From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #114 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, March 24 1998 Volume 07 : Number 114 Today's Subjects: ----------------- fizzz [Eb ] Re: remember the songs that made you cry? [sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (am] Re: the usual miscellany [sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain)] Addicted to Noise, RH SXSW round-up [firstcat@lsli.com] elliott smith [Robert Thompson ] Re: rant rant rant rant. . . . . (100% delete now content) [sdodge@midway] Re: The female Robyn Hitchcock? [kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander)] Re: The Big SXSW Report [Yo MTV raps tangent] [Tom Clark ] Conspiracy Nut [The Non-Prophet ] Don't talk to me... [The Non-Prophet ] Feet of clay, head of cheese (Warning: Bill Nelson content) [Nick Winkwor] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 13:04:16 -0700 From: Eb Subject: fizzz Quail quipped: >And to some extent -- though less talented than the above -- the women in >The Blue Up? I assume you know that one of the women in the Blue Up was legendary Web voyeurbait Ana Ng.... Tool-Time Tews tinkled: >joan jett (of joan jett and the blackhearts fame.) think about it. she has: >a.) been a member of a pyschaedelic ROCK 'N' ROLL outfit. (you'll >recall their knockout cover of Crimson and Clover which shot straight to >the top of the pops.) Well, firstly, let me say that it's not often you see so many spelling errors within one word. ;) Secondly, one Tommy James cover does NOT make the Blackhearts a "pyschaedelic" band.... >eb, let us know, won't you, how the ZAIREEKA! experience goes? i still >haven't been able to find it used. OK, I have two CD players in separate rooms...I'm thinking if I record two of the tracks on cassettes beforehand, then start the first CD with plenty of leader time in one room, run into the other room and hit Play on the second CD player while simultaneously hitting Play on my two handheld tape players.... That's about as close as I can get to the real thing. Anybody else here own this uberwork? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:08:49 -0600 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: remember the songs that made you cry? >In the shower? I like to sing Airscape, because there nobody has to hear >me attempt to hit the high notes. Heh! :) I also like to sing songs I can't really sing when showering. I've noticed that actually I like to do songs that have three or four parts, and I just sing whatever part suits my fancy at random points. Common choices include (but are not limited to) the Esquires' "Get on Up" and the Velvelettes "He Was Really Saying Something". I am impressed that other people can do Robyn songs in the shower though, because I can't. Usually when I am showering I also have a background script running in my head that goes approximately like "where the hell is the soap oh there it is I hope there's coffee left gotta get that book what the hell was it called again shit I forgot to vacuum yesterday I have to do it today why haven't I gotten a phone bill yet it should have been here a week ago fucking snail mail". So I just find simpler lyrics and extremely catchy rhythms easier to handle because my mind isn't completely on the singing. Part of it is also that this music was a part of my consciousness long before Robyn was, and part of it is that I just can't concentrate wholly enough to sing anything with complicated words. Something like "We're gonna shingaling/We're gonna do that thing/Tonight/Doo doo DEH doo" is much easier to remember in an offhand way than something like "Beneath the yellow sky/The lovers trip beside the ship but all I hear when they embrace is just the kiss of skulls". Love on ya, Susan P.S. *waves hi to Glen* Glad to see ya back. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:08:42 -0600 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: the usual miscellany J. Katharine, within a multitude of responses, writes in response to Bayard: >>=b "and then we'll meet in kansas the next week for a fegrugby match, and >>a round of fizbin" > >How about Illinois, earlier in the month? :) Are you in Illinois? Spiffing! That makes four of us (that I know of) in Illanoize. The feg takeover is imminent :). >>From: The Non-Prophet > >Why do people always think the joke is *new* to the bearer of the name, as >well as funny? You got me. They always think I'm a humorless killjoy when I don't laugh at Dodge Trucks jokes or jokes about westerns ("so, are you from Dodge City? bang bang!") or plays on the word dodgeball (as Fozzie Bear would say, "ha ha, funneeee!") as if in fact I -haven't- been hearing them all my life. And they look surprised when I remark that no goofus, just in case you're wondering, this is not the first time someone sang "Wake Up Little Suzie" or "Runaround Sue" at me :). Geez. Re: Trunk Content- Well, I have no car, so it follows that I would not have a trunk to keep things in. Things I have in my backpack (closest equivalent) besides books, notebooks, and pens: Various lip balms and chapstick thingies Matchbooks with one match left Comb and mirror set (I don't know why I got the idea I would need this, as I've never used them) Swiss Army Knife Bandaids Kleenex Extra keys (some of them are so extra I don't know what they're for anymore :)) Tiny plastic sewing kit thingie (again, never used it) Approximately five tons of pennies Dead aa walkman batteries Various odds and ends of paperwork relating to class registration and the like (I know, that's not odd, but it is kind of odd that some of it's from like 1994) All kinds of weird glossy publicity flyers, postcards, applications/playlists from aspiring DJs &c from when I was jazz format head at the radio station (again, these are 2 and a half years old) Floppy disks with no labels or anything else that would indicate what the hell is on them Ok, so none of this is as odd as plastic vegetables. Actually thinking about this has given me the idea that maybe it's time for some cleanout! :) Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 98 14:48:05 From: firstcat@lsli.com Subject: Addicted to Noise, RH SXSW round-up This is a cup-n-paste of the articles mentioning RH from the past weeks Addicted to Noise.... AUSTIN, Texas -- Even Robyn Hitchcock got here early. Still, he's got nothing on Brandon Hodge. The 23-year-old struggling Austin musician makes his way around the Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon, moving between tables, passing out demos and flyers promoting his band Dot. "We're one of the long-lost Austin bands," he says of his big-band punk-ska group, which he says has been together for about a year and is set to play its first South By Southwest show this Friday. "It's all new to us. We've never played this before even though we live right here." By late afternoon Thursday, normally sleepy Austin will be overrun by young, ambitious artists as well as the cell-phone-toting opportunists hiding behind shades and black T-shirts who have come to see and mingle with the more than 800 participating bands. But on this sunny Wednesday afternoon, the hair-streaked and pierced hordes are trickling in, reacquainting themselves with old friends and getting their schedules together for the week, discussing who the hot bands are to see and where dinner is tonight, and on whom. Welcome to South By Southwest, otherwise known as rock 'n' roll spring break, the annual southern migration that draws thousands of musicians, publicists, writers and hangers-on for five days of music, drinking, schmoozing and the endless search for a free lunch. Even though it hasn't really kicked into gear yet, Tim Keegan already feels overwhelmed. Hanging around the Austin Convention Center getting his all- access badge as part of psychedelic folkie Robyn Hitchcock's band, Englishman Keegan, 31, said while he's excited, he's also feeling a bit lost. "It's pretty daunting," says the shaggy-haired Keegan, who first came to Austin five years ago with his band Ringo. "There's too many bands in the world and when you're in a band you don't want to walk around and know that there's thousands of other bands just like you trying to get noticed." If you ask an already harried-looking, two-cell-phone-toting Brent Grulke, creative director for the 12-year-old festival, that's exactly the point. "There's less discussion here about who will be signed and for how much," says Grulke between gulps of a Dr. Pepper. "It's more like, 'Did you see this band last night?,'or 'I wish I'd seen this band.' It's the most musical of all the annual conferences, I think." You can't toss a promotional CD in this place without whacking someone who has either traveled from across the ocean, sounds like they have or is just trying to look like it. Brit-pop star Hitchcock -- sporting a fetching all-green ensemble that may or may not have anything to do with the outfit he sports in "Storefront Hitchcock," the 90-minute Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs")-directed live film that will debut here Thursday night -- is here to schmooze. "I've been here four times," says a relaxed Hitchcock from behind a mop of shoulder- length gray and black hair. "I get to spend three days seeing people I haven't seen in a while, playing a few shows and maybe I'll make a big break here and get my big chance," he says with a grin. Seated over in a corner of the Convention Center, reading through his promotional material -- handed out to press and industry types in snazzy tote bags with a "South Park" motif -- is Alec Von Tavel. Von Tavel is a regular at SXSW. The Swiss mountain of a man has made the trek five times representing the record distributor Disctrade in Switzerland. "It's really about the music here," he says, echoing Grulke's comments, "which is not what trade shows are like in Switzerland. In Europe, they're more dance-oriented and not for the public." Well, if it's public that Von Tavel wants, he'll get plenty of that. In addition to the more than 6,000 official attendees who will all invariably be trying to shoehorn into the same handful of shows, there are the thousands of Austinites who will invariably try, and fail, to gain entrance with their pricey non-press wristbands, which don't even guarantee entrance into any shows. They'll just have to drown their sorrows in bock beer and some techno band from Germany such as Surrogat, or Houston-based Tejano combo Los Palominos, Australian rock courtesy of Garageland, maybe New York hip-hoppers Scavone, a San Francisco dancehall artist named Jamalski, or whatever else floats out of the doors and onto the soon-to-be-swelling sidewalks of the main drag on 6th Street. Who knows? Maybe that Hitchcock guy will even get noticed. Friday, March 20 1:15 p.m. -- I'm seeing Robyn Hitchcock as much as I see that guy who steals the aluminum cans from my garbage can every night in Oakland. Everywhere I go, there he is. Today he's playing the acoustic daystage inside the convention center. The title track from his upcoming album, Viva Seatac, an homage to the Seattle-Tacoma airport, features the lyrics, "Hendrix played like an animal/then he escaped," followed sometime later by the line, "Viva Seattle, Tacoma,viva, viva Seatac / they got the best computers, coffee and smack." One of the exhibitors has decided to hand out Mardi Gras beads as a promotional item,which is only slightly more annoying than the cheap, straw cowboy hats someone handed out last year. -- Kaufman 11:15 p.m. -- There's the omnipresent Robyn Hitchcock again, fighting his way through the packed crowd. He's come to Liberty Lunch to see Sean Lennon no doubt. So have about 400 other people crammed into the garage- like club. And when the youngest son of Beatle legend John Lennon takes the stage for his first major performance with his band, there is an anticipation in the house that is difficult to describe. Everyone is waiting to see what the son of one of rock's greatest minds has to offer the world musically. He certainly looks like his father more and more these days, especially in his mannerisms, the way he smiles slyly after finishing a song or pushes his glasses up onto his nose every few minutes. Yet his voice comes from another place entirely, with its less guttural, almost screeching quality that while not as grating as his mother Yoko Ono's tends to move in that direction. But, it's clear that Sean is not trying to sound like his father. His songs flirt with techno and trip into a more ambient pop than his dad's. At times, it's almost closer to a futuristic Beach Boys sound. He even covers "God Only Knows," and the crowd seems confused. Some just stare at the young Lennon, perhaps looking for hints of his father through all of the electronic distortion, and there are awkward silences between songs. His touring partners Buffalo Daughter on the other hand have the crowd fully entranced and singing along. Their lack of lyrics, due most likely to the language barrier, is fully compensated by their powerful electronic pop sound, simple drum-beats mixed with repetitive guitar-rhythms and synthesized melodies. Lennon stands at the back of the stage bopping to their music. "I don't know what they were expecting from me," he later tells me. -- Melucci - ------------------------------------- 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: 3/24/98 - ------------------------------------- Two-Hour Luxury Goods Commercial Also A Spy Film ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:13:49 -0500 From: Robert Thompson Subject: elliott smith EB wrote: Man, I really try to like Elliott Smith...heard the previous releases when they were new. I just don't warm up to him (or Heatmiser, for that matter). Well-intentioned, but too listless a performer and melodically really weak. It just seems to me like a bunch of indie snobs who knee-jerk dismiss Neil Young, Paul Simon, Dylan, etc. finally found a confessional acoustic songwriter they can embrace without feeling guilty. Boyz and gurls: Actually I like all the above AND think Elliott Smith is quite brilliant. His Either/Or album is without doubt the best album lyrically that I've heard in some time. Given that few artists put much time or thought into their lyrics, I find him refreshing. As for "melodically really weak," that seems to be an odd distinction. I mean he's not Lou Reed, his voice does have a decent range and is quite pleasant. The songs aren't all written in the same key and it is certainly different than a lot of the "alternative" drivel that passes as songwriting. The last album, which is the only one I can speak about, is also relatively varied from acoustic to electric, with the Beatles, Paul Simon and even a band like Seam thrown in for reference points. His performance on the Oscars was the only reason I watched, aside from getting to see the wonderful Atom Egoyan on screen for two seconds while the psuedo-Canadian Cameron took best directing honors. Good at directing special effects, I tell you. But I'm sure there was some Hollywood producer yelling "can't that Smith guy comb his hair" during the whole song. Oh, and Robyn Hitchcock is a fine chap as well. Very melodic. I recently purchased six of his albums I didn't have on CD for $4 a piece and they were autographed to boot. Robert ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:23:17 -0600 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: rant rant rant rant. . . . . (100% delete now content) >Aaaaach! No, I just can't go! I'm like Al Pacino in "Godfather III," I >just get pulled back in! Here: I know the feeling. There seem to be a lot of threads that I felt compelled to answer today. Plus I am on break so I have the time. Oh NOOOOOO! Unfortunately, one of the reasons I felt compelled to answer -this- post was to disagree with you. Rather vehemently in fact, as anyone who's ever heard me discourse on this subject will know :). >serious liberties taken all around. . . .and I am GLAD the Academy >awarded a balls to the wall EPIC movie another award. Yaaaah epics! Bring >back Spartcus! Rewind Braveheart! I wouldn't mention the two in the same breath. "Braveheart" sucked. I love epics, but I love epics with characters in them. You know, people, those weird little ants that get in the way of the giant disasters and wars. If we could have epics along the lines of "Lawrence of Arabia", fine and good- something with multi-faceted characters and an involving story. Epics along the lines of "Independence Day" are just so much idiocy because they have no human interest at all, at least not to me. I'm bored just watching shit blow up. Balls to the wall, bullshit. It takes a lot more balls to make a movie like "The Sweet Hereafter" than it does to make one like "Titanic". I would even argue that box office returns indicate that there are other people that feel as I do. Sure the boffo blockbusters like "Titanic" make money, but look at how many -bombed- in relative terms. Quite a few. Whereas a small film with no "stars" like "The Full Monty" is still drawing people into the theaters after 6 months, and "Good Will Hunting" and "As Good As It Gets" have also done better than expected financially. It's time to bring back characters. Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:31:29 -0500 From: kenster@MIT.EDU (Ken Ostrander) Subject: Re: The female Robyn Hitchcock? >An odd phenomenon I've noticed is that while there are quite a few white >males who do something similar to Robyn - Julian Cope, Syd Barrett, Tim >Keegan, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc. etc. - there seems to be a shortage of >women surrealistic singer/songwriters. Is this just because the media is >only picking up on the bland Lilith Fair types at the moment? I admit >I'm fairly ignorant on the topic. Could somebody reel off a few names? kristen hersh gets my vote. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 98 13:29:13 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: The Big SXSW Report [Yo MTV raps tangent] On 3/24/98 5:58 AM, Zelda Pinwheel wrote: >>wasn't Yo! created by Jonathan's Son? Nephew? Ted Demme? > >Hmmm...interesting. The son that he had in tow couldn't have been any older >than 8, so I don't think it was him, but beyond that I haven't a clue. >Anyone else? Ted is Jonathan's nephew. He created MTV raps and directed the one time hosts in 1993's "Who's The Man?" He also directed "The Ref" and "Beautiful Girls". I love The Internet Movie Database! - -tc Ob Oscar Comments: o I left a nice smear of nose grease on the tv after following Ashley Judd across the stage. o Madonna's had some facial surgery o Jack Nicolson is cool o James Cameron is a dick o Someone please kill Celine Dion o I was glad for Kim Basinger o Sarandon & Weaver: If you can't walk in spiked heels, it's better not to wear them ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:21:53 -0600 (CST) From: Bret Subject: Re: fuckin' dipshit with a nine-toed woman >my point was that anyone who read your posts would know that you're >someone with a lot of records and opinions, with the former arriving >early, and the latter expressed forcefully and defended aggressively. it >seems like a moot point that you're paid to be a critic. for what it's worth, Yes, Eb (not to be confused with D#) has very strong and voiced opinions, but he seems to (believe it or not) like more stuff than I do. That said, I do not care what he does for a living, I used to work in the music industry, and at the time, no-one around here cared (they may not have known). But I quite often saw some of the records I was working being discussed. I would offer tidbits of info about the records in question, and i would slam the shit out of them if they deserved it (which by the way, almost all of them did). I have since gotten a real job. So, if Ed gives you info about a record before you can pick it up somewhere, count yourself lucky, or know before-hand that he's going to hate it, and expext it. Ok, I'm sure that in the next 2 years, there will be a new *your favorite atrist here* record, save yerself the time, and sweating, he will hate it. (but then again, why not, it sucks). Eb, as long as you still love the spice girls you're ok in my book. - --b NP: The Death Folk (advance release) (it sucks) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:07:40 -0800 (PST) From: The Non-Prophet Subject: Conspiracy Nut The Shakespeare of Socialism writes: > ok, i'd never really had any use for all these "quailspiracy" theories > until today. when susan even, glen uber, and daniel saunders all post > in the same day, that's a pretty dead giveaway, i should think, that > something is amiss. we could mention also the recent return of the > guambat. if i hear, within the next day or two, that side a of the > spoken chain tape is complete, i'm heading straight for the fallout > shelter. Your theory has one flaw: Tracy "Toast Mistress" has not yet posted today. - -g- Glen E. Uber uberg@sonic.net =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:12:33 -0800 (PST) From: The Non-Prophet Subject: Don't talk to me... In the "Oscar Hall of Fame" bit that they did during last night's telecast, there were several notable absences: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Katherine Hepburn, et. al. Gene Hackman didn't show up, either. And we didn't even get Andie MacDowell. Glen, who could be Gene himself for all you know... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:36:07 -0800 From: Nick Winkworth Subject: Feet of clay, head of cheese (Warning: Bill Nelson content) After wading through what seems a years worth of digests, I apologize if I'm resurrecting some old threads.. First, thanks to everyone who posted SWSX reports. It will be interesting to see what sort of distribution the movie finally gets. If anyone is kind enough to send me pictures I'll make sure they're on the Fegfotos page ASAP and I'll let you all know. That movie about the boat: And I said I'd never get sucked into this thread... Eb remarked: > Regarding James Cameron: I gather that he's not exactly a popular > guy in Hollywood, on a personal level. Often compared to Captain Ahab, I hear. Still, you have to admit, the guy does know how to spend $200 million! What worries me now, however, is the imminent onslaught of Titanic wannabes we can expect as Hollywood execs latch on to yet another "success formula". I was shocked to discover, by the way, that apart from a few special categories (foreign film, etc.) Academy members are not obliged to see *any* of the movies before they vote. Explains a lot, don't you think? Temper Temper: Mike advised, > , tempering was invented as a "near-enough" way of making it > sound good in any key. But a decent concert pianist will re-tune the > piano to the root note of the main item in a recital. Wow. Is this really true? If so, this is news to me. I'd always believed that the different "colors" associated with the various keys were the result of these differences caused by "optimizing" of notes for "C" using the even tempered scale. If a piano is "tempered" for "C", what about woodwind and brass? Even though string players don't have frets, they still need to worry about open string tuning and harmonics. Any brass or string players want to comment? As far as rock goes, I agree this is pretty much esoterica. Most times a string needs to be more than a couple of cents out before anyone notices. Maybe those of you with perfect pitch (not me!) would find it objectionable, but the rest of us cloth-ears will just play on regardless. Does the term "close enough for rock and roll" sound familiar? SPINchat: Yes it was a little disappointing, but as Eb pointed out, interviewing is a real skill and needs interaction and dialog to be successful. Like most of us, Robyn is a private person and he doesn't have any political agenda to push. So he usually hides behind humor - I don't read it as evasive, it's just hard to be interviewed. To expect anything more than superficial responses from a series of random questions popping up on a computer screen is pure fantasy. I thought that given the situation, Robyn did pretty well. True, the questions were somewhat "Entertainment Tonight" - but that's probably appropriate given the forum. As I understood it, Mike's list was really only to give a few ideas to those who would be logged on - they were free to use them or, if they thought them too banal, ignore them. The questions Eb raised would indeed have been far more interesting, but as he admitted himself, they stood no chance of a satisfactory answer given the forum - even if the moderator had let them through (which is unlikely). Given the opportunity for a real interview, I hope someone *will* try asking those questions. If so, good luck. Bill Nelson: Last time I mentioned Mr. Nelson on this list I was surprised to find several others who appreciated his work, I think woj was one. I forget. For those who don't know, Bill Nelson is a guitarist who rose to fame briefly with his band Be Bop Deluxe back in the 70's and then embarked on a prolific career as a solo artist. I was a huge fan for a time, but he went through a lean spot and I lost touch. Anyway, I recently discovered that Bill is still going strong and I was amazed to find the old magic still there. My reason for bringing this up is that, for those who may be interested, he has a terrific new web site: http://www.billnelson.com One of the best examples of a fan website I have seen. Certain Fegs-who-know-who-they-are will probably be highly amused that Bill's fans have decided to do a fan-based tribute album (to present to him on his 50th birthday!). Anyone involved with Glass Flesh will definitely get a chuckle from their discussions about how to do it, who pays, etc. Notes from the 'Weirdstuff Warehouse'* of music appreciation: I still have a long list of new music to track down. You guys are a terrific source of ideas. I'm still looking forward to hearing NMH (naturally my local Tower don't stock it) after reading the comments here. It also got quite a good write up in the local rag - three stars out of four. Is there a Real Audio site out there somewhere? Other Feg recommendations have met with mixed success. Goaded by several Fegs over the new year I finally went out and bought OK Computer, despite my impression at the listening booth. "It takes time to grow on you", you said. Well I tried. I played it in the car for several days straight, but I'm sorry, it still doesn't grab me. My impression has not really changed - sort of "Beatles meet U2", only without the sparkle of either. All Radiohead fans will no doubt be shocked to read this but clearly my head is full of cheese and nothing I say should henceforth be taken seriously. Incidentally, I also bought Spiritualized "L&GWAFIS" at the same time, which I have to say I like a whole lot more - a darn side better than Oasis at any rate. ;) (Note to Oasis fans: more cheese) (and in the "six degrees" column we note that John Leckie, the producer of all Bill Nelson's early work also engineered "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space", not to mention producing Radiohead's "The Bends". Small world innit?*) In the spirit of returning the favor, here's a couple of things I've enjoyed recently: Well, I find myself enjoying the new Ani Difranco "Little Plastic Castle" quite a lot. (The music anyway. It boasts some of the most revolting sleeve artwork I've seen in a long time. I suggest playing it in the dark!). More accessible and softer round the edges than her previous stuff - but still enough there to keep the ani-haters at the barricades. If you're into interesting collaborations, "Arcane" by "assorted artists" on Real World might be worth a listen. It features such musical luminaries as classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, jazz drummer Billy Cobham (Miles Davis/John McLaughlan fame), vocalist Jane Siberry and many more, known and unknown from around the world. If you prefer structured songs with beginnings, ends and middles, look elsewhere, but if you like the idea of world class musicians interacting and bouncing ideas off each other, this might just be your cup of tea. If anyone else liked the Cuban "Son" of Buena Vista Social Club, definitely check out "Introducing Ruben Gonzales" on the same label. Ruben worked as a pianist but since retiring could not afford a piano of his own. While Ry Cooder was recording BVSC, Ruben used to sneak into the studio in the evenings and play the piano in the dark. Someone heard him and the rest, as they say, is history. Cooder called him "the greatest piano soloist I have ever heard in my life". Rarely far from my player at the moment, however, is "Rumba Argelina" by Radio Tarifa (World Circuit). Tarifa is the southernmost point of Spain and these Madrid-based musicians have crafted a music style balanced exactly halfway between North African/Moroccan and Spanish influences. Every time I play this I hear something new in it. Very cool. Sorry to witter on like this but the last few weeks have been looong (and Feg-free). I hope at least one of you finds something to like in the above. As always, listen before you buy -- and never take advice from a cheese-head. ~N * Oh alright, before anyone asks: Bill Nelson -> Kate St. John -> Julian Cope -> Robyn. OK? * 'Wierdstuff Warehouse' is a real place in Silicon Valley. If you ever wanted to build a weapon of mass destruction, you'd probably find the parts you'd need right here. ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #114 *******************************