From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #453 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Wednesday, December 9 1998 Volume 07 : Number 453 Today's Subjects: ----------------- scotch/TeX/classical [Marshall Joseph Armintor ] Twee [Marc Holden ] Depeche Floyd, Pink Cure, & The Mode [Re: whacking proggies...] [S Dwarf ] Sex and violins [Natalie Jacobs ] Trying to ID a Soft Boys song [Terrence M Marks ] classical gas [Russ Reynolds ] Re: that classical stuff (Re: Susan) [The Great Quail ] Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: Depeche Floyd, Pink Cure, & The Mode [Re: whacking proggies.. .] [Mar] Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song [Bayard ] Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song [Terrence M Marks ] Re: whacking proggies... [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] Re: that classical stuff (Re: Susan) [amadain Subject: scotch/TeX/classical I have to second Gene about the greatness of Oban scotch, neat -- I drank Oban for the first time this past October...split a bottle with my wonderful mother-in-law. (That last phrase may seem oxymoronic to some, but I'm not kidding.) >I have been managing by starting EE separately, then copying the >equations into Word, but that is hardly satisfactory. Any ideas? Science types have been using the TeX suite of programs in UNIX for a zillion years, and regardless of what new text formatting software pops up, the old guard sticks with TeX. THE thing to use for equations, and there are implementations for both Mac and PC. Not exactly easy to use, though. > And incidentally, what sort of classical music do you-all reccomend? Chopin's Nocturnes and Preludes (my workmate, a classical bassist, hates him, but his favorite guy's Mendelssohn, what the hell's HE know?), Bartok's (I very much agree) String Quartets, Bach's Goldberg Variations, Webern (any, practically), Schubert's _lieder_....what else? Can't think of many more. marshall ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 22:36:24 -0700 From: Marc Holden Subject: Twee I'm a bit confused, is "twee" what Sylvester runs up to get away from Spike the bulldog, or is it the number of Sylvester's toes Tweety pries from the branch to make Sylvester fall down to Spike? Anyway, how are those experiments with protecting the art work on those cones Robyn did? I have two that I would like to take care of ASAP (and, no they aren't in the virtual cone museum yet). Later, Marc n.p.--The Rocky Horror Picture Show--Original Movie Sountrack L.P. "It's astounding, time is fleeting, madness takes control..." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 21:09:20 +1100 (EST) From: S Dwarf Subject: Depeche Floyd, Pink Cure, & The Mode [Re: whacking proggies...] Mark_Gloster@3com.com wrote: > Also, there are many bands that are clearly _not_ prog rock, but have > obvious proggy roots: Cure, Loud Family, Depeche Mode (wouldn't exist > without Pink Floyd), Depeche Mode wouldn't exist without Pink Floyd? Kraftwerk and Simon & Garfunkel, yes, but PF? The Cure and PF I see clearly (even though i'm one of those horrible people who hate all post-Syd PF, but I think the cure is frequently great), but i can't see any real connection between DM and PF at all. _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 08:45:13 -0400 From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: Sex and violins >I recommend any of the Brandenberg Concerti; but the Mass in B >Minor is simply breathtaking. But don't try singing it! Those soprano parts are high enough to strangle a frog. >Here's a VERY brief guide to contemporary music with some good >introductions: > >Minimalism: Quail, Quail, Quail. How could you leave out my very favorite (though not necessarily minimalist), Michael Nyman? "The Essential Michael Nyman" is just that - with samples of his Greenaway film music as well as some earlier non-film pieces. There's also a live Nyman disc which is excellent. If you want to pick up complete soundtracks, "Prospero's Books" is my favorite - dig the gorgeous "Masque" at the end - and "The Draughtsman's Contract" is good, too. The Quail is more conversant with his non-film music and may be able to give other suggestions as well. Back in the realm of non-contemporary classical, I'd also recommend the work of a French group of 20th-c. composers known as "Les Six" (not a very creative name, but what the heck). These guys (and one woman) were proteges of Erik Satie and show a similar lightness and wit. Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc are the best known among them. Poulenc's chamber music is especially lovely. For a while, Milhaud specialized in "minute operas" - designed to mock the grandiosity of Wagner and co. - the shortest one, which is in the Guiness Book of World Records, is six minutes long. I don't know if any of these have been recorded, though. >Tchaikovsky is ANNOYING! One word sums up Tchaikovsky for me: Schmaltz. n. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 10:14:14 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song I tried Capuchin's lyric archive, but couldn't find this one. It's a Soft Boys outtake, it has a folky feel to it, and there's several versions, one of which features a singer I can't recognize and keyboards/accordion. The lyrics go something like this: Now come all you that of high renown that langly(?) drink strong ale is found to inform the lofty person found with foul swords and guns (?) He's a gallant youth of a talent true of he's ??? ?? his life is saved now he's sleeping in his grave, his deeds on earth be done now the empire ??? ???? we had nothing to ?? not a cloud in the sight oh the keeper heard us fire a gun to the spot he quickly run he swore before their eyes and son that all of us should die now the ...amongst are lot misfortune to be shot and he shall never be for got by all of us beside but aloud he cried but he was denied oh his memory.. ??? ??? the crimson blood did flow (there's two more verses, but I can't make them out very well at all) THanks Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 98 07:18:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: classical gas two words: Handel's Water Music. - -rUss ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Nov 98 11:35:34 -0500 From: The Great Quail Subject: Re: that classical stuff (Re: Susan) This letter is brought to you by "Dis," the slang, not the sppoky place. Susan writes, >Tchaikovsky is ANNOYING! For once, I have to agree with Quail's opinion on >something (don't be alarmed, I'm sure it won't happen again for another 50 >years). Nah -- I think we dissed Eb together once or twice a few years ago, no? >You nailed it, TGQ. Tchaikovsky is classical music for people who >don't actually like music. Good way of putting it. His strength was in ballet -- short, sweet, simple. Anything past that is pushing it -- but I will say, there is a CULT of Tchaikovksy heads, so dis him cautiously. They tend to get rabid when confronted with the truth. >Now, I really really like Chopin. He's one of those "high romantics" you're >dissing, right? Well, he shouldn't be. You're going to tell me you hate >Chopin's Ballade in F Minor? How can you hate such a lovely thing? Um, no, I didn't mention Chopin. He's Polish, which is a plus, and he turns out great melodies. As far as "High Romantics," he's a goodie -- but I actually like some Romanticism, such as late Beethoven, Wagner, and Chopin -- I just dislike some of the really dreamy boring ones like Schumann and Brahms. Hell, I even like *some* Berlioz; but not most of it. (How can you not like the last few movements of "Symphonie Fantastique?") >I personally love a lot of more modern stuff, really dig Aaron Copland, >worship "Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit", and dig dig dig Mussorgsky's "Pictures At >An Exhibition", the piano one (much more than the seemingly more popular >orchestrated version) but probably this is more modern than what Terry is >looking for for the character he describes. Well, I don't want to be pedantic, but Copland is only "modern" in the sense that he is recent. He is still pretty firmly a traditionalist -- and a wonderful *American* composer. We need a Copland -- very gutsy and American, and yet very talented. And Mussorgsky is still pretty much a Russian post-Romantic, very accessible and very colorful -- as is Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin. Modern in a musical sense usually means the dissonance school, which generally has the discordian Bartok/Stravinsky Wing (Shostakovich, Schnittke), the atonal Schoenberg Wing (Berg, Webern, some Boulez, some Ligeti, some Stravinsky) and the whole tonal Debussy Wing (Ravel and every other Frenchman since, including probably Jean Reno. Oh, yeah, and some Stravinsky. See why this guy is the Picasso of music?) (And, yeah, I agree with you Susan, I don't think Terry is going to go in much for Schoenberg's "Erwartung.") After the moderns things get even weirder, as Minimalism (Reich, Riley, Glass) is sort of anti-Modernism, Post-Minimalism (Adams, Nyman, Bryars, Gorecki) is Minimalism that actually goes somewhere, and Postmodernism (Berio, Tan Dun, Dougherty) rears its head in the vaccum left by John Cage and Stockhausen after they swept the floors a bit and re-arranged the furniture. There is also a sort of burgeoning "New Romanticism" (not Duran Duran) and a whole lot of other shit no one has any names for yet. And, um, as they are wont to do, the Brits have a whole 'nother view on modern music. . . - --Quailstokovich PS: Please be aware that my above distinctions are very general and watered down a bit for brevity. PPS: Gnat pointed out that I omitted Michael Nyman -- aaaaargh! He is one of my FAVORITES, and that was completely an oversight. Sorry. As punishment, I will take three hits of acid and watch Prospero's Books backwards while chanting random numbers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Quail, Keeper of the Libyrinth: http://www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth "Countlessness of livestories have netherfallen by this plage, flick as flowflakes, litters from aloft, like a waast wizzard all of whirlworlds. Now are all tombed to the mound, isges to isges, erde from erde . . . (Stoop) if you are abcedminded, to this claybook, what curious of signs (please stoop) in this allaphbed! Can you rede (since We and Thou had it out already) its world? . . . Speak to us of Emailia!" --James Joyce, Finnegans Wake ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 8 Nov 98 12:12:45 -0500 From: The Great Quail Subject: Re: Terry's Classical Question Terry notates, >Well, a number of things. >I've picked up a few classical things in the past, and generally wasn't >too pleased with them, apart from Debussy. Bach's harpsichord work >(Goldberg variations[1], well-tempered clavier) just seems too wanky. I will pretend you did not write that. I will pretend you did not write that. I will pretend you . . . ahhh . . . ok. Start again: Terry notates, >I picked up Tchaikovsky's "Pikovaya Dama" (yep. in Russian) and gave up >after three discs. I'm probably going to give that one away to the >Russian dept. here. Good idea. I am sure they are in need of frisbees. (Hey! There's an idea - -- Tchaikovsky CDs as "Frisbees of Schmaltz!") >I picked up the Funk & Wagnall's Family Library of Great Music 22-disc set >(there was a 3-for-a-dollar sale and I could either get classical, bad 70s >or bad 50s.) The Hadyn disc (Surprise Symphony #94 in G) seems >interesting so far, but I haven't listened to much, and the rest of it >seems kinda samey. It's like I'm listening to it and then half-an-hour >later I'm like "Is this thing still playing?". That describes bland classical very well. I bet you won't do the same with Beethoven's 9th Symphony, or Shostakovich's 5th! >I'm willing >to write this off as a bad set and try to find the composers' works >elsewhere. Yeah, you have to watch those Big Sets -- usually second rate performances poorly recorded. >Also, I'm working on a comic strip, and I'd like give one of the >characters decent taste in classical music, and she's the >pre-impressionist type. (My tastes in classical music run towards >impressionism.) (And not Beethoven. Beethoven in comic strips has been >done.) Terry, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but "Impressionism" is a pretty small movement in Classical music and didn't really impact too much. I mean, Debussy is GREAT, and Ravel pretty good, too, but the musical "Impressionists" didn't really have as much of an impact as the artists. Indeed, serious musicos don't even like to call Debussy an "Impressionist," really. The French school flowered a bit, but then the German atonal crowd (Schoenberg) pretty much took the main stage. If you want your character to be interested in classical music but not Ludwig, you'd be best to stick to Mozart. You obviously don't like Bach -- too much keyboard? And Haydn and Brahms are too uninspiring. Wagner is too much of an investment to learn quickly, both in time and funds. But I have a question -- why *not* make your character a Debussy nut? That seems to be your leaning, so why not plumb your own feelings for source material? And if you like Debussy, try Ravel, Satie, Rameau, Faure, Saint-Saens, and some Stravinsky. Again, my best advice is to consult the Penguin Guide, or better yet, pick up a book on learning about classical music. There are a few relatively fun and informative works out there that give a great history and summary of classical. >Yeah. I'm willing to skip both opera and expensive things. They are one and the same, as most good opera -- Wagner, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini -- is spread out over 3-4 discs. You may like Strauss's "Salome," though, and that's only two discs. It has some lush, impressionistic music in it. (Get the Sinopoli or Solti versions, though. Trust the Quail.) Also, Debussy wrote an opera, "Pelleas et Melisande," which is a little-known masterpiece. And there is a cheapo bargain version available that is actually considered to be one of the best versions of this opera - -- the SERGE BAUDO RCA OPERA version. Three CDs for 20 bucks, I think. >Incidentally, do the Classical Music Guides generally have good or bad >things to say about Tomita's work? (or is he even listed?) He is not listed. >Only 8 more days until Beethoven's birthday. Yaaay! (Jokes about decomposers, anyone?) - --Hmuhwig van Quaalthoven ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Quail, Keeper of the Libyrinth: http://www.rpg.net/quail/libyrinth "Countlessness of livestories have netherfallen by this plage, flick as flowflakes, litters from aloft, like a waast wizzard all of whirlworlds. Now are all tombed to the mound, isges to isges, erde from erde . . . (Stoop) if you are abcedminded, to this claybook, what curious of signs (please stoop) in this allaphbed! Can you rede (since We and Thou had it out already) its world? . . . Speak to us of Emailia!" --James Joyce, Finnegans Wake ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 98 09:36:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Radio forecast: intermittant storm Good news for SF Bay Area Fegs...The new Program Director of Channel 104.9 is a Hitchcock fan. They're still in hook-em mode (tight playlist) right now but expect some RH to pop up from time to time in the new year. - -rUss ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 10:42:39 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song where did you hear this, terry? i don't recognize it. it reads like it could be sung to the tune of Polly On The Shore, but the lyrics are not the same. From: Terrence M Marks Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 10:14:14 -0500 (EST) To: The Cognitive Dissidents Subject: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song Reply-To: Terrence M Marks I tried Capuchin's lyric archive, but couldn't find this one. It's a Soft Boys outtake, it has a folky feel to it, and there's several versions, one of which features a singer I can't recognize and keyboards/accordion. The lyrics go something like this: Now come all you that of high renown that langly(?) drink strong ale is found to inform the lofty person found with foul swords and guns (?) He's a gallant youth of a talent true of he's ??? ?? his life is saved now he's sleeping in his grave, his deeds on earth be done now the empire ??? ???? we had nothing to ?? not a cloud in the sight oh the keeper heard us fire a gun to the spot he quickly run he swore before their eyes and son that all of us should die now the ...amongst are lot misfortune to be shot and he shall never be for got by all of us beside but aloud he cried but he was denied oh his memory.. ??? ??? the crimson blood did flow (there's two more verses, but I can't make them out very well at all) THanks Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 10:49:34 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: Depeche Floyd, Pink Cure, & The Mode [Re: whacking proggies.. .] >Mark_Gloster@3com.com wrote: >> Also, there are many bands that are clearly _not_ prog rock, but have >> obvious proggy roots: Cure, Loud Family, Depeche Mode (wouldn't exist >> without Pink Floyd), >Depeche Mode wouldn't exist without Pink Floyd? Kraftwerk and Simon & >Garfunkel, yes, but PF? The Cure and PF I see clearly (even though i'm >one of those horrible people who hate all post-Syd PF, but I think the >cure is frequently great), but i can't see any real connection between >DM and PF at all. I knew that would get to somebody, but that's not why I said it. PF seems to me to be considerably less about brilliant musicians making lots of notes than it is about the confluence of sound and mood. This is much of what DM does. Production plays a huge part in the essence of what both bands put forward, and they use some of the same auditory devices for communicating. They are two of the only bands to do "concept albums" in the modern times. For your confused sharkboy, that is the clearest link of the bunch. I can get over it if I'm the only one who feels this way. Some major differences lie in lyrical content, "actual people, actually playing actual instruments," and about 25 years average age difference. Oh, and I think PF, even before equipment outweighs them by a few hundred thousand pounds. Happies, - -Markg A man of many hats- most of them have bells, some propellers. Willing to be music critic for recording equipment. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 13:53:25 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song sounds like "The Gallant Poacher", which is actually a pre-soft boys song. Capuchin chose to stick to legin releases, for the really whacked stuff you will need to consult robynbase (when done.) (about 6-8 weeks.) On Wed, 9 Dec 1998, Terrence M Marks wrote: > I tried Capuchin's lyric archive, but couldn't find this one. > It's a Soft Boys outtake, it has a folky feel to it, and there's several > versions, one of which features a singer I can't recognize and > keyboards/accordion. > > The lyrics go something like this: > Now come all you that of high renown > that langly(?) drink strong ale is found > to inform the lofty person found > with foul swords and guns (?) > > He's a gallant youth > of a talent true > > of he's ??? > ?? his life is saved > now he's sleeping in his grave, > his deeds on earth be done > > now the empire ??? > ???? > we had nothing to ?? > not a cloud in the sight > oh the keeper heard us fire a gun > to the spot he quickly run > he swore before their eyes and son > that all of us should die > > now the ...amongst are lot > misfortune to be shot > and he shall never be for got > by all of us beside > but aloud he cried > but he was denied > oh his memory.. > ??? > ??? > the crimson blood did flow > > (there's two more verses, but I can't make them out very well at all) > > THanks > > Terrence Marks > normal@grove.ufl.edu > > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 14:02:50 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: Trying to ID a Soft Boys song > where did you hear this, terry? i don't recognize it. > it reads like it could be sung to the tune of Polly On The Shore, but > the lyrics are not the same. I got it on an untitled Soft Boys demo. It was called 'unknown'. It's a jaunty, folk sort of tune, very different from Polly. The SBs recorded a few instrumental versions of it (or they recorded one instrumental version and it shows up twice on a few things.) It may be a cover. I've got a keyboardless versioin with Robyn singing, and that one may be the original. The tape I've got it on goes Robyn Hitchcock Various Rarities (aka Tape 3) 60 [Creatures of Light, As Lemons Chop, Queen of Eyes, Foxy Lady(w/ Buck), Flesh #1, Deck of Cards, Which of Us is Me*, Unknown*, Smoothie*, Look Into Your Mirror*, I Wanna Destroy You*, Old Pervert*//Unknown*, Love Poisoning*, Unknown*] *: With Soft Boys] (it's the second and third unknowns. The first is that D song.) Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 13:16:24 -0600 From: "JH3" Subject: Re: whacking proggies... Eb sez: > I've always contended that the coffin lid was abruptly slammed > on prog-rock with the arrival of the vapid, > monster-selling Asia debut (released in 1980, I believe?). The fact that > one album could announce the sell-out betrayal of so many prog-rock > superstars at once totally crippled whatever sustenance was left in the > movement. Prog never recovered -- it's been strictly a cult item > ever since. Personally, I always thought MTV was chiefly responsible. As soon as it became necessary to make videos to sell lots of records, those overweight not-so-sexy middle-aged guys just couldn't compete, could they? And those 20-minute songs would have cost a fortune to film in their entirety anyway. Let's face it, long grey hair and bad teeth just don't do it for most people; if they did, REM's Mike Mills would be selling millions of solo albums, and that guy who played Riff Raff in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" would have his own TV series. I mean, why else would Yes hire an actor to do most of the scenes in "Owner of a Lonely Heart"? - Or, for that matter, hire Trevor Rabin? I always thought of Asia as simply a last-ditch attempt by all those guys to put together an MTV-friendly project before they lost their looks completely. Okay, so I'm cruel. But I'm fair... Fellow XTC-fan Ross O. writes: > That's when I thought I got off the bus. King Crimson, as previously > noted, is the surviving exception. But what about XTC? Don't tell > me "Millions" isn't progressive! And "River of Orchids"? Proggies > gotta love that! This is just a deliberate attempt to get me to post more, isn't it? Of course proggies have to love it. Everybody has to! If they don't, well, they'll just have to conveniently disappear, won't they? Having people around who don't like XTC... well, that just wouldn't do. Now, I suppose those tunes (and OK, maybe a couple of others) might owe a small debt to a few of the more inventive progressive bands, but you can hardly call XTC themselves "proggies" just for that. (Not that Ross actually *did* that, technically anyway. Sorry, Ross...) They're just demonstrating their amazing ability to do everything extremely well. >It's not all that far from Gentle Giant, now is it? Several people have pointed out similarities, but from what I've heard by GG, I think there's a huge difference in resonance between the two. (Looks like I've got a new favorite phrase!) John H. Hedges III PS. What's all this with people slamming Tchaikovsky? "Girl of My Dreams" was one of my favorite hits from the power-pop era... Next thing you know, they'll be trashing The Motors, The Records, and The Shoes! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 11:42:44 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: whacking proggies... >Eb sez: >> I've always contended that the coffin lid was abruptly slammed >> on prog-rock with the arrival of the vapid, >> monster-selling Asia debut (released in 1980, I believe?). The fact that >> one album could announce the sell-out betrayal of so many prog-rock >> superstars at once totally crippled whatever sustenance was left in the >> movement. Prog never recovered -- it's been strictly a cult item >> ever since. >Personally, I always thought MTV was chiefly responsible. As soon as it >became necessary to make videos to sell lots of records, those overweight >not-so-sexy middle-aged guys just couldn't compete, could they? And those >20-minute songs would have cost a fortune to film in their entirety anyway. >Let's face it, long grey hair and bad teeth just don't do it for most >people; if they did, REM's Mike Mills would be selling millions of solo >albums, and that guy who played Riff Raff in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" >would have his own TV series. I mean, why else would Yes hire an actor to do >most of the scenes in "Owner of a Lonely Heart"? - Or, for that matter, hire >Trevor Rabin? I always thought of Asia as simply a last-ditch attempt by all >those guys to put together an MTV-friendly project before they lost their >looks completely. Trevor Rabin (pretty much a diety figure in my eyes, despite his association with Yes) was busy breathing the last life into it. I didn't like everything that they did, but they tried something new. Meanwhile, Asia was such a sad event as they went back and forth between bass players. I thought they showed some promise, taking some of the remnants of UK, the closest thing to King Crimson from that period. Unfortunately, they were all posey and hollywooden. Leather pants on overweight middle aged guys is not a good look. >Okay, so I'm cruel. >But I'm fair... Dinsdale Pirhana, is that you? Fellow XTC-fan Ross O. writes: >> That's when I thought I got off the bus. King Crimson, as previously >> noted, is the surviving exception. But what about XTC? Don't tell >> me "Millions" isn't progressive! And "River of Orchids"? Proggies >> gotta love that! >This is just a deliberate attempt to get me to post more, isn't it? Of >course proggies have to love it. Everybody has to! If they don't, well, >they'll just have to conveniently disappear, won't they? Having people >around who don't like XTC... well, that just wouldn't do. Now, I suppose >those tunes (and OK, maybe a couple of others) might owe a small debt to a >few of the more inventive progressive bands, but you can hardly call XTC >themselves "proggies" just for that. (Not that Ross actually *did* that, >technically anyway. Sorry, Ross...) They're just demonstrating their >amazing ability to do everything extremely well. Sorry to have left XTC off my list. >>It's not all that far from Gentle Giant, now is it? >Several people have pointed out similarities, but from what I've heard >by GG, I think there's a huge difference in resonance between the two. I deeply respect GG, but don't like to listen to them. I deeply respect XTC, and really like to listen to them. Odd resonance incompatibility. Happies, - -brainless in Aptos ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 14:44:17 -0600 From: amadain Subject: Re: that classical stuff (Re: Susan) >Good way of putting it. His strength was in ballet -- short, sweet, >simple. Anything past that is pushing it -- but I will say, there is a >CULT of Tchaikovksy heads, so dis him cautiously. They tend to get rabid >when confronted with the truth. Thanks for the warning :). So far I haven't seen anyone yell out, so there must not be any hanging about around here. >Chopin -- I just dislike some of the really dreamy boring ones like >Schumann and Brahms. OK, fair enough. It's just that when most people talk about "High Romantics" they do include Fred C. in the definition. He isn't really dreamy and meandering at all, though I suppose I can see how some might feel he's "over-emotional" or something. I read a really strange biography of him once where the author spent more time trying to persuade the reader that Chopin wasn't gay than he did talking about the music. >Well, I don't want to be pedantic, but Copland is only "modern" in the >sense that he is recent. I meant "modern" in the sense Terry was trying to convey- he was looking for things that would probably be appreciated by someone who liked music from before the Impresionist period on historically downwards, as he was drawing a character with a certain kind of taste and wanted to know what would be consistent. That kind of leaves Copland out, as well as post-Romantics. "Modern" was meant more in a sense of time-frame, not in the sense of throwing Milhaud and Mussorgsky and Copland all into the same bag :). I agree that Copland's very much a traditionalist. He painted in such wonderful bold colors, it's hard not to like him. On a general note: skip the Time-Life collections and such-like, Terry. They tend to feature mediocre performances. You might feel a good deal differently about Bach when you hear Glenn Gould play him. Of course I have yet to hear Bach's harpsichord playing, so I can't say ;). (General piano recommendations, players I personally think are dead brilliant: Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter. Try Ivo Pogorelich's "Chopin Recital", too, it is aces IMO) Love on ya, Susan And hey, (answering something someone else said) -I- would call Gershwin a "classical" composer, in the broadest sense. Maybe not "Stairway to Paradise", but what would you call "American in Paris" eh? ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #453 *******************************