From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V13 #285 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Saturday, October 9 2004 Volume 13 : Number 285 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Spewking Carroll Pukes [BLATZMAN@aol.com] Open Letter To Robyn [BLATZMAN@aol.com] that spooky emusic [Tom Rodebaugh ] Re: Open Letter To Robyn ["Brian" ] Re: What did I miss? [Bret ] Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes [Vendren ] Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes [Ken Weingold ] Speaking of 1986... ["The Mammal Brain" ] 13th and 14th albums! [James Dignan ] Re: that spooky emusic [Jon Lewis ] RE: Open Letter To Robyn ["FS Thomas" ] Worst...solo...ever. [Tom Clark ] Break Out the Tear Gas [Jeff Dwarf ] catching up ["Michael Wells" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:01:26 EDT From: BLATZMAN@aol.com Subject: Spewking Carroll Pukes In a message dated 10/8/2004 2:30:57 AM US Mountain Standard Time, owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org writes: > C'mon, it was a great Lewis Carroll reference. Stewart... I have to ask... HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS A LEWIS CARROLL REFERENCE????? As a member of TGB, and as the guy who suggested the name in the first place, I am very happy to hear you got it... Too many people thought it was a reference to Clinton... Something I should have thought about but didn't. You have now joined the list with 2 other people I've met over the last 10 years who got the reference... I guess that translates into a pretty bad band name... BACK TO SPEWKED.... Hey folks, guess what? I don't have to sit through a song all the way through to know if I'm going to like it. Don't push your own instincts off on me. I think the CD sucks and I know it by listening to snippets. Nowadays, I don't have very much free time. I am forced to make judgments quickly. I don't have the time nor the patience to see if a CD will grow on me. I also don't have the funds to buy music I think I might eventually like. Good for anyone who doesn't find themselves in this situation. I know within 30 seconds of hearing something whether or not it's even in the ballpark of something I do or might like. Are you saying, Palle, that you con't conceive of this? Take something as polarizing as Gangsta music... Do you really have to listen to the whole song to know whether or not it's up your alley? I went back to ITunes today and listend to all the snippets of Spewked again. 2 hours later when I woke up I knew how bored I had been... That type of music does nothing for me anymore. Robyn's voice grates on my nerves when singing in this intimate vibe. I don't care how carefully the song is constructed. The arrangements (or lack of arrangments) BORE ME TO TEARS. And by the way, I know how hard a CD is to finish as I've been working on my new one for years. I don't think dissing an album is "Lazy"... It's necessary! It's healthy! I'm sure Robyn's got thick skin and doesn't care what I think about his CD. But, I'd love to tell Robyn to pull his head out of his ass and go back to making CDs with a band. Artists wan't honest reactions, not sugar coated "ohhhh don't hurt my feewings!". Blatzy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:05:45 EDT From: BLATZMAN@aol.com Subject: Open Letter To Robyn Dearest Robyn, I can't take it anymore. Your CD's are boring me to tears. I miss the band and would like to know if you would write your next CD just for me, with the backing of a full band. That would make me very happy. Better luck next time, Blatzy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 11:29:07 -0400 From: Tom Rodebaugh Subject: that spooky emusic hi all, any informed guesses from anyone as to: (1) whether spooked will show up on emusic? (2) if yes to (1), when? thanks for any and all info/grounded speculation. newly budget conscious, tom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 11:35:37 -0400 From: "Brian" Subject: Re: Open Letter To Robyn Hey Blatzy, I find your take on all this respectable and amusing. Curious... what are some of your favorite Robyn songs? - -Nuppy On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:05:45 EDT, BLATZMAN@aol.com said: > Dearest Robyn, > > I can't take it anymore. Your CD's are boring me to tears. I miss the > band > and would like to know if you would write your next CD just for me, with > the > backing of a full band. That would make me very happy. > > Better luck next time, > Blatzy - -- Brian nightshadecat@mailbolt.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 10:47:31 -0500 From: Bret Subject: Re: What did I miss? Yeah, there were, but we left from Newfoundland, so what to expect? Most the guys actually working on samples were from Peru of all places. - -b On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:13:34 -0400, Stewart C. Russell wrote: > Bret wrote: > > Artic, between Greenland and the northernmost sections of N America. > > A couple of my friends have recently come back from an ice coring > expedition. There weren't any Canadians aboard, were there? > > cheers, > Stewart > > - -- - --Bret Bolton ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 12:47:28 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes BLATZMAN@aol.com wrote: > > Stewart... I have to ask... HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS A LEWIS CARROLL > REFERENCE????? four reasons: 1) I rock. 2) Wasn't everyone brought up on Alice? 3) see 1) 4) see 1), but entirely. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 09:51:11 -0700 From: Vendren Subject: Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes > BACK TO SPEWKED.... Hey folks, guess what? I don't have to sit through a > song all the way through to know if I'm going to like it. Don't push your own > instincts off on me. I think the CD sucks and I know it by listening to > snippets. I guess this is more of a semantic thing. I don't need to hear a whole song all the way through to know that I like it. But I do need to hear it all the way through to know if it's good. I don't equate "I can't get into it" with "sucks" or "bad." I won't call something bad just because it's not my thing. > I know within 30 seconds of hearing something whether or not it's even in the > ballpark of something I do or might like. Are you saying, Palle, that you > con't conceive of this? Take something as polarizing as Gangsta music... Do you > really have to listen to the whole song to know whether or not it's up your > alley? Sure. I've been surprised enough times, and been rewarded with patience. I don't like much gansta rap. I hate almost all of it. But what gansta rap I do like, I wouldn't have found if I'd been instantly dismissive. Plus, let's not forget those bands who can re-invent a song partway through. Bands like The Super Furry Animals, who will start a song as acoustic country and turn it into an electronic freak-out two minutes in. > The arrangements (or lack of arrangments) BORE ME TO TEARS. Actually, a lot of the arrangement grow into the tracks AFTER the 30 second mark. But you wouldn't have heard that. >I don't think dissing an album is "Lazy" Dissing an album is easy. Dissing an album you can't be bothered to listen to is lazy. Robyn has pretty much said he's through with working with bands. He likes touring solo, and so he makes albums that he can tour. Plus his voice is getting pretty rough, and is less suited to singing above a noisy band than it used to be. For reasons of his voice alone, I suspect the band thing isn't goint to happen again. I actually think Robyn is singing better on Spooked than Luxor - he's writing songs now more suited to his more limited range. Palle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 13:26:46 -0400 From: Ken Weingold Subject: Re: Spewking Carroll Pukes On Fri, Oct 8, 2004, Stewart C. Russell wrote: > 1) I rock. > > 2) Wasn't everyone brought up on Alice? > > 3) see 1) > > 4) see 1), but entirely. This is my laundry bag: http://unix.vi/stuff/laundry.jpg . My mother actually made it I think when she was pretty young. - -Ken ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 15:26:12 -0700 (PDT) From: "The Mammal Brain" Subject: Speaking of 1986... ...anybody starting to feel a little deju vu all over again right now? red sox vs. angels, home team with a two-game series lead, leading comfortably in the late stages of the would-be clinching game... this is the first time since that the two teams have met in the playoffs, yes? (apologies if digest-lag has caused me to barge in on a discussion already underway.) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 12:31:27 +1300 From: James Dignan Subject: 13th and 14th albums! > > I guess the Beatles' 13th album probably would've sucked, too. (Or did >they make it to Number 13? I'm too bummed to count.) > >I count 12 proper Beatles albums, counting the British albums plus Magical >Mystery Tour but not Yellow Submarine. > >Given that most of the songs on the solo albums of 1970 were written while >the Beatles were still a unit, maybe the 13th album could have looked like >this. > >Power To The People >My Sweet Lord >Too Many People >God >Maybe I'm Amazed >Mother > >Another Day >What Is Life >Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey >Working Class Hero >Monkberry Moon Delight >Love > >Harrison, of course, only gets two songs. Pretty good looking collection if >you ask me. Hell, I may build it myself. See how Beatle-y it sounds. I actually did this as an exercise too at some point in the past, coinciding with something I was working on (an alternative history of the band if Epstein hadn't died). They put out two further albums, "Applejunk" and "Shellac" (the material old records were made of, created originally from crushed beetles. Given their punning album titles, it would make sense). The history and track lists were as follows, FWIW. The first album is quite John-heavy, the second is more Paul-dominated. I note that George got 3 songs on the first one, and 3 on the second - one of them sung by Ringo: In August 1967, Beatles manager, Brian Epstein was found unconscious in his flat in north London, while the band were on a meditiation course in north Wales. Though he made a full recovery, he and the Beatles were visibly shaken by the event, and the rifts which had started to be seen between the members of the group were temporarily put to one side. Early the following year, the Beatles returned to the movie screen with their third film, Strawberry Fields Forever, and affectionate and psychedelic trip around Liverpool, interwoven with a tale about the search for Ringo's fictional sister, who had been adopted out at a young age. Largely disillusioned by the idea of Beatles movies, the fab four did not appear on screen for much of the film, and the plot was largely irrelevant. Many sections of the movie consisted of psychedelic animation sequences which wove in earlier songs such as Eleanor Rigby with newer pieces such as the title track, Penny Lane, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and Woolton Days. The film met mixed reviews. Many of the public were turned off, expecting something more in line with the zaniness of the earlier movies A Hard Day's Night and Help! Others were turned on, as the film found a ready audience with its drug references and psychedelia. As the year wore on there were clear rifts within the Beatles circle. The pull of domesticity and new marriages of Paul and John led to friction, with both creative partners finding less to interest them in their old gang. It was only through the persuasion of manager Brian Epstein that they agreed to start work on their new album, tentatively titled Music For a Doll's House. As work progressed on the album, however, the old team started firing on all cylinders again. Freed from the movie contract which had been hanging over their heads, and no longer pressured by touring, the album (which by now had had its title changed to simply The Beatles) proved to be a way to heal some of the rifts which had formed over the previous few years. Some thirty songs were recorded to a rough stage ready for selection for the album - enough that it could have been a double LP if they had so wished - and many of those which did not make it to the final album were released either by the Beatles themselves on later albums or by the members of the band on their solo side-projects. One or two, such as Hey Bungalow Bill and Good Night remain officially unreleased, although they are well known to collectors of bootlegs. The album, when it appeared, was greeted as a distinct return to form. Although the Strawberry Fields album had had many good songs, there was distinct filler as well. Honing down a long list of songs to the thirteen that appeared on The Beatles left a very strong group of songs, and the double A-side Blackbird/While my guitar gently weeps became the biggest hit of mid 1968. The album's cover art also became an instant classic - four separate staring portraits of the band (also provided as separate posters with the album) on an otherwise plain white cover simply embossed with the word "Beatles". No new Beatles album was to appear for over a year, until the Abbey Road album of late 1969. In the interim, the four members of the band took time off to record their own work - solo (in the case of George), with their wives (in the cases of Paul and John), or with a one-off band of friends (in the case of Ringo). These albums provided a mixture of excellent songs and experimental noodlings. Both George and John filled half of their album with experimental sound collages and electronic effects. George - working partly with the assistance of his friend Frank Zappa - produced The Wonderwall Suite of electronic bleeps and whooshes, but also produced some memorable songs, notably It's all too much and Long long long, for his Karmarama album. John's experimentation took the form of two long tracks of sound collage collected with his wife Yoko Ono: Revolution 9 and Two Virgins. The 'song side' of the Makepiece/Make peace album contained two classic Lennon compositions, I am the walrus and Give peace a chance, both of which made it into the charts. Sales of the album were, however, harmed by the reluctance of many record stores to stock an album featuring the two songwriters nude on the cover. It wasn't until 1972's Imagine album that John really hit his stride with solo material, that album's title track providing his first solo chart-topper. Paul and Ringo both released conventional albums of songs. In Ringo's case, these were largely covers showcasing Ringo's interest in rockabilly and country music. Several of the tracks were recorded in Nashville with the help of seasoned country musicians, but the Ringo's Ring of Fire album hardly set the world alight. Paul however was always a more heavyweight contender than Ringo, and it was no surprise when the Paul and Jane album produced the first number one hit for a Beatle outside the group, with the song Fool on the Hill. In retrospect this collection is wistful but distinctly lightweight, with fluff such as Martha My Dear (a song rejected for the The Beatles album) and Mother Nature's Son. The only real power comes from the rocker which closes the first side, Birthday. It was clear that the Beatles were enjoying their time apart, and it is probably from this point on that the Beatles story starts to wind towards its close. Although there were four further Beatles albums - Abbey Road (1969), Get Back (1970), Applejunk (1971), and Shellac(1973) - it was clear that Paul and John in particular were continually weighing up whether to release their songs under the collective name or under their own name. That they stayed together as long as they did is no doubt in part due to the guiding hand of Epstein, but he had been drifting from a position of authority with the band for years. In any case his stable of artists had grown considerably from the early Liverpool days. In addition to his longstanding managerial position with the likes of Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other artists of the original Mersey beat boom, he had wisely kept an eye out for overseas trends, and now had artists ranging from New York's Velvet Underground to Australia's Gibb Brothers Band. His untimely death in Pamplona in 1974 left a gap in the music industry which took some time to be filled. When Epstein and the Beatles finally parted company in 1971, the end was in sight for the Beatles. Their decision to take on their own management duties left them more disenchanted than ever with being Beatles, and it took two years for their final album, Shellac to be completed (although this was partly due to John's arrest in 1972 for incitement to riot and public nudity). The album, though a mere shadow of the Beatles' finest, did contain memorable tracks such as Band on the run and Photograph, and the Beatles' final chart-topping single, Mind games. In the meantime, however, all of the band's members had found time to record more solo albums, and it was no surprise when the end finally came. The Beatles have been perhaps the biggest single influence on the music of their time and of the years that have followed their split. Artists from H|sker D| to Crosby Stills and Nesmith, and from the Crucial Three to the Artistics have acknowledged the debt they owe to the Fab Four. Discography 1971-3: Beatles - "Applejunk" (May 1971) Side 1: Another Day; Oh my love; What is Life?; Back seat of my car; Oh Yoko; Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey; Love Side 2: Mother; If not for you; Working Class Hero; Every Night; Maybe I'm Amazed; Give me some truth; My Sweet Lord; Power To The People Beatles - "Shellac" (October 1973) Side 1: Let me roll it; Give me love (Give me peace on earth); Helen wheels; No. 9 Dream; Dark horse; My love Side 2: Band on the run; Whatever gets you through the night; Jet; Photograph; Live and let die; Mind Games 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, 8 Oct 2004 20:02:54 -0400 From: Jon Lewis Subject: Re: that spooky emusic On Friday, October 8, 2004, at 11:29 AM, Tom Rodebaugh wrote: > hi all, > > any informed guesses from anyone as to: > > (1) whether spooked will show up on emusic? > (2) if yes to (1), when? > > I've been checking for it there every day myself. I have 12 downloads in my account right now, no discretionary income for the next 2 weeks, and am dying to hear Spooked. Sometimes stuff goes up on eMusic very soon after release, e.g. the new Mouse on Mars; sometimes not. But if it's on iTunes, does that mean it can't appear on eMusic? I suppose Yep Roc is not exactly the kind of Big Fish iTunes would bother to seek exclusivity with. Incidentally, I hate eMusic's new site design. Jon Lewis (np: the sound of the aquarium filter) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 21:05:45 -0400 From: "FS Thomas" Subject: RE: Open Letter To Robyn > Dearest Robyn, > > I can't take it anymore. Your CD's are boring me to tears. > I miss the band > and would like to know if you would write your next CD just > for me, with the > backing of a full band. That would make me very happy. Ech. Ok. When I first listened to Spooked I was cold on it. I had heard a couple of the songs earlier in the year and I was curious. Not chock-a-block with baited breath, but not shut off, either. I gave it a once-through at work and though, "eh." Since then, though, I've listened to it probably two dozen times and there's flares of brilliance in it. Not shining, mother-of-god epiphany stuff, but moments of clarity, honesty, and--most importantly for me--empathy. "Bing-a-bong-a-bing" might not work for everyone, but the lyrics inside that song are really quite wonderful. Facts are facts. Robyn was born 3 March 1953 which makes him (to the best of my ability) a shade more than 51 1/2. With every album and every live performance he seems to be coming a bit closer to becoming comfortable with who he is--not who he wants to be, or who fans wish he were--but who his is and has become: a talented, albeit aging British singer/songwriter. His early influences, to the best of my knowledge, prove to be Dylan, Barrett, and Lennon. He hasn't strayed too far from them with Spooked. Is it Underwater Moonlight? No. Then, again, nothing else could be, could it? When I think back on the best singer/songwriters I've had the pleasures to see perform, they've been, in no particular order, Robyn, Billy Bragg, and Bob Mould. I could flesh the list out a bit more, but for the sake of argument it's full enough. Those three have proven to be the best, most consistent performers I've had the pleasure to see and, quite frankly, it's good not only for me, but for them, to see them mature professionally. Can Mould still play "Celebrated Summer" with a full band? Yes, but it might not be pretty. It definitely won't be what the more veteran fans remember, and therefore would fall short and lead to remarks. I'll take him on that blue (Fender?) guitar or a 12 string singing his heart out any day over a half a song with a full band. Facts are facts. People mature. They *age*. Is it bad? Well, you might say so, but it'll happen to you, too, some day, so watch your mouth. Robyn's aging, he's doing it gracefully, and he's still producing music worth a damn. Best of luck and my 2 cents. - -f. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 20:10:18 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Worst...solo...ever. Guitar World Names 100 Worst Riffs, Solos http://tinyurl.com/5wfrd ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 02:40:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Break Out the Tear Gas Merry Fucking Christmas!!! http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2288 http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2294 http://www.tvtome.com/Simpsons/season5.html ===== "[The Bush administration] deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that's true. We were taken for a ride." -- President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Poland "'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: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 22:44:28 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: catching up Rex: > ...just "fag with pink bicycle t-shirt". I wonder if that shirt's still around. I didn't have an REM one, but man...this hits home. Mine was from Roger Waters' 1984 'Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking" tour and featured a cross-eyed dog, smokes, booze, head spirals, and "I'll tell you something, I've had a few" all scrawled in God-awful colors on a white muscle T. I loved that damn thing, though it always brought out the attitude. It was also one of two shirts I personally knew of that disappeared in a dreaded MYSTERY LAUNDRY ACCIDENT...the other being my buddies Twisted Sister black and hot pink special, which featured Dee Snider's screaming head down the entire front. Dave: > I don't have to sit through a song all the way through to know if I'm going to like it. Don't push your own instincts off on me. I think the CD sucks and I know it by listening to snippets. Wow, I know exactly what you mean. The worst for me is when somebody is blatently trying to rip off Roxy Music, that just drives me to distraction. I can sympathize. and more: > Nowadays, I don't have very much free time. I am forced to make judgments quickly. I don't have the time nor the patience to see if a CD will grow on me. Hopefully those awaiting your CD won't be quite so dismissive. I presume that you would like them to give you a fair hearing, perhaps even listen to it all the way through once or twice. I, for one, unequivically hope Robyn continues to make thoughtful, complex music that is perfectly happy taking its own sweet time. I like layers, and things I don't always understand right away. I guy I used to cook with taught me the game of quickly identifying what song on an album I was least likely to enjoy (usually not a hard choice after a listen or two), and then going about trying to make that my favorite song the disc. Study the lyric, song structure, try to think why the writer did what they did, listen repetitively, whatever. Most of the time it didn't work and I still ended up thinking it was rubbish, sometimes it did and I gained a new appreciation for the song...but the process was the important part. After awhile I realized I was learning more about myself than the music, when it came down to it. woj, re Robyn in-store: > SA 11.06.04 VIRGIN RECORDS Virgin Records (540 Michigan Ave) In-Store Performance and cd signing. Fookin' cool! Three Robyn sightings in two days! Stewart: > But my candidate for WUST REM SONG -- EVAH would have to be "Losing My Religion". Not that it's entirely bad in itself, but after you've heard it being massacreed on video karaoke for an entire evening by a drunken buncha Scottish wannabe fratboys, you never want to hear it again. I can see how that would color your opinion of it. That song took a long time to work on me; liked the lyric pretty well right off the bat, but until I had broken down and figured out each of the instrument parts (might have been doing it for a basement gig or something - can't imagine doing it voluntarily at the time), I didn't realize how utterly well put together the whole thing was. A brilliant, self-contained piece of work, that. If pressed for a 'worst' song I guess about half of Monster would qualify, though it's been pretty tough slogging since. As for the new REM, I hate it. But I still haven't heard a thing from it. Ferris: > When I think back on the best singer/songwriters I've had the pleasures to see perform, they've been, in no particular order, Robyn, Billy Bragg, and Bob Mould. to see them mature professionally. That's really it, right? There has to be some development there. I don't WANT to see Robyn with a band if that's not where he's doing his creative thing; if his growth area is in solo acoustic work, intimate, a bit more complex, less overtly strange, easier to tour, whatever...so be it. I'm happy he's still out there putting it out, to be honest. Others? Hmm...Chris Smither, sure. And John Wesley Harding - never much of a fan, but after seeing him again earlier this year, that may be changing. There's old Tom Russell, arguably doing the best work of his life...and young Jeffrey Foucault, already evolving into something different. Grant-Lee Phillips. Steve Earle. Michael "third level Pasta Sorcerer" Wells ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V13 #285 ********************************