From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V11 #174 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Monday, May 27 2002 Volume 11 : Number 174 Today's Subjects: ----------------- One-Nil etc [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Re: robyn at calgary folk festival [rosso@videotron.ca] Re: one nil, and producers [steve ] Re: A good year for music! [steve ] robyn - what a relief [*twofangs / rand* ] ryan adams, elton john & robyn & this is short [*twofangs / rand* ] Re: Blakes 7 ["Brian Hoare" ] Re: Star Trek/Dr Who [Stewart Russell ] It's good old reliable Nathan... [Jill Brand ] Re: A good year for music! [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] sucky like a FOX [drew ] UK Shipping Help ["Michael Wells" ] Video question [shmac@ix.netcom.com (Scott Hunter McCleary)] already organizing for Robyn-fest 2002 [*twofangs / rand* ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 14:11:22 +1200 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: One-Nil etc >*jason - thanks for the tip - I do want both "One Nil" and "One All" so >I'll check out the site as soon as I press send on this email The recent thread about Hank Williams jr - which led me to think that talent usually but not always skips a generation (I be there were peoiple who said "CPE and JC aren't as good as their dad the old Bach!") - followed by the one-nil thread, mean I have to say that I was recently (is this a complicated sentence, or what?) much delighted to discover that "The Alphabetchadupa", the first album by Liam Finn's band Betchadupa, is pretty damn good. It's not up to his dad's standards, but it's still well worth a listen. >>> Lady Waters and the Hooded One, >> >> I don't know how I forgot this one in my first post. I always skip this >> song and consider it one of the low points of that era of Robyn's >> career. > >Love it. Such a disappointment when that dirge "The Black Crow Knows" >cuts in right afterwards. me too - and the trick with TBCK is to imagine it sung by Jethro Tull. Works every time for me. James James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand. =-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= .-=-.-=-.-=-.- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-. -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= You talk to me as if from a distance =-.-=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time -=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 22:33:42 -0400 From: rosso@videotron.ca Subject: Re: robyn at calgary folk festival This is all too much! Robyn books two gigs in Canada's redneck country and skips Montreal yet again? I'm ready for the Robert Charlebois list. Tell that other Rob I said goodbye. No, never mind. He obviously doesn't care about me anyway. "always a child and never a man, poor Mr. Plum. a wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah!" - - R. Charlebois ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 21:47:00 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: one nil, and producers On Friday, May 24, 2002, at 02:01 PM, Jason R. Thornton wrote: > I've heard that some or all of the "One Nil" songs have been remixed, > but I'm not sure to what extent. I'm almost hoping for radical > reinterpretations, just to make it worth getting. My copy of One All should be sitting on my desk at work, along with a new(!) John Foxx album that I learned about on Chalkhills (good for something after all). I fully expect that Nettwerk asked Neil to make it sound more like Crowded House, and most of the tracks are remixed by him or Bob Clearmountain, but I won't know for sure until tomorrow. But they did release the two 7 Worlds Collide discs, so there you go. The NZ dollar makes buying direct rather cheap. I got One Nil for around $10, including air mail, at - http://www.smokecds.com/ I guess I'm out of the mainstream, but I really like Robyn's A&M albums. - - Steve __________ "Miyazaki's latest animation feature (co-winner with 'Bloody Sunday' of the Berlin Golden Bear) more than justifies his status as Japan's most revered culture hero. What starts out as a fine example of the through-the-looking- glass kids' adventure genre becomes almost Shakespearean in its lyricism, breadth of vision and humanity." - Tony Rayns, Sight & Sound ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 21:48:08 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: A good year for music! On Friday, May 24, 2002, at 12:29 PM, Jason R. Thornton wrote: > This *sounds* too much like that urban legend about coloring the edge > of a CD with a green marking pen to improve the sound quality. The green marker was an actual hi-fi tweak, although I'm not sure if such tweaks are a step above or below urban legends. People were looking for *anything* to make CDs sound better. - - Steve __________ The Bush/Nixon bond is a most peculiar union, given the immense class gap between the Man from Whittier and the would-be dynasty in Kennebunkport. And yet there's an important similarity between them after all. Despite the Bush clan's vast advantage, that crew is, oddly, just as thin-skinned and resentful as the Trickster. Like him, they never forget a slight, and always feel themselves impaired; and so-like Nixon-they tend to favor The Attack. - Mark Crispin Miller ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 23:04:03 -0400 From: *twofangs / rand* Subject: robyn - what a relief ... lazy Sunday night back in Toronto ... It's amazing that when we criticize Robyn's work, we can still remember that he's still in our top ten or top twenty list musically. I'll tell you a story ................................................................................... Once upon a time ... a girl named Randi went to Detroit to see Robyn play. He was most jovial at the time and gave her many gifts (she had just gotten out of the hospital). One of the things in her loot bag was a cassette of songs he wasn't ... 'thrilled with' ... let us say. On that tape was "legalized murder". The girl listened to it and halfway through said "what is that?" (the girl is not very tactful) Robyn had the decency to blush and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "That bad," he said. "Please don't play it tonight," begged the girl. "No need to worry." .............................................................................................................. However, I would take a bit of Robyn experimentation, or ripping off some other song if that's how people really feel (I don't), or even him singing the "Yip Song" solo, (i like the yip song - but solo it's a bit to many 'yips' for a mid to late forty year old's cardio-vascular system) than listening to half the crap I feel is out there. Bad production ... good production ... Robyn's lyrics and the music move me in a more consistent way than most musicians I've heard. I don't know why people have a knee jerk reaction to Robyn's music, all my friends hate him. I think it's simply his voice. But *they* wouldn't change the radio station if Celine Dion or Mariah Carey came on ... so the *strangeness and quirkiness* of Robyn that James mentioned wouldn't suit these people at all ... but then I think *they* are 'strange and quirky'. I'm so glad to have found Robyn, Michael Penn, Neil Finn and Aimee Mann, and more recently, badly drawn boy, Elliot Smith, John Mayer and Jonatha Brooke. What does that say about me? That even the bad songs I listen to are good ... imho. And Drew, "my earthly paradise" is glorious. Robyn once told me his music was 70% music and 30% lyrics. Maybe that's how much trouble (in the scheme of things) he has writing each. For example, the easiest thing for him to do is write song titles. He wakes up at 7 a.m. every day and writes down song titles before he even picks up his guitar. He has the hardest time with the music writing - considering he finds the tune to be 90% of the song ... (I heartedly disagree but that's me). I'm stopping now before you all fall asleep :-} so long my earthly paradise, Randi :-} Toronto, Ontario, Canada *what scares you most will set you free* ~ Robyn Hitchcock *by endurance we conquer* ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton *the bastards that destroy our lives are sometimes just ourselves but mostly they're invisible i hope they fry in hell* ~ Robyn Hitchcock p.s. I will ask about "Oranges and Lemons" - darn good idea Jeff! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 00:32:47 -0400 From: *twofangs / rand* Subject: ryan adams, elton john & robyn & this is short What is up with tv? I turn it on - 12:20 a.m. - to flick around before I go to sleep and I hit the Country Music Network and there is Ryan Adams & Elton John performing and it's good ... it's really good! The show is "Crossroads." Maybe West Coast fegs can still catch it? Hope so ... Ryan Adams is awesome - I could see him and Robyn doing a show ... But not Elton John and Robyn ... too weird 8-) fading back into yesterday before tomorrow comes, Randi Toronto, Ontario, Canada *what scares you most will set you free* ~ Robyn Hitchcock *by endurance we conquer* ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton p.s. - who could Robyn team up with other than Grant? I've recently come to adore Ryan Adams and he kinda fits with anyone ... but who would be great for a new Robyn duet? I'll dream about it ... sweet dreams :-} ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 00:55:15 -0400 From: rosso@videotron.ca Subject: Re: and again... On 25 May 2002, at 11:57, James Dignan wrote: Kay: > >But "Knife" on the same albumn ... It makes it painful point clearly, almost > >too clearly, but not very evocatively. Once youve gotten it, is there much > >reason to go back to it? I haven't heard it for years. Was the music any > >good? I dont rememeber the melody, just that it sounded > >strident > sorry Kay, but I have to disagree there - Knife's a great track. Just > listen to that loping, looping bassline, and the way it plays with the > guitar line! I know the fegmaniax guidelines discourage "me too" posts, but... me too! As a matter of fact, I love Queen Elvis and hope Robyn gets over his bad experience with A&M to the point that he can acknowledge the worth of the work he did while under contract with them. I don't think I've played QE for a year, but I can recall the vocal melody, guitar and bass (!!) parts of that song. Somehow, I have missed the point of this song, though. OK, there's a MacBeth reference, but I don't see a point presented that makes subsequent listening redundant. I love the song. Queen Elvis isn't the first Robyn I ever heard, but it's the first Robyn I every bought and I've never regretted it. "and so on and so on and scooby dooby doo" - - ya can't argue with that! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 01:04:16 -0400 From: *twofangs / rand* Subject: trivia By coincidence, Ryan Adams video for "New York New York" was shot September 7th, 2001. The 'twin towers' have a starring role in the background. fading back into yesterday before tomorrow comes, Randi Toronto, Ontario, Canada *what scares you most will set you free* ~ Robyn Hitchcock *by endurance we conquer* ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 09:38:38 +0000 From: "Brian Hoare" Subject: Re: Blakes 7 >From: "Michael Wells" > >Blakes7 ! Courtesy of Terry Nation, the finest space opera ever. Best >storylines, worst sets, worst acting, worst special effects, worst >'location' shooting, pretty much worst everything. But Lord, what scripts. Including 2 (series 3?) scripts by that mistress of dark fantasy Tanith Lee. >(sigh) Where's Paul Darrow when you really need him.* That struck a chord with a female member of the household. brian np The Madcap Laughs, which I now find has got scratched to hell while in my brother's custody. I had a quick look for a replacement but the current release doesn't seem to have extra tracks. _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 09:58:05 -0400 From: Stewart Russell Subject: Re: Star Trek/Dr Who Michael Wells wrote: > > Michael "if you think fegs are scary, wait til you meet the Blakes7 fan > club" Wells oh yeah. They're so serious about their fan fiction that they clubbed together to get the original cast to perform a fan-written episode... gulp! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 12:14:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Jill Brand Subject: It's good old reliable Nathan... I went to see Star Wars II yesterday and did like it better than Phantom Menace. One thing that I found somewhat unfair is that we got female eye candy but no male counterpart. Natalie Portman is edible; Hayden Whatshisface is pretty forgettable (he has an NSync look about him - very bland indeed). And, at times, his delivery reminded me of that of Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls. As with the last movie, I left the theater with a ton of questions which could be answered by none of my companions ( Miriam, whom some of you met at the RH shows in NYC, and my kids, who can chapter and verse all 4 of the previous movies). I get a headache trying to figure out the Republic/Federation intricacies. Anyway, it was a pleasant afternoon. My daughter's priceless comment came when Amidala and Anakin are being taken into the colloseum-like structure for the gladiator-like execution seen. As the wagon was pulled into the arena, Melanie said, "I bet it says 'Just Married' on the back." My 13-year-old no longer squirms when romance is shown on screen. Help. Jill ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 15:10:31 -0500 (CDT) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: A good year for music! On Sun, 26 May 2002, steve wrote: > On Friday, May 24, 2002, at 12:29 PM, Jason R. Thornton wrote: > > > This *sounds* too much like that urban legend about coloring the edge > > of a CD with a green marking pen to improve the sound quality. > > The green marker was an actual hi-fi tweak, although I'm not sure if > such tweaks are a step above or below urban legends. People were > looking for *anything* to make CDs sound better. Not sure what you mean by "actual": that people actually tried it (true) or that it actually worked to improve the sound. Cuz it's that aspect of things that I thought had been pretty definitively debunked and placed in the "urban legends" file. Problem is, since there's not really an objective definition of "better sound," if you really want to believe that your CDs sound better after the green-marker treatment, they probably will. To you. Even if an oscilloscope detects no difference at all. But then, it's your ears listening - so go to. (Hey - accidentally an XTC reference.) - --Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ADS.html ::The more you drive, the less intelligent you are:: __Miller, in REPO MAN__ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 13:46:26 -0700 From: drew Subject: sucky like a FOX > From: *twofangs / rand* [Paul Fox] > Here's a quick bio courtesy the AMG: > [...] > His production career began with XTC's 1989 album Oranges and Lemons, > followed in 1991 by Robyn Hitchcock's Perspex Island. In 1992, Fox > enjoyed his most successful year to date, helming not only 10, 000 > Maniacs' smash Our Time in Eden but also the Sugarcubes' swan song Stick > Around for Joy. [...] > later he returned with They Might Be Giants' John Henry How interesting...except for Oranges and Lemons (my first XTC record, and full of excellent songs) and Perspex Island (I dislike Queen Elvis more) these are my least favorite studio albums by all concerned. I'll amplify: I actively disliked Our Time In Eden, Stick Around for Joy, and John Henry, save for one or two songs from each, and each of them turned me off to the artists who released them at least briefly. I don't know much about how records are made; what could a producer do to yield such consistently unimpressive (to me) results from otherwise talented artists? > From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey > > I think "Last Balloon" earns its somberness etc. Sure -- I'm talking about whether I enjoy it. It's one of those songs, like the Cure's "Watching Me Fall" that sounds like it should be over halfway through, but continues anyway. > and is simply a much more powerful song. Yeah, I don't agree that it's more powerful, either, though I don't think it's all that much less. > I just dig the, y'know, existential despair. Whereas "Wrapped In Grey" is much more optimistic in that regard. In the one song, Dreams Can Save Us, and in the other, it's best simply to escape while you can. I'm sympathetic to both viewpoints; I just happen to enjoy the music of "Wrapped In Grey" far more. Drew ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 16:00:13 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: UK Shipping Help Do we have a UK lister who: a) has a paypal account, and b) wouldn't mind shipping a book parcel to the US? If so please contact me offlist, many thanks. Michael "I'll explain later" Wells ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 19:00:06 -0400 From: shmac@ix.netcom.com (Scott Hunter McCleary) Subject: Video question Can someone reply off-list with a suggestion for a (preferably) freeware mov to mpg encoder for Windows 98? I see a lot of stuff for going the other way (to rip DVDs, I suppose), but nothing that I want. I'm a bit of an oaf on a computer if it doesn't have a fruit logo. Thanks! Scott ========= SH McCleary Prodigal Dog Communications PO Box 6163 Arlington, VA 22206 shmac@prodigaldog.com www.prodigaldog.com www.1480kHz.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 19:03:51 -0400 From: *twofangs / rand* Subject: already organizing for Robyn-fest 2002 Hi, Guess what I've been doing today 8-) People and places and things like booking a movie called "Elixirs and Remedies." I have a few questions ... Who opened up for Robyn on this last U.S. jaunt? Different act in every city? Or not? Also - did he get a lot of press ... at least a mention in the paper or radio interview? Were the shows sold out? Did he strictly play solo? Inquiring minds want to know. I have one embarrassing musical question to ask. "The Wonders" - the band formed in the Tom Hanks directed flick "That Thing You Do" - the vocalist is some cool well know singer I think - but I can't remember his name and I don't have the time to look it up. If anyone knows off the top of their heads ... email me s.v.p. fading back into yesterday before tomorrow comes, Randi Toronto, Ontario, Canada *what scares you most will set you free* ~ Robyn Hitchcock *by endurance we conquer* ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 22:46:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: A good year for music! On Mon, 27 May 2002, Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey wrote: > But then, it's your ears listening - so go to. If I'm remembering my Shakespeare correctly, "go to" means more like "up yours" than "go ahead". a ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V11 #174 ********************************