From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #342 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Wednesday, September 8 1999 Volume 08 : Number 342 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Lennon question [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: brothers/covers ["Jason R. Thornton" ] All little sisters... [Natalie Jacobs ] Re: Lennon question [Eb ] Re: A fegdream answers an unsolved mystery ["Richard Zeszotarski" ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V8 #341 [Doc ] Re: Lennon question [Joel Mullins ] Re: Lennon question [Joel Mullins ] Re: crickets chirping ["Richard Zeszotarski" ] Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records [Aaron Mandel ] Pavement/Wilco/AmAnSet [Joel Mullins ] Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records [Joel Mullins ] Re: brothers/covers [Joel Mullins ] #10 [Joel Mullins ] Re: brothers/covers [Scary Mary ] Boston area fegs [Scary Mary ] Re: Songs about Brothers ["Capitalism Blows" ] Nigel Godrich [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: Songs about Brothers [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: #10 [MARKEEFE@aol.com] Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records [Eb ] Re: mp3s all over the world [Capuchin ] (No RH) the musical stylings of Critical Fish [Christopher Donnell ] Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records [Joel Mullins ] Bumbershoot '99: A Memoir [Michael Wolfe ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 14:05:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: Lennon question "Andrew D. Simchik" wrote: > I'm almost totally unfamiliar with John Lennon's > solo albums. Is there a collection (e.g. "Legend"?) > that would make a good starting point, or are they > all worthless? If the latter, what would be a good > album or two to begin with? Thanks in advance for your > help. _Legend_ is a pretty decent overview. and it includes some tracks ("cold turkey"; "instant karma") that were great singles not on any album (save _Shaved Fish_, which ultimately Legend is just an updating of). _Plastic Ono Band_ is brilliant. _Imagine_ is pretty good. dunno beyond that. > > From: Jeff Dwarf > > > ["There She Goes" cover] > > Sixpence None the Richer. god it sucks. > > Oh, it's not that bad. Again, not a patch on the > scintillating original, but I'd rather think of Leigh > Nash while hearing it than that glamour boy from the > La's. And they win points for not switching the damn > pronouns. well, i guess they do deserve some credit for not making it "there HE goes," but it still sucks hard. (i assume leigh nash is the singer with spntr, and what a stupid band name that is for that matter). of course, i hated "kiss me" with every fibre of my being, so i doubt i'd like any followup. i will admit that it's a million times better than orgy's "blue monday." === "America's greatest natural resource, still, to this day, is the moron" --Martin Mull __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 14:12:17 -0700 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: brothers/covers At 04:35 PM 9/8/99 -0400, Scary Mary wrote: >Eb mentioned: > >>David Bowie: "The Bewlay Brothers." Powerful stuff. > >This is my favourite song on "Hunky Dory" - such a great album. Personally, I'd probably rate "Quicksand" and "Life on Mars?" higher than "The Bewlay Brothers." Which is not to say "Bewlay Brothers" isn't a terrific track. Does that Donnie and Marie song that goes "I'm a little bit country, he's a little bit rock 'n' roll" count? - --Jason's on sale again ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 17:20:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: All little sisters... >Last weekend while attending the wedding of my wife's >brother (the band surprisingly played Walking On >Sunshine, but was otherwise almost totally wretched), >she asked me if I knew any songs about brothers. >I drew a blank. Well, all right, it's another gender-switch, but... (Costello fans, say it with me) "Big Sister's Clothes"! Whoo-hoo! n. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 14:23:25 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Lennon question Drew asked about solo Lennon: I'd say buy John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Double Fantasy (in that order), and then see if you're enticed to dig further into Walls & Bridges and Mind Games. I still don't even own Rock & Roll or Sometime in New York City, myself. Shaved Fish or some such hits compilation is also good to have, so you can get the indispensible "Instant Karma," "Cold Turkey" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." Eb, who sure wishes he could at least HEAR the complete Anthology box, and loves to play "Life on Mars?" on piano np: Scarnella/same ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:23:09 EDT From: "Richard Zeszotarski" Subject: Re: A fegdream answers an unsolved mystery >PS. The Residents did an album called "The King and Eye" which >consists entirely of Elvis Presley covers; I think they even followed >that with a whole series of similar LP's featuring tunes by people >like James Brown and (I think) Irving Berlin, but I'm a bit dodgy on >the details. (Too much second-hand smoke, I guess.) > > > The Residents also put out an album of Hank Williams and John Philip Sousa covers called "Stars And Hank Forever." -Rich Z. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:05:17 EDT From: "Richard Zeszotarski" Subject: Re: -crickets chirping- >From: Joel Mullins >Reply-To: Joel Mullins >To: fegmaniax@smoe.org >Subject: Re: >Date: Mon, 06 Sep 1999 17:21:10 -0700 > >Eb wrote: > > > > >And there's the Whitey Album from Ciccone > > >Youth (aka Sonic Youth). > > > > Not all covers. Not even *close*. > >Really? I haven't heard it in years. I remembered it being a bunch of >Madonna songs. I guess I remembered wrong. > >Joel Actually, only one or two of the songs are Madonna covers, if I remember correctly. The rest are Sonic Youth originals, or so iI remember. -Rich Z. - - ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 14:33:23 -0700 (PDT) From: Doc Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V8 #341 >Mike Love, lead singer of the famed California band the Beach Boys, >filed suit yesterday in a Los Angeles court seeking unspecified damages >for the alleged impregnation of his cat by a neighbor's feline. Carl Palmer in a cat suit. Now I've heard of everything. - -Doc n.p. nuthin', just got back from lunch __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 16:36:28 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: Lennon question Andrew D. Simchik wrote: > > Fegs, > > I'm almost totally unfamiliar with John Lennon's > solo albums. Is there a collection (e.g. "Legend"?) > that would make a good starting point, or are they > all worthless? If the latter, what would be a good > album or two to begin with? Thanks in advance for your > help. Well, personally, I don't think collections are ever as good as actual albums, that is unless it's some band that only has 10 good songs. The Imagine soundtrack is okay and I'm sure Legend is decent too. But I would recommend buying a few albums. The four that you need are as follows: Plastic Ono Band Imagine Mind Games Double Fantasy Those are his best albums. Most people will probably recommend one of the first two, but Mind Games has always been my favorite Lennon album. However, I'd put Imagine and Plastic Ono Band so close behind it that it's probably pointless to even pick a "favorite." Double Fantasy has some fantastic songs on it, though you do have to put up with some really shitty Yoko tunes, which aren't very tuneful by the way. If you want something that's just plain shitty and weird, get the Wedding Album. It's nice to put on at parties because it gets weird looks and laughs from everyone. Plus, if someone actually digs it, you can ask them if they have anymore acid. Hope this helps. - --Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 16:37:43 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: Lennon question Bachman, Michael wrote: > > I like the one from 1970. It has "Working Class Hero", "God", "Mother" among > others. Some Primal Scream Theropy traces from his sessions are manifested > in song. Some maintain that it's the best solo release by any ex-Beatle. All Things Must Pass is by far the best ex-Beatle solo album...in my opinion anyway. Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:47:44 EDT From: "Richard Zeszotarski" Subject: Re: crickets chirping > > > >> Did anyone mention Bowie's "Pinups"? Speaking of "pinups", I believe Human Drama put out an album of covers that was also called "Pinups" and featured covers of Bowie and Pink Floyd, but was pretty damn awful. -Rich Z. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 17:52:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Eb wrote: > I'm wondering if Radiohead deserves more credit for their arrangements > than I previously suspected. What are Goodrich's other career > landmarks? He did the Breeders, didn't he? according to allmusic.com, he also produced Mutations. i find this interesting because i think the Pavement and Radiohead albums are actually arranged very similarly; it's just a better treatment for Radiohead songs than for Pavement. > Not sure what people are reacting against, with Superchunk. That they > dared to deviate from their formula by using an artier, hands-on > producer? i like the sound; still, for whatever reason, the sameness of their songs really hit me this time. (not quite as badly as on Here's Where The Strings Come In, though.) speaking of dull, i am finding the Folk Implosion album totally unmemorable. i wonder who the third dude taking a songwriting co-credit for most of it is. a ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 16:52:28 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Pavement/Wilco/AmAnSet lj lindhurst wrote: > This record is now in my top three of the year, along with JfS and > Pavement's "Terror Twilight". (I think there was a bit of discussion > about "Terror Twilight" a while back here, but I might have had a fit > of delete-key spazzing.) I am very impressed with this album, and I > think it may be vying with JfS for my favorite record of the year. > Oddly enough, I got it the first week it came out, played it a couple > of times and thought it was just too inconsistent and sharp to warm > up to. But I was so fucking nuts about every other one of their > records, I decided to give it another try-- and it finally stuck > with me on the third spin through (as Pavement albums often do). In > fact, I have become OBSESSED with it ever since! It has become a > necessary part of my current working-music ritual (JfS followed by > "Terror Twilight"). I especially like the song "Don't Cry Ann", > which I think is a ready-made, VU-calibre CLASSIC. I can hit > 'repeat' over and over again on practically every song, and I often > finish the whole album and start it over from the beginning without a > second thought. Yes! Yes! Yes! Terror Twilight is a very kick ass album. It's one of the only "really great" albums I've heard all year in fact. I've heard a lot of "pretty damn good" but not much "really great." Anyway, every song on the Pavement album is great, though it did take a few listens for me to get into it too. I especially like "Billie" and "Speak, See, Remember." However, my favorite songs on this album change everytime I listen to it. Speaking of favorite songs changing, I've always thought that a really good sign that an album is kick ass is when after awhile, your favorite songs on the album are the ones that were your least favorite when you first heard it. This has happened with the new Wilco album. I've always had mixed feelings about this record, but I find myself listening to it all the fucking time. And it keeps on getting better, 7 months after I originally bought it. Anyone on the list a fan of The American Analog Set? I just got their new album yesterday. There's some terrific stuff on it, but there's also a few mediocre songs. I really like their sound, but some mean guitar solos sure would've helped. Overall, it's one of those "pretty damn good" albums. Damn, I'm wordy today. - --Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:04:40 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records Eb wrote: > >what, they weren't catchy before? that's the whole problem with Terror > >Twilight, in my ears: no killer tunes. that and the production. > > You know...that Nigel Goodrich got so much acclaim for producing OK > Computer, but judging from the Jason Falkner and Pavement albums this year, > I'm wondering if Radiohead deserves more credit for their arrangements than > I previously suspected. What are Goodrich's other career landmarks? He did > the Breeders, didn't he? The production on the Falkner album is the best thing about it. And I love the production on Terror Twilight. Nigel deserves credit for doing a good job with what he had to work with in both of those cases. Those bands are not Radiohead. With them, he had an incredible band who had a batch of outstanding songs written. Sometimes a producer may make a band look good and sometimes it's the other way around. In the case of OK Computer, I'd say it was both. Of course Radiohead deserves credit for their arrangements. Shit. I think I'm rambling. Here's my point: I think Nigel Godrich is a good producer. But it's unfair to him, Jason Falkner, and Pavement to make comparisons between their albums and OK Computer. Radiohead is in a totally different class. Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:06:45 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: brothers/covers Scary Mary wrote: > This is my favourite song on "Hunky Dory" - such a great album. Speaking of Hunky Dory, Bowie's new album supposedly sounds like a cross between HD and The Man Who Sold the World. I'd say that's very good news. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:08:11 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: #10 By the way, has anyone else seen the new Rolling Stone? JfS is listed at #10 on the college charts. Woohoo! Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 18:24:36 -0400 From: Scary Mary Subject: Re: brothers/covers Jason offered: > >Personally, I'd probably rate "Quicksand" and "Life on Mars?" higher than >"The Bewlay Brothers." Which is not to say "Bewlay Brothers" isn't a >terrific track. Okay, okay. I must say that I do love every song on "Hunky Dory." It is my fav Bowie album. Followed closely by "Scary Monsters" - as a Robert Fripp fan it has some wonderful moments for me on it. By the way, I met Mr. Fripp once and he was very polite and nice. Usually you just hear horror stories about him. Eb exclaimed: >Saints be preserved! You posted, you posted! I'm alive...alive I tell you! And guess what Eb, I'm about to make another post. Three in one day, can you believe it? :) S. Mary ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 18:27:34 -0400 From: Scary Mary Subject: Boston area fegs And now the promised 3-in-1-day post... I'm going to be in the Cape Cod area September 11-14th and Boston on the 15th-19th. Any place special to go while I'm there? Any good cd stores to visit? Any shows/concerts/clubs I should know about? Any Boston area fegs to meet? Thanks! S. Mary ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 15:40:19 PDT From: "Capitalism Blows" Subject: Re: Songs about Brothers for real? what about Ted, Woody And Junior??? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:52:14 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Nigel Godrich Eb wrote: > You know...that Nigel Goodrich got so much acclaim for > producing OK Computer, but judging from the Jason Falkner and > Pavement albums this year, I'm wondering if Radiohead deserves > more credit for their arrangements than I previously suspected. > What are Goodrich's other career landmarks? He did the > Breeders, didn't he? if you mean _Last Splash,_ that was coproduced by Mark Freegard (and Kim Deal); _pod_ was albini. according to allmusic.com, he's done engineered for Ride (carnival of lights), Siouxsie & The Banshees (superstition), Booth & The Bad Angel; and mixing for R.E.M. (up), Neil Finn, and Natalie Imbruglia. === "America's greatest natural resource, still, to this day, is the moron" --Martin Mull __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:54:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: Songs about Brothers Capitalism Blows wrote: > blank.> > > for real? what about Ted, Woody And Junior??? a) they were disappointments to their fatherS, so at least one is not a sibling. b) that would make it about gay incest. and while robyn is willing to write about a wide scope of the peculiarities of the human experience, gay incest? === "America's greatest natural resource, still, to this day, is the moron" --Martin Mull __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 18:54:05 EDT From: MARKEEFE@aol.com Subject: Re: #10 In a message dated 9/8/99 3:20:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time, skmull@swbell.net writes: << By the way, has anyone else seen the new Rolling Stone? JfS is listed at #10 on the college charts. Woohoo! >> I literally had to read that, like, 3 or 4 times. That's so cool!! - ------Michael K. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 15:56:45 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records Joel: >But it's unfair to him, Jason Falkner, and Pavement to >make comparisons between their albums and OK Computer. Radiohead is in >a totally different class. Speaking as someone who has Falkner/Pavement albums in his permanent collection but no Radiohead, I heartily agree. ;) Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 16:15:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: mp3s all over the world On 2 Sep 1999, John B. Jones wrote: > Hi, I'm John. > <"Hi, John!"> > I regularly hunt for and download mp3's of copyrighted, commercially available > music. > <"Well, have a seat John, and we're glad you made it to this week's meeting."> Good for you, John!!! Most artists don't need your patronage. (OK... that's not entirely true. Most artists need patronage because most artists don't live on their artwork. But it IS true that most artists don't DESERVE your patronage because most of everything is shit.) But the simple fact is that the record companies take a huge chunk of record sales and they use most of the money to subsidize their big name acts and give them fancy things like vanity labels and shit like that. But you all know my rant against record companies. I see the trend in MP3 sales going exactly the right way. People are getting used to the medium becuase the cool special things they want (like the new They might Be Giants album) are only available electronically. Then when the people are all comfortable, the pirating will begin in earnest. We just need faster BIDIRECTIONAL network connections, man. Phew. The world is about to get fun. Don't take this assymetrical crap, though. Throw it in AT&T's face. Tell them you want full speed up and down and you want a static address. Don't let them turn the net into a passive nightmare like TV and radio. > Uh, I'm also known in some circles as Lobsterman. > <"Sit down, John."> You kick ass, Lobsterman. You and the Jacklady and the Vivkid need to get together real soon. I mean real soon. Soon. Call us. J. - -- ________________________________________________________ J A Brelin Capuchin ________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: 8 Sep 99 19:21:35 EDT From: Christopher Donnell Subject: (No RH) the musical stylings of Critical Fish I hate sending off-topic worthless mail, but I figured I'd tell people that the wonderful musical stylings (well, two crappily recorded songs) of CRITICAL FISH (my band) are now residing at mp3.com... the cryptic URL for these tunes is http://www.mp3.com/criticalfish ... I'm only asking you to visit and download the songs becuase it's pretty cool looking at the stats and seeing that people have downloaded them. Feel no need to actually listen to them... Oh and if you feel like writing me back use qrys@bigfoot.com Thanks a bunch fellow fegs... ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 16:35:54 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Boston area fegs On 9/8/99 3:27 PM, Scary Mary wrote: >Any place special to go while I'm there? > Cape Cod: Sam Diego's Mexican Restaurant on Rt. 132 in Hyannis - No reason, really. I just like it. Herring Cove Beach at the tip of the Cape - One of the few places on the East Coast where you can watch the sun set over the ocean. Marconi Wireless Point, midway up the Cape - Radio killed the telegraph star! >Any good cd stores to visit? > Newbury Comics Strawberries in Kenmore Square - I met The Replacements there. Tower Records on Newbury Street - I met Robyn there. >Any shows/concerts/clubs I should know about? > TT The Bear's Place and The Middle East in Cambridge. They both usually have some good stuff happening. >Any Boston area fegs to meet? You met me already, and I moved away in 1991 anyhow. skip a stone at Herring Cove for me! - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 18:38:15 -0700 From: Joel Mullins Subject: Re: Brothers/the Auteurs/records Eb wrote: > > Joel: > >But it's unfair to him, Jason Falkner, and Pavement to > >make comparisons between their albums and OK Computer. Radiohead is in > >a totally different class. > > Speaking as someone who has Falkner/Pavement albums in his permanent > collection but no Radiohead, I heartily agree. ;) Are you saying that Radiohead is of a lower class than Falkner/Pavement? If so, I heartily disagree. Joel ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 17:08:01 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael Wolfe Subject: Bumbershoot '99: A Memoir ...or, How Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Da Bomb. Foreword: This is going to be long. I don't want to muscle in on Jeme's territory here, and I'm not nearly the storyteller that he is, but I'll do my best. It's just that he never sent his bit about the MABD expedition (which certainly was a noteworthy experience), and I wanted to make sure that there would definitely be a Bumbershoot chronicle. So I decided to write one myself. Prologue: A bracing, but sunny morning in Portland last Wednesday, the first of September. The cool temperature seems to clarify the air, giving the sunlight an almost coherent texture. I meet up with my college friends Randy and Talesin at the airport (they've flown in from Minneapolis), and on the way back into town we talk cheerfully about their plans and of life in general. They're in town because of Labor Day weekend, but unfortunately, Labor Day means that I'm leaving town for Bumbershoot. Still, we've got a day to hang out together, and we make the most of it. Together, we go for a bike ride to, and all over, Powell Butte in southeast Portland. It's a forested hill with a maze of trails running through the park that it comprises, and it's a perfect day for a ride. The three of us have a vigorous afternoon screaming through the park, footage of which would make a fine ad campaign for the sports beverage of your choice. We cap things off by getting cleaned up and going out for Spanish food. (Mmm. Tapas.) That night I go to sleep tired, but satisfied from the day's exertions. Day 1: I'm not packed. My train leaves at noon, and I'm not packed. I wake up plenty early, so it's not a problem, but the fact that I'm not packed instills a sense of urgency in me. So I furiously run around my apartment getting things in order, packing clothes, getting a lunch together, etc. When the dust settles, I'm all ready, I have everything I need for the trip, and it's 10:00. I overcompensated. Nuts. Needless to say, I make the train. Furthermore, it leaves on time (a relief after me and Capuchin's MABD misadventure). I settle in with Paul Auster's New York Trilogy (a gift from our own lovely Carole Reichstein. Thanks Carole!), which immediately engrosses me, though I spend a good deal of time just gazing out the window, too. Soon, I don a welding mask and wield steel tongs so that I can safely deal with the pesto sandwich that I made for lunch. When I made the pesto several days earlier, in following the recipe I substituted the word "head" for every instance of the word "clove". It turned out, uh, pretty potent, and I've lived in fear of it ever since. I was master of the pesto on this day, but next time I may not be so lucky. Maybe Sharkboy can offer advice on how I can maintain the upper hand. The rest of the ride is uneventful (if you don't count spectacular vistas of Puget Sound as an "event"). I get to Seattle with just enough time to bus out to my Grandparents' house, kiss them hello, drop off my luggage, and get back downtown before the REM concert starts. And I do, just. Waiting in line, the first opener, The Picketts, start playing, and I get into position on the main floor of the Stadium (really close to the sweet spot between the speakers). When I look up and they say, "Thanks! See you next time!" It was pretty abrupt; they didn't get through more than 3 or 4 songs. A single song plays over the PA (James Brown's "Sex Machine"(!)), and on comes Saltine. They're not bad, and they've got ex-Posie Ken Stringfellow (his flaming red hair makes a more substantial appearance later in the evening). Again, they only get 3 songs -- not really enough to make much of an impression, but I like what I hear. Then we get "Brick House" over the PA, and the Young Fresh Fellows take the stage. They're silly. 4 more songs, ending with "When Will it End". This ends up being a running gag through REM's set. It's about an hour or so more of canned funk over the PA before REM make their appearance. They play pretty much the set that has been reported in the media, with "Cuyahoga" and "Fall On Me" the oldest two songs. The band is really tight, especially considering how much instrument swapping takes place. Peter Buck doesn't have a spotlight, but he's the one worth watching. His guitar playing is electrifying (no pun intended), and he's still pretty darn athletic for an old guy. The accolades from the press describe pretty well what I'm seeing, so I won't be redundant. But the highlights for me are "Electrolyte", an acidic rendition of "The Apologist", "Finest Worksong", and "At My Most Beautiful", which Stipe dedicates to Robyn and Michelle. REM were my favorite band before I found Robyn, it's my first time seeing them, and I'm not disappointed. But way back then, when they were first ascending into the national eye, I remember a great deal of controversy and brouhaha regarding Michael Stipe's sexual "ambiguity." Especially within the pages of Rolling Stone. Well, seeing him in person, I'm perplexed. There's nothing ambiguous about the man at all. The guy is a raging queen. It's plain as day. I just mention this on the off chance that people are STILL being kept up late at night, pondering this question. The only low point of the the show is when Stipe takes his shirt off during "Star 69". With his bald head, he looks like an Auschwitz survivor. It's pretty gross. Of course, the crowd goes nuts, so what do I know? Day 2: I make an early start, even though not much starts happening at the Center until 6 or so. Really, all I want to do is get my legs under me, find a nice coffee spot, and continue the New York Trilogy (which is taking some mind bending turns at this point). It turns out there's a really nice Torrefazione Italia on Occidental, not far from Pioneer Square, and I spend the afternoon there reading. It's another beautiful day, again cool and sunny. At one point, I look up from my literature-induced reverie to see a turban-chapeaued cabbie driving a fluorescent lime green taxi down the sidewalk, doing absolutely nothing to improve people's prejudices towards hack drivers. I finish The New York Trilogy, and immediately pick up High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. But this is a good pausing point, and it's about dinner time, so I decide to continue my happy quest to find a superb sushi restaurant in Seattle. The Seattle Weekly gives me a promising lead: I Love Sushi on Fairview, near Lake Union. An hour of walking and a brief refresher course on how street numbers work later, I find the place. It's got a kind of sterile ambience, but it's on the lake, so the view's nice. It's also expensive, but the food is indeed good. The nigiri is about twice as big as usual. My pocketbook can't handle this place too often, but I'm encouraged, and I look forward to continuing my search tomorrow night. Time's short, so I head back to the Seattle Center to start Bumbershoot proper. First on the itinerary is the Fastbacks. They're playing an indoor stage, and really ripping it up. I'm standing there, and really enjoying it. They get through about 8 songs before I start to detect a certain "samey-ness" (to use the parlance of the list), though. There's energy aplenty, to be sure, and juicy little pop hooks, but not much variation in melody or tempo. They've been doing this for 20 years? I look at my watch and realize that those 8 songs took 15 minutes, and decide that a whole set is not in the cards. I make my way to the Opera house. The point is to see Billy Bragg, but I've gotta sit through Joel R. L. Phelps first. The newspaper bills his vocals as plaintive and yearning. I brace myself, but it's not nearly enough. The set is excruciating. Fortunately, the woman sitting next to me is reasonably cool, and we survive by mocking him quietly. Billy comes on, and he's great. Better than I thought he'd be. He starts off with "Accident Waiting to Happen", and it really shines with the full band, which is a mode that I prefer him in if his '96 tour with Robyn is any indication. "I Guess I Planted" and "She Came Along to Me" were excellent, and the slight tweaks that Bragg applies to their orchestrations are effective. Unfortunately, the set ends on a low point, with a really crappy version of California Stars -- Billy tries to make it funky, and that suits neither him nor the song. Leave that one to Wilco, Billy boy. Next up: Day 3 (Mojo!), Day 4 (Cibo Matto!), Day 5 (Robyn and fegs!) - -Michael Wolfe ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #342 *******************************