From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V1 #7 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Tuesday, March 10 1998 Volume 01 : Number 007 Today's Subjects: ----------------- field day for the mondays [Miles Goosens ] Re: field day for the mondays [Stewart Mason ] Re: field day for the mondays ["JH3" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 09:04:56 -0600 From: Miles Goosens Subject: field day for the mondays Well, today you can find Idealcopy on Liszt, and we've been on the UBL for the past ten days, so new friends should begin to trickle in sooner or later. Andrew, how about including the list's existence in your "recent changes" section of the Wire page -- I know you've got us in the "important stuff" links (and thanks for that!) but unless a previous visitor revisits your links section, they won't know realize that we're here to be found. Actual music content: though describing artists as "band x crossed with band y" is often lazy reviewing, it also often helps the reader (provided they know bands x and y) get a handle on the artist's sound quicker than anything else short of actual listening. I always have trouble describing Wire in those terms because even at their PINK FLAG punkiest, their subject matter and meters didn't sound like their contemporaries, and they quickly moved into a genre unto themselves with CHAIRS MISSING. So how do you describe Wire's music to uninitiated friends and acquaintances? later, Miles =============================================================== Miles K. Goosens The views expressed in this work: miles.goosens@fanb.com message are almost home: outdoorminer@mindspring.com certainly not those of First American Nat'l Bank =============================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 12:19:53 -0700 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: field day for the mondays At 09:04 AM 3/9/98 -0600, Miles Goosens wrote: >Actual music content: though describing artists as "band x crossed with >band y" is often lazy reviewing, it also often helps the reader (provided >they know bands x and y) get a handle on the artist's sound quicker than >anything else short of actual listening. I always have trouble describing >Wire in those terms because even at their PINK FLAG punkiest, their subject >matter and meters didn't sound like their contemporaries, and they quickly >moved into a genre unto themselves with CHAIRS MISSING. So how do you >describe Wire's music to uninitiated friends and acquaintances? I normally use the words "angular" and/or "minimalistic" in the course of my descriptions, stress their sense of humor (which I don't think enough people have mentioned--I quite often find Wire very funny), and mention that their songs usually have indelible hooks. Stewart *****************************FLAMINGO RECORDS**************************** Stewart Mason | Flamingo Records | Box 40172 | "Oh Mr. Lovebug, won't you please bite me?" Albuquerque NM 87196 | www.rt66.com/~flamingo | ************************HAPPY MUSIC FOR NICE PEOPLE********************** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 14:25:03 -0600 From: "JH3" Subject: Re: field day for the mondays >>So how do you describe Wire's music to uninitiated friends >>and acquaintances? >I normally use the words "angular" and/or "minimalistic" in the course of >my descriptions, stress their sense of humor... I used to always use words like "tense" and "edgy" too, at least for the earlier stuff. And I'd also mention that they used "lots of distortion" (just to reassure the good ol' rock 'n' roll types) and that their songs were like "pop singles as they might be played by people who hate pop singles." After that I'd maybe tell people their work "walked a fine line between accessible and experimental." And sometimes I would just say they "kick serious ass," assuming the person I was talking to was drunk. I almost never mentioned their sense of humor, because even though I did recognize it, it takes some people a while. And let's face it, compared with Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, or Robyn Hitchcock, or even the Replacements, they really *aren't* all that funny. These days, most of the people I deal with think bands like Blondie and The Knack were waaaaay out there, so I just tell them that Wire's records (and about 99% of everything else I listen to) "would just be completely over your head." That usually ends the conversation, or at least changes the subject, which is perhaps just as well. By the way, Andrew, that's a very nice discography on your (also very nice) web site! There's so much material I've been missing in the last few years, I hardly know where to start. John Hedges Middle of Nowhere, IL, USA ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V1 #7 *****************************