From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V6 #99 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, December 16 1997 Volume 06 : Number 099 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Blandest whirled one in the big thing... [Nick Winkworth ] I really felt for Gene ["Matthew Knights" ] The U2 Game [The Great Quail ] Glass Brushes Fripp Fame [The Great Quail ] Re: Tying it all together [Debora ] Re: Oh please! (as far from Robyn as can be in english) [Capuchin ] Re: Eb Or Not Eb [Capuchin ] Robyn Related Post. [Capuchin ] Re: The U2 Game [lj lindhurst ] Re: Capuchin's familiar [Eb ] wot? [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan)] Kevin Ayres Query (No RH) ["Baker, David(KWI-C09)" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 00:15:12 -0800 From: Nick Winkworth Subject: Blandest whirled one in the big thing... Well I guess no-one else reads Q around here... Anyway I am now back at home with my trusty copy at my side so I can fill y'all in. Firstly to answer Eb; the term "band" - in the context of this article at least - means simply "not a solo act". (Q's distinction, not mine) Hmm, maybe *that's* why Robyn is not included... ;) To begin with, a few choice SG quotes from the article: "How rich are we? Fucking rich!" (Geri) "Five heads are better than one. That way you don't go up your own arse". (Mel B.) [Victoria, asked what she thought of The Smiths..]"I haven't heard of them, either. Were they cool?" [Emma, asked to think of a song with a great lyric..]"Zoom by Fat Larry's Band" [That would be "Zoom and my heart went boom", for the uninitiated] Lastly... "I haven't had sex for nine months. Longer! Haven't you read the papers?" (Geri) OK. On to "The Biggest Band in the World"... Q measured: 1) Album sales (US: Soundscan, UK: IFPI, Rest of World: Record Co's) 2) Media muscle (=national magazine covers in US and UK in last 2 yrs) 3) Airplay ratings (UK: Music Control, US: The Album Network/Gavin Rpt.) 4) Concert Ticket Sales (Pollstar/Performance Magazine) 5) Total Earned Income (Forbes, Sunday Times) ALBUM SALES: 1) Spice Girls (18m) 2) Oasis (17.5m) 3) No Doubt (14.4m) 4) Metallica (11.5m) 5) Smashing Pumpkins (9.5m) MEDIA MUSCLE: 1) Oasis (68 covers) 2) Spice Girls (60 covers) 3) U2 (38 covers) 4) Metallica (53 covers) [Err. I think this makes them #3 - N.] 5) The Rolling Stones (27 covers) AIRPLAY: 1) Spice Girls (728,617 spins) 2) No Doubt (715,884 spins) 3) Smashing Pumpkins (445,618 spins) 4) Bush (406,804 spins) 5) U2 (376,295 spins) CONCERT TICKET SALES: 1) The Rolling Stones (>$120m) 2) U2 ($49m) 3) Metallica ($34m) 4) Bush ($26.5m) 5) Smashing Pumpkins ($23.1m) TOTAL INCOME: 1) The Rolling Stones ($72m) 2) Spice Girls ($47m) 3) U2 ($40m) 4) R.E.M. ($30-35m) 5) Metallica ($30-35m) ...AND THE WINNER IS: 1) Spice Girls 2) U2 3) Oasis 4) Metallica 5) The Rolling Stones So there you have it. All flames to Q Magazine please, not me. I'm only the messenger. Hope it gave you a chuckle... ~N There was also a great picture of Geri posing with one of those '50 style mics, with the caption "Nice hairdryer, but will it fit in my bag". Oh well, I guess it's mainly visual... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 01:14:17 -0800 (PST) From: "Children's Television Worship" Subject: Re: Blandest whirled one in the big thing... > "Five heads are better than one. That way you don't go up your own > arse". (Mel B.) You can't beat that logic. Although, I think I have seen some come close, or at least they got points for trying. Mind you, if this is a consideration for more than one to get together to overcome the odds, then it seems that the enterprise is doomed, just at a greater level. Of course, if you are destined/doomed to jump off a building, might as well do it on the fifth floor rather than the first (or some pathetic attempt to jump out of the ground floor doorway--never looks good on the resume). .chris (who is surprised he has not seen this on a hat/t-shirt/ect. in one of the tourist shop windows around these parts) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 13:16:25 +0000 From: Jonathan Turner Subject: Re: The Wreck of the Secret Gig (apology) Just to clear things up: I posted the "details" of the gig on the 21st, but have to admit that it's all made up. I'd hoped that it would be obviously too far-fetched to be believable, and thought that the "www.feghoax" URL would be the final give-away, but I guess that it looked more plausible in email than I expected. Apologies to anyone who wasted time on it. It won't happen again! (At least, not until I change my system date to 1/4 ... or is that 4/1 ?). It would be great, though, wouldn't it ? mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa... Jonathan (off to read his "make $3000 a day" mail). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 08:50:18 -0400 From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: Get ready for... action! Over the weekend, a friend of mine and I were wandering around in a toy store looking at all the Star Wars action figures and we started coming up with ideas for action figures we'd like to see... such as the "Ulysses" set that includes Leopold Bloom (with potato and soap), Molly Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and a Martello Tower playset; or the Romantic poets set that includes a Coleridge and De Quincey two-pack with a free bottle of opium. The Surrealist/Dada set had a Kurt Schwitters figure with "sound poetry action" and the Twelve Caesars set let you send away for Caligula's horse. So after all of this, of course I started trying to think of Robyn-related action figures - like Brenda with her iron sledge, or an Acid Bird with real acid (not for children under three). You could collect all the fishes mentioned in "Bass," and send away for a loaf of bread. You could get a Tropical Flesh Mandala with bowels that open up and close, or a Raymond Chandler Evening playset complete with a body on the railing that you can't identify. The Higsons would be sold separately. And of course the big collectible item would be an action figure of Robyn himself, with interchangable shirts. Yes, I have too much time on my hands. n. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 13:51:05 -0000 From: "Matthew Knights" Subject: I really felt for Gene UK fegs, don't miss Unforgiven on TV this week with RH's favourite Hollywood star, the one and only Gene Hackman ! I think it's on ITV this Wednesday. Matt (normal throat) _________________________________________________________________ Matthew Knights mknights@harrywasp.prestel.co.uk `Ton ame est un lac d'amour dont mes desirs sont les cygnes...' _________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 11:32:32 -0600 From: gVp Subject: read all about him Just came across this blurb for a new book: Shambala Press has just published a new book by Dimitri Ehrlich titled "Inside the Music: Conversations with Contemporary Musicians about Spirituality, Creativity and Consciousness." Included among the musicians interviewed are Perry Farrell, Iggy Pop, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Allen Ginsberg, Al Green, Leonard Cohen, The Reverend Run, Robyn Hitchcock, and the late Jeff Buckley. Hmm, sounds interesting. And just in holiday time for that hard-to-buy-for music nut acquaintance! Here's the book's mark of the beast: List: $15.00 Paperback, 256 pages Published by Shambhala Pubns Publication date: December 1, 1997 Dimensions (in inches): 9 x 6.01 x .76 ISBN: 1570622736 happy reading! Did any Chicago area fegs make it to the Dylan shows? gvp ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 97 17:19:51 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: The U2 Game Eb writes: >Every picture I see of Glass, he looks like he's posing for a bust. Sheesh. Here's a fun game to play with any picture of U2 -- *any* picture, poster, publicity shot, etc. All right . . . go get a picture of them, but *don't* look at it yet. Ready? Now imagine that they are waiting for a bus; a bus that is just slightly late enough that their emotional state is quivering between irritation and hopeful expectancy. Now look -- !! Cool, huh? - --Quail PS: When you get really good at this game, you can start picturing where they are, where the bus is going to, and exactly how late the bus really is. Try it and see! PPS: For offended U2 fans out there, a gentle reminder that U2 is my favorite group. (Well, Rush and King Crimson come close . . . .) - ---------------------------------+-------------------------------- The Great Quail, K.S.C. | Literature Site - The Libyrinth: TheQuail@cthulhu.microserve.com | www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth www.rpg.net/quail | Vampire Site - New York by Night: riverrun Discordian Society | www.rpg.net/quail/NYBN 73 De Chirico Street | Arkham, Orbis Tertius 2112-42 | ** What is FEGMANIA? ** "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 97 17:19:54 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: Glass Brushes Fripp Fame LJ writes: >Yes, yes, yes! That is so true. In this picture, he [Glass] actually has his >fingertips pressed together in front of him, almost prayer-like. No smile, >and he looks very tired. Yes, that is the standard Phil Glass picture. This of course all dates back to the 1968 Convention of Musical Representations conference. You see, Steve Reich drew the "Must be seen happy and riding a bicycle" slot and Phil Glass drew the "Must look like I will scream if I have to explain why I do not consider myself a minimalist just one more time" pose. Rumour has that Klaatu were also at that drawing, and that they drew the weirdest card of all. . . . . And adds, as obvious Quailbait: >He definitely looks like he's a big fuckin barrel of monkies to be around! Actually, he is a very, very nice man, and actually relatively cheerful. I met him after seeing his marvelous opera "Beauty and the Beast." He talked animatedly for a while about his work, and was very upbeat and actually listened to what we had to say. He was gracious with his autograph, and at no point did I get the impression that he felt "too good" for his fans. (We were talking about the evolution of artistic consciousness over the last two decades -- I kept thinking, "Wow. I am here talking to Philip Glass -- no, I am *sustaining* a converstaion with Philip Glass about something rather intelligent and relevant. Please please please do not fuck up and ask him what kind of drum sticks he prefers.") I also met Steven Reich, who, on the other hand, was very brusque and gave the impression that he was in a big hurry, which he wasn't, seeing as he was in central PA and there's really nothing around here to rush off to. Allen Ginsberg was interesting to meet, but all he wanted to talk about was the CD boxed set he was promoting. "Did you buy it? Do you like it?" It was pretty strange, actually. He was courteous, but almost a bit grouchily insecure. Not at all what I expected. I met Andy M. Stewart of Silly Wizard at the bar he was playing. I was a complete idiot and said nothing useful, but that's ok, he was too busy hitting on my date. Manus Lunny was real cool though, and impressed that I had snuck in. (I was only 20.) I never met Robert Fripp, but I would not even try to. I understand that conversations often go like: Q: "Are you Robert Fripp?" A: "No." or: Q: "Can I have your autograph?" A: "No." or: Q: "Can I buy you a beer, give you a million dollar contract, and offer you my sister?" A: "No." Or some variation of that. Don't get me wrong, I respect Bob tremendously, but he seriously values his privacy. My favorite story is from my friend, Avi. He was staying at a hotel in Georgetown, there for a wedding. The Dead were in town. Drunk after the reception, he was wandering the halls and was lured top a room where music was playing and people were milling -- Bob Weir's room. They met, and Bob invited him in and they ended up smoking a joint and watching cartoons. - --Quail PS: I also met the one called Bayard once, but that's another story. . . . - ---------------------------------+-------------------------------- The Great Quail, K.S.C. | Literature Site - The Libyrinth: TheQuail@cthulhu.microserve.com | www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth www.rpg.net/quail | Vampire Site - New York by Night: riverrun Discordian Society | www.rpg.net/quail/NYBN 73 De Chirico Street | Arkham, Orbis Tertius 2112-42 | ** What is FEGMANIA? ** "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 14:24:47 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Tying it all together Last night, I saw Atari Teenage Riot/Shizuo vs. Shizor/EC8OR. I got a kick out of the show, actually. Sure beat the Gus Gus show a week ago. (For one thing, it was the only concert I've ever seen where I was bumped on the head with a six-foot inflatable penis. But alas, I digress.) However, I had a bit of a trauma after the show, when I went out to the parking lot and discovered that my car had a dead flat tire. Phooey. So I had to wait for AAA etc. and didn't get home until like 2:15 AM. Blah. Anyway, the reason I'm here: In the interim between Atari Teenage Riot coming onstage and starting to play, people yelled out both "Freebird!" AND "Play some Skynyrd!" It takes all kinds. Eb, who's gonna be crushed if he doesn't get to see Portishead this week ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 16:11:50 -0800 From: Debora Subject: Re: Tying it all together Eb wrote: > (For one thing, it was the only concert I've ever seen where I was > bumped on the head with a six-foot inflatable penis.) You've never been to a GWAR show, have you? Debora ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 16:12:44 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Oh please! (as far from Robyn as can be in english) On Thu, 11 Dec 1997, M R Godwin wrote: > And incidentally, I shall be sulking in my tent for the whole of the year > 2000, waiting to celebrate the millennium on 1st January, 2001, NOT on the > 1/1/2000, which is the last 1st of January of the current millennium. And > that's 1/1/2001, NOT to be confused with 1/1/2001. This is a huge peave of mine as well... and I think enough people will be clued by the time of the big day that most will know they're not REALLY celebrating the end of the millenium. However, I do like James' "Big Number Party" idea. > - Mike Godwin, MCMLXXXXVII > (and incidentally, why isn't it MIIIM ?) Actually, it's MCMLXLVII. And it's not MIIIM because you can only discount the lesser value immediately to the left of the larger value. You can't add some things up and then subract them. The Romans ahd no order of operations. That's why their arithmetic stunk and that's why they ended up taking the arab's numerals (Well, that and the lack of zero... as soon as philosophers found the difference between "I have no bananas." and "I have zero bananas."). I'm also under the impression that there is some rule about how many values down you can go before subtraction becomes meaningless. That is to say, you can go with IV for 4 and IX for 9, but you can't say IL for 49. This is why the Enigma album was called MCMXL instead of MXM and films from 1950 bear the date MCML. > "But whatever his weight in pounds shillings and ounces > He always seems bigger because of his bounces" (A.A.M>) And then on Thu, 11 Dec 1997, Bayard wrote: > yeah right mike, i suppose you think metric makes more sense than what > we use, too! ;) Oooh, don't get me started on this one! OK, too late. Metric is more arbitrary base ten silliness. Wow, most of us have five fingers per hand and have to use them to count, let's base our entire system on finger counting! Garbage! The English System (called by some the Imperial System, but that's just someone's idea to keep the English from getting blamed and giving the system the evil connotations that come with the word "Imperial".) of weights and measures certainly has been muddled over time, but if you think of fluid measure, you see something much smarter than stupid metric blindness. 8oz per cup... 2^3. 16oz per pint... 2^4 32oz per quart... 2^5 128 oz per gallon... 2^7 It's all so beautifully binary. There are also measures for 64oz and 256oz whose names escape me at the moment. You never have to measure out six of anything because two of one always makes a whole other. You could conceivably carry any number of cups in completely full containers by owning just one for each unit of measure. Also, you could measure a given quantity by pouring it into containers of declining unit volume and always be on to the nearest cup without requiring a graduated or second container for dumping and refilling. Oh wait, you guys were just making small talk. J. By the by, I happen to agree on the MM/DD/YY thing and that's why I always use DD/MM/YY unless specificly directed to do otherwise on forms and things. But usually, if the date is less than 12, I go ahead and write out the month portion so as not to confuse. I also think we should give up ridiculous daylight times and zoning and just use something arbitrary like GMT. Yeah, it'll take a couple of years to adjust. So what. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 16:31:15 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Last Words: Glass, Reich... On Sun, 14 Dec 1997, Eb wrote: > >(is there a way to get those two dots on top of the letter 'a'?) > On my Mac, you hit option-u (umlaut), then "a." Yeah, but the 7-bit ascii used for smtp isn't likely to carry that character all that well across all mail systems. J. -- who hasn't written a Robyn related post in ages. I should correct that soon. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 16:29:34 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Eb Or Not Eb On Thu, 11 Dec 1997, Terrence M Marks wrote: > I'd like to say that I think that The Zombies' "A Rose For Emily" is one > of the few songsbetter than "Waterloo Sunset"... "A Rose For Emily" is one beautifully written, extraordinarily creepy short story, too. I dig it. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 16:48:56 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Robyn Related Post. While I'm kind of sick of 'Brush With Fame' stories, I'll throw in a very silly one. I've spoken with, to, or at Robyn several times and I have absolutely no idea if he remembers, recognizes or acknowledges any of those encounters. It's got to be difficult seeing hundreds of people in every town, let alone trying to keep names and faces straight. John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, at least for a while, recognized me on sight. You see, I almost hit him with my yo-yo not once, but twice. At the Melody Ballroom in 1990, John came around a corner just as I was flipping the thing upward and forward. Now, John was in no danger of actually getting hit because I saw him and reeled in, but a very speedy and very hard piece of plastic came about three or four centimeters from his nose and eyeglasses. He jumped. He looked at me and said 'Woah. Careful now.' And that was that. Two years later, same venue, same hallway, new yo-yo, same trick, same John: "Woah! That's twice. I've got my eye on you." Eight months later, two hundred miles south, I walked into a show carrying my yo-yo and being extremely mindful of passers by. John walked up to me and said "Good boy. Keep it down." And the next year, right back here in Portland, albeit a different venue than before, John was signing T-shirts and things and I walked up to him completely without toys of any kind in sight. And he said "Even better. Keep it at home." I smiled and said "It's in my pants." John said "That's none of my business." Thus ended my four year, six line conversation with Flans. Can anyone that was there tell me why Robyn came to our table at the Two Bells Tavern? Did someone wave him over? I just remember looking up from the tab I was signing to see Robyn asking how we knew he was going to be there. Did he recognize someone? What's up there? Anyway, my friend Ian, who was at the Two Bells that night and was mentioned copiously in my Bumbershoot Travelogue, knows all about Robyn and his quirks and his shyness and mistaken identity and all that from my constant ranting... Anyway, Robyn was talking to some folks right near the restroom when Ian looked up at the man and said "Hey, that was really great..." and gesturing down at his pint glass and the swallow or two of stout therein said "Can I get another one of these?" Robyn looked flustered. He put his hands to the front of his pants as if checking his pockets. He looked around uneasily for a waitperson and then back down at Ian blinking. "I'm just kidding." Robyn looked upon Ian as he might look upon a space bug and then turned back to his conversation. I heard this second hand after returning from the restroom. I'd've wet my pants instead if I'd known he was going to do that just so I could've stayed to watch. That's that. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 20:16:48 -0500 (EST) From: lj lindhurst Subject: Re: The U2 Game The Great Quail is obviously dividing his time between pecking on WebTV and staring at that RATTLE AND HUM poster a little too much!! Get a life!!! And don't make me come over there and throttle you again... >Here's a fun game to play with any picture of U2 -- *any* picture, >poster, publicity shot, etc. All right . . . go get a picture of them, >but *don't* look at it yet. >Now imagine that they are waiting for a bus; a bus that is just slightly >late enough that their emotional state is quivering between irritation >and hopeful expectancy. >PS: When you get really good at this game, you can start picturing where >they are, where the bus is going to, and exactly how late the bus really >is. Try it and see! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 17:23:03 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Capuchin's familiar >John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, at least for a while, recognized >me on sight. You see, I almost hit him with my yo-yo not once, but twice. >At the Melody Ballroom in 1990, John came around a corner just as I was >flipping the thing upward and forward...Two years later, same venue, same >hallway, new yo-yo, same trick, same John: "Woah! That's twice. I've >got my eye on you." Um, this begs the question: Why do you regularly play with yo-yos at rock concerts?? >Eb wrote: >> (For one thing, it was the only concert I've ever seen where I was >> bumped on the head with a six-foot inflatable penis.) > >You've never been to a GWAR show, have you? Guilty as charged. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 15:31:14 +1300 (NZDT) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: wot? >I'm still waiting for James Dignan to finish his ambient mix of "See My >Friends." ;) > >Eb erm. Sorry to disappoint you, but the ambient track I am currently working on is entitled "Dusk, Waterloo Bridge". ;) James ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 11:12:00 +0800 From: "Baker, David(KWI-C09)" Subject: Kevin Ayres Query (No RH) Has anyone on this list heard much Kevin Ayres? I have been interested in hearing some of his music since I read about his Syd Barrett tribute track 'Oh Wot A Dream' in the Barrett biography. I've read various good things about his solo work and do own the first Soft Machine album (which I was disappointed in at first but grew to enjoy). Can anyone here offer some insight the kind of music he has produced and whether it is worth chasing up (and where to start)? It seems to be very difficult to find any of his pre-80's work in record stores. Thanks, Dave. Alcoa of Australia Ltd ACN 004 879 298 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 01:56:07 EST From: Bradley372 Subject: Re: Charlie the Missing Higson? Yes, Charlie Higson is the very same fella as made (in)famous in "Listening to the Higsons." He went into screen/TV writing and writes for the Fast Show. Q magazine recently had an article on them in their "Where Are They Now Column." ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V6 #99 ******************************