From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V6 #51 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, October 30 1997 Volume 06 : Number 051 Today's Subjects: ----------------- The Soft Boys [Terrence M Marks ] Largo [griffith ] [none] [Russ Reynolds ] calls on a nubis ["Capitalism Blows" ] grammar rock [Bayard ] re: grammar rock ["Gene Hopstetter, Jr." ] re: grammar rock/splattered hags fat brangs yawn rails [Mark_Gloster@3com] clever boy [Russ Reynolds ] robynbase! [Bayard ] Robyn - Metaphor Man meets Simile Stan [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz] re: grammar rock [mrrunion@tng.net (Runion, Michael R.)] Re: grammar rock [Capuchin ] re: grammar rock [Bayard ] re: grammar rock [Capuchin ] The Angel Upstairs [Carole Reichstein ] RH tunings? [Eric Loehr ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 09:58:30 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: The Soft Boys 1) Is the chronology as follows? Radar Single (Wading/Vyrna Knowl/Face of Death/one or two others) Radaralbum (failed) Kimberly joins Portlant Arms Can of Bees (I'm trying tfigure out how they progressed exactly, and it seems to be from straightforwards rock to doo-wop to stranger doo-wop to rock again..) 2) How long after the SB's broke up did Rew release the Bible of Bop? 2a) I'm surprised that nothing off of that was a hit. I could see "Fighting SOmeone's War" or "Nightmare" or "My baby does her hairdo long" making it big 2b) Odd how the Soft Boys recorded some of Rew's songs and he had enough material to release an album pretty soon after they split, yet one of the reasons that Robyn sites for the breakup is that "they were ust a band playing [his] songs". 2c) For that matter, a genuine SB 4th album (not just a live/singles thing like Only the Stones/Two Halves) is #3 on my list of discs to pick up if I find myself in an alternate universe. (The other two are a completed Smile and a third PF album with Barrett on it.) Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 09:10:17 -0800 (PST) From: griffith Subject: Largo Wow, what a pleasant surprise. I'll make a few phone calls today to confirm dates & times for the shows. griffith ______________________________________________________________ Griffith Davies hbrtv219NOSPAM@csun1.csun.edu To reply, remove NOSPAM from return address. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 97 12:50:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: [none] terry asks: >2) How long after the SB's broke up did Rew release the Bible of Bop? I really should keep my record collection here at work so I can check these things. As I understand it (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) "Bible of Bop" was Kimberley's version of "Singles Going Steady"...in other words, it's comprised of previously released singles. I think have the release dates of those singles written down at home somewhere but you'll note that a couple of the tunes were recorded with the Soft Boys and ergo feature Hitchcock on guitar. These, I'd guess, were probably recorded *before* the breakup of the band. >2a) I'm surprised that nothing off of that was a hit. I could see >"Fighting SOmeone's War" or "Nightmare" or "My baby does her hairdo long" >making it big tiny label = tiny publicity. I am a *little* surprised that BoB didn't come a little more into the forefront after Katrina & The Waves became famous. > 2b) Odd how the Soft Boys recorded some of Rew's songs and >he had enough >material to release an album pretty soon after they split, It's not like he released "All Things Must Pass"...I think there are 8 songs, and you have to put your record player into 45rpm mode to hear them correctly. >yet one of the >reasons that Robyn sites for the breakup is that "they were ust a band >playing [his] songs". I don't think you should read into that that Robyn was disapointed that the others weren't offering up some songs of their own. I believe he felt he may as well establish himself as a "solo" artist since he was already in a situation where he was the singer/songwriter and the others were backing him up. I don't think this was a reason for the break up so much as it was justification for beginning his solo career. - -rr ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 12:15:19 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: calls on a nubis well, here's a pretty selfish question: if robyn is playing in la in a few weeks, will he also be in seattle for viva sea-tac 2.5? anybody heard anything? i guess this one's not quite as selfish: i keep seeing ads for the advance promo copy of ELIXIR, with, "alternate artwork." anybody have this or seen it? what exactly is this "alternate artwork?" ought i to pick it up? i think it's usually advertised for $10 give or take. and this isn't really selfish at all: does chumbawamba have a hit song or video or something? i just saw that their new record is at the top of the pops at the local tower. y'all know they're anarchists, right? they've even got a double cd with chomsky, which was put out by ak press earlier this year. rage against the machine, and now chumbawamba, crashing the pop charts! who woulda thunk it? as for halloween music, pop in the 10/13/90 show at the haunt in ithica. that just OOZES autumn. anything from that month, really, when he was touring new england. Fuck You! I won't do what you tell me! (repeat fourteen times) --Rage Against the Machine ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 15:59:42 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: grammar rock is "sometimes i wish i was a pretty girl" correct? should it not be "i wish i *were* a pretty girl?" was sounds better in a song, i'll readily admit. "was" just sort of seems like he's saying "...had been". never mind the liberties taken with other bits of speech like "i got the hots", "i wanna (this and that)", etc, those are cool, no question. according to richard plumb, chumbawamba's hit song is "shockingly good." we saw them on a rooftop kicking off their tour last thursday. they were great but unfortunately the main speaker stacks kept losing power so they gave up. search 'em on the web for info. the album is "tubthumping"; the song, "tubthumper" (or is it the other way round)? i've licked the patina off the single but am damn curious about the cd which i have not yet heard. =b ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 16:40:17 -0500 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: re: grammar rock =b asked: >is "sometimes i wish i was a pretty girl" correct? Yup. And "...it's in the shape of you and I..." is not. Robyn sings that in "A Happy Bird (Is a Filthy Bird)" and it drives me nut. +++++++++++++++++ "Danger is my beer." + Gene Hopstetter, Jr. + -- Fred Lane +++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:31:42 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: re: grammar rock/splattered hags fat brangs yawn rails >=b asked: >>is "sometimes i wish i was a pretty girl" correct? >Yup. >And "...it's in the shape of you and I..." is not. Robyn sings that in "A >Happy Bird (Is a Filthy Bird)" and it drives me nut. "and up with which I will not put!" - -Winston Churchill "...tattered rags that hangs on nails reminds me" works poetically, but not grammatically. I love the song so much that I don't cringe. BTW, he now sings this more grammatically correctly when he does the song, or he finds some completely new line. - -a big fat shark head with a tiny body ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 97 17:16:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: clever boy just listening a tape of one of RH's fabled live shows, and noticed that during some alternate lyrics to "Goodnight I Say" he managed to rhyme "duct" (or "ducked") with "screwed". Doubt any of the angry bands of today would have made the effort. - -rr Bay area fegs...Duke 12:00 (10/29) is a go. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 19:57:40 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: robynbase! i'm getting back to work on this robyn database after a long break. here are the tables i have so far: characters [persons real or imagined] discography [releases legit or contraband] intros [all the stories, explanations etc] musicians [everyone from maureen & the meatpackers to the gliders] performances [all the gigs, instores, fm's, streetcorner buskings, taped or not] setlists [crossreferenced with performances and songs] settings [place names and locales which have been mentioned] songs [nuf sed. current total is 460 but i have a lot more to enter] tracklists [xreferenced with discography and songs] traders [y'all, if you want to make yerselves known] venues [everywhere you've ever been, you know i'm going too.] With a lot of luck and a new computer, it will all be on the web eventually. i want to do printable dynamically generated j cards too, i think i can accomplish this using tables. these would have the full date, and song list with a combo box from which you can click on the name of the appropriate song if you're data entering. also if you start typing, microsoft guesses at what you're trying to say and tentatively fills the field for you. if you want a look at it and you're a member of the MS-ACCESS 97 Borg, let me know and i'll tell you where to ftp it. if you want to help, LET ME KNOW! esp. if you are good with ACCESS 97 or Cold Fusion (or frontpage) or DB's on the web in general. =6 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 14:49:58 +1300 (NZDT) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Robyn - Metaphor Man meets Simile Stan been quiet ere lately! Soooo... here's a topic to keep you all amused. Robyn, IMHO, is the best creator of poignant and wondrous similes (and occasionally metaphors) in music today. My favourite examples are "it rained like a slow divorce", "I'll rach your lungs like smoke in the orchard" and of course "exactly like a crocodile in search of a mirage across the undulating sand". There's also a glorious combination simile within metaphor in "Serpent": "..gave birth to desire, rolling down the frozen highway like a burning tyre" So, what are YOUR favourite Robyn similes? James James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 21:19:34 -0500 From: mrrunion@tng.net (Runion, Michael R.) Subject: re: grammar rock Gene H. spake thusly: >And "...it's in the shape of you and I..." is not. Robyn sings that in "A >Happy Bird (Is a Filthy Bird)" and it drives me nut. Ah, but perhaps it's in the shape of 'U' and 'I', hmmm? I'm imagining big blue styrofoam letters on a cheesy cardboard fake-brick wall, a la Sesame Street. Forgive me, but I've got a 20 month old daughter. Perhaps Big Bird needs to get down and dirty...he might be happier. ******* Mike Runion email: mrrunion@tng.net ******* * Virtual Cone Museum * * http://www.spacecoast.net/users/mrrunion/cones.htm * * Globe Of Fegs * * http://www.spacecoast.net/users/mrrunion/fegmaps/ * ********************************************************* "Wait a minute! Time for a Planetary Sit-In!" - Julian Cope ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 19:13:42 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: grammar rock On Wed, 29 Oct 1997, Bayard wrote: > is "sometimes i wish i was a pretty girl" correct? should it not be "i > wish i *were* a pretty girl?" was sounds better in a song, i'll readily > admit. "was" just sort of seems like he's saying "...had been". > never mind the liberties taken with other bits of speech like "i got the > hots", "i wanna (this and that)", etc, those are cool, no question. OK. I'm about to give quite a bit of information about English grammar. Read on if such things interest you. There are three moods in English: the indicative, used for facts, opinions and questions; the imperative, used for orders or advice; and the subjunctive, used for wishes or conditions contrary to fact. Of these three moods, the subjunctive is most likely to cause problems. In the subjunctive mood, present-tense verbs do not change form to indicate the number and person of the subject. Instead all subjects of the present-tense verbs take the base form of the verb. Also, in the subjunctive mood there is only one past-tense form of be: were. Hence, "sometimes I wish I was a pretty girl" is incorrect because the conditional "wish" makes all past-tense forms of *be* into *were*. That's why we say things like "If I were a carpenter..." or "I wish Capuchin were here". I know it seems funny, but that's the subjunctive mood. Sorry, Gene. Sorry, Robyn. And I think "tattered rags that hangs on nails" is one of the most beautiful lines Robyn has ever written and poetic license is a license to drive across the dashed yellow lines of grammar. But, yeah, "it's in the shape of you and I" bothers me, too. Thanks for listening. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 22:35:06 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: re: grammar rock On Wed, 29 Oct 1997, Runion, Michael R. wrote: > Ah, but perhaps it's in the shape of 'U' and 'I', hmmm? yeah! or "You and Di". or It's in the shape of you/And I, swirling around us.... Well, maybe not. Sorry. "sir, step AWAY from the keyboard!" oh... ok. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 19:25:04 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: re: grammar rock On Wed, 29 Oct 1997, Runion, Michael R. wrote: > Gene H. spake thusly: > >And "...it's in the shape of you and I..." is not. Robyn sings that in "A > >Happy Bird (Is a Filthy Bird)" and it drives me nut. > Ah, but perhaps it's in the shape of 'U' and 'I', hmmm? I'm imagining big > blue styrofoam letters on a cheesy cardboard fake-brick wall, a la Sesame > Street. Forgive me, but I've got a 20 month old daughter. Perhaps Big Bird > needs to get down and dirty...he might be happier. Or perhaps it's "in the shape of you, and I swarming around us...". It's still grammatically wonky, but it gives us a bit of a poetic margin in which we can sigh and spit. I'm happiest with Mike's explanation, though. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 19:31:00 -0800 (PST) From: Carole Reichstein Subject: The Angel Upstairs Greetings all; First of all, I want to thank Bayard for compiling "Unhatched Crablings #1," and thanks to Eddie Tews--dedicated library patron--for sending me a copy. I was listening to the song titled (I think), "The Angel Upstairs." I'm rather taken with it. Is this an original Robyn song, or a cover? Bits of it sound like familiar Robyn imagery (i.e. the face in the windowpane that isn't your own), but still, I suspect it's a cover. Anyone know? And if it *is* an RH original, when was it recorded? It's lovely. Eddie--your coworkers (well, "Eat the State" staff anyway) aren't the only ones who tire of the Robyn references. Here at Powell's, when word got out that Karen & I were going to Bumbershoot, a friend of mine rolled her eyes and said, "Don't you ever get tired of seeing that man??!" I think you all know the answer to that one. - --Carole ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 23:03:59 -0500 (EST) From: Eric Loehr Subject: RH tunings? OK, I can't stand it any more -- I've got to try and play some of this stuff -- do any of you guitar playing fegs have any insight into what tunings Robyn uses on what songs? I think there was some talk of this about this time last year, but I didn't save the digests, and after the Quail's lightning egging of ecto, I can't get at the archives (can I?) Thanks in advance for your help, Eric ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V6 #51 ******************************