From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V13 #102 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, April 6 2004 Volume 13 : Number 102 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Gmattmaniax: Northampton Labour Club - The Jazz Butcher ["Matt Sewell" ] Re: What else Tim said about the Wonderfalls cancellation [Steve Talkowsk] Re: fegmaniax-digest V13 #101 [M R Godwin ] Pixies, for now... ["Rex.Broome" ] The final venue for Wonderfalls ["Rex.Broome" ] Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls ["Fortissimo" ] Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls ["Maximilian Lang" ] Re: Arrested Development (not the ones who sing Tennessee) ["Fortissimo" ] BBC Nick drake tribute - Brad Pitt to present?! [grutness@surf4nix.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 17:19:46 +0100 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: Gmattmaniax: Northampton Labour Club - The Jazz Butcher Went over (or up, actually) to Northampton on Friday with Jim Davies (of this very list) and psychedelic Terry, my neighbour, to see The Jazz Butcher playing at the Labour Club there. He's doing a monthly show where he gets people to play and starts the proceedings off by playing a few songs... Northampton Labour Club is a very old fashioned community centre-type place with green walls, a perpetual smokey fug, kids running around (though the space is very limited - it's the size of a very small pub) and very cheap drinks. In many ways the ideal gig venue! The musicians played just in front of the bar, separated from the audience by about 3 feet and a couple of chairs with a sheet thrown over them. This month, the headliners were a band called Slipstream, involving members of Spiritualised (Jon Mattock, Mark Refoy and Ray Dickerty). Actually I was surprised and disappointed to hear how much like Spiritualised they sounded - two chord organ drones, Rickenbacker tinkling away... dreadful lyrics. Pat, however, was excellent - I missed out on the JBC when they were in their day, and so far the only recorded thing I've heard is Terry's guest appearance on Black Eg. I was most impressed with the solo performance. Just Pat, his Burns guitar and a taped backing. Three old songs, a new one and a couple of covers (Listed on his website as Whaddya?, Ben, Ghosts, Brian Wilson ("we're all scum in someone's eyes"), Stop This City by David J and a fabulous cover of Tread Water by De La Soul). It was well worth the trip - hopefully we'll make it to another one - they're every first Friday... Cheers Matt - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Are you going travelling? Help us to find the 100 best internet cafes in the world. Click here for more details and you could win #250 and a digital camera! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 13:08:46 -0500 From: "Sumiko Keay" Subject: What else Tim said about the Wonderfalls cancellation This from b.org: - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Minear - Apr 3, 2004 8:03:38 pm PST #9446 of 10012 Mark Perfect example of when "nice" is so much better than "funny". Tim, is there anything we can do? I've never participated in a "save our show campaign," but I adore this show and I'll do anything to save it. Who can we write to about this? What should we ask for? This show is excellent and deserves to be shown in full, somehow. In terms of "saving" the show? Not really anything you can do. The network is a non-starter here. The studio, 20th, is possibly a different matter. If they get the sense that people would buy a complete series DVD set, it might happen that the series becomes available in future. But please don't waste your time or money on trying to revive "Wonderfalls" for a pick-up with Fox. Ain't gonna happen. When we first began this series, I was asked by many why I would put my trust in the network that mishandled "Firefly" so terribly. Well, because it felt different to me. Initially, there was real excitement and belief in "Wonderfalls" at the network. My feeling with "Firefly" was always that since they didn't much like or understand it from the brilliant pilot, that we were kind of doomed. I felt that if a network didn't believe in a show, no matter its potential, that it couldn't launch it or sell it with any measure of success. And again, "Wonderfalls" felt totally different to me. At first. Then, at some point in the process, I could sense an erosion in enthusiasm. Even as we were finding our footing and delivering to them some really exceptional episodes (ones you never got to see!), things got chilly. Then they couldn't seem to find any place on the schedule for us. Then they did... and it was Friday night. I tell you now, the moment that was announced, I knew it was over. They were dumping us into Friday nights and that was that. When the smashing reviews started coming in... and coming and coming and coming... I think they didn't know what to think or do. You have but one chance to make a good first impression. But they'd given up on the show before it ever aired, and even when the lion's share of critics were hailing the show, it was too late for them to backtrack and launch the series with any kind of conviction. My "Firefly" experience was repeating itself. I think it was USA Today that said this may be "the wrong show, in the wrong season, on the wrong night, on the wrong network." Just so. I do think market forces were at work here, too. Not just incompetence. I don't know if any network could have brought an audience to this show. Certainly no network that dumped it on Friday night, promoted it in such as way as to try and trick people into thinking it was "Dawson's Creek," or that didn't, apparantly, agree with the things the critics were saying about it. I do think any network wants whatever they pay for to be a success. I don't think they MEAN to strangle something in the crib. I know that the next time I shop something to a network, I'm going to hope to find a network that understands and believes in the thing they ordered. And if they thought it looked good on the menu, I'd hope they'd still have a taste for it once it got to the table. There's a whole 'nother half of this post... but I deleted it. Twice burned, me. edited by Tim Minear on Apr 3, 2004 8:10:48 pm PST ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 11:09:35 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: reap on 4/3/04 12:49 AM, Eb at elbroome@earthlink.net wrote: > Zombies Guitarist Dead At 58 > > Paul Atkinson, an original guitarist for 60's Brit band The Zombies, > has died from cancer. > > Atkinson, who turned 58 on March 18, had been suffering for some years. > He had two liver transplants and failed kidneys due to dialysis. > > In January, his friends and colleges gathered to pay tribute to him at > a dinner in Hollywood. It was the first time in 30 years the > original Zombies were together. > I went to this dinner with an industry friend I'll call "Watersports". Here is my blow-by-blow of how the evening progressed. > The dinner was hosted by Shadoe Stevens and featured performances by > the Zombies, I smile, get teary-eyed, when Atkinson comes onstage... > Bruce Hornsby, I'm politely enthusiastic at first, but my mind eventually wanders to thoughts of unfinished household chores... > Richard Page of Mr. Mister, Thinking about leaving, but don't want to be rude. Dinner utensils have been cleared, so I fashion a shiv out of a Bic pen by melting the end with my lighter... > Michael Penn, Isn't he married to Aimee Mann? Thoughts of taking my own life subside briefly in hopes I may enjoy this performance. No such luck. I roll up my sleeves... > Patty Smyth, The applause dies down considerably when the crowd realizes it's not Patti Smith. The shiv is as sharp as it's gonna get... > Mickey Thomas of Starship, Oh shit. Any hope of surviving the evening is lost. As soon as he opens his mouth I make the first slice up my left wrist. > and Brian Wilson. I'm sure this was an epic performance. I don't know since I'm dead. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 14:18:52 -0400 From: Steve Talkowski Subject: Re: What else Tim said about the Wonderfalls cancellation On Apr 5, 2004, at 2:08 PM, Sumiko Keay wrote: > I don't know if any network could have brought an audience to this > show. The inanimate objects coming to life was too reminiscent of Ally McBeal. The gimmick got old around the 3rd time she told the lion "I heard you the first time!" Speaking of inanimate objects coming to life - here are the two latest commercials I just completed that are now airing: http://www.hornetinc.com/quaker - -Steve - -- Steve Talkowski Animation Director / Hornet Inc. 213 West 35th St. Suite 605 New York, NY 10001 http://www.hornetinc.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 19:22:43 +0100 From: M R Godwin Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V13 #101 Just a quick note before we nip off for a week. My copy of Tinfoil Thoths arrived safely today and you will not believe this. I was too busy packing to listen to the masterwork today, so I just thought I would check that the sound on Carrier Pigeon was OK (it was fine, the words were as distinct as I remembered; Matt, you must be having trouble with my English accent!). Any road up, as it came to the second chorus, I heard an alarming thumping sound. I looked up just in time to see a dizzy looking pigeon veering away westwards, having just crashed into the glass of the picture window!!! I mean, I know the whales come out of the sea to listen when Don van Vliet blows his saxophone, but this is uncanny. Thanks again for a great job, Rex. - - Mike Godwin PS Two way stretch was on TV last week  a proper black and white Peter Sellers film - and as I watched it I realised that the inspiration for this song must have been dredged up by my subconscious from the scene where Dodger Lane (Peter Sellers) sends the pigeon Wilbur to carry a message from the prison to Lenny the Dips mum (Irene Handl) who is helping Soapy Stevens (Wilfred Hyde White) to organise the robbery from the outside. PPS I was slightly puzzled not to see any reference in that Zombies obit to the reforming of the band by Argent and Blunstone which was announced recently. Perhaps it was just a rumour? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 09:13:41 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: Pixies, for now... Marc on the Pixies: >>Thanks for the information. I hadn't heard about this. I just ordered mine. >>I'll be at the Coachella show. Sure hope they don't suck ;^) From what I hear we'll be lucky if they stay together past the European tour... but if they do (and this might give them some incentive) they'll be pulling in large enough crowds that they'll be playing much larger venues than they ever headlined during their original run. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out... What would be a good example of a band from the same era that achieved the same basic level of success (made it to a major label, topped the college charts a few times, played amphitheatres, opened for huge bands, etc.)? I'm trying to think if anyone else would have grown comparably as a draw if they reunited now. Pure speculation, but I think the Pixies have come to a lot of younger people's attention due not only to being name-dropped by Nirvana but by being cited as the inspiration for Nirvana's best-known song... I mean, Cobain talked the Raincoats up, too, but I don't see them headlining Coachella. - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 10:13:41 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: The final venue for Wonderfalls Mr. Tim Minnear: >>It's a question as to whether the studio will > want to invest in a DVD release of a failed series. Maybe the episodes > will sit in a warehouse someplace with that sled and the arc of the > covenant. It being a Fox program, that warehouse shall be... the very building in which I sit right now. So I can maybe rent a D2 deck and report back on the lost episodes. BTW, the Ark of the Covenant? Inventory number 1672374, shelf location 6742A1. It was just full of sand, so we dumped it out and stash DAT tapes of production sound from reality shows in there now. The sled... we burned that. Client stopped paying the bills. I'll keep an eye out for altenate edits and mixes of the theme song, though... Rex Broome, Media Storage Peon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 13:33:27 -0500 From: "Sumiko Keay" Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls There are supposedly several alternate theme songs -- but all are music only. (I saw a dvd of two episodes: Muffin Buffalo and Lovesick Ass from the press packet up on ebay. Bidding was at $70.00.) Sumi >>> "Rex.Broome" 04/05/04 12:13PM >>> Mr. Tim Minnear: >>It's a question as to whether the studio will > want to invest in a DVD release of a failed series. Maybe the episodes > will sit in a warehouse someplace with that sled and the arc of the > covenant. It being a Fox program, that warehouse shall be... the very building in which I sit right now. So I can maybe rent a D2 deck and report back on the lost episodes. BTW, the Ark of the Covenant? Inventory number 1672374, shelf location 6742A1. It was just full of sand, so we dumped it out and stash DAT tapes of production sound from reality shows in there now. The sled... we burned that. Client stopped paying the bills. I'll keep an eye out for altenate edits and mixes of the theme song, though... Rex Broome, Media Storage Peon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 11:37:27 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: Mail from days gone by... Hey everyone... Outgoing e-mail here has been down for days, and just now restored, so I suspect everyone's received a few outdated messages from me all of the sudden. You may either ignore these, or choose to savor them as nostalgic mementoes of early April 2004. Newer, more up-to-date blather to follow, most likely. - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 14:46:06 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 10:13:41 -0700, "Rex.Broome" said: > Mr. Tim Minnear: > >>It's a question as to whether the studio will > > want to invest in a DVD release of a failed series. Maybe the episodes > > will sit in a warehouse someplace with that sled and the arc of the > > covenant. > > It being a Fox program, that warehouse shall be... the very building in > which I sit right now. So I can maybe rent a D2 deck and report back on > the lost episodes. Surely we all here can put our minds together and come up with an alibi to exonerate Mr. Broome once we all start receiving bootleg DVDs, right? As to Steve T's comment re Ally McBeal: since the rest of the show resembles Ally McBeal not at all (from what little I bothered watching of AMcB), that comparison shouldn't matter. That's a mode of criticism that really bugs me: "oh, this one little bit right here is a lot like this other bit over there in this completely different thing - so therefore it's no good." Right-o - remind me never to use an E minor chord ever again, since it's too reminiscent of Echo & the Bunnymen. - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: Solipsism is its own reward :: :: --Crow T. Robot ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 16:07:17 -0400 From: Steve Talkowski Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls On Apr 5, 2004, at 3:46 PM, Fortissimo wrote: > As to Steve T's comment re Ally McBeal: since the rest of the show > resembles Ally McBeal not at all (from what little I bothered watching > of > AMcB), that comparison shouldn't matter. That's a mode of criticism > that > really bugs me: "oh, this one little bit right here is a lot like this > other bit over there in this completely different thing - so therefore > it's no good." Right-o - remind me never to use an E minor chord ever > again, since it's too reminiscent of Echo & the Bunnymen. *MEOW* Well, i was responding to how FOX promoted the show, by placing major emphasis on the objects coming to life. Also, how could you not compare her to Ally in that "cute, naive woman who hears little voices" type of way? They were totally riding on McBeal's coat tails... I did give episode #2 a chance though (the only one I was able to watch) and enjoyed it, but was grimacing whenever the designated cute object came to life. Of course you should keep on usin' yer E chord, just don't "mix it" to sound like The Bunnymen! - -Steve - -- Steve Talkowski Animation Director / Hornet Inc. 213 West 35th St. Suite 605 New York, NY 10001 http://www.hornetinc.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 15:37:59 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 16:07:17 -0400, "Steve Talkowski" said: > Well, i was responding to how FOX promoted the show, by placing major > emphasis on the objects coming to life. Also, how could you not > compare her to Ally in that "cute, naive woman who hears little voices" > type of way? They were totally riding on McBeal's coat tails... True - but that's part of the problem: Fox either didn't know how to promote it, or thought they could promote it "wrong" but get an audience anyway. An audience that tuned in expecting only "cute, naive woman hearing voices" wouldn't really like it - because one of the things that made the show more interesting to me was that in many ways, the writers made Jaye Tyler rather hard to like. She was mopey, mean, despondent, and self-centered - and she (usually) didn't particularly apologize for it. > > I did give episode #2 a chance though (the only one I was able to > watch) and enjoyed it, but was grimacing whenever the designated cute > object came to life. to each their own, no accounting for taste, YMMV, etc. - but I think the objects were less cute than they appeared. At any rate, I don't think their cuteness was the point. (What was the point? Who the hell knows after only four frickin' episodes...) > Of course you should keep on usin' yer E chord, just don't "mix it" to > sound like The Bunnymen! Dammit - better put back the McCullochizer and the Sargent-O-Matic! - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: "In two thousand years, they'll still be looking for Elvis - :: this is nothing new," said the priest. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 14:13:38 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls > Well, i was responding to how FOX promoted the show, by placing major > emphasis on the objects coming to life. Also, how could you not > compare her to Ally in that "cute, naive woman who hears little > voices" type of way? They were totally riding on McBeal's coat > tails... > I don't think the Ally McBeal comparison holds up very well. 1. There's the fundamental yuppie-vs.-slacker ideological gap. 2. While the nature of McBeal's hallucinations varied over the show's run, they were generally just symbolic depictions of her state of mind. Some of her hallucinations (especially in the early days) weren't even "dysfunctional" -- they were no different from closing your eyes, and imagining how nice it would be to have sex with [fill in fantasy object of your choice]. 3. McBeal's hallucinations were always definitely hallucinations, whereas in Jaye's case, this is highly debatable. 4. McBeal's hallucinations might have "scolded" her in some way, but they never gave her supernatural wisdom or directed her to do something. 5. There's no soap-opera quality to Wonderfalls, as with McBeal. Wonderfalls doesn't dig too deep, emotionally. I'd like to see the remaining episodes which already have been filled, but I can't say that I mourn the show's loss beyond that. Thirteen episodes is enough for such a gimmicky concept. I just hope "Arrested Development" doesn't get the ax, too. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 19:10:00 -0400 From: "Maximilian Lang" Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls >From: Eb >Subject: Re: The final venue for Wonderfalls >Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 14:13:38 -0700 >I just hope "Arrested Development" doesn't get the ax, too. Same here but considering how few people watch it, I would not be surprised. Isn't it like 100 in the ratings. I always tell people they should watch it and they never do. Odds are that a show like Cracking Up(which I think stinks)will get renewed instead. Max _________________________________________________________________ Get rid of annoying pop-up ads with the new MSN Toolbar  FREE! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200414ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 18:23:48 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Arrested Development (not the ones who sing Tennessee) Maximilian Lang wrote: > Eb wrote: > >I just hope "Arrested Development" doesn't get the ax, > too. > > Same here but considering how few people watch it, I > would not be surprised. > Isn't it like 100 in the ratings. I always tell people > they should watch it and they never do. Odds are that a > show like Cracking Up (which I think stinks) will get > renewed instead. Good column about AD from Tim Goodman of the SF Chronicle last week. In in, he notes that the last two series really given a fair chance at growing an audience are "Seinfeld" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." Not exactly long term failures (though my loathing of Ray Romano and Brad Garrett has prevented me from every enjoying the latter). Hopefully, the bastards at FOX will just decide they can't cancel everything and keep it around, though that never saved "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" or "The Tick" or .... ===== "Life is just a series of dogs." -- George Carlin __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 21:32:38 -0500 From: Subject: Re: radio radio [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 10:59 , grutness@surf4nix.com sent: >Congratulations to.... Michael Wells - as 9to the best of my >knowledge) the first person to have a track off Tinfoil Thoths played >on the radio! Second, by about ten minutes, was Greg Shell. I played >both "Lullaby for two" and "Roger the robot" on my ambient music show >this morning. wow, thanks james. and to everyone else too. that was my first synthetic composition. i have had dial-up problems the last couple weeks but everything is cool now. man, the mail can really stack up in ten days. gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 23:35:18 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: Arrested Development (not the ones who sing Tennessee) On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 18:23:48 -0700 (PDT), "Jeff Dwarf" said: > Good column about AD from Tim Goodman of the SF Chronicle > last week. In in, he notes that the last two series really > given a fair chance at growing an audience are "Seinfeld" > and "Everybody Loves Raymond." Not exactly long term > failures (though my loathing of Ray Romano and Brad Garrett > has prevented me from every enjoying the latter). > Hopefully, the bastards at FOX will just decide they can't > cancel everything and keep it around, though that never > saved "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" or "The Tick" or > .... > > I wonder how much money Fox (and what's with the all-caps? does it really stand for FUCK OFF XENOPHILES?) has made on _X-Files_ reruns, merch, DVDs, etc.? Same with _Buffy_ and its spinoffs (which Fox owns)? Both shows took a while to build their audiences, if I recall. - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: crumple zones:: :: harmful or fatal if swallowed :: :: small-craft warning :: ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 10:26:37 +1200 From: grutness@surf4nix.com Subject: BBC Nick drake tribute - Brad Pitt to present?! - -- 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") -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V13 #102 ********************************