From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #70 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, February 24 1998 Volume 07 : Number 070 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Sven Wonder Re: Sven Wonder my server died. Re: one-liners, mostly Sex and the single Partridge Re: Little Steveland Morris Robyn For Sale: Robyn For Sale: oasis Re: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: oasis Re: Les chanteurs sexuels Re: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: Little Steveland Morris More from Addicted to Noise RE: oasis, ya stOOdents What a terrible coincidence! oasis Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? Re: Little Steveland Morris Re: oasis RE: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: Little Steveland Morris Re: oasis Re: Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? Re: Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? Oasis RE: oasis, ya stOOdents Re:Dirivitiva and Chord Recycling for profit... random thoughts Re: Les Chanteurs Sexuels Largo (sorta RH related) french stOOdents Jon Brion Beautiful Girl misheard lyric Re: french stew dents Re: Moss and Oblivion RE: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: Sex and the single Partridge Re: oasis, ya stOOdents Re: french stew dents Re: More Robynesque writtings ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 05:02:11 EST From: KarmaFuzzz@aol.com Subject: Re: Sven Wonder In a message dated 98-02-22 20:20:57 EST, james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz writes: > > >On an entirely unrelated note, I think that Stevie Wonder is > >underappreciated on this list. (It may be because there's no > >logical way to connect Stevie Wonder and Robyn Hitchcock) > > Stevie sang Ebony & Ivory with Macca McCartney who wrote Veronica with > Elvis Costello who... aargh! not again! > > Stevie Wonder nuttink. What about Stevie Winwood? stevie winwood played on lou reed's _berlin_........... and stevie nicks was in fleetwood mac with mick fleetwood who played on matthew sweet's _altered beast_.... and it's three in the morning...... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 02:13:50 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Sven Wonder Just for laughs, I searched Altavista for pages which contain both "Robyn Hitchcock" and "Stevie Wonder." 78 links, wow! :) I didn't really explore them, but it seemed like the most meaningful common ground (at least on the Web) is that both Hitchcock and Wonder have covered Beatles songs. Not sure which ones Stevie has done besides "We Can Work It Out," offhand. I like Stevie a lot -- almost certainly my all-time favorite (non-jazz) black artist. Talking Book and Innervisions are my favorites, but I have five or six other SW records besides. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 23:31:51 +2909 From: dlang Subject: my server died. Any folks that were trying to get to me re trading , etc. I may not have received your message.Reason, my server, run by the education dept, took a dive on sunday night and was offline for about 12 hours, so if you posted me in that time, it may pay to do it again. dave lang ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 23:00:18 +2910 From: dlang Subject: Re: one-liners, mostly Woj nadgered: "der commmissar" wasn't that after the fire, etc... I have a video of falco doing Der commisssar from way back in 1982, wasn't a bad version actually for a total *prannet *like himself. Note the to link to senior woj 's earlier gobsmacked statement.As an ex english/brit/welsh shitehead I give you all unofficial permission to use as many of our sayings as you wish. other british words of note to save for future posts : wally -as in "fuck me hes a total wally" cheesed off, right pasting, bunch of fives, me duck , champion ( ee, that were champion -ie: that was very good), whittling -to complain, brass monkey weather-eg; its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey squire, give it some stick, get stuck into it, daft lummox, nesh, bleeding idiot, a dose of salts. god I could go on for ever,the never ending richness of the old mother tongue! regards commissar lang. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 08:49:39 -0500 From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: Sex and the single Partridge >>>>XTC's "Go 2" is, without question, the greatest collection of music ever >>>>recorded. >>> >>>That, of course, was a typo for "English Settlement." (Oops! :) >> >>which, of course, was a typo for _the big express_ ('fraid i side with >>relphie when it comes to that debate). > >I still go with Skylarking. Definitely my favorite album of that year.... I concede. Toss-up between Skylarking and English Settlement. And just to tie this all in with "les chanteurs sexuels," XTC are past masters of sophisticated eroticism, e.g. "Ladybird," "Then She Appeared," "That Wave," "The Meeting Place," "Summer's Cauldron," "Grass," and my personal favorite, "Yacht Dance" (which is really more of a love song, but has a touch of the erotic to it).... Oh, and there's "Pink Thing." But maybe I shouldn't go there. gonna take you out and show you to the girls, n. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 07:18:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Re: Little Steveland Morris >Just for laughs, I searched Altavista for pages which contain both "Robyn >Hitchcock" and "Stevie Wonder." 78 links, wow! :) > >I didn't really explore them, but it seemed like the most meaningful common >ground (at least on the Web) is that both Hitchcock and Wonder have covered >Beatles songs. Not sure which ones Stevie has done besides "We Can Work It >Out," offhand. I was just about to point this out. In fact, for years I liked Stevie's version of that song better than the Beatles' version. I might still. While I haven't bought a Wonder album since "Songs in the Key of Life" I still rank that and "Innervisions" as two of the best albums in my collection. You gotta respect somebody who can put together a brilliant album entirely by himself excelling on all instruments, whether he can see what he's doing or not. Completely unrelated RH content: I think "Yip Song"-"Arms of Love" is without a doubt the best 1-2 punch leading off any Hitchcock album. Anyone wanna argue that? - -russ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 11:03:07 -0500 From: max Subject: Robyn For Sale: I have a promotional cd that Rhino issued a couple years ago for sale. It consists of all previously released songs, but it's a neat-o compilation. The tracks are: Acid Bird City Of Shame America Fifty Two Stations Uncorrected Personality Traits I Used To Say I Love You Autumn Is Your Last Chance Nocturne (Demise) Another Bubble Heaven My Wife & My Dead Wife If You Were A Priest Airscape The Crawling All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love Eaten By Her Own Dinner Queen Elvis Beautiful Girl Glass Hotel Goodnight I Say Price: $20. Might be willing to trade for similar rare comps, make me an offer. Max ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 11:03:30 -0500 From: max Subject: Robyn For Sale: I have a promotional cd that Rhino issued a couple years ago for sale. It consists of all previously released songs, but it's a neat-o compilation. The tracks are: Acid Bird City Of Shame America Fifty Two Stations Uncorrected Personality Traits I Used To Say I Love You Autumn Is Your Last Chance Nocturne (Demise) Another Bubble Heaven My Wife & My Dead Wife If You Were A Priest Airscape The Crawling All I Wanna Do Is Fall In Love Eaten By Her Own Dinner Queen Elvis Beautiful Girl Glass Hotel Goodnight I Say Price: $20. Might be willing to trade for similar rare comps, make me an offer. Max max@newmassmedia.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 09:25:00 -0600 From: Jim Moore Subject: oasis lj quoth: >My new band obsession is OASIS. Feel free to make fun of me, ya punters! >(that IS a good word, Quail) I can't stop listening to _Definitely >Maybe_-- It truly is a fine piece of rock&roll, I don't care what anyone >says. I have had that album, _Be Here Now_, and the Verve's _Urban Hymns_ >loaded into my CD player on "all discs/repeat" for a good week now. Ack! Lord knows why, but I bought "Be Here Now" over the holidays, and I can't even BEGIN to explain how disappointed I was (and am). I admit that Oasis has a few good tunes--which is why I bought the darned thing. But if you listen closely to the "hits"--you'll notice that they are all the SAME SONG in disguise. In fact, one of the reasons I'd like to expose them for the frauds that they are is this: I put on headphones and listened to the whole CD a few times over in an attempt to understand why I found it so lousy. Just about every song has the same musical pattern--no variety whatsoever. I mean, even the rhythms in the verses are the same--the meter. Same set-up, same bridge, same length of stanza, same guitar part--it's like Gallagher (not the comic) hasn't learned to create music. Instead he has a kind of cookie-cutter approach to it. It's like someone who reads T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" and then writes poems in the same format. It just comes off being so... fake. How ANYONE could compare this to the Beatles is beyond me. Sure, Paul had some stuff that was pretty predictable--but at least the albums themselves (specifically the ones from their creative, drug-induced latter years) were very eclectic. But worst of all is Oasis' lyrics. UGH! I know, I know, we're talking about pop music here--it's not supposed to have profound lyrics. But this stuff is so cliche' and so ridiculous. How many cliches can we pack into one CD? They might as well just make a bunch of farting sounds with their mouths and put them to music--it wouldn't be any less absurd. I do think that they have a decent band--as far as the quality of sound goes-- but I wonder how good they are live. My guess is that they don't sound half as good without production. Ok--flame away. Guambat "Yo mama is so fat, whenever someone says "Koolaid" she comes crashing through the wall" - The Great Gordo ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:12:38 -0500 (EST) From: lj lindhurst Subject: Re: oasis, ya stOOdents >Ok--flame away. > >Guambat I'm not going to argue the point, but rather I shall relay a wee tale. A good friend of mine who is quite contentious and opinionated came over to my house to have a few drinks the other night. We were talking about Oasis, and he started saying what EVERYONE ELSE says about them, which is: "Oh, they're just ripping off the Beatles!" Now I've heard this a MILLION TIMES, but I have never heard anything to substantiate it. Admittedly, I am not that well-versed in everything the Beatles have ever done, and I am no musician, but beyond the fact that they're British and have some similar-sounding harmonies, I just don't see where this comes from. It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that I've never seen any EVIDENCE. So I put on _Be Here Now_, and I DARED him to point out anywhere on this album that was a Beatles rip-off. Of course, he knows less about the Beatles than I do, so I was pretty confident that he wouldn't be able to point anything out, and this really got him peeved. We start arguing, and the argument finally escalated into a shouting match. I was contemplating throwing a chair at him just like on the Jerry Springer show, but then I remembered that we were in MY apartment. The upstairs neighbor eventually came down in his robe and pounded on the door, yelling, "Who cares?! Just stop yelling! And could you please turn your music down?!" Sheesh! Is he touchy or what? lj ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:27:35 -0500 From: kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander) Subject: Re: oasis >>My new band obsession is OASIS. Feel free to make fun of me, ya punters! >>(that IS a good word, Quail) I can't stop listening to _Definitely >>Maybe_-- It truly is a fine piece of rock&roll, I don't care what anyone >>says. > >Ack! Lord knows why, but I bought "Be Here Now" over the holidays, and I >can't even BEGIN to explain how disappointed I was (and am). I admit that >Oasis has a few good tunes--which is why I bought the darned thing. But if >you listen closely to the "hits"--you'll notice that they are all the SAME >SONG in disguise. i agree. i borrowed the new album to make a tape of all the songs i like from the three albums and noticed, not just similarities, but the same god damned guitar licks; note for note! try listening to 'don't look back in anger' and 'don't go away' together. hell, you could mix them seamlessly. really irritating. KEN ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:46:42 -0500 From: kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander) Subject: Re: Les chanteurs sexuels >> >>>don't >think it's a case of a "horny LP" so much as a "horny artist" :). >> >> >> >> not counting the artist who probably wants to kill michael jackson >> >>for naming his son prince! > >Bah. Listen to DEVO (Especially the hardcore albums) "i've got an uncontrollable urge!" >On an entirely unrelated note, I think that Stevie Wonder is >underappreciated on this list. (It may be because there's no >logical way to connect Stevie Wonder and Robyn Hitchcock) stevie wonder -> paul mccartney -> elvis costello -> glenn tilbrook -> robyn KEN ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 11:26:53 -0700 From: hal brandt Subject: Re: oasis, ya stOOdents lj lindhurst wrote: > We were talking about > Oasis, and he started saying what EVERYONE ELSE says about them, which is: > "Oh, they're just ripping off the Beatles!" > > Now I've heard this a MILLION TIMES, but I have never heard anything to > substantiate it. It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that > I've never seen any EVIDENCE. Just look at the latest Oasis video for undeniable evidence. If it isn't a rip-off of the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" movie, then I'm Jeremy Hilary Boob, PhD. /hal ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 13:46:21 -0500 (EST) From: lj lindhurst Subject: Re: oasis, ya stOOdents hal says: >Just look at the latest Oasis video for undeniable evidence. >If it isn't a rip-off of the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" >movie, then I'm Jeremy Hilary Boob, PhD. Hal, Hal, Hal...that's called IRONY. And technically speaking, that is NOT evidence that their MUSIC is a Beatles ripoff-- that's just an example from the excrutiatingly dumbassed world of music videos. as my mom would say, "I'm just SAYIN'..." lj ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 10:40:23 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Little Steveland Morris On 2/23/98 7:18 AM, Russ Reynolds wrote: >Completely unrelated RH content: I think "Yip Song"-"Arms of Love" is >without a doubt the best 1-2 punch leading off any Hitchcock album. Anyone >wanna argue that? My Vote Underwater Moonlight: "I Wanna Destroy You" - "Kingdom Of Love" - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 12:56:20 From: firstcat@lsli.com Subject: More from Addicted to Noise Hip-O Records has just released a two-CD celebration of women in rock entitled Rock She Said. The first volume, Guitars + Attitudes, features tracks from Pat Benatar, Lita Ford, Romeo Void, Marianne Faithfull, Missing Persons and Siouxsie and the Banshees, while the second offering, On the Pop Side, has tracks from Bananarama, the Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Tiffany, Klymaxx and Katrina and the Waves - ------------------------------------- Jay Lyall Channel Sales Director Livermore Software Laboratories, Intl. 2825 Wilcrest, Suite 160 Houston, Texas 77042-3358 1-713-974-3274 jay@lsli.com Date: 2/23/98 - ------------------------------------- Two-Hour Luxury Goods Commercial Also A Spy Film ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:22:53 -0500 From: "Chaney, Dolph L" Subject: RE: oasis, ya stOOdents Oasis clearly like to throw Beatle references into their songs. ex.: a lyric from "D'you Know What I Mean": "the fool on the hill and I feel fine" In the hands of "fook-king stOOdents," this might be considered clever. But we all know what Nigel Tufnel said about the line between clever and stupid, don't we? In particular, the Gallaghers have a weird George Harrison fixation. The word "wonderwall" isn't in the OED; its only previous appearance is as the title of the movie whose soundtrack was provided by George Harrison. Also, "Be Here Now" is a song title from George's _Living In The Material World_ (which I haven't heard). However, I'd say that the Gallaghers are more MUSICALLY influenced by the Stones, though they clearly love the Beatles (or at least their trappings) else they'd leave 'em alone. My theory du jour is that Noel found out that Jagger went to art school and went ballistic, erasing all the semi-subtle Stones references from his songs and replacing them with Beatle ones. (these theories, they keep me going...) Dolph ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:27:10 -0500 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: What a terrible coincidence! I've wanted to go to SXSW for quite a while, so this year my wife and I finally decide to do it. We buy the airline tickets, line up a place to stay, and generally become real psyched about getting our fill of music, barbecue, beer, and Texas. I'm particularly psyched because the two bands/people I most want to see are playing: Olivia Tremor Control and, of course, our own Uncle Bobby. So what happens? Olivia Tremor Control and Robyn are playing AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME in two different clubs! Yikes! I couldn't imagine missing OTC (let alone having the opportunity to see them again), but then not going to see Robyn is sheer madness. What am I going to do? Ack, ack, ack. Has anyone else been struck by this horrible coincidence? +++++++++++++++++ "I did acid once, and I lost my keys." + Gene Hopstetter, Jr. + -- Stephin Merritt +++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 11:50:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: oasis To me Oasis' songwriting seriously lacks the depth Lennon/McCartney provided. Oasis is just one of about a billion bands who want to sound like the Beatles but don't quite get it. They get more notice because they have strong marketing behind them and I suppose being from liverpool creates the obvious comparisons. But truthfully, bands like Oasis are a dime a dozen. Possibly my biggest gripe about Oasis, though, is that the guy needs either some taller shoes or a shorter mic stand. Personally I'd be pissed if I paid good money for front row seats to see a band and all I could see of the lead singer was the underside of his chin and the hair in his nostrils. If he must keep his head at that angle in order to keep his throat open, perhaps he should sing lying on a table in a prone position so we could all see his face. (which brings to mind a Perry Como spoof I once saw on SCTV) - -russ RH content: Robyn Hitchcock on the other hand is plenty tall. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:10:48 -0600 From: "JH3" Subject: Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? Personally, I think Oasis is OK, but they *are* derivative. Also, I suspect this has probably been pointed out a million times, but if you compare the chord progressions to these two pairs of songs: Married With Children <-> She's Electric Wonderwall <-> All My People (D'Ya Know What I Mean) ...you'll find that, in the verses at least, the chords are almost exactly the same, even in the same key, implying that these guys aren't exactly flush with musical ideas. Of course, that's not necessarily bad - after all, the Kinks did it once too (only not within the space of two or three albums). And I seem to recall this coming up recently as a Robyn thread, i.e., "has Robyn ever re-used a chord progression?", but I don't think the thread got very far, which might be because (as far as I know) Robyn has consciously avoided doing that. - --John H. "I never make typos, especially not when typing the words 'Go 2'" Hedges PS: To everyone waiting for a Robyn's Xmas Party tree DAT from me, they went out yesterday, and sorry about the delay. I'm just a lazy-ass, what can I say. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 12:01:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Re: Little Steveland Morris ======== Original Message ======== On 2/23/98 7:18 AM, Russ Reynolds wrote: >Completely unrelated RH content: I think "Yip Song"-"Arms of Love" is >without a doubt the best 1-2 punch leading off any Hitchcock album. Anyone >wanna argue that? My Vote Underwater Moonlight: "I Wanna Destroy You" - "Kingdom Of Love" - -tc ======== Fwd by: Russ Reynolds ======== I thought about those two...fine tracks, and they lead off what is without a doubt the best album he's recorded, but for my money Yip & Arms each stand up on their own a whole lot better. - -russ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:05:21 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: oasis >lj quoth: > >>My new band obsession is OASIS. Feel free to make fun of me, ya punters! >>(that IS a good word, Quail) I can't stop listening to _Definitely >>Maybe_-- It truly is a fine piece of rock&roll, I don't care what anyone >>says. I have had that album, _Be Here Now_, and the Verve's _Urban Hymns_ >>loaded into my CD player on "all discs/repeat" for a good week now. > >Ack! Lord knows why, but I bought "Be Here Now" over the holidays, and I >can't even BEGIN to explain how disappointed I was (and am). I admit that >Oasis has a few good tunes--which is why I bought the darned thing. But if >you >listen closely to the "hits"--you'll notice that they are all the SAME SONG >in >disguise. Yeah, but the same can be said about T-Rex, The Buzzcocks, and even the beloved Smiths. I'm not an Oasis fan, just an observer. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 15:17:52 EST From: Ross Overbury Subject: RE: oasis, ya stOOdents > > Oasis clearly like to throw Beatle references into their songs. > > ex.: > a lyric from "D'you Know What I Mean": > "the fool on the hill and I feel fine" > "and all the roads that lead you there are winding" - -- Wonderwall I think it's bait. - -- Ross Overbury Montreal, Quebec, Canada email: rosso@cn.ca ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:16:46 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: oasis, ya stOOdents >lj lindhurst wrote: > >> We were talking about >> Oasis, and he started saying what EVERYONE ELSE says about them, which is: >> "Oh, they're just ripping off the Beatles!" >> >> Now I've heard this a MILLION TIMES, but I have never heard anything to >> substantiate it. It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that >> I've never seen any EVIDENCE. > >Just look at the latest Oasis video for undeniable evidence. >If it isn't a rip-off of the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" >movie, then I'm Jeremy Hilary Boob, PhD. > >/hal I've only heard the first Oasis album, and some of their popular songs since then, but none of them remind me of the Beatles. Oasis for example have a loud mushy guitar sound, and their singer dosen't sound remotely like any of the Beatles. I haven't heard any Oasis song that sounds as Beatlesque (or rather Lennonesque) as RH's own "Somewhere Apart" , a tune that bears more than a resemblence to "Remember". Don't get me wrong, it's a great tune and I am not calling Robyn a rip-off at all. Certainly, on their first album, Oasis took "Band A Gong" and "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" for their own, and from what I hear they've done it since. I just don't hear much of the Fab Four in their music. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:50:21 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: Little Steveland Morris that is a great opening combo, 'specially on SPECTRE. but i think i'd give my vote to BLACK SNAKE. and i think that Man With A Woman's Shadow through You And Oblivion is the best four-consecutive-album-tracks that can be found. for robyn, i mean. side two of ABBEY ROAD would beat that, i guess. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 12:45:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Re: oasis >>listen closely to the "hits"--you'll notice that they are all the SAME >>SONG >>in >>disguise. > >Yeah, but the same can be said about T-Rex, The Buzzcocks, and even the >beloved Smiths. I wouldn't lump the Buzzcocks in there...sure, their songs all had the same feel, and maybe even the same chords on occasion, but the chords didn't always go in the same order, there was almost always an interesting change somewhere, and their melodies varied a great deal from song to song in comparison to those of T Rex, Oasis & the like. happy nowadays, - -russ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 16:26:40 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: Re: Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, JH3 wrote: > And I seem to recall this coming up recently as a Robyn thread, i.e., "has > Robyn ever re-used a chord progression?", but I don't think the thread got > very far, which might be because (as far as I know) Robyn has consciously > avoided doing that. i dunno how to play either song, so i'm not sure of these, but everytime i hear robyn start to play "sleeping with your devil mask" live i always hope that it's going to be "i watch the cars" instead...i think they pretty similar, if not exactly the same chord progressions... - -- d. - - oh,no!! you've just read mail from doug = dmayowel@access.digex.net - - and dmw@mwmw.com ... get yr pathos at http://www.pathetic-caverns.com/ - - new reviews! tunes, books, flicks, etc. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 16:17:49 -600 From: spine@iastate.edu (James Francis) Subject: Re: Pop Stars, or Chord Recycling Center? > > And I seem to recall this coming up recently as a Robyn thread, i.e., "has > > Robyn ever re-used a chord progression?", but I don't think the thread got > > very far, which might be because (as far as I know) Robyn has consciously > > avoided doing that. Actually Robyn seems to me to do this a lot--he disguises them with little variations, but sometimes it seems like a full half of his songs (the new ones especially) begin on that same goofy E chord he likes so much. No complaints here--it's a beautiful chord (the one which begins "Daisy Bomb," "Gene Hackman," and many others). A great many follow a pretty standard E / A / B, with the occasional F#m. I think it'd be hard not to do that, though, after you've written so many songs--some are going to repeat. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 14:35:57 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Oasis I'm not interested in immersing myself deeply in this thread, since the "Is Oasis for real?" debate is olllllld-hat by now. But in short, disjointed paragraphs... I like Oasis. I don't love Oasis. Their first album would've been excellent, except all the songs were two minutes too long. The second album is my favorite, but wouldn't even make my top 10 of that year. (Top 15, yes.) Their third album would've been very good, except all the songs were two or three or FOUR minutes too long and all the extra production gobblygook (Morse Code, etc.) was truly annoying. Somewhere out there, there's a demo tape that's twice as good as the finished product. I think it's funny how so many of their titles/choruses end in long-A vowel sounds ("Fade Away," "Half the World Away," "Round Are Way," "Slide Away," "Some Might Say," "Don't Go Away"). It's like they KNOW that Liam's broad accent is a key to their mainstream appeal. Cagey bastards. Their lyrics aren't very good, but I'm not sure they have to be for this sort of music. It's just a question of making this or that word/phrase stick in your head, and they do accomplish that. I've always thought that their sound rips off glitter-rock/Bowie/Mott a lot more than the Beatles. They're too majestic, too dour-faced, too down-tempo to sound like the Beatles. Sure, they slip Beatle allusions into the lyrics, but it doesn't offend me because the songs' central appeal has nothing to do with this. Actually, the only ripoff which I find offensive on the new album is "Stand by Me," whose chorus BLATANTLY rips off Bowie's "All The Young Dudes." This went a long way toward confirming my previous feelings about their debt to that sound. I still haven't seen the band live, and it bums me out. Just as I find RH's voice a bit too deadpan and cheerless, so I also find Liam Gallagher's. I always enjoy hearing Oasis songs sung by Noel -- he makes me listen to the lyrics, not just the melody. A lot more human. Oasis has never made an album nearly as good as the new Neutral Milk Hotel disc (surely you don't think I would let this post go by without a NMH plug ;)). I hear that there's a B-side compilation CD being planned, and this is great news for folks like me who like Oasis but aren't fanatical enough to buy their singles. I really looked forward to Oasis' third album, because I knew it would be the make-or-break record for me -- that album where they would either expand their sound and show that they had potential for an eventual masterpiece, or where they would show that they were essentially a one-trick pony. Sorry to say, the third album proves the latter and personally, I wouldn't predict more than one or two more Oasis albums before they implode. They're running out of steam fast. And finally, I don't understand why a nice, upright, supposedly level-headed girl like LJ would be interested in having Liam's love child. Woe is me...I'm feeling so disillusioned. ;) Eb/Gomez ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 16:55:19 -0600 (CST) From: donald andrew snyder Subject: RE: oasis, ya stOOdents On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, Chaney, Dolph L wrote: > In the hands of "fook-king stOOdents," this might be considered clever. > But we all know what Nigel Tufnel said about the line between clever and > stupid, don't we? something like the line between thought and expression > Harrison. Also, "Be Here Now" is a song title from George's _Living In > The Material World_ (which I haven't heard). I think it is also a reference to what John Lennon thought rock and roll says: "be here now." Does anyone know the story behind this? - -Andy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:06:07 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re:Dirivitiva and Chord Recycling for profit... Indeed, Robyn does do the I IV V (II) commonly. So does everybody else. It is hard to avoid _and_ get airplay. I use the I IV V sometimes and still don't get much airplay. I don't think there is a crime (except in Iran) for using this once in a while. Its over use can cause Louie-Louie Syndrome, which is worse for the performer than the listener, since the band must play this song every time that they ever play live for thousands of years. In fact, I met a member of the Turtles band who told me (within a hundred) how many times he's played "Happy Together," which is not even a I IV V. No one could still like a song after having to play it that many times. (I IV V is a way of describing E A B for any major key.) - - Also, at the risk of becoming a provocateur, I think that Oasis is more guilty of being marketed *as* the Beatles than actually really copying the real Beatles. Maybe their first material is every bit as strong or weak as that of the Silver Beatles, but only time and effort and ability on their part will tell if they become really a substantial musical/artistic voice for a generation. I used to really dislike Led Zeppelin because they were marketed as the greatest rock musicians in the world. I don't believe that they *caused* this erroneous press, and they did ride it until they got pretty good, but they actually did make some pretty good music while I disliked them for their marketing. I don't think I let myself enjoy it. I think Oasis might be able to do the same thing, though that certain sameness issue might be a problem. To finally come to a point (Geez.) Don't cheat yourselves out of liking a band that has one good song-- most don't have that many. Thanks for your indulgence, - -Mark Gloster ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 23:57:10 GMT From: dwdudic@erols.com (luther) Subject: random thoughts > >> >>>don't >think it's a case of a "horny LP" so much as a "horny artist" :). >> >> >> >> not counting the artist who probably wants to kill michael jackson >> >>for naming his son prince! > >Bah. Listen to DEVO (Especially the hardcore albums) > Oh geez..."golden energies"... still and all, it can't compare to the lines "I am the man with the lightbulb head I turn myself on in the dark".! >If there were more traffic on this list today, I'd feel guilty about posting >a "me too" letter. He was at least once capable of making magic. I >haven't heard anything he's done lately. Is that just because he's older >and not easily marketed, or has he burned out? simple: so-called "black music radio" does not favor actual musicians!!!! > > >The world is full of "I want your body" "Rock me all night" kind of songs. >Certainly there are numerous folks who outrank Robyn in this department. But >I was referring to actually what I perceive as a more adult treatment of >sexuality, of exploring eroticism in multi-faceted and even *gasp* emotional >ways, which is very -uncommon-. Most songwriters can't/won't touch that. You >get the impression with most (judging from their lyrics) that their entire >sexual life is about random bursts of lusts, and that love is a completely >separate entity from sexuality. Most of us have a slightly more complex >experience :), and Robyn is one of the few writers that acknowledges that >and tries to write about it. Well, I HOPE we have more complex experiences!!! Any k.d. lang fans out there, btw? she does songs aBOUT both, too!!! -luther w dudich ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 13:22:07 +1300 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Les Chanteurs Sexuels >Most songwriters can't/won't touch that. You >get the impression with most (judging from their lyrics) that their entire >sexual life is about random bursts of lusts, and that love is a completely >separate entity from sexuality. Most of us have a slightly more complex >experience :), and Robyn is one of the few writers that acknowledges that >and tries to write about it. It is very easy to fall into writing love songs and lust songs but not what I would refer to as sensual songs. It's a neat trick and a great approach, but not an easy one. It's an ability I've never mastered, despite numerous attempts James "and you and I see that your depraved innocence will not let me be" (Time after time after time, J.Dignan ;) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 17:00:25 -0800 (PST) From: griffith Subject: Largo (sorta RH related) First off, did anyone on the list catch Grant Lee Philips at Largo this weekend? (I'm interested in how it went, e-mail me off list). Secondly, The past weekend's edition of the Los Angeles Times Magazine had a nice article about Largo. If I get a moment, I'll type it in - No mention of Robyn, but it does mention Jon Brion and a slew of others.... griffith np - lots & lots of rain = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Griffith Davies hbrtv219@csun.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:01:10 -0500 (EST) From: lj lindhurst Subject: french stOOdents If you listen carefully, you'll realize that all of Oasis' songs are about hating the French. After that, it all makes sense. When I was in France, I got this great CD by a band called Noir Desir. They're on the punky/techno side, lots of angst-ridden lyrics through gritted teeth, but god only knows what they're saying. Is anyone familiar with this band? Could anyone help me with these lyrics? I only speak french un peu, and THAT is a monumental feat. I also had terrific insomnia, so I stayed up watching HOURS and HOURS of French music videos. They were pretty cool, actually, and I was expecting them to be super cheezy. That's where I heard Noir Desir and a couple of other things, like Jean Louis Aubert (he's a kinda French John Cougar as far as I can tell), and a band called Les Cherche Midi (jangly pop band). ANyone, anyone? lj ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 17:18:12 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Jon Brion My useless post of the day: I finally saw "Boogie Nights" this weekend and I noticed a lot of Jon Brion's name during the credits. Apparently he wrote some of the soundtrack with Michael Penn (who did the score), and was a bandmember in one of the scenes. "I'm A Rock N Roll Star!" - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:28:47 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Subject: Beautiful Girl misheard lyric Okay, I just realized I've been mishearing one of the lines in Beautiful Girl. There's a line that goes "I'm a charming and dangerous man". I always thought he was saying "I'm a charming, indigenous man", which has quite a different meaning. :) Chris ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 20:08:52 -0800 From: "Michael R. Runion" Subject: Re: french stew dents Ms. lj of Brooklyn spake: > That's where I heard Noir Desir and a couple of > other things, like Jean Louis Aubert (he's a kinda French John Cougar as > far as I can tell), and a band called Les Cherche Midi (jangly pop band). > ANyone, anyone? Well, don't know any of those, but last summer we had a French exchange student stay with us and we got to be good pals with both him and the French chaparone guy named Olivier. Anyway, what with them noticing my rather large collection of CDs, they've taken to sending us one every so often. So far we've received a fine collection of Gainsbourg (Leonard Cohen-ish), a band called Baiser (moody Peter Murphy-ish acoustic alt) and Dolly (femme pop ala Imperial Teen or Blake Babies). Some interesting stuff, but I'm not sure the french language is rock/pop friendly...not gutteral enough or something. Ah well. Mike (sick of my ISP) Runion - -- ******* Mike Runion email: mrrunion@palmnet.net *** * Virtual Cone Museum * * http://www5.palmnet.net/~mrrunion/cones.htm * * Globe Of Fegs * * http://www5.palmnet.net/~mrrunion/fegmaps/ * ********************************************************* "Wait a minute! Time for a Planetary Sit-In!" - Julian Cope ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 15:24:56 -0400 From: "jbastin@stfx.ca" Subject: Re: Moss and Oblivion Dear Feggots: I will go to some lengths to acquire a taped copy of Moss Elixir/Mossy Liquor and You & Oblivion. Please help, make a friend, spread the word, take the time, say you will, have pity--I CAN'T get this stuff where I am. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 22:04:02 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: RE: oasis, ya stOOdents On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, donald andrew snyder wrote: > > Harrison. Also, "Be Here Now" is a song title from George's _Living In > > The Material World_ (which I haven't heard). > > I think it is also a reference to what John Lennon thought rock and roll > says: "be here now." Does anyone know the story behind this? i think the phrase, for the beatles, originated with a guru camed Babe Ram Dass. (correct me on the name, someone.) he wrote a book called it; it may have been his motto. a ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 22:43:32 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Sex and the single Partridge > And just to tie this all in with "les chanteurs sexuels," XTC are past > masters of sophisticated eroticism, e.g. "Ladybird," "Then She Appeared," > "That Wave," "The Meeting Place," "Summer's Cauldron," "Grass," and my > personal favorite, "Yacht Dance" (which is really more of a love song, but > has a touch of the erotic to it).... Of course, my copy of "Oranges and Lemons" lists the last song as "Chalkhills and children produced by Paul Fox" Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 22:54:49 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: oasis, ya stOOdents > A good friend of mine who is quite contentious and opinionated came over to > my house to have a few drinks the other night. We were talking about > Oasis, and he started saying what EVERYONE ELSE says about them, which is: > "Oh, they're just ripping off the Beatles!" > > Now I've heard this a MILLION TIMES, but I have never heard anything to > substantiate it. Admittedly, I am not that well-versed in everything the > Beatles have ever done, and I am no musician, but beyond the fact that > they're British and have some similar-sounding harmonies, I just don't see > where this comes from. It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that > I've never seen any EVIDENCE. Evidence? We don't need no evidence. This is THE BEATLES we're talking about! I mean, they were SO IMPORTANT that EVERYTHING rips them off. I mean, without them, pop music would be DEAD! They started the British Invation, they started psychedelic music, don't tell me you don't hear that in Oasis (and any other band you listen to) And of course he can't point out where it rips off the beatles. That's because EVERYTHIGN rips off the Beatles. The similarities are EVERYWHERE (sorry...just doing that to save the Beatles Anti-Defamation League the trouble. And if you question the Beatles influencing anything, you're bound to get a letter like this, you're just asking for it.) Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 98 23:41:52 EST From: Ross Overbury Subject: Re: french stew dents Mike said: > Some > interesting stuff, but I'm not sure the french language is rock/pop > friendly...not gutteral enough or something. Ah well. > One problem is this habit the French developed of adding "euhh" at the end of each word, which only worsens the problems caused by the relative paucity of monosyllabic utterances. Another is that the language just has a different rhythm than English. There are notable exceptions: local rockers Michel Pagliaro and Offenbach can rip it. Michel Rivard has done some nice soft stuff; that works just fine with French. I find French rap hilarious. - -- Thing Montreal, Quebec, Canada email: rosso@cn.ca ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 01:24:32 -0600 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: More Robynesque writtings >I just found this little gem stuck on the end of someones post on the >Miles Davis list fellow feg-ites and I just *had * to share it with you >.Somehow I feel its very Robynesque.I have a vivid image of him >reciting it hovering around in my mind at the moment and its making it >really hard to type! >Rats! This is one of Jack Handey's "Deep Thoughts", which is perhaps the only good thing about the last 5 years of "Saturday Night Live". Originally these were done as voice-overs with Hallmark card-ish visuals in the background (closeups of raindrops falling from plant leaves, insides of flowers, cute animals, &c) as shorts on SNL, and eventually the inevitable book(s) came out. I've got the first book lying around somewhere, I think that one quoted is possibly from the next one, "More Deep Thoughts". I remember it from the show, anyway, so I assume it's appeared in book form also. RE: Oasis Catchy stuff, to these ears fairly ok but fairly non-amazing, and I'm not sure why I'm bothering to even write this, since I don't think we'd even all be discussing them if they weren't such a media juggernaut :). I agree with whoever remarked on the atrociously stupid lyrics. I know, I know, but really, they're -remarkably- thin even for the type of music it's meant to be- less reliance on rock cliche would probably be a good improvement. I have "Morning Glory" and haven't listened to it in months. I hear lots of Beatles in there, esp. "She's Electric" and "Don't Look Back In Anger", but I'd say Eb's right that the predominant influence is glam. Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #70 ******************************