From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V1 #80 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Wednesday, July 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 080 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?b=E4st?= and wurst wires [NRuecker@t-online.de (Norber] CDNow review of A-Z [Yoshi matsumoto ] RE: CDNow review of A-Z ["Wilson, Chad" ] Re: CDNow review of A-Z ["Mack" ] Beefheart, etc [stevenl@comtrol.com (Steve Loubert)] Pere Ubu [] Re: Pere Ubu, etc [nobrand@bitburn.org (B. Coates)] Re: Pere Ubu, etc [flaherty michael w ] RE: CDNow review of A-Z [flaherty michael w ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 11:05:59 +0200 From: NRuecker@t-online.de (Norbert Ruecker) Subject: Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?b=E4st?= and wurst wires My wire faves are numerous. Wire is one of the few bands playing song type music I still listen to quite often. Public Place, It's a Boy, Over theirs, Feed me, Torch it and others, but the ones I liked most in recent times are: Ticking Mouth (First letter). A wonderful rhythm track, looped but with gaps in it, that give a stumbling-like feeling. Such 'de-constructed' beats are used to great effect these days by drums & bass team Hidden Agenda. The 2 different bass drum sounds kick it along efficiently. And this scary low voice singing (by Bruce?)! Marvelous track! In every City What's your desire (both of Drill) Both songs are hooked to first class riddims, 'City' a stampede like Drill, 'desire' displays a rare groovy feeling (probably courtesy of Graham). Wurst: In Vivo, electronic pieces of 1st era Wire, most of 'Document & Eyewitness' and 'Manscape'. Nice to see our japanese friend dropping the name King Crimson as former fave. I followed them up from their first record in 1968 (I am 46), but lost interest when they reformed to their 3 period. While talking about dinosaur bands, does anybody out there dig CAPTAIN BEEFHEART like I do? The stuff around 1980 is the best poetry + music you can get. Plus who can top tune titles like: 'Making love to a vampire with a monkey on my knee' or 'When I see a mommy I feel like a mummy' Suggestions anybody? Norbert ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jul 98 03:58:07 -0000 From: Yoshi matsumoto Subject: CDNow review of A-Z Very strange, an A-Z review at this point in time... The text is equally, if not more, interesting (funny). * * * Colin Newman A - Z (Beggars Banquet) Colin Newman, leader of England's punk pioneers Wire, released A-Z in 1980. It was originally slated as Wire's fourth album (following a trio of timeless art-punk classics: Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154) but apparently Wire's record label felt the minimalist experiment was too abstruse, obscure, and dilletante for widespread acceptance. Futuristic cinema for the mind, A - Z organizes snatched beats, treated guitars, synth-pop tape loops, and electro-fusion eccentricities. Obsessed with weirdly skewed sounds, primal psychedelia, and ambient Brian Eno-ish moodscapes, singer/ guitarist Newman and his cohorts (drummer Robert Gotobed, producer/ tech head Mike Thorne, and bassist Desmond Simmons) foreshadowed the 'new wave' movement, making it easier for technicians such as Thomas Dolby, A Flock Of Seagulls, and Depeche Mode to succeed. Obtuse and warped, the abstract mantra "I've Waited Ages" pasting guitars next to mechanized rhythms and found sounds. "Alone" could be labeled a stark Industrial dirge and "Seconds To Last" heads into the prog-rock abyss. The jaunty "Order For Order," the stunningly sonic "Life On Deck," and the rock-disco streamlined "Inventory" expose an approachably accessible side. A sophisticated and motivated art school progenitor with a healthy predilection for constructing iconoclastic tunes and salvaging eerie effects, Newman continually defies rigid categorization. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A lemon beside an orange is no longer a lemon, the orange no longer an orange; they have become fruit. - -Georges Braque * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Yoshi Matsumoto email: liminal@st.rim.or.jp web: http://www.at-m.or.jp/~liminal * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 12:28:18 -0700 From: "Wilson, Chad" Subject: RE: CDNow review of A-Z Too many big words in that review for me! ;-) hehe... Strangely enough I can't say I have a problem with the authors "nutshells" of the songs, but I don't know about it being the "4th Wire Album" officially. It always sounded at least very, very Newman/Thorne and much different than Wire... A-Z is an incredible work none the less, especially with the cd bonus tracks. Chad > -----Original Message----- > From: Yoshi matsumoto [SMTP:liminal@st.rim.or.jp] > Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 8:58 PM > To: idealcopy@smoe.org > Subject: CDNow review of A-Z > > Very strange, an A-Z review at this point in time... The text > is equally, if not more, interesting (funny). > > * * * > > Colin Newman A - Z > (Beggars Banquet) > > Colin Newman, leader of England's punk pioneers Wire, released A-Z in > 1980. It was originally slated as Wire's fourth album (following a > trio of > timeless art-punk classics: Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, 154) but > apparently > Wire's record label felt the minimalist experiment was too abstruse, > obscure, and dilletante for widespread acceptance. Futuristic cinema > for > the > mind, A - Z organizes snatched beats, treated guitars, synth-pop tape > loops, > and electro-fusion eccentricities. Obsessed with weirdly skewed > sounds, > primal psychedelia, and ambient Brian Eno-ish moodscapes, singer/ > guitarist Newman and his cohorts (drummer Robert Gotobed, producer/ > tech > head Mike Thorne, and bassist Desmond Simmons) foreshadowed the 'new > wave' movement, making it easier for technicians such as Thomas Dolby, > A Flock Of Seagulls, and Depeche Mode to succeed. Obtuse and warped, > the abstract mantra "I've Waited Ages" pasting guitars next to > mechanized > rhythms and found sounds. "Alone" could be labeled a stark Industrial > dirge > and "Seconds To Last" heads into the prog-rock abyss. The jaunty > "Order > For Order," the stunningly sonic "Life On Deck," and the rock-disco > streamlined "Inventory" expose an approachably accessible side. A > sophisticated and motivated art school progenitor with a healthy > predilection for constructing iconoclastic tunes and salvaging eerie > effects, > Newman continually defies rigid categorization. > > > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > A lemon beside an orange is no longer a lemon, > the orange no longer an orange; they have become fruit. > > -Georges Braque > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > Yoshi Matsumoto > email: liminal@st.rim.or.jp > web: http://www.at-m.or.jp/~liminal > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 14:45:06 -0500 From: "Mack" Subject: Re: CDNow review of A-Z >Strangely enough I can't say I have a problem with the authors "nutshells" of the songs, >but I don't know about it being the "4th Wire Album" officially. Not officially, but one could make this stretch from things I have read elsewhere >A-Z is an incredible work none the less, especially with the cd bonus tracks. I concur. My fave of this period and still immensly rewarding to wade through The bonus tracks collect all those singles (which I kept anyways - maybe someday I'll buy a jukebox) :) all and all the review is 'spot on' so far as i am concerned I've seen worse applications of 'critical writing' d ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 15:19:17 -0500 From: stevenl@comtrol.com (Steve Loubert) Subject: Beefheart, etc Norbert wrote: >While talking about dinosaur bands, does anybody out there dig CAPTAIN BEEFHEART >like I do? Yes! "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" and "Clear Spot" are two of my all-time faves. Many of the most creative bands of the early punk/new wave era were inspired by C.B. Some, such as Pere Ubu, were pretty obvious in their Beefheart influence. Speaking of which, any other Pere Ubu fans out there? I have always associated them with Wire, simply because, for a while, "154" and "Dub Housing" used to alternate on my turntable, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. Steve "Men, let your wallets flop out, and women open your purses." Captain Beefheart, "Big Eyed Beans From Venus" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 98 16:45:24 -0400 From: Subject: Pere Ubu >Speaking of which, any other Pere Ubu fans out there? I have always >associated them with Wire, simply because, for a while, "154" and >"Dub Housing" used to alternate on my turntable, to the exclusion of >nearly everything else. I have suffered such a dilemma in regards to Ubu. I truly feel that they are one of the most important, innovative, and brilliant bands of the last 30 years, yet I cannot listen to them for more than a few songs at a time because of Dave Thomas' monstrously horrible voice! Auugh! I sorted through all of the box set material and could not find a single track that did not simultaneously thrill me musically and grate me vocally. Kind of like Joy Division...excellent music (sometimes) but irritating vocals (almost always). Eric auteur@ix.netcom.com P.S. I loved reading Colin's ELITIST (haha there's that word again) article..it is so very true! :) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 16:35:13 -0800 From: nobrand@bitburn.org (B. Coates) Subject: Re: Pere Ubu, etc >Speaking of which, any other Pere Ubu fans out there? I have always >associated them with Wire, simply because, for a while, "154" and >"Dub Housing" used to alternate on my turntable, to the exclusion of >nearly everything else. Yes, Pere Ubu is aces on my list. Underrated, just like Wire, too. I am pretty pissed. I just missed the show here on the 23rd of June. Grrrr. I have a cool CD that is Frank Black interviewing Pere Ubu. Cool, since there is an obvious influence, and of course, Pere Ubu's former drummer, Eric Drew Feldman, being Frank Black's new drummer/songwriting companion. (Eric also just produced the new Tripping Daisy CD, which I dig ok) And without fishing for a thread, though it's good material for one; to the disagreement of others lately, I have recently compared some old Gang of Four with Wire. Armalite Rifle in particular. Later Gang of Four doesn't really sound like Wire, but then again, Later _Wire_ doesn't sound like Wire either. I'd be curious to hear other listmembers' opinions of bands that would be equated with Wire. Not necessarily _sound_ like them, but maybe that, added with, say, bands that would be appropriate opening for Wire. Or Wire opening for. Brian ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 19:05:12 -0500 (CDT) From: flaherty michael w Subject: Re: Pere Ubu, etc On Tue, 14 Jul 1998, B. Coates wrote: > I'd be curious to hear other listmembers' opinions of bands that would be > equated with Wire. Not necessarily _sound_ like them, but maybe that, > added with, say, bands that would be appropriate opening for Wire. Or Wire > opening for. First, let me add my voice to the Peru Ubu list. "Modern Dance" rates as one of my favorite albums. As has been mentioned before, Joy Division is an obvious choice. I would add Public Image Ltd.: John Lydon's (and the others) underappreciated follow-up to the Sex Pistols were right in the fore-front of post-punk w/ Wire and Joy Division. I would also say Television, who I consider one of the most underapreciated bands ever. They were doing experimental post-punk things before punk had really even started. A double bill with Television and Wire ... is a nice dream. Michael Flaherty ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 19:12:57 -0500 (CDT) From: flaherty michael w Subject: RE: CDNow review of A-Z On Tue, 14 Jul 1998, Wilson, Chad wrote: > but I don't know about it being the "4th Wire Album" officially. It > always sounded at least very, very Newman/Thorne and much different than > Wire... While I'm sure some of the tracks would have made their way onto the album, and I'm sure that the "it's OK, just buy Colin's stuff; he's the real Wire" line is one certain quarters would approve of, this claim is really insulting to Graham (was Colin going to take over the lyric writing and do ALL of the singing?) and Bruce (no album would sound the same after he played on it). As Colin himself has said, his solo albums are not just Wire with different blokes. Michael Flaherty ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V1 #80 ******************************