From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V14 #193 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, August 11 2005 Volume 14 : Number 193 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: A list ["David Stovall" ] Re: CVB [Tom Clark ] Speaking of Jandek live... [Eb ] reap [Eb ] Re: Toronto: Stones (aug 10) ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: the Shirley list [James Dignan ] Re: top 10, and "literally" [Tom Clark ] Re: top 10, and "literally" [John Barrington Jones ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 10:16:32 -0700 From: "David Stovall" Subject: RE: A list Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica Rheostatics - Whale Music Beatles - The Beatles Negativland - Escape From Noise Faun Fables - Family Album Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing Mike Keneally - Nonkertompf King Crimson - B'Boom XTC - English Settlement Tom Waits - The Black Rider Fred Frith - Speechless Daniel Lanois - Acadie Van Morrison - Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast 801 - 801 Live Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (Oops - that's more than 2welve, even.) Every one of these was a tough call; all artists have other albums that would've almost tied with the ones mentioned - some (Tom Waits especially) have several. Heartened by mention of these groups in others' lists: Buzzcocks Shriekback Replacements Hovering just under, albums by these artists: Bad Livers Zappa Robyn/Soft Boys Richard Thompson Charming Hostess List subject to change daily, etc. da9ve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 11:06:17 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: CVB On Aug 9, 2005, at 9:41 PM, Eb wrote: >> Has anyone heard (to the point where they could do a brief review) >> of Camper >> Van Beethoven's "New Roman Times" album? I would be much >> obliged. I've >> heard from some people who really like it, and others that think >> it's just >> ok but doesn't have any sort of lasting impact like their earlier >> albums >> did, and I'm looking for other opinions before spending my hard >> earned >> do-re-mi. >> > > It's fine, but I was disappointed by past standards. It's a bit > proggier than other CVB albums (the instrumentals are more about > "complexity" than genre-splicing), and its grim, not-so-well- > developed theme isn't really what I wanted from a reunion CVB > album. It should have been more fun. > I can't say I disagree with any of Eb's comments. Although like most Camper albums, there are a few songs I love (Hippy Chix, Los Tigres Traficantes), a few I could care less about, and a few that are just "good". http://www.crackersoul.com/campout/ > The Mission of Burma reunion album is better. ;) > Oh hell yeah. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 13:27:29 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Speaking of Jandek live... I found the below "testimony" on the Web. Sorry about the bad formatting. PS reap: my uncle, back east in Florida...what an incredibly upbeat, loving man he was. The last survivor of my dad's seven brothers and sisters. Just returned from Austin, TX (which was an unholy steambath) where the Blood Drained Cows followed an incredible set by Roky Erickson and the Explosives. This was, if you haven't heard, a benefit for the Roky trust which featured over 10 bands -- each doing a 30 minute set of Roky covers in celebration of Roky's 58th birthday! Of course, the main attraction was Roky hisself, this being his first official live show in well over two decades. His performance was top-notch (and as an eye-witness to well over 20 Roky gigs from back in the 70's, I'm qualified to say..) and particularly riveting. He had a packed house goin nuts w/the standard anthems "Creature With the Atom Brain," " It's A Cold Night For Alligators," "I Walked With A Zombie," "Two Headed Dog" amongst many others. Speculation was that he'd prob do a short 20 or 30 minute set like everyone else (who wants to play any longer on their b-day ?) but Roky kept encouraging backing band the Explosive to keep going. 1 hour and 5 minutes later he was done ! Really, for all the guy has been through in the last two decades, to see him so comfortable, in form (the vocals have lost nothing) and jubilant on stage (and off - he seemed upbeat and confident the couple of dinners we shared) was just incredible. Roky is no minor celebrity in Austin -- at Amy's Ice Cream, they even serve "The Roky" (!) which is a scoop of malt in a vanilla mint ice cream shake. Soda Jerk kids workin at Amy's fight over who gets to serve him (it just doesn't get better than that!). And some trivia for the Roky-philes: he drinks his shake (and ice tea) with a straw .. Much praise to Roky bro Sumner who has served as Roky's guardian and manager the last two years. Sumner, a highly regarded classical tuba player, exited the Pittsburgh Philharmonic two years ago to preside over Roky's care and career. As a member of the Roky trust (along with Mike Watt and a host of other luminaries dedicated to making sure Roky is supported financially by his past and present musical efforts - and not ripped off or exploited), I'm really encouraged by the herculean job Sumner has thus far pulled off. I hope alla this doesn't sound unduly schmaltzy, but for all of us who love Roky and dig his vision and sound, this event was so uplifting (particularly in contrast to the course of events in this country that have been anything but). ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 14:08:28 -0700 From: Eb Subject: reap http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/10/obit.belgeddes.ap/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 22:21:27 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Toronto: Stones (aug 10) Mike Swedene wrote: > For Stewart and other Toronto area Fegs: definitely not me. The stones turned the suck up to 11 for me at least 30 years ago. I suspect I couldn't even name one of their songs from about 1980 on. > they're doing a gig tomorrow night at the > Phoenix on Sherbourne, only $10 per ticket. bleah, what a soulless hole the Phoenix is. Awful venue. Shame the Decemberists always play there now. It was kind of funny -- I heard the tickets sold out in mere minutes. Sherbourne St was rent asunder by the whining of dehydrated boomers, and the riffle of touts' cash paying homeless folks for waiting in line. cheers, Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 17:13:25 +1200 From: James Dignan Subject: Re: the Shirley list > >*XTC - English Settlement >I tried, but it never got me. I'm in a weird minority on this one in that I knew it first as the single LP and played the spots off it. When I later heard the full double album it seemed... wrong. The single album was perfect - the segues into "Snowman" and "Yacht dance", the sublime ending with "All of a sudden". other XTC albums come close for me (Black Sea, Skylarking) but this is the one. 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, 11 Aug 2005 09:55:39 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: top 10, and "literally" On Aug 9, 2005, at 2:51 PM, Eb wrote: > I'd just like to emphasize that my own idea for a "list thread" was > a lot less cliched. ;p I've been trying to come up with a list of bands that I used to like but now can't stand. It's tough. Maybe KISS? The Romantics? Charlie Daniels? They were all so long ago that I don't think they count. I have a Nick Rudd CD I bought a few years ago that I think I listened to once, maybe twice. - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 10:23:29 -0700 (PDT) From: John Barrington Jones Subject: Re: top 10, and "literally" On Thu, 11 Aug 2005, Tom Clark wrote: > I've been trying to come up with a list of bands that I used to like but now > can't stand. It's tough. Maybe KISS? The Romantics? Charlie Daniels? Albums would be easier for me. I got all nostalgic a few weeks ago when I was visiting Amoeba Records in San Fran and came across Berlin's "Pleasure Victim". $3. I snatched it up and listened to it on my drive up to Lake Tahoe. EEEsh - what a crap album - it has not aged well. And to my recollection the subsequent albums got progressively worse - I wonder how horrible they would sound given my experience with "Pleasure Victim"? I had a similar experience last week with "Gravy Deco". Its really not the songs themselves, its the production. I'd love to see Robyn go back and re-record that album acoustically. =jbj= ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V14 #193 ********************************