From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #30 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Monday, January 26 1998 Volume 07 : Number 030 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: fegmaniax- [dwdudic@erols.com (luther)] Re: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci [absolutely no Robyn] [Dave Librik ] FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" [woj ] Re: FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" [Eb ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #29 [Carole Reichstein ] Nid wyf i ddin yn darllen Cymraeg! [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (Ja] reviving an old thread (wombat content 0%) [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.a] Re: Seafood, gf, and punk folk. Who's this Robyn guy? [james.dignan@stone] my top ten for 1997 [woj ] Re: Invisible Storefront [chichi@io.com (Zelda Pinwheel)] Best Rh concerts on tape. [dlang ] Re: Invisible storefront... [ALaw144480 ] Re: reviving an old thread (wombat content 0%) [MARKEEFE ] Re: permeating cheese [Eb ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 09:00:58 GMT From: dwdudic@erols.com (luther) Subject: Re: fegmaniax- On Sun, 25 Jan 1998 03:25:12 -0500, you wrote: >Matt [ Cope did Sleeping Gas & Reward right ? If so I'm a Cope fan ] yup, hw did (with the teardrop explodes), so I guess you are! :-) -luther ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 05:21:22 -0600 From: Dave Librik Subject: Re: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci [absolutely no Robyn] [WARNING! Long, and totally uninteresting unless you care a lot about Welsh pop music! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!] Gofynnodd Gene: > Are GZM in the Ozric vein, or the Porcupine >Tree vein? They're really more in the Sebadoh vein of prog-rock, if you're willing to entertain such a concept. They also wear their influence from Kevin Ayers on their sleeves, except they're more dissonant. Ac wedyn sgrifennodd Eb: > I liked the first US Gorky's >album (Introducing..., which was a compilation of previous import-only >tracks), but the second album is quite different -- much more acoustic and >folk-based. I was actually disappointed the first time I played it, because >it so defied my expectations. But now, I like it BETTER than >Introducing.... I don't reverse like that too often -- most of the time, my >initial impressions are fairly durable. I haven't said anything before, because I don't have _Barafundle_ -- I'm assuming, depressingly, that it won't be long before I can pick it up in the $2 bin, since I don't think they're going to make it in America. But I've been listening to Gorky's Zygotic Mynci since their first tape back in '92, so I figured I should speak up. (Of course it's not hard to have most things by Welsh bands; it's not like the Welsh scene is so huge you'd miss anything.) I once met the man who booked them for their first gig (a high school auditorium in Pembrokeshire), and he told me they were the worst band he'd ever heard. Their demo tape suggests he was right, but they've always been a pretty inaccessible band -- they'd rather just bang around and shout off-key than write a melody. Of course, they were 13 years old when they started, and as songwriter Euros Childs has grown, he's discovered the joys of late-60s-early-70s English underground progressive folk-rock. Their old style persists, though, in their tendency towards jarring time- changes: the "generic" Gorky's tune sounds like three different songs jammed together, with a switch every fifteen seconds. (Imagine all of "A Quick One (While He's Away)" compressed into three minutes and constantly switching back on itself.) They have three indie CDs, which vary from unlistenable to brilliant. 1. Their demo tape & first cassette 'Patio' (now reissued on CD) is ... well, if you liked _The Freed Man_ you might like this, but maybe not, since it all sounds like unmusic to me. The difference between these guys and a bunch of post-collegiate bedroom four-track antirockers is mostly in the fact that they were junior high kids when they made 'Patio', so their sub-lo-fi chaos was mostly unwitting. 2. Then their first CD (on Ankst), _Tatay_ -- Euros Childs has discovered The Soft Machine, and is now trying to write melodic songs. But he isn't really successful, which is part of the appeal: they're a bit like Pavement in that there's always a feeling of total collapse threatening, and there's the impression that they're suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder and having a great time with it, too. Lots of cracked multi-voice harmonies, synthesizer freakouts, and even a mini "concept" sequence about a little girl named Anna. 3. Finally, _Bwyd Time_, which is a real leap forward and recommendable to anyone who's up for some experimentation. More than anything this sounds like Pink Floyd's old film soundtracks! If you liked Waters' frail ballads on side 1 of _More_ you'll know exactly what I mean. There's also an irrepressible sense of fun about this music; at one point in the middle of the obligatory chorus of singing children, a mad bomber shows up and starts shooting at them. There's a mystical little piece about a telescope and a bonfire, a mock-profound "Eldorado"-like intonation about The Man With Salt Hair, and a swirling carousel tune with lyrics about the incomprehensible Game of Eyes. The early-80s Robyn Hitchcock won me over by playing 60s psychedelic pop with a contemporary punk edge. Gorky's play 70s Incredible String Band with a modern indie edge. >The band is Welsh, and there's a real "alien" quality to their music. You >can TELL it comes from another culture, kinda like when you heard the >Sugarcubes for the first time. Hm ... that's really perceptive. Here's why: Unlike the Irish, Scottish Gaels, or French Bretons, the Welsh-speaking Welsh have kept their own language alive in a vital culture that isn't rooted in traditionalism. In the early 70s, with all that political consciousness about cultural liberation in the air, a Welsh-speaking pop music scene sprung up, influenced by but separate from the English musical world. And it's continued ever since, kind of like the Tejano music scene in the USA. As long as there's lots of kids who want to play and write and listen to stuff in their own language, there'll be this whole subculture (with albums sold through Welsh shops, videos on Welsh-language TV, etc.) Most people will tell you that most of it's crap, and they're probably right -- it's a local scene, and the local music rags will always praise any local band no matter how much they suck. But Gorky's are an outsider to even this world. They come out of the Welsh-medium public schools, set up after all the protests that Welsh kids were losing their language in English-only schools. So there are now all these well-funded bilingual schools filled with equal parts kids from Welsh-speaking families and kids from English-speaking familes (whose parents want their kids to grow up bilingual, and have also noticed how much better grades all the kids in these well-funded schools are getting...) And on the playgrounds and in the halls, a new language has grown up. Call it creole Welsh, or English-with-Welsh-words. *That's* what Gorky's writes in. I think that's part of the reason they don't sound like anyone else. They aren't English, but they aren't Welsh either (in the way that the Super Furry Animals certainly are). They get to create their own tradition. It helps that they do weird psychedelic mumbo-jumbo, because it doesn't matter so much that what they're saying in Welsh is banal and pidgin-ized. > They even write songs in Gaelic (the new >album includes "Pen Gwag. Glas," "Meirion Wyllt" and "Hwyl Fawr I >Pawb"...can anyone translate?). "Empty Head. Blue," I don't know "Meirion" (it's a guy's name, I can tell you that) but that'd be "Crazy Meirion" whoever he is; and "Goodbye Everyone." Except that "Pawb" would be "Bawb" if they actually spoke the language. :) If you want to get more Gorky's Zygotic Mynci -- and I do recommend _Bwyd Time_ if you liked _Barafundle_, since they sound like they'd be similar -- you can probably order them from their old indie label, Ankst: http://www.special.co.uk/ankst/ If I remember right, there's lots of sound-samples on that web site, so you can hear just what all the cutting edge of Welsh indiepop sounds like. - - (way too verbose) Dave Librik (who will shut up now) librik@jaka.ece.uiuc.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 12:44:10 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: boston area help needed! i didn't allow enough time for the glacial USPS to do its thing, and so i am now left with the strong possibility of not having the new Robyn's Xmas Party tape for my Orgy on tuesday. is there anyone in boston who would be willing to lend me a copy, or to make another copy in return for a blank tape? (i could come pick it up sometime monday night.) much appreciated, if so. (p.s. if you have other rare stuff to lend, and haven't gotten in touch with me yet, feel free.) thanks, aaron ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 13:19:02 -0500 From: woj Subject: FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" found this on rec.music.marketplace.vinyl: >Subject: FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" >From: rdarrah@mindspring.com (Randy Darrah) >Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 17:45:28 -0800 >Message-ID: <6ae253$nt@camel19.mindspring.com> >Newsgroups: rec.music.marketplace.vinyl > > >Robyn Hitchcock- One Long Pair Of Eyes/The Ghost In You (live, non-LP). > A&M 1989 M- red vinyl wlp generic cover w/ID stkr > also w/cd cut "Freeze" (shatter mix). >$18 USA ppd. > >e-mail rdarrah@mindspring.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 11:19:57 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" >found this on rec.music.marketplace.vinyl: > >>Subject: FS: Robyn Hitchcock Red Vinyl Promo 12" >>From: rdarrah@mindspring.com (Randy Darrah) >>Date: Sat, 24 Jan 1998 17:45:28 -0800 >>Message-ID: <6ae253$nt@camel19.mindspring.com> >>Newsgroups: rec.music.marketplace.vinyl >> >>Robyn Hitchcock- One Long Pair Of Eyes/The Ghost In You (live, non-LP). >> A&M 1989 M- red vinyl wlp generic cover w/ID stkr >> also w/cd cut "Freeze" (shatter mix). >>$18 USA ppd. >> >>e-mail rdarrah@mindspring.com I saw that too. $18?? Can you say "gouge"? :) Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 11:23:56 -0800 (PST) From: Carole Reichstein Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V7 #29 Michael Hooker wrote: > is there anybody else who thinks you and oblivion is one of the best > things robyn released? i was just listening to it thru headphones, > something i rarely do. i heard all sorts of cool stuff. during " stranded > in the future" you could hear a truck pull up, apply its air brakes, then > throttle up and pull away. Yes! This is a great album to listen to with the headphones, just so you can hear all this neat, extraneous stuff. During "Keeping Still" (or is that the "Stranded in the Future?" I haven't listened to it for a while), you can hear what sounds like a bus stopping, then starting again outside. I don't know where this was recorded--in Robyn's house? It's good to know that Robyn has mass transit available nearby! Also, inbetween songs, you can hear Robyn's toddler nephew singing odd bits of songs. It's rather sweet. A long time ago, someone from this list told me that this same nephew is the little boy (tooting a horn) that's on the cover of Robyn's T/K record single. On the back is a picture of Robyn w/ his father, looking at photographs. No, I *still* don't have a record player. Sigh. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 11:35:14 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci [absolutely no Robyn] Dave wrote: >Their old style persists, though, in their tendency towards jarring time- >changes: the "generic" Gorky's tune sounds like three different songs >jammed together, with a switch every fifteen seconds. Yes, definitely! :) >2. Then their first CD (on Ankst), _Tatay_ -- Euros Childs has discovered >The Soft Machine, and is now trying to write melodic songs. But he isn't >really successful, which is part of the appeal: they're a bit like Pavement >in that there's always a feeling of total collapse threatening, and there's >the impression that they're suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder and >having a great time with it, too. Yes, definitely. :) >And on the playgrounds and in the halls, a new language has grown up. >Call it creole Welsh, or English-with-Welsh-words. *That's* what Gorky's >writes in. Huh. Interesting! Thanks for a very enlightening post. Speaking of alien cultures, I finally saw Trainspotting two days ago and found it hopelessly overrated. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 14:33:44 -0600 (CST) From: Carolyn Ellis Subject: Re: Invisible Storefront Fellow Fegs, Yesterday I read something in the Austin Chronicle about Robyn not only performing at the Austin South by Southwest Music Festival but also showing up for a premier of Storefront in Austin for the SXSW Film Festival. The dates for the Film Festival are March 13th to the 21st. A specific date for Storefront was not given. It would be quite lovely to get to attend the premier, but sadly enough my Austin contacts are few. Carolyn ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 12:49:24 +1300 (NZDT) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Nid wyf i ddin yn darllen Cymraeg! >I haven't been keeping up on my studies (shame on me) but I'll give it a >go: >Empty Head. Blue >Goodbye everybody > >There are others on the list who could correct those; Dave, James? looks good to me. I would have made it Farewell everybody, but that would probably have been Ffarwel i pawb, so Goodbye's probably a better bet. It's nearly 20 years since I tried learning Welsh... Glas is an odd word, BTW, it can be translated as blue or green (although gwyrdd is usually used for green). James (y baner Cymraeg: Y Ddraig Goch ar llawr hanner wen ac hanner gwyrdd) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 12:56:05 +1300 (NZDT) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: reviving an old thread (wombat content 0%) Another literary similarity with Robyn. For Christmas a dear friend sent me an anthology of the cartoons of Edward Gorey. The same sort of bizarre surreal humour as Robyn's songs. BTW - Robyn's lyrics seem 'classically surreal' to me, much like the art of Magritte, de Chirico etc. The nonsequiturs often go in a direction you might expect them to, if that makes any sense. Or am I just opening my mouth and letting the wind blow my tongue around? A couple of non-Robyn current affairs points: a) can anyone tell me why Green Bay fans strap cheese to their heads? b) a prominent NZ cartoonist has come up with the perfect word to describe the latest US political scandals: Forni-Gate. James ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 12:49:49 +1300 (NZDT) From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Seafood, gf, and punk folk. Who's this Robyn guy? >Would that be Flanders and Swann, "I Won't Eat People"? (or some such) > >allison "The reluctant cannibal", Flanders & Swann. Ten points! James ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 23:01:08 -0500 From: woj Subject: my top ten for 1997 fegs, i typically do not make up top ten lists for each year. i'm just not wired to break things up into years or rank albums for some random period of time. however, i do enjoy reading others' lists since i usually get some pointers to records i missed. this past year, though, the number of albums i didn't get around to is pretty monumental. so, without any further ado, here are the top ten albums i *didn't* hear last year. 1) portishead 2) tanya donnelly -- love songs for underdogs 3) ivy -- aprtment life 4) spiritualized -- ladies and gentlemen, we're floating in space 5) belle and sebastian -- if you're feeling sinister 6) syrup usa -- all over this land 7) radiohead -- ok, computer 8) laurie freelove -- (i forget what it is called) 9) devils wielding scimitars -- III 10) donette thayer -- chaos and wonder +w n.p. lauren christy -- breed ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 22:41:21 -0400 From: chichi@io.com (Zelda Pinwheel) Subject: Re: Invisible Storefront At 4:33 PM 1/25/1998, Carolyn Ellis wrote:>Fellow Fegs, > >Yesterday I read something in the Austin Chronicle about Robyn not only >performing at the Austin South by Southwest Music Festival but also >showing up for a premier of Storefront in Austin for the SXSW Film >Festival. The dates for the Film Festival are March 13th to the 21st. A >specific date for Storefront was not given. > >It would be quite lovely to get to attend the premier, but sadly enough my >Austin contacts are few. > >Carolyn Howdy Y'all, As an Austin Feg who went to NYC for the filming of Storefront, I can assure you that I am monitoring the SXSW situation closely. As soon as there is some concrete information, or a good rumor for that matter, I'll post it to the list--z ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This product is sold by weight, not volume. Some settling of contents may have occurred during shipping and handling. May contain peanuts. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 16:21:21 +2910 From: dlang Subject: Best Rh concerts on tape. Attention Fegs I'm sure you must have had this discussion before, but what in IYHO are the best Robyn concerts so far on tape?. I only have 10 or so , but my favourite so far is 10-28-89 malmoe sweden , which I only have as an aud tape, but its a shit hot performance, full of clasic Hitchcock songs and some inspired silly stage announcements by RH. Hows about the more experienced Fegs posting up their top 5 or ten concerts with sources and reasons why they are worth ferreting out. PLLLLLLEEEEEEEASSSSSE! Dave alng (currently listening to Shaki 11-4-77) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 01:24:41 EST From: ALaw144480 Subject: Re: Invisible storefront... yes I myself have always been skeptical about the extent of the release of this film. I mean Robyn's CD's alone have a very limitted audiance...let alone a feature film. Hell, Delicate Sound Of Thunder (the Pink Floyd live vid) was supposed to be a movie house feature and they just went for video release. I'm guessing I'm gonna have to take the bus home to NYC to see the damn thing in a theater...and the rest of you in the States will probably have to go to Sundance or LA (maybe). Chris in DC ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 01:38:02 EST From: MARKEEFE Subject: Re: reviving an old thread (wombat content 0%) I would bet that most of us Fegs would agree with James that Robyn's non-sequiturs *do* make sense in some odd way. But maybe there's just some sort of a circular relationship going on there. That is to say, perhaps we like Robyn Hitchcock (in part) because his nonsensical lyrics make sense to us and, so, of course, because we all do like RH, his lyrics will make sense to *us*. Maybe his lyrics don't make the same sort of intuitive sense to a lot of other people (you can picture them: lips curling up distastefully, eyebrows frowning, "This guy's just, like, weird or something") and, therefore, they could never become fans. This just means that we Fegs are particularly, um, "gifted" (read: cross-wired in the ol' frontal lobe). James, the reason for the Packer-Backers' donning of les chapeaux fromages is actually so straightforward that it's beautiful in its lack of intricacies: They make a lot of cheese up there in Wisconsin! Along this same football thread, as a former Denverite (who now hates Denver but still carries with him a love for the enthusiasm for sports that permeates that city), I must say, "HELL YEAH, THE BRONCOS FINALLY WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!!" Nothing against the aforementioned Packers; they're a great team. . . but they won it last year and they'll get another shot at it next year, most likely. As Homer Simpson once said, "Woo-hoo! I wanna be John Elway!". ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 02:02:57 -0500 From: nicastr@IDT.NET (Ben) Subject: Re: Best Rh concerts on tape. >Attention Fegs >I'm sure you must have had this discussion before, but what in IYHO are >the best Robyn concerts so far on tape?. I only have 10 or so , but my >favourite so far is 10-28-89 malmoe sweden , which I only have as an >aud tape, but its a shit hot performance, full of clasic Hitchcock >songs and some inspired silly stage announcements by RH. Hows about >the more experienced Fegs posting up their top 5 or ten concerts with >sources and reasons why they are worth ferreting out. >PLLLLLLEEEEEEEASSSSSE! >Dave alng (currently listening to Shaki 11-4-77) Well, 8-27-72 has such a magnificent "Dark Star", and the great jamming on 5-2-70.... whoops! Wrong band! 4/19/84 Hope & Anchor - I think this is an Egyptians show from before the Egyptians existed as such. It has James "Horns" Fletcher too. The mid-set power outage is classic. 5/3/89 Cubby Bear Lounge, Chicago (Worst Case Scenarios) - it's a funtabulous gig! I Wanna Destroy You->Twist and Shout is one highlights. 10/17/92 Powerhaus Club, London - The Soft Boys meet The Egyptians plus Peter Buck, need I say more? 12/27/95 9:30 Club - a great solo show, but I love it even more cuz I was there, and it was the first time I got to hear "DeChirico Street"! 3/5/97 8X10 club, Baltimore - also I like this one because I was there and it's one of the best solo gigs I've heard. Of course, my favorite tape of all-time is whatever I'm about to listen to next! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 23:34:51 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Best Rh concerts on tape. On Mon, 26 Jan 1998, Ben wrote: > 10/17/92 Powerhaus Club, London - The Soft Boys meet The Egyptians plus > Peter Buck, need I say more? Wasn't this the day of the SF Earthquake? Coincidence or Mistake? You decide! Well, it was my birthday, anyway. J. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 23:53:42 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: permeating cheese > James, the reason for the Packer-Backers' donning of les chapeaux >fromages is >actually so straightforward that it's beautiful in its lack of intricacies: >They make a lot of cheese up there in Wisconsin! Along this same football >thread, as a former Denverite (who now hates Denver but still carries with him >a love for the enthusiasm for sports that permeates that city), I must say, >"HELL YEAH, THE BRONCOS FINALLY WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!!" Nothing against the >aforementioned Packers; they're a great team. . . but they won it last year >and they'll get another shot at it next year, most likely. As Homer Simpson >once said, "Woo-hoo! I wanna be John Elway!". I liked Bob Costas' line...that the saddest thing about Denver winning is that now being a "cheesehead" has lost its dignity. ;) Eb ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #30 ******************************