From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V13 #269 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, September 23 2004 Volume 13 : Number 269 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: gnat-responds-to-rex-maniax ["Larry Tucker" ] RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax ["Larry Tucker" ] RE: Feelies [Eb ] RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax [Eb ] RE: Wilco, Spooked [Eb ] Re: Wee update.... [] robyn 1991-05-21 kennel club reseed [fingerpuppets ] RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax [Miles Goosens ] RE: 1971 ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: Spooked ["Brian" ] Re: gnat-responds-to-rex-maniax [helmut poe ] Re: Wilco, Spooked [Miles Goosens ] Re: Wilco, Spooked [Vendren ] Reap ["Maximilian Lang" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked [Sebastian Hagedorn ] Re: Reap ["Rex Broome" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked ["Rex Broome" ] Re: Wilco, Spooked ["Rex Broome" ] RE: Wilco, Spooked [Eb ] Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but... ["Rex Broome" ] Re: Spooked! [Stony ] Spooked ["Shane Apple" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:57:30 -0400 From: "Larry Tucker" Subject: Re: gnat-responds-to-rex-maniax > Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 13:06:33 -0700 > From: Vendren > Subject: Re: gnat-responds-to-rex-maniax > > > What's the Lets Active music like? > > I tend to think of Lets Active as the prototypical Jangle rock band of the > eighties. It was Mitch Easter's band, and he, of course, was the producer > of Murmur and Reckoning for REM. > > The sound of Lets Active's first disc, "Cypress" has some sonic similarity > to the early REM stuff, especially the guitar sound, but there are some > keyboards too, which makes it a bit poppier sounding. Easter handles the > singing and all the songwriting. Despite the Southern Jangle, creating > perfect pop songs seemed to be the goal. Sort of early REM meets the Go > Betweens if that makes any sense. Live, they were a lot more garage-y when > they toured that disc (I saw them play with Guadalcanal Diary in front of > a crowd of about 20 people). > > Sara Romweber did indeed play for Lets Active, but only on "Cypress" and a > rare, but very good EP called "Afoot" that's never been put to CD. "Big > Plans For Everybody" and "Every Dog Has His Day" are basically solo albums > for Easter. "Plans" is quite rootsy, and as good as "Cypress," but with no > keyboards along. "Dog" is much more rocking, not nearly as good and sounds > nothing like the earlier discs. > > Palle > I'll come outta lurkdom here to add that "Dog..Day" was a big departure in sound because Mitch Easter relented (I suppose to IRS pressure) to let John Leckie record and produce it. From my conversations with Mitch he's said he was never really happy with the bombastic production on that one. I know his own personal faves were the "Afoot" and "Cypress" releases. I love those albums too for their unique fresh sound but my own personal fave would be Miles' pick "Big Plans". An album I never ever tire of. If you really want to hear a Mitch Easter guitar workout you'd be remiss in not checking out his wife's band Shalini. The new album "Metal Corner" isd an all out guitar assault. You can download a couple of tracks at the band's website including a wonderful cover of Cheapo Trick's "Downed". http://www.interbridge.com/shalini/ Larry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 10:12:58 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: left my ghost at the house Stewart: >>Spooked arrived today. Did you guys get the same thing? What I've just >>listened to is a work of genius. Got mine but forgot to bring it to work. So I can comment only on the packaging. I like the painting better than most of Robyn's non-pen and ink work, although the wider angle on the back looks more intriguing than the detail on the cover. There's a pear on there, perhaps a zinc one... has there been a pear on a Robyn cover since BSDR?... and a woman with perhaps a lightbulb head? All fine and well. But the font for the text looks, in my estimation, like unmitigated ass. Also find the desert photos a little bit incogruous considering that such a big part of the record's identity stems from it being recorded somewhere which is not in the desert. My daughther thought Robyn was wearing the cactus as a hat. - -Rex Broome (guitar and vocal, Robyn's Cactus Hat) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:10:40 -0400 From: "Larry Tucker" Subject: RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax > Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 16:52:08 -0500 > From: Miles Goosens > Subject: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax > > > Everyone should have gone with me to Mitchfest in Winston-Salem last June. > Great tribute album, super band lineup, and Mitch playing Let's Active > tunes at his own trib, with the spirited Faye joining in for almost all of > the set. Having never seen 'em in the day, this was pretty much "dream > come true" territory for me. > > later, > > Miles, Miles, indeed that was a wonderful show! I don't think you could go wrong with the Let's Active tribute album "Every Word" which this show celebrated. It came out last summer on Australia's Laughing Outlaw Records. A heartfelt tribute dominated by contributions from his musical friends and contemporaries. http://www.every-word.com/ Mitch is nearing completion on his own effort from The Fiendish Minstrels. Hopefully it will be released sometime in 2005. Larry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 10:23:28 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: janglemaniax! Jeffrey: >>I've never quite felt "jangle" to be an adequate description of a style I know that's a pet peeve of yours... and it does strike me that it's such a limiting term, referring specifically to what, shiny guitar arpeggios usually on a 12-string, and being essentially synonymous with "Byrsdsy" (although that term has the added connotation of dense harmonies)? It's actually hard to think of many albums which conform to that definition from head to toe. If you made a Top-Ten-Most-Jangliest Albums List (nb. not a best, just most jangliest), what would be on there? Half of the slots would be taken up by the first five Byrds albums, the latter two of which already show tendencies in other directions. What else? "Seance" by the Church? "Fables of the Reconstruction"? Good lord, would "Perspex Island" be a contender? - -Rex Broome (guitar and vocals, The Chimey McJanglesteins) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 14:17:09 -0700 From: Eb Subject: RE: Feelies Interesting that all the hubbub seems focused on Crazy Rhythms, alone. Still, those aren't OUTRAGEOUS prices. A copy of the Wrens' lost masterpiece Secaucus recently sold for a cool $59.... Eb - -----Original Message----- From: owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org [mailto:owner-fegmaniax@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Brian Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2004 1:35 PM To: Eat Sausages and Yams Subject: Feelies Christ almighty! Have you seen the prices on Amazon for OOP Feelies albums? These are just crying to be reprinted! - -Nuppy - -- Brian nightshadecat@mailbolt.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 17:09:15 -0700 From: Eb Subject: RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax From: Miles Goosens >I enjoy Let's Active, but I don't think they're even remotely in the >Replacements' league. >I'd put them about even You kwazy. > Me, I'm a Holsapple guy all the way, and I think LIKE THIS creams the first two You kwazy. >but the subsequent albums were awfully uneven. The >Band's batting average just wasn't high enough to warrant being ranked >alongside, oh, CCR, for instance. > I'm not sure if that's straight-up compliment to CCR or a backhanded one, > but I still laughed out loud. Whether I was supposed to or not. You kwazy. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 09:00:31 -0700 From: Eb Subject: RE: Wilco, Spooked A-men. Damn...between Robyn Sings, Luxor and Spooked, I'm now three behind on my RH cds. Speaking of which, is there some reason why Luxor isn't listed on the discography pages of the official RH site? Eb - -----Original Message----- From: Miles Goosens >I'm burnt out on acoustic Robyn. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:30:22 -0500 From: Subject: Re: Wee update.... [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:24 , The Great Quail quail@libyrinth.com> sent: >I've heard some of his old stuff. That is, if you mean his really old, >rather -- ah, off-color stuff. But as far as his more mainstream works, I >think "Willie, Waylon & Me" simply kicks ass. He has quite a few songs that I would call masterpieces, "WW&M" is one them. He puts on a great show if you can handle the crowd. And getting words like "knows" and "homosexuals" to rime is truly brilliant. I think 'Requiem For A Harlequin' is one of his best albums. I see it as a poem that paints a repulsive picture of the urban lifestyle. gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:15:19 -0400 From: fingerpuppets Subject: robyn 1991-05-21 kennel club reseed in case anyone missed it (or isn't an easytree user where, i believe, it is still avilable), the 5/21/1991 kennel club show rh60 posted on easytree has been reseeded on sharingthegroove: Robyn Hitchcock (solo) May 21, 1991 Kennel Club San Francisco, California Lineage: FM->Cassette Master (no dolby)->DAT (32kHz)-> PC (via Lynx One digital I/O) -> SHN (560MB) Resampling, normalization to 0 dB, Fade in/outs via Sound Forge cdwave used for track splits. Sound Forge info: Sound Forge Studio 6.0d (build 219) CDWave info: version 1.71, build 0000.0A28 Originally a KALX FM "Cabinet Tapes" program. When they aired this show, they apparently had found a poorly-labeled tape that didn't have a date on this, but they (thankfully!) aired it anyway. AR (who taped the cassette master) recognized the show, as he had been there. Set List Disc 1: (Running Time: 44:20) 1. Mr. Rock 'N' Roll 2. The Vomiting Cross 3. So You Think You're in Love 4. [banter....] 5. Birds in Perspex 6. [banter...] 7. Devil's Coachman 8. ["It's Not My Birthday!" banter...] 9. Glass Hotel 10. Lobsterman 11. Arms of Love 12. Watch Your Intelligence Disc 2: (Running Time: 46:37) 1. Ride 2. Raymond Chandler Evening 3. Clean Steve 4. Oceanside 5. Leopard 6. Flesh Number One (Beatle Dennis)-> More Than This 7. Day in the Life [Beatles] 8. Vegetation & Dimes 9. Bones in the Ground 10. Nightfall [Incredible String Band] Note: I (TN) transferred AR's cassette to DAT sometime in the early 90s, I know I have have had it since at least 1993. AR was kind enough to mail me his master. Sadly, the master itself could have been better. My recollection is that the tape recorder was not the highest quality. There was also some guesswork as to setting the proper recording levels when the show started. The beginning was recorded too low, and then the two channels were adjusted independently once the first song was started. I've "fixed" this up as best I can (with the tools I have), but more work is needed. Don't be mislead by the high hiss level at the start of the show, quality gets better once the song starts. The original (unmodified) .wav for track one can be found in the "orig" directory for those that want to try doing a better job of fixing up the first track. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:18:26 -0500 (GMT-05:00) From: Miles Goosens Subject: RE: miles-responds-to-everyone-iax Eb: >You kwazy. >You kwazy. >You kwazy. But I have a good twime. later, Miles ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 10:36:37 -0700 From: Elizabeth Brion Subject: Re: 1000 Years of Popular Music On Wednesday, September 22, 2004, at 11:10 AM, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > Has anyone seen any RT's 1000 YOPM shows? Any thoughts -- > he's bringing it to Bimbo's on October 7th (SF). I've not managed to see the whole show, but I've seen him play parts of it in several "regular" concerts, and I have the CD of the show that he sells on his website. What I've heard is amazing - so much so that my husband and I spent a few minutes seriously considering whether we could get to SF for the Bimbo's show, despite the fact that we will in theory have a 2-day-old baby at that time. (Then we laughed and laughed.) I'd bet that if the idea interests you at all, you'd really like the show. RT played here last week, and damn - he gets better every time I see him. My favorite-ever misuse of under/overrated: Some years ago, a friend had a very early advance of a Cheap Trick album. He told me that it featured "one of Robin Zander's most underrated vocals ever." I asked, since pretty much nobody but him had heard the record, who exactly was underrating it; he said that people would, eventually. (Actually, he may have turned out to be right on that, but I think that's a coincidence.) E ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 11:42:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: 1000 Years of Popular Music Elizabeth Brion wrote: > Jeff Dwarf wrote: > > > Has anyone seen any RT's 1000 YOPM shows? Any thoughts > -- > > he's bringing it to Bimbo's on October 7th (SF). > > I've not managed to see the whole show, but I've seen him > play parts of it in several "regular" concerts, and I > have the CD of the show that he sells on his website. > What I've heard is amazing - so much so that my > husband and I spent a few minutes seriously considering > whether we could get to SF for the Bimbo's show, despite > the fact that we will in theory have a 2-day-old baby at > that time. You know, if you give birth two days late, it could make an interesting additon to the show. ===== "'Bushworld' is sort of an alternate universe where things are the opposite of what they seem. President Bush said the other day, 'It is a ridiculous notion to assert that because the United States is on the offensive, more people want to hurt us. We are on the offensive because people do want to hurt us.' I mean that is a perfect 'Bushworld' quote. It's not true and it's nonsensical. It's the opposite of what is true. His new campaign motto is 'America is safer. Be afraid, be very afraid.' Everything is an oxymoron." -- Maureen Dowd _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:43:47 -0400 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: 1971 >> You could put Morrison with Duane Allman, both died in 1971. That would leave >>us with looking for another 1971 death though. Anyone? James wrote: >hmmm. That's too early for Billy Murcia, isn't it? I looked it up. He died in November 1972. Michael B. NP Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground Live - Volume 1 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:32:53 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked Brian wrote: > > ... I want another Soft Boys album But didn't Robyn say that the SBs thing didn't work for him any more? He doesn't strike me as one who'd do music he didn't like just to keep the fans happy. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:36:17 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked Sebastian Hagedorn wrote: > > I *never* listen to Luxor and hardly at all to RH lately To rather bluntly paraphrase Herriman, "So why stick around?" Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:42:21 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked Miles Goosens wrote: > > Almost all of > his shows since the breakup of the Egyptians have been acoustic Not true -- all of the ones I've seen have been half-acoustic, half electric, with the exception of one short set that was all electric. > And if you too can't get enough of strummy acoustic Robyn records, > well, this is definitely one of them. Well, I think our boy is mellowing; I mean, he's peering over half glasses on the extra CD-R on Spooked. Personally, I think that Robyn was always a folkie, who just played electric 'cos it's what everyone else did. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 17:01:52 -0400 From: "Brian" Subject: Re: Spooked Stewart C. Russell said: > Brian wrote: > > > > ... I want another Soft Boys album > > But didn't Robyn say that the SBs thing didn't work for him any more? He > doesn't strike me as one who'd do music he didn't like just to keep the > fans happy. I don't care! I still want another SBs album! ...and I'm not alone I suspect. But you are right, he won't make music for the fans... Stewart- I'm jealous of your liking of Spooked. You lucky lucky bastard! - -Nuppy - -- Brian nightshadecat@mailbolt.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:45:21 -0700 (PDT) From: helmut poe Subject: Re: gnat-responds-to-rex-maniax One more thing about the Replacements... sorry. For those who like them, I highly recommend Paul's solo album "Mono" from a couple years ago (released under his alter ego "Grandpaboy", which is really strange, but what can you do?). Now, I'll be the first to admit that his solo albums can be downright painful, overproduced, bad puns, but this one is catchy and solid all the way through - really nice to play out loud, LOUD. I think it got some positive press. Anyone else enjoy it as much as I did? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 15:57:58 -0500 (GMT-05:00) From: Miles Goosens Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked Stewart: >Miles Goosens wrote: > >> Almost all of >> his shows since the breakup of the Egyptians have been acoustic > >Not true -- all of the ones I've seen have been half-acoustic, half >electric, with the exception of one short set that was all electric. OK, yeah, 1/3 to 1/2 of most sets have had an electric guitar, but I think we're splitting hairs here. Still solo, still mostly in the same vibe as the acoustic part of the sets. One man, no band. >> And if you too can't get enough of strummy acoustic Robyn records, >> well, this is definitely one of them. > >Well, I think our boy is mellowing; I mean, he's peering over half >glasses on the extra CD-R on Spooked. Personally, I think that Robyn was >always a folkie, who just played electric 'cos it's what everyone else did. Then there's something to be said for peer pressure. Again, the problem isn't inherent to going acoustic or even his taking up residence in Midtempoland; the biggest problem is that there's a surfeit of this stuff, and SPOOKED's songs would have to be more distinctive than they are to overcome the abiding sense of samey-ness. later, Miles ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:43:19 -0700 From: Vendren Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked > But didn't Robyn say that the SBs thing didn't work for him any more? He > doesn't strike me as one who'd do music he didn't like just to keep the > fans happy. > > Stewart Pretty much. I saw the SBs gig in Vancouver, and it was the least jovial I've ever seen Robyn on stage. Plus I don't think his voice was really up to the task of competing with the guitars. I like "Spooked." I just had my first listen through it. I like it much more than "Luxor." I think "Spooked" has more atmosphere, and the guitar work is more pretty and more intricate. The harmonies are a nice touch. Overall, if I had to compare it to an earlier RH album I would say "Eye" in terms of overall feel. The bad news is that, despite working with different people, musically it all sounds pretty familiar to past works. And Robyn is still over-using many of the same metaphors and imagery that have recurred throughout much of his career. And with each new release his voice is a little rougher. The good news is, these are delicate, pretty and atmospheric songs, with just enough new elements to set it apart from the rest of his acoustic catalogue. I think fans of IODOT, EYE and ME will want to pick this one up. I like it. Palle ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 18:04:07 -0400 From: "Maximilian Lang" Subject: Reap Luna has announced that their upcoming CD will be their final one. They will tour for the album and then disband. Max _________________________________________________________________ Check out Election 2004 for up-to-date election news, plus voter tools and more! http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 00:15:36 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked - -- "Stewart C. Russell" is rumored to have mumbled on Donnerstag, 23. September 2004 16:36 Uhr -0400 regarding Re: Wilco, Spooked: > Sebastian Hagedorn wrote: >> >> I *never* listen to Luxor and hardly at all to RH lately > > To rather bluntly paraphrase Herriman, "So why stick around?" Who's Herriman? Anyway: "For the company!" Besides, I'm still fond of early Hitchcock. It's just that I don't listen to it these days, same as I for whatever reason don't listen to Neil Young these days. I call it a phase. I didn't mean to offend and am sorry if I did. - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156, 50823 Kvln, Germany http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ "Being just contaminates the void" - Robyn Hitchcock ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:31:00 -0800 From: "Rex Broome" Subject: Re: Reap Max: > Luna has announced that their upcoming CD will be their final one. They > will tour for the album and then disband. In related news, look for Galaxie 500 to join Mission of Burma, Camper Van Beethoven, Pylon and the Pixies for next summer's Monsters of Reunited College Rock tour package. - -Rex - -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:34:34 -0800 From: "Rex Broome" Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked Sebastian: > Who's Herriman? Anyway: "For the company!" Besides, I'm still fond of early > Hitchcock. It's just that I don't listen to it these days, same as I for > whatever reason don't listen to Neil Young these days. I call it a phase. > > I didn't mean to offend and am sorry if I did. Hey, I was fine until you made that crack about Neil... now I'm pissed. Kidding! - -Rex Broome (guitar and vocals, The Haegdorns) - -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 15:03:40 -0800 From: "Rex Broome" Subject: Re: Wilco, Spooked > -Rex Broome (guitar and vocals, The Haegdorns) Oops, that'd be The Hagedorns! - -Rex Broome (guitar and vocals, The Brooms) - -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 15:39:24 -0700 From: Eb Subject: RE: Wilco, Spooked Is it time yet for Robyn to refresh himself with an all-piano album? Eb - -----Original Message----- Again, the problem isn't inherent to going acoustic or even his taking up residence in Midtempoland; the biggest problem is that there's a surfeit of this stuff, and SPOOKED's songs would have to be more distinctive than they are to overcome the abiding sense of samey-ness. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 15:40:29 -0800 From: "Rex Broome" Subject: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but... Eb: > Is it time yet for Robyn to refresh himself with an all-piano album? Well, I think he should be allowed to put vocals on his records, but... Okay... what do artists do when they need to reinvigorate their careers and/or creative mojo? 1) "Shake off shackles" of "restrictive" record label contract: Check. 2) Record stripped down, emotionally direct acoustic record: Check, check, check. 3) Reunite old band: Check. 4) Back-to-the-roots covers album: Check. 5) Collaborate with younger artists who've been influenced by them: Check. 6) Film score: Sort of. 7) Dabble in acting: Check. 8) Write and publish fiction: Check. So I'm afraid all that's left is: 8) Classical album, no lyrics or vocals, childhood theme. Okay, go back and listen to Spooked again now. - -Rex - -- _______________________________________________ Find what you are looking for with the Lycos Yellow Pages http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/default.asp?SRC=lycos10 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 11:54:26 +1200 From: James Dignan Subject: Re: dB's dBut > > Yeah, that's true... lo-fi in one sense, but inventive in terms of > > production nonetheless. Same thing holds true for the Feelies, although > > it's really only their first one which possesses that unique-sounding WTF > > spook... I think you could make an arguement that there's a whole > > unheralded subgroup of debut LP's from that era which, while put together > > by hard-touring bands, come out sort of weird and experimental, to their > > credit... Murmur fits in there nicely (to point things back towards Mitch > > Easter)... > >And Chronic Town too. Hmm. I've never heard the 1st Feelies album. I >have one album. It's a natural/yellowish color with a black and white >photo of the band in a field on the front cover. The Chills' "Lost EP" fills that bill nicely, too: Never never go, Whole weird world, Bee bah bee bah bee boe, Dream by dream, Don't even know her name, and This is the way. Strange, otherworldly, and unlike anything else they've done. James np - SJD: Southern lights. Damn but this is a fine album. - -- 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, 24 Sep 2004 08:36:57 +1000 (EST) From: Stony Subject: Re: Spooked! My roommate was telling me that this most recent CBS Sunday Morning had a segment regarding upcoming releases and that one of the talking heads heralded Spooked! as "the album you wish John Lennon had made...." Sounds like high praise to me. Hell, I'd pick it up even if they said it was the worst piece of trash ever. I do prefer Robyn's acoustic stuff. - --------------------------------- Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 01:56:59 +0000 From: "Shane Apple" Subject: Spooked Hey, I've lurked for nearly nine years if my calculations are correct and have posted only a couple three times, more than likely things not even worth reading. But after reading all these less-than-lukewarm responses to this new album, I really feel the need to beat the chimes a little... I really love Spooked; it's a collection of songs that, although short, almost instantly grabbed me. The intricate guitar interplay is so great, his voice sounds as good as it ever has (and varies on this album, unlike the vocals on Luxor), we've got harmonizin', it sounds quickly completed but not as much of a tossed-off deal as it's predecessor, the lyrical content--some fun dark imagery, humor and playful stuff--seems to almost be a return to Bob Dylan's form (but not a fish in sight), and there's a subtle use of more atypical instrumentation that really blends perfectly with the guitar...Plus the prodominant cover color is green! You can't lose there! Now, I liked Luxor just fine and have honestly listened to that more than I did that new Soft Boys material. The latter, to me, was what seemed stale, over-produced rawkin' by gray-haired men that really became tired quickly. The songs were oddly polished but not strong (rushed song-craft and not enough fun in the studio!). Luxor, not in my opinion another IODOT or Eye or Moss Elixir, seemed to turn a corner, and I thought Robyn seemed to be moving away from a Robyn clinging to pop music to a more Dylan-ized Robyn becoming that veteran troubadour who I think he ought to be. Seriously, "Idonia" (oops...right title there?) is Hitchcock trying to emulate "Visions of Johanna" and very nearly succeeding. That song is just terrific and along with at least one and maybe two other songs probably deserves a spot among his best songs of the past decade. Spooked is an improvement, more polished yet still not even close to overdone. As Robyn gets older, his guitar-picking and strumming seems to be getting better and better and his sense of melody more and more stunning. In short, I think he's continuing to grow as a singer-songwriter, and the big fear I had regarding my long-time favorite artist was that he would end his career trying to single-handedly produce an Egyptians' album that would seem completely mundane by comparison. I really don't know what a lot of you guys were expecting. Robyn Hitchcock will probably not RAWK OUT again, and he really probably shouldn't. By the way, "Demons and Fiends" is an older song, isn't it? I've heard that somewhere, haven't I? It's not a cover, is it?? Speaking of covers, it seems too early for anybody to cover that Dylan song (or is Robyn the Byrds now?), but I think he really nails it. Go Spooked! Now if only that SMILE and Tom Waits album would arrive... - --Shane _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V13 #269 ********************************