From: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org (harbinger-digest) To: harbinger-digest@smoe.org Subject: harbinger-digest V5 #89 Reply-To: harbinger@smoe.org Sender: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-harbinger-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk harbinger-digest Thursday, May 25 2000 Volume 05 : Number 089 HARBINGER DIGEST To post, mail harbinger@smoe.org To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger-digest To get list info file, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info harbinger-digest Today's Subjects: ---------------- Re: (harbinger) The "I Believe In Love" Remixes [Honoku@aol.com] (harbinger) Remix reflecting Sound [steven.stewart@nokia.com] (harbinger) RE: Marketing IBIL Remixes [Paul Zastrow ] (harbinger) REVIEW: The "IBIL" Remixes ["K.C." ] (harbinger) Marketing The IBIL Remixes ["K.C." ] Re: (harbinger) Marketing The IBIL Remixes [Brian C ] (harbinger) Old and New...Hopeful and Tragic... [ThaliumAngel@cs.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 08:34:16 EDT From: Honoku@aol.com Subject: Re: (harbinger) The "I Believe In Love" Remixes In a message dated 5/24/2000 2:11:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time, ad397@barnard.edu writes: << would they expect dance music from paula and on amen? would people go out and get the cd in expectations of a dancier album? the IBIL remixes are awesome, but not too reflective of paula's sound... anyone agree or agree to disagree? >> have you ever danced to amen the song ? it is really fun. steve - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 15:43:41 +0300 From: steven.stewart@nokia.com Subject: (harbinger) Remix reflecting Sound I ran into this problem when AMY GRANT's "Heart in Motion" came out many many moons ago. Amys people had COMPLETELY reworked all of her singles so that they were almost unrecognizable from the album versions. People went to buy the album and were surprized that it didn't sound like what was on the radio. But the point was, it was a PHENOMENAL success in a way LEAD ME ON was supposed to be and never was. It worked. And even though some people were disappointed, she still gained a ton of new fans. If AMEN weren't such a big dud with a truckload of unsold copies, I would recommend that WB re-release the album with a few bonus tracks (including the remix for IBIL) They did that here TWICE with Sheryl Crow's last studio album. The original pressing, a second pressing with an extra acoustic CD, and a third pressing with "Sweet Child O Mine" added. The last pressing was the most successful here, too! Jewel also rereleased her debut album with the single remixes on them since they were so different from the studio version. But I still feel that AMEN had it's chance and for whatever reason, it died. It is far past the time where it can be revived without a miracle. Though I wish PEARL could do it...it won't. And no matter HOW good of a remix BE SOMEBODY would get (did they ever finish the remixes?), I just don't think that song could do it. The only album that did that in recent memory was Sofie Hawkins song from WHALER that saved it from extinction. The song was a hit, but the album still didn't recover. (But I think it DID get her another chance instead of having the label drop her.) So I'm wishing for Paula to do some living, experiencing, and writing and get back in the studio with the same pressure and fire that created the best of Harbinger, This Fire, and yes, I Believe in Love & Pearl. I don't want to hear her whining of ex managers. I don't want the "ARTIST" in her postponing a video or single release indefinately because she isn't satisfied it's perfect. Shoot me for blaspheme, but I just wish Paula would get in touch with PRINCE and see what they could come up with. OW! Billy Joe and Darling Nikki? hahaha! Steven from Helsinki http://www.mp3.com/fakefinn - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 10:11:08 -0500 From: Paul Zastrow Subject: (harbinger) RE: Marketing IBIL Remixes April wrote: > i agree with you kenn, shelving the remixes was a bad > idea, but if they were made more commercial would the new paula cole fans > and the ones with britney spears memory spans (i.e. what is i don't want > to wait and cowboys?) would they expect dance music from paula and on > amen? would people go out and get the cd in expectations of a dancier > album? the IBIL remixes are awesome, but not too reflective of paula's > sound... anyone agree or agree to disagree? I'm trying to imagine a record company _not_ wanting to market a song because they believe it's atypical to the rest of the album... Naahhh! :) I wish I could agree with you, April, but you're giving record companies _waaay_ too much credit -- whatever sells, baby! How often have you bought a CD for the single and found the rest of the album sucks? I can't tell you how badly I want a CD burner so I can combine these one-hit wonders onto one CD and sell the originals. Until then, though, just a lot of extra space in my CD rack. Kenn -- any plans to put some samples of the newly cut IBIL lyrics somewhere where fans can hear them? - - Paul - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 15:06:57 -0400 From: "K.C." Subject: (harbinger) REVIEW: The "IBIL" Remixes *DISC 1* 1. Karsh Kale's Boy-n-C Mix: This is a straightforward house mix that makes a lot of use of the work done by the string section employed on "IBIL.' The name pretty much says it all - "Boy-n-C" - buoyancy. Get it? It's a bouncy, swirling mix with a mid-range gay club dance beat (y'know... the largely overused quarter-note boom boom boom boom boom). 2. Karsh Kale's Ayaz Remix: A smooth trance mix, but thankfully not the extent of the "WHATCG?" Sylkscreen mixes. The Ayaz mix is much more of a club (dance) mix, but as I mentioned yesterday, Kale did a lot of beautiful synth work here that gives the mix a decidedly Moroccan flair with a light disco space age touch that modernizes the piece enough to have made it a hit at the clubs. For those in the U.S. (and perhaps elsewhere in the world if you see our TV commercials), you can get a pretty good idea of the sound of this mix if you've seen a particular commercial (from Philips-Magnovox, I think - it's whoever uses the slogan "I've got to admit it's getting better... getting better all the time.") which features a young ethnocentric guy who records his own rave CD (using his home CD burner). He goes to a club where rave music is booming, hands the CD to the DJ and proceeds to the dance floor where he is joined by a young equally ethnocentric woman who has been sitting alone on a sofa while everyone danced. The pair then starts to dance wildly to this rather strange, Middle Eastern trance mix. I don't know that this remix would have necessarily enjoyed much play at the clubs. I say that only because there is an artistic lean to the way this remix was arranged. A great deal of attention seems to have paid to creating a mix that was as melodic (via synth and what seems to be moog arrangement) as it is hypnotic (via the bass line and drum machine). This is my favorite mix from the set. 3. Original: The album version. Boy, does it seem pared down when heard along with a couple of hours of remixes! 4. Yogi Master BD Down: 5. Yogi Master BD Normal: These mixes are quite similar so I'm lumping them together. The flavor of these mixes is mostly a Miami sound with heavy use of really nicely placed bongo beats (think of the dance mix of "Everlasting Love" by Gloria Estefan - only a lot more house and lot less pop). My preference is the Yogi Master BD Down mix, but only because the energy seems higher on that track. 6. Voc Up (.5db) 7. Voc Down (1db): Tracks 6 could probably stand its own as a decent remix, but it seems pretty clear that these tracks were used as the foundation for the Yogi Master tracks. The only real difference between tracks 6 & 7 is the volume of the vocals. 8. Instrumental: It's not the instrumental portion of the album version of IBIL (as I first assumed). It's an instrumental remix that has the longest running time of any of Kale's IBIL mixes. Very nice all on its own. *DISC 2* 1. Jonathan's Anthem Radio Mix 2. Jonathan's Anthem Mix 3. Jonathan's Gentle Radio (Intro A) 4. Jonathan's Gentle Mix I've already reviewed the full-length versions of these mixes in a past post to the list, so I won't rehash it here. The only difference between the radio mixes and the club mixes is elapsed time. Naturally, the radio mixes are considerably shorter than the club mixes. One thing I did notice that wasn't as clear to me before is that Jonathan's Anthem Mix is arranged in an all-out jungle style. The Gentle Mix follows the same jungle tone, but it is markedly toned down from the Anthem Mix - almost to the point of being a basic house mix. 5. J.P.'s Milennium Dub And here's the rave mix. Full on, balls-to-the-wall rave music. The beat, the synths, the vocals... all of it has been arranged in the rave style. Driving rhythm, lots of repetition, staccato drum machine beats. I can't say I like it as much as some of the other mixes, but only because Peters ran a lot of Paula's vocals through a mixer that threw really sharp, staticky metallic distortion into her voice. The resulting dissonance just isn't appealing to me. 6. J.P.'s Milennium Beats The second instrumental piece from this set. It's not just the instrumental version of the Milennium Dub; instead, it appears to have been created for DJ use as transitional music for J.P.'s Milennium Dub. 7. J.P.'s Smooth Mix Much as Jonathan's Gentle Mix is a mellower version of the rambunctious Anthem Mix, so too is J.P.'s Smooth mix a watered down version of J.P.'s Millenium Dub. For those who don't care to give themselves a coronary episode trying to get their body to keep up with the rave version. ;^) As I mentioned yesterday, Paula completely rerecorded her vocals for these DJs. In addition to the original lyrics being sung differently (re: notes, not words), she also gave both of these guys a truckload of freeform diva vocalizations and rhythmic beatbox stuff to work through the mixes. What Kale used in his mixes, Peters didn't use in his, or in some instances, one used what the other used but he changed the timing, repetition and/or placement of the vocals to give the mix a unique face. A lot of creativity was spent in the production of the IBIL mixes - - too much to have been wasted. Now that I've heard the mixes, it seems likely that a request was made of the DJs to try to come with as wide a variety of club mix styles as they could so that Paula and WBros. could decide what was going to be used and what wasn't. Kale and Peters managed to cover the gamut - house, Miami style, jungle, trance, rave. It's a close race, but I'd pick Karsh Kale as the winner in this mix-off based solely on style. The vibe evokes with his remixing contributions is considerably more unique than that of Peters, whose work is closer to mainstream club mixing. That's not to say Peters mixes aren't phenomenal. I still love the Anthem Mix (in fact, it would be my second favorite from this CD set), but, for me, he falls just short of Kale. This post is already really long, so I'll cut it short here and respond in a separate email to the other posts that came in yesterday. Kenn - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 17:38:23 -0400 From: "K.C." Subject: (harbinger) Marketing The IBIL Remixes April wrote: >> you know that the IBIL remixes are fixtures on the new york city station >> ktu 103.5 Yes, and my hat is off to KTU for that. They are the ONLY radio station in NYC that has ever played the remixes. Everyone else dropped Paula like a hot potato, with the exception of WFUV who carried her live show for World Cafe recently (live from Indre Studios). But then, NYC radio is undeniably the worst in the country so I'm not that surprised. Even KTU is mostly bad freestyle crap, but at least they did one thing right in carrying Paula's song. >> would they expect dance music from paula and on amen? would people go >> out and get the cd in expectations of a dancier album? As far as what the consumers would expect, yes... I do think that people would expect Amen. was going to be a much different album if they bought the album based on the IBIL remixes. Back when Amen. was first released, I couldn't understand what Paula was talking about when she said she wanted to make an album that would inspire fans to dance around their living rooms. There's only one track on the album that comes close to being danceable in its album version - and that's IBIL. Admittedly, I've never tried dancing to Amen, Steve, so I can neither confirm nor deny it's danceability. I'll just have to take your word for it for now. In my head, though, it seems like that'd be a tough song for me to get down, get next to my bad self with. Too subdued and swaying to work up a sweat on the floor. >> the IBIL remixes are awesome, but not too reflective of paula's sound... >> anyone agree or agree to disagree? I agree and disagree. I agree that the IBIL remixes don't reflect the sound of the rest of Amen. However, I disagree in that I think the sound on the remixes is probably closer to the heart and soul of Paula's musical background and overall sound. Paul asked: >> Kenn -- any plans to put some samples of the newly cut IBIL lyrics >> somewhere where fans can hear them? Not at this time. I don't have the ability to do it right now and, due to the rarity and value of the CDS, I'm not willing to let them out of my possession for an outside party to facilitate it for me. Probably later when more of the website is finished I'll get around to it. I just lost a lot of work due to a system mishap at the office, so I'm trying to catch up now. I'm working from a partial backup, which is almost as difficult as starting over from scratch. Kenn - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 16:39:01 -0700 (PDT) From: Brian C Subject: Re: (harbinger) Marketing The IBIL Remixes One question... How'd you get your hands on this??? - -Bri - --- "K.C." wrote: > April wrote: > > >> you know that the IBIL remixes are fixtures on > the new york city > station > >> ktu 103.5 > > Yes, and my hat is off to KTU for that. They are > the ONLY radio station > in NYC that has ever played the remixes. Everyone > else dropped Paula > like a hot potato, with the exception of WFUV who > carried her live show > for World Cafe recently (live from Indre Studios). > But then, NYC radio > is undeniably the worst in the country so I'm not > that surprised. Even > KTU is mostly bad freestyle crap, but at least they > did one thing right > in carrying Paula's song. > > >> would they expect dance music from paula and on > amen? would people go > > >> out and get the cd in expectations of a dancier > album? > > As far as what the consumers would expect, yes... I > do think that people > would expect Amen. was going to be a much different > album if they bought > the album based on the IBIL remixes. Back when > Amen. was first > released, I couldn't understand what Paula was > talking about when she > said she wanted to make an album that would inspire > fans to dance around > their living rooms. There's only one track on the > album that comes > close to being danceable in its album version - and > that's IBIL. > > Admittedly, I've never tried dancing to Amen, Steve, > so I can neither > confirm nor deny it's danceability. I'll just have > to take your word > for it for now. In my head, though, it seems like > that'd be a tough > song for me to get down, get next to my bad self > with. Too subdued and > swaying to work up a sweat on the floor. > > >> the IBIL remixes are awesome, but not too > reflective of paula's > sound... > >> anyone agree or agree to disagree? > > I agree and disagree. I agree that the IBIL remixes > don't reflect the > sound of the rest of Amen. However, I disagree in > that I think the > sound on the remixes is probably closer to the heart > and soul of Paula's > musical background and overall sound. > > Paul asked: > > >> Kenn -- any plans to put some samples of the > newly cut IBIL lyrics > >> somewhere where fans can hear them? > > Not at this time. I don't have the ability to do it > right now and, due > to the rarity and value of the CDS, I'm not willing > to let them out of > my possession for an outside party to facilitate it > for me. Probably > later when more of the website is finished I'll get > around to it. I > just lost a lot of work due to a system mishap at > the office, so I'm > trying to catch up now. I'm working from a partial > backup, which is > almost as difficult as starting over from scratch. > > Kenn > > > > > ------------------------------ > To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: > unsubscribe harbinger > > Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above > instruction will > work for your EVERY time. > > Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: > http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 19:59:10 EDT From: "Kenneth Carpenter" Subject: Re: (harbinger) Marketing The IBIL Remixes Brian asked: >>One question... >>How'd you get your hands on this??? I was the highest bidder on Ebay. K. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 20:12:05 -0400 From: "K.C." Subject: (harbinger) REVIEW: The "IBIL" Remixes - Pt. II *DISC 2* 1. Jonathan's Anthem Radio Mix 2. Jonathan's Anthem Mix 3. Jonathan's Gentle Radio (Intro A) 4. Jonathan's Gentle Mix I've already reviewed the full-length versions of these mixes in a past post to the list, so I won't rehash it here. The only difference between the radio mixes and the club mixes is elapsed time. Naturally, the radio mixes are considerably shorter than the club mixes. One thing I did notice that wasn't as clear to me before is that Jonathan's Anthem Mix is arranged in an all-out jungle style. The Gentle Mix follows the same jungle tone, but it is markedly toned down from the Anthem Mix - almost to the point of being a basic house mix. 5. J.P.'s Milennium Dub And here's the rave mix. Full on, balls-to-the-wall rave music. The beat, the synths, the vocals... all of it has been arranged in the rave style. Driving rhythm, lots of repetition, staccato drum machine beats. I can't say I like it as much as some of the other mixes, but only because Peters ran a lot of Paula's vocals through a mixer that threw really sharp, staticky metallic distortion into her voice. The resulting dissonance just isn't appealing to me. 6. J.P.'s Milennium Beats The second instrumental piece from this set. It's not just the instrumental version of the Milennium Dub; instead, it appears to have been created for DJ use as transitional music for J.P.'s Milennium Dub. 7. J.P.'s Smooth Mix Much as Jonathan's Gentle Mix is a mellower version of the rambunctious Anthem Mix, so too is J.P.'s Smooth mix a watered down version of J.P.'s Millenium Dub. For those who don't care to give themselves a coronary episode trying to get their body to keep up with the rave version. ;^) As I mentioned yesterday, Paula completely rerecorded her vocals for these DJs. In addition to the original lyrics being sung differently (re: notes, not words), she also gave both of these guys a truckload of freeform diva vocalizations and rhythmic beatbox stuff to work through the mixes. What Kale used in his mixes, Peters didn't use in his, or in some instances, one used what the other used but he changed the timing, repetition and/or placement of the vocals to give the mix a unique face. A lot of creativity was spent in the production of the IBIL mixes - - too much to have been wasted. Now that I've heard the mixes, it seems likely that a request was made of the DJs to try to come with as wide a variety of club mix styles as they could so that Paula and WBros. could decide what was going to be used and what wasn't. Kale and Peters managed to cover the gamut - house, Miami style, jungle, trance, rave. It's a close race, but I'd pick Karsh Kale as the winner in this mix-off based solely on style. The vibe evokes with his remixing contributions is considerably more unique than that of Peters, whose work is closer to mainstream club mixing. That's not to say Peters mixes aren't phenomenal. I still love the Anthem Mix (in fact, it would be my second favorite from this CD set), but, for me, he falls just short of Kale. Kenn - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 20:11:37 -0400 From: "K.C." Subject: (harbinger) REVIEW: The "IBIL" Remixes - Pt. I I sent this out earlier, but it looks like the majordomo's little brain can't handle a post this long. That's why it's now a two-part post.... *DISC 1* 1. Karsh Kale's Boy-n-C Mix: This is a straightforward house mix that makes a lot of use of the work done by the string section employed on "IBIL.' The name pretty much says it all - "Boy-n-C" - buoyancy. Get it? It's a bouncy, swirling mix with a mid-range gay club dance beat (y'know... the largely overused quarter-note boom boom boom boom boom). 2. Karsh Kale's Ayaz Remix: A smooth trance mix, but thankfully not the extent of the "WHATCG?" Sylkscreen mixes. The Ayaz mix is much more of a club (dance) mix, but as I mentioned yesterday, Kale did a lot of beautiful synth work here that gives the mix a decidedly Moroccan flair with a light disco space age touch that modernizes the piece enough to have made it a hit at the clubs. For those in the U.S. (and perhaps elsewhere in the world if you see our TV commercials), you can get a pretty good idea of the sound of this mix if you've seen a particular commercial (from Philips-Magnovox, I think - it's whoever uses the slogan "I've got to admit it's getting better... getting better all the time.") which features a young ethnocentric guy who records his own rave CD (using his home CD burner). He goes to a club where rave music is booming, hands the CD to the DJ and proceeds to the dance floor where he is joined by a young equally ethnocentric woman who has been sitting alone on a sofa while everyone danced. The pair then starts to dance wildly to this rather strange, Middle Eastern trance mix. I don't know that this remix would have necessarily enjoyed much play at the clubs. I say that only because there is an artistic lean to the way this remix was arranged. A great deal of attention seems to have paid to creating a mix that was as melodic (via synth and what seems to be moog arrangement) as it is hypnotic (via the bass line and drum machine). This is my favorite mix from the set. 3. Original: The album version. Boy, does it seem pared down when heard along with a couple of hours of remixes! 4. Yogi Master BD Down: 5. Yogi Master BD Normal: These mixes are quite similar so I'm lumping them together. The flavor of these mixes is mostly a Miami sound with heavy use of really nicely placed bongo beats (think of the dance mix of "Everlasting Love" by Gloria Estefan - only a lot more house and lot less pop). My preference is the Yogi Master BD Down mix, but only because the energy seems higher on that track. 6. Voc Up (.5db) 7. Voc Down (1db): Tracks 6 could probably stand its own as a decent remix, but it seems pretty clear that these tracks were used as the foundation for the Yogi Master tracks. The only real difference between tracks 6 & 7 is the volume of the vocals. 8. Instrumental: It's not the instrumental portion of the album version of IBIL (as I first assumed). It's an instrumental remix that has the longest running time of any of Kale's IBIL mixes. Very nice all on its own. more to come... - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 20:17:55 -0400 From: "K.C." Subject: (harbinger) RE: Remix reflecting Sound My Devil in Helsinki wrote: >> If AMEN weren't such a big dud with a truckload of unsold copies, I would >> recommend that WB re-release the album with a few bonus tracks (including >> the remix for IBIL) The idea of a rerelease sounds good to me in a way, but as you said, Amen. is a big dud. A few missed opportunities took what good have been an album with something resembling a respectable reception and tossed it down the toilet. This wasn't that strong an album to start with. It's even weaker today. >> But I still feel that AMEN had it's chance and for whatever reason, it died. >> It is far past the time where it can be revived without a miracle. Though I >> wish PEARL could do it...it won't. The way I've begun to see it is that Amen. passed by almost entirely unnoticed, which in some ways is probably even worse than having an album making a big splashy mess of itself somewhere off the bottom of the Billboard 200. Amen. went out with a whimper. I feel that at this stage of her career, Amen. will go down as Paula's most unmemorable work to date -- a lot of excellent production spent on trite, forced, pseudo-philosophical lyrics. >> And no matter HOW good of a remix BE SOMEBODY would get (did they >> ever finish the remixes?), I just don't think that song could do it. Well, it's strange... a new batch of DJ promo copies of "Be Somebody" have been turning up on Ebay. The first release to radio of "Be Somebody" was the Bonfires CD. That showed up on the scene months after "IBIL" was released to radio. And, of course, WBros. never gave the go-ahead for DJs to put it into rotation, so that became the 2nd Radio Release That Never Was (the "Amen" single was first). Then we went for a couple more months with not so much as a murmur from "Be Somebody". Now, in the past week or so, I've seen three new items related to "BS": (a) a WBros. test-pressing CD single, (b) the 2-track regular DJ promo (album version & radio edit) and, most recently, (c) a 3-track DJ promo, which includes a radio remix, a regular remix and an album edit. I'm have to assume that they aren't ready to give up the ghost just yet. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for the rerelease of "Be Somebody" promos to radio stations. Does it matter at this point? Probably not. Like Steven, I just don't see where they could go next anyway. Unlikely a premise as it is, say they did rerelease the entire album with the additional remixes and all of America went crazy for "Be Somebody" and the album starting flying off the shelves. What's would the follow-up to "Be Somebody" be? "Pearl" would be great, but it's not radio friendly. "Amen" is more radio friendly, but the fans and critics alike have lambasted that song for its silly content. It's not honest and credible enough to hold the attention of most of the adult alternative set and it's too heady for the Britney Brigade. So where's the audience for the single going to come from? >> So I'm wishing for Paula to do some living, experiencing, and writing You were more diplomatic (maybe even kinder) than I'm going to be. Honestly, I think that investing some effort on maturing as a person wouldn't hurt her. At her age and given more than 10 years of steady experience in songwriting (not to mention her intense interest in metaphysical/religious studies), Paula should be able to write better lyrics than what she produced for Amen. She might not be in the same place emotionally that she was when she wrote the songs for This Fire (she says she didn't want to do another "angry" album this time), but at least the songwriting there was mostly quality stuff that didn't focus so melodramatically on her tortured psyche or her liberal politics. I know those last few comments and those to follow are going to sound harsh to some of you, but as much as I love Paula's music and respect her a musician, there's another side of me (yeah, I'm complex, too) that rankles at her behavior sometimes. In this instance, I think she just needs to grow up. C'mon... "I'm siphoning gas from the high school bus"?? How old is she again? That's right - she's 32 years old. A year older than me. And I'm supposed to connect to this song when I know damned well Paula Cole is a long way off from having to siphon gas from any vehicle in order to get from point A to point B? And let's say she did need to siphon gas from a high school bus... where precisely in the Chelsea district of Manhattan did she find this school bus? She's not writing about the present. Instead she seems greatly fixated on her distant past. That's just one of my complaints, as you've all already heard before, but it's just that kind of lyric that instantly shuts me down when I'm listening to a song. Once the credibility is gone, so is the ability to connect emotionally. I'd much prefer to hear more music from her that has to do with where she is now and where she thinks she'd like to go in the future than having to go through one more song that gives her a chance to pout about how rough high school was for her (let it go already!) or how she feels so small in this great big universe. For instance, how many of you have heard Sarah McLachlan's "Witness" from her album Surfacing? Now, to me, THAT is an excellent song that paints a fiery watercolor of spiritual sentiment and encapsulates much of the feeling I think Paula was going for in "Amen." But, where Sarah's song was well-crafted, Paula's tripped over its own feet because she tried too hard to say something or be somebody or whatever she was trying to do. Anyway... I'll stop the tirade now. I don't want to piss anyone off any more than I probably already have, but that's honestly how I feel. Would I say these things to her in person? A few months ago, I would have probably tempered my comments, but at this point I think I'd speak my mind if given the opportunity. I guess I've done some growing up of my own. >> get back in the studio with the same pressure and fire that created the best >> of Harbinger, This Fire, and yes, I Believe in Love & Pearl. I don't want >> to hear her whining of ex managers. I don't want the "ARTIST" in her >> postponing a video or single release indefinately because she isn't >> satisfied it's perfect. Yes, yes, yes. The fingerpointing has got to stop. That index finger of hers seems to be directed everywhere but back at herself. Granted, she's within her rights to point fingers at WBros., Carter, her new manager (I'm going to start calling him Manager X if someone doesn't come up with a name soon) and probably a few others for how this album has tanked, but she's not publicly taking responsibility for her own part in it. That's a problem. And it does sound whiny. "Petulant" was a word I used to describe her behavior recently. The perfectionism is something I don't think will probably ever go away in her. Ultimately, I think that could be a good thing. I'm glad she's concerned about putting out a viable, respectable product. Too many others don't give a damn. But she does take it too far sometimes. Moderation. That's what I wish for her. Knowing when to hold 'em and knowing when to fold 'em. Hopefully she'll figure out soon that it's time to fold 'em and run. There's more music to make. >> Shoot me for blaspheme, but I just wish Paula would get in touch with >> PRINCE and see what they could come up with. OW! Billy Joe and Darling >> Nikki? hahaha! As far as I'm concerned (personal heresies aside), that's far from blasphemy, Steven. In fact, in light of recent events, I think that Prince's fingers in the pie would qualify as fortuitous stroke of divine intervention. Kenn - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 21:53:47 EDT From: ThaliumAngel@cs.com Subject: (harbinger) Old and New...Hopeful and Tragic... Hey fellow Harbinger's!!! It's been quite a while since I have been able to post to the list...for those of you who have been here a while this is Zia or ZiaMiChelle who whatever you may know me by. I've been a huge follower of Paula for about 5 yrs now I think and I was turned onto her music by Jimmy Mac. Thanks Jim for being there and enlightening my life...email me and let me know how you are sometime. I just wanted to drop in and say hello to all of you. It has been a long time! There has been a lot of talk on the list about how far 'Amen' is going to go compared to 'This Fire' and I am one to say I am not impressed with how 'Amen' has been marketed. "IBIL' was never picked up by any of the local radio stations where I live in Louisiana. I do know however that Paula does get considerable airplay on Wal-mart radio and it is nice to hear "IBIL' while I am working about 3 am in the morning. The song plays on Wal-mart radio several times a night and I only know this cause I am very good at hearing it out of all the crap that comes on the radio while I am working. I think it is sad that Paula's not being promoted as hard as 'This Fire' but I fear that the only reason Paula actually was accepted was because of the promotional use of 'WHATCG'. I am wondering if anyone has the lyrics to 'Amen' and if so if anyone would please send me a copy of them. Anyone know if Paula is doing alot of casino shows and what the possibility of her being in Louisiana is?? I am so wanting to see her again live. Amen for now... MiChelle - ------------------------------ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe harbinger Btw, if you are an AOL subscriber the above instruction will work for your EVERY time. Digest, further unsub and problems FAQ at: http://www.netaxs.com/~jgreshes/lists/harbinger.html ------------------------------ End of harbinger-digest V5 #89 ******************************