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 V5 #187 Fegmaniax Digest Volume 5 Number 187 Sunday August 3 1997 To post, send mail to fegmaniax@ecto.org To unsubscribe, send mail to majordomo@ecto.org with the words "unsubscribe fegmaniax-digest" in the message body. Send comments, etc. to the listowner at owner-fegmaniax@ecto.org FegMANIAX! Web Page: http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/fegmaniax/index.html Archives are available at ftp://www.ecto.org/pub/lists/fegmaniax/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Topics: ------- ------- Re: A Robyn Hitchcock Alphabet Re: Sydmania/gf Re: Sydmania/gf Re: Sydmania Re: Sydmania Digest vs. Fegmanix influenced by RH We're off to see the... Dark Side? Re: Grateful Bones Re: Mineral Man Re: Mineral Man RE: That Bit in Agony of Pleasure Re: RH music videos, dammit! Heck, ANY Videos!? Re: A Robyn Hitchcock Alphabet Another Commercial Question Re: RH music videos, dammit! Heck, ANY Videos!? Re: Another Commercial Question Re: Sydmania ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 18:15:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: Re: A Robyn Hitchcock Alphabet Daniel sang: > These were chosen just based on how many recordings I have of each song. > I'd be interested to see other people's Robyn Hithcock alphabets (anyone > have an X?). I've been keeping a list of all the songs he's played, and I know of no song that starts with X. There is an "Optiatressence X", though. =bayard of the many colors ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 15:25:03 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Sydmania/gf >> I'd take The Madcap Laughs and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn over almost >> anything by RH (ALMOST...I guess I'd rank about three RH albums higher than >> Madcap, and two higher than Piper...something like that). But of course, >> those albums' virtues are not entirely due to Syd, especially in the latter >> case. > >You're not saying why you like these albums, though. Well, if this was the Pink Floyd mailing list, I probably would. Don't I get scorned enough for non-RH posts as is? >Seems like the cut-short aspect is a lens that makes the talent seem >greater than it was, sometimes. (Not sure if that's true in this case). >Lennon and Cobain were on a downward slope musically when they died, IMHO; >in death their legendary status grew all the more, whereas Dylan is a >fairly spent musician at this point (or so i hear.) Actually, I like In Utero more than Nevermind. I think In Utero shows enormous lyrical growth from Nevermind, and it's a more "durable" piece of work to me. I was numb for about four days after Cobain killed himself -- I thought it was a huge loss for modern music. But yeah, Lennon was probably in decline. As for Dylan, his new album with producer Daniel Lanois is being touted as his first significant album of the '90s. We'll see...I'm crossing my fingers. I did like Oh Mercy a lot, which was the last Lanois/Dylan pairing. >> I don't see much point in going into it, and pissing off everyone who >> worked on the thing. And no, I didn't buy the Chalkhills tape either. > >It didn't bother me that you posted that, but if it's pointless to go into >it, is it any less pointless to just throw out a comment that doesn't say >much at all, but seems randomly negative? Sheesh. I was BEGGED to make that comment! Sesquepedalianally yours, Eb np: Quasi/Early Recordings (now I have both albums! :)) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 19:32:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: Re: Sydmania/gf On Sat, 2 Aug 1997, Eb wrote: > Well, if this was the Pink Floyd mailing list, I probably would. Don't I > get scorned enough for non-RH posts as is? It's never stopped you before... I just thought it would make more sense to actually say something if you're going to post (no offense). > >> I don't see much point in going into it, and pissing off everyone who > >> worked on the thing. And no, I didn't buy the Chalkhills tape either. > > > >It didn't bother me that you posted that, but if it's pointless to go into > >it, is it any less pointless to just throw out a comment that doesn't say > >much at all, but seems randomly negative? > > Sheesh. I was BEGGED to make that comment! Erm, I meant the initial random negative pointless comment, not the one today. Or maybe you've made more than one. Who can keep up anymore? =b ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 16:55:18 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Sydmania >> Well, if this was the Pink Floyd mailing list, I probably would. Don't I >> get scorned enough for non-RH posts as is? > >It's never stopped you before... I just thought it would make more sense >to actually say something if you're going to post (no offense). Like I said, I don't think there's much point going deeply into it. But basically, it boils down to the fact that I find Barrett and early Floyd's MUSIC (lyrics aside) highly innovative and exploratory, while RH's music serves as nothing but a backdrop to his lyrics for the most part. Great melodies, certainly, but they're all very based in traditional, pre-existing musical templates and not so noteworthy on their own. (There are some exceptions, like say, "Uncorrected Personality Traits" and some of the rhythmically jagged stuff on A Can of Bees.) When people talk about RH influencing new artists, they talk about his lyrics, thematic tone and his voice. His music alone isn't really capable of influencing anyone -- if your music sounds like Hitchcock's, then what that REALLY means is that your music sounds like Hitchcock's influences: '60s folk-rock, traditional European folk, Beatlepop, etc. RH is just the middle man. There, are you happy? Now everyone hates me again. >> >It didn't bother me that you posted that, but if it's pointless to go into >> >it, is it any less pointless to just throw out a comment that doesn't say >> >much at all, but seems randomly negative? >> >> Sheesh. I was BEGGED to make that comment! > >Erm, I meant the initial random negative pointless comment, not the one >today. Or maybe you've made more than one. Who can keep up anymore? I'm not going to start two assaults on me simultaneously. A bit too much bad karma to take at once. Excited about seeing Bis perform tonight, Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 20:57:12 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: Re: Sydmania > Like I said, I don't think there's much point going deeply into it. But > basically, it boils down to the fact that I find Barrett and early Floyd's > MUSIC (lyrics aside) highly innovative and exploratory, while RH's music > serves as nothing but a backdrop to his lyrics for the most part. Great > melodies, certainly, but they're all very based in traditional, > pre-existing musical templates and not so noteworthy on their own. (There > are some exceptions, like say, "Uncorrected Personality Traits" and some of > the rhythmically jagged stuff on A Can of Bees.) When people talk about RH > influencing new artists, they talk about his lyrics, thematic tone and his > voice. His music alone isn't really capable of influencing anyone -- if > your music sounds like Hitchcock's, then what that REALLY means is that > your music sounds like Hitchcock's influences: '60s folk-rock, traditional > European folk, Beatlepop, etc. RH is just the middle man. Innovation is all well and good, but there's more to great music than just 100% new ideas. While his music may not always be as original as his lyrics, I think it's often as good, sometimes better. RH himself places a much greater importance on the music, and I believe has even gone so far as to say the words don't really matter. (But don't quote me on that.) > There, are you happy? Thanks, Big E. It was refreshing to read a thought-out thought, and on-topic too! (; > Now everyone hates me again. Oh, I doubt that. (if anyone hates you, they probably never stopped, anyway) > >> >It didn't bother me that you posted that, but if it's pointless to go into > >> >it, is it any less pointless to just throw out a comment that doesn't say > >> >much at all, but seems randomly negative? > > I'm not going to start two assaults on me simultaneously. A bit too much > bad karma to take at once. OK, but you owe me. > Excited about seeing Bis perform tonight, And I'm off to see the atomics, the exotics and the space cossacks! what a triple bill! =big B np: Kelley Deal 6000 doing abba's "SOS" at Phantasmagoria, wheaton MD ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 19:54:16 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: Digest vs. Fegmanix Okay, this is pretty lazy of me to ask and not just go look it uop or something,, but how do i get off the RH list and onto the digest? now the 30 or so I get every 2-3 days is just too many to handle. Thanks! LSDiamond, wishing she could stay, but having enjoyed her time here, and wanting to watch The Wizard of Oz and listen to the Dark Side of the Moon album simultaneously... Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 21:05:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: influenced by RH ...oh, and didn't REM say they were influenced by the Soft Boys/RH? Remember the old joke, "How many members of REM does it take to change a light bulb?.... All of them... one to change the light bulb and the rest to listen to the Robyn Hitchcock album." np: kelley & co doing "i wanna be your dog" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 20:13:50 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: We're off to see the... Dark Side? Has anyone read the Guitar World article about "The Wizard of Oz" and the "Dark Side of the Moon" "conspiracy/coincidence"? I'm dying to try that, and as soon as i can either get over to the video store & rent it, or find the tape we made the last time it played on TV, I'm gonna grab the Dark side album and try it. For any who may not know, allegedly, if you start playing the "Dark Side" album immediately after the MGM Lion's 3rd roar, and let it run through 2 1/2 times, it will coincide with every part of the movie. The examples i remember? "Brain Damage" plays when the Scarecrow is singing "If I Only Had a Brain", and when the line goes "The lunatic is in the grass", he falls in the grass. The choreography for the Munchkin dance is matched to the song playing (Don't remember which). The movie starts out B&W, and then goes to color, and the album cover has the white light going into the prism and becoming a rainbow. There are quite a few other coinciding events listed in the magazine which I can't remember. It sounds like a lot of fun, and i'm looking forward to seeing if it works. Anyone else? LSDiamond Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 20:19:45 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: Re: Grateful Bones >You can count me as one of the DeadFegs as well. It seems that most of the >people discussing this either love 'em or hate 'em....? Oh well. Actually, I'm rather impartial. I've only heard a couple songs from Terrapin Station, and I saw a video the other night on Pop Up Videos where they had skeletons constructed to their proportions and rigged up as marionettes to "perform". It was pretty neat, and I've liked what I've heard, but I'm not out to own every Dead t-shirt I see or even have any albums... (although some of the shirt designs I've seen have been pretty keen too.) The problem with the clothes is that if you wear a Dead shirt, EVERYONE who sees it automatically assumes you're a die-hard fan. Whatever! :) LSDiamond, who doesn't mind getting 2 copies of the same email since she has this nifty device called the "delete" button... Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ From: Ross Overbury Date: Sun, 3 Aug 97 0:02:49 EDT Subject: Re: Mineral Man John Jones said: > > Eddie Tews was saying..... > > >the person who put together the MINERAL MAN tape is presumably reading > >this. please don't take this personally. > >i love the concept, but it seems like a lot of the songs sound too > >similar. i think it should be had another go at. > > Hey, that would be me! > > Actually, I made that tape for no one's enjoyment but Terry Marks. He > posted a note about the song Clean Steve and how much it had mutated within > a few years, so when it came time to send him some tapes, I made a whole > tape of just diff live versions of Clean Steve for him. I just bought "Tom's Album" for 6 bucks while on vacation (4 weeks - did anyone notice?) because it features a track by "Bingo Hand Job". Robyn's contribution on this particular track is not obvious. Can anyone confirm whether this is the same "Bingo Hand Job" lineup I came to expect from earlier postings to this list? You can hear Michael Stipe; that much is certain. This whole CD consists of versions (sort of) of Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". -- Ross Overbury Montreal, Quebec, Canada email: rosso@cn.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 23:06:18 -0500 From: Bret Subject: Re: Mineral Man A >> Actually, I made that tape for no one's enjoyment but Terry Marks. He >> posted a note about the song Clean Steve and how much it had mutated within >> a few years, so when it came time to send him some tapes, I made a whole >> tape of just diff live versions of Clean Steve for him. is it possible for me to get a tape of this, as this is a subject often discussed around here, > >I just bought "Tom's Album" for 6 bucks while on vacation (4 weeks - >did anyone notice?) because it features a track by "Bingo Hand Job". >Robyn's contribution on this particular track is not obvious. Can >anyone confirm whether this is the same "Bingo Hand Job" lineup I >came to expect from earlier postings to this list? You can hear >Michael Stipe; that much is certain. the 'bingo hand job' recording is the same recording including mr hitchcock, no it's not obvious, but take it in good faith that is is .......also is not Billy Brag on there???????? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 23:20:31 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: RE: That Bit in Agony of Pleasure At 09:51 AM 7/25/97 -0400, you wrote: >Well, I've done no hi-tech analysis, but it sounds distinctly like "ruof >eerht owt eno". A backwards count-off. > >Dolph I'm positive that's what it is... I pondered that exactly once, then decided that made the most sense. :) LSD Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 23:26:15 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: Re: RH music videos, dammit! Heck, ANY Videos!? Okay.. So my dad wants cable for my parent's 20th anni, right? So now we have VH1... Do they play anything decent? (I've not watched much of it because I'm at work all day and for the past 3 weeks my fiance was down here visiting, and we went out most evenings.) Also, there are a jillion music collections out there on tape & CD, but does anyone know of Video collections? I'd love to see old stuff like "Video Killed the Radio Star" and Alan Parson's Project... and Robyn would of course be an added plus! :) LSDiamond Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 23:27:48 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: Re: A Robyn Hitchcock Alphabet >*X* is for ? Hang Robyn... X is for Xylophone because X is always for Xylophone... LSDiamond Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 02 Aug 1997 23:33:55 -0500 From: LSDiamond Subject: Another Commercial Question Okay, here's one for ya. Who's the girl singing in that Mountain Dew ad where they do the remake of that 1930's(?) song "Little Girls"? (Thank heaven for them all, no matter where no matter who) and is that version available on an actual album? My friend Des says it looks like Bjork....? Oh yeah!!! One more!!! ReMax did some ads with some guitar music in the background. One of them I have heard before, and could have SWORN it was Mike Oldfield, but it's not on Ommadawn, and I don't think my dad has any other albums, and he says he's never heard it before. Anyone else have a clue? LSDiamond Bad Cop, no doughnut... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Have you been exceptionally bad lately? Come serve your penance at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1542/penance1.html You'll never commit THAT sin again! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 23:42:11 -0900 From: BC-Radio@corecom.net (Buttafuoco) Subject: Re: RH music videos, dammit! Heck, ANY Videos!? >Okay.. So my dad wants cable for my parent's 20th anni, right? So now we >have VH1... Do they play anything decent? (I've not watched much of it >because I'm at work all day and for the past 3 weeks my fiance was down here >visiting, and we went out most evenings.) Also, there are a jillion music >collections out there on tape & CD, but does anyone know of Video >collections? I'd love to see old stuff like "Video Killed the Radio Star" >and Alan Parson's Project... There was an album compilation of musical acts on Island Records put out a few years back. Additionally, there was an accompanying video made as well. The Buggles were on Island Records and the video of "Video Killed The Radio Star" was included. First video MTV ever aired. Brett ************************************************************** Cooper Collections P.O. Box 876462 Wasilla, Alaska 99687 (907) 376-4520 BC-Radio@corecom.net http://www.corecom.net/~no6pp/BC_Radio_Online.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 01:30:28 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Another Commercial Question >Who's the girl singing in that Mountain Dew ad where they do the remake of >that 1930's(?) song "Little Girls"? (Thank heaven for them all, no matter >where no matter who) and is that version available on an actual album? My >friend Des says it looks like Bjork....? It's Leslie Rankine, formerly of Silverfish, currently of Ruby. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 3 Aug 1997 02:13:24 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Sydmania >...oh, and didn't REM say they were influenced by the Soft Boys/RH? >Remember the old joke, "How many members of REM does it take to change a >light bulb?.... All of them... one to change the light bulb and the rest >to listen to the Robyn Hitchcock album." Yes, I thought of that joke while typing my post, actually. But I've never fully bought that notion. Again, I think that's a case of RH being the Middle Man. REM sounds like the Byrds, so they sound like Robyn Hitchcock, etc. Also, I don't think REM's guitar pickings are as heavily steeped in the old-school folk tradition as RH's -- REM had a lot of modern influences like Gang of Four, Wire, dB's, etc. which don't really appear in RH's music. And think about the time frame: I mean, REM essentially debuted as a fully mature band. LOTS of people (not me) still think they never topped Murmur. And how much RH product was available during REM's formative years, back then in 1980-1981? Not so much. And what there was, didn't sound all that much like REM. I don't hear too much Can of Bees on Murmur. As for the "everything doesn't need to be 100% new ideas" argument, sure, of course. I just wish RH would mix together a few NEW old ideas, instead of mining the same sources over and over. Mix it up! Write more songs on piano. Write some songs with specific production ideas in mind, instead of just writing them on acoustic guitar, handing them over to a producer and hoping he doesn't pull a Paul Fox/Steve Hillage. Try some more guitar STRUMMING, instead of the usual up-and-down picking. Mix in a few new genres, and do it CONVINCINGLY, not just some burlesque farce like the oft-disparaged "Mellow Together" and "Ye Sleeping Knights of Jesus." Write something with some genuine aggression/dissonance -- boy, I would LOVE it if RH would try to rethink some of the musical ideas of Can of Bees as a fully mature writer. Write something with a heavy rhythmic bent, instead of just the usual easy jangleflow. Write something topical, to place RH in the real world for once. Try sampling sometime, why not? Try some rapid-fire lyrics, in a rap-influenced vein. Mix it up! I dunno, maybe I just wish RH was Elvis Costello. ;) Eb PS Bis disappointed me -- the bass and drums were pre-programmed...ugh ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The End of this Fegmaniax Digest. *sob* .