From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #167 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, April 28 1998 Volume 07 : Number 167 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Chord Counting + [nicastr@idt.net (Ben)] Re: Chord Counting + [Eb ] and you thought the *Robyn* chat went poorly! [Bayard ] RH at Storefront tonight [Russ Reynolds ] Re: Chord Counting + (no dead, no content, basically not all that , great) [Bayard ] Re[2]: Comic Strips ["Terry Linnig"] catholic discipline (& fundamentalist discipline) [dwdudic@erols.com (Dav] Re: Comic Strips [normal@grove.ufl.edu] Re: Re[2]: Comic Strips [Terrence M Marks ] Re: Stoopid Eb + 2% Soft Boys content [nicastr@idt.net (Ben)] charity auction 0% RH [tanter ] comic stripping [dmw ] a handful more short album titles [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (Jam] a handful more short album titles [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (Jam] Re: RH for Prime Minister, long album titles, Jefferson Airplane reference (1% RH!) [james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (J] Waves [dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders)] politorideadics [woj spice ] Re: Comic Strips [dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders)] more comic stripping [Christopher Gross ] Guitar World Article [dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders)] Re: Comic Strips [sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 16:48:29 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: Chord Counting + >Well, rec.music.progressive awaits you with open arms. > >I always take into account "Chord Counting" qualities. It doesn't mean that >I have to value them for their own sake. Arguing that the Dead are great >because they can jam from D minor to F# major minor >is never going to make me do >anything but roll my eyes. Is there anything that DOESN'T make you roll your eyes? Once again I must say that I'm not trying to make you like the Dead (I'm currently working on jumping across the Atlantic Ocean, once I do that I'll move on), I am just trying to show that their music isn't "worthless", as you said. Their musicianship was just one point I was using to back my argument. That, along with the number of other things I said went a long way to showing their music had, at the very least, some worth to it, I think. >And weren't you the one who grumbled so bitterly >about the Dead being pigeonholed as a "jamming" band? Hmmm. > Like I said, that is just one aspect of their music. I'm not going to try to explain why that side of their music impresses me because you don't seem to posess the level of musical knowledge to understand why it is impressive. >There ARE bands I hate more than the Dead, you know. I'd certainly rather >listen to the Dead than Billy Idol, INXS, the Cult, Celine Dion, etc etc >etc. I'm sure that if I dug deep enough, I could find something listenable >by the Dead. But it's just not that important to me. I'm not going to wade >through 20 hours of live tapes to find that one four-minute progression >which engages me. > >And then Nat gnattered: >>But the difference between them, as I said, is that Tori comes off as so >>desperately attention-seeking and self-serving. "Oh thank you, you who are >>the song." That streak of arrogance - "I'm special because I'm an artist" >>- is what rubs me the wrong way. I'm not saying her weirdness is an act, >>either - that stuff has to come from *somewhere* - but the fact that she >>flaunts it all the time does seem like an effort to get attention, like a >>precocious kid mouthing off at the dinner table. > >Preach on, Nat.... > >Eb, who was really excited about Tori Amos circa her first album...and then >saw her live and discovered the patented Tori Smirk [standard grumbling >diatribe about Tori's unbearable performance style deleted] Again, I don't care if you like them or not, just don't say that their music is "worthless". It reeks of someone who must write in an outrageous manner you would only expect to find in sleezy supermarket tabloids. The pompous, self-righteous comments you post to the list on a daily basis, while childish, infuriating, and unendlessly annoying, have at least led me to expect that you would not think twice about making such a gratuitous assertion. Saying that you hate somebody's artistic work with such a lack of humility, weather it is music, painting, writing, etc., displays your arrogance in a way much more irritating than the standard "roll of the eyes" or "sigh..." you are so fond of. I hope you would consider how depressing it is to be constantly reminded of the narrow-mindedness present in people who by their behavior display that they consider themselves to be knowledgeable in whatever area. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:13:51 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: Chord Counting + Ben boiled: >>I always take into account "Chord Counting" qualities. It doesn't mean that >>I have to value them for their own sake. Arguing that the Dead are great >>because they can jam from D minor to F# major > >minor Christ. I stand corrected. You certainly score a point there. >Like I said, that is just one aspect of their music. I'm not going to try >to explain why that side of their music impresses me because you don't seem >to posess the level of musical knowledge to understand why it is >impressive. Uh-huh. 20 years old, eh? I can tell. >Again, I don't care if you like them or not, just don't say that their >music is "worthless". It reeks of someone who must write in an outrageous >manner you would only expect to find in sleezy supermarket tabloids. The >pompous, self-righteous comments you post to the list on a daily basis, >while childish, infuriating, and unendlessly annoying, have at least led me >to expect that you would not think twice about making such a gratuitous >assertion. Saying that you hate somebody's artistic work with such a lack >of humility, weather it is music, painting, writing, etc., displays your >arrogance in a way much more irritating than the standard "roll of the >eyes" or "sigh..." you are so fond of. I hope you would consider how >depressing it is to be constantly reminded of the narrow-mindedness present >in people who by their behavior display that they consider themselves to be >knowledgeable in whatever area. OK, here we come back to a typical argument: Anyone who hates the Grateful Dead has to be stoopid. Stoopid, stoopid, stoopid and wrong. And hey, Dave Marsh is fairly accessible online, you know. Perhaps you should mailbomb him with bile about how self-righteous/unknowledgeable/childish/infuriating/supermarkety he is. He might send you back a list of all the books he's written, but oh well, you can just counter that with the F# major argument. I just never knew that we're not allowed to hate art. Kinda amazing that the field of criticism even exists, isn't it? Hope I don't ever catch you griping about someone else's music. You don't play fretless bass, do you? Stoopid Eb PS Marginal Robyn content: I happened to do a websearch for Chinese singer Faye Wong today (for reasons not worth going into) and some fan site used the phrase "Fayemania." Awfully close...hope no Fegs join a Faye mailing list by mistake. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 17:18:40 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: and you thought the *Robyn* chat went poorly! http://my.excite.com/news/r/980428/16/odd-gorilla so i hear RH is playing a show on my birthday (tomorrow). wouldn't mind a tape of that-- will anyfeg be documenting the event to audio tape? and if you get the chance, request 'Ghost Ship' for me. =b ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:41:12 -0700 From: Jason Thornton Subject: Re: Chord Counting + (no Grateful Dead continent) At 02:13 PM 4/28/98 -0700, Eb wrote: >PS Marginal Robyn content: I happened to do a websearch for Chinese singer >Faye Wong today (for reasons not worth going into) and some fan site used >the phrase "Fayemania." Awfully close...hope no Fegs join a Faye mailing >list by mistake. Hey! I'm actually on the Faye Wong mailing list... ...by choice, even. It's really the Megmania (Ms. Ryan), Pegmania (wooden leg fetishists), and Fogmania (mist lovers) lists you have to worry about. PS: Socialism rocks! - -- Jason R. Thornton // Chapman Stick, Silver #2125 "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson *** Capitalism and democracy are not synonymous *** ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 15:46:15 -0600 From: hal brandt Subject: Re: Comic Strips > >> As an aspiring comic-stripper, I'd like your-all opinions on comic strips, > >> that's all. The now-defunct strip by David Lynch called "The Angriest Dog In The World" was always good for a chuckle. I also agree with LoveOnYa about Tom Tomorrow. For the two best books ever written on the medium of comics, please seek out "Comics & Sequential Art" by Will Eisner and "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. /hal ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 98 14:46:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: RH at Storefront tonight according to BAM, RH will be doing a question & answer after the movie tonight. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 18:23:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Bayard Subject: Re: Chord Counting + (no dead, no content, basically not all that , great) On Tue, 28 Apr 1998, Jason Thornton wrote: > > It's really the Megmania (Ms. Ryan), Pegmania (wooden leg fetishists), and > Fogmania (mist lovers) lists you have to worry about. Which reminds me: can we try to keep statements like: Maybe some GWU fegs will come out of the closet to admire it. to a minimum... they really only cause confusion. =b, former GWU feg and out from the start ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 98 15:31:20 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: NMH Anagrams Of the million or so anagrams that can be made from Neutral Milk Hotel: Literal Motel Hunk Let Menial Hulk Rot Null Retail, Them Ok Retail Molten Hulk Them, Erik - A Null Lot Tom Hurl, Kill A Teen Tom Kill Ethan, Rule Like Tom: Null Heart Mr. Null Heart ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 98 11:27:17 -0600 From: "Terry Linnig" Subject: Re[2]: Comic Strips The general unfunny-ness of most comic strips is what keeps me reading. I love to watch Fred Bassett drooling over a piece of pie or Hagar eating and fighting everything in sight. Beatle Baily - he's so zany. Terry & the Pirates - non-stop action. Dilbert's office hijinx I can even find some twisted joy out of finding Waldo in under one minute. To me comics are the escape from the rest of the craziness from the paper. Are they stupid? Yes - but so is 90% of the other shit which happens everyday throughout the world. Ziggy forever!!! T- ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Comic Strips Author: hal brandt at SMTPGATE Date: 4/28/98 12:01 PM Terrence M Marks wrote: > As an aspiring comic-stripper, I'd like your-all opinions on comic strips, > that's all. Zippy and Doonesbury are consistently good. The rest are not funny or even worth the two seconds it takes to read them. /hal ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 23:45:36 GMT From: dwdudic@erols.com (David W. Dudich) Subject: catholic discipline (& fundamentalist discipline) On Tue, 28 Apr 1998 16:19:21 -0400 (EDT), you wrote: > >>It beats listening to Phranc by a long chalk. > >I was very surprised to discover that Phranc used to be in a punk band >called Catholic Discipline that appeared in the brilliant "Decline of >Western Civilization" (the first one). She appears at the beginning >cussing out the audience. Who'da thunk it?? \ Ah, yes, the band that did the stirring pop song (with the chords VERY similar to "swirling" by you-know-who) that had, as a chorus, the following: "Barbie doll lust/It isn't normal!!!" Oh, on the politics front, the HOuse and Senate just passed a bill paying 1 billion in back UN dues AS LONG AS NONE OF THE MONEY GOES TO SUPPORT ANYONE WHO WOULD PERFORM ABORTIONS (even with their own money). Yes, we ARE fu#ked up. -luther ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 19:50:17 -0400 (EDT) From: normal@grove.ufl.edu Subject: Re: Comic Strips > GREAT POP THINGS > > I can't believe no one has mentioned this. It is quite simply the most > brilliant regularly running comic in the history of our planet. Well, I've never seen it in a newspaper and it doesn't seem to be in any of the big syndicates, so it's likely to not be mentioned. Can you tell us a bit more about it? (If it's more brilliant than Rose is Rose, Peanuts[1], Krazy Kat, Little Nemo or Pogo, I want to hear about it.) Hal writes >Zippy and Doonesbury are consistently good. The rest are not funny >or even worth the two seconds it takes to read them. Odd..those are two of the three comics I never get. (The third is "Charlie" and I think that it's because "Charlie" doesn't actually contain jokes, just weird drawings and phrases with no real correlation.) Zippy doesn't even pretend to make sense, and Doonesbury has flat-out too many characters. One day you're following B.D., then Duke, then Zonker, then Mike, then the president, and, I mean, it's decent, but I never could figure out how it fits together. And if anyone knows a better title for the dude who writes comic strips than "comic stripper" or "comic strip writer", I'd *really* like to hear it. (Because *EVERYONE* is going to make those same '...when you take your clothes off' jokes that you guys did.) Recommendations: (in addition to the ones I had mentioned as 'brilliant') For some reason, I really find "Arlo and Janis", "Foxtrot" and "Safe Havens" enthrarlling. And I'm surprised no-one had mentioned "Frank and Ernest". Unsyndicated: The Adventures of Mayberry Melonpool (www.melonpool.com) Hobnob Inn (hobnob.daci.net) PC Compatible (http://www.bmts.com/~pccompatible/) Sluggy Freelance (www.sluggy.com) Goats (www.goats.com) Newshounds (www.newshounds.com) 9 Chickweed Lane (www.chickweed.com) Sabrina Online (www.ox.compsoc.net/~mrj/ericschwartz/sabrina/) Bruno the Bandit (www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/5167/index.html) Syndicated, but in South Africa: Madam and Eve (http://www.mg.co.za/madameve/archive.htm) (All of the above have caused me to laugh out loud in the recent past.) [1]: A lot of people don't realize how impressive Peanuts is because it's part of pop culture. The mere fact that "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" is a pop icon ought to....I don't know what it ought to do, but it ought to do it, and lots of it. And don't even get me started on having characters that speak only in hash marks or Joe Cool. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 20:06:00 -0400 (EDT) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Re[2]: Comic Strips > zany. Terry & the Pirates - non-stop action. Dilbert's office hijinx Umm, the action of Terry and the Pirares stopped several years ago when Tribune Media Services stopped the strip. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 21:17:53 -0500 From: nicastr@idt.net (Ben) Subject: Re: Stoopid Eb + 2% Soft Boys content >>Like I said, that is just one aspect of their music. I'm not going to try >>to explain why that side of their music impresses me because you don't seem >>to posess the level of musical knowledge to understand why it is >>impressive. > >Uh-huh. 20 years old, eh? I can tell. > And what's that supposed to mean? Enough with the smartass remarks. For someone who complained Robyn Hitchcock dodges questions by saying something silly or irrelevant, you really have him beat. Except your comments aren't witty, they're just obnoxious. >OK, here we come back to a typical argument: Anyone who hates the Grateful >Dead has to be stoopid. Stoopid, stoopid, stoopid and wrong. And hey, Dave >Marsh is fairly accessible online, you know. Perhaps you should mailbomb >him with bile about how >self-righteous/unknowledgeable/childish/infuriating/supermarkety he is. He >might send you back a list of all the books he's written, but oh well, you >can just counter that with the F# major argument. How is it that you manage to completely miss the point of what I write, instead chosing to respond to something that I never said?!?! When did I ever say that anyone who hates the Dead is stupid? I never said that, so I don't know why you're going on about it. As for the bizarre Dave Marsh content, once again I never said anything about him, I said the Rolling Stone Album Guide has a nauseating air of self importance about it. I'm basing this on the 1992 edition, and Dave Marsh appears as neither a reviewer, editior, or cover artist, so he seems to be irrelevent to anything I said about the book. >I just never knew that we're not allowed to hate art. Kinda amazing that >the field of criticism even exists, isn't it? Hope I don't ever catch you >griping about someone else's music. You can hate whatever and whoever you want, but personally, I don't waste my time getting upset about music I don't like. What is the point in rambling on about how much so-and-so sucks? There's nothing to be gained out of something so childish. If I hear or see something I don't like, who cares then? Turn it off, put on something else. I'd rather enjoy music than complain about it. >You don't play fretless bass, do you? No. >Stoopid Eb Aww, come on! Put on a happy face! Pompus? Yes. Irritating? Almost always. But stupid? I don't think so. As for Peter Gabriel's "Security", it's a great album, but it's no "Underwater Moonlight"! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 21:39:13 -0400 From: tanter Subject: charity auction 0% RH In honor of Linda McCartney, there's an on-line auction taking place. All proceeds will go to the charity named most often by bidders. The URL is below. Marcy http://www.macca-l.com/goodworks/linderauction.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:33:54 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: comic stripping glad to see "foxtrot" get a mention, tho it is sliding into formula and i think not as much fun as it once was. but what i'm really amazed about is that no one seems to have mentioned "the fusco brothers" (unless i missed it somehow in one of the ongoing flamefests). the microcosmic tales of four new jersey bachelors and their wolverine feature ghastly puns, social sarcasm as raw as dilbert's but less narrowly focused, and a sense of the surreal that strikes me as quite feg-friendly. it's the sort of strip in which a character can comment on the thought balloon above another character's head, if that's any help, but it has more strings on its bow than obvious self-referentialism. i think it beats all hell out of passing tones between the keys of d sharp and f minor, but waddafug do i know... ducking, - -- 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: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 14:49:39 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: a handful more short album titles Here are a few more - including some more New Zealand ones (asterisked) - I knew there had to be some! :) Go (Stomu Yamashta) Fin (Monochrome Set) Yes (Yes) Cut (Hunters & Collectors) Cut (Bill Direen)* Roy (Funhouse)* Net (Sandra Bell)* Lit (The Julie-Dolphin)* further * - Chris Knox had an EOP called "Gum", but it's only usually available as part of the CD "Polyfoto, Duck-shaped Pain, and Gum" (a catchy wee title). Bill Direen, confusingly, had an album called "Cut" and an EP called "Cup", IIRC James ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 14:47:18 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: a handful more short album titles Here are a few more - including some New Zealand ones (asterisked) - I knew there had to be some! :) Go (Stomu Yamashta) Fin (Monochrome Set) Yes (Yes) Cut (Hunters & Collectors) Cut (Bill Direen)* Roy (Funhouse)* Net (Sandra Bell)* Lit (The Julie-Dolphin)* James 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: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 14:49:48 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Re: RH for Prime Minister, long album titles, Jefferson Airplane reference (1% RH!) >Robyn Hitchcock >Mark Ellen (former member of Ugly Rumours) >Tony Blair (ditto) Oh come on... why not Robyn-> Billy Bragg-> Tony Blair? as for long album titles, I suppose it's cheating to mention REM's "Fables of the reconstruction of the fables of the reconstruction of the..." BTW - Bayard, some Feg Game info is on its way to you! And Great Quail, a small package of value is...(James starts yelling "No man is an island" uncontrollably) James 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: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 20:09:25 -0700 From: dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders) Subject: Waves I just picked up Waves by Katrina and the Waves at my local used record store for 99 cents and I'm really enjoying it. It's like standard eighties pop, if standard eighties pop were *good*. Very catchy. What do y'all think of K and the Ws? - -- Daniel Saunders Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 23:10:27 -0400 From: woj spice Subject: politorideadics gnat: >Anyway, no doubt woj and I will fight brutally about Tori and Ani "Gosh, >I'm punk-rock" DiFranco at the FegFest, so stay tuned for updates on on the >ultraviolence. woo hoo! bring on the nachos! (at least we agree on...oops! never mind! _the big express_ rules!) danielle: >> for whatever reason, by >> whatever method, tori *connects* with these people on a metaphorical level. >Um. I'm about to do something I hate, but I think it's justified. A lot >of 'these people' are lonely young men. must not be enough sheep to go around in new zealand. ;) based on the people who subscribe and post to precious-things and the fans who show up at her shows, seems to me that she connects primarily with young women (teenagers and up) who look to tori as a role model and inspiration. eb: >PS Marginal Robyn content: I happened to do a websearch for Chinese singer >Faye Wong today (for reasons not worth going into) brain teaser part 3? +w ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 20:09:25 -0700 From: dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders) Subject: Re: Comic Strips On Tue, 28 Apr 1998, Terrence M Marks wrote: > As an aspiring comic-stripper, I'd like your-all opinions on comic strips, > that's all. I assume all of you acknowledge the supremacy of Gary Larson's Far Side. It may be small potatoes to us Robyn Hitchcock fans, but it brought a dose of surrealism to the lives of people who might have otherwise gone without. I also like Foxtrot, Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, and Robot Man, which I swear is stolen from a little known kids merchandising franchise a la Rainbow Brite. Life in Hell, Red Meat, and Tom Tomorrow satisfy my dark side. Family Circus makes me retch. I agree that Peanuts deserves acclaim. I used to love it when I was a kid - like a lot of people I really identified with Charlie Brown. Are those really new strips we see in the paper? How can he keep churning them out? Have you posted any of your strips on the web, Terrence? - -- Daniel Saunders Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 23:08:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Christopher Gross Subject: more comic stripping Well, my sluggish brain finally worked around to the fact that "Sherman's Lagoon" could be considered a Robynesque comic strip. After all, it's about fish! The main characters include a sea turtle, a married couple of sharks, and a hermit crab with a beer can for a shell. It's a fairly lightweight strip, with little social significance, but it's usually funny. There's an atmosphere of casual ruthlessness that somehow amuses me: a character introduced in the first panel is often eaten by the last. BTW, does anyone besides me think that "B.C." has slid over the line into right-wing propaganda, and should be relegated to the editorial page the way "Doonesbury" was during the Reagan era? - --Chris "What obsession with fish?" --R. Hitchcock, 1998 ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 20:09:24 -0700 From: dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders) Subject: Guitar World Article I found this article in Guitar World Acoustic, 1996 no. 19 (not sure of the month): - ------------- ROBYN HITCHCOCK: Just Plain Folk "I am essentially a folkie," says Robyn Hitchcock, "I suppose I'm sort of doing what Bob Dylan did - only backwards." Hitchcock achieved cult status in the Seventies and Eighties as an electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for the Soft Boys and, later on, for fronting the Egyptians. Bother groups attained the heights of sublime-yet-skewed jangle pop, providing and ideal setting for Hitchcock's hallucinogenic humor and curious sense of oneness with marine life, the vegetable kingdom and inanimate objects (The mass market got a taste of all this with the Egyptians' 1988 near-hit "Balloon Man".) Around the turn of the Nineties, Hitchcock began doing solo acoustic performances and recordings. And now, as he puts it, "what started out as the exception has become the rule." He disbanded the Egyptians and has just put out a new solo album, Moss Elixir, his debut for Warner Bros. The tunes are all based around Hitchcock and his English-made Fylde acoustic, with tasteful embellishments from violin, trumpet, electric guitar and, on two songs, arock rhythm section. "I wanted to make a record where everything counted," says Hitchcock, who cites Pete Seeger, Bert Jansch and the Incredible String Band as early folkie influences. "I only overdubbed when it was absolutely necessary." Electrically or acoustically, Robyn Hitchcock's songs still transport the listener to a slightly ominous, yet strangely beautiful, world where weighing machines follow you home and chandeliers are festooned with leeches. Hitchcock says that going acoustic has helped him get his unique vision across more effectively. "When I play a show now, I start with acoustic and then I move on to electric at the end of the set. And I find that, just by picking up the electric guitar, there's immediately a barrier between me and the audience. That fuzzy glare or rock comes over things. I feel less inclined to talk to the audience. I feel further away." Hitchcock is currently discussing plans for a concert film with noted director Jonathan Demme, who's done similar films with Talking Heads and Neil Young. Dedicated fans should also look for Mossy Liquor, a limited edition, vinyl-only release that containes alternate takes of songs on Moss Elixir, plus six tunes deemed too inaccessible, childlike, marginal, oblique or silly for the official Warners release. "My songs have always evolved from me just sitting around with an acoustic guitar," Hitchcock says. "What's interesting is that if you write standing up, your stuff is more active and less constipated. If you sit down with your bottom in a wooden chair, playing acoustic guitar, you're very likely to come up with music that is, at best, dreamy and, at worst, sluggish." So was he standing up when he wrote the tunes on Moss Elixir? "No," replies Robyn. "I think I was crouching for those." - ------------- So what do you think? Has anyone noticed the electric guitar distancing thing? Do you think the Mossy Liquor tunes are "too inaccessible, childlike, marginal, oblique or silly"? - -- Daniel Saunders Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 22:17:47 -0500 From: sdodge@midway.uchicago.edu (amadain) Subject: Re: Comic Strips >Well, I've never seen it in a newspaper and it doesn't seem to be in any >of the big syndicates, so it's likely to not be mentioned. >Can you tell us a bit more about it? It is created by Colin B. Morton and Chuck Death (the alter ego of one Jon Langford, who for those who don't know is a painter as well as a Mekon :)) - an author search might serve you better than a title search, or you could perhaps find some of them on Mekons-related websites. Basically it is an infinitely knowing, irreverent, and very very funny strip chronicalling the twisted history and vagaries of this thing we call pop music. It is not the sort of thing that would be carried by a big syndicate- which is why I mentioned it in the same context as Tom Tomorrow and "Jimmy Corrigan" which are also carried in alternative papers/zines rather than yer daily newspaper. If there is no paper around you that carries it you could try NewCity Online's web site (the paper that carries it in Chicago), they may have some there. I believe Greil Marcus also reprinted one or two in "Lipstick Traces" but I'm not 100 percent sure on that (I do know he is a fan of the strip and has reprinted a few, I'm just not sure if "Lipstick Traces" is where). >(If it's more brilliant than Rose is Rose, Peanuts[1], Krazy Kat, Little >Nemo or Pogo, I want to hear about it.) It's kinda different from these in style and intent. Basically you have to be something of a music geek and historian to really get it and a twisted sense of humor doesn't hurt. I also really like Langford's style of caricature. Love on ya, Susan P.S. "Terry and the Pirates" was resurrected a year or so back. I know I've seen it in the Chicago Tribune in the recent past. ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #167 *******************************