one of the other tracks is boring by Hitchcock standards, both lyrically and melodically. Along with Respect, this is the only Hitchcock album on which I routinely skip tracks when listening to it (and I skip an awful lot more on Perspex than on Respect). And this is coming from a die hard Soft Boys fan, and an equally big fan of Fegmania and Element of Light. It has nothing to do with the particular style of the recording, and everything to do with the fact that the songwriting itself is lacking. The closest I can come to putting my finger on the difference between the pre-Perspex songs and the 3 recent albums is that the recent ones seem to lack an immediacy to them, like before Perspex he was writing songs because he had to and now he merely wants to. With exceptions on both sides, of course (i.e. " 'The Yip Song' has that immediacy to it" is not a satisfactory counter-argument). I realize that I'm speaking in terribly vague terms - anyone care to elaborate or object? Aaron ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 16:21:32 -0500 From: gokhman@zakuski.math.utsa.edu (Dmitry Gokhman) Subject: chat session (long) I thought I'd post the chat session on Request Line, in case any of you missed it. - D Cookie writes: Hi Robyn! My questions are: Will you be touring with any musical accompaniment on your fall tour with Billy Bragg? Robyn writes: Well I'm gonna be playing the guitar, that's for sure. I'm not gonna sit there for an hour and a half singing unaccompanied! I may have somebody playing the violin with me, Denny, who played on the album. But I won't be taking a band. Cookie writes: Are you a vegetarian? Robyn writes: Yeah, I don't eat meat. Or chicken. Which, for some reason, y'all think of as not a form of meat. But no. I do eat sea creatures. I shouldn't really, actually. I should stop that. But I still enjoy the occasional prawn. Cookie writes: "Autumn Is Your Last Chance" is the only song that can get me to cry! Robyn writes: Really? You should try listening to the Plastic Ono Band record. John Jones writes: I have heard you play the song "Swirling" at many soundchecks, both with and without the Egyptians-- but it's been since the EYE tour in 1990 that I've heard you play it live. Is there a reason for this? Robyn writes: Wow. That's a very good question. I don't know. Maybe it's just not a good song to perform. You know in the early Soft Boys days, we had some of these pieces of music that were quite intriguing like "Return of the Sacred Crab," or "School Dinner Blues." But we couldn't really do them live, because it was a nightmare. You couldn't sing and play them at the same time. Elizabeth Morgan writes: As a student of paleontology from Cincinatti I really enjoyed Moss Elixer and Mossy Liquor. I consider Bones In the Ground my Theme Song. What brand of cigarettes do you smoke? And is the black cat yours? Robyn writes:The black cat belongs to my girlfriend Michelle and myself, as much as one creature can own another. She's called Figgy and she's four years old. And when I'm in the States, I smoke Camel Lights. When I'm in Britain I smoke Golden Virginian. What you haven't asked is whether I'd like to be buried or cremated. Elizabeth Morgan writes: Can you settle a bet? Is that you singing Sweet Ghost of Light? Robyn writes: Yes. Bobby K. writes: Is A&M going to reissue Queen Elvis? Robyn writes: I don't know. It's up to them. Don;t know what they're going to do. Robyn writes: Is it more gruesome to think of yourself rotting away down there? You can look at your body and think that okay, my lips will shrivel and be drawn back in a horrible bloodless grin and my teeth will poke out and my nose will--just hold your nose and feel how that gristle's going to disappear. And your guts rot, but your hair will be rotting away. It's funny how much more disturbing a decomposing human is than a decomposing fruit. When animals rot down, there's something kind of nasty about it. Fruit just goes. And then put your hand down on your fingers and imagine: Do I want all this burning up in a funeral parlor? You know, jets of gas spurting through my skin, and my fingers all sort of crackling like cooked meat. I go up like one final dinner that no one will ever eat. Shucks, they overcooked Paul. YouKnowWho writes: Have you toured with Billy Bragg before? Are you guys chums? Robyn writes: I opened for Billy Bragg with the Egyptians in England in 1991. We did a sort of two-week tour of Britain. Otherwise I've played with him at various things. But this is actually a co-headliner. He may go on last, but it's a joint thing. Penny writes: Have you ever tried to substitute "chips" or "crisps" for "fries" in an American Restaurant? Robyn writes: You mean the word chips, or the thing? "Chips" are fries. "Crisps" are potato chips. Do you mean have I put potato chips in a meal instead of fries? Have I said the wrong thing? No, because I tend to avoid ordering them anyhow. BigBeef writes: What's the best book you've read in the past 10 years Robyn writes:Hmm. Wow. Ah, best book I've tead. Um. Hmm. Oh God...I can't remember. I enjoyed them very much at the time. But I can't remember much about them afterwards. There was an interesting one called "The Ogre King," by Michelle Tournier. It's about the extra one that comes to adore Jesus but gets there too late. That's a very striking book. Pink Pram writes: I read a good book once, maybe twice. But a good CD I'll listen to thousands of times. Why is that? Robyn writes: Books rely on the fact that at the beginning you don't know how things are going to turn out at the end. Whereas with a CD, or a piece of music, actually being familiar with it helps. But a story is meant to unfold, and therefore, once it's unfolded, the question is, do you want to read this again? Marc W. writes: Is there any chance of a Soft Boys reunion tour or record? Robyn writes: I think it's unlikely. It's just difficult to get everybody in the same place. Although I think we may get together by chance somewhere, if we felt like it. We've had several quasi-reunions. We did a sort of tour in Britain, but we couldn't get ahold of Kimberly. I don't think we could actually do a proper tour. I don't think we could organize it. Also, the problem is, if we actually got all together and played, well, the songs I write now are very different than the ones I wrote 20 years ago. I don't think it would sound like the Soft Boys. I'm not sure what, say, Television sounds like now, or the Beatles, or the Velvets. On the whole, those things are better in concept than in reality. I think the best Soft Boys reunion would be if we didn't get together. Trout Lilly writes: Do you get tired of being called "eccentric" and "weird" by the press? Do you feel they're just not getting it the way the rest of us do? Robyn writes: The trouble is, you have to be defined some way. They can say you are eccentric, or they can say you are a carrot, or a thermometer. Everything has to be defined in some way. Otherwise they'd just say, He's a songwriter. Well great, that's really interesting. On to the next songwriter. They could say I was brilliant if they wanted to. People are often struck or hung up on certain aspects of what I do, often to the exclusion of others. And I suppose that is a bit irritating. You know, I'm a songwriter the same as Lionel Ritchie, or Sting, or Captain Beefheart. We're all songwriters. We just emphasize different things in our songs. I deliberately wanted to avoid cliches in songwriters. So by writing songs about prawns and salamanders and crabs and insects, I was doing something that other people hadn't done before. The trouble with that was that it became a cliche itself, so I got fed up with that kind of thing, and steered away from it. But in so doing, a lot of people couldn't identify me anymore. Gene H.writes: What color is the chord D? Do you think Don Van Vliet's paintings are as expressive as his music? Robyn writes: That's Captain Beefheart. I prefer Beefheart's music to his paintings. But I know that he's devoted more time in the last 15 years to painting than anything else. I'm not crazy about the way he paints. It's a bit fast for me, really. And probably a bit expressionist. I prefer stuff that's a bit more academic, formal. The color of D? Well... A is red. E is yellow. C is green. G is a kind of sausage-skin gray. D-minor is a sort of dark metallic blue, and D-major is...I'm not sure D-major has got any kind of color at all. It's got a kind of feeling. A poignant feeling. But I don't think it has a color for me. Hans writes: Why did you decide to do the CD and the vinyl diffently on your new record(s)? Well, the A+R man, Jeffrey Weiss, and myself decided to do it as vinyl. But it was clear that there were enough songs to do that. So it wasn't a deal like, hey, there's a vinyl with slightly different tracks, which is a real rip-off. The vinyl was basically the b-sides, the songs that didn't quite make it. I thought that the songs weren't as strong as the ones on the CD, or the recording wasn't as good, or the arrangement wasn't as developed. For instance, I think I recorded DeChirico Street four times, and I think there are two versions of it out. The idea behind the vinyl is that you have to be quite a hard core fan to want to buy it. You either really love it or you don't get it at all. I myself don't have a record-deck, and I haven't for quite a few years, so I won't be able to listen to it myself. Hans writes: What about the whole digital versus analog controversy? Do you believe CD sound quality lacks "warmth" and all that? Robyn writes: As for analog versus digital, I really don't know, but I do miss LP covers. You could see the sleeve notes in those days and also, when you made a record and came back home, you really felt like you'd done something. Now you get the tiny little jewel-box and the tiny little shruken down photographs, and it just doesn't have the same feeling of achievement. But I don't know how that's going to be kept going, because although vinyl is sort of kept going, sort of like old steam trains are, for amusement in Britain, I can't see vinyl ever reclaiming it's place. I can imagine that it may go on for another 20 years, but also I can see that they may just decide to stop making record players anymore. For the last five years I've fantasized about putting out a vinly-only album, though. And it seems like that's what I've done. Amy writes: Many of your songs deal with the subject of death. Do you believe in an afterlife? Robyn writes: I believe in an afterlife, but I'm not sure how much of us is left to be in it, if you see what I mean. I mean, I think there might be such a thing as reincarnation, but kind of a fragmentary kind of thing, where little bits of our souls are shot into life. Like shrapnel, like those documented cases of people having bits of shrapnel embedded in their skulls, and getting radio reception in their heads. Like that, perhaps. Hans writes: Well, that's about all the time we have, Robyn. Thanks a lot for joining us. It was real pleasure. Thanks, everyone for stopping in. Robyn writes: Thanks a lot. Bye now... ------------------------------ From: Keith Hanlon Subject: Mossy Poster Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 17:59:22 -0400 (EDT) OK... I hope I handle this well... My friends at the local record store saved 2 Warner Bros. promotional posters for Moss Elixer and gave them to me. I only need one, and would like to offer it up to a needy feg. Here's where I may be flamed: I'd like to trade for something. Make me an offer. I may decline. If I don't get an offer I like, I'll give it to the first person who asks - no trade necessary. Does this sound fair? I wish I has thousands to give to everyone! The poster is 24" x 17.5" - The photo is similiar to the Moss Elixer cover, but a different shot - full torso this time. Gold lettering. Very cool. Lastly, I'll throw in a shameless plug for my band -- Keith -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Check out Norton's Orchestraville, a twisted, all-original Ohio band. Jason Huck was kind enough to put a song in his homepage: http://users1.ee.net/Huck Contact Norton's Orchestraville at ad180@seorf.ohiou.edu Merchandise available. Site courtesy of Jason Huck ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 15:11:58 -0700 (PDT) From: "Trixie, Bunny, and Peaches" Subject: Re: Moss singles? On Thu, 15 Aug 1996, Jim Moore wrote: > I asked this awhile back and got no response, but thought I'd > try it again. Any word whether or not there will be a CD single > release from Moss Elixir? i tried to contact wbr on this matter through their web site and was completly ignored. mmm?? i am positive there will be promo stuff around, but question there is will it measure up to the a&m promos in the hayday of 'indie rock'? i would love to see some 'gohst in you' type tracks on officially released singles that do not cost a arm or leg. .chris ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 18:51:02 -0500 From: kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander) Subject: hanging ten with slime ridden beverages ok, there are three tiers of listening pleasure for me this time around. though i've been listening to robyn for almost ten years (!) now, this is the first time i've been able to hear almost all of the songs in one form or another before the actual album came out. between the many shows i saw on his last tour, the several tapes i've gotten from this list, and old singles they were readily available. then comes _mossy liquor_ with outtakes, demos, and whatnot. all of this creates a preconcieved notion of what the songs SHOULD sound like on the album, when it really makes it easier for robyn to justify doing something very different for the album proper. now i know what everyone was complaining about when _respect_ came out much differently than they had hoped. (AS AN ASIDE, I'D LIKE VERY MUCH TO REQUEST A COPY OF THE LIVE VERSIONS THAT HAD EVERYONE FOAMING AT THE MOUTH. SOMEONE PLEASE CONTACT ME AND I'LL SEND YOU A TAPE OR WE CAN ARRANGE SOMETHING ELSE.) let me say that i love the songs. now that i have different versions of many of the songs i can pick and choose MY favorites: alright yeah: love it. my favorite version is the one from _uncarved pumpkins_ with the constipated egyptians. the harmonies are awesome. the moss/y versions strike me as a bit plodding and lethargic. the slide guitar sounds cool though. is robyn's following in sweden bigger than we may have thought? as lemons chop: a cute little prototype. beautiful queen: every version sounds great, though the moss version has the best textural quality. the mossy strings are very nice. the live viola feedback was a bit much. cool bug rumble: "mr. exterminator pass me by." i hadn't heard this one live, but i like it a lot. de chirico street: i've heard this song so many times it's not funny, but i still put my money on the mossy version. the moss vocal inflections have more character and the horns and whatnot have a wierd cartoon-like beatnick quality or something. is the single version the same as the mossy one? the devil's radio: typifies the sound of moss compared to mossy. it's like the AM radio verses the FM radio versions. without the drums it has a more mystical quality, but the mossy version is definitely better. i think everyone agrees. filthy bird: i've loved this one since i saw him do it. the live version has a little more energy to it and i've listened to it innumerable times. something about the lowest common denomenator. groovy chords. i'd really love to see them posted! heliotrope: a great song in any version. they all sound pretty similar. robyn stripped bare. i am not me: the only real rocker on the album. doesn't sound much different than in concert. the moss violin doesn't add much to the song. man with a woman's shadow: this is the same version as the one on the 'i something you' single. the haunting harmonica makes for an intimate feel. shuffling along the flagstones: a beautiful instrumental along the lines of 'chinese water python' and 'heartful of leaves". it's great to have a copy without a door squeaking in the background and someone being hushed. sinister but happy: love it love it love it! the mossy version left me flat since it didn't have any of the deni flavorings that made the live version hit home. but the moss version is boss! this has my vote for the best song. the speed of things: very folky. it's much better sound quality than the _uncarved pumpkins_ version. this is how it feels: i would have put 'alright, yeah' as the big finish, but this quiet one creeps up on you. i'd never heard it before. trilobite: goofy fun along the lines of 'dwarfbeat'. "a thousand years later they give him a name." wide open star: live or prototype, it doesn't change much. you and oblivion: i guess next album he'll have a song called 'moss elixir'. i really like the guitar bit at the end. basically, _surfer ghost_ & _uncarved pumpkins_ should be on everyone's list. so much yummy stuff that may never see official release. _mossy liquor_ is well worth whatever you have to go through to get it. _moss elixir_ as the album proper has a lot of production that may not thrill many people since it's mostly studio gimmickry or otherwise non-robyn stuff. it seems so extraneous at times. watching the songs evolve underscores the mossy frosting on the cake. i think it's great that we can decide which versions we like best. ken p.s. i know that there's so much stuff out there that i should hear. we should have a forest of tape trees on this list! i'm willing to make tapes for trade. ------------------------------ From: jlaw@qucis.queensu.ca (Jeffrey Lawrence) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 09:01:50 EDT Subject: HELP! Can anyone get ML for me? Well I finally reached the final straw - ONE store in Kingston only will order LPs so I ordered ML from them expecting to get - but they called me up (well my answering machine) and told me the order had been cancelled - no explanation, nothing! Now I am REALLY pissed!!! So is there ANYONE who can buy me a copy, for which I will obviously reimburse you etc. Especially someone in Canada (Toronto?) since I am in Canada too (saves problems with customs). If anyone can snag me a copy of ML, please please please write me ASAP at: jlaw@qucis.queensu.ca FYI, both Bayard and Woj can vouch for me in case anyone is "worried" about who I am etc. ------------------------------ From: pearceja@mailgw.wl.wpafb.af.mil Date: Fri, 16 Aug 96 10:17:43 -0400 Subject: Promo singles available I N T E R O F F I C E M E M O R A N D U M Date: 16-Aug-1996 10:08am EDT From: Jeffrey A. Pearce (Contractor) PEARCEJA Dept: POPR (UTC) Tel No: 57050 TO: Remote MILNET Mail ( _DDN[fegmaniax@ecto.org] ) Subject: Promo singles available Hi there, I was just at CDNow (telnet cdnow.com or http://www.cdnow.com) and they're selling two Robyn promo singles, Driving Aloud and The Yip Song, for $5 each. For those who don't have them, Driving Aloud has the extra track Alright Yeah, and The Yip Song has 2 extra tracks, The Live-In Years and Bright Fresh Flower. I suspect these only have collectors value at best since the additional tracks should soon surface on the A&M compilation and other places, but I thought some of you might be interested anyway. Jeff ------------------------------ Date: 16 Aug 96 14:05:32 EDT From: Alarming fanzine trash <101356.2516@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Feg Digest V4 #150 > Where can we find that "Human Music" cover? On a bootleg of a gig in Den Haag Paard, Holland in 1986, on the European leg of the 'Different Light' tour. Unusual cover fans note; in this gig, they also managed to get through 'Seven & Seven Is' and 'Way Out West', as well as the obligatory 'September Gurls' and 'Going Down To Liverpool'. Aidan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest. *sob* .