From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V7 #466 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Wednesday, December 16 1998 Volume 07 : Number 466 Today's Subjects: ----------------- geek dreams [Marshall Joseph Armintor ] Senor Steven Spielbergo & Quailmovierama! [The Great Quail ] Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) [VIV LYON ] Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) [Mark_Gloster@] Re: The Aging Rock Hipsters [MARKEEFE@aol.com] Hair (40% RH) ["JH3" ] "fegmania is too important to be left to the fegs." -- robyn h., 1996 ["] Re: Taking on the various subjects - film in general (or specific and rambly) [MARKEEFE@] Hair of Stars [Russ Reynolds ] Re: why? [Capuchin ] Re: Top 10 Films [MARKEEFE@aol.com] Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) [Zloduska Subject: geek dreams Shortly before I woke up this morning, I had this dream: I'm on a talk show stage, playing guitar with Elvis C. and the Attractions (looking ca. 1979) and also, oddly enough, Richard Thompson, cranking out a really good rendition of "The Loved Ones." I notice that Pete Thomas has got his drum kit ensconced inside some kind of large, wooden pharmacist's counter. Suddenly, the head comes off one of his shallow, little toms and the entire band comes to a halt and walks over to inspect it. I also see that RT's got an two-necked instrument (a guitar neck, and a banjo, with some kind of harp strung in between, like the harp/guitar experiments of the 30s-40s), with this legend on the side: Manufactured by: [name, I forget] & [name] makes a bad-ass guitar for Richard Thompson, Inc." There's a 40s-noir-style screens wipe, and, suddenly, I walking in front of the so-named luthier, and I'm about to go inside when RT, wearing Montreal Canadiens gear, comes skating up the asphalt street as if it were indeed ice, hockey stick in hand (no helmet), with a crowd of reporters waving TV camera and boom mikes. He stops short in from of me, opens his mouth and is about to say something, and I wake up. For the record, I had Vietnamese last night, it was my usual, the tofu with red chili-pepper sauce and lemon grass. If any of y'all come to Houston, go to Mai's on Milam, just by the 59 overpass, it's great. marshall np Mingus at Antibes ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 98 12:42:09 -0500 From: The Great Quail Subject: Senor Steven Spielbergo & Quailmovierama! Miles gooses: >I can't say that what I'm saying here is what Capuchin meant by "show 'em >everything and spoon feed them that which you cannot simply show," but one >of the things that irks me the most about Spielberg is that he *does* >mistrust his audience. For instance, the use of the spot color on the >little girl's coat in SCHINDLER'S LIST Yes, I couldn't agree more. I despise the way Steven Spielberg has become so damn manipulative. But I don't think it was colorized just to show you that it was the same girl, I think it was colorized to "heighten" the (melo)drama. It was an artistic choice, not a "nudge the audience" choice, and I think it failed because of its intrusive and maudlin character. There were three major flaws in "Schindler's List" to me: that bit of color, the phoney penultimate "I coulda saved more Jews" scene, and the "modern" ending sequence. I think it would have been much more powerful if those elements were removed. Spielbergo needs to *trust* his audiences a bit more -- or at least, trust his material. BUT these are flaws, not *fatal* weaknesses in plot or direction, and I think it is important to make a distinction here -- a few flaws do not ruin a movie, especially if the rest of it has so much to offer. To call "SL" trash or shit is, to me, a big time over-reaction. Almost everything has flaws, and some can "ruin" a movie for some people, but I do think there is some overreaction here, of the type "if this is that popular it must be bad" variety. I am a WWII nut, and I see every movie I can -- I confess, I am one of those people over whom the subject of Naziism holds a grim fascination. And I must say, I have never been struck as hard as I had been by the Nazis in Schindler's List. (More on this below.) > Or the godawful overemotive soundtrack of THE COLOR PURPLE, which tells >me "you cannot possibly feel the scene's emotion unless I use blaring >music to manipulate you." Yeah, Spielberg's biggest *technical* weakness. He still loves John Williams, who has become a sentimental hack, and the music is far too intrusive and, well, phoney sweet mushy bland. I am sick of Williams' incorporation of themes -- Jewish, African, whatever -- into his scores. It is so artificial. "Amistad" was the worst offender; but the music of "Private Ryan" was a major distraction to me as well. >And basically Spielberg's "serious" films can be boiled down to >"racism/poverty/domestic violence is bad," "the Holocaust is bad," >"slavery is bad," and "war is bad." I wonder what unimpeachable subjects >are left for him to tackle? There I have to disagree; I think you are giving a knee-jerk response which is untrue. One thing I do like about the "serious" Spielberg is that he *does* plumb some moral conundrums. "Schindler's List" -- of *course* the Holocaust is bad; but the real tension here is with Oskar, who *profits* from it, and Amon Goeth, who is anything but two dimensional. Goeth is, in my opinion, a terrifying character because he -- played brilliantly by Fiennes -- has the *potential* to change, as Oskar does. You *see* that . . . but in the end, he *chooses* to be a monster. And the scenes of the Nazis "clearing" Poland -- unforgettable. "Amistad" -- of *course* slavery is bad; but that wasn't the central issue, which was all about one culture's intellectuals realizing that their beliefs MUST be able to extend to the "other," or those cherished beliefs are not valid. I admit, however, that Spielberg played too many cliche cards in this one, and this is the weakest, by far, of the Big Three. "Saving Private Ryan" --of *course* war is bad; but what about when it is completely necessary? I mean, was this really an anti-war film? In "Ryan" Spielberg understands the *necessity* of armed conflict, and he explores it UNFLINCHINGLY. So there were some Academy Award-baiting weepie scenes; but if you were not affected by this film, I opine that there may be something missing in your character. It was terrifying and moving; flawed, yes, but for the first and last half hours of that work cinema reached a new level. (I mean, people, even Shakepeare and Joyce havce flaws; let Spielbergo have a few!) So what we have here is a necessary conflict that is hell on earth, and it is being visited upon a few very noraml guys. It really points out the realities behind such overused words as "sacrifice" and "nobility." And another point of that film were the Germans. Never has the "other," the enemy, been so compassionately portrayed. The scene where the German soldier knifes the Brooklynite -- that will haunt me forever. Seriously. I have *never* seen something like that in a movie before. So there, a small defense of a director I like -- a man who makes grand epics in a time when only someone that influential really can; and if he is flawed by sentimentality and if some of his techniques are patronizing, so be it: he is not perfect, but I still think he is one of the best directors working outside of the art circuit or avant garde cinema. . . . (And hell, even Kubrik, Scorsese and Coppola have had a few klunkers.) And by the way, I didn't really like "Dead Man." So what, it was a postmodern Western, big deal. I mean it was good, but I still thought it was pretentious, unfocused, and too contrived; and I just don't see why so many people rave about it. - --The Great "My favorite movie is *still* bloody _Wings of Desire_" Quail Speaking of which: 1. Wings of Desire 2. Fellini's "8 1/2" 3. Bladerunner 4. Excalibur 5. Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" 6. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 7. The Godfather Trilogy 8. Bram Stoker's Dracula 9. A Clockwork Orange 10. Apocalypse Now But except for the first five, these change frequently. . . . oh, what about Prospero's Books; The Cook the Thief his Wife and her Lover; Brazil; La Dolce Vita; Kundun; Into the West; Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet;" Goodfellas; Reservoir Dogs; Blue Velvet; Alexander Nevsky; Lawrence of Arabia; Casablanca; The Shining; oh the list goes on and on. . . . +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ The Great Quail, K.S.C. (riverrun Discordian Society) For fun with postmodern literature, New York vampires, and Fegmania, visit Sarnath: http://www.rpg.net/quail "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 09:48:17 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: more more more Roofies/best live shows On 12/16/98 8:35 AM, lj lindhurst wrote: >best (rawk) shows I saw this year: >1. Luna!! -several times, several places, always just fucking incredible live >2. Patti Smith at the Guinness Fleah/Patti Smith at the Bowery Ballroom >3. Rufus at the Bowery Ballroom >4. Neutral Milk Hotel in D.C. at the 9:30 Club (right?) >5. NMHotel in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom >6. Robyn at the Bottom Line in June >7. Robyn at the Mercury Lounge in November >8. Shane McGowan and the Popes at the Guinness Fleah >9. BIlly Bragg/WILCO at the Guinness Fleah >10. Superchunk -a couple of times, always good > >I might have forgotten something though... uh, you forgot one: 11. All Those Drunken Fegs at FegFest '98 Off to the nudie bar for lunch, - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 10:30:58 -0800 (PST) From: VIV LYON Subject: Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) > > (Trying out every possible shade of red on my hair has been the highlight > > of my year.) > > Well, if you have your hair grade 1 or 2 it becomes a lot easier to dye it > silly colours - you just have to be a bit careful (using shampoo as a > mask) not to do your whole scalp... when my hair gets any longer it's > virtually impossible to keep it (say) red, but at this length it's easy... Speaking as one who has done every single shade between platinum blonde and midnight black, I must tell all neophytes NOT TO DO IT! Hair dye is a monster that you're better off not wrangling with. Trust me. I have spent half my adult life growing shit out and swearing not to do it again, only to get suckered in by the promise of allure and mystery inherent in any other color than my own. For instance, I had (for a total of several years) a clownish mop comprised of exactly one half brown hair, one half black. This is hair down to one's shoulders we're talking about here. I'd try to grow it out and then give up and dye it again. Feh. Now it's my own peculiar chestnut brown with subtle blue highlights ('struth) and it's gonna stay that way. Until I get grey hairs. Which is when I'm scheduled to go into denial. Vivien _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 12:55:25 -0800 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: The Aging Rock Hipsters S Dwarf wrote: > > Joel Mullins wrote: > > I did say that there are artists in their 40s and 50s who were still > > great. I think I mentioned Dylan, and yes I'd agree that Neil Young > and > > Sonic Youth are both still great. What I was saying is that these > > people are the exceptions. Most aging rock stars are in my opinion > just > > making fools of themselves. But there are those few who have > managed to > > age gracefully and Robyn is one of those. > > Of course, most of those who age gracefully are the same as those who > were gracefully younger as well. other than maybe the stones and a few > others, it's hard to think of too many absolute jokes at 50 that > weren't somewhat of a joke at least at 25. at least, at 4 in the > morning it's hard to think of them (or of those who gained grace with > age)... That's a good point. - --Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:38:17 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) I can also speak from experience. Hair dye can be a very bad thing. As beautiful as my hair is, I don't know if it ever completely recovered from the "blonding incident." It looked stupid. It made me look like a housewife from a trailer park, or Sammy Hagar, which I could have been saying the same thing. It took ages to get all the brittle yellow out of my hair. It didn't look like the color that we thought it would be..... Also, cutting my hair short was virtually disasterous for me as well. People will abide a clown with long hair for much greater quantities of time than they will one with short hair. I have an odd shaped head, and feel more like a hippie than one of these kids these days, so I don't think I'll be shaving it soon. Long hair is great on almost everyone, but the more things they do to it, the worse it usually looks. Comb-overs are hilarious. Gray hair looks cool. I'm planning on accepting what additional things aging brings me. By the way, Glen looks really good with shaved or short hair, but he lacks those giant cranial indentations that make my head look like an ash tray and make my IQ like a negative number. I don't know what Robyn should do to his hair, but doing something might be good. Happies, - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 14:35:09 EST From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: The Aging Rock Hipsters In a message dated 98-12-16 01:00:44 EST, you write: << Hosh posh, I say! Neil Young is the best artist I have EVER seen, young or old, and he's what..in his sixties by now, right? >> 53, as of about a month ago (Nov 12th). But, yeah, I'd say he has a good shot at still being cool in another 7 years. Bowie's nearly 52, by the way (Jan. 8th), and he could still do something cool from time to time. Lou Reed, if he and Laurie's relationship hit some turbulance and fueled him with some angst, could put out a good album sometime after March 2, 2002 (his 60th borthday). Dylan turns 60 about a year earlier than Reed, on the 24th of March, 2001. Who knows -- if he and Lanois get together again in a couple of years, maybe Dylan will become the first 60 year old to get a Grammy in a rock category (or has someone else like Tony Bennett already done that?). - ------Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 13:58:35 -0600 From: "JH3" Subject: Hair (40% RH) Uh.... I'm sorry if it was me that started the hair thread, but I don't think you can underestimate the importance of hair in our society. Let's face it, in most highly-developed Western capitalist economies, the people in charge (politicians, CEO's, media titans) are really just hairstyles and teeth with some other stuff (lungs, toenails, etc.) attached to support those first two things. In fact, I think it's a bit like the "Selfish Gene" concept, taken to a different conclusion - just as biological life forms in general are really just conveyances for their DNA, we humans are merely conveyances for our hairstyles. Which is not to say that baldness is bad. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the complete lack of a hairstyle is, in effect, the ultimate rejection of the way modern society improperly values human worth. (That, or you're just old.) And having said that, I would simply suggest that Robyn get his hair fixed up whenever he appears on television. How he wears it at other times is his thing. It's just common sense, really. He's got his @#$%&!! career to think about. Personally, I preferred the shorter-cropped look he had around the time GoF came out, but that's just me. And just off the top of my head (oops, that was baaaaad) I'd point to someone like Nick Lowe as a good example of an aging rocker who uses his grey hair (and check out that cow-lick!) for some visual advantage. But pointing is impolite. Finally: If I were a muppet, I would probably be "Frankenstein's Muppet", the muppet assembled from the torn-off, worn-out, and otherwise dead leftover body parts of other muppets. John H. Hedges ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 11:56:43 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: "fegmania is too important to be left to the fegs." -- robyn h., 1996 Woj> what about woj as the swedish chef? Susan. Headstrong, lovable, and voiced by Frank Oz.> don't forget the "sexual deviance." the problem here is that eb is rarely grouchy anymore. sarcastic, sure. but not really grouchy. i'd think of eb as snuffaluffagas because no feg save sydney has ever seen him. so i guess that means sydney would have to be big bird. don't think it had anything to do with money, but (and i don't remember if i heard this in the q&a following the frisco screening, or read it somewhere) robyn was saying that it had originally been planned as just robyn. then robyn asked if deni could play on "a few songs" and jonathan said, "sure." then he asked if tim could come in and play on some songs, and jonathan started getting nervous, because his "vision" had been just robyn, and all of a sudden it was turning into a "supergroup." (robyn's word.) actually, i'm pretty sure i did read that in one of the interviews. mojo, maybe? you know, this movie actually *has* gotten a fuckload of ink, considering it's probably not even going to see general distribution. i think the difference is the pretension. ok, maybe it's not "objectively" *as bad* as, whatever, most snl spinoff movies. but the fact that it purported to be such a masterpiece made it all the shittier. and hopkins' speech was about the most nauseating thing i've *ever* seen in a movie. presumably GIVE IT TO THE THOTH BOYS. i looked at the merch. page when the museum first opened, and decided i'd hold off on getting pens until there was some other good stuff in there. but now y'all may have changed my mind. i don't recall seeing THOTH BOYS there, but it was compiled by andy (and PRAWNS? was "edited" by andy. i asked mrs. wafflehead once what that was supposed to mean, and she said, if i remember correctly, that a few songs were cut out of the tape.) or demi moore. anyway, sinead publicly dissed the fucking pope! ok, maybe that's not quite as cool an entry to put on one's resume as, "chased neo-nazis down broadway," but it still pretty damned good! i don't think South Park is given enough credit for being first, VERY funny, and second, quite political. never even saw it. but i knew for a certainty the second it was released, that it was going to win best pix over Fargo. and for that, i have always despised The English Patient. wasn't dissing harryhausen! he did the best with what he had. i was just saying that, Jurassic Park was supposed to be the epitome of seamless special effects, but to me, it barely looked better than these movies made in the 1830's. VERY funny! FUNNIER STILL!! <-Quail drank a lot of GIN, by the way! - -I accidentally dropped a big stack of half-empty drinks out of the balcony and into the crowd below> for some reason, i'm getting a vision of...um, eb, what's that attraction at disneyland that you have to make reservations by 4:00 am if you want to get in, and it's a saloon, and you can get chili and shit once you're inside, and then they have, like, an old-west-revue? anyhow, that's what this evokes in my mind. (because the saloon thingy has a balcony.) <-Rufus' entire family joined him onstage for both encores! At one point, we had Kate/Anna McGarrigle, Loudon Wainwright III, Martha and two of his cousins all onstage singing with him.> was dan there, by chance? dan bern? 'cause he's livin' in new york these days. in fact, he's playing tonight! experimental wednesday #2! so quail and lj, get your ya-yasses down to nightengales! ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 15:03:15 EST From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: Taking on the various subjects - film in general (or specific and rambly) In a message dated 98-12-16 02:46:50 EST, you write: << Speaking of boring ass movies that won Academy Awards, how about the English Patient. That movie sucked! >> Amen to that! Please, though, do yourselves the favor of reading Ondaatje's novel. It's incredible. I was fortunate to have read it before seeing the movie, so my reading wasn't tainted by the film's interpretation of the two "main" characters (who weren't even necessarily the main characters in the novel!); not to mention the bloated score! Oof. - ------Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 98 12:24:00 -0800 From: Russ Reynolds Subject: Hair of Stars >I don't know what Robyn should do to his hair, but doing >something might be good. hmmm...trying to picture Robyn Hitchcock with one of those Mike Brady perms. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 12:23:21 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: why? On Wed, 16 Dec 1998, David W. Dudich wrote: > Are there any rockers over 60 that are still doing it with > grace? What about Dick Dale? He's pretty kick-ass and old. Je. ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 15:38:08 EST From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: Top 10 Films In a message dated 98-12-16 03:15:54 EST, you write: << Well, with all this talk on films, I thought it might be interesting for everyone to list their favorite 10 films. >> a) Bladerunner b) This is Spinal Tap c) Breakfast at Tiffany's d) Star Wars e) Zentropa f) Brazil g) Usual Suspects h) Annie Hall i) Citizen Kane j) When Harry Met Sally The use of letters is meant to denote that these films are merely listed, not ranked. Also, please note that I've never seen a film by Bergman or Fellini, so my opinions are not as well informed as they ought to be. Also, I'd like to give honorary (k) and (l) spots to Alfred Hitchcock and the Coen Bros. You could pretty much randomly point at a list of films made by either of these filmmaking entities, and I'd say, "Yeah, that's a great film!" On the other hand, I simply couldn't chose one film from either that stood out a *ton* more than the others. I feel this ought to mentioned, as it offers a fuller, um, "picture" of the movies I really like. - ------Michael K., who's nowhere near as discerning or critical a movie-watcher as he is a music-listener. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 15:04:00 -0600 From: Zloduska Subject: Re: Haircuts (absolutely no RH and a whole bunch of girly) Viv wrote: >Speaking as one who has done every single shade between platinum >blonde and midnight black, I must tell all neophytes NOT TO DO IT! >Hair dye is a monster that you're better off not wrangling with. Trust >me. I have spent half my adult life growing shit out and swearing not >to do it again, only to get suckered in by the promise of allure and >mystery inherent in any other color than my own. Not for me. I'm addicted to dyeing my hair, and when it gets too close to my natural color, I feel bored with it. I've always had long hair, and for a few years I've been dyeing it every shade of purple I could/can get my hands on. Yes, it is a pain in the ass to dye waist-length hair a variety of violets and blues, but it's fun! And the good thing is, unlike dyeing your hair black or blonde, with any purple/blue/violet/fuschia shade, it looks good when you're growing it out, because it blends right in. At least for me. Anyway, I've settled with a nice plum-magenta that I tend to keep for awhile. ~kjs ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 16:07:54 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Gross Subject: catching up (long, disorganized, perhaps a little boring) Wow, you folks have been as busy as meth-addicted minks in heat over the past couple of days. This means that now I can post too, since anything I say will be safely lost in the flood of Fegposts. MUPPETS: I guess I could live with being one of Gonzo's chickens, although it is a little irksome that all of us Chrises were lumped into chickendom en masse, as if having the same given name made us all the same. We are not all alike! One of us is much taller than the others.... However, since James Dignan seems to be lukewarm on the whole idea of being both Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, maybe I could snag the latter. During my third year of college, my roommate's girlfriend always said I looked like Beaker. I don't see it myself -- Beaker has less exposed scalp, better posture, and doesn't wear glasses -- but in terms of character I am fairly Beakerlike. Lack of physical coordination? Poor communication skills? General haplessness? Check, check, check. Speaking of Muppets, if you go on over to www.apple.com, you can send someone a Muppet-themed holiday e-card. Now here's a question. Can *Robyn* be likened to a Muppet, and if so, which one? ROBYN'S HAIR: I definitely think he looks better with longer hair. (Maybe this means he looks more like what I *wish* I looked like?) This was confirmed last month when I saw him live, with fairly long hair, and then in the movie, with much shorter hair. MOVIES: I have to agree with the Crate Gwayle here: some of the movie posts lately have shown a distressing tendency to completely dismiss a movie for one or two flaws. This, IMHO, is unnecessary and somewhat repugnant. I prefer the glass-is-half-full approach: I look for the moments of excellence, beauty, or simple fun, that can be found even in deeply flawed films. For example, Matewan was a great movie despite that absurd subplot where the strikers become falsely convinced that the organizer is a traitor based on one person's testimony; and even a disappointment like Event Horizon had some great visuals and genuine scares. The only films that I'd completely dismiss are steaming piles of crap without one single redeeming moment, like Highlander 2 or the Rambo movies. (I also apply this glass-is-half-full approach to music and literature ... but not to real-life situations, where I am a confirmed pessimist.) Michael K. complained about the interview scene near the end of LA Confidential. I think this scene served a useful purpose beyond recounting the plot for us: it emphasized the contrast between the true story, as recounted in the interview room, and the false one immediately afterwards at Exley's commendation ceremony. As for the message of Schindler's List, it's more than just "the Holocaust was bad." I hate to reduce any film to a simple message, but if I had to, I'd say that the message of SL is: "Look at Oskar Schindler -- he was a supremely self-centered man, yet when the time came he found it within himself to do the right thing. If such a self-centered jerk can struggle against evil, what excuse do the rest of us have?" The Quail said he disliked the Stranger in The Big Lebowski because the character was "contrived," apparently because a cowboy had no apparent business narrating the film. Come on, birdbrain! That's the whole point! The Stranger is gloriously weird, delightfully inexplicable and cheerfully gratuitous. Here's a first attempt at my all time top movies (not necessarily in this order). I eliminated all movies that I've only seen once, no matter how much I liked them that one time. 1. Blade Runner 2. Repo Man 3. Europa Europa 4. Young Frankenstein 5. Trainspotting 6. Brazil 7. Alien 8. La Jettee (short French New Wave film, available in the US at the end of the 12 Monkeys video, I think) Annoyingly, this list makes me look like more of a science fiction nerd than I really am, but I'll let it stand. My favorite movies of 1998: Since I haven't gotten out much this year, this also serves as a list of the ONLY new movies I saw this year. Still, none of them were *bad*, and a few might have been on my top ten list no matter how many movies I saw. 1. Storefront Hitchcock 2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 3. Wilde 4. The Big Lebowski 5. Saving Private Ryan 6. Primary Colors BEST ALBUMS OF 1998: As with movies, it's easy to choose my top albums of 1998, since while I bought an unconscionable number of CDs this year, fewer than ten were released in 1998. (Not in any particular order.) 1. NMH: Aeroplane 2. Storefront Hitchcock CD 3. Storefront Hitchcock LP 4. Voltaire: The Devil's Bris 5. Come: Gently Down the Stream 6. Uz Jsme Doma: Live 7. Garbage: Version 2.0 8. PJ Harvey: Is This Desire I could make a much longer list of 1998 albums that I *want* to hear, but haven't yet (or have only heard one song): Smashing Pumpkins, Tori Amos, Beck, Sunshine Blind, Phish, REM, Liz Phair, Pearl Jam (actually I'm ambivalent about whether or not I want to hear that one), cEvin Key, Love and Rockets, Afghan Wigs, Mercury Rev, Sonic Youth, Nashville Pussy (yes, they have a CD now), Beastie Boys, Massive Attack, Rx, Einsturzende Neubauten, Plastikman and probably ten more I can't think of right now. Speaking of tens, here are ... MY TOP TEN LIVE SHOWS OF 1998: 1. Robyn at the Mercury Lounge, 11/20 (my only Robyn show this year) 2. Bauhaus in DC, 9/6 3. Bauhaus in NYC, 9/11 (both were good, the NYC show was perhaps a bit better, but since I was up front and had fewer distractions I liked the DC show more) 4. Neutral Milk Hotel with Elf Power and Of Montreal, 7/25, the best of the 3 NMH shows I've seen 5. Neutral Milk Hotel with Superchunk, 2/28 (LJ: this was at the Black Cat, not the 9:30 Club) 6. Dan Bern, with some Canadian guy whose name I forgot, 4/11 7. Front 242 with Project Pitchfork, 8/9 8. Tibetan Freedom Concert, 6/13-14 9. Gary Numan with Switchblade Symphony, 5/4 10. Nashville Pussy with some opening bands, 4/18 Honorable mention: Come, 12/5 (I liked them but the headlining act bored me) BAND NAMES FOR DOUG: Unfortunately, the band name I've been saving all these years, Snout, has been taken. Have you considered The Ice Weasels? - --Chris, who has plenty of time to write because he foolishly volunteered to help at the library's telephone information center, which is pretty dead right now, and now finds himself stuck there because his replacement never showed up and everyone else is now at the university's staff holiday party, where they will probably eat all the good stuff before he gets there, but is he bitter? No, of course not! ______________________________________________________________________ Christopher Gross On the Internet, nobody knows I'm a dog. chrisg@gwu.edu ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V7 #466 *******************************