From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V11 #329 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, October 17 2002 Volume 11 : Number 329 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: #328 [Eb ] Re: One Small Tab [rosso@videotron.ca] Re: #328 [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Increase your wardrobe [steve ] Bob Dylan biography/ Link appreciation [barbara soutar ] future bible heroes = best band name ever? [drew ] Side 3 ["Brian Hoare" ] Re: magic [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Re: #328 [Sebastian Hagedorn ] A long ramble in Winchester [MSewell@oxfam.org.uk] Re: magic [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Re: magic [Michael R Godwin ] Never seen magic crazy as this ["Montauk Daisy" ] Re: A long ramble in Winchester [Brian ] Drive Stuart Murdoch's Car [Jeff Dwarf ] Sex, Merritt, Halloween and Guadalcanal Diary ["Rex.Broome" Subject: Re: #328 >From: Eb > >And James, I would say it's wholly accurate to call Guadalcanal Diary >a Paisley Underground band. I'd align them firmly with the highly populated "We just wanna be R.E.M." school of the era. Gawd, did I really write "accurate" instead of "IN-accurate"? Please insert missing syllable as directed. If it wasn't obvious, I do *not* think the Paisley Underground and the wannabe-REM school are synonymous. Oh, and I wouldn't file Let's Active as a REM-wannabe. They were too bright and poppy...none of REM's self-conscious mystique. More synthetic, too. That's more a case of just being REM's contemporary peer, with shared geography. Maybe they're a dB's wannabe, instead! Anyone remember the Kilkenny Cats? They're the most blatant offender that I can recall, right now. Actually, Yo La Tengo somewhat seemed like a REM clone back then, though they obviously evolved in a different direction. You might say the same about 10K Maniacs. Dumptruck was a quite talented REM-wannabe -- I still have those albums. I'd rather play those than Guadalcanal Diary's. Meanwhile, it seems to me like Live may be the only band who cloned *later* REM. I'm apparently seeing Sing-Sing tonight...not expecting to be overwhelmed, but the album is pleasant enough.... Eb (let's not forget the glorious Feelies) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 20:58:06 -0400 From: rosso@videotron.ca Subject: Re: One Small Tab On 16 Oct 2002 at 18:58, Michael Wells wrote: > For these new songs I > suppose we should get some sort of tab circle going offlist for interested > parties, so as not to bore everyone else to tears. I'm willing to do some > work tabbing out, anyone else? Tabs are more on-topic than religion or movies. Let's keep them on- list so people who are casually interested can participate. Last time we set up a sublist it fizzled. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 19:59:37 -0500 (CDT) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: #328 On Wed, 16 Oct 2002, Eb wrote: > Meanwhile, it seems to me like Live may be the only band who cloned > *later* REM. In the interests of saving bandwidth, I will write "ick!" only once instead of the 700 times I would otherwise have done. But I don't hear late R.E.M. in Live at all - I hear third-hand grunge, fifth-hand White Man's Funk, and a highly slappable degree of self-righteous hyperosity. Gawd - one of the worst bands ever. 'Course, maybe I don't hear later R.E.M. because I still like later R.E.M. - --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 ::Watson! Something's afoot...and it's on the end of my leg:: __Hemlock Stones__ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 20:28:10 -0500 From: steve Subject: Increase your wardrobe https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/store/item-detail.cfm?ID=T3&storeid=1 - - Steve __________ If the president fell flat on his face in the middle of the Rose Garden some of these characters would applaud his uncanny foresight in having arranged for the ground to be in just the right place to break his descent. Shades of the personality cult. - Josh Marshall, on the right wing echo chamber ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 18:47:37 -0700 From: barbara soutar Subject: Bob Dylan biography/ Link appreciation Hi everyone, I've just finished reading the new Bob Dylan biography by Howard Sounes. Whew! Quite a whirlwind that man was. How he created all that great music in the midst of chaos... or maybe that's how it's done. I don't know. Anyhow, biographywise it's quite an accomplishment. Oh and I'm about to read a birthday book I got, Savage Beauty about Edna St. Vincent Millay. Apparently she was a wild thing, should be interesting. Funny how it's often assumed that literary figures from the past had boring lives. Must say I appreciate the various links that people post on here. There have been a lot of them. Like the Trouser Press link and that one with the Viking kittens/Led Zepplin. My teenage daughter was very impressed by this "new" group and sang along with the video. This is what I like about reading this list. It goes off in all directions. We just had the Canadian Thanksgiving... it tasted good. Barbara Soutar Victoria, B.C. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 22:22:51 -0400 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: Increase your wardrobe On Wed, Oct 16, 2002, steve wrote: > https://www.berkeleybreathed.com/store/item-detail.cfm?ID=T3&storeid=1 Speaking of seperated at birth, I couldn't help but make these last fall: . - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 19:30:50 -0700 From: drew Subject: future bible heroes = best band name ever? Well, I really like it, anyway. > From: Eb > > Eb, listening to the recent Future Bible Heroes album and wondering > how Stephen Merritt can be such an inventive, clever lyricist and yet > record the worst goddamn music on Earth I dunno...sometimes he seems inventive and clever and sometimes he makes me want to chew my ears off. I recently listened to disc 1 of _69 Love Songs_ again, and found I could stomach a few more of the songs than I could before (i.e, more than two), but only a few. I really liked _Holiday_ and _Memories of Love_, though, so I'm not sure what the constant is. > From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) > > oh, and Greg - do you seriously NOT believe in magic? If you are so > insistent that God is not responsible for creating the universe, it > must > have been that ratiocinated magic that people call science. You should > read > about it sometime. I understand that it's got quite a big following. Oh, honestly. Drew ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 07:38:41 +0000 From: "Brian Hoare" Subject: Side 3 Noticed Side3 in the gift shop at robynhitchcock.com. It's a little way down the list, just above CoB so it may have been there a little longer - I have been assuming it would be on the top of the list and not scrolling down. It's got "Tea With Mother" on the cover. Brian np Boredoms, Super Ae _________________________________________________________________ Surf the Web without missing calls! Get MSN Broadband. http://resourcecenter.msn.com/access/plans/freeactivation.asp ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 22:20:57 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: Re: magic >>oh, and Greg - do you seriously NOT believe in magic? If you are so >>insistent that God is not responsible for creating the universe, it must >>have been that ratiocinated magic that people call science. You should read >>about it sometime. I understand that it's got quite a big following. > >Science isn't magic, any more so than a tomato is a person or a goldfish is >an automobile. That's like calling nose-picking a sexual position. Animal >crackers don't meow. A better analogy would be science and magic are as closely related as a power station and lightning, or an irrigation system and a stream. They're both means to the same end (unlike picking your nose and having sex - unless you have some very odd kinks). Magic is an attempt via the studying of the natural world to make sense of it, and to apply those things learned to enable changes within the world. It is a discovery of whatever rules are used by the universe, and an application of those rules that are applicable, and an acceptance of all the others. Traditional "witchcraft" took two main forms - one was an ability to predict the natural events such as weather by studying the world, and the other was medicine, by means of studying the sick person (including their mental health, often through their dreams), and by means of potions made from available plant and animal sources. Anything more than that was a later add-on. Many of the former skills are still used by meteorologists, many of the latter are used, or being rediscovered by, modern health researchers. Other skills which have, at times past, been regarded as "magic" in different cultures include hypnotism, acupuncture, and aromatherapy. The first of these has gained widespread acceptance by the medical community, and the latter two are slowly increasing in acceptance. 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: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 11:31:23 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: Re: #328 - --On Wednesday, October 16, 2002 17:49:37 -0700 Eb wrote: > Anyone remember the Kilkenny Cats? They're the most blatant offender that > I can recall, right now. I only know that one track on "Athens Inside-Out". > Actually, Yo La Tengo somewhat seemed like a REM > clone back then, though they obviously evolved in a different direction. Hmm, possibly on "Ride The Tiger", but already "New Wave Hot Dog" doesn't sound like R.E.M. at all. The Feelies used to claim the YLT were derivative of *them* ... ;-) > Eb (let's not forget the glorious Feelies) Sure, but obviously "Crazy Rhythms" precedes R.E.M. and has often been cited as an influence. OTOH, Peter Buck produced "The Good Earth" (at least nominally; I've been told that he had broken up with his girlfriend and wasn't really capable to do the job) and there may be some influences there. - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156 50823 Kvln http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ Being just contaminates the void - Robyn Hitchcock ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 11:04:37 +0100 From: MSewell@oxfam.org.uk Subject: A long ramble in Winchester I guess you're going to want to know how it all went last night... Jim Davies, of feg fame, kindly gave us a lift down - he seemed to know the strange, twisty, turny one-way system of Winchester that seems to have most other people utterly baffled. Thus we found the Railway Tavern without any problem at all. It's a small pub in quite a tall building. In the brightly coloured bar there are a handful of people, watching a TV in the corner that was blaring out the national anthem. Matthew Seligman appeared and came over to say hello to Jim, then nipped off to watch the football (which by this time had kicked off on the TV in the corner). 8 o'clock swung by and we thought we'd go and see whether they were letting people into the music room - the support act was just finishing off his soundcheck. It was a very small room - the hundred people would later on fill it pretty much to capacity - small and quite cosy, soft seating around the edges, the odd table here and there and a real feeling that this had been a music room for a very long time, despite the fairly-recently-done tasteful decor. So, the support act, a shaven-headed bloke sitting on a stool with an accoustic guitar. He bangs out a Van Morrison song, then turns his attention to Tom Petty. I'm stood at the bar ordering some drinks when he introduces the next song saying something like "this is a song by a band from the sixties that recently reformed because the singer, called Albert or Alfred or something like that, recently got out of prison. Anyway, this is their only good song..." I could have marched to the stage (when I say stage, I mean area at the front raised up about 3 inches) and whacked him around his shiny head with his own guitar, but the soothing tones of his busker's version of Alone Again Or calms me somewhat. I've seen better buskers. This bloke certainly falls into the great tradition of Robyn support slots. It seemed to take an age for the Soft Boys to appear. We were stood at the front, Chrissy just in front of me facing the central mic stand. It was somewhat densely, and quite uncomfortably packed. Kimberley appeared almost from nowhere and started checking the guitars. Morris appeared, and I couldn't see how he had made his way through the crowd so unnoticably, especially wearing that long creamy-colour mac (Mac-nolia?). Matthew appeared, just as stealthfully as the others and stood at the front talking to the fans. A bloke came up to him to get him to sign a vinyl copy of UM. Chrissy leaned forward and said to Matthew "Give Robyn a pair of glasses!". Matthew smiled and drew spectacles on Kimberley. Robyn eventually arrived, in a shirt of psychedelic patches and a long red scarf. The band launched into Kingdom Of Love, note-perfect and played with gusto. I should mention here that each of the SBs are looking very good - Matthew still looks half his age, Kimberley retains his timeless quality, Morris' blokish charm and eye twinkle are still very much in evidence, and Robyn looks lean and healthy as if he's been on a diet of tofu and yoga for the last year or so. Queen Of Eyes follows - is Robyn contractually obliged to play it? Still, it's another good version, you can tell they're having fun. Someone in the audience shouts, unkindly, "you're tired". Robyn says "no, we're not tired, we're just old!". Ugly Nora bloke (the last time Robyn played Winchester, there was a bloke who, throughout the gig shouted for "Ogly Nooora!" - he was there again this time) shouted "Ogly Nooora!". Mr Kennedy was played with more confidence than some of the dates on the last tour, though perhaps (and this could have been 'cos we were right by Robyn's monitor) Kimberley was a little quiet. It was very much as it is on the album, no less enjoyable for that fact. Robyn points out that Winchester has never had a tramway, but that there used to be a disused railway line there years ago, so that one could run along the line pretending to be a train - "that's how I spent the 60s". A cracking version of Sudden Town follows. Next a very familiar, snaking introduction that, while familiar, takes a moment to identify... no way... Hear My Brane! I can hardly believe it, it's only a little less driving and intense than it was 24 years ago, and the guitar duet is, for me, a highlight of the gig. Syd Barrett is acknowledged as being an important influence by Robyn and someone calls out knowingly "Astronomy Domine", but oh no, they play Vegetable Man. By this point I'm just blown away. Yet again, they treat us to something I thought I'd never hear them play. Robyn tells us how, all those years ago, although there were telecasters, mobile phones didn't exist, except for Roger (Jim) Mcguinn, and that (in a roundabout story) is how he found out he should change his name (to Roger). Bells Of Rhymney follows. Pulse Of My Heart is next. This song has really grown on me, and last night's rocking version surpasses that of the album. I Love Lucy is just after - I still can't say it's much of a favourite, but seeing Robyn & Kimberley swapping melodies, it makes a little more sense. I don't know what song came next. I was using a mnemonic (sp?) technique to remember, and it fell down a bit here... After the mystery song (it'll come to me) was a great version of the Soft Boys' When I Was A Kid (as opposed to the Robyn version). I could have closed my eyes and convinced myself it was 1981, but perhaps that's down to my uncomfortable shoes... Robyn tells us it'll be Ok, once Blair/Bush have renamed Baghdad Blairbushdad everything will be just fine. There is more than a trace of irony in his voice... Strings. The best live version I've seen - this was a little ropey and unfinished when I last heard it, now it shines. Another song is dedicated to Blair and Bush (mostly Bush, Robyn says) - I Wanna Destroy You. Underwater Moonlight marks the end of their proper set, yet again, another fine version. The central spoken section is taken up entirely with addressing a bloke called Mr Rattigan, unclear whether he means Terrence or someone else. It would have been ridiculous for the band to have fought their way through the crowd to go and stand in the corridor, so they launch straight into the encore - a fine version of Narcissus, with, ISTR, a whole new section to the version I last heard in Evershot. It's gelled a bit more, it's walking around on its own now. The promoter works his way to the stage with his finger in the air - one more song... gah... they have to strictly finish at 11, apparently. I was wrong to feel disappointed at Unprotected Love being the last song as it was a highlight of the set and had me humming all the way up the A34. Prepare yourselves, ye Americans - you've got a treat in store! Cheers Matt We have the chance to lift millions out of poverty. Only one thing is missing -- you. Please join the Oxfam trade campaign at http://www.maketradefair.com Oxfam works with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering. Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International, a company limited by guarantee and registered in England No. 612172. Registered office: 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ. Registered charity No. 202918. Visit the web site at http://www.oxfam.org.uk ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 08:02:01 -0500 (CDT) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: magic On Thu, 17 Oct 2002, James Dignan wrote: > Magic is an attempt via the studying of the natural world to make sense of > it, and to apply those things learned to enable changes within the world. > It is a discovery of whatever rules are used by the universe, and an > application of those rules that are applicable, and an acceptance of all > the others. > > Traditional "witchcraft" took two main forms - one was an ability to > predict the natural events such as weather by studying the world, and the > other was medicine, by means of studying the sick person (including their > mental health, often through their dreams), and by means of potions made > from available plant and animal sources. Anything more than that was a > later add-on. Many of the former skills are still used by meteorologists, > many of the latter are used, or being rediscovered by, modern health > researchers. But you're narrowing the definition of "magic" to encompass only those aspects that are relatively close to scientific procedures (discovery, reasoning, application). Most definitions also include, for example, the notion that some people have particular insights into the world not available through the traditional senses, or the ability to do things or cause things to happen which are inexplicable within the laws of physics, etc. Furthermore, there is often (though not always) a spiritual component to the notion of magic (particularly connected with the first distinction I draw above) that is absent in science. Arthur C. Clarke's canard notwithstanding ("any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic": maybe to an outside observer, but probably not to the practitioners), magic and science are fundamentally different. Science seeks understanding within reason and to integrate new knowledge with what is already known or seems reasonable; magic (as the term is usually used) is hardly so systemic, nor does it need to be based in logic or reason. I'm sure there are some believers in magic who do narrow the definition in the way you suggest - but the fact that their claims and beliefs have not, despite years of attempts to do so, been verified in any scientific way suggests that they're less interested in the sorts of reasoning that you describe. Jeff Ceci n'est pas une .sig ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 14:14:24 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: magic On Thu, 17 Oct 2002, Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey wrote: > But you're narrowing the definition of "magic" to encompass only those > aspects that are relatively close to scientific procedures (discovery, > reasoning, application). Most definitions also include, for example, the > notion that some people have particular insights into the world not > available through the traditional senses, or the ability to do things or > cause things to happen which are inexplicable within the laws of physics, > etc. I remember a wonderful 4-way diagram which we had to learn in sociology, which went something like: Empirical means for empirical ends: science & technology Non-empirical means for empirical ends: magic Non-empirical means for non-empirical ends: religion Empirical means for non-empirical ends: can't remember, possibly religious ritual > Science seeks understanding within reason and to integrate new > knowledge with what is already known or seems reasonable; magic (as > the term is usually used) is hardly so systemic, nor does it need to > be based in logic or reason. But science has its origins in systematic magic, notably alchemy. > I'm sure there are some believers in magic who do narrow the definition in > the way you suggest - but the fact that their claims and beliefs have not, > despite years of attempts to do so, been verified in any scientific way > suggests that they're less interested in the sorts of reasoning that you > describe. I seem to remember that some of Rhine's telepathy subjects obtained scores way above the random level, which would have been accepted as proof in a less controversial experiment. Colin Wilson is very good on this in 'The Occult'. - - Mike Godwin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 14:06:10 +0000 From: "Montauk Daisy" Subject: Never seen magic crazy as this What is magic? That is a good question. I have never belonged to a magical group nor am I a scholar of magic, So I speak with little authority but I have always thought magic was a certain way of assigning value to the imagination and the inner senses(a pre-Enlightenment concept) in their larger, Romantic sense. Crowley gave the most common definition for magic -- something like magic is the art and science of causing intentianal changes in consiousness by an act of will. By that definition self-hypnosis is an act of magic, much art is an act of magic, meditation can be an act of magic, as can doing yoga or attending a church service or a rock n roll show or engaging in obbsessional/compulsive rituals. Life can be magic. Dreaming certianly is. I have never seen magic in the sense of obvious hocus pocus. It may exist but if it does it keeps itself well hidden(occult) and it is therefore difficult for me to have a truely informed opinion about. But I think there is a place where magic and psychology and imagination cross and make a sextile which, if handled with knowledge, dexterity and love , can create opportunities for changes in consiousness which may have unusual effects. Does that sound garbled? Well yes, I did admit I have less than a trace of a clue. But I do think there is a there there. The question is --where exactly, what lives there and whats its best function? Science may be able to pin it down or it may not. I have noticed that people who seem to be uncannily psychic now and then are very often right off the mark much of the time, whatever magic is, it is not stable in a way that we can now study with science. Pehaps someday we will. There may be human capabilities that we are not presently equipped to study that seem like the unexplored sections of old maps labeled -- here be dragons. One thing thats especially interestersting is the increasing interest in magic in the last century. Its almost as if as faith in science grows, so does disatifaction with its limits. I think it may tie in with the theory of how Science Fiction came to take over some of the space that Adventure Fiction used to occupy. Our earth is now mapped, there is no place where there may be dragons. We therefore have to invent worlds in outer space for them to inhabit. Why? Perhaps because dragons exist, not without but within us. We- need- to express certain imagnitive and psychologicalogical truths. Inner space has not yet been fully mapped. Who knows whats there? For me magic is a question, not an answer Kay n.p in her head: Its Only Life "I think it's nice when old things can still move around." Robyn Hitchcock _________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:22:17 -0400 From: overbury@mustang.cn.ca Subject: science/rmagic = irrigation/stream? "Science is an irrigation ditch. Magic is a stream" That analogy implies the main difference between science and magic is that one is engineered and the other natural and untamed. I don't buy that. Try this: If science is irrigating when you need water from the distant stream, then magic is collecting the round stones that weep in the stream and putting them in your cooking pot. Sometimes you leave the pot outside and it rains. When there's water to cook your gruel, you crow about it. Whenever there isn't, you make excuses. You never reconsider your original assumption. By the time your great-great-grandchildren are eating their uncooked gruel there is an impressive library on the selection and positioning of the stones and how to make them sad. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:49:48 -0400 From: Brian Subject: Fwd: Re: Side 3 Just got word from David at the museum. Side 3 *is* now available to purchase and ship: At Thursday, 17 October 2002, duplanet@global2000.net wrote: >Brian, > >We're just getting the site updated - yes, it's now available. If you order >by PayPal this morning it'll go in the mail to you this afternoon. > >Best wishes, > >david > >>I noticed Side 3 is for sale at the RH museum. Is it available now? >> >>If I payed by Paypal when would it ship? >> >>Thanks! >> >>Brian >>Temperance, MI ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:59:40 -0400 From: Brian Subject: Re: A long ramble in Winchester At Thursday, 17 October 2002, you wrote: >I guess you're going to want to know how it all went last night... Hear My Brane Vegetable Man When I Was A Kid !!!!!!!!! Wow, I can't wait! Nice review Matt. Nuppy! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 08:39:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Drive Stuart Murdoch's Car http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1777807925 ===== "If we don't allow journalists, politicians, and every two-bit Joe Schmo with a cause to grandstand by using 9-11 as a lame rhetorical device, then the terrorists have already won." -- "Shredder" "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -- Theodore Roosevelt . Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 09:41:53 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: Sex, Merritt, Halloween and Guadalcanal Diary gSs: >>when is sex a waste of time? Well, the canard about sex being like pizza aside, it's not always great. And it can have unwanted consequences on most levels of life (social, emotional, medical, reproductive). Taking one's own self out of the occasion, we can probably think of plenty of sex acts between other people that we kinda wish hadn't happened. _________ Drew: >>Yep, that was pretty much my feeling about NIN too. Hey, there's another one we agree on! __________ I love Halloween; always have. It was the one time of year when I saw the clear benefits of living in the sticks. Trick-or-Treating in the Great Oak Valley involved long walks through the woods in the moonlight with the wind blowing creepy leaves across the dirt road, skittering around like animate, dessicated rodents. There were always older kids lurking in the woods trying to spook us. Since I've left WVa, the Trick or Treating for kids out there first devolved to a quick adult-supervised hayride at night, and then got moved up to pre-dusk, in the interests of safety. The golden age of Trick or Treating seems to be well and truly over, and it makes me sad for my kids. It's been a fun chapter of my adult life becoming the Guru of Halloween Parties and Halloween Musical Compilations. Also a rare excuse to inflict my musical tastes on others with impunity: "Hey, this song is about (a ghost/a fiend/a creature with an atom brain), how could I NOT play it?" ____________ Eb: >>wondering how Stephen Merritt can be such an inventive, clever lyricist and yet >>record the worst goddamn music on Earth Partially because his voice is SO grating? I can really only listen to the 6ths for just that reason. But his ultra-thin, mega-sterile production doesn't help either. It's just a mystery. ____________ Guadalcanal Diary addendum: I always thought they sounded just like REM would sound if Mills always sang lead. And then Out of Time came out and "Texarkana" proved it beyond a doubt. But I still like GD as a guilty pleasure. I'd love to lay hands on some of their pre-"2X4" stuff but it's always outrageously overpriced when I find it. Anyhow... - -Rex ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V11 #329 ********************************