From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #81 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Sunday, March 1 1998 Volume 07 : Number 081 Today's Subjects: ----------------- women's armpits [dwdudic@erols.com (luther)] Re: Blows and bows [Terrence M Marks ] RE:Scrambled Cole [Paul Montagne ] Er, hotness... [Marshall Joseph Armintor ] RE: Scrambled Cole [Eb ] Re: Critics and Ebs Hitch remarks [nicastr@idt.net (Ben)] RE:Scrambled Cole (now adding Porter) [MARKEEFE ] catching up 3: best new artist, solo vs group [james.dignan@stonebow.otag] catching up 1: five fingers and wazzock [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.n] catching up 4: Eb-bashing, don't start [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz] catching up 2: Oasis, country Robyn, Tull, critics [james.dignan@stonebow] xtc ["Maxey L. Mullins" ] Re: several digests, again [Ross Overbury ] Re: Blows and bows [Ross Overbury ] Re: NPR [wojs of mass destruction ] Re: xtc [Sean Hennessey ] Re: catching up 2: Oasis, country Robyn, Tull, critics [sdodge@midway.uch] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 08:24:55 GMT From: dwdudic@erols.com (luther) Subject: women's armpits On Sat, 28 Feb 1998 20:40:02 -0500 (EST), you wrote: >Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 18:36:51 -0500 >From: Ner >Subject: Re: Pit hair. > >Personally, I love everything about women - and that includes their armpit >hair, if they have it! Yum Yum... > >- -Ner While I tend to agree (I prefer the female mind myself (and no, NOT kept in a tank! :-) ), I am surpirsed noone has mentioned the only album to HAVE a women with unshaved armpits on the cover: Patti Smith Groups' "Easter" (the one with "Because the Night", "Rock and roll nigger", and "Ghost Dance" on it.) -luther > >------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 12:56:56 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Blows and bows > >As for the human voice, I really can't stand most folks' idea of > >"expressive" singing. Give me Robyn, Morrissey, or David Byrne style > >vocals any day. > > Morrisey and David Byrne???? That explains it. How can you put Robyn > in the same category with them? Everytime those two open their holes it > makes me cringe. Maybe he'd been listening to "Black Snake Diamond Rock", "Executioner", "Blues in A" and "Sweet Ghost of Light" for a while ;) Besides, expression and vocal niceness are two entirely different animals. Jim Morisson sounds great, but couldn't match the openness of Brian Wilson doing, say "Caroline, No". > > >Of course the player makes a huge difference. I still can't come up with > >a single guitar player whose guitar(playing) can make me feel anything > >like joy or giddiness. Bah. Songs need instruments. Most songs need multiple instruments. That's why people form bands. Can you play "Higher Ground" on just a saxophone or "Don't Talk" on just a guitar? You can't. Debating which istrument is best is pointless. Debating which instrument belongs where is more important (but just as pointless because, say, The Zombies, aren't going to get back together to put in saxophone parts on your say-so) Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 11:04:01 -0800 From: Paul Montagne Subject: RE:Scrambled Cole Eb expressses that he is not all-knowing: > Incidentally, I've been trying to remember something...I seem to have > Cole's career confused with someone else. Who was it who was on (I think?) > RCA a few years ago, who recorded an album of nothing but Tom Waits covers? > It was "The [woman's name] Trio," I'm pretty sure. I was thinking it was > Paula Cole for awhile, but lately I've realized that I'm wrong. The name's > gotta be similar...anyone know? Paula Cole is pretty unforgettable IMHO. Eb do you agree? On the other hand, Holly Cole is pretty cool. The Holy Cole Trio did the Tom Waits tribute "Temptation", which is a sparse and melodic interpretation of Waits material. Incidentally its much more solid than any of the Tom Waits Tribute albums. Holly's music with the trio is cool jazz and her voice is like Suzanne Vega crossed with Riki Lee Jones, dead-panned and nicotine soaked. Her latest stuff is going more pop, anybody heard it yet? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paul Montagne Faculty Research Assistant Oregon State University Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Phone: 541.737.3319 Fax: 541.737.3052 Email: montagnp@ucs.orst.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 15:12:20 -0600 (CST) From: Marshall Joseph Armintor Subject: Er, hotness... <> In defense of Finney, I recommend everyone see _Tom Jones_ again if you haven't lately or for the first time if you've never seen it. Let me tell you, Finney was hot young English pretty-boy stud of his day cast as the archetypal hot young English pretty-boy stud for all time. Come to think it, there is some kinda resemblance between him and MacGregor, but I can't put my finger on precisely what it is; something about the eyes, maybe. Marshall ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 13:16:28 -0700 From: Eb Subject: RE: Scrambled Cole Paul wrote: >Eb expressses that he is not all-knowing: >Paula Cole is pretty unforgettable IMHO. Eb do you agree? We've been through this already. And I have a feeling that maybe you meant to type "forgettable," based on the transition to the next sentence...no? >On the other hand, Holly Cole is pretty cool. >The Holly Cole Trio did the Tom Waits tribute "Temptation", which is a >sparse and melodic interpretation of Waits material. Incidentally its much >more solid than any of the Tom Waits Tribute albums. How many are there? The only one I can think of is "Step Right Up" on the Manifesto label, which I thought was decent (Archers of Loaf, Wedding Present, Alex Chilton, Violent Femmes, etc.) if uneven. I thought that including the oldie from Tim Buckley violated the concept, though -- the idea is to have artists from a unified time frame putting their spin on an older influence. And of course, the only reason why that track was there is because Buckley is connected to Bizarre, which is the ancestor of Manifesto (the Herb Cohen connection). - ---- Regarding so-called "five-finger bands": All right, I'll spill. In my teens, I was into little beyond FM rock and prog/post-prog rock. Didn't have a clue about punk, really. Life in suburbia. There was a bit of a ska/rockabilly underground in my school, but zero punk. I knew that the Sex Pistols were some sort of scarrry subversive band from England who sang "God Save the Queen," and that's about it. If I had to pick my favorite ten bands back then, I'd say (in no order) Yes, Genesis, the Doors, the Beatles, the Who, David Bowie, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd and Roxy Music. Early on, I had a brief more hard-rocking phase (Van Halen, Cheap Trick, UFO, Queen), but got over it fairly quickly. I was a bit of a late bloomer -- I only had about 90 albums when I entered college. Had to discover music on my own, mostly. I didn't have an older brother or sister to "turn me on," and my parents listen to almost nothing but classical music. I still like all the above artists (and yes, that list contains a few of Eb's Notorious 29), but I rarely listen to them anymore, particularly in the cases of the Doors, King Crimson and Yes. Eb np: Dimitri From Paris ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 16:56:00 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: Critics and Ebs Hitch remarks >Dlang wrote: >>If Eb is being provocative in his reviews in his writing in >>the media, then he will probably find it hard, or perhaps impossible >>to switch off that style when he write to this list. > >Actually, my published writing is usually much *less* provocative, as my >webpage visitors will testify. And anyway, my comments about RH wouldn't >really be "provocative" in any other environment beyond this one. > >Can we talk about something else now? :( > >Eb How about an address for that page so we can all check it out? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 19:04:19 EST From: MARKEEFE Subject: RE:Scrambled Cole (now adding Porter) In a message dated 3/1/98 11:12:28 AM, Paul wrote: <> (Greetings from up the road, Paul) Yes, I have heard "Dear Dark Heart" (or "Dark Dear Heart"; whatever) and I found it *really* disappointing -- as Paul said, she's going in a pop direction, and I think it's a bad idea. On the other hand, her 1996 live disc (longer than an ep, but shorter than a full- lengther), "It Happened One Night", if full of great songs (sometimes kitschy, like "Que Sera Sera", but still great), top-notch performances, and and overall contagious energy, even in the quiet and smouldering passages. There are two Tom Waits songs, a Cole Porter tune, Sondheim's great "Losing My Mind", the aforementioned "Que Sera" and that song "Calling You" from _Bagdad Cafe_. Check it out. - -----Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 14:19:26 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: catching up 3: best new artist, solo vs group >BTW, I've seen umpteen babillion "Best New Artist" nominations for artists >with more than one album out. What, exactly, *IS* the "rule" for this >category? back in about 1988, the Chills won "Best New Artist" award in the NZ music awards. Their first release came out in 1982. Michael K. wrote [with some edits]: >I would have to give a nod to Richard Thompson as an artist who's solo >work outshines his stuff with Fairport Convention (which was good. . . but >compared to his solo career?). Same >goes with Peter Gabriel over Genesis and Van Morrison over Them. Oh, Nick >Cave over the Birthday Party any day o' the week. Neil Young over Buffalo >Springfield. Bjork has probably now surpassed her work with Sugarcubes >(although I like the first Sugarcubes album better than any Bjork solo >album). Eno vs Roxy Music; Ed Kuepper vs the Saints; Julian Cope vs Teardrop Explodes; Mike Oldfield vs The Sallyangie; Jenny Morris vs the Crocodiles; Alastair Galbraith vs the Rip; Pete Shelley vs the Buzzcocks (the last is personal choice rather than too objective) Lou & John C vs Velvets is a close call, and liable to open up old wounds. Sting vs Police is a tough call, as is Iggy vs Stooges, and David Kilgour vs the Clean. Dare I say Gary Numan vs Tubeway Army? Oh, and Mike Batt vs the Wombles ;) James (James Dignan vs Moomins?) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 14:17:13 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: catching up 1: five fingers and wazzock please bear wiuth me, I'm gonna be very talkative today. Over the weekend I caught up on two weeks' worth of Fegmaniax digests... >See, Ye Olde Detractor Eb ranks Robyn Hitchcock above everyone on that >list, except the Beach Boys and probably Pink Floyd. In their prime, I >prefer the Kinks and Wonder over Hitchcock, but those acts have so much >post-prime mediocre product that I can't give them the nod. And yes, I >almost demote the Beach Boys based on the same grounds, but Brian Wilson >has contributed SO much to the way I hear music that I just can't bear to >do it. Anyway, the Beach Boys' material minus Brian hardly even counts, >arguably. but you don't demote Pink Floyd on the same grounds??? >right now, it's a pretty close race for me between robyn, lou reed, and jon >langford. elvis costello's up there somewhere too. Eno and the Beatles at the top, then the Byrds. Hitchcock, the Who, King Crimson, the Church and XTC probably battling out the next few places. Lots of honourable mentions, including Costello, Joni Mitchell, Ed Kuepper, Echo & the Bunnymen, Hunters & Collectors, Billy Bragg, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (RIP), and Dylan, and ...oh spod, this could go on for hours. I can count in binary. which means that I have 31 'five-finger bands'. I'm also a fan of Harry Nillson. Teen bands? Hate to admit it, but back in 1979, I was listening to Abba. But I'd recently discovered a couple of new acts: XTC and Elvis Costello. Salvation was at hand! >> >Danielle is now an honorary Bay Area Feg! Welcome! >> But that Bay is West Coast, and Danielle lives much closer to the East >> Coast Bays... >Ah, James-my-fellow-'Nouveau Western'-appreciator, I've been sprung! >Much as it shames me to admit it, I grew up in the East Coast Bays. As >they say, you can take the girl out of the Shore, but... ;) ah, but at least you're not a 'nouveau-Westie' ;) >> >>wazzock. >Yer wot? Frighteningly, everything I read during the 'bizarre British >slang' thread was completely clear to me - except for this word! Please, It's Yorkshire English (you need to watch more of "Last of the Summer Wine! :) - and means the same as pillock. The driver who pulls out of a drive way ten metres in front of you as you're driving along the road, without indicating, then gives you the fingers as he drives away, is a wazzock. >searching the dial for MATLOCK, It's in Derbyshire. Oh, that's not what you meant. Sorry. James (who plays cricket very badly, actually) np - Central Auckland, unplugged ;) James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 14:21:31 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: catching up 4: Eb-bashing, don't start >>Eb, who plays piano quite well, actually >Why is that weak, weak, weak? Maybe you should admit it's true. I think >it's personally pretty lame... Gadoing doing doing kerboinggg! Crumpppp! Splatttt! Phrewoomphhh! Splatttoooowwww! Neeeeoooowwwwwwwww splunchrrccchhh tap tap tap thwap thwump bup-bup-bup-bup....SPLOTCH! kertip kertip kertip kertip kertip schwurmniumniumniumniumnium pinglebingle bing bing bing boyoyoyoying!!! Ah, I love a good comic. The Eb bashing seems to have developed into critic bashing in general now. Why have critics? Simple. 99% of people don't have the time, money or energy to expend on listening to every new CD that comes out. Chances are that out there in criticland there are one or two critics that you can rely on to have judgement fairly close to your own. They are the ones you can rely on to be your testers for those cases where you really don't want to shell out your hard earned dosh (am I tangling threads here?) on the offchance. You know critic X likes Robyn, XTC, Elvis Costello and the Kinks, what does her review of the CD say? It makes your job as a listener easier by weeding out the obvious failures. Sure, this is a bit like "scientific method", where 5% of rejections should have been called good and 5% of 'hits' are really 'misses', but in a world that churns out how many hundred CDs per year (rhetorical), you've just gotta accept that one or two will slip through the net. - --- Dave, me ol' marra - there's no need to get antsy or sarky. Dead dodgy those sheep comments. And who has to wear the grief when you start fart-arsing about? Muggins, that's who. I should coco. Any more could get you in a bit of bother, right? I don't want to have to come over and rearrange your furniture with a knuckle sandwich, gottit? Sheep? Sheep bollocks. Bloody ockers. Descended from crims, that's what does it. I should send for the old bill. That'd put the wind up 'im sharpish. ;) >>What the feck is this fluttawump? Jaysis Buddha wept in crimfuss streams >>oh flutterin brilliance, I have no ideagram contra what the feck to >>respond to such glibber-meeping flumpwugget. Although I can say, If I was >>to fargle up a bit of me own schwantz-guptie, I would -- deservedly, na? >>- -- be ripe for a plooky plum peach pit pear wumping right down the left >>tentacle ventricle, eh? And Eb, that right blerky blinky bloofer, he >>groks apparent that this is his favvie? Hindu Sockmuffin! Nexta thing >>down the peristalsis will be that bolshy bleckin' Partridge nooker, the >>Great Quail -- Jaysis, what a stuffed snork-fucker he is, too, eh? -- >>will post some feckin bucket-o-tripe, wouldn't ye just ken it? That >>fiffle pus-fucking willy wonkar! Then I mesel' will haveta fill his >>snoosty with fifteen fecks of gwizz, and maybe sock the old guppie in the >>flossing snock-hole!<< pardon me sir, but I fail to grasp any cognisance of your meaning... (heh... pus-fucking... snock-hole... glibber-meeping flumpwugget... I like it!) or, as they say in Belfast: Crazed Armada! I think I'll go and have a nice quiet lie down now James (ex Norf Lunnen, who thinks this list really is the business) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 14:18:31 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: catching up 2: Oasis, country Robyn, Tull, critics >as for direct beatle rip-offs, "Don't Look Back in Anger," [...] >completely rips off "Imagine" in the intro. and also note the coda of "She's electric". If that isn't a Beatles ending, I don't know what is. But despite it all, that damn "Champagne Supernova" is good. It's one of those annoying songs that you hear for the first time and think "I know that song. I've known that song for longer than I've been alive. It's always been there." I know. That doesn't make sense. But just occasionally a song will hit that way. Anyone know what I mean? Or am I just thinking of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the air"? >No country either, even though you'd think that wouldn't be much of a stretch. hmmm. The Robyn Country Album... Invisible Hitchcock! A Skull, a suitcase and a long red bottle of wine; Give me a Spanner, Ralph; Star of Hairs; I got a message for you; Blues in A; those songs, although not directly country, definitely show its influence, and a countrified version of them could produce an interesting CD. You could add in a few more from other RH recordings, like: Mystery train; Ye sleeping knights of Jesus; How do you work this thing?; Don't You; Take your knife out of my back; Kingdom of Love; and, Where are the Prawns? Hell, there's even a zydeco edge to Strawberry Mind! Then again, you can countrify just about anything, if younput your mind to it. I daresay it would even be possible to do a bluegrass version of "Brenda's Iron Sledge" if you felt in a peculiar frame of mind. But more to the point - Robyn is English. Country and Western is alien to 99% of English musicians. You might as well say "very few American singer/songwriters have done any trad. English Folk". Robyn has done trad. folk styled music, the British equivalent of Country (not to be confused with Pub rock, the British equivalent of Western): The Bones in the Ground, Lady Waters, Chinese Water Python, Polly on the Shore, The Dust (this last is begging to be Morris-Danced to!), and Muriel's Hoof. And, for the "he repeated a riff!" brigade, I'll just say this: 'Queen of eyes' and 'The cars she used to drive'. Listen to the intros! Oh, and as for the Robyn/Tull crossover, Robyn could perform "Fatman" (that would sound great!) while the Tull perform "Fatman's Son", or they could simply surreptitiously both cover "Salamander". >does anyone else find it extremely grosse that eb says he is a fan of over >700 artists. and that in 1996 he liked 140 different albums? maybe, like me, he works in student radio. I've listened to hundreds of albums in the last year reviewing the station's back-catalogue and sifting out the crap. Largely older stuff, admittedly (and in doing so I discovered some glaring gaps in my musical knowledge). But I've discovered all sorts of weird and wonderful music in that time, be it Susan Aglukark or Bentley Rhythm Ace, Fudge, or Happyhead. I've been perplexed by Freq, fallen for Formica, and bopped around to Urban Hype. And to think - there are only another 2000 un-reviewed CDs in the station's library... James ("we have both kinds of music") PS: >well, i don't have any theories either, but i seem to like QE and ME >better than PI and Respect. From the photos I've seen of the place, ME looks great, as do VT and NH. PI - - I take it you mean PEI - is similar, but more Canadian. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 19:31:01 -0600 From: "Maxey L. Mullins" Subject: xtc hey, a few years ago i got turned on to xtc. but while i really loved some albums, there were others that i didn't really care for. i liked, and still do: nonsuch skylarking oranges and lemons i did not like: mummer the big express i'm sure the must be some fundamental difference between these albums. maybe all of you are more familiar with the band can help me figure this out. and what other albums of theirs would you recommend me checking out? i'm hoping that my "did like" and "did not like" lists will help you figure out which other albums i would most likely enjoy. anyway, let mme know what you come up with. =joel ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 98 21:07:58 EST From: Ross Overbury Subject: Re: several digests, again I said: > >Is there a Hitchcock/lucid dreaming correllation? Then you said: > > I've always (at least since I was seven or eight, don't remember before > that) had some dreams wherein I could say: wait, this is a dream...stop, I > don't like that...[and maybe] can we try that sequence over again, *this* way? > > So does that count? > That's it, alright -- except you can take it from this level to absolute creative control. Be the director of your own movie, with no budget restrictions! Eb said: > >12. I don't mind Paula Cole's music, but she is utterly unwatchable as a > >performer. Take it down a peg, sweetie. And if you're not gonna shave, you > >could at least stop wearing sleeveless tops and lifting your arms up all > >the time. > Then you said: > My impression is that she doesn't shave at least partly out of > independence: if she doesn't care enough about opinions like that to > shave, she certainly doesn't need to hide her non-conformity for your > approval! > I'd like to see Paula put out a CD with a fluffy inner cover. If you're gonna do it, take it way over the top! - -- Ross Overbury Montreal, Quebec, Canada email: rosso@cn.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 98 21:42:59 EST From: Ross Overbury Subject: Re: Blows and bows > As for the human voice, I really can't stand most folks' idea of > "expressive" singing. Give me Robyn, Morrissey, or David Byrne style > vocals any day. I prefer someone who's going to sing because their voice > is a tuned instrument of music (or untuned as one chooses) and let their > words and music carry the emotional content instead of something as vulgar > and unimaginative as screaming, sobbing, crying, or laughing. > That gets a nod of agreement from me until I think of that atonal "yeaaahhh" in Won't Get Fooled Again. It's vulgar and it's perfect. > > No. I find horns more expressive because I can identify with them better. > My argument was that guitarists favor guitars more than other people and > that more people are guitarists for reasons other than expressiveness. > That's why I think Mark was saying acoustic guitar is more expressive than electric. He just likes them better. > Of course the player makes a huge difference. I still can't come up with > a single guitar player whose guitar(playing) can make me feel anything > like joy or giddiness. I could have prefaced everything with "from what > I've heard" and "in my estimation of the best instance of the following > emotive intention...", but I didn't think anyone would assume I meant only > when listening to the fellow who plays guitar outside Meier & Frank on 5th > and Yamhill. > Jeme, I've heard *accordion* music that can make me giddy. Lighten up, buddy! The world needs trumpet players who feel that the trumpet is the ultimate conduit of human musical expression. Keep on believing (even though you're dead wrong) -- we guitarists need quality horn sections from time to time! All the instruments I think of as having the most expressive qualities put the human body in close contact with the sound producing mechanism (except the synth, which uses other mechanisms to allow control over the parameters). Piano's a great composing tool, unequalled until the arrival of the sequencer, but how many different sounds can you get out of one note? Hit the key hard, hit it softly, use the damper or the echo pedal, and you've done it all, haven't you? Trumpet puts the sound generation right in your face, so that makes it pretty expressive alright. It's only failing in my reckoning is the lack of polyphony. That's not a problem unless you're alone. Guitar does make a pretty good compromise; you can bend and shake the notes out and you can play intervals. The strings are right under your fingers where you can feel them and react with them. It's easy to learn to play (if you don't want to do much with it), and yes, it's more portable than a piano. It's a better compositional tool than a trumpet, although maybe inferior to a piano. I don't think it's a poor choice for someone who wants to learn to make music both alone and with others. PS: You should bear in mind that the electric guitar fights side by side with the Mystery Horn according to The Grand Wazoo. - -- Cleetus Awreetus-Awrightus Montreal, Quebec, Canada email: rosso@cn.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 22:26:13 -0500 From: wojs of mass destruction Subject: Re: NPR also sprach griffith: >I seem to remember sobody mentioning that Robyn had been featured on an >'episode" of NPR's Morning Edition or NPR's Weekend Edition. Can anyone >confirm this? If so, I'd like to know the original broadcast dates. hitchcock, robyn 96/10/27 weekend edition, npr gene added: >In October, 1996, Robyn appeared on NPR's Fresh Air. really? wonder how i missed that one. markg sed: >Robyn also appeared on Weekend Edition for about 5 minutes around >September. last year? or in 1996? if the latter, i suspect you are thinking of the weekend edition appearance, which was considerably longer than 5 minutes. don't know how much longer, exactly, but it was at least 15-20 minutes long. back in 1990, there was also a brief (~5 minutes) spot on morning edition. woj n.p. portishead - portishead (for the 1st time!) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Mar 1998 22:40:32 -0500 (EST) From: Sean Hennessey Subject: Re: xtc Hallo, On Sun, 1 Mar 1998, Maxey L. Mullins wrote: > i did not like: > mummer > the big express Same way I felt for a long time, and I've been following them for years. I dunno why I could never seem to get into these albums, but I couldn't. Then magic struck, years without XTC, and a renewed fanaticism of them, led me to re-investigate, and I have to admit that The Big Express has become one of my favourites. I can understand some trouble with Mummer, it's a bit too 'tame' for my tastes, but some of the singles are brilliant. I'd suggest letting some time pass and having a listen again. For me, the song 'Your the wish you are I had' was what brought me back, from listening to the version on the BBC comp, Drums and Wireless. The track led me to listening the side a few times through, and eventually I found myself stuck. It's the almost perfect 'alone at midnight, walking in a snowstorm, singing along' album for me. It's definitely a headphone and solitary album. Just the opening, 'Wake Up', can send shivers down my back. The bass playing on the album is phenomenal, and Andy P.'s (who's songwriting I generally prefer to Colin Mouldings (in fact to almost anybody's) is at a strength, using sound to create images (the genius guitar train on 'Train Running Low On Soul Coal'), and the too perfect pop chorus tied to some odd changes (the aforementioned 'Wish'). I hope this can be an album that you to can re-discover. It's an amazing listen when you can break into it... tara - Sean ******************************************************************************* Sean Hennessey, President of the Boston Reds, an 'unoffical' Manchester United Supporters' Club url: http://members.tripod.com/~boston_reds/red_army.html email: suggs@tiac.net *Bassist: Slippy Keane* ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 21:41:44 -0600 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: catching up 2: Oasis, country Robyn, Tull, critics >that song. I've known that song for longer than I've been alive. It's >always been there." I know. That doesn't make sense. But just occasionally >a song will hit that way. Anyone know what I mean? I do know what you mean. It's kind of a hard feeling to define and it doesn't happen that often. I think I can count the times I've felt that on one hand (look! it's the five-finger game again! :)) and it's really random in terms of style and such, given that the only examples that come immediately to mind are "Mother of Pearl", "And So It Goes", and "Subterranean Homesick Blues". >maybe, like me, he works in student radio. I've listened to hundreds of >albums in the last year reviewing the station's back-catalogue and sifting >out the crap. Largely older stuff, admittedly (and in doing so I discovered >some glaring gaps in my musical knowledge). I also work at a college radio station, but I'm a -jazz- DJ. After spending a year as jazz format chief (foremost among my duties was sifting out the crap from all the new releases and filing-related stuff) I'm a lot more up on jazz-related stuff as far as what's new and now. And yes, when I first started as a jazz DJ there I was relatively ignorant, armed with little knowledge and lots of passion- I basically learned -on the job-. It was as much feeling a certian responsibility towards listeners and wanting to do a good job as a DJ as it was musical passion that accelerated the learning- who wants to listen to (or play) the same stuff wek after week after week? But the same dynamic holds, I guess, in the sense that I had access to a huge library of stuff, which is a definite advantage. Most of the rock knowledge I had came from word of mouth (being younger, most of the people I hung out with -socially- at the station are rock DJs) and reading- yes, those dreadful CRITICS :). I just never spent quite as much time on my rock education, since it seemed to me as if it was quite a bit farther advanced than my jazz one was and is. So I guess what I mean to say with all this blather is that working in college radio -is- an advantage, but it doesn't necessarily mean that one is going to be able to attain a state of uber rock and roll all-knowingness, especially if rock is not the primary field you're working in- having the resource of a large library helps, but the drive to learn and one's priorites as far as what to concentrate on (the rest of your life vs. music as well as the different genres, varieties, eras, whathaveya) and how much time to devote are really the determining thing. Even many of the rock DJs I know have glaring gaps in their knowledge and freely admit to it, and they're the people who listen to the hundreds of rock CDs that come in each week- many of them have a particular specialty (e.g., krautrock, emo-core, etc.) that they concentrate on, I think partly because even if they wanted to try to stay totally on top of all rock/pop releases in the world, not to mention other musics, they'd probably end up in the loony bin. Really, there's just too much damn music about! :) This does not mean, however, that I'm going to give up trying to hear it all :). I'm down with that goal. Oh, for a Fermata of my own! :) Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #81 ******************************