From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V15 #12 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Friday, January 13 2006 Volume 15 : Number 012 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Huh! [Benjamin Lukoff ] Re: Huh! [Spotted Eagle Ray ] Re: Huh! ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: Huh! [2fs ] Re: Huh! [Spotted Eagle Ray ] Re: Huh! [Eb ] Re: Huh! [Spotted Eagle Ray ] RE: Huh! ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: Huh! [Tom Clark ] RE: No SBs reunion tour? ["Brian Nupp" ] Oh, btw [Eb ] Yet more $$$ for Rew [Eb ] Re: Talking Heads/David Byrne ["Charlotte Tupman" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 11:07:52 -0800 (PST) From: Benjamin Lukoff Subject: Re: Huh! On Wed, 11 Jan 2006, Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > On 1/11/06, Eb wrote: > > > > Did folks hear that the Decemberists signed with *Capitol*? I don't > > recall seeing mention of it here, and I know they have many Feggy fans. > > The major labels have every reason to be desperate. I'm not a huge > Decemberists fan, but maybe this marks a sea change? All this says to me is "Decemberists discs with 'Copy Control'" (http://www.emimusic.info/us_EN/) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 11:34:20 -0800 From: Spotted Eagle Ray Subject: Re: Huh! On 1/11/06, Eb wrote: > > Or, from my own world, there are the Futureheads, the Go! Team, > Grandaddy, Sonic Youth (though I guess you'd call them an "accidental > holdover," and I believe they're going "indie" again after the next > album anyway), PJ Harvey, the Strokes, Supergrass, Hot Hot Heat, > Queens of the Stone Age.... Maybe I'm wrong about the US/UK distinction, and I really don't know UK indie labels these days, but it seems like the uppercrust of Brit indie bands are actually expected to make it "big", signing to majors, hitting the cover of NME and having honest-to-god chart singles and stuff in pretty short order. Which would only apply to a few of the bands above, but would cover bands who have made a fair splash over here-- Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, etc. The most unlikely "accidental holdover" I've recently discovered: Mike Watt's organ trio autobiographical rock opera about his hospital stay came out on Columbia. (Coming from anyone else I'd be dead sure this was an ardent to be dropped.) Well, my point was almost the opposite...that so few indie bands are > moving up nowadays, unless it's right at the beginning. Yeah, I was approaching it from the same POV, at least as far as in the States. was listening to the new reissue of Patti Smith's "Horses" this > morning. [...] Also, the bonus 2005 live disc is > *damn* good. I always have misgivings about reissues being bloated > with second discs, but the addition turns out to be warranted in this > case. It's amazing how fresh the music still sounds onstage -- It's good to hear some comments on this. I hope it stays in print in this form for a while because I'd like to hear this and own this edition some velvet morning when I have some cash. And I really want to catch the current Patti Smith Group soon... it seems to have settled down to a stable configuration with Lenny Kaye and Tom Verlaine as the permanent guitarists. Overdue, huh? - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 14:31:58 -0500 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Huh! Eb wrote: > > Stewart: > > Yes. They are huge sellouts, and I have shredded all my Decemberists > CDs. > > You're not serious, are you? Am I ever? > They could easily get picked up by the John Mayer/James Blunt/David > Gray demographic, with some extra exposure. Bleah! Molest me not with this early 21st century accountant music! If David Gray had been recording 20 years ago, he'd have been called Sade. Stewart (big news from me: start a new job with a utility on Monday. They need some inhouse wind experience, and they were a client.) (oh, and we sat next to former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson when we saw /Brokeback Mountain/ on Sunday.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 13:52:08 -0600 From: 2fs Subject: Re: Huh! On 1/11/06, Eb wrote: > Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > Who with any real "street cred" can the majors claim besides, say, > > Radiohead, the old guard unimpeachable folks like U2, and a few > > accidental holdovers like Flaming Lips? > > Well, there are a few latter-day signings of solid, indie-mentality > bands which I don't personally enjoy. Such as Rilo Kiley, Death Cab > for Cutie and Modest Mouse. RK also broke indie first. > Or, from my own world, there are the Futureheads, the Go! Team, > Grandaddy, Sonic Youth (though I guess you'd call them an "accidental > holdover," and I believe they're going "indie" again after the next > album anyway), PJ Harvey, the Strokes, Supergrass, Hot Hot Heat, > Queens of the Stone Age.... Yeah, there's a bit of a mini-trend going, true. Although I'd exclude QOTSA simply because they're more hard-rock, and that's always been a genre easier to sell to majors. > Jeff: > > In other words, major labels are utterly parasitic on indies for > finding new talent. > > Well, my point was almost the opposite...that so few indie bands are > moving up nowadays, unless it's right at the beginning. Some of the bands you mention, that's true. Others - like say Death Cab, or the Decemberists - it's not. And why > *shouldn't* majors look to indie labels? Would you rather they > *ignore* grassroot talents? The point is, they're rarely (with some exceptions) signing newer bands and (most importantly) giving them time to grow and develop: that is, not expecting blockbuster sales from the get-go. Actually, I don't give a rat's ass about major labels. I don't need them - and I think it's the rare band that actually does. I'm not one of those to diss bands for signing with them - but what exactly has Atlantic done with/for DCfC that maybe not Barsuk but definitely Matador or Merge couldn't have done for them? Or maybe I'm totally wrong, and am so removed from suburban-mall-store buying patterns that I have no idea. Also, the bonus 2005 live disc is > *damn* good. I always have misgivings about reissues being bloated > with second discs, but the addition turns out to be warranted in this > case. It's amazing how fresh the music still sounds onstage -- I can > imagine this exact album coming out from a new artist on Sub Pop or > Matador today, and becoming just as much of a huge critics' favorite. Oh, and the > chorus of "Break It Up" isn't as good as the original -- Patti barely > hits the high note, and I don't like how the backing singers choppily > bark "Breakitup" instead of the original "Breakituuuuuuuuuup." But does that version have Tom Verlaine on lead guitar? If no, it's not as good. ;) - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:04:25 -0800 From: Spotted Eagle Ray Subject: Re: Huh! On 1/11/06, 2fs wrote: > > "Breakitup" instead of the original "Breakituuuuuuuuuup." > > But does that version have Tom Verlaine on lead guitar? If no, it's > not as good. ;) It does, and so does the rest of the performance! There are even rumors of renewed romance between Patti and Verlaine... Patti's boyfriend/bandmate Oliver Ray was relieved of both duties around the time Verlaine became a PSG mainstay. - -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:11:57 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Huh! Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > The most unlikely "accidental holdover" I've recently discovered: > Mike > Watt's organ trio autobiographical rock opera about his hospital > stay came > out on Columbia. (Coming from anyone else I'd be dead sure this > was an > ardent to be dropped.) I suspect Watt recorded that album on a very tiny budget and didn't demand much promotion, so it was a pretty low-overhead venture for Sony. And since his previous album was relatively successful, he earned a second release. >> I don't like how the backing singers choppily >> bark "Breakitup" instead of the original "Breakituuuuuuuuuup." > > But does that version have Tom Verlaine on lead guitar? Indeed it do. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:33:00 -0800 From: Spotted Eagle Ray Subject: Re: Huh! On 1/11/06, Eb wrote: I suspect Watt recorded that album on a very tiny budget and didn't > demand much promotion, so it was a pretty low-overhead venture for > Sony. He does jam econo, as we all know. Makes you wonder if more artists could've held onto their major label deals by being thrift. Would Robyn still be on Warners if he'd released delivered something like "Spooked" (cheap to make, cheap to tour, well-reviewed) instead of "Jewels For Sophia"? - -Rx And since his previous album was relatively successful, he earned a second release. >> I don't like how the backing singers choppily >> bark "Breakitup" instead of the original "Breakituuuuuuuuuup." > > But does that version have Tom Verlaine on lead guitar? Indeed it do. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:52:50 -0500 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: Huh! On 1/11/06, Eb wrote: I suspect Watt recorded that album on a very tiny budget and didn't >> demand much promotion, so it was a pretty low-overhead venture for >> Sony. Rex: >He does jam econo, as we all know. >Makes you wonder if more artists could've held onto their major label deals >by being thrift. Would Robyn still be on Warners if he'd released delivered >something like "Spooked" (cheap to make, cheap to tour, well-reviewed) >instead of "Jewels For Sophia"? Maybe so. On the other hand, maybe the Soft Boys reunion tour wouldn't have happened with a Rew-less solo "Spooked" tour in 1999 instead of the full band Rock Armada, Kimberley Rew included "Jewels For Sophia" tour and album. Michael B. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 13:02:01 -0800 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Huh! On Jan 11, 2006, at 11:31 AM, Stewart C. Russell wrote: >> They could easily get picked up by the John Mayer/James Blunt/ >> David Gray demographic, with some extra exposure. > > Bleah! Molest me not with this early 21st century accountant music! > If David Gray had been recording 20 years ago, he'd have been > called Sade. Anybody catch the John Mayer Trio concert on DirecTV recently? I checked it out mainly because of his veteran bandmates, Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino. I mean, how could they do wrong? Turns out the weak link in the John Mayer Trio is John Mayer. The guy hits all the right notes, but if anybody can suck the life out of a blues riff, it's him. > > (big news from me: start a new job with a utility on Monday. They > need some inhouse wind experience, and they were a client.) Congrats! "There's a mighty wind a blowin', and it's blowing you and me!!" - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 16:14:33 -0500 From: "Brian Nupp" Subject: RE: No SBs reunion tour? >Maybe so. On the other hand, maybe the Soft Boys reunion tour >wouldn't have >happened with a Rew-less solo "Spooked" tour in 1999 instead of the >full band >Rock Armada, Kimberley Rew included "Jewels For Sophia" tour and >album. > >Michael B. Good point. I'm a huge fan of the Soft Boys tour- Especially the 2nd time around. So...what's Robyn have in store for us in 2006? Eh? - -Nuppy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 13:06:44 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Oh, btw One other small criticism of the Horses reissue: They spell the Who guy's name "Townsend," when crediting "My Generation." Tsk tsk. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 20:39:58 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Yet more $$$ for Rew I don't know if you're seeing this elsewhere in the country but, out here, there's a Disneyland commercial being shown over and over which uses a "pop" version of "Walking on Sunshine" as its score. $$$$$ Meanwhile, is there *anything* more heavy-handed than the voiceover in this "Lost" recap episode? Mercy. Eb np: David Thomas/18 Monkeys on a Dead Man's Chest ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 10:05:08 +0000 From: "Charlotte Tupman" Subject: Re: Talking Heads/David Byrne Thanks for all the replies, on and offlist, to my Talking Heads/David Byrne question. I've certainly got some good recommendations to follow up! However, for some reason the usual digest didn't arrive: I've received #9 and #11 but not #10. Would a feg who receives the digest (a digested feg?!) be kind enough to forward #10 to me? Many thanks. Charlotte ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 09:58:55 -0500 From: "Brian Nupp" Subject: Lolita Nation Who was it who put Lolita Nation (by Game Theory) on their top ten island list? Ah, anyway I just picked this up on double LP for, yeah you guessed it, a buck. I love it. It's got a real Mitch Easter feel to it and that's not surprising considering he produced it. Good songs, keen production. Wow this baby goes for megabucks on cd! My vinyl copy has skips and cracks so I can't transfer to disc. Does anyone on here have it on cd that would be willing to do a trade? I have much to offer in return! Weird I never heard of Game Theory until about a month ago. I also have the album that came out before this one (can't remember the name), but Lolita Nation is better in my opinion. - -Nuppy ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V15 #12 *******************************