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 #163 Fegmaniax Digest Volume 4 Number 163 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: ------- ------- Bus-King on the IOW RE: Messages of Dark and Universal Popularity Re: Messages of Dark and Universal Popularity Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others Re: Uncarved Pumpkins This is only a test run Good Day Fellow Robyn Hitchcock Geeks Globe of Frogs Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others Off-White Albums Re: Globe of Frogs Re: Globe of Frogs Tapes Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others RH Braggs On Billy Re: Globe of Frogs utterly vile nastiness Re: messages of dark re: utterly vile nastiness re: utterly vile nastiness Re: utterly vile nastiness Re: utterly vile nastiness ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 16:25:01 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Bus-King on the IOW > RH: This is for the lady with binoculars up there looking through that > window. You know we're kinda real rad, like Cliff Richard yeah, we're > "Rocker Billy Rebels". Oh hang on this is in ordinary keys. Is that a > wholesome B? I'm going to tune this down. Don't worry you still have time > to go to the pub. I mean anyone who's getting the nine 'o' clock. She's > gone! Oh right lets go... that's "Rockabilly rebels" - like in the title of the song by Major Matchbox. Rockabilly is/was like skiffle with attitude. James ------------------------------ Date: 29 Aug 1996 01:04:01 EDT From: "PIN-C09" Subject: RE: Messages of Dark and Universal Popularity With regard some of the more cutting remarks Robyn has expressed in his songs, I find it hard to go past Empty Girl: 'You are just an empty girl, empty in your body and your mind.... Waiting to be filled up with somebody's life - I swear it won't be mine!' and even better(worse): 'You look divine but honey please don't speak!' In fact, a lot of the Invisible Hits album seems concerned with relationship frustrations and I find it one of Robyn's more potent albums lyrically, despite the slightly misogynist nature of some of it. This spiteful frustration seems to be a far more dominant theme then any of the fish/reptile themes often associated with Robyn's work during this period. In terms of the whole debate about the 'disappointments' that A Globe of Frogs and Groovy Deco were, I quite like both albums and have certainly got my money's worth out of them (Mind you, I only have the Groovy Decoy version which doesn't have the over-production of Groovy Decay). However, they do seem to lack the depth of a lot of Robyn's work. I find that it is EYE and Perspex Island which I have difficulty listening to completely. While both of these have their inspired moments, I find that Eye lacks musical inspiration for the most part and that some of the songs on PI (Ride, Earthly Paradise) drag listlessly on for way too long. However, I know that some people strongly disagree with this. What I'm interested in is this: are there any of Robyn's albums which everyone adores? For instance, is there anyone out there who thinks that Underwater Moonlight and BSDR were actually pretty average moments in Robyn's career? Dave ------------------------------ From: Beebster@aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 02:16:36 -0400 Subject: Re: Messages of Dark and Universal Popularity << What I'm interested in is this: are there any of Robyn's albums which everyone adores? For instance, is there anyone out there who thinks that Underwater Moonlight and BSDR were actually pretty average moments in Robyn's career? >> YES !!! I've never quite understood why those two seem to be so universally popular. I always thought there was something wrong with me. I wouldn't go so far as saying they blow chunks or anything, they just never happened to have been favorites of mine. Thank you, Dave, for giving me the courage to come out of the closet on this one. I don't post to the list very often -- you guys are all so verbally talented, I usually feel unworthy to join in your witty repartee. Not to mention morbid fear of the dreaded Feg Flames. =8-O However, having just spent two weeks perusing the message boards in AOL's religion area, I've witnessed enough verbal combat to make the recent exchanges on this list look like a tea dance in comparison. So, get your flamethrowers out if you must -- I can take it. ; ) Love, - Cath :D ------------------------------ From: "Mike Hardaker" Subject: Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:12:22 +0200 Terry Said: > @SONG: If You Were a Priest > [I'm not sure if it's G# or G#(add D). Personally, I can't figure out > a way to play a G#(add D) so I play it as G#. If someone with more > gifted fingers could help me out, please do] I'd say it's yer basic G#, but I think your B in the verse doesn't exist, thus: A G# If you were a priest G F# I would wait at least A G# up until confession time and > B E B E > I've thrown a lot of time away to be with you > B E B E > So please don't lock away your eyes This bit works best with Ye Olde Robyn Open Chords so : B: 024400 E: 079900 Especially if you can get get a bit of jingle-jangle going > @SONG:Somewhere Apart > [Note: This song is based around the fifth fret. The chords as they > are played are: > > A : 577655 F :XX7565 G#: 466544 Dm:X57765 C7: XX5557 ] I'm pretty certain they're not, you know :-) I think it's Am: x77555 Am(M7): x76555 Am7: x75555 Am6: 5x4555 C: 33555x F: 133211 D7(add9): x54530 A7: 002020 Intro: Am Am(M7) Am Am(M7) Am Am(M7) Am Somewhere apart C Somewhere you must be dreaming F D7(add9) F D7(add9) Somewhere the world is screaming Am Am(M7) Am Somewhere apart ...and so on... Then: F D7(add9) C So get me fish eggs, and a violin F G Am Am(M7) Am I'm gonna burn your bongos tonight ...with: F D7(add9) A7 And all the see-through things come crawling from the sea Finally, the 'Phantoms of the dispossessed' bit is sung over the following descending run: Am Am(M7) Am7 Am6 More later :-) Cheers, Mike ======================================================= Mike Hardaker e-mail: hardaker@iafrica.com mike@sacb.co.za mhardaker@cix.compulink.co.uk WWW: http://mickey.iafrica.com/~hardaker/ (The Hole In The Wall) Tel: +27 ((0)21) 419 0799 Fax: +27 ((0)21) 419 0787 ======================================================= "I'd like to reassure you, But I'm not that kind of guy." - Robyn Hitchcock ======================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 06:21:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Stephen C Ellis Subject: Re: Uncarved Pumpkins Hi there gang, After having been off of the list most of the summer, it looks like it was my unfortunate timing to miss out on this "Uncarved Pumpkins" tape. Are any of the branches up for spinning off another copy? I can compensate with other live Robyn material. Thanks, -Steve > Having listened to "Pumpkins" four times in the last week or so, I > thought I'd get in first with my opinions. Remember these are my > opinions. Feel free to voice your own and bound to respect mine. > (Would have put a smiley there but I think they're particularly sad.) > > I'm not going song by song, rather just some disconnected thoughts. > First up, thanks to John Jones for his sterling effort. (John- > you'll get a better pressie for vol 2.) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 08:43:51 -0400 From: Victor Triola Subject: This is only a test run ** High Priority ** "Good morning Mr. Seagrove. Have you met my dead friend Seth?" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 09:08:31 -0400 From: Victor Triola Subject: Good Day Fellow Robyn Hitchcock Geeks ** High Priority ** Was wondering if any other R.H. fans also appreciate the genius of fellow Brit Martin Newhall? "The Greatest Living Englishman" (w/Andy Partridge of XTC/Dukes of Stratosfear) and his just-released effort "The Off-White Album" are incredible. Sadly, Mr. Newhall refuses to fly so he can't tour outside the U.K.; and even then he travels from town to town by bicycle. "One thing Shakespeare never said/Was you've got to be kidding" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 10:36:35 -0500 From: mlang@inch.com (Steven Matrick) Subject: Globe of Frogs "Just my thoughts - I think people should figure out why Globe Of Frogs isn't very good. Maybe Brian Wilson helped out with it. (Incidentally GoF is the other album that Robyn always says that he doesn't like, hmmm.) -Qrys" Globe of Frogs was my first Robyn Hitchcock album but amazingly I don't remain sentimental to it. I bet it was the first for many of us since it was Robyn's major label debut. Globe of Frogs' mediocrity has alot to do with the time period. Many of the Alterna Gods that were signed in this period, didn't stick with their craft, they altered it hoping to make some money after years of slaving on the road. Two Great Examples: Husker's Du's Candy Apple Gray & Replacements'- Tim both dissapointing followups to superior records. Robyn should have known that Element of Light is about 100 times more commercial than Globe. As far as the songs: Chines Bones is wonderful, Vibrating, Flesh Number One, Globe of Frogs and Unsettled are very good and the rest of the album borders on drecky, especially the particularly awful Luminous Rose. I hope this is not insulting to those who love this record, as I said I have a fondness for it being the first RH record I bought when it came out. steve ------------------------------ From: George Spigot Subject: Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 08:10:47 -0700 At 10:12 29.08.96 +0200, Mike Hardaker wrote: > >Terry Said: >> @SONG: If You Were a Priest >> [I'm not sure if it's G# or G#(add D). Personally, I can't figure out >> a way to play a G#(add D) so I play it as G#. If someone with more >> gifted fingers could help me out, please do] > >I'd say it's yer basic G#, but I think your B in the verse doesn't exist, >thus: > > >A G# >If you were a priest >G F# >I would wait at least >A G# >up until confession time and I think the 'B' exists as the bass note, mainly to add some flavour as a brief passing chord: A G# If you were a priest G F# F#/B I would wait at least etc. 'F#/B': (high to low) 22342x That's how I hear it, anyway :) --g "Cher is doing a televison commercial for sugar substitutes. In it, she says women should be careful of what they put in their bodies. This comes from the woman who was married to Gregg Allman." --Bruce Baum ------------------------------ From: ZeroSummer@aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 11:22:26 -0400 Subject: Off-White Albums >>> "The Greatest Living Englishman" (w/Andy Partridge of XTC/Dukes of Stratosfear) and his just-released effort "The Off-White Album" are incredible. <<< Dennis Miller's was pretty damn neat too. =) ------------------------------ From: ZeroSummer@aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 11:28:07 -0400 Subject: Re: Globe of Frogs Luminous Rose is STILL on my top 10, and shall forever be. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Works great just as a poem, too. I read it once in a poetry circle long ago, that & Lady Waters. Devil Mask is great. Chinese Bones is great. Flesh #1 is great. Balloon Man is Balloon Man, and we'll take what you want from it. Globe of Frogs and Mandala are in their weakest forms here. Those, and everything else, are forgettable, which is why GoF is an odd little 3-of-5-star album for me. Some classics, and some, well, non-classics. I think most of us see this split, but not all of us put Luminous Rose on the "classic" side. So there. =) ------------------------------ From: HAMISH_SIMPSON@HP-UnitedKingdom-om4.om.hp.com Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 17:09:10 +0100 Subject: Re: Globe of Frogs GoF was my first album as well. I heard Devil Mask on Andy Kershaws program in 1988 (must have been a new release) and had to have it. The only thing the "major label" may have done was get it played. I never really thought about that. I agree though that there are some weak tracks, esp. Shapes, but there are some excellent pop tunes e.g. Unsettled, Balloon Man and Flesh No 1. And I personally love Vibrating (the song, not the activity,....I don't know though) Hugs and thingummys Hamish (vibrating as we speak) ------------------------------ From: Terrence M Marks Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:10:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Tapes I owe tapes to 2 people. The first, I believe is Bob Weidner, of the never-ending tab project. The second, I forget the name of [Pixies for Clean Steve trade] Will these two people *please* email me with their addresses [left the addresses in my old email box...D'oh] Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ From: Terrence M Marks Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:08:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: CRD:If You Were a Priest, Somewhere Apart and others I think that Robyn plays the B when he does it live and solo.. Terry "The Human Mellotron" Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu On Thu, 29 Aug 1996, George Spigot wrote: > At 10:12 29.08.96 +0200, Mike Hardaker wrote: > > > > >Terry Said: > >> @SONG: If You Were a Priest > >> [I'm not sure if it's G# or G#(add D). Personally, I can't figure out > >> a way to play a G#(add D) so I play it as G#. If someone with more > >> gifted fingers could help me out, please do] > > > >I'd say it's yer basic G#, but I think your B in the verse doesn't exist, > >thus: > > > > > >A G# > >If you were a priest > >G F# > >I would wait at least > >A G# > >up until confession time and > > I think the 'B' exists as the bass note, mainly to add some flavour as a > brief passing chord: > > A G# > If you were a priest > > G F# F#/B > I would wait at least > > etc. > > 'F#/B': (high to low) 22342x > > That's how I hear it, anyway :) > > --g > > "Cher is doing a televison commercial for > sugar substitutes. In it, she says women > should be careful of what they put in their > bodies. This comes from the woman who was > married to Gregg Allman." > --Bruce Baum > > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:19:42 -0500 From: Brandt Subject: RH Braggs On Billy As we anticipate the Oct/Nov tour, here's a quote from Robyn about Billy Bragg. It's an excerpt from a Sept. '88 OPTIONS Magazine interview: "I think people like Billy Bragg have inspired a lot of people. He's quite a strange character, Billy Bragg, he's such a great hybrid- he's something nobody could have predicted. He's an amalgam of traditional folk and punk but without a band, that strange voice, and writing quite hippie-political songs like 'Between the Wars.' He's an entertainer. If you want to be a preacher, you should just be a preacher. You can't go into the business because you want to inform people. You've got to be an entertainer on some level." "I think it's nice that so-called 'folk music' is being allowed to be trendy again for the first time in 20 or 25 years. It hasn't reached hysterical proportions, but people are seeing it as a cool thing to listen to. Unfortunately, most rock music depends on being cool for its listenership." I just found these quotes interesting from our current perspective, and thought I would share them with all of you. See you in Detroit, and maybe Chicago... hbrandt ------------------------------ From: "Aaron J. Sparrow" Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 13:22:03 -0500 Subject: Re: Globe of Frogs Steve wrote: > the rest of the album borders on drecky, > especially the particularly awful Luminous Rose. sniff, sniff...take it back. Aaron ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:59:19 -0500 (CDT) From: sdodge@inforel.com (Susan Dodge) Subject: utterly vile nastiness Oh yes! Invisible Hits is filled with bile, and you could say there is a definite misogynist taint to it. Although actually I get the impression that it is not ALL women who are meant here, but one particularly awful (or perhaps merely hurtful) woman who inspired all of this- never date a talented and verbally virtuosic songwriter, he will get back at you so brilliantly (and publically) you'll never live it down! My favorite is "Love Poisoning". Especially when he says "Come you fair and tender creature/Oh whatever be your trade/Kneel on the tattoed carpet/And prepare to lick the blade". OOOOOOH! Sends shivers down my spine every time. Sexy as hell. Which is no doubt why I've degenerated into incomplete sentences :). "Empty Girl" and "Trash" are obvious choices for mean songs and no mistake- they're full of good, cutting lines. How about that one in "Bass"- "He'd never make love to a loaf of bread/Unless of course he found one in his bed"? That should get a mention, as should that line in "I Watch The Cars"- "I hear you're going to try that too/I wouldn't pay to go to you". Which brings me to the topic of Underwater Moonlight and BSDR. I can understand not being gaga over BSDR (it was kinda low on my ten list), but I'm have to admit I'm baffled by those who are not blown away by Underwater Moonlight. The title song alone is a masterpiece, but this is also the album that contains "Insanely Jealous", "I've Got The Hots For You" (wait til you see the statues in my bathroom!), "Old Pervert", "Kingdom of Love", 'Queen of Eyes"- I'd better stop before I list the whole album. Anyway, you get the picture. BSDR, is not, IMHO, the masterpiece that Underwater Moonlight is, but it's nevertheless worthy if only for "Do Policeman Sing?" which never fails to make me laugh, and the fact that he rhymes stymied with blimey brings great joy to my heart :). I've noticed lots of I (eyes) here, so maybe I should quit now before I get flamed for it- getting flamed for one's opinions is one thing, getting flamed for self-absorption is another, and I'm definitely running that risk again! Anyway, I have set forth my humble opinion and it's worth about what you paid for it :). Cheers, Susan P.S. apologies for the messed up sig. i haven't gotten the hang of sig-making yet and was going to pretend that i intended it to look that way (a sort of dada-esque collage type experiment) but figured i couldn't get away with it :). P.P.S. "Sleeping With Your Devil Mask" rules! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:17:27 -0700 From: Nick Winkworth Subject: Re: messages of dark A not-so-long time ago, in a library far, far away, Kay inscribed: > I am referring, of course, to jungs theories of balance, of > realizing both the dark and the light sides of all matters > (ipso facto Alchemical prime matter), of accepting, nay, inviting > the shadow , the dark, into manifestation, so as not to be > too abruptly broiled to a crisp by the sudden inflamation > brought on by denial. (assuming the form of a small, wizened alien avatar) Beware the Dark Side, Cap! May the Feg be with you... -Nick (who wishes he knew how to use one of those anonymous remailers to disguise inane RH-free posts) PS Thanks to my filthy capitalist, non-government spell checker you'll never know how much worse my spelling is than yours. Ha![insert maniacal laughter a la "Alright Yeah" here] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:24:52 -0500 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: re: utterly vile nastiness Susan Dodge commented upon the line: >How about that one in "Bass"- "He'd never make love to a loaf of >bread/Unless of course he found one in his bed"? Funny line, of course, but more so if you've already seen Woody Allen's film "Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)" in which that very line is acted out by a rather randy man who really kneads a very, very large hot crossed bun (ouch!). Or maybe he's just filling a jumbo eclair... you've got to see it to believe it. David Carradine's (?) rant as the mad sex scientist in the movie is brilliant: "It was I who proved you can make a man impotent by hiding his hat! And it was I who forced a man to make love to a large rye bread" (hence the above lyric, I think). I doubt Robyn hasn't seen the movie. Anybody hear Robyn talk about it? It's too similar for a coincidence, methinks. BTW, Robyn did a shirt illustrating that line -- it's the only one of his shirts I own -- and sold it during his solo tour in 1991. Anybody else have one? "Pornography teaches us what to forget." -- Bruce Adams +++++++++++++++++ Internet Publishing Specialist + Gene Hopstetter, Jr. + Cadmus Digital Solutions +++++++++++++++++ http://cjs.cadmus.com/gene ------------------------------ Subject: re: utterly vile nastiness Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 12:43:51 -0700 From: Tom Clark Gene, quoting Susan: >>How about that one in "Bass"- "He'd never make love to a loaf of >>bread/Unless of course he found one in his bed"? >BTW, Robyn did a shirt illustrating that line -- it's the only one of his >shirts I own -- and sold it during his solo tour in 1991. Anybody else >have one? Me! Me! Also got the Lightbulb Head shirt. Weren't these also available from the fan club at the time? -tc ************************************* * Tom Clark * Apple Computer, Inc. "Knowledge Is Good" * tclark@apple.com - Emile Faber * tclark@netgate.net * http://www.netgate.net/~tclark ************************************* ------------------------------ From: "Aaron J. Sparrow" Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:09:01 -0500 Subject: Re: utterly vile nastiness > My favorite is "Love Poisoning". Especially when he says "Come you fair > and tender creature/Oh whatever be your trade/Kneel on the tattoed > carpet/And prepare to lick the blade". I can't hear that line without cringing. Just one small thing: That line comes from "Blues in the Dark". > P.S. apologies for the messed up sig. i haven't gotten the hang of > sig-making yet and was going to pretend that i intended it to look that way > (a sort of dada-esque collage type experiment) but figured i couldn't get > away with it :). Actually, you had me fooled. Aaron ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 16:27:07 -0500 (CDT) From: sdodge@inforel.com (Susan Dodge) Subject: Re: utterly vile nastiness >> My favorite is "Love Poisoning". Especially when he says "Come you fair >> and tender creature/Oh whatever be your trade/Kneel on the tattoed >> carpet/And prepare to lick the blade". > >I can't hear that line without cringing. Just one small thing: That >line comes from "Blues in the Dark". > Whoops! I always get those two mixed up. The titles, not the songs! :) The delicious nastiness in Robyn's tone of voice is why that line appeals to me, I guess. I can understand your cringing reaction, though. >> P.S. apologies for the messed up sig. i haven't gotten the hang of >> sig-making yet and was going to pretend that i intended it to look that way >> (a sort of dada-esque collage type experiment) but figured i couldn't get >> away with it :). > >Actually, you had me fooled. > >Aaron Hehehe. Thanks! Susan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest. *sob* .