From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #31 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Sunday, January 31 1999 Volume 08 : Number 031 Today's Subjects: ----------------- damn straight! ["Capitalism Blows" ] fegmaniax-announce ["Capitalism Blows" ] Re: observations [Eb ] Re: damn straight! [steve ] soft boys and the critics ["Marc Holden" ] Re: observations [Terrence M Marks ] Re: soft boys and the critics [Eb ] Re: soft boys and the critics [amadain ] Re: observations [VIV LYON ] Re: soft boys and the critics [VIV LYON ] old records ["she.rex" ] Everything and nothing... ["she.rex" ] Re: old records [Eb ] Re: observations [cinders blue ] Re: lyrics shutdown [cinders blue ] Re: Sleater-Kinney [cinders blue ] The Greenman Cometh [Eb ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 12:17:26 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: damn straight! "I never mind good kidding or creative criticism. But I do object to the trivializing of the role of prayer for the Senate and for the nation for the urgent need of God's help in this cricial time of our history." --Lloyd Oglivie, Senate Chaplain ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 12:50:57 PST From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: fegmaniax-announce <> he's funny, but not as funny as he *should* be. i don't know. i can't really explain it. You take that back!> you present a convincing argument why i should! well, i'm not losing any sleep over it. but there are so few comedians that are actually even *remotely* funny (i could probably count on one hand the number of times i've laughed watching a stand-up routine. one of them, i swear to god, was friar gloster's, at the restaurant, before the Storefront screening. although it wasn't actually billed as a routine. and he was sitting down.) that it's kind of a shame to see a gifted performer not live up to his potential. the word "spew" is such a great word in and of itself. and when you add in the fact that it can appear in a work such as the bible, it just seems the possibilities are endless. ulp. *feg* librarians are excepted! this is always a good rule of thumb, isn't it? like, if i were to say, "all former gerbil breeders can fuck off," that should certainly be read as, "as former gerbil breeders, save stewart, can fuck off." (not that i'd ever say such a thing about former gerbil breeders, natch!) but, Lord, why don't y'all control the kids in the libraries? i mean, control their *parents*, of course. wasn't trying to imply a tyranny! just something less than full consensus. i concede the point. although i urge all fegs to read along to jeme's posted lyrics to Vyrna and see if you've any different interpretations. they're 13 grand? that *is* fancy. but it wasn't me that bought it. i agree with many of your criticisms, up to a point. but, please explain to me how the uruguay round/the gatt generally/the wto has *anything at all* to do with democracy? i know you're no fan of democracy, jeme. and actually i think it's great that you're so up front about it. but let's not go overboard, shall we? the wto is the *antithesis* of democracy. and whereas nafta, in my opinion, merely codified practices that were already common, the uruguay round really broke new ground, (TRIPs and TRIMs, to take two of many, many examples. and, of course, the dispute settlement process. disputes are adjudicated in secret, by a handful of rich white males, with ABSOLUTELY NO PUBLIC INPUT. this is democracy?) its effects are already being felt, and they're massively deleterious. http://leb.net/iac/ "As we often see in US foreign policy, other nations' attempts to defend themselves from US attacks are defined as aggression." --Jake Sexton ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 14:06:04 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: observations Scary Mary (she's back! ) >So who are the Clique? I don't know *much* about the Clique, but I do know they were on White Whale, the same label the Turtles were on during that period. I own the Clique's 7" of "Superman," which I found for $4 a few years after REM's version arrived. The flip side is called "Sugar on Sunday," which is fairly illustrative of the sound. It sounds like typical Kasenetz-Katz '60s bubblegum, with really nasal-twerp vocals, stiff rhythms and all that. I dig it. :) Gnat: >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"? ;) You know, there are several Zappa albums which I really love (basically, everything early through Weasels Ripped My Flesh/Burnt Weeny, plus the *marvelous* Grand Wazoo), but Trout Mask is probably more important to me than any Zappa album. Barkatcars: >Apples and oranges... Ah. Now there's a powerful counterargument.... Eb, imagining Claudine Longet's jaunty sub-vaudevillian version of "Concentwation Moo-ooon...." :) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 16:34:24 -0600 From: steve Subject: Re: damn straight! Capitalism Blows: >"I never mind good kidding or creative criticism. But I do object to >the trivializing of the role of prayer for the Senate and for the nation >for the urgent need of God's help in this cricial time of our history." > --Lloyd Oglivie, Senate Chaplain This guy is an ass. - - Steve ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 13:54:56 -0700 From: "Marc Holden" Subject: soft boys and the critics Hey there Terrence-- I totally agree with you on this one. The Soft Boys sure didn't break up due to their overwhelming popularity. If Robyn had more fans early on, maybe the money side of things would have been a bit brighter all the way through--but I'm glad things have brought him to the point he's reached now, reguardless of the route taken to get there. At least he didn't turn out more like Syd. To prove your point, I only got interested in Robyn around the time of Globe of Frogs/Queen Elvis. I had read reviews of the Soft Boys in the Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records talking about being influenced by the Byrds, the Beatles, and Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. At the time I was a huge fan of at least the Beatles and Floyd (especially Piper era stuff) in addition to Elvis Costello, David Bowie, R.E.M., The Residents, etc., so it caught my attention. The last paragraph goes like this: Underwater Moonlight is one of the new wave's finest half-dozen albums and unquestionably its most underrated one. "I Wanna Destroy You" is a rant against war and intolerance; "Insanely Jealous" builds to a frenzy--twice; "I Got the Hots" contains one of the funniest erotic lines ever written. This album has everything--melody , power, wit, humor, and heart (not to mention a great guitar sound). Put down this book and find two or three copies of Underwater Moonlight. Like, immediately. (Mark Fleischmann) I was looking up Robyn Hitchcock because I had seen a video for Balloon Man that I liked and then later saw one for Madonna Of The Wasps, and wanted to see what the deal was with him. I saw the Soft Boys mentioned and re-read the review in their section. Well that time I took the advise, and immediately became a rabid fan--enough so that I scared another record collecting friend, who has since also become a major Robyn fan. Sure, positive reviews can be mis-leading--I'm still not a big Replacements or XTC fan for example, but I can easily name some less main-stream bands that are my favorites that I only got into because of a review I read somewhere or other (the Velvet Underground, Big Star, Shonen Knife, Roky Erickson/13th Floor Elevators, the Modern Lovers, etc.). A good review can mean as much as word of mouth from a respected friend or record store employee (the Cramps, King Crimson, Oingo Boingo, They Might Be Giants), seeing a band as an opener (the Clash, the Feelies, Pere Ubu, Guadalcanal Diary, Pylon) and even recommendations from strangers on the internet (I'm listening to Dan Bern right now--I bought ALL of his stuff in the last month, thanks). Of course you always have to consider the source, but after you get used to the biases, you can read between the lines and see how it all applies to your taste in music. It's all more information to base my decisions on, but statements like "...solo career has been an exciting fulfillment of the potential he showed as leader of the Soft Boys..." are more likely to get my further inquiry than a scathing review. Later, Marc ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 17:57:50 -0500 (EST) From: Terrence M Marks Subject: Re: observations Eb says: > Barkatcars: > >Apples and oranges... > > Ah. Now there's a powerful counterargument.... It IS, though. I think that to avoid accusations of crass capitalism, Robyn ought to follow Pink Floyd's example, circa 1968 and refuse to make singles, record twelve-minute concept instrumentals and play at Hyde Park to show that he's still able to carry on without the Egyptians. And is anyone else on the list familiar with Subrosa? (or bloom, Noah's Red Tattoo, On Cloud 9 or any other Gainesville band besides Sister Hazel) Explanation of first comment: "Apples and Oranges" was Pink Floyd's last single until 1980 or so. Directly after its release, Syd was dismissed and PF went into the stuff detailed above. now playing-Olivia Tremor Control: Music from the unrealized film script "dusk at cubist castle". page of the day: An article of 1893 "looking back" at fashion from 1993-1884. http://www.ffutures.demon.co.uk/fashion/fut_fash.htm Terrence Marks normal@grove.ufl.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 15:22:15 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: soft boys and the critics > To prove your point, I only got interested in Robyn around the time >of Globe of Frogs/Queen Elvis. Nothing's more boring than "How/when I first discovered [fill in artist here]" threads, but on a related note, did anyone here (besides Mike Godwin, I assume) buy A Can of Bees when it was new? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 20:27:29 -0600 From: amadain Subject: Re: soft boys and the critics > I totally agree with you on this one. The Soft Boys sure didn't >break up due to their overwhelming popularity. If Robyn had more fans >early on, maybe the money side of things would have been a bit brighter It is undeniable that having more fans would have meant having more money. But who's to say that Ian Penman could singlehandedly have effected this change by writing glowingly instead of nastily about them? And would glowing reviews have prevented the personality conflicts between Robyn and Kimberly? Would glowing reviews have changed the fact that Robyn didn't really want to write that way anymore? > To prove your point, I only got interested in Robyn around the time >of Globe of Frogs/Queen Elvis. I had read reviews of the Soft Boys in This proves that some people read critics, and that a positive review might persuade someone to buy a record. I never said or meant to imply that that was not the case, sorry if that wasn't clear. I just meant that critics do not make or break a band. Ask Meatloaf, who is a millionaire and hugely famous without having ever had a good review in his entire life that I am aware of. I think people who want some excuse for lack of audience/sales like to blame critics for having somehow alienated the millions of people who would otherwise have worshipped them. The fact is that Ian Penman is not directly responsible for the fact that Robyn Hitchcock doesn't write swimming pools. >music. It's all more information to base my decisions on, Yup. That's what it's meant to be. Take what you need from critics, leave the rest. Incidentally, they are (ideally, anyway) in the business of informing the audience, not the business of promoting the band. I see no reason why someone should resent a critic for negative reviews. He don't like 'em, he don't recommend 'em. That's his job. His job isn't to go "well, these are really nice guys and should make more money, so I'm going to say nice things about them even tho I don't like their music". If Consumer Reports used that kind of standard, everyone would be totally up in arms- "well, I know the damn thing is cheaply made and doesn't really work, but the CEO is such a cool guy, I just hadda say nice things about it". This is NOT as different a situation as it might appear to be. Basically a critic's job is to aid the music consumer. >like "...solo career has been an exciting fulfillment of the potential >he showed as leader of the Soft Boys..." are more likely to get my >further inquiry than a scathing review. Sure. Although really scathing reviews tend to get my attention as well. Sometimes a band that is really distinctive in some way is going to irritate a critic who doesn't like their particular style, and they will respond accordingly. When I see that I try to find lots more reviews to get a better picture. That is to say, if I see something else in the review that piques my interest (a good critic will often give you some information as to who or what the band sounds like), I'm going to look further, regardless of whether it was positive or negative. There are lots of things to bear in mind when reading. Personally I think a really charged response of -either- kind is a good thing- what's bad is when you aren't interesting enough to provoke enthusisasm in either direction. Love on ya, Susan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 19:01:09 -0800 (PST) From: VIV LYON Subject: Re: observations - ---Eb wrote: >The flip side is called "Sugar on Sunday," which is fairly > illustrative of the sound. It sounds like typical Kasenetz-Katz '60s > bubblegum, with really nasal-twerp vocals, stiff rhythms and all that. I > dig it. :) That would have been originally recorded by Tommy James and The Shondells. My first concert. At the State Park. I was thirteen, and I thought Tommy James was pretty sexy, you know, for a burnt-out, white haired old creep. Vivien Sugar on Sunday I'm leaving on Monday Only got one day To love me, yeah... _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 19:05:38 -0800 (PST) From: VIV LYON Subject: Re: soft boys and the critics - ---Eb wrote: > Nothing's more boring than "How/when I first discovered [fill in artist > here]" threads, but on a related note, did anyone here (besides Mike > Godwin, I assume) buy A Can of Bees when it was new? No way, mein freund. I find stories of how people first got into Robyn very appealing. More annoying to me are threads about movies, about top ten lists, about authors I thought I knew everything about but obviously don't (goddamn you, LordK and Katherine!)... but we are here to discuss things that pertain to Robyn, aren't we? I mean, short of speculating about his morning toilette. Vivien _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:51:32 From: "she.rex" Subject: old records One more thing: Been listening to some tapes I made about 10 years ago - a friend of Mom's lent me her entire LP collection (not very large but interesting). Cleaned them up and taped every one. This is a compulsion I have - no piece of music passes through my paws without my copying it, though if I like it and it is available I will buy a cd - if I really like it I'll buy everything I can find. Anyway, she had: Rare Bird Rhinocerous Spooky Tooth Mike Harrison & Junkyard Angel Jeff Beck Group Blind Faith Procol Harum Tim Buckley Emerson, Lake & Palmer Free Peter Green Mandrill Clara Haskil The Nice Van Der Graaf Generator Rick Wakeman Betty Wright - --- Diana Ross The Band CCR Pink Floyd Bee Gees Donna Summer Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Fleetwood Mac Paul McCartney Moody Blues Jethro Tull (one of my all-time favorite groups) Steve Miller Band Seems like a pretty mixed bag, but I must admit to not knowing anything about those above the dashes. Never bothered to listen to them either, until now. Rhinocerous was ok but Spooky Tooth was better. Slighty funky. Saw a cd in a store recently - should've gotten it. Rare Bird: had to break this up with other stuff because too much makes one suicidal (is this prog?) This is as far as I've gotten. What does anyone know about these bands? (I know there are some ELP fans here.) Is there a common thread running through this list or is it just a jumble? Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks! She.Rex - ------------------------- I'm the cat from the alley I'm the fleet-foot voodoo man There's very little that's ever said All of which I understand... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:54:40 From: "she.rex" Subject: Everything and nothing... Replying to several threads at once: I too liked Waterworld (Mad Max on the water?) and intend to rent The Postman, perhaps only because I like movies about possible futures, even bad ones. (To spare friends and family, I usually save these for lazy or sick days home by myself, just in case.) I think Kevin Costner is best when taking risks - he bores me otherwise. Last shots in movies - I liked the one in Men In Black (I know it wasn't arty, but who cares? It was fun.). How about opening shots? The one in Contact was great - sort of a reverse of the above without the humor. (Another love-it-or-hate-it flick.) Concept LP's - my fav was Neil's Heavy Concept Album - have this on vinyl. (Who else noticed his cover was of Steve Hillage's cover of Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man, rather than a cover of the original?) The CD went for $100+ on ebay recently - Wow! Didn't even know there *was* a cd! My turntable isn't working currently, so a pal offered to make cd's of some of my LP's - this is one of the ones I chose. That was before the ebay thing. Love the Young Ones, Monty Python, English humor in general and British tv shows (funny or not). Haven't sampled Prisoner or Avengers yet but a fellow Brit-o-phile has all taped and promises a proper induction soon. Re 3:16 Jesus wished the congregation in Laodicea were either hot (zealous) or cold (refreshing). The water arriving in that city via aqueduct would be unpleasantly warm, possibly inducing spewing when one wanted a cool drink on a hot day. If you like that sort of stuff, try Isaiah 28:8 or Jeremiah 25:27. Revelation is *not* plural, by the way... John Barleycorn Must Die is my favorite Traffic album, too:) Love C.S. Lewis - have Narnia, the space trilogy and Dark Tower & Other Stories - never delved into the grown-up works, but may give them a try now, along with other inkling recommendations - thanks guys! On another note, I got R.E.M.'s "Up" the other day and was disappointed yet again. Not that there weren't hummables in there, but it was just "New Adventures In High-Fi" all over again. On reflection, I decided that a lot of the problem is simply the order of the songs. If they would just put a couple of the catchier ones at the beginning instead of trying to set a mood with the introspective stuff first, the listening experience would be vastly improved. With "Up" that might be enough. NAIHF suffers from way too much mood/introspective material period. But that's just MHO. Frank Zappa - I think he was clever and funny and the establishment needs shaking up here and there or there wouldn't be any growth. And you have to admire anyone who untiringly challenges(d) himself to go in so many directions in his career, not just finding a safe niche and milking it as far as it can go. (This is one of the things I like about Tim Curry, too, though he's a lot better looking than FZ ever was!) Stuck on a desert island there would be no contest. Mark G wrote: > 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. This sounds hopeful. I identify completely with the jazz problem. Love the idea, but the reality often falls woefully short. Must give this piece a try. Thanks for the suggestion! RS - "Start Me Up" for Win95 - what a sick joke! How about the country version of "Slow Hand"? (Pointer Sisters would be way too energetic.) Re-cloaking, She.Rex - ------------------------ I'm the king of the highway I'm the queen of the hop You should see me at the governor's ball Doin' the Rip-Off Bop I'm a social person I'm the creature in disguise There's a man with a whip on his silver hip Living inside my eyes ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 21:22:27 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: old records SheRex: >Rare Bird >Rhinocerous >Spooky Tooth >Mike Harrison & Junkyard Angel >Jeff Beck Group >Blind Faith >Procol Harum >Tim Buckley >Emerson, Lake & Palmer >Free >Peter Green >Mandrill >Clara Haskil >The Nice >Van Der Graaf Generator >Rick Wakeman >Betty Wright - -- >Diana Ross >The Band >CCR >Pink Floyd >Bee Gees >Donna Summer >Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young >Fleetwood Mac >Paul McCartney >Moody Blues >Jethro Tull (one of my all-time favorite groups) >Steve Miller Band > >What does anyone know about these bands? How come everyone has hippie parents but me?? ;) Eb, who went through childhood listening to almost purely classical music PS Procol Harum and Tim Buckley have some quite good albums (and also some crummy ones), and well, some of us are inclined toward the ELP thing but I'm perfectly willing to accept anyone who despises them. Otherwise, ehhhh...Dave Lang music. ;) But I don't know a thing about Mandrill and Clara Haskil. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 00:58:56 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: observations also sprach 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. anyone know who is doing the version for the commercial? woj, who owns the clique 7" too ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 01:23:56 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: lyrics shutdown also sprach Capitalism Blows: >my question, for those of us who believe that, "copyright infringement >is your best entertainment value," (which, i suppose, is *all* of us) is >this: how difficult/expensive would it be to get your own server, and >put whatever the fuck you want on any web pages housed on said server? it's not difficult at all. smoe.org (and, by extension, fegmania.org) is pretty much what you describe. a pair of sun ultras connected to the net via an isdn line. the boxes were something on the order of $2000 apiece (with trade-in of the old sparcs) and the isdn line plus telco charges are around $100/month. it helps to have some knowledge of networking though. >and after you'd done that, how difficult would it be to keep the thing >being shut down by the feds? 'cause you'd still have to run it through >an established phone-line provider, right? depends on the access provider, i guess. some might be rather sensitive to political pressure, while others would be less inclined to toss you. a fair number of providers are pretty friendly to bulk e-mailers. i'm sure they wouldn't be too worried about some of the stuff that you are describing. woj ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 01:56:23 -0500 From: cinders blue Subject: Re: Sleater-Kinney also sprach Joel Mullins: >Should I go see Sleater-Kinney? They're playing in Austin on March 11 >and I think I've heard some of you mention them before. I've never >heard them but if they're good, I'll go to the show. What's their music >like? Are their shows any good? well, i'd go. saw them last summer (or was it the summer before?) at tramps in new york and it was one of the best shows i saw all year (didn't tape it, alas). vicious double-guitar attack, pounding rhythm, shrieking vocals. sleater-kinney makes me believe in punk rock again. woj ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:08:36 -0800 From: Eb Subject: The Greenman Cometh Well, today I received an advance disc of the new XTC album, Apple Venus Volume I (aka "The Orchestral One"), and since there are so many XTC fans on the list, I thought I'd post some comments. I'm enough of a fan that I popped it in the CD player only a few hours after receiving it, which is rarely the case. The simple facts: 11 tracks, 50:08 minutes. Rating on the Ebby scale: 16/20. Ranked against my 1998 list, it would probably be #3, landing below Rufus Wainwright and above Billy Bragg/Wilco. Ranked against other XTC albums? Hmm. About in the middle, I'd say. I may like this album less than any XTC album since Mummer, but that's not much of an insult, considering what releases came in-between. It's a very good disc, but doesn't quite earn one of those patended "whees" which I deal out so carefully. (And I'm not sure why Gnatalie hated Nonsuch so much, but she may hate this disc even more.) I've had a dubbed Andy Partridge demo tape for ages, courtesy of King of All XTC Fans (aka Steve Schiavo). All but three of the album tracks ("Harvest Festival" and the two Colin Moulding songs) are on the demo tape, but to be honest, I haven't listened to the tape more than about twice, so the CD doesn't sound old-hat to me (thankfully -- this is only *one* of the reasons why I'm not a tape collector). Now, XTC albums have a lot of layers to them, so forgive me if I haven't grasped every last nuance on first listen (particularly lyrics, though I'm much more of a fan of XTC's music than their words anyway). And with that disclaimer out of the way.... 1. River of Orchids Hm. The album opens with one of three tracks which I really don't like much. This one feels more like a "stunt" than anything else, an endless clatter of pizzicato strings and horns squirting and jabbing while Partridge layers a frantic swirl of vocals on top. Despite the relentlessly erratic rhythms, the end effect is that of a "drone" piece. Essentially one pedal note through the whole song. Pretty grating, frankly, though certainly daring and ambitious. 2. I'd Like That A peppy little acoustic tune, which is just a bit too tricky to be truly memorable. The song keeps stopping dead with this overdubbed roar of "SUNFLOWERRRRRR..." which sucks out all the momentum. This one might grab me more, if performed in a more aggressive style. Images of playful seduction abound, but a couple of the lines are painfully cutesy, especially "I'd smile so much, my face would crack in two/Then you could fix it with your kissing glue." Ugh! Also, the rattling handclaps and fingersnaps in the final section don't really work for me. Some pretty Beatlesque counterharmonies, but then, we expect that from XTC, don't we? 3. Easter Theatre One of the heavily orchestral tracks, with a pulse tangibly influenced by classical minimalism. It starts off underwhelmingly, but the chorus explodes with an irresistible gush, as several extra instruments and vocal tracks jump in caressingly. It meanders a bit in the middle, but pulls back together for the climax. Trails off for awhile after that, a bit indulgently. Good, but inconsistent. 4. Knights in Shining Karma Another subdued acoustic song, with soothing vocal harmonies and an elegant madrigal feel. A lovely lullaby atmosphere. A unusually traditional-sounding melody for XTC...not that far from "Julia" and "Scarborough Fair," really. Very pretty, but not quite what I'm looking for from XTC, somehow. 5. Frivolous Tonight The first of the Colin Moulding compositions, which seems designed as a crowd-pleasing breather after Partridge's baroque extravagances. The warmer lyrical tone, compared with the Partridge tracks, is immediately striking. Partridge feels fairly remote to me, on most of this album. Plenty of that carnivalesque Sgt. Pepper bounce permeating the track. I wish the tempo was a little faster -- it's too sluggish to match the lyric's charm. Yikes, is that Mellotron I hear? The song is basically about undoing your pants and relaxing for a night...probably good advice for Andy. A nice one for Blur to cover. 6. Greenman OK, this is the one track which really hits me with That Old XTC Magic. A tremendously visual song, strongly laced with that elemental, medieval feel which Partridge has mined so much in recent years. I picture young girls with garlands in their hair, dancing around the maypole. A lovely mysticism to the whole presentation. Presumably, "Greenman" is a personification of the Earth, as the lyrics urge us to join the celebration and embrace the planet's wonder. The structure has that monochordal "drone" structure again, but it really works this time. I could easily listen to a 15-minute version of this one, while just enjoying the splendor of the strings, flutes and horns flickering around the central polyrhythmic groove. It's also the only track with even a prayer of commercial play, I'm sorry to say. I find it interesting that "Greenman" is saved for the sixth slot, instead of, say, second or third -- to me, this indicates an old-fashioned mindset of album-pacing, held over from the vinyl age. It's positioned as if it's the first song on side two (and I suppose it *is*, if a vinyl version becomes available). A charmingly quaint approach, though maybe not so wise from a marketing standpoint. 7. Your Dictionary And all that sparkling magic is instantly flushed away, as this song rears its ugly head. I complained about Partridge's emotional remoteness on other tracks -- it's like he saved all his fire to pour into this one. Overkill. Despite its gentle acoustic instrumentation, the tone is bitter, bitter, bitter. Vicious even, as a once-cherished betrayer gets blasted with both barrels. The lyrics can be a bit gimmicky and crass, with that Alanis-esque structure where too many lines are variations on the same grammatical template. "S-L-A-P...is that how you spell 'kiss' in your dictionary?" "F-U-C-K...is that how you spell 'friend' in your dictionary?" Etc. One particularly interesting bit of self-laceration: "S-H-I-T...is that how you spell 'me' in your dictionary?/Four-eyed fool you led 'round everywhere...." Ouch. I don't know much about Andy's private life -- did he recently get divorced? Final line (I think): "So let's close the book and let the day begin, then the marriage be undone." Huh. I might like this song more if it was positioned somewhere else -- it's just too much of a negative jolt, following the idyllic "Greenman." I'm probably being too hard on it, as a result. 8. Fruit Nut The other Colin Moulding track. Again, it's a more low-key and "human" atmosphere, with a steadily thumping rhythm similar to that of "Frivolous Tonight." Quite a bit of McCartney in this one, circa "Penny Lane" and "Good Day Sunshine." Rather clunky, however, plus some grating keyboard licks and a poor vocal. If "River of Orchids" and "Your Dictionary" are ambitious failures, this one comes off simply half-assed. Have some better songs saved for Volume Two, Colin? 9. I Can't Own Her This is the track which I think will really grow on me. It may become my second favorite, after "Greenman." Another grandiose orchestral piece, and the first of two consecutive songs with a strong Brian Wilson flavor. The prime hook of the song is a wonderful musical contrast between a majestic, heaven-gazing verse and a downshifting, darkly baroque chorus which perfectly matches the emotional shift of the lyric "...but I can't own HER." Slow and dramatic, with lovely nature imagery and a pleasing phonetic flow to the words (not to mention some exquisite countermelodies in the backing vocals). The song's peculiar, unraveling structure also reminds me somewhat of Victoria Williams' weirder epics. Super. 10. Harvest Festival The most piano-based of the songs, again infused with Wilson's softly plodding chord chains. Thematically, it has a somewhat similar tone to "Greenman," as the title should indicate (but more melancholy, this time). Brilliantly inspired touch about a minute and a half into the action, where a peal of out-of-tune recorders squeaks into the mix between vocal lines. Absolutely delightful, that lick. (The recorders return in the fadeout, also.) A beautiful track, all around. 11. The Last Balloon This slow, dragging track is at *least* a minute too long, as a concluding trumpet solo wanders on and on (and on) without adding anything beyond artificially giving the album a climactic, "wrapping up" feel. Another magical mystery song, with an enigmatic balloon offering escape to another life. The atmosphere doesn't quite make sense to me, as the miserable music and generally optimistic lyric just don't match. Perhaps Partridge is getting burdened by this new need to end every album on an elegaic down note. Anyway, those are my first impressions. If you like, file them away for when you hear the album yourself. Or burn them, while grumbling about non-Robyn content. Or merely smirk about me having nothing better to do on a Saturday night. Even, Eb ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #31 ******************************