From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V12 #406 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, October 30 2003 Volume 12 : Number 406 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: "emo" explained, maybe [Ken Weingold ] RE: "emo" explained, maybe [Sweet & Tender Hooligan ] Re: Subgenres not mentioned herein: Grebo, Foxcore, C-86, Nudecore [UglyN] One of the finest British indie LPs ever made ["Gene Hopstetter, Jr." ] Re: Solar Flares to hit the EARTH! ["Jonathan Fetter" ] Re: Singer, drummer... same thing. [Ken Weingold ] Re: not mentioned [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Hal-ley-fuckin-lu-jah [Eb ] Re: not mentioned [Eb ] Re: Hal-ley-fuckin-lu-jah [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Re: When I/we Was/were Young [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Re: Sandoz [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Re: Emo II [grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan)] Elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant ["Natalie Jaco] Re: Emo II [Capuchin ] Re: Singer, drummer... same thing. ["Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: "emo" explained, maybe On Thu, Oct 30, 2003, Aaron Mandel wrote: > Maybe "alternative" is a better metaphor for the word's travails than > "punk" is. Somehow I think this has been discussed, but I never liked the term "alternative". All the stuff that we used to listen to in high school didn't seem to have a name. It would mostly later be called alternative. But why I don't like it is that by the time it got that label, it was anything but. Or am I missing the definition? - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 11:29:27 -0700 From: Sweet & Tender Hooligan Subject: RE: "emo" explained, maybe > Somehow I think this has been discussed, but I never liked the term > "alternative". All the stuff that we used to listen to in high school > didn't seem to have a name. It would mostly later be called > alternative. But why I don't like it is that by the time it got that > label, it was anything but. Or am I missing the definition? When I was young, "alternative" was the word we used to describe the Smiths, Cure, Depeche Mode, Erasure, anything produced by Stephen Hague, Jesus & Mary Chain, etc. I look back on it now and would probably categorize most of those bands as something other than "alternative," (mostly, um, "British," I guess), but I remember being outraged when Nirvana hit big and everyone was calling it "alternative." It seemed about as far away from the wit and creativity that I associated with "alternative." This was obviously "rock," dammit, why was everyone insisting it was otherwise? Nowadays the world "alternative" characterizes nothing; it might mean music that gets played on the radio, or music that nobody's ever heard of; it might be country, goth, electronica, whatever. = s&th hooligan@apostate.com www.jaquelinerose.com "When you're young, your potential is infinite. You might do anything, really. You might be great. You might be Einstein. You might be Goethe. Then you get to an age where what you might be gives way to what you have been. You weren't Einstein. You weren't anything. That's a bad moment." - Charlie Kaufman ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 13:34:52 -0500 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: "emo" explained, maybe On Thu, Oct 30, 2003, Sweet & Tender Hooligan wrote: > When I was young, "alternative" was the word we used to describe the > Smiths, Cure, Depeche Mode, Erasure, anything produced by Stephen > Hague, Jesus & Mary Chain, etc. I look back on it now and would > probably categorize most of those bands as something other than > "alternative," (mostly, um, "British," I guess), but I remember > being outraged when Nirvana hit big and everyone was calling it > "alternative." It seemed about as far away from the wit and > creativity that I associated with "alternative." This was obviously > "rock," dammit, why was everyone insisting it was otherwise? Hmmm. I don't know how old you are, but I don't remember the term 'alternative' being used until around 1990, and that was after high school for me. I think MTV was calling all those bands you mentioned "New Music" in the late 80s. But that didn't make much sense to me either. - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 13:37:53 -0500 From: UglyNoraGrrl@aol.com Subject: Re: Subgenres not mentioned herein: Grebo, Foxcore, C-86, Nudecore Rex was wrong when he said: > You don't have Beulah grouped as power-pop, > but I do-- it's melodic guitar rock with some > bells and whistles, which fits the bill IMHO, > but admittedly "power pop" is one of yer more > tricky-to-pin-down terms. Beulah is Power Pop??? But there is no power in their pop! And that's a weird definition of power pop. I've always thought of it has melodic pop with harmonies and over driven guitars. For me Todd Rundgren's song "Couldn't I Just Tell You" is the quintessential Power Pop song and I've always thought of Big Star and Badfinger as the earliest Power Pop bands with Cheap Trick probably being the most successful. Later day examples of Power Pop acts would Teenage Fanclub, the Posies, and Jason Falkner. All Music Guide describes Power Pop as "a cross between the crunching hard rock of the Who and the sweet melodicism of the Beatles and Beach Boys, with the ringing guitars of the Byrds thrown in for good measure." which pretty much nails it for me. Later, Nora np The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (also not Power Pop) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 13:49:28 -0600 From: "Gene Hopstetter, Jr." Subject: One of the finest British indie LPs ever made Here's a dandy old review of Underwater Moonlight, at a dandy website I just wasted an hour at, reading reviews of records I wished I owned: http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/reviews/index.php?review_id=547 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 13:07:16 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Subgenres not mentioned >Noragrrl: >Rex was wrong when he said: >> You don't have Beulah grouped as power-pop, >> but I do-- it's melodic guitar rock with some >> bells and whistles, which fits the bill IMHO, >> but admittedly "power pop" is one of yer more >> tricky-to-pin-down terms. > >Beulah is Power Pop??? But there is no power in their pop! I don't think Beulah has nearly enough British Invasion in them to be considered power-pop. Though I wouldn't call Cheap Trick power-pop, either. They're hard-rock with pop hooks. For me, power pop is, er...sure, heavily derived from the first British Invasion...punchy guitar chords mixed in, to add some rock 'n' roll wallop...simple rhythms/phrasing and a "circular" feel to the songs...I also think it tends to require a certain anonymous craftsmanship to the lyrics, and this is where much of the genre loses me. There's this sense that the lyrics require a few catchy phrases to blankly sing along with, but they *can't* be too complex, personal or "noticeable." Bland universality. Lyrics about girls, love, hearts and nights. And I may be in the minority, but I think the term "alternative" still carries weight. People get way too hung up on the dictionary definition of "alternative," whereas "alternative" as a style of music is purely an acquired slang definition. I frequently see this same type of confusion, when discussing what "prog[ressive] rock" is. I don't think it's so hard to pin down an "alternative" mindset. Some bands are punk-informed, some aren't. Some strive put up a barrier of inaccessibility, some wrap it up in a bow and dump it all in your lap. Some craft their records to be utterly seamless, some like to let a few threads stick out. The toughest gray area for me are those second-generation grunge descendants which *sound* like they're punk-informed but are really just shallowly taking it secondhand from the Nirvana/Alice in Chains/Pearl Jam era. All those cut-out-bin, calculated-image rockers on Epic, Columbia, Atlantic, etc. Many of them are just poodle-rockers in disguise. Some of the cleaner alt-country stuff can be problematic as well. Eb, naively wondering why they don't try seeding the clouds ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:15:24 -0500 (EST) From: "Jonathan Fetter" Subject: Re: Solar Flares to hit the EARTH! > >It was really stunning. I haven't watched local news in probably a year. > >I couldn't imagine being subjected to that crap night after night. > > > >Is it always so urgent and frightening? Does that really work on people? Last night I was watching the local news, which I don't do typically, and for the first ten minutes there was the usual terror stories of child abductions and worse. But then they showed footage of the PA lottery awarding a $36 million check to a coworker of mine, which utterly floored me. Today was spent listening to other people spending $36 million that isn't theirs. Jon ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 13:42:35 -0800 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: Singer, drummer... same thing. Me, then Cappy: >>>it's melodic >>>guitar rock with some bells and whistles, which fits the bill IMHO, but >>>admittedly "power pop" is one of yer more tricky-to-pin-down terms. >>Sheesh, your definition sounds like pretty much any rock but punk rock. I wrote that in a stupid, convoluted manner... I meant to describe Beulah and then say that their music fit the bill of power pop, not that that description was my definition of power pop. (Damn, that was convoluted, too. Oh, well.) Buzzcocks: punk or power pop? I'd have to say both. Probably the Ramones, too. >>I think of powerpop as being much more anthemic and driving. Think Too >>Much Joy or Blur (to name disparate edges). I'll take the "driving" part, but I wouldn't say that "anthemic" would be a prerequisite... of course you could mean a couple things by that depending on whether you're referring to the melodies or the lyrics. >>That's super weird because nearly all the singing in The Minders is done >>by a fellow named Martin. And mostly he works food service. Well, I screwed that one up. It was actually their *drummer*, Rebecca, who I worked with. She worked at one of the Denver theatres owned by the film exhibition company I worked for, and I was always on the phone with the theatre managers and staff. Somehow in my mind she turned into the singer despite the fact that I heard their demo way back when. It was on cassette and I had totally forgotten what they sounded like. Mighta been because she and I talked a lot about our respective bands at the time and mine *did* have a female vocalist, so that was my mindset for those few years. ____ Jill: >>You know, some Smith fans became Smiths fans before there was an image, >>or maybe before they knew there was an image. This is true, and made perfect sense at the time. Think about the Smiths' album covers, videos, etc.: willfully obscure indeed. Same with New Order, REM and any number of bands of that era. That ambiguity was if anything part of the appeal. It was really possible to bring your own perspective and interpretation to that stuff, and that made it more personal. The idea that there would be a conformist ethos among the fans of those band would not have made any sense to me back then. Of course, then I moved to LA... _____ Mike G: >>IIRC, Sandoz was the name of the lab where they synthesized LSD. Something like that. Yeah, neeat song. >>I would like to see a family tree of the {Animals'} various lineups. The notes with that compilation do a pretty fair job. But I'm sure Pete Frame has done it up all proper-like somewhere. ____ Jason T: >>blink-182 is also considered essential listening down here. And P.O.D. >>and Jewel. *shiver* Lordy. Any record collection containing a P.O.D. record is beyond redemption. Waayyy beyoond it. _____ Aaron: >>{brief history of emo} >>By the way, sorry if that all sounded didactic. I've gotten used to people >>making me feel authoritative about this question, which doesn't mean I am. No, that was as good an explanation as I ever expect to hear. But I guess we really won't know until K-Tel puts out "The Best Emo Album Anywhere Ever" in 2015 or whenever. Oh, and everyone? Sorry if I've been a dick lately. I've been in quite the crappy mood. - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:48:38 -0500 (EST) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: Singer, drummer... same thing. On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Rex.Broome wrote: > No, that was as good an explanation as I ever expect to hear. But I > guess we really won't know until K-Tel puts out "The Best Emo Album > Anywhere Ever" in 2015 or whenever. The future is 1999: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JTCY a ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:52:02 -0500 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: Singer, drummer... same thing. On Thu, Oct 30, 2003, Aaron Mandel wrote: > On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Rex.Broome wrote: > > > No, that was as good an explanation as I ever expect to hear. But I > > guess we really won't know until K-Tel puts out "The Best Emo Album > > Anywhere Ever" in 2015 or whenever. > > The future is 1999: > > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JTCY > > a Fuck, where's Jawbreaker on there? - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:53:18 -0600 (CST) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: not mentioned On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Eb wrote: > For me, power pop is, er...sure, heavily derived from the first > British Invasion...punchy guitar chords mixed in, to add some rock > 'n' roll wallop...simple rhythms/phrasing and a "circular" feel to > the songs...I also think it tends to require a certain anonymous > craftsmanship to the lyrics, and this is where much of the genre > loses me. There's this sense that the lyrics require a few catchy > phrases to blankly sing along with, but they *can't* be too complex, > personal or "noticeable." Bland universality. Lyrics about girls, > love, hearts and nights. I think what happened is that post-Beatle pop-rock became so (paradoxically) unpopular that the nearest available descriptor in common usage, power pop, got drafted to describe even that PBPR that *didn't* do the "power" thing - like Beulah, say. And you've put your finger on a little debate there with the bit about lyrics and "simple"...if anyone here's ever been on the Audities list, *some* of those folks get mighty tetchy about patrolling the bounds of "pop" - and it's that last part that gets certain bands - not that I'm thinking of any particular act you don't like, Eb...you know the one I mean - into trouble with those authorities. (Oddly, they don't make the claim that, say, the melodies aren't singable-along-with, etc. - which, I believe, was part of your criticism.) Me, I like my PBPR (hereinafter "pop") decidedly left-fieldish: the best pop, for me, approaches the "rules" of pop strictly in the spirit of seeing how many of them can be discarded and still have the results be pop. And the best bands don't worry overmuch about whether the answer is yes. But when it is, those are some of my favorite pop songs, and favorite pop acts. As in: Wire is quite often a pop band, even though they're quite more often not one - and it's that latter quality that makes their pop songs so good. > The toughest gray area for me are those second-generation grunge > descendants which *sound* like they're punk-informed but are really > just shallowly taking it secondhand from the Nirvana/Alice in > Chains/Pearl Jam era. All those cut-out-bin, calculated-image rockers > on Epic, Columbia, Atlantic, etc. Many of them are just > poodle-rockers in disguise. I don't think those folks are a gray area at all: the style they were ransacking had, by that time become completely mainstream. There were no attempts at *not* tying it up in a pretty commercial bow - just that the fashion in commercial bows at the time had them made from worn flannel. Similarly bands like Blink-182 and "punk": nope, sorry; as authentic as Taco Bell. - --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 ::I'M ONLY AS LARGE AS AN ANT AND I'M HIDING INSIDE YOUR CAR:: __cryptic placemat phrase, Madison WI, 1986__ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:07:23 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Hal-ley-fuckin-lu-jah [I've been getting at least two of these a day, in recent weeks...grrr] http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7721909%255E421,00.html Arrest over world internet scam By Graeme Webber October 31, 2003 A 39-year-old Sydney man will face court today charged with 17 offences relating to a multi-million-dollar internet scam based in Australia. Most ignore such emails as being too good to be true / AP The so-called Nigerian or West African scam involved fraudsters sending a flood of spam emails telling people they could claim millions of dollars of lottery winnings, an inheritance, or a business opportunity - so long as they first sent money for expenses. NSW police said yesterday's arrest came after a four-month investigation, and was the first arrest of a key Australian allegedly involved in the global scam. State Crime Command Assets Confiscation Unit (ACU) detectives arrested the Sydney man during a search of a property at Nyngan in the State's central west. He will face Dubbo Local Court today. Simultaneous raids were conducted at two homes, in Cecil Hills and Lurnea, in Sydney's south-west, where police seized computers and documents. ACU commander Inspector Jennifer Thommeny said the Sydney-based international syndicate had targeted hundreds of victims in Australia and overseas. "In the last six months, we've probably tracked about $1.5 million," Inspector Thommeny told reporters in Sydney. "This is really significant," she said. "We believe that this is the first arrest of its kind in the world relating to an Australian connection. "We have identified victims who have been approached in NSW, South Australia, Victoria, Cyprus, Malaysia, Japan, Norway, Greece, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and England, and in many cases have been conned into handing over hundreds of thousands of dollars." Inspector Thommeny said the racket was relatively simple to set up, but that it was often difficult to catch the culprits because the victims usually lived overseas. "It's difficult to say whether we'll see an end to it, because it's all about people's gullibility," she said. "It's all about whether or not they think they can win the lottery." In the case of the Nigerian frauds, the victims had not even bought tickets. Most people ignore such emails as being too good to be true - which they are - but others have become entangled. Many victims were so embarrassed about being fooled that they never reported the crime. "Sometimes you will get someone that's really ill and down on their luck and they think, 'Oh my god, it's a gift from heaven'," Inspector Thommeny said. "It takes a very greedy, ruthless person to set up this scam, because it's very simple." Some people realised their mistake after the first payment. Others kept handing over money, even when fraudsters demanded further fees. Authorities issued freeze orders on nine Sydney properties, a UK property, and five vehicles - meaning they could not be sold, and could be confiscated if prosecutions were successful. AAP ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 14:39:38 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: not mentioned >And you've put your finger on a little debate there with the bit about >lyrics and "simple"...if anyone here's ever been on the Audities list, >*some* of those folks get mighty tetchy about patrolling the bounds of >"pop" I glanced at the Audities web archives a couple of times in recent days, because I was curious to see the reaction to Elliott Smith's death. It's funny how they can be so sad about this, but then accept such a tiny set of artists who have a similar emotional depth. Rest assured, their year-end poll will have the ever-precious Fountains of Wayne gurgling and twinkling at #1.... >Me, I like my PBPR (hereinafter "pop") decidedly left-fieldish And the more self-consciously so, the better. ;) >Similarly bands like Blink-182 and "punk": nope, sorry; as authentic as >Taco Bell. Not authentic, but Blink-182 is still "alternative." Alternative bands don't have to be *good*, y'know. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:40:07 -0600 (CST) From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: Hal-ley-fuckin-lu-jah On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Eb wrote: > http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7721909%255E421,00.html > > Arrest over world internet scam > By Graeme Webber > October 31, 2003 > "It takes a very greedy, ruthless person to set up this scam, because it's > very simple." > > Some people realised their mistake after the first payment. Others kept > handing over money, even when fraudsters demanded further fees. Ah, stupidity and avarice, hand-in-hand...isn't it romantic? - --Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ::I can bellow like a clown school drill instructor:: __Brian Block__ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:51:21 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: Re: When I/we Was/were Young >> >>I've wondered in the past why "When I Was Young" isn't on the above >> >>album. Seems like a glaring oversight, because it certainly gets more >> >>airplay than at least half those songs. I don't recall the >> >>chronology...maybe it came out after this compilation was released? on a subject connected to this only by similarity of title, can anyone out there tell me anything about the band Dusted, which put out the album "When we were young"? 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: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:52:51 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Sandoz >IIRC, Sandoz was the name of the lab where they synthesized LSD. makes sense - also explains the name of the kiwi(?) Hip-hop/Electronica outfit Sandoz Lab Technicians. James (who thought it was the name of a bad film starring Sean Connery) 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: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:57:02 +1300 From: grutness@surf4nix.com (James Dignan) Subject: Re: Emo II reading the tail end of the last digest, I see I'm going to have to add more names to the "Is it emo?" list: Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Fugazi, Nova Mob... sounds like it's used to apply to everything from shoegazer to grunge, which is likely to make it a big disparate group, like trying to define birds by pointing to an ostrich and a hummingbird. 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, 30 Oct 2003 15:08:27 -0800 From: "Natalie Jacobs" Subject: Elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant, elephant >I think E6 was a victim of critical overkill, as well as a too-much-at-once >syndrome. I think the main E6 bands (you name all of them above - not sure >Essex Green belongs there, though) are all quite distinctive and different >from one >another. My anal pop historian side recalls that the first Essex Green album bore the E6 logo. I sold my copy a while ago so I can't confirm. >But critics wrote about the acts as if they shared something in common >musically - - when really, it was more a network of friends all working in >their own DIY >ways (with a lot of guest appearances, to be sure) than a unified "scene" >musically. I sort of thought of it as a loose-knit group with some common influences - which were all influences I liked, so I did tend to seek out stuff affiliated with the group because I thought the dreaded logo was a sign that I might like it. That wasn't always true, though - the aforementioned Essex Green and the Great Lakes (forgot to mention them earlier) ultimately proved to be a little too bland for my taste, and the Music Tapes... I'm coming to that. >By popular request, now you and your friends and family members can ask >this >days old question whenever they want! Just in time for the holidaze!! > >http://www.cafeshops.com/whostomclark Holy shit! I want the thong! ;) Though I would also like a "Fuck You Tom Clark" trucker's hat. >Or more likely I'm misusing it! Well, I saw part of an Apples live show, >heard the Minders because I worked with their singer (frequent phone >contact, though I never met her in person)... As Jeme mentioned, my favorite crazy Englishman Martyn Leaper is the Minders' singer... I assume you were speaking to his charming wife Rebecca... although she also works in food service. Was she ordering beer from you or something? You don't have Beulah >grouped as power-pop, but I do-- it's melodic guitar rock with some bells >and whistles, which fits the bill IMHO, but admittedly "power pop" is one >of >yer more tricky-to-pin-down terms. I was divided over whether or not to class Beulah as power-pop, but ultimately I decided they had too many bells and whistles to qualify. I see their main influence as Pavement rather than power-pop (and strangely enough, I still like them!). "Melodic guitar rock" is an awfully vague term, that could cover just about anyone... I'm seeing Beulah tonight, I'll ask Miles Kurosky if he considers Beulah to be power-pop. ;) >I just recently even found out that the AMG has a "music map" for something >called "Twee Pop"... I thought it was just a derogatory term critics used. >That there is a mighty emasculating genre name. I've used the term before, but it's to classify a type of music that I utterly loathe, so I don't know if it counts as a genre name. Interestingly, people who are into twee/indie pop actually just refer to it simply as "pop." I find this kind of confusing. >Well, as the hip kids from a few years ago would say if they talked like >truckers, "If you ain't got In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Black >Foliage, you ain't heard shit." Indeed. >As for Portland, my friend Miriam (Eddie Tews, this is the same Miriam who >went to see the Soft Boys on Halloween in Seattle last year) is now living >in Portland and plans to go to the show, but she doesn't know anyone. >Who's going? I'm going, as is Jane the Timeline Chick - but she's mainly going to see Scott McCaughey, who's opening. Her fervor for the mediocre song stylings of Mr. McCaughey has been a source of bafflement that has kept me awake many a sultry Portland midnight. She is going to stay for Robyn, which is good, because otherwise I might have to tie her to her seat. > > Stewart loves 'em, if I recall. > >I do, dearly. If you can get past the overly-studied lofi approach, >there's quite a fine concept in there. I only managed to listen to it a few times. There's a few good songs there (I rather regret that I will never again hear "What the Single Made the Needle Sing"), and the concept is imaginative, but overall it's a sloppy, boring, pretentious, depressing mess. The packaging is beautiful, however, so I kept the pretty pop-up and the Brian Dewan cartoon and sold the CD. >Ksoter's earlier group, Chocolate USA, is probably more fun, but still >slightly disturbing. The songs I've heard by them are pretty amusing. Discerning females also agree that Julian Koster is really cute, but that doesn't make up for his songwriting skills, or lack thereof. He should just stick to making other people's music beautiful (see NMH, and OTC's "I Have Been Floated"). grumpily, n. _________________________________________________________________ Fretting that your Hotmail account may expire because you forgot to sign in enough? Get Hotmail Extra Storage today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:21:32 -0800 (PST) From: Capuchin Subject: Re: Emo II On Fri, 31 Oct 2003, James Dignan wrote: > reading the tail end of the last digest, I see I'm going to have to add > more names to the "Is it emo?" list: Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Fugazi, > Nova Mob... sounds like it's used to apply to everything from shoegazer > to grunge, which is likely to make it a big disparate group, like trying > to define birds by pointing to an ostrich and a hummingbird. Actually, it's kind of like pointing to photographs of birds and saying they all SOUND the same... or have the exact same feather density/length ratio. You just can't tell from the attributes usually used to describe them. J. - -- _______________________________________________ Capuchin capuchin@bitmine.net Jeme A Brelin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 15:20:38 -0800 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: Singer, drummer... same thing. At 01:42 PM 10/30/2003 -0800, Rex.Broome wrote: > >>blink-182 is also considered essential listening down here. And P.O.D. > >>and Jewel. *shiver* > >Lordy. Any record collection containing a P.O.D. record is beyond >redemption. Waayyy beyoond it. I do hope the "shiver" made it clear that I own absolutely no POD nor blink-182, and only the first Jewel album, which I originally purchased but didn't like (on the "to sell" pile) because a friend of mine used to give her food back when she was homeless. Bought it to see what it was like, back before everyone knew. I did see POD perform two songs at a San Diego music awards show once, though. Now Blackheart Procession and Ilya... there are two San Diego bands I really, really like. - --Jason "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V12 #406 ********************************