From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V9 #254 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, September 12 2000 Volume 09 : Number 254 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: 50 Cent Haircut Robyn Cover [Gene Hopstetter ] more drunkenness from Dayton [Natalie Jacobs ] Robyn 'n Pete 'n Boogying Brion [Gene Hopstetter ] eb all over the world ["Souped Up For Ja" ] eb all over the world ["Souped Up For Ja" ] Re: drunk guys from Dayton [hbrandt ] VC (0% "Platoon" content) [Eb ] Re: drunk guys from Dayton [Ken Ostrander ] absolutely cuckoo [Ken Ostrander ] Re: music debt [Stephen Buckalew ] it's the last thing ["Andrew D. Simchik" ] Re: VC (0% "Platoon" content) ["Randy R." ] Re: it's the last thing [overbury@cn.ca] Re: VC (0% "Platoon" content) [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: what the fuck?! ["Stewart C. Russell" ] gee bee vee! gee bee vee! [Dolph Chaney ] new music ["Martin Gellert" ] Re: new music [Aaron Mandel ] Abusing the Feg List [The Great Quail ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 14:45:12 -0500 From: Gene Hopstetter Subject: RE: 50 Cent Haircut Robyn Cover > Have you guys heard this? > > http://www.speakeasy.org/~capuchin/other/50_Cent_Haircut_-_When_I_Was_Dead > .mp3 > > Wow, I enjoyed that. It sounded, to me, like Vic Chesnutt singing with the Rolling Stones. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 12:48:46 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: drunk guys from Dayton Somebody: >So I bought Guided by Voices' "Hold On Hope" EP the other day and can't >stop listening to it. It's my first GbV purchase. Oh Pollardian >prophets, what should I buy next? For me, Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand are definitely the essential albums. Don't listen to Aaron about Under the Bushes...it's a mess. ;) And personally, I remember enjoying the "Hold on Hope" EP better than the "Collapse" album itself! Terrence: >Musically, it's not that great a place. I mean, guess how many shows >Spinal Tap have played here lately. The live scene is mostly dead since >the _only_ decent spot in Gainesville closed. Oh yes, I certainly wouldn't want to be stuck amidst Florida's concert scene. >> I have that Hollyridge/Beach record, too. > >Yeah. I heard some of their Beatles stuff on mp3, so I got this (no, mp3 >piracy didn't help the band. They didn't get any of the $1.00 that I paid >for it). I was expecting something more creative. You were expecting creativity from a group called "The Hollyridge Strings"?? Eb, who will be walking like an egyptian tonight ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 16:02:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: more drunkenness from Dayton > better than i do, i'd add a shout-out for _speak > kindly of your volunteer fire department_, released under the "robert > pollard & doug gillard" name. That the record that got me started on all of this... I heard it playing in a record store and thought it was great, but was told that it was not "typical" GbV and not necessarily a good place to start. I was going to get it anyway, but got "Hold On Hope" instead because it was cheaper. > I can't believe Rik Ocasik produced that record! I've got "Teenage FBI" on a compilation - one of last year's best songs - and what's so great about it is that it *totally* sounds like the Cars. > That was always my > problem with them; the songs were great, but just as soon as you started > to like them, they ended! Yeah, that's why I never picked up any GbV albums before. I guess it's an acquired taste, but most of my tastes are like that, anyway. > A friend of mine saw them in concert and said they were totally drunk > and that in the space of two hours they probably played a good 90 > songs. I thought that was hilarious! Hey, if the Minders performed with GbV, you might hear *hundreds* of songs in the course of an evening! More bang for your buck! I think I might get "Bee Thousand" next, when I can afford it. Thanks for the advice, y'all! n. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 15:00:41 -0500 From: Gene Hopstetter Subject: Robyn 'n Pete 'n Boogying Brion I've often wondered why Robyn hasn't ever played any of Pete Townshend's songs. I can imagine Robyn really getting his fingers and voice around tunes like "Melancholia" or "Rael" or just really agreeing with Pete's general attitudes about things. I've been a fan of Pete for a while, and have been pleasantly surprised to hear how goddamned geeky and wired he is. He complains about not being able to get ISDN in his hotel rooms, and is quite adept with his Apple computers (woo-hoo!). His tour diary of the last Who tour is quite a good read: check out http://www.eelpie.com or http://www.petetownshend.com if you're interested. In one of his entries, he mentions a horrible rendition of "Magic Bus" which he really regretted, and which also jibed with Eb's review of the show he saw (IIRC). Has Robyn *ever* covered anything by The Who or Townshend (or Entwistle, for that matter)? I think it'd be a scream if Robyn played "My Wife and My Dead Wife" and then covered "My Wife." Har. He has covered the Kinks, Beatles, and Stones, right? I heard the remastered "Live at Leeds" last week, and haven't been flattened by a rock CD like that in a good while. Crikes what a raging performance that was. I watched "Boogie Nights" on DVD last night -- my second viewing of the movie. During the credits, I noticed that Jon Brion was a member of the band which plays during one of the awards shows. Go figure. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:37:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Capuchin Subject: RE: 50 Cent Haircut Robyn Cover Regarding: http://www.speakeasy.org/~capuchin/other/50_Cent_Haircut_-_When_I_Was_Dead.mp3 On Mon, 11 Sep 2000, Gene Hopstetter wrote: > Wow, I enjoyed that. It sounded, to me, like Vic Chesnutt singing > with the Rolling Stones. It's fantastic. And they have a whole bunch of other songs on one of the OpenNap servers (I've never used Napster, but I set up Gnapster the other day -- and it doesn't, by default, connect to any commercial Napster servers -- and altered my firewall to allow incoming connections) (and without going on another rant about how there's nothing illegal OR immoral about sharing information [with the exception of explicit contractual obligations, like with your employer or what have you], it may be important to some of you to note that this band has no records that I can find and the "Album" field in the MP3 data itself lists "http://www.50centhaircut.com/" as the title. Also, the user distributing the mp3s on the OpenNap server was called 50cent_haircut and had a whole pile of tracks available... I grabbed their rendition of St. James Infirmary and what I believe to be an original track entitled Stick Figure Girl, both really nice). I highly recommend the band and will certainly keep an eye out for them. I imagine the live show's a KICK. J. - -- _______________________________________________ Capuchin capuchin@bitmine.net Jeme A Brelin _______________________________________________ [cc] counter-copyright http://www.openlaw.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:41:59 PDT From: "Souped Up For Ja" Subject: eb all over the world gene, you wanted to hear arnold layne on acoustic? don't think it'd be possible! according to "the asking tree" he's played Substitute. it doesn't know where and/or when, however. no stones. . i'd love to hear him play Living On A Thin Line. seems like it'd be right up his "alley". _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:42:06 PDT From: "Souped Up For Ja" Subject: eb all over the world gene, you wanted to hear arnold layne on acoustic? don't think it'd be possible! according to "the asking tree" he's played Substitute. it doesn't know where and/or when, however. no stones. . i'd love to hear him play Living On A Thin Line. seems like it'd be right up his "alley". _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 14:54:39 -0600 From: hbrandt Subject: Re: drunk guys from Dayton Natalie wrote: > This guy told me about a friend of his who had a list of how many times > you had to listen to each GbV album in order to get into it. For > instance, "Bee Thousand" was a one-time listen, while some other album > took thirteen listens and another one took eighteen or nineteen listens. Jeezus! I wouldn't work that hard at "liking" something (especially a pop/rock compact disc). Instead, I'd just concede that maybe I _don't_ like it. Eric "don't jinx it" Hoffs: > You were expecting creativity from a group called "The Hollyridge Strings"?? The name itself virtually screams "MUZAK!", but I've been fooled by such things myself. I picked up a Jackie Gleason LP for a buck expecting to hear Gleason's "How sweet it is!"-take on songs like "The Girl From Ipanema", but on the vinyl found only Hollyridge Strings-esque orchestrated instrumentals. Gleason's audio equivalent of his film "Gigot", I guess. Great cover photo, though..! /hal ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 14:03:13 -0700 From: Eb Subject: VC (0% "Platoon" content) Update on the Vic Chesnutt issue: OK, he *isn't* with Capricorn anymore. His deal was only for one album, from the start. So, cross *another* name off my previously posted "major-label alternative" list.... Oh, and I do like the new Vic disc on Backburner, but he has released several better albums. However, the album surpassed my expectations -- I didn't think Vic would dominate the songwriting so strongly. I thought the songs would be much more collaborative. So, I was pleasantly surprised that Vic was the album's guiding force to such a powerful degree. I wasn't eager to hear songs written by "Mr. and Mrs. Keneipp." Does anyone care to offer a glowing recommendation of "The West Wing"? I've never even seen a full episode, myself. Eb, feeling kinda worn out today ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 18:04:44 -0400 From: Ken Ostrander Subject: Re: drunk guys from Dayton >So I bought Guided by Voices' "Hold On Hope" EP the other day and can't >stop listening to it. It's my first GbV purchase. Oh Pollardian >prophets, what should I buy next? (Sorry, "everything" is not a viable >answer.) "Do the Collapse," possibly? i've gone out and gotten everything from 'propeller' on and it's all worth a listen. even their best albums have some material that i don't get into. that's the way these guys are. according to an interview rob pollard's written about a thousand songs. not many of them clock in at more than two minutes. some of the stuff is so amazing, you'll wonder how you got along without it; and then some of it just doesn't work. if you like the current ep, you might wanna go for the latest and then dive into the extensive back catalogue. i would have to defend 'under the bushes under the stars' and 'mag earwhig' after the disparaging comments; but i would be hard pressed to say which of their albums is my favorite. there's nothing quite like your own special GBV mix. i'm still waiting for them to tour on their own around here. i saw them play a half hour set when pollard reformed the band with cobra verde before 'earwhig' came out. ken "man of weak flesh in an armored disguise" the kenster ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 18:34:48 -0400 From: Ken Ostrander Subject: absolutely cuckoo hurray! i got tix today for the magnetic fields. they're doing a two night stand at the somerville theatre during which they will perform the 69 love songs in their entirety. deliciously delirious. speaking of crazies, i saw vincent d'onofrio as abbie hoffman in 'steal this movie' recently. highly recommended. much better than 'the cell'. ken "i smell dead people" the kenster ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 19:04:41 -0400 From: Stephen Buckalew Subject: Re: music debt At 12:09 PM 9/11/00 -0700, Tom Clark wrote: >Iris Dement is an angel sent straight from Heaven. I caught her on Austin >City Limits once and her performance caused me to weep like a little girl. >"Infamous Angel" is one of my most treasured albums. > >-t "now I'm all verklempt" c Hmmmm....seems her songs and performance had the same affect on me....tears. Being the emotional husk that I am most days....it takes alot to get me there. She did. As far as Iris being too far from RH for the list, I could actually see RH singing about people coming back in the next life as "...carrots and little sweet peas" It is one of my most treasured albums also. S.B. *************************************************************** "...isn't it good to be lost in the wood..."--Syd Barrett *************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 16:53:03 -0700 (PDT) From: "Andrew D. Simchik" Subject: it's the last thing - --- Stephen Buckalew wrote: > Hmmm.....sometimes I wonder if I belong on the list anymore. My recent > purchases: I certainly don't. It's not as though my list of purchases is really typical either. For one thing, it included females who don't play the acoustic guitar. I think your list is a lot more in line with what fegs seem to like than mine is. > Hmmm....no indie/rock/pop on the list....I'm kinda bored with indie rock > and with pop/rock in general. I'm bored with indie rock, too, but for different reasons (I suspect) and with different results. I'm listening to more modern composers and fewer singer/songwriters these days. I did forget to put Tahiti 80 on my list, though. Good indie pop. > To each their own, but sometimes I > wonder > about why so many people value that stuff. I guess they just must > connect > to their image or lyrics in some way (or to the marketing campaign > anyway). I think a lot of people relate to music differently than I do, or you do. Britney makes pleasing sounds and is nice to look at, which is all some people want out of music. I don't feel that way, but I can understand it and can't fault it, assuming they have less superficial involvements in other things. Ani is more about the image and lyrics; she is or appears to be a strong, frank, bisexual feminist who isn't taking American culture or politics lying down. Whatever you may think of this image or its truth in her, her fans clearly believe in it and find some connection there. I think she's pretty cool but I like the idea of her more than her music, which I frequently find dull and repetitive and depressing. > I was also thinking about how much modern music like techno and hip-hop > rely so much on computer code, midi, sampling, and sequencing, that no > one > needs to even pick up and play an instrument....although I do recognize > the > skill it takes to program, and I recognize the creativity in some of the > music. To me the skill is in composition, and then instead of an orchestra you have a computer. It's not to my taste at all, but that's the most generous way I can think of it. I like the idea of being able to record and sequence music myself because I'm not really good enough to work with a band yet, but my goal is not to make dance music or Apollonian pure-form music. > But I feel like a dinosaur for loving the feel of old wood and strings > under my fingers, and how it takes emotion, expression, creativity, and > technique to draw sweet notes out of these old-fashioned instruments. It may be out of fashion to love those things but those who do are far from extinct. I love "that unplugged stuff" at least as much as I love the glam und drang, and I know kidses my age who are into folk and "oldtime" and fiddles and banjos. Well, _a_ kid, anyway. > From: Natalie Jacobs > This guy told me about a friend of his who had a list of how many times > you had to listen to each GbV album in order to get into it. For > instance, "Bee Thousand" was a one-time listen, while some other album > took thirteen listens and another one took eighteen or nineteen listens. > Shades of "High Fidelity"... How many times must one listen to _Do the Collapse_? I found it catchy but it completely failed to compel me to listen to it again. It just felt like bubblegum to me, and when I want bubblegum I go for something sexier. What hidden and Cyclopean* depths have I missed, and how might I plumb them? Drew * Sorry...I'm reading the canonical Lovecraft stories for the first time and he is obsessed with this word. I have yet to look up exactly what he means by it. ===== Andrew D. Simchik: drew at stormgreen dot com http://www.stormgreen.com/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 17:17:46 -0700 From: "Randy R." Subject: Re: VC (0% "Platoon" content) From: Eb > Does anyone care to offer a glowing recommendation of "The West Wing"? I've > never even seen a full episode, myself. I would give it a 9 out of 10 but hey, we all know how seriously MY recommendations are taken by Eb. I was taken aback by the dress of Geena Davis, speaking of the Emmy awards. Yikes! Oh yes, and then there was Calista Flockhart. Nothing sexier than a skeleton in a red dress (there's a song in there somewhere I think), except for the greasy hair of Brad Pitt. For Quails eyes only......... http://go.to/anagram Other Rush news---------Alex Lifeson composed the theme to the new sci fi series "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda". And rumors abound that VH1 are busy producing a Rush-Behind the Music. I'd prefer a "Legends" but I can't have it all, can I? Your source for all that is Rush, hunting, and Oliver Stone, Vince ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 22:21:25 -0400 From: overbury@cn.ca Subject: Re: it's the last thing repetitive and depressing. > > > I was also thinking about how much modern music like > techno and hip-hop > > rely so much on computer code, midi, sampling, and > sequencing, that no > > one > > needs to even pick up and play an instrument....although > I do recognize > > the > > skill it takes to program, and I recognize the creativity > in some of the > > music. > > To me the skill is in composition, and then instead of an > orchestra you > have a computer. It's not to my taste at all, but that's > the most > generous way I can think of it. Two words: Acid Music. The program, I mean. You get a bunch of pre-recorded loops, which the program can shift in frequency and time to fit together. You can add your own sound bites; the program adjusts them too. The result can be absolutely dismal, which I guess supports the idea that creativity is what it's all about. By dismal I mean perfectly adequate formula dance or hip-hop stuff. It's sort of like a collage where all the bits have been pre-selected for compatibility. You can force it to screw up, but it's harder than playing by the rules and getting cookie-cutter music. Of course, somebody creative could make good music with Acid. I'd like to hear some. Writing MIDI stuff for a computer is completely different. You're free screw up in all the same ways you can with a real orchestra. It's not computer programming; it's writing music -- very often in standard musical notation. With MIDI sequencing, you're still composing music just as much as if you wrote it on paper and handed it to a band. It's not similar; it's the very same process. Yes, an orchestra will play that score with more feeling than a MIDI tone generator module, but who's got an orchestra handy to play their musical doodles? Computer MIDI sequencing is a good thing for music. What about cheats like Band in a Box, the program that'll generate solos, or change your composition to fit a template for some other musical style? Isn't that kind of like the composers who used to leave the standard embellishments for their students to fill in when they transcribed their master's pieces? - -- Ross Overbury Montreal, Quebec, Canada ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 23:05:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: VC (0% "Platoon" content) Eb wrote: > Does anyone care to offer a glowing recommendation of "The West > Wing"? I've never even seen a full episode, myself. only a lukewarm one. way too idealized a view of contemporary politics. sportsnight kicked its ass. so of course it's the sorkin show that failed. ===== "[I]t's important for the maintenance of consensus that some people keep on being scared of what might happen and probably won't; otherwise, they would not be such easy prey for what can happen and actually has. There is even a name for this tactic -- it's called 'triangulation' -- and eight years of it have been much more than enough." -- Christopher Hichens in Mother Jones, Sep/Oct 2000 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:55:15 +0100 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: what the fuck?! Natalie Jacobs wrote: > > Stewart, will you go kick his ass for me? living in Edinburgh is punishment enough, I'd say. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 07:49:56 -0500 From: Dolph Chaney Subject: gee bee vee! gee bee vee! Ah yes. I might be biased because I was born in Dayton. But I hate Dayton. But GBV are the only thing cool about Dayton (Brainiac, when they were together, were too...). In any event, as the list's only(?) native Daytononianan, I gotta chime in here. Even if I didn't see them live until last December -- in Champaign. I got into GBV during the Bee Thousand / Alien Lanes era, so of course those CDs are the ones that I hear in my head by default. Alien Lanes is less perfect, but some of its individual charms stand out that much better among the silliness and muck. Under The Bushes Under The Stars is all right, but it was definitely a case of taking many listens to enjoy -- there are a few great songs and a lot of things that don't totally work, and it's a bit overlong (sitting down and listening to 55 minutes of middling GBV isn't so much fun). It is a good car album, though! I'm going to stand up and shout for Mag Earwhig! Whoop! Whoop! It's probably my #2 GBV after Bee Thousand. On UTBUTS (heh heh, utt-butts...), they started doing some songs as big studio rock and some things at home on the 4-track, and on Mag Earwhig the approach works better. The big rock is much much bigger, and the 4-track stuff contrasts better. Pollard solo material is not for the starter, but Not In My Airforce and Waved Out are both fun, and the songs from Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department that I heard live were knockouts! Propeller is pretty cool, but do try to get the out-of-print CD that combines it with Vampire On Titus. VOT is not a great album, not really worth the price by itself, but as a half-hour of bonus tracks for Propeller it's just fine! I also have the out-of-print GBV box set, collecting the first four albums plus extra tracks, which is fun as well but not a terrific place to start. The concert I went to last December was fantastic! Jim Macpherson, the ex-Breeders drummer, is no longer with GBV, so I feel especially glad to have seen that lineup. (He has something like 75 children and needed to take time off to feed them all... heck, to FIND them all...) Pollard came out and said "we're not leaving til we play 50 songs." And they did. We left a little early, enough for Becca to see the guys go out back to take a vomit break. Oh yes. So. Much. Beer. Consumed. Onstage. It was LOUD and watching Pollard do his "rock moves" -- kicks, mic twirling, general rock-guy poutiness -- while still so obviously being just a dude... that's his charm. He's this joe, who jumps around like a rock guy, drinking insane amounts of beer, and spouting total gibberish over the neatest little melodies ever. What a great job. dolph ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 11:56:15 -0400 From: "Martin Gellert" Subject: new music I thought I'd chime in on the recent music purchases. I can't find many of my these at the local record stores, but I keep trying-thank god for the internet. This year I discovered a band called the Lucksmiths from Melbourne Australia. Some might call their sound "twee", but I think there is more substance to the band than that name merits. The lyrics are clever and literate, and the music is very melodic without being cloying or cute. Even though they are a trio, they augment their sound with horns and keyboards. I recommend "Staring at the Sky" and "Happy Secret" I found both these cds at my local independent retailers, so there is hope you may find them in your area-check them out! I've also been enjoying Dave Mulcahy's "Oddy Knocky"-Dave is an ex-member of JPSE and Suprette-his new cd is reminiscent of Suprette, but doesn't limit the sound to the usual guitar, bass and drums of that band. It's hard to explain the sound ( and maybe James can help me out), but Dave employs a variety of instruments to write great songs-the lyrics can be very surprising, but are always thought provoking. This cd can be ordered from Flying Nun, and Dylan provides excellent service-the US dollar is particularly strong against the nz dollar at present, so even with shipping you will get a great deal. You can either order Chris Knox's "Beat" from Flying nun or get it locally from Thirsty ear-but by all means, get it! Chris has always been one of a kind, but on this cd he has written some of his most thoughtful lyrics ever-Chris writes music for all us mid-generation people going through crises such as the loss of a parent, but he also writes some beautiful love songs such as "My only friend" He also pays tribute to an NZ musician who left too soon-Darcy Clay, who wrote "Jesus I was evil"-a thrashing nz classic-if you liked "Songs of You and Me", you'll love "Beat" Chris will be on tour from Friday the 15th-starting in LA-you should check him out, Eb-and will be in New York and Chicago-sadly, he is missing Atlanta (Boo Hoo)and I can't afford to go to New York to see him-if you meet him, tell him Bibi says hi. - - - --- bibigellert@earthlink.net - --- EarthLink: It's your Internet. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 12:41:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: new music On Tue, 12 Sep 2000, Martin Gellert wrote: > I recommend "Staring at the Sky" and "Happy Secret" I found both > these cds at my local independent retailers, so there is hope you may > find them in your area-check them out! and, though supporting local stores is good, you can also order them, and all the Lucksmiths' other records, online at www.candlerecords.com.au; the Australian dollar is currently in such a state that this works out to be a very good deal for us bloated USAns. A Good Kind Of Nervous is probably their second-best full-length, after Happy Secret. a ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 13:35:59 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: Abusing the Feg List Hey Fegs! I am in no band; and I cannot use the List to promote my music. Though if I were in a band, trust me; I would flog you all over the head until each one of you bought my CD, which would probably just be a few thirty-minute noodling jams filled with a clippity-cloppity brainfry beats and echo-chamber muttering and chanting about Cthulhu, the temples of Syrinx, and random quotes from Finnegans Wake.... (Oh, wait... I think I just described the Bevis Frond....) But I am writing for a business-y reason, one about writing instead of listening. As most of you know, the funding for my new "company" has been very tight, and a bit dodgy. Luckily, the Powers That Be recently decided to keep it alive for another year, to keep it growing until the market may be more friendly, or new literary-minded investors can be found. Part of the reason they also decided on this was some positive results of a few brainstorming sessions -- trying to grow the site via logical partners and new sources of potential revenue that weren't just blatant advertising. So..... Some of you who have been to New York City might have seen those occasional yellow boxes bungied to every other street-corner, labelled "Gotham Writer's Workshop." They offer writing classes, both in-person and online classes, and have been around for years. Well, in the "Something Good" department, I have been meeting with them, and it turns out they are a fairly successful small company run by some really cool people. (The CEO is a hip writer chick and a Phish fan as well.) And they really like The Modern Word, and decided that we would be good as allies, so we have recently formed a joint venture. (How's that for suit talk?) They are now offering a variant on their Fiction Writing Class, called "Modern Fiction I." It will be run by Gotham Writers Workshop, using their "virtual classroom" technology and all their experience and such; but the focus will be on fiction with an experimental slant. Though the class plans to go over the basics, it will nevertheless be more under the influence of authors such as Joyce, Garcia Marquez, Pynchon, etc. than, say, Dickens and Updike, and will be informed by aspects of modern fiction such as stream-of-consciousness narrative and trends like magic realism. The class will run 10 weeks, and will have the same tuition, class size, and structure as their other classes. If it is successful, and if there is interest, might lead into a more advanced "Modern Fiction II" class. If I can ask of you all a favor -- if you know anyone who has been kicking around the idea of taking a writing class, especially an online class, please send them to http://www.writingclasses.com/online/modernword.html This is a new project, and the more people that check it out -- or better yet, register! -- the better it is going to look, and the better chance I have of getting more funding and spreading my evil message across the universe. If enough people register, I may even get that Evil Headquarters in the hollowed-out volcano that I have been dreaming about. And also, Gotham Writers Workshop also has classes for poetry, business writing, screenplay writing, drama, etc. If that seems more up someone's alley than "Modern Fiction I," please tell them to click this link: http://www.writingclasses.com/cgi-bin/redirect.cgi?src=8 That still takes people to Gotham, but tags them as coming from us, and makes us also look good. Thanks, and I really wouldn't ask anyone this unless I thought it was really worth it -- Gotham Writer's Workshop is the real thing, and I am glad to have a "joint venture" with them rather than Coca Cola or Michael Crichton or something. It you are going to suck the teats of Mammon, you might as well ask him to take a more pleasing form ... perhaps Salma Hayek, would be nice.... - --The Great "Capitalist blows?" Quail - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Great Quail, Keeper of the Libyrinth: http://www.TheModernWord.com A book is more than a verbal structure or series of verbal structures; it is the dialogue it establishes with its reader and the intonation it imposes upon his voice and the changing and durable images it leaves in his memory. A book is not an isolated being: it is a relationship, an axis of innumerable relationships. --J.L. Borges ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V9 #254 *******************************