From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V15 #119 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, June 1 2006 Volume 15 : Number 119 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: [loud-fans] rock hard in a holy place ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: old mozzer ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] reap ["Michael Wells" ] RE: old mozzer ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: old mozzer ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] RE: old mozzer [Sebastian Hagedorn ] Re: old mozzer [Sebastian Hagedorn ] Re: old mozzer [Eb ] Re: old mozzer [2fs ] RE: old mozzer ["Bachman, Michael" ] Re: old mozzer [Eb ] Re: reap ["Stewart C. Russell" ] Re: old mozzer ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] Re: old mozzer ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] Re: old mozzer [Tom Clark ] RE: old mozzer ["Marc Alberts" ] Re: old mozzer [2fs ] Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 [grutness@slingshot.co.nz] Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 ["Sarah Jones" ] RE: old mozzer ["Bachman, Michael" ] OT: I think I'm gonna hurl [FSThomas ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 09:27:55 -0400 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: [loud-fans] rock hard in a holy place James wrote: >A case could probably be made for Nazareth, too (then nailed shut >once they're in it). Yes!!!!! They deserve it for making an abomination of "Love Hurts". Having bought Gram Parsons "Grievous Angel" in 1975 and loving it from the get go, especially's Gram and Emmylou's version of "Love Hurts", my stomach would turn everytime I heard the Nazareth version. Michael B. NP Buddy Guy - Bring 'Em In ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 11:20:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Jill Brand Subject: old mozzer Rex wrote: >I think what got me in trouble last time was saying that I >didn't think Morrissey really understood anything about music, just >grafted pre-written prose sort of awkwardly onto the music provided for >him and filled out the rest with oh-oh oh-oh's, which I still find to be >generally true. Oh, so I guess that you and Eb must be great friends. I love the Smiths, love, love, love, love them, and I did lots of inane things to see them (canceled a vacation, took a midnight bus from NYC to Boston to get back in time to teach, etc.) back in the proverbial day. I'm luke warm about Morrissey solo. The Morrissey voice thing is to be expected: you either love it or it drives you crazy. I have a similar thing with Natalie Merchant's voice. I can't get to the radio knobs or pushbuttons fast enough to turn her off. I'm sure there are those of you who think she is magnificent. I love Randy Newman's voice, too. And I think REM are boring. Do I still get to play here? Jill ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 09:56:24 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Jill Brand wrote: > > Oh, so I guess that you and Eb must be great friends. Of course we are! The Morrissey voice thing is to be expected: you either love it or it > drives you crazy. Actually, the voice itself doesn't bug me, or at least didn't initially-- I liked plenty of bands with similar vocalists (the Housemartins come to mind), but the vocal quality has gotten so associated with the singing and writing style that it's hard to disassociate now. In the same fashion I probably initally like artists with Robyn-esque voices before I figure out whether or not they might secretly suck. > > And I think REM are boring. > They are! But they weren't always. Throughout the '80's I'd take REM's album-of-the-year over the Smiths' every time. Conversely to the latter-day canonization of the Smiths, it now seems de riguer to say that REM was always bad or at least overrated. The lesson here, is, I suppose, to break up for posterity's sake. If Michael Stipe was on his 18th solo album of vaguely jangly whatever, perhaps even "Lifes Rich Pageant" would be enshrined in unassailable classicness. > Do I still get to play here? Please do! Ironincally NP on the randomized iPod: "Bigmouth Ohohoah Oh Ah Ah Strikes Again" - -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:06:58 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: reap Pocket billiards ace Steve 'The Miz' Mizerak has found the corner pocket, 61 http://tinyurl.com/ohkb6 Michael ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 14:43:32 -0400 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Jill Brand wrote: >> And I think REM are boring. >> Rex: >They are! But they weren't always. Throughout the '80's I'd take REM's >album-of-the-year over the Smiths' every time. Conversely to the latter-day >canonization of the Smiths, it now seems de riguer to say that REM was >always bad or at least overrated. The lesson here, is, I suppose, to break >up for posterity's sake. If Michael Stipe was on his 18th solo album of >vaguely jangly whatever, perhaps even "Lifes Rich Pageant" would be >enshrined in unassailable classicness. The only year I would call it a draw would be 1988. Johnny Marr has some nice moments on the live Rank album, and Green is my lease favorite REM album from the 1982-1989 period. Murmur still has huge amounts of credibility though, doesn't it Rex? Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the Go-Betweens were fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Sire made the decision to drop the G-B's and keep the Smiths based on the sales figures and not having the budget to promote them both. I would give the Go-Betweens five 1983-88 albums, Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair, Liberty Bell, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane a huge edge over the Smiths output. Michael B. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:28:10 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Bachman, Michael wrote: > > > The only year I would call it a draw would be 1988. Johnny Marr has some > nice moments > on the live Rank album, and Green is my lease favorite REM album from the > 1982-1989 > period. I'd've had a lotta records ahead of GREEN if I'd done Year-End Tops lists back then, but I dunno if the Smiths would make it. Was that the year of QUEEN ELVIS? QE is not a personal fave of mine in the RH catalog but I rate it over GREEN. Murmur still has huge amounts of credibility though, doesn't it Rex? Critically I'd say so, probably all the IRS records are respected; but there are also critics who rate Out of Time/Automatic as the golden period, so it kinda splits. The Smiths didn't survive long enough to put out records after they got as huge as they would've, so who can tell? There just seem to be a lot more visible stricken Smiths fanboys (look-alikes, cover-bands, conventions, and I daresay Morrissey is a bigger live draw than REM), although that may be more of a function of the type of fans than the numbers. > Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the > Go-Betweens were > fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Sire made the decision to > drop the G-B's > and keep the Smiths based on the sales figures and not having the budget > to promote them > both. I would give the Go-Betweens five 1983-88 albums, Before Hollywood, > Spring Hill > Fair, Liberty Bell, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane a huge edge over the > Smiths output. Me, too, and they'd beat REM some of those years as well (especially if Liberty Belle lines up with Lifes Rich Pageant as I suspect). Of course you can also count the GB's as part of the sizeable crowd of near-breakthrough artists who broke up after, if not because of, opening for REM... - -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 21:42:04 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: RE: old mozzer - -- "Bachman, Michael" is rumored to have mumbled on 31. Mai 2006 14:43:32 -0400 regarding RE: old mozzer: > On 5/31/06, Jill Brand wrote: > >>> And I think REM are boring. > > Rex: >> They are! But they weren't always. Throughout the '80's I'd take REM's >> album-of-the-year over the Smiths' every time. > > Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the > Go-Betweens were fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Sire made > the decision to drop the G-B's and keep the Smiths based on the sales > figures and not having the budget to promote them both. I would give the > Go-Betweens five 1983-88 albums, Before Hollywood, Spring Hill Fair, > Liberty Bell, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane a huge edge over the Smiths > output. No fair putting them up against each other! I love them *all*! R.E.M., The Smiths and The Go-Betweens. All great bands. It really surprises me that not everybody here thinks so. Of course I accept it, I just find it surprising. But there you go ... - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156, 50823 Kvln, Germany http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ "Being just contaminates the void" - Robyn Hitchcock ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 22:18:00 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: Re: old mozzer - -- Spotted Eagle Ray is rumored to have mumbled on 31. Mai 2006 12:28:10 -0700 regarding Re: old mozzer: > and I daresay Morrissey is a bigger live draw than REM Not over here, he isn't! R.E.M. still draw huge crowds in Europe. Morrissey, not so much. - -- Sebastian Hagedorn Ehrenfeldg|rtel 156, 50823 Kvln, Germany http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ "Being just contaminates the void" - Robyn Hitchcock ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 13:22:36 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: old mozzer >> Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the >> Go-Betweens were >> fellow label mates on Sire records with them. The Go-Betweens, on Sire? I guess that was in the UK only? I finally saw the ballyhooed gay-cowboy movie over the weekend. Slow slow sloooooow, and crucially weak character development of the lads' initial attraction. And it seemed like exaggerated, animalistic wrasslin' was substituted for real intimacy because they figured the latter would make test audiences squeamish. I'd give it a "B"...not as good as Crash or Capote. Congrats to the newly marred couple B&T. I'm currently hooked on the White Stripes' "Hello Operator." Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 16:17:11 -0500 From: 2fs Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > > > Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the > > Go-Betweens were > > fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Sire made the decision to > > drop the G-B's > > and keep the Smiths based on the sales figures and not having the budget > > to promote them > > both. I would give the Go-Betweens five 1983-88 albums, Before > Hollywood, > > Spring Hill > > Fair, Liberty Bell, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane a huge edge over the > > Smiths output. > > > Me, too, and they'd beat REM some of those years as well (especially if > Liberty Belle lines up with Lifes Rich Pageant as I suspect). I'm curious that you find LRP such a low-water mark. The usual contenders are (depending on the period in question) Green, Monster, and pretty much everything after AFTP (with some folks favoring NAIHF: that is to say, "pretty much everything post-Berry"). But I suppose that of the IRS albums, it might be the weakest. That, or (surprisingly) Reckoning, which despite having a couple of killer songs also has a couple of the lamest (I can never remember how "Letter Never Sent" goes, and "Time after Time" has never done much for me either). On the other hand, I think Fables is way stronger than a lot of people do, who argue that it's incoherent and murkily produced (odd crit that last for REM!). Of course you > can also count the GB's as part of the sizeable crowd of near-breakthrough > artists who broke up after, if not because of, opening for REM... The Curse! Who else is in that crowd? I can think of Camper Van Beethoven and...uh, I'm lost. Generally, though, on this question I'm with Sebastian: all three bands (Smiths and Go-Betweens also) are wonderful, and my collection would be much the poorer without them. Of the three, my regard for the Go-Betweens keeps rising, while for the other two it pretty much has remained flat, possibly depressing some for the weaker moments of R.E.M.. Then again they were my favorite band for nearly a decade, so they had nowhere to go but down. - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 17:33:25 -0400 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: old mozzer Me: >> Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the >> Go-Betweens were fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Eb: >The Go-Betweens, on Sire? I guess that was in the UK only? Well, they were only on Sire for a short time after Before Hollywood was released in 1983. They recorded Spring Hill Fair for Sire in early 1984 and Sire dropped them before it was released. The G-B's had the master tapes for it and got picked up by another label, which released SHF in the UK and elsewhere but not in the US. SHF didn't get a US release until the 1995 Beggars Banquet reissues. MJB ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 14:43:52 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: old mozzer 2fs wrote: > On the other hand, I think Fables is way stronger than > a lot of people do, who argue that it's incoherent and murkily > produced I don't know about incoherent, but I do think it's "murkily produced," yes. It's probably my least favorite REM album on IRS, but that's a damn faint criticism. Worst REM album: Around the Sun, without a doubt. Second worst: Reveal. Please break up, guys. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 17:47:11 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: reap Michael Wells wrote: > Pocket billiards ace Steve 'The Miz' Mizerak ... Um, I guess 'pocket billiards' means something else to people not from the UK? It has, um, connotations. Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 15:42:15 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Eb wrote: > > > Worst REM album: Around the Sun, without a doubt. Second worst: > Reveal. Please break up, guys. Yes, yes, and yes. But I really, really like the two records before those. I guess my problem is that I don't know what kind of record they could make now that I would like. I would say something like "Reckoning", but I think they already did that with "NAIHF", so I'm stumped. It would definitely have to be an album with no songs in A-minor. - -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 15:37:06 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, 2fs wrote: > > I'm curious that you find LRP such a low-water mark. The usual contenders > are (depending on the period in question) Green, Monster, and pretty much > everything after AFTP (with some folks favoring NAIHF: that is to say, > "pretty much everything post-Berry"). But I suppose that of the IRS > albums, > it might be the weakest. Weakest IRS record, is all I'd say, and I think it has to do with it being weaker than its predecessor (Fables is my favorite) and being followed by Document, which to my mind does what LRP was trying to do a lot, lot better. That, or (surprisingly) Reckoning, which despite > having a couple of killer songs also has a couple of the lamest (I can > never > remember how "Letter Never Sent" goes, and "Time after Time" has never > done > much for me either). Reckoning is damned near perfect as far as I can see-- one of the best "sophomore album as live-show clearing house" things ever. I love to listen to it even now. But somehow it's not quite as singular as the 1st and 3rd ones. > The Curse! Who else is in that crowd? I can think of Camper Van Beethoven > and...uh, I'm lost. > Well... um... me too. But I thought this was some kind of conventional wisdom. The Replacements choked after opening for Tom Petty... maybe I was getting that mixed in the equation. > Of the three, my regard for the Go-Betweens keeps > rising, while for the other two it pretty much has remained flat, possibly > depressing some for the weaker moments of R.E.M.. Then again they were my > favorite band for nearly a decade, so they had nowhere to go but down. The uniform blandness of solo Morrissey concurrent with the fact that I seem to hear the Smiths on the radio more than I ever did in the '80's has taken them down a few slow notches over the years. I don't really hate them, but I hear enough of them elsewhere that I never play their records myself. And the fact that they clearly mean the world to many people and are just kinda "meh" to me probably has something to do with it. Meanwhile my enjoyment of the Cure has only increased since the years when I used to find *their* fans annoying. My take on that is that it's not at all hard to look at a good Cure song as a good pop song, or a good *song*, while the best Smiths song is at best a good Smiths song. Dunno. - -Rx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 16:16:25 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: old mozzer On May 31, 2006, at 2:43 PM, Eb wrote: > Worst REM album: Around the Sun, without a doubt. Second worst: > Reveal. Please break up, guys. Wow - I've never even heard of these albums. - -tc, stopped caring after Fables... [demime 0.97c-p1 removed an attachment of type application/pkcs7-signature which had a name of smime.p7s] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 16:29:34 -0700 From: "Marc Alberts" Subject: RE: old mozzer Jeff wrote: > On 5/31/06, Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > > > > > > Interesting note, when the Smiths started breaking out in 1984, the > > > Go-Betweens were > > > fellow label mates on Sire records with them. Sire made the decision > to > > > drop the G-B's > > > and keep the Smiths based on the sales figures and not having the > budget > > > to promote them > > > both. I would give the Go-Betweens five 1983-88 albums, Before > > Hollywood, > > > Spring Hill > > > Fair, Liberty Bell, Tallulah and 16 Lovers Lane a huge edge over the > > > Smiths output. > > > > > > Me, too, and they'd beat REM some of those years as well (especially if > > Liberty Belle lines up with Lifes Rich Pageant as I suspect). > > > > I'm curious that you find LRP such a low-water mark. The usual contenders > are (depending on the period in question) Green, Monster, and pretty much > everything after AFTP (with some folks favoring NAIHF: that is to say, > "pretty much everything post-Berry"). But I suppose that of the IRS > albums, > it might be the weakest. Strangely enough, it's the one I like the best. From the first strains of Begin the Begin through Swan Swan H, I like it all quite a bit. I don't mind being the odd man out when it comes to favorite REM album, but that's where I am so I guess I don't have much of a choice but to not mind it. > That, or (surprisingly) Reckoning, which despite > having a couple of killer songs also has a couple of the lamest (I can > never > remember how "Letter Never Sent" goes, and "Time after Time" has never > done > much for me either). On the other hand, I think Fables is way stronger > than > a lot of people do, who argue that it's incoherent and murkily produced > (odd > crit that last for REM!). Seven Chinese Brothers is still a fave from Reckoning, so I am in total agreement that it's "a few great, a few suck." On Fables, however, I can't agree. That album has never really done much for me. Marc ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 18:59:19 -0500 From: 2fs Subject: Re: old mozzer On 5/31/06, Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > > I guess my problem is that I don't know what kind of record they could > make > now that I would like. I would say something like "Reckoning", but I > think > they already did that with "NAIHF", so I'm stumped. It would definitely > have to be an album with no songs in A-minor. And tempos that frequently exceed 100 bpm at a minimum. Someone should tie electrodes to the band-members' balls that shock viciously whenever anyone in the band is inclined to write yet another dirgey ballad in A- or E-minor. Reveal is a real problem here: something like five of the six first songs are all in the same key (guess-what minor) and at about the same tempo. That album might have been salvageable by better pacing...but Around the Sun couldn't possibly have been more than an EP...and a white rock band with zero percent hip-hop component hiring a guest rapper in 2004 is approximately as dumb as a fundamentalist Christian conservative deciding that Bumfuck and Wickdip, the Karnal Klowns, would be a good choice for his 8-year-old's birthday party - you know, the one he's putting on for his whole congregation to be at. - -- ...Jeff Norman The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 20:34:12 +1200 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 >Today (May 30) happens to be our 31st wedding anniversary. My parents >insisted we get married back in 1975, though it wasn't a priority for >us, being madly in love and sure the relationship was going to last no >matter what. Under pressure to dance to the parent's tune, my husband >wore a suit saying, "But this is the last time!", and absolutely refused >to cut his ponytail off. So I tied it with a nice black velvet ribbon. I >wore a long Victorian gown, and we look positively old-fashioned in our >photos. Congrats to you, too! You got married on my twelfth birthday, BTW :) 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, 1 Jun 2006 20:37:54 +1200 From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 Jeff said: >If you want to hear Buck (and Mills and Berry) sounding utterly generic, >pick up a used copy of that Hindu Love Gods CD. Warren Zevon isn't really a >blues singer, and R.E.M. isn't a blues band - which is why all but a song or >two on htat record are old blues songs, of course. If I didn't recognize >Zevon's voice, and someone told me, hey, this is the bar band down the >street, I'd be surprised they got such quality production (and acknowledge >that they're competent players - but no more) but otherwise I'd believe it. > >If they'd released an EP with only "Raspberry Beret" and two of three of the >last three tracks on the CD ("Battleship Chains" most likely, either >"Vigilante Man" or "I'm a One-Woman Man" for the other), it would have been >worth a few bucks. By sheer coincidental good taste :), I used to own that album. I sold it after copying across the only three songs that I wanted to keep - Raspberry Beret, Battleship Chains, and Vigilante Man. 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, 01 Jun 2006 08:14:05 -0400 From: "Sarah Jones" Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 Peter Buck has said in interviews that he'd had lunches longer than it took to record this record, and the version of Raspberry Beret is lifted in one take from the Prince song book purchased that very morning, entertain if not uplifting. Sar >From: grutness@slingshot.co.nz >Reply-To: grutness@slingshot.co.nz >To: fegmaniax@smoe.org >Subject: Re: fegmaniax-digest V15 #118 >Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 20:37:54 +1200 > >Jeff said: >>If you want to hear Buck (and Mills and Berry) sounding utterly generic, >>pick up a used copy of that Hindu Love Gods CD. Warren Zevon isn't really >>a >>blues singer, and R.E.M. isn't a blues band - which is why all but a song >>or >>two on htat record are old blues songs, of course. If I didn't recognize >>Zevon's voice, and someone told me, hey, this is the bar band down the >>street, I'd be surprised they got such quality production (and acknowledge >>that they're competent players - but no more) but otherwise I'd believe >>it. >> >>If they'd released an EP with only "Raspberry Beret" and two of three of >>the >>last three tracks on the CD ("Battleship Chains" most likely, either >>"Vigilante Man" or "I'm a One-Woman Man" for the other), it would have >>been >>worth a few bucks. > >By sheer coincidental good taste :), I used to own that album. I sold it >after copying across the only three songs that I wanted to keep - Raspberry >Beret, Battleship Chains, and Vigilante Man. > >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") -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 08:53:19 -0400 From: "Bachman, Michael" Subject: RE: old mozzer On 5/31/06, 2fs wrote: > >> I'm curious that you find LRP such a low-water mark. The usual contenders >> are (depending on the period in question) Green, Monster, and pretty much >> everything after AFTP (with some folks favoring NAIHF: that is to say, >> "pretty much everything post-Berry"). But I suppose that of the IRS >> albums,it might be the weakest. Rex came back with: >Weakest IRS record, is all I'd say, and I think it has to do with it being >weaker than its predecessor (Fables is my favorite) and being followed by >Document, which to my mind does what LRP was trying to do a lot, lot better. I never upgraded my 1985 cd version of Fables. Did the subsequent reissues clean up the sound up a bit? I remember back in the day Joe Boyd caught a lot of flack for the flat, murky sound on some of the songs of the album. Michael B. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:58:41 -0400 From: FSThomas Subject: OT: I think I'm gonna hurl http://www.variety-playhouse.com/schedule.html#seagal Film legend STEVEN SEAGAL is recognized around the world as one of Hollywoodbs leading action heroes, starring in and producing over 20 films. While his enthusiasm for storytelling and over-the-top performances continues to bring his characters to life on screen, the proficient seventh degree black belt Aikedo master is also an accomplished musician and songwriter who is ready to share his music. Watch those hands - they are capable of many surprises. As an action star and martial, Steven Seagal can dazzle and decimate with his patented Aikido moves. Thatbs a given b and part of pop culture. For edification, just check out the multi-million-dollar grossing action-thrillers Above the Law or Under Siege. As a guitarist, he can whip out the meanest grittiest blues licks this side of Chicago or Memphis, lay into a wide range of grooves from reggae and funk to modern rock and world beat, or wax melodious on a tender soul ballad. SEAGALbs lifelong dedication to martial arts is rivaled only by his devotion to the guitar and the inspiring power of music. He grew up playing guitar with blues musicians near his home in Detroit and has gone on to perform with such iconic players as B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Albert Collins, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Willie bPine Topb Perkins. However, it was SEAGALbs nonstop travels that taught him how music is capable of bridging cultural and political gaps. The themes of spirituality, global harmony and humanity that enhance much of his film work are evident throughout the lyrics SEAGAL wrote for his debut album SONGS FROM THE CRYSTAL CAVE. Inspired by rhythms and sounds from around the globe, the music encompasses blues-inflected world pop, bincorporating singer-songwriter elements, dance-hall and Indian instrumentation,b as noted by the Los Angeles Times (5/29/05). Featuring such self-penned songs as bDonbt You Cry,b bWar,b bBetter Manb and bMy God,b SONGS FROM THE CRYSTAL CAVE was already released in France--where it was a #1 seller--. Earlier this year, SEAGAL led the way as the first individual to personally sponsor the disarming and disposal of a nuclear missile. SEAGAL dedicated the entire $100,000 necessary to remove and destroy a bHigh Riskb Russian nuclear weapon with the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Alliance. A long-time resident of Japan, SEAGAL said, bI have been blessed to know many individuals who survived the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is their example of spirit and strength that drives my determination to make this world a safer place.b In late 2005 and early 2006 Steven Seagal embarked on a long held musical dream b to record a breal blues albumb honoring and recording with the last of the living legends in Memphis. The resulting album b bMojo Priestb will be Stevenbs first US Album release and will be backed by a 20 city tour in late May and throughout June, assembling an all star band of brothers: Norris Johnson on keyboards, Bernard Allison on slide guitar, Harold Smith on guitar, Edward bHotb Cleveland on drums, Armand Sabal-Lecco on bass and Angel Rogers providing background vocalsb there is no question this is a mighty powerful group. What many will not know is that Steven himself is an accomplished guitarist and is in fact a vintage guitar fanatic with one of the biggest collections in the world. If you think he is pretty good at defeating the bad guys on film, you should see him on guitar. His accomplished musicianship sets him apart from his contemporaries in the acting world who have tried their hands at music. Stevenbs hands have been playing music long before he became an actor. bMojo Priestb is a testament to his skill dedication and his love of the blues. His songs from b.The Crystal Coveb CD will be released in the US before Christmas. - -Ferris "I think I'm gonna miss this one" Thomas ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V15 #119 ********************************