From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #30 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Saturday, January 30 1999 Volume 08 : Number 030 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Ian Penman [normal@grove.ufl.edu] Re: observations [steve ] critics/schmitics [hal brandt ] Re: critics/schmitics (0% schmeadhead content) [Eb ] the critic, aka, SATAN [amadain ] Re: observations [S Dwarf ] Re: observations ["D B" ] Re: My work has been called extremely vaginal. [Jon Fetter ] Do I hear the Postman's knock? [dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders)] Re: observations [Scary Mary ] I don't believe you - you're a liar! (100RZ) [Michael R Godwin ] Re: observations [steve ] Let me be frank about Frank [Natalie Jane Jacobs ] Re: observations [Bayard ] Phase one of lumpy gravy [Michael R Godwin ] The Clique [Scary Mary ] Re: Inklings [Michael R Godwin ] Never seen FZ and Claudine in the same place: coincidence? [Mark_Gloster@] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 20:06:03 -0500 (EST) From: normal@grove.ufl.edu Subject: Re: Ian Penman On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, amadain wrote: > But I'm sorry, critics don't destroy artists. This is silly romantic Y'know, that's probably true for established artists. (I'm sure that, for instance, it won't matter whether if the critics pan the Beastie Boys' latest album) For local bands, which is what the Soft Boys were at the time, a good write-up in a national mag can be a world of help. And, I'd imagine a page-long "The Soft Boys and how they suck" would do a pretty good amount of harm. Maybe labels were less receptive or clubs less friendly or folks less likely to buy their albums and attend their concerts. Maybe it put some stress between the members of the band. When you've got a lot of critics talking about a band, one or two detractors won't do much harm, but when you only have a few dudes talking about you, (like Can of Bees-ere Soft Boys, presumably) if some of the more famous ones really put you down, it'll mean something. Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 99 19:14:48 -0600 From: steve Subject: Re: observations Eb: >You know, accuse me of having a Mac bias if you like, but I thought the >"Start Me Up" usage was really crass, and yet that "She's a Rainbow" >commercial is really charming and attractive to me. > >Wheeeeeeeee! Lookit at all the flying' iMacs! noises...neerrrrronnnnn....> Could be that it's just a much better song. Of course, my pick would have been "Do You Dream In Color" by Bill Nelson. First commercial break, Super Bowl - discover why HAL *really* went insane. - - Steve ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:22:04 -0700 From: hal brandt Subject: critics/schmitics The Lonesome Death of Ian Penman criticized: > Welcome to Zappaland! > Modern composer? Please. I recommend any curious Zappa novices listen to "The Yellow Shark" and "Civilization: Phaze III" and decide whether FZ was worthy of being remembered as a composer. Hey, Ian...ram it up yer poopshoot. > (24 FZ albums, and counting) Over 50 (+ bootlegs!) Does that make me a Modern weenie? I followed FZ from 1967 (I was 8!) until his death, but had only heard a portion of his prolific output. After he died in '93, I wanted to hear the rest. So, one evening after work I bought an FZ catalog CD that I'd yet to hear and listened to it in its entirety. It was so enjoyable that I did it again the next night. Same result. I bought one each night until I found one I didn't like. After 10 or so, I finally found one. ["Franceso Zappa" consists of Synclavier renditions of an unknown composer's works who had the same surname as Frank. It's pretty tedious to listen to. Kind of like John & Yoko's "Unfinished Music: Life With The Lions"- interesting, but ultimately disposable.] By that time though, I'd heard enough good stuff that I kept going. I didn't find another bad one and I noticed that his albums, when listened to sequentially, got better and better until he reached a zenith with the aforementioned "Yellow Shark" and "Phaze III". If you think of "Valley Girl", "Disco Boy" and "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow (radio edit)" when you think of FZ, dig deeper. Oh, and for those already converted, here's a pic of Frank with just 4 months to go: http://personal.milehigh.net/hbrandt/fz.jpg (I'd like to have that shirt he's sporting!) _______ As for "I met RH and Nobody Cared But Me"...great title/bad song/bad performance. But, everyone's a critic! /hal now reading: Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles" (DC/Vertigo) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 18:17:53 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: critics/schmitics (0% schmeadhead content) Grand Weenie Poobah wrote: >["Franceso Zappa" consists of Synclavier renditions of an unknown >composer's works who had the same surname as Frank. It's pretty tedious >to listen to...By that time >though, I'd heard enough good stuff that I kept going. I didn't find >another bad one and I noticed that his albums, when listened to >sequentially, got better and better until he reached a zenith with the >aforementioned "Yellow Shark" and "Phaze III". Well, I certainly wouldn't go so far as to chart his career as one long upward curve of quality, though I suppose that his music never stopped "maturing" in a certain academic sense. However, my favorites will always be Uncle Meat and We're Only In It for the Money, and in fact, I only own three Zappa albums released post-1979 (not counting the Lost Episodes and Mystery Disc compilations). Zappa albums I've heard and not liked enough to buy/keep/whatever (um...): Jazz From Hell, Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage (either part 1 or 2, I forget), Apostrophe, Bongo Fury, at least one of the You Can't Do This Onstage Anymore volumes, Thing Fish, The Perfect Stranger, the Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar sets...and that's not counting several others which I skimmed and decided probably weren't my cup o' leoni. Basically, his rock-based releases stopped moving me around 1973 or so (mostly due to that oppressive smirk/sneer quality which Mr. Penman so lovingly detailed), and I only enjoy the "high art" albums of subsequent years (ie, The Yellow Shark, Sleep Dirt, London Symphony Orchestra). As for his fuzz-fusoid guitar-wank albums, nope, I'll pass. I think he's kinda overrated as a lead guitarist, myself. Lotsa notes, not enough soul. I haven't heard Civilisation Phaze III. I'm *deeply* curious about it, but boy, that's a chunk of dough to invest in an essentially blind purchase. And since I didn't like Jazz From Hell (or FZ Meets the Mothers of Prevention, or...), I'm leery of biting into another Synclavier-rooted release. Anyway, I never see the damn thing in stores, so it probably would require a mail-order purchase.... Eb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 21:33:58 -0600 From: amadain Subject: the critic, aka, SATAN >Y'know, that's probably true for established artists. (I'm sure that, for >instance, it won't matter whether if the critics pan the Beastie Boys' >latest album) For local bands, which is what the Soft Boys were at the >time, a good write-up in a national mag can be a world of help. Well, I ask you, how did they become established? Was it because Greil Marcus or Ben Fong-Torres or Simon Frith wrote really nice articles about them in large magazines? Cripes, no! It's because they found an audience. People liked them and bought their records. A critic neither makes nor breaks a band. What makes or breaks a band is whether or not they find an audience niche. Do recall that originally critics -loathed- the Sex Pistols. And the Pistols are hardly anomalous in that respect. To take this down a couple notches- critics always disliked the Dead Milkmen, and rightly so IMO, but certainly not in everyone's as they managed to acquire quite a following nonetheless. History is loaded with examples of such. A critic can help or hurt, but they DO NOT ultimately prevent a band from finding its audience. The Soft Boys didn't find a huge audience. Is that one critic's fault? There are a lot of factors to consider here, of which this is a minor one. >imagine a page-long "The Soft Boys and how they suck" would do a pretty >good amount of harm. I didn't say Ian Penman was a swell guy, or a guy with the best intentions in the world, or even that he didn't hurt anyone at all. For all I know he could be a saint or a class-A jerk or somewhere in-between the two. I have no way of knowing this. I've never even heard of Ian Penman outside of this context, as a matter of fact, and I'm fairly well-read as far as rock critics go. Did he write for the Enemy? :) People do tend to apply critical skills when they read, you know. If a band sounds like it might interest them, they're going to go ahead and buy the damn record or at least give it a trial listen (in those stores that let you). If a club-owner thinks they sound like a band that his/her typical clientele might like, they're going to book them anyway. In this case, it sounds as if the SBs already had records out. Folks HAD heard them. So it's really up to said folks what they thought of the Soft Boys, not Ian Penman. And since it was "Can of Bees" that he disliked so much apparently, and I notice that that was not the last we heard from the Soft Boys by a long shot, I have some trouble with the idea of styling him the villain of this piece. Give people a little more credit for being able to decide for themselves what they will buy/book. If I went by what various critics thought I wouldn't own half my music collection. >friendly or folks less likely to buy their albums and attend their >concerts. Maybe it put some stress between the members of the band. Now this may have happened but you know, that IS something you have to be prepared to deal with. One of the by-products of being in the public eye at all is that these sorts of things may happen to you. I'm not trying to make excuses for someone going out of their way to be nasty, but I also don't think that critics ought to go out of their way to be nice either, or write nice comments about a band they don't actually like. For what reason would they do this? And have you -never- found yourself laughing at a nasty review? I have, and it's not on my conscience, either. I think part of the reason everyone's so sensy about this is that it's the Soft Boys. If we were talking about a band you hated, would you be coming down so hard? I may hate the Violent Femmes and laugh like hell at a dead-on slag thereof, but lots of people like them and won't think nasty reviews of them are funny -or- accurate. Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 19:52:53 -0800 (PST) From: S Dwarf Subject: Re: observations griffith wrote: > First the Stones sell out for Windows 95, now they do it for the IMac. I > can only think of a handful of their songs that have been used in > commercials. > > The list so far: > She's A Rainbow - Apple IMac > Start Me Up - Microsoft Windows 95 if mick can't be faithful to computer corps, what chance did jerry hall have? > Brown Sugar - Kaluha was also in a pepsi commercial; with some ridiculous cola drinking ant singing it. > Wild Horses - Budweiser (I think it was Budweiser - The Sundays version of > it was used in the commercial) > > Perhaps on this upcoming tour, they could just do songs from various > commercials to defray the high ticket prices ;) _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 21:02:45 PST From: "D B" Subject: Re: observations >On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, Eb wrote: > >> >First the Stones sell out for Windows 95, now they do it for the IMac. I >> >can only think of a handful of their songs that have been used in >> >commercials. >> > >> >The list so far: >> >She's A Rainbow - Apple IMac >> >Start Me Up - Microsoft Windows 95 >> >> You know, accuse me of having a Mac bias if you like, but I thought the >> "Start Me Up" usage was really crass, and yet that "She's a Rainbow" >> commercial is really charming and attractive to me. > >Not only was the "Start Me Up" usage crass, it was also cut off too soon. >Truth-in-advertising laws should have forced Microsoft to include another >line from the song: "You make a grown man cryyyyyy...." > > >--Chris I wouldn't call any music put to mercenary purposes "really charming and attractive" regardless of how really charming and attractive it seemed... ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 13:56:18 +0800 From: Jon Fetter Subject: Re: My work has been called extremely vaginal. >>Which brings us to our next topic. >>I watched The Postman. Sure it had some sappy shit. Sure it had a kind >>of simplistic and predictable plot. But why the hell did it just >>disappear? I mean, it was pretty good. It was kind of smart and >>interesting. It has an IMPORTANT THEME (that communication is what holds >>society together... that free and expansive communication networks end >>tyrrany and promote peace) that is relevant to our time. So why did this >>fail and shitty stupid sappy predictable boring old Titanic live forever >>and The Postman die? "The Postman" was the worst cinema experience I've had since "The Sword and the Sorceror" way back in the age of "Conan." I went to the movie knowing only that it was a David Brin story (which sounded good) and Costner was in it (whch isn't always movie poison to me). I usually read up about a movie before going, and "The Postman" was a reminder that that's a good habit. I lost interest after the first 15 minutes (why wasn't Tom Petty in the gas station singing "You Got Lucky" instead of playing himself as the leader of the dam people? "Gee Tom, you haven't aged a bit." The gas station and the first village he visits seemed to fit a credible vision of a post-apocalyptic US, but after that it didn't seem like people were living on the edge of civilization anymore. Unfortunately for me, the movie was 15 hours long, and movies are too expensive to walk out of in Taiwan. Any meaningful messages could have been delivered in a much shorter time. And it seemed to me that some ideas got dropped by the way-side as the film dragged on. Early in the film, the soldiers are only looking for racially-pure white men--this never gets mentioned again and no explanation is given, unless I dropped off at that time. The only thing that kept me semi-conscious was cringing at the sappy shit, usually filmed in slow-motion (which added significantly to the film length). One of the worst final scenes in my film experience was when they unveil the statue of the Postman picking up a letter from a boy and the now grown-up boy says "That was ME!" IMO, "The Postman" deserves to be buried and forgotten (even if it had had a nude Kate Winslet in it, it wouldn't have improved much), remembered only by some caretaker cult who will bring it out of hiding every time Costner makes another move at directing. Didn't the Harvard Lampoon give it a "Golden Raspberry" or something? >Ugh, here we go. Kevin Costner! He'd kill anything (except baseball >movies). And a very bad screenplay based on a great book. They left out so >much of what made the book entertaining and thought provoking and very >plausable about how humans might interact in a po-apo (thanks Michael) age. >This is one of the very few films I walked out on. And I mean very few. >(E.T. was another but everyone knows how much I hate Spielberrg drivel.) > >Read the book. Please. This is what has been said to me, too, but after watching the movie, I have no further interest in the story. Yrch. Jon ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 00:38:22 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: observations DB: >I wouldn't call any music put to mercenary purposes "really charming and >attractive" regardless of how really charming and attractive it >seemed... How do you feel about Robyn Hitchcock releasing collections of songs on metallic discs in order to make money? Or how about when he sings them in clubs, in order to earn some dough from the audience? That BASTARD! Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 01:04:22 -0800 From: dsaunder@islandnet.com (Daniel Saunders) Subject: Do I hear the Postman's knock? >>Read the book. Please. > This is what has been said to me, too, but after watching the > movie, I have no further interest in the story. > Yrch. I too can vouch for the book, but apart from wrecking the story for many potential readers, the movie also caused the only edition available to be one with Kevin Costner's goddamn ugly mug mashed upon it. I heard a rumor they're letting him direct another movie. Can you believe it?? - -- Daniel Saunders Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, it doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 08:07:19 -0500 From: Scary Mary Subject: Re: observations >> >First the Stones sell out for Windows 95, now they do it for the IMac. I I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but has anyone seen the IBM commercial using R.E.M.'s "Superman"? Granted, it's not them singing the song but a female vocalist. S.Mary ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 14:19:19 +0000 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: I don't believe you - you're a liar! (100RZ) Further Dylan '66 news. I was watching BBC2's Newsnight last night and they had an _interview_ with a man who claimed to be the person who yelled 'Judas!'. He was called something like Keith Butler and he was recently in a cafe at 2am when he heard the record playing and recognised his voice. He lives somewhere in Canada now. The item also included C P Lee of the Albertos (who was also at the 1966 Free Trade Hall show) discussing Keith's claim. Keith said that at the time he felt that Dylan had let his fans down - he repeated this but didn't explain further. Now, weirdly, he quite likes the music which got him so annoyed then. There was also a report on this character in the Independent last week, where he was quoted as saying that the things that got him really annoyed were the band arrangements of 'Baby let me follow you down' and 'One too many mornings'. - - Mike (the cool person) Godwin Nitpicking PS: If a record isn't released on the date given on the copyright label, when is it released? Less nitpicking PPS: I just love that version of BLMFYD, specially the organ solo playing a completely different tune (any idea what it is?), and the verse: "I'll buy you a velvet skirt I'll buy you a purple shirt I'll do anything in this god-almighty world If you just don't make me hurt". ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 06:42:41 PST From: "D B" Subject: Re: observations >>I wouldn't call any music put to mercenary purposes "really charming and >>attractive" regardless of how really charming and attractive it >>seemed... > >How do you feel about Robyn Hitchcock releasing collections of songs on >metallic discs in order to make money? Or how about when he sings them in >clubs, in order to earn some dough from the audience? > >That BASTARD! > Apples and oranges... ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 99 09:19:56 -0600 From: steve Subject: Re: observations Scary Mary >I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but has anyone seen the IBM >commercial using R.E.M.'s "Superman"? Granted, it's not them singing >the song but a female vocalist. That's a cover of a cover. - - Steve ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 10:43:41 -0500 (EST) From: Natalie Jane Jacobs Subject: Let me be frank about Frank Whilst not as familiar with Mr. Zappa's oeuvre as I should be, I still think Frank was a pretty darn cool guy (though I've never engaged in any "panty-wringing" over him - sorry, Eb). So I read Mr. Penman's article with a mixture of annoyance, puzzlement, and yeah, some agreement... What annoyed me primarily about the article is that Penman seems to divide Zappa's *massive* body of work into three catagories: a. adolescent smut humor b. muso wanking c. satire that tears stuff down "without offering anything new in its place." Now, granted, I've only heard a relatively tiny slice of Zappa's work, but surely among how many albums? - 40 or 50? I have no idea - there must be *something* more to his music than that. Certainly his work does contain plenty of smutty stuff and wankery, and I think Penman has a point there in condemning him, but it's the third charge that really gets my goat. What's *wrong* with satire that doesn't "offer anything new in its place"? It reminds me of the constant insistence on the part of some conservative critics that art always be "uplifting" and contain positive values. I find it positively admirable that Zappa slammed everyone equally. What was he supposed to do, offer his vision of utopia every time he ragged on the Reagan administration or slagged hippies? I don't see other comedians doing that (and that was what Zappa was, along with being a musician - he was a comedian, too). It's like asking the guys on MST3K to give a list of good movies after every show, lest they be accused of tearing down bad films without offering anything positive in return. I just find that a ridiculous charge - moralistic and prim. Shame on you, Mr. Penman. Oh yeah, and I find it funny that Penman cites Captain Beefheart as an example of a type of artist that he finds to be superior to Zappa. Doesn't he remember who produced "Trout Mask Replica"? ;) Jesus Christ, I just wrote a post with some substance in it. I'm going to go have a lie-down. n. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 11:03:03 -0500 (EST) From: Bayard Subject: Re: observations On Sat, 30 Jan 1999, steve wrote: > Scary Mary > >I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but has anyone seen the IBM > >commercial using R.E.M.'s "Superman"? Granted, it's not them singing > >the song but a female vocalist. > > That's a cover of a cover. The original is by the Clique. And I knew this would happen eventually: http://nt.excite.com/news/r/990129/16/odd-niggardly ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 17:05:03 +0000 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Phase one of lumpy gravy I guess I have to weigh in on the pro-Frank side. I was knocked out by 'Absolutely Free'. I really liked 'Freak Out' (though of course in the UK we got an abbreviated 1-album version). I was dazzled by 'We're only in it for the money' (although even though I bought it as soon as I could get to the shop, I still didn't get a copy with the inserts). I was amazed by the band's UK debut at the Albert Hall, with Don playing 'Louie Louie' on the mighty Albert Hall organ, and the boys singing a Supremes medley. I laughed myself silly at that Festival Hall concert where Roy Estrada sang 'In the sky' in falsetto. I still love 'Cruisin' with Reuben and the Jets'. I think 'Peaches en Regalia' and 'Hot Rats' are just great, although I can leave large chunks of 'Hot Rats' alone. I quite like that one which ends 'Is that a real Mexican poncho, or just a Sears poncho?'. I bought Uncle Meat and I enjoy the Dog Breath variations. I have a bootleg tape of 'Inca Ruins' which is nice. BUT I think all those albums full of groupie 'humour' are really quite nauseating, and I just don't understand the musorrhoea (? if that's the word I want) of his late 70s and 80s output. I can't be bothered to find out which, if any, of the albums maintain the standards of WOIIFM because there are so many of the damn things. On the other hand, when Penman pens: > tell me this: if you were > stuck on the proverbial desert island, which disc(s) would you rather have > - one solitary song by Brian Wilson or the entire Zappa back catalogue? my immediate thought is 'where can I rent a garage to store all those Zappa albums?'. - - Mike Godwin PS re Trout Mask: I think Frank really gave Don Vliet a helping hand, but in all the interviews, Don slags Frank off for doing nothing on the production of TMR except promote the Magic Band as 'freaks'. But Don is famous for denying credit to anyone else (because only he, Vliet, is the genius who can do everything). Frank went through a phase of slagging off Don too. Maybe the Zoot Horn Rollo book will shed more light on these disputes ... 'The present day composer refuses to die!' (Edgar Varese) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 12:16:11 -0500 From: Scary Mary Subject: The Clique On Sat, 30 Jan 1999, steve wrote: > Scary Mary > >I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but has anyone seen the IBM > >commercial using R.E.M.'s "Superman"? Granted, it's not them singing > >the song but a female vocalist. > > That's a cover of a cover. To which Bayard added: >The original is by the Clique. Thanks for the info. I thought that "Superman" was an R.E.M. original and that they were making even more big bucks by lending their song to IBM. So who are the Clique? Mary ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 17:40:17 +0000 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: Inklings > >Yes, he was the 3rd Inkling On Fri, 29 Jan 1999, Jean Katherine Rossner wrote: > Came a bit late to be the third Inkling--I'd say Warnie Lewis was that. > (And then George Sayer, and half a dozen others.) (Sorry. Nitpicking again.) I'm always game for a discussion on who were or weren't Inklings. I don't think K was suggesting that CW was third in point of time - he didn't move to Oxford until the war - but rather as the third of the famous writing Inklings. The Inklings was originally an undergraduate club, and the name was taken over by CSL's group after the original club folded. Intellectually, the next most distinguished Inkling was Owen Barfield (isn't he the 'second friend, who disagrees with everything you say', in one of CSL's books?). Hugo Dyson and Humphrey Havard come after that - surely Sayer is considerably later? I know that those Caedmon albums of Tolkien reading were recorded on Sayer's tape recorder in the 50s ... - - Mike Godwin ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 09:34:58 -0800 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Never seen FZ and Claudine in the same place: coincidence? FZ: my take is that overall, he was pretty great. I can't think of anyone who has contributed more music and in more styles in the history of music. Frank always pushed the limit of everything. This caused some of his efforts to fail miserably. His guitar playing was occasionally the most melodic and brilliant, of highly developed motion and tonality, expressing completely- one with the instrument, the audience, etc. (assignment: listen to the solo of "Yo Mama" on _Sheik Yerbouti_.) What made Frank an icon was the fact that he managed to stay apart from the machine that certifies how music is supposed to be. FZ, in a way like his hero Groucho Marx, and Lenny Bruce, became a singular voice that didn't buy into cuddling up with a category, or kissing ass, just to be popular. Frank's was a singular voice that shouted the side that wasn't allowed in the mainstream. As an artist, his success is one of the few major glimmers of hope that I am afforded about surviving the olestra-soaked beaches of swill, saying whateverthefuck I want to, and knowing that in the long view that I may survive and people will hear my music. Frank fought for that which he believed. He got off his ass and did something. He worked constantly, not letting himself rest. I can't snuggle any of my music up to Frank's, but I relate deeply to what he did. I could listen to much of his musical works and never wear out on them. I still marvel at "Tink Walks Amok" from _Man From Utopia_, that with 3 bass parts and 1 drummer, he could have created such an amazing and beautiful piece. Frank Zappa's best jazz pieces gave me some hope for that ideom, of which so much seems to be fun for the players and horrible for those who try to listen. Yes, some of the humor was over-the-top juvenile bathroom. Some of his pieces were meandering excercises in one mode. Some of his solos wanked. I would be willing to admit that some of his classical works are overrated. I once remember thinking that it would be great to actually know this guy, but after talking to some of his former band members, it was clear that he was a nihilistic hitler about music and politics and probably most things. Almost everybody thought he was an asshole, but he was an asshole that the world needed. Nobody has stepped up to take his place. I am completely humbled by his accomplishments and maniacle devotion to his beliefs. Oh, and I just happen to think that most of his music contained something great and brilliant, and some of it was completely so. - ------- CRITICS: Critics are afforded a lot of sway by the sheep. Critics can help a buzz, but have a tough time crushing one. Beck was made by the people- not the critics. Critics do their greatest service by clearly stating their biases and explaining why they like or dislike something, and let us weigh that with our own realities. I think a lot of reviewers just get nasty because it's fun and they can say terrible things and get laughs. I honestly like to read such reviews for recreation. I also try to subtract the bias of the reviewer before I listen to said product. If Chris Franz says: "Mark, you'll probably like this," I probably do. If another friend of mine who has absolutely no discerning values says the same thing, I'm just guessing I won't. If I look for key words like "Celine Dione," "Whitey Useless," or even "Barbara Streisand," I'm just guessing that vomit will get on my pants somehow if I buy it. Think about movies. _ID4_ was not a critical success (until some critics changed their votes) but was a huge box office smash. This despite having arguably _THE WORST SCRIPT_ of any talkie made anywhere. Sheep can be led by critics, but they can also be led by other sheep. I agree with Susan that critics are given too much power, much of it by whining, pathetic artists, who secretly look for a reason to blame their lack of notoriety. I have only seen positive print on my own works, but that didn't make me platinum. Critics get too much credit or blame. I do get annoyed by bandwagoneers who do a disservice their profession by trying to make the next Beatles, and the stupid bastard artists who believe the always positive "genius" label, even when they're losing their grip, and should be told so. - ------- Claudine: Thanks for the warning. I stayed off the slopes yesterday and didn't get shot once. At least not hit. I think Claudine should do "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes" in her own whispery way. Maybe even in French. - ------- Shark content: I think I might try "Dancin Fool" for a future project, but I don't know if I can sing that fast. Also, some kind folks have expressed concern for the darkness of my posts. Work is the worst part of my life right now, and it's not that bad. I just exaggerate. I really am the happiest person I know, but I know a cat or two that might be more happy than I am. It is great to be me, some of you should try it. Sorry for all those words. I did manage to arrange some of them in sentences. Happies, - -Markg ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #30 ******************************