From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V15 #229 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Monday, October 2 2006 Volume 15 : Number 229 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Random ["" ] msf benefit tickets available! [wojbearpig ] Re: Sequencing [hssmrg@bath.ac.uk] Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day ["Stacked Crook] Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day ["Jason R. Thor] My name is Eb, and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired [Eb ] Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day ["Stewart Russe] My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much ["Sp] Re: Three advances ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] Bleh [Eb ] Re: My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much [Eb ] Re: My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] Re: Three advances [Jeff Dwarf ] Re: Three advances ["Spotted Eagle Ray" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2006 19:22:19 -0700 From: "" Subject: Re: Random Happy belated b-day Ebber! "Went on a birthday shopping spree at Amoeba yesterday...bought eight vinyl records and eight CDs for about $73. Minus some trade-in credit. I might not have bothered saying so, but one of the CDs I bought was Robyn's "Spooked." )" Curious to hear your thoughts... " and Chris Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life ($3, vinyl)." I've had a very warped unplayable vinyl copy for years. Finally bought it on CD. It's Ok, but I expected so much more after the 1st 2 dB's albums which are nothing short of amazing. I now see that his 1985 X-mas album is about to be re-re-released with xtra tracks. That dB's X-mas song *is* damn good. "I feel like craaaaaap. I've had my typical "club cold" ever since two days after that Beck show, I've been sleeping horribly as a result AND, on Friday night, Lawndart forced me to get the most drunk I've been in over 20 years. Jagermeister and Corona. Yesterday morning was only the third significant hangover I've felt in my life. Ugh." I feel good today. yesterday morning was dark with rituals of vomitting. Didn't know I drank that much and won't again for a while! I'm sure you all wanted to know that. - -Nuppy PS: So this Lawndart is a real person is he? How does one get a name like Lawndart? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 11:20:17 -0400 From: wojbearpig Subject: msf benefit tickets available! forwarding along for charlotte.... i don't have the contact information for making reservations but i'm sure one of your resourceful types have it handy. woj - ----- Forwarded message from Charlotte Tupman ----- The Three Kings have started taking ticket reservations for the December MSF benefit (two nights, 16th & 17th) by the way, if you wanted to pass that onto the list. I'm never sure whether my email address gets things through in good time, it seems to be a bit hit-and-miss. Best wishes, Charlotte - ----- End forwarded message ----- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 18:18:53 +0100 From: hssmrg@bath.ac.uk Subject: Re: Sequencing Quoting fegmaniax-digest : > fegmaniax-digest Friday, September 29 2006 Volume 15 : Number 227 > > We can always point to The Eagles as being the first to jack up > ticket prices. > Another reason to despise them besides their music. > > Michael B. > > NP Donovan - Mellow Yellow Pop 'Meet me by the whale at the Natural History Museum' on next and see if it works or not. I find that context is all in the cosy world of Donovan..[also see next] > Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:21:28 -0700 > From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" > Subject: Re: Fairport Convention -- "Meet On The Ledge" > Still don't dig "Jewels"... I was sort of surprised upon glancing at the > tracklists that I really like a greater perscentage of the songs and > performances that wound up on "Bram" than "Jewels". * Moi aussi. And I suspect that 'Being just contaminates the void' would be one of my favourites if it wasn't for that idiotic over-production. > Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 12:10:06 -0700 > From: Tom Clark > Subject: 13 from 10 > My 1996-2006 RH album. No Soft Boys, no covers. Not necessarily my > favorite tracks, but they seem to fit together well. Whip this > playlist together and try it for yourself! > > 1. Adventure Rocket Ship (Best opening track since "If You Were A > Priest", and surprisingly similar) > 2. The Cheese Alarm > 3. No, I Don't Remember Guildford > 4. 1974 (I don't usually listen with headphones, so I really just > noticed the nice guitar work in the right channel) > 5. I Am Not Me > 6. We're Gonna Live In The Trees > 7. Alright, Yeah > 8. Judas Sings (Jesus & Me) > 9. 'Cause It's Love (Saint Parallelogram) > 10. Full Moon In My Soul > 11. Sinister But She Was Happy > 12. I Saw Nick Drake > 13. The Authority Box * Thanks, Tom! I will check this out. > > That's a good list Tom! I might replace Cheese Alarm with Nasa > Clapping and I Am Not Me with Heliotrope and maybe Judas Sings with > something else... Still all great choices and I'd be happy with an > album like this. Hey, maybe you should get on the committee that does > RH comps. * I'm with you on 'Heliotrope' but not on 'Cheese Alarm', Nuppy... - - Mike 'I wouldn't do a thing like that' Godwin n.p. The Rain Parade - Depending on you ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 10:56:53 -0700 From: "Stacked Crooked" Subject: Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day well, her IQ is clearly below the requisite for the grasping of elementary logic. whether that's a third to a fifth of average, i don't know. it could be a good thing, i suppose: the "best and brightest" slaughtered five million indochinese, and the "worst and stupidest" haven't matched *that* track record -- at least not yet. hmmm...but you don't hold the same objection with, say, "the stones" or "the velvets"? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:10:15 -0700 From: "Jason R. Thornton" Subject: Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day At 07:22 PM 10/1/2006, Nuppy wrote: >So this Lawndart is a real person is he? How does one get a name >like Lawndart? Yes, I've met him; he's real. At 10:56 AM 10/2/2006, Stacked Crooked wrote: >Rice is an actual idiot, do you? I mean, like someone with an IQ a third to >a fifth of average? naaaahh....> > >well, her IQ is clearly below the requisite for the grasping of elementary >logic. whether that's a third to a fifth of average, i don't know. it >could be a good thing, i suppose: the "best and brightest" slaughtered five >million indochinese, and the "worst and stupidest" haven't matched *that* >track record -- at least not yet. She's still obviously about 1000 times smarter and more logical than you. So neener. - --Jason "Only the few know the sweetness of the twisted apples." - Sherwood Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 11:37:41 -0700 From: Eb Subject: My name is Eb, and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired > " and Chris > Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life ($3, vinyl)." > > I've had a very warped unplayable vinyl copy for years. Finally > bought it on CD. It's Ok, but I expected so much more after the 1st > 2 dB's albums which are nothing short of amazing. I've never heard another album which wanted to be Sister Lovers so badly. Particularly the track "Depth of Field," but really, ALL of it. I'm a bit disappointed with it too, but I don't regret buying it. Though I do wish I had found the CD instead, because of the bonus EP added. > I now see that his 1985 X-mas album is about to be re-re-released > with xtra tracks. That dB's X-mas song *is* damn good. Didn't it always have bonus tracks? I have the older East Side Digital issue, and it has 17 tracks. I got it for just $2 or $3 in a really awful, depressing, now-defunct secondhand record store which was generally only good for buying beat-up vinyl oldies. > PS: So this Lawndart is a real person is he? How does one get a > name like Lawndart? He chose it out of thousands. Didn't like the others...they were all too flat. reap: **The Futureheads Cancel Oct Tour Dates** We regret to have to inform you that The Futureheads upcoming US tour has been cancelled. It is with great sadness that I must tell you we have had to cancel our forthcoming US Tour, due to the development of Tendonitis in Barry's left wrist. He has been advised to rest and, as far as we can see, there is no way of us being able to make those shows work, given the state of his wrist. We are all deeply disappointed at having to pull the shows at such a late stage, but there is no way around it for us. Apologies to the people with tickets - we promise to get out to the US at the next available opportunity. The UK tour will not be affected by this given that there are some months progress toward recovery, and only rest will enable that. Thanks for your understanding - - Ross Millard (The Futureheads) Eb, sick sick sick ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 12:38:08 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day > hmmm...but you don't hold the same objection with, say, "the stones" or > "the velvets"? Is The Christies the whole name of the band? I'd never heard of them, I don't think. I never got to into Velvet Revolver, really... not the biggest Weiland fan, y'know. Lawndart's real, though. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 15:43:44 -0400 From: The Great Quail Subject: Three advances 1. I freaking love the new Beck. It sounds like the perfect distillation of everything that's good in the country of Beckistan. And yet mature and new. So listen, Tews: you go to hell, you go to hell and you die there. 2. "Ole Tarantula" freaking rules! Are we all in agreement on this? Best thing from Robyn in years, right? See you all in New York on November 17? 3. I am now listening to the Decemberist's "Crane Wife." It's.... So far, it's.... It's prog-folk. I am only halfway through the album, but it's definitely more "Tain" that "Picaresque." It's got more...keyboard, and electric guitar, and it's got bits and pieces of... Jethro Tull? Comus? Steeleye Span? Pentangle? I think this one will piss off some fans and delight others. Color me delighted. Disappointing cover, though. - --Quail PS: Seeing TOOL on Friday! So see, Eddie, I do love you! TOOL! FUUUUCK! This Friday! And Hank III on Wednesday! Jesus! PPS: Reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." Bleakest. Book. Ever. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 16:30:39 -0400 From: "Stewart Russell" Subject: Re: My name is "Eb", and today is my spacely-sprocket day Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > Lawndart's real, though. But prohibited from sale in Canada and the USA. Stewart - -- http://scruss.com/blog/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 13:50:21 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much On 10/2/06, Eb wrote: > > > " and Chris > > Stamey's It's a Wonderful Life ($3, vinyl)." > > > > I've had a very warped unplayable vinyl copy for years. Finally > > bought it on CD. It's Ok, but I expected so much more after the 1st > > 2 dB's albums which are nothing short of amazing. > > I've never heard another album which wanted to be Sister Lovers so > badly. Lotta competition on that field. > I now see that his 1985 X-mas album is about to be re-re-released > > with xtra tracks. That dB's X-mas song *is* damn good. > > Didn't it always have bonus tracks? I have the older East Side > Digital issue, and it has 17 tracks. > Surprisingly I don't know much about those Stamey records immediately. I only know that one Christmas song... was that a real full-length holiday record? I'd love to hear some of this, actually. I got it for just $2 or $3 in a > really awful, depressing, now-defunct secondhand record store which > was generally only good for buying beat-up vinyl oldies. > They're all now defunct. Sadly I can't even remember the names of half of them as my friends and I always seemed to agree upon some fake name for them, like "Record Anus"... I was just thinking about this place in Santa Monica that had a great 99-cent bin a decade or so ago, but all I could recall is that we referred to it as "Record Hell". Record Trader? Dunno. Think it was on Pico. I did just find a good shitty record store off the beaten path in Hollywood... picked up some Trotsky Icepick and Black Watch for less'n a dollar each, anyhow. I think I shall call it... "Record Infestation". What I'm really digging right now are some music blog finds of stuff, largely vinyl rips, about which I'd long been curious but never ran across in person, or at a reasonable cost. In particular The Pop Group and The Slits... really great stuff that fits in with my idea of That One Time When Almost Everything Sounded New and Good Before It All Got Ruined... non-blaring, polyrhythmic-yet-often spare semi-arty punk, which describes a lot of my favorite music ever. Both bands probably benefit from having folded before trends could overtake them (although I gather The Slits have reformed and TPG is nicely approximated by Bloc Party in the here and now). I've found a lot of great nearly-lost No Wave, a mixed bag of Paisley Underground stuff-- some great, some meh-- and I've been less impressed at first listen to some of the revered "cowpunk" pioneers (they tend to sound more like '80's jangle-garage bands did when they took the piss and did jokey country covers than your average later straight alt-country band, whatever the merits of the latter) but the jury's still out. Good NZ stuff, too. Meanwhile, surprisingly, a few of the less-lauded bands of the punk class of '77 have proven to have had more than just a single apiece in them. On the other hand, there don't seem to be too many more great lost '60's psych bands or singles that I don't already know. Alas. I have done a fair job of amassing a lot of the source material for Smylonylon, the early-Moog/intrumental pop/exotica/coral sitar/weird-shit cassette series I posted about in what must certainly have been some of my most popular fegmaniax writings of all the time, so go me. This is the kind of fun I get to have now that the divorce is finally winding down and the ex is no longer trying to hold my record collection, musical instruments, etc. for ransom in hilarious court hijinx. So again, go, me. In a couple of months I've plugged a lot of gaps in the collection for, like, free, leaving a surprisingly slim list of must-haves. Interestingly, certain performers seem to be more proactive in making sure their out-of-print material doesn't get disseminated... who'd thought that the Rich Kids, Band of Susans, Walter Sear, Holly & the Italians, and the Pale Saints (or their fans) would be so ardent in their pursuit of file trading? But so it seems. Robyn and/or the Soft Boys must be among the very few to land tracks on each of No Thanks ('70's Punk), Left of the Dial ('80's "Underground") and Children of Nuggets (overlapping psych-influenced shit from both periods) box sets. Kinda cool. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 13:59:03 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: Three advances On 10/2/06, The Great Quail wrote: > > 2. "Ole Tarantula" freaking rules! Are we all in agreement on this? Best > thing from Robyn in years, right? Gotta be. We have one skeptic who hasn't heard it yet, and otherwise universal delight. 3. I am now listening to the Decemberist's "Crane Wife." It's.... So far, > it's.... It's prog-folk. Looks like my acceptance of not liking them came not a moment too soon. Hey, does anyone know if The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is currently doing that Nightmare Before Christmas thing, or does that start next month or something? I'm taking the kids right before Halloween and was working on what to psych them up for. I just saw TNBC for the first time since it came out over the weekend, and was reminded of why I was disappointed in it initially despite the many things I remembered fondly: that is just plain way too much Danny Elfman music. Nonetheless, an interesting throwback to when songs were more essential to animated feature than feces. And the visual design... damn. Fascinatingly, halfway through the end credits was the word "Pixar" followed by just three names. Did they work on the motion control or compositing back then, or what? Weird. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 14:03:07 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Bleh No response from that seller who sent me the "Diamond Rio" CD yet. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 14:11:42 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: >> I've never heard another album which wanted to be Sister Lovers so >> badly. > > Lotta competition on that field. I don't know about that. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, OK.... Otherwise? > They're all now defunct. Sadly I can't even remember the names of > half of > them as my friends and I always seemed to agree upon some fake name > for > them, like "Record Anus"... I was just thinking about this place in > Santa > Monica that had a great 99-cent bin a decade or so ago, but all I > could > recall is that we referred to it as "Record Hell". Record Trader? > Dunno. Record Surplus? Eb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 14:46:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: Three advances Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > The Great Quail wrote: > > 2. "Ole Tarantula" freaking rules! Are we all in > > agreement on this? Best thing from Robyn in > > years, right? > > Gotta be. We have one skeptic who hasn't heard it > yet, and otherwise universal delight. Does merely liking it, but not quite as much as _Nextdoorland_ count as dissent? Three things I haven't seen mentioned yet: 1) How both "Belltown Ramble" and "Briggs" both in totally distinct ways are somewhat reminiscent of "Airscape," the tinkling piano bit almost sounding like the glass harmonica parts reggae-fied. 2) I know it was probably a last minute change from Minus 3 so as to avoid the possible problem of someone thinking there might be a McCaughey song in the mix, but couldn't they have come up with a better band name than The Venus 3? Especially since Red Locust Frenzy is sitting there right in front of them.... 3) "Museum of Sex" is too mannered and never quite gets off the ground. Maybe it needed a couple more years of watering/fertilizing to be album ready. I know it's over 10 years old at this point, but a Venus 3 recording of "Surfer Ghost" might have been a better choice (and the San Diego lyrics fit in with all the other West Coast references in the album's lyrics). I think Julian Cope once referred to one of this albums -- _Saint Julian_ maybe -- as being made by a three-car garage band, which seems like a pretty apt description. A bit more Kimberley would have been good. But it's a really good record. I also find it a little weird that the bonus CD is CD-Text encoded, but the album itself isn't. Not that big a deal really, just kinda funny. . Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:00:46 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: My name is SER, and here's a reminder of why you all hate me so much On 10/2/06, Eb wrote: > > Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > >> I've never heard another album which wanted to be Sister Lovers so > >> badly. > > > > Lotta competition on that field. > > I don't know about that. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, OK.... Otherwise? All Shook Down, for sure. Half of the entire American Music Club/Mark Eitzel catalog. Bob Mould's self-titled record. Key Lime Pie. The Rainy Day album (which admittedly contains covers of song from Sister Lovers). Electro-Shock Blues? Destiny Street? Maybe even Fables of the Reconstruction? To my mind there are oodles more, although maybe some of them were shooting for/ended up with Tonight's The Night or Exile on Main Street. Most downcast-sounding records resulting from sessions where the band fell the hell apart can't help but remind me of Sister Lovers, really, but that may be because I like that album more than, say Rumours: my reference points are skewed, such that Big Star (and Robyn for that matter) are part of the musical "Big Bang". > They're all now defunct. Sadly I can't even remember the names of > > half of > > them as my friends and I always seemed to agree upon some fake name > > for > > them, like "Record Anus"... I was just thinking about this place in > > Santa > > Monica that had a great 99-cent bin a decade or so ago, but all I > > could > > recall is that we referred to it as "Record Hell". Record Trader? > > Dunno. > > Record Surplus? Bingo. Thanks. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:13:52 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: Three advances On 10/2/06, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > > Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > > The Great Quail wrote: > > > 2. "Ole Tarantula" freaking rules! Are we all in > > > agreement on this? Best thing from Robyn in > > > years, right? > > > > Gotta be. We have one skeptic who hasn't heard it > > yet, and otherwise universal delight. > > Does merely liking it, but not quite as much as > _Nextdoorland_ count as dissent? Hmmm. I really don't want to be of the mindset that puts NDL in a separate box from solo RH, but it's hard not to. Three things I haven't seen mentioned yet: > > 1) How both "Belltown Ramble" and "Briggs" both in > totally distinct ways are somewhat reminiscent of > "Airscape," the tinkling piano bit almost sounding > like the glass harmonica parts reggae-fied. There is a serious "Airscape"/Element vibe everywhere here. Given Buck's presence, I'd expect it to feel more like an A&M record, but it's Element I keep coming back to. McCaughey does a few very Andy-ish basslines in places, I'm just now starting to notice. 2) I know it was probably a last minute change from > Minus 3 so as to avoid the possible problem of someone > thinking there might be a McCaughey song in the mix, > but couldn't they have come up with a better band name > than The Venus 3? Do we know if that's really the reason? If so, it's a lame reason, to say nothing of the name: can't fans of McCaughey be expected to be able to work this stuff out with a minumum of research/effort? I mean, the Minus 5 put out a record called "Down With Wilco", fergodsake. > 3) "Museum of Sex" is too mannered and never quite > gets off the ground. Maybe it needed a couple more > years of watering/fertilizing to be album ready. I love it. First time Robyn's ever had a bassline that reminds one of "The Lowrider". I'm sticking by my assessment of the lyrics as quintessential Robyn, in a good way. I > > know it's over 10 years old at this point, but a Venus > 3 recording of "Surfer Ghost" might have been a better > choice (and the San Diego lyrics fit in with all the > other West Coast references in the album's lyrics). I agree. I also agree with whoever said that NY Doll is not the best album closer ever... but if you sequence "Embryo Twirl" as track 11, you're in pretty good shape. A bit more Kimberley would have been > good. But it's a really good record. A little more Kim-- he really brings the penultimat track alive-- and a little more Robyn soloing would be cool, but both are really judiciously employed... it's a tightly sequenced album, I think. - -SER ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:53:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeff Dwarf Subject: Re: Three advances Spotted Eagle Ray wrote: > On 10/2/06, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > > Does merely liking it, but not quite as much as > > _Nextdoorland_ count as dissent? > > Hmmm. I really don't want to be of the mindset that > puts NDL in a separate box from solo RH, but it's > hard not to. Hmm. I've always had a hard time with the idea that "The Soft Boys" and "Robyn Hitchcock" should be thought of as these two completely distinct things as some people seem to. Obviously, The Soft Boys had a distinct style (well, two given the contrasts in Andy and Matthew's bass playing), but they were still a band playing Robyn's songs, and Robyn's songwriting had a fairly consistant arc from UM to BSNR, and then NDL fits in fairly well between JFS and Spooked. > > 2) I know it was probably a last minute change > > from Minus 3 so as to avoid the possible problem > > of someone thinking there might be a McCaughey > > song in the mix, but couldn't they have come up > > with a better band name than The Venus 3? > > Do we know if that's really the reason? I'm just speculating, but the decision smells like a concession to the HBIC@YepRoc sort of decision, and then they needed something that would only take up as much space as the word Minus on the sleeve, thus Venus. It's not that big a deal, I suppose, but Venus 3 is a crappy name for a band. Or anything else, really. > If so, it's a lame reason, to say nothing of the > name: can't fans of McCaughey be expected to be > able to work this stuff out with a minumum of > research/effort? I mean, the Minus 5 put > out a record called "Down With Wilco", fergodsake. I was thinking more of the problem with record store clerks. And Down With Wilco did have a Jeff Tweedy lead vocal on it ("Family Gardener"). > I agree. I also agree with whoever said that NY > Doll is not the best album closer ever... I actually think "NY Doll" is a good final track. A big abrupt, but that could have been remedied pretty easily with a bit of studio noise. It and "Underground Sun" are probably my two favorite songs on the album, at least at this point. > but if you sequence "Embryo Twirl" as track 11, > you're in pretty good shape. I don't know. "ET" is okay, but it really feels like a b-side to me. Nice enough, but really kinda Robyn-by-numbers. > > A bit more Kimberley would have been > > good. But it's a really good record. > A little more Kim-- he really brings the penultimat > track alive-- and a little more Robyn soloing would > be cool, but both are really judiciously > employed... it's a tightly sequenced album, I think. I think Kimberley on "ARS" and maybe "Briggs" could have pushed them completely over. Both are really good now, but I think Kimberley could have sent them completely into the Ionosphere. But it's a fairly minor quibble. Better to wish there was a bit more Kimberley than to wish that he wasn't splattered all over, say, "Ramble" (not that Kimberley can't contain himself, but why bother with making Kimberley contain himself since that's pretty much what Peter Buck does best -- and that's no slight on Pete, of course). . Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 16:34:27 -0700 From: "Spotted Eagle Ray" Subject: Re: Three advances On 10/2/06, Jeff Dwarf wrote: > > Hmm. I've always had a hard time with the idea that > "The Soft Boys" and "Robyn Hitchcock" should be > thought of as these two completely distinct things as > some people seem to. Obviously, The Soft Boys had a > distinct style (well, two given the contrasts in Andy > and Matthew's bass playing), but they were still a > band playing Robyn's songs, and Robyn's songwriting > had a fairly consistant arc from UM to BSNR, and then > NDL fits in fairly well between JFS and Spooked. I tend to agree, it's more continuous than not. But for some reason I can't quite pin down, I *do* think of NDL as a separate thing, like a parallel universe. It may be because there is practically no corner of Robyn's solo output where anyone but he himself plays the lead instrument. Sure, there are exceptions here and there, but for the most part, from BSDR to OT, the non-vocal instrument taking the "lead" part has been played by RH. That's not a cogent argument or anything, just me trying to rationalize my gut feeling. > It's not that big a deal, I suppose, but Venus > 3 is a crappy name for a band. Or anything else, > really. Well, yeah. I'm surprised we haven't seen a subject line alluding the the Peenis 3 yet. > I was thinking more of the problem with record store > clerks. And Down With Wilco did have a Jeff Tweedy > lead vocal on it ("Family Gardener"). True, but I'm starting to see screwing with the band name/identity as a general McCaughey-collective thing... cf. the YFF and M5 either releasing the same record at the same time or two records glued together or however you choose to view that thingy. I actually think "NY Doll" is a good final track. A > big abrupt, but that could have been remedied pretty > easily with a bit of studio noise. It and "Underground > Sun" are probably my two favorite songs on the album, > at least at this point. I think my problem with "NY Doll" is not that it is a bad song-- it isn't-- but that its inspiration seems a little obvious; it's clear that Robyn wrote the song about Arthur Kane because of the film about him, and the film-- admittedly maybe just in my spheres of interest, among my friends and in the press I tend to read-- was really high-profile, which just sort of takes me out of it in a way that a Robyn name-drop usually doesn't: think Arthur Lee, Gene Hackman, Tamerlane, Nick Lowe, Harrison Ford, Brian Jones, Eazy-E, etc., all of which seem like totally out-there references which couldn't have come from anyone but Robyn. That said, listening to "NY Doll" does make me think that if RH's songwriting veered towards these kind of more-character-study, less-spleens-a-go-go tunes, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Again, it's a good song. I don't know. "ET" is okay, but it really feels like a > b-side to me. Nice enough, but really kinda > Robyn-by-numbers. It increases my EOL-like mileage, so I like it on there. I think Kimberley on "ARS" and maybe "Briggs" could > have pushed them completely over. Both are really good > now, but I think Kimberley could have sent them > completely into the Ionosphere. Another thing to consider: had Kimberley been on every track, you'd miss his parts like crazy at the live shows. - -SER ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V15 #229 ********************************