From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #321 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Monday, August 23 1999 Volume 08 : Number 321 Today's Subjects: ----------------- lotsa bits [James Dignan ] fear and loathing in the deep south [James Dignan ] wall of sound review [four episode lesbian ] army ofd sallies reduced to a mere phalanx or two [Livia Drusilla ] Re: uno mas review [Eb ] US going down the dumper... [DDerosa5@aol.com] Re: sidewalk review [MARKEEFE@aol.com] cat's cradle review [four episode lesbian ] Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver in the PSX! Woo-hoo! ["Andrew D. Simchik" ] fazing and local echoes [Livia Drusilla ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 11:02:56 +1200 From: James Dignan Subject: lotsa bits Stewart l'Ecosse a dit: >They haven't, but I'd recommend Peter Capaldi's Oscar-winning short >"Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life" which has Richard E. Grant as FK. >Capaldi comes from an Scots-Italian family famous for its ice cream. >You needed to know that. no, but what I've been wondering for years (ever since I saw him in an episode of, erm, Wexford, I think) is... is he related to Jim Capaldi, the drummer from Traffic? Rabbi Shell declares: >god is an ass. >I can say that, because I'm Jewish. I'm surprised you can even say g-d! oh, and to those longing for the good old golden ages of the renaissance, enlightenment, regency et al, with all their high quality arts... remember that if you lived then you'd probably not have heard of any of them. Even if you were a rich merchant or noble, your artistic knowledge would have been greatly hindered by the technology of the age. It's okay to think 'wow! 1820! The age of Haydn, of Goya, of Beethoven, of Pushkin!', but the vagaries of communication and travel, exacerbated by frequent European wars, would have made it very difficult for someone in, say, Spain, to have access to works by any great artists except those from Spain or who visited the region. The same is true to some extent or another with any other part of Europe - how many people in England in the 1830s had even heard of Pushkin? And as for non-Eurocentric art, well, forget it! >> Livia inquires randomly: >> >what's an euphonium? >> A tuba-like instrument, which can be heard most pleasingly on XTC's >> "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her." (Stupid yet cool fact: the guy who >> played euphonium on that song also played on Nyman's "Draughtsman's >> Contract" soundtrack! Quail, take note!) the only rock group I know to regularly use a euphonium in their music is the Muttonbirds (hence the original comment). Some examples of a euphonium in their music include "The Heater" and "A thing well made". >PS Wordsworth-Schmordsworth! Daffodils-Schmaffodils! I wandered lumpy as a sock That bobs anbd weaves, yet posts no bills, When all at once, I caught a clock All toasted with some daisy wheels - Wordiam Woolworths James James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 11:03:38 +1200 From: James Dignan Subject: fear and loathing in the deep south I started a debate, unwittingly: >>>I don't think so - I think the veins comment refers to a young person >>>(the narrator) noticing an older family member's veins... they get more >>>noticable when you get older, right? I mean, right? >>Yeah, they usually do. But I still think James is right that this is >>about a suicidal person, though it's unclear whether or not she actually >>went through with it. >>>And why would you sit at a table to kill yourself? Doesn't make sense... >>You might sit at a table, holding a knife, contemplating it, looking at >>the veins beneath your wrist and how delicate they are, looking at the >>knife and pondering how easily you could cut them. At this moment, you >>might well close your eyes and see the faces of people you love "on your >>lids", and picture their reactions, and see them crying. >All very sensible, except for the problem with tense - remember, she could >see me crying, and -now- she's at the table. ah, but she could see me crying 'long before I ever did'. And, just because the singer sees her at the table, doesn't mean that it's not being seen in his memory that way... >Also I just can't quite reconcile the happy, upbeat tone of the song with >a family member (or other loved one) wanting to kill herself. Would RH do >a song like that? any weirder than him writing "The yip song" as a reaction to his father's death? This song has the same sort of bittersweet sound to the vocals, as though there's a forced, ironic happiness about them. It's not upbeat when compared to the rest of the vocals. The singer's bitter enough to point to Norway with his fist (why Norway???) Let's go through the song: Sally *was* (past tense) a legend, to the singer at least. He loved her, but the relationship wasn't happy, the protagonists 'kept themselves apart'. Now the singer sees Sally as 'a flower in the dark', a dead beauty. The truth, that Sally is gone, is evil, an evil truth to the singer (you know to whom). The veins beneath her wrist line has been explained to my satsfaction by Susan. Why? Why? (does this need interpretation?). "Even with her eyes shut, she could see the faces on her lids, she could see me crying, long before I ever did". Two possible interpretations, both pointing towards the suicide idea. Eiuther she could imagine the faces of her loved ones crying after her death, or she could feel the pressure of people wanting her to do particular things, and this made her suicidal. "And it's been a lifetime, and with you I celebrate my life/ Sally was a legend, noow she's at the table with a knife." The singer wanted to spend his life with Sally,. and now his life is spent remembering her - to reverse the thoughts of Mexican God, your memory will not die until I do. It's impossible for the singer to forget his last sight of Sally, at the table with a knife. This explains the mixed tenses, and is no stranger in that regard than him still seeing his dead wife wearing flares... That's one possible interpretation, anyway... James James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . . Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 19:18:31 -0400 From: four episode lesbian Subject: sidewalk review (among other sidewalks) Robyn Hitchcock Jewels for Sophia (Warner Bros.) 4 stars/5 After spending the early part of this decade trying to shake loose from his reputation as a slightly saner Syd Barrett, tuneful Englishman Robyn Hitchcock has finally embraced his quirky cult status. Nothing on Jewels for Sophia approaches the genius of Hitchcock's '80s classics, but it's still an impressive display of veteran musical craftsmanship. Recorded with a number of guests (R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, Hitchcock's old Soft Boys bandmate Kimberley Rew) and a minimum of rehearsals, Jewels boasts a raw sound that marries Dylan's Basement Tapes to Hitchcock's own 1981, gem Black Snake Diamond Role. Plenty of familiar themes resurface: decay ("time will destroy you like a Mexican god"), goofy surrealism ("The Cheese Alarm," "NASA Clapping") and memorably strange characters (including Antwoman, "a girl who measures your neck"). The most catchy number here may be "Viva! Sea-Tac," a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Seattle-Tacoma area that declares, "they've got the best computers and coffee and smack." The obligatory hidden tracks include a live version of the novelty "Don't Talk to Me About Gene Hackman," a favorite from 1997's Moss Elixir tour. These endearingly offbeat songs aren't likely to win new converts, but Hitchcock continues to please the faithful.— Christopher Bahn, Sidewalk ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 19:25:04 -0400 From: four episode lesbian Subject: wall of sound review Robyn Hitchcock Jewels for Sophia Label: Warner Bros. Genre: Rock, Pop File Under: Still not rehearsing for retirement Rating: 82 Decades after the Soft Boys, 10 years after having had college radio "hits," and recently canonized on film by Jonathan Demme, Robyn Hitchcock simply keeps on. He has become, alas, the archetypal cult musician, with a scant audience in his native England and small pockets of rabid fans throughout the States, known as much for the glib surreality of his semi-improvised stage patter as for his music. Despite the apparent novelty of his richly imagistic songs, Hitchcock has always been capable of precise blades thrust to the heart of the matter. Witness "The Cheese Alarm," which seems little more than an amusing run through the deli tray until it strays upon this couplet: "Half the world's starving, and half the world bloats/ Half the world sits on the other and gloats." The opening "Mexican God" nods graciously toward doo-wop, while the dubious ode to Seattle, "Viva! Sea-Tac" (which features the chorus "Viva, viva, viva, viva, viva Sea-Tac/ They've got the best computers and coffee and smack"), and "NASA Clapping" are facile dust-ups. "Sally Was a Legend" is rich, vintage Hitchcock and could fit on any of his last dozen albums, as could much of the balance. Recorded with various friends in Seattle (a quorum of Young Fresh Fellows, Peter Buck), Los Angeles (Grant Lee Phillips, Jon Brion), and East London (Kimberly Rew, back after a 17-year hiatus), Jewels for Sophia has a springy, lurching step, even if no particular directions home. — Grant Alden ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 16:44:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Livia Drusilla Subject: army ofd sallies reduced to a mere phalanx or two close your eyes and see the faces of people you love "on your lids",and picture their reactions, and see them crying.>hold on. you're saying the lines >Even with her eyes shut >She could see the faces on her lids >She could see me crying >That was long before I ever did >are *not* some kind of weird muad'dib reference? as if they couldn't be, like, coffin lids or something. (or even coffee lids, which is how i insist on hearing that leppo-line no matter how many times some other linx tries to change it back.) on the other hand, she could just be a lucid dreamer, like, drug-assisted or otherwise, and no bloody gum jabber required. why, even i can do that...right now, even... er, got a flaSH of some fishies chasing each other, a dancing skeleton, a roman statue with a castle on its head (and a charioteer carrying a torch, i think), and then it all disintegrated into a 72 bus and someone kissing a guitar, or sometyhing like that... [yeah, but wait till you see the version on the cd-enhanced you and oblivia 17 or whatever the next hate-dept releasae might be. and now, mister avon will go vomit in a plastic bag!] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 19:41:46 -0400 From: four episode lesbian Subject: uno mas review Robyn Hitchcock Jewels For Sophia (Warner Brothers) Jon Jolles I remember being in New York City, for some reason which escapes me now, in 1997 and walking down the street and seeing a crowd of people around a storefront listening to someone on the guitar which I found vaguely familiar. Upon closer inspection I found it was Robyn Hitchcock, filming what I perceived was a music video. I stood and listened to him for a while, remembering how much I used to like him. I kind of lost touch with Mr. Hitchcock somewhere between 1988's Globe of Frogs and 1989's Queen Elvis. I remember hearing Queen Elvis at some point and not thinking that much of it one way or another. But I stood there and listened to him play a couple of songs, and listened to him do his epic, surreal monologues that are as legendary as they are baffling and thinking "I should check out what he's been up to lately", but like many thoughts you have walking around Manhattan, it was fleeting and I never followed up on it. Well that "video" turned out to be a concert film and accompanying cd produced by none other than Jonathan Demme (maybe he'll do for Hitchcock what he did for Talking Heads). 1998's appropriately titled Storefront Hitchcock with it's live overview of Robyn's oeuvre was preceded by not one but two best-of packages; 1997's Uncorrected Personality Traits, covering 81' through 85's output, and 1996's Greatest Hits (?!), which collected 88' through 93's "chart toppers"(sic). Apparently, at that point in the Hitchcock saga, there wasn't much to "check out" except repackaged and/or rerecorded versions of material I was already familiar with. Well, now fegmaniacs everywhere can rejoice! Later this month will see the release of Jewels For Sophia, a terrific new album of relatively new material (one song, "No, I Don't Remember Guilford", appeared in it's earlier incarnation on Storefront...) from the always interesting and evocative Hitchcock. The record is a simple, understated, unfettered production, which suits the material just fine. It sounds so refreshingly straight forward you'd think you were hearing the demo for the record instead of the actual finished product. The various band configurations, featuring at times Peter Buck, three quarters of the beloved Young Fresh Fellows, and Soft Boys mate Kimberley Rew, were never given much time to learn or rehearse the songs, which gives the recorded versions here a certain immediacy and excitement. The sparceness of the arrangements- it often sounds like there's never more than 3 or 4 instruments on any one song- gives the performances an intimacy as well. The record opens with "Mexican God" with it's incredibly catchy "oooohh wop, shoo wah da da wop" vocal bit, it's patented Hitchcock creepy and provocative lyric and that phrasing by Syd Barrett and John Lennon's love child on Dramamine that he does so well; "Moon in a cup, crushed garlic and babies, Sailors all stagnant and bloating and rough, The horror of you floats by my window, at least when I die your memory will too...". The whole record is full of his particular gem-like turns of phrase; it's funny and sad and scary all at once. While "The Cheese Alarm" may be the world's first pop song featuring a staggering array of dairy based delicacies from around the globe, "Viva! Sea-Tac" is a virtual travel guide of the Pacific Northwest (Sea-Tac = Seattle- Tacoma); "Viva viva viva viva Sea-Tac, They've got the best computers and coffee and smack....May they reproduce until there's no room to go anywhere, Clustered under the Space Needle like walking eggs on and arms and legs...". These bizarre excursions are followed by a pair of pretty love songs; "I Feel Beautiful" almost has a slight Tom Waits feel, mostly due to it's delicate marimba while "You've Got a Sweet Mouth on You Baby" is reminiscent of Nick Drake. "NASA Clapping" is a rocket fueled rocker with some serious geetar noise action courtesy of Hitchcock and Rew; imagine the out-of-control solos that old Bob Stinson used to conjure up in the original `Mats lineup. Other up tempo numbers include "Sally Was a Legend", which could easily be the single, and "Elizabeth Jade", which could almost pass as an obscure Kingsmen party tune. The aforementioned "No, I Don't Remember Guilford" sounds like it could have been included on 1986's Element of Light, one of my favorite Hitchcock records and hopelessly hard to find on disc (at least in my neck of the woods). Needless to say, the whole record is pretty great, but by all means, don't stop the disc before you hear one of it's two hidden tracks, the hilarious "Don't Talk to Me About Gene Hackman". I don't want to give too much away; suffice it to say it will be appearing on many a comp tape, I assure you. If you're like me and lost touch somewhere along the line with Hitchcock's unique musical vision, pick up Jewels For Sophia. In the song "Antwoman" he sings "Oh I dream of Antwoman, with her Audrey Hepburn feelers and her black and white stripes, I know my type and she's out there, I know my type and she's out there." Now that I've rediscovered Robyn Hitchcock, I'm thinking maybe he's my type. He's certainly out there. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 17:13:24 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: uno mas review >"Viva viva viva viva >Sea-Tac, They've got the best computers and coffee and smack.... This sure is the "I'll fuck you 'til your dick is blue/F-U-C-K Is that how you spell friend in your dictionary?"-style soundbite of this album, ain't it? Every damn review quotes it. FWB, Eb ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 21:21:42 EDT From: DDerosa5@aol.com Subject: US going down the dumper... Steve appended: P.S. Texas is still better than Florida. Yeah, you're 49th on the shit-o-meter, unless you feel like dragging some shithole like Alabama in...but Texas doesn't even acknowledge their existence. You're certainly right about Florida, it's hell, and they've got an even dumber Bush as governor. Dave writing from Illinois, "America's most mediocre state--ever!" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 21:43:57 EDT From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: sidewalk review In a message dated 8/21/99 4:29:21 PM, woj@smoe.org writes: << Nothing on Jewels for Sophia approaches the genius of Hitchcock's '80s classics >> Glad to see a generally very good review. Hate to see that kind of hyperbole. I mean, c'mon, not *one* song on JfS even "approaches" the quality of his 80's works?! I'd say it's in the same league as many of his 80's works, m'self! Although I now think that it's my second favorite album of the year -- "The Soft Bulletin" just keeps on getting better and better :-) But, we'll see, there are astill a few months left. - -----Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 22:34:23 -0400 From: four episode lesbian Subject: cat's cradle review did anyone else see this show? did pavement really play with robyn, per this review, or did this guy mean to say sebadoh? >From: "David Scales" >To: "four episode lesbian" >Subject: RH Carrboro gig >Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 09:54:01 -0400 > >RH: Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC, 12 August 1999 >With Flaming Lips, Sebadoh, Cornelius, Iqu > >This is a "Reader's Digest" condensed version of RH's gig near here >last week. In a nutshell: too short. 45 minutes, max. He opened with >"Gene Hackman", which (fortunately) did a lot to get the crowd of early-20's >and teens on his side. He did acoustic versions of "The Cheese Alarm", >"I Am Not Me", "Arms of Love" and "Jewels for Sophia". This was followed >by a solo electric set of "Autumn Is Your Last Chance" (an all-time fave >of the writer) on a guitar that was so heavily flanged and stuttered that >it seemed almost as if he was singing to a prerecorded tape -- I watched >him pick the guitar, but the notes coming out of the amp were not eveb >close to correspinding to his picking. An awesome effect, and highly >disconcerting. He also did "Kingdom of Love" as well, which brought >out quite a bit of applause from the teenagers. The show was ended >with RH and three members of Pavement (Steven Malkmus and two >others) doing a really loud and destructive version of "Listeneing to the >Higsons"; it was actually very reminiscent of the sloppy version of >"Rock 'N' Roll Toilet", except much much louder. > Again, the only downside: way too short. Flaming Lips suck anyways. >Toss them, give Cornelius an extra 20 minutes and give the rest to >Robyn, I say. Whoops -- one other downside: only two varieties of >T-shirt to choose from: the purple one with the green star, or the one >with the strangely-coloured sleeve ends and collar that is so fancied >by teenage 60s-retro-wannabes. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 02:07:01 -0400 From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver in the PSX! Woo-hoo! >From: "JH3" >Subject: eb all over the subject line Speaking of which, I played some Spacemen 3 on my show tonight. The light dawns: Spacemen 3 was Jason Pierce's old band! I didn't know that. That is some weird, wild stuff. So now I understand the shoegazer connection for Spiritualized. I think I like Spiritualized better, though, from what I've heard so far. >>>>but I think we'd all agree that academia is the most socially >>>>dysfunctional environment you'll find in a free country. > >>>That's another ridiculous thing to say, and trivially false (try >>>polygamous families in Utah, for example). > >>i tell ya, when i read john's comment, it looked like the greatest >>straight-line i'd ever seen. but i just could not for the life of me >>think of the perfect payoff. drew's example comes pretty close... > >Oooh, can I try a few? > [] >4. "I assume this is *not* counting the Internet, then?" This is the one. Yes. >From: Paul Adams > [I asked:] > >Ran across an old Robyn review (or was it recent, > >on the list?) that claimed "Queen Elvis" (the song) > >was about "what if Elvis were a woman?" > >Around when it was released I recall Robyn saying that it (and "Veins") was >about ultra-public figures like the Queen and Elvis; how their lives are so >surreal it's tragic. This idea seems to have led to a character "Queen >Elvis" who's an icon of troublesome ambiguous sexuality. Closeted >homosexuality as a metaphor for the unseen side of celebrity. Issues of >public scrutiny vs. private life, alienation, isolation, etc. Ahhh...thanks very much. Has Robyn ever commented (you can tell I haven't read much meta-Robyn) on all the "troublesome ambiguous sexuality" throughout his stuff? This is probably very obvious, but of course I'm talking about "Uncorrected Personality Traits," "Sometimes I Wish...", "Egyptian Cream," "Queen Elvis" itself, "Man With a Woman's Shadow," and, hell, the story in _Respect_. >From: Eb >Speaking of pomegranates, the Mystery Men soundtrack really *sucks*. >Practically every song is a deja-vu ripoff of *something*, and two even >seem to plagiarize: "Back in 1999" is entirely based on the (uncredited) >riff of "Waiting for My Man," and the Spearhead track is based around the >(uncredited) opening measures of Satie's "Gymnopedie." Meanwhile, the only >two decent tracks on the disc are -- you guessed it -- ripped off from >*another* soundtrack: Saturday Night Fever. Sheeeeesh. And no Tom Waits >track, besides. A real step down for major motion picture soundtracks, then? >Love on ya, >Susan Momus *is* fucking weird! I have yet to listen to the whole album I bought (_Hippopotamomus_ called to me). >From: Natalie Jacobs >In other news, after many, many years of vicious, crippling Beach Boys >phobia, I finally purchased "Pet Sounds" and listened to it for the first >time last night. Wow. Just.... wow. It's tough to get past "Surfin' USA," but it's rewarding, isn't it? >I no longer fear and despise Brian Wilson. My life has become a sunnier >place. Just avoid _Imagination_. Don't go there. Drew - -- Andrew D. Simchik, wyrd@rochester.rr.com http://home.rochester.rr.com/wyrd/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 11:29:01 -0500 From: steve Subject: Salon review of MABDR www.salonmagazine.com/ent/log/1999/08/21/lips/index.html - - Steve _______________ We're all Jesus, Buddha, and the Wizard of Oz! - Andy Partridge ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 23:26:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Livia Drusilla Subject: fazing and local echoes ken wrote: "ok, i have to admit that i'm not really sure what phasing is. i'm guessing that is has something to do with the echoey sound on the songs that have been mentioned. i submit, on this understanding, that perhaps..." >you'll have to go sideways or use a full-on glass >when i was dead i was somebody's wife? er, no, that's just the legendary sallie. >moon inside gets very round indeed, and i don't mean some silly pregnancy analogy either. more like a fremale version of the universe getting very hard... >the lizard should give way to "he's a reptile" >winchester / aquarium agh, democracy! shotgun tyme! the corporation is fragmenting into unstable triads and converging partnerships, and securities aren't just for walll street any more. cue a fish in the trees, and a watermellon grin or two. and yeah, honey, the cheeze will be heading home as soon as she;'s done here at kinko's, so stay tuned for our next thrilling episode of "three children and it" aka "how the semi-divine arch finally got itself jointed". >love and seeping sands to u too ken "not that other guy" the kensternp. mag earwhig! guided by voices ++> lyv "inddeed that other girl" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #321 *******************************