From: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org (idealcopy-digest) To: idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Subject: idealcopy-digest V5 #223 Reply-To: idealcopy@smoe.org Sender: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-idealcopy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk idealcopy-digest Friday, July 5 2002 Volume 05 : Number 223 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! ["Keith] Re: [idealcopy] GSTQ ["John Roberts" ] Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! [giluz ] Re: [idealcopy] OT: SF [giluz ] Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! ["Keith] [idealcopy] snippets.... ["Keith Astbury" ] [idealcopy] OT: tv smith/attila the stockbroker/jack rabid news [Eardrumb] Re: [idealcopy] GSTQ [PaulRabjohn@aol.com] Re: [idealcopy] Pennebaker's hard-on [Bart van Damme ] [idealcopy] Another the selection... a reply. ["Eric Klaver" ] Re: [idealcopy] uzine review of R&B [PaulRabjohn@aol.com] Re: [idealcopy] uzine review of R&B [Bart van Damme Subject: Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! Keith wrote: > > >Ah 1986! When things REALLY started picking up again for me after what I > >considered a post-81 lull. Personlly I thought 82-85 were pretty dull > >overall, even if there were some great records > > I was still at school in the 80s, and recall 81-84 as a real golden age of > Pop. (Depeche Mode, Haircut 100, Human League, Club Tropicana drinks are > free...Adam Ant jumping through that stained glass window, Balloons and > party hats were the order of the day on TOTP for the duration). Yes. 'Pop' was definitely where it was at! ABC, Human League, Madness, Soft Cell, Associates, etc, etc. TOTP was indeed a pleasure! The problem for me was that all my fave bands of the last few years were disappearing fast. Ian Curtis had died, Ian McCulloch had become a tosser, and the Teardops, Buzzcocks, Magazine, Wire and Talking Heads (for a while at least) all went and left us in the lurch. Punk was indeed a distant memory. And in 1984 - and these events were probably connected due to fat Bob's mutual involvement - The Cure and Siouxsie & the Banshees (both of whom I loved in those days) - released rather crap albums... And I know no-one else will care too much, but Captain Sensible left The Damned! Me? I was gutted... But other than the odd track (The Luddites etc), I wasn't hearing much on Peel to excite me during those years... > But somewhere between Frankie Goes to Hollywood and A-Ha it all went wrong > 86 to 89 were truly the dark ages of Pop! These were the days of Bros, > Stock Aitken and Waterman, Bon Jovi, Paul Yates fawning over bleeding > Terrence Trent D'Arby and INXS, ........and Jive Bunny. They were when you put it ike that, but there were still some great pop acts around. Pet Shop Boys. The Blow Monkeys (Well I thought so!). Madonna was finding her feet and Julian Cope had thrown off his turtle shell and climbed aboard his custom built mic for some Jimbo action and post Teardop success. And I'm probably on my own here, but 1987 alone had some great disco diva singles by Donna Allen, Nona Hendryx and Joyce Sims. And then there were records like Pump Up the Volume and Paid in Full which were hugely influential. And Peel shows were full of stuff I loved again, even if some of it isn't stuff I'd listen to now... But he got me into Loop, the first few albums by the Happy Mondays, the pre-pop success of the early psychadelic Shamen and their early pre-Ebeneezer forays into dance music, The Pixies, the sadly ignored Perfect Disaster, and MBV. And John Lydon started making decent records again (well a couple anyway...) and Wire, of course, reformed. As did - figuratively speaking and with a little help from his doctor - Brian Wilson! > and most weeks the charts were clogged with re-issues from the 50s/60s that > had either been in a film or a Levis Ad. I didn't have much of a problem with that, because at least - overall - they were singles I liked.... Reet Petite. When A Man Loves A Woman. Wonderful World. Etc. Great pop songs... And the good news for Bolan fans like myself was that it paved the way for the Levi use of 20th Century Boy, which provided him with a first post-humous top 20 hit (15 yrs after his last one)...So let's here for Levi's and their over-priced pants! > 50s Retro Chic still horrifies me > to this day...I feel nauseous whenever I see a fake Bakerlite wireless or a > James Dean poster. But not 60's retro chic Tim, or we wouldn't be going to watch Brian Wilson or have sandpits in our living rooms, would we ; ) Keith ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 11:15:29 +0000 From: "John Roberts" Subject: Re: [idealcopy] GSTQ GSTQ: My partner bought it for me. (That's my excuse.) I think it's pants. Doesn't work on any level. I was expecting something with a bit more, er, bollocks to be honest. Heard the Bowie LP last night with Cactus. I'm not a Bowie fan but the LP inc. the Pixies cover sounded ok to me. John >From: "Keith Astbury" >To: >Subject: [idealcopy] GSTQ >Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 00:21:00 +0100 > >OK I succumbed... > >I wasn't going to, but... > >I got the 'dance mix' of God Save The Queen. > >SORRY! > >What does it sound like? > >Well...exactly like you'd expect it to really. > >Is it any good? > >Well yes and no... > >I suppose it all depends on whether you think doing a 'dance mix' of GSTQ >is a >good thing or not. > >(I don't, but then again...) > >Hmmm. Possibly my most non-committal posting yet... > >Who likes/dislikes it out there? > >Keith > >NP David Bowie - Cactus http://www.captive.co.uk/bocca/ _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 15:06:24 +0200 From: giluz Subject: Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! on 05/07/02 12:50, Keith Astbury at keith.astbury10@virgin.net wrote: > And John Lydon started making decent records again (well a couple anyway...) Which ones are you referring to? giluz ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 15:03:21 +0200 From: giluz Subject: Re: [idealcopy] OT: SF on 04/07/02 23:50, Keith Knight at steeleknight@lineone.net wrote: > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andrew Walkingshaw >> Superb author - and just to be awkward, I prefer The Diamond Age *and* >> Cryptonomicon to Snow Crash. The guy has no idea how to end a novel, >> though. :) I agree almost completely - I wouldn't call anyone who doesn't know how to finish a novel superb. Still, he is good if only for the fact that his books, despite their endings, are more than worth your reading time. I'd certainly read any future books written by Stephenson. Snow Crash's ending was not as problematic as his other two novels' endings, so I still consider it superior. As to Cryptomonicon, the problems are not only in the story itself but in the implications of what Stephenson writes about. It's a book about crypto and the possibilities of electronic surveillance, about a bunch of people trying to found a data haven in one of the Pacific islands (a very relevant issue today, after the September 11th attacks - a place like this already exists since 2000 in Sealand. Goto www.havenco.com for details). But the need for net privacy today is not really explained in the book. With all his amazing coverage of the Bletchly Park era in WW2, we are left with only the vague notion of the authorities acting as Big Brother, when it comes to the civilian issues of electronic surveillance. In the end it all starts and ends with money. Though Stephenson promises us that it would be invested for good educational purposes, by people deeply affected by the atrocities of WW2 (as if there aren't any atrocities happening right now and not 50 years ago), the choice of discovering a treasure at the end of the story doesn't really connect with what the story was about, except for providing a happy ending. It looks like Stephenson didn't really know how to finish the book. Snow Crash, on the other hand, links all of the threads developed in it into one coherent ending, and this is why it is superior to Cryptomonicon. giluz ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 13:24:36 +0100 From: "Keith Astbury" Subject: Re: [idealcopy] There's allways intellectual and emotional bliss! > > And John Lydon started making decent records again (well a couple anyway...) > > Which ones are you referring to? > > giluz Album in particuarly. I loved that. But the next couple weren't bad either. They might be patchy, but there was the odd great track like Fat Chance Hotel. Keith ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 14:13:47 +0100 From: "Keith Astbury" Subject: [idealcopy] snippets.... couple of snippets... Moz to do 13 date tour in USA. And this might piss a few people off, Guided by Voices apparently appear in a new Strokes video (Someday)... Keith ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 09:39:46 EDT From: Eardrumbuz@aol.com Subject: [idealcopy] OT: tv smith/attila the stockbroker/jack rabid news thought there might be some listers interested in hearing about this one: >Hello Big Takeover readers and LBE and Even Worse fans. > > > >Lots going on here, again! First, LAST BURNING EMBERS (members: Dave > >Burokas, Tom Burke, Jack Rabid) is making two special appearances this > >weekend serving as the backing band for T.V. SMITH, playing old songs of >his > >from his days in THE ADVERTS (one of very favorite old bands of that era, > >1976-1979), and a few of his solo songs as well. Included in the set will >be > >his two most famous Adverts songs, 3One Chord Wonders2 and 3Gary Gilmour1s > >Eyes,2 as well as similar fare we won1t divulge in advance! (You1ll have >to > >come see). Also on the bill both nights is Smith1s longtime contemporary, > >English ranting poet ATILLA THE STOCKBROKER, who will also be backed up >by a > >local band, THE SPUNK LADS. Note these are the only two shows on this pair > >of old Brits1 tour that will have backing bands (all other shows are > >strictly acoustic. And since Smith has never played the U.S. before, outside > >of one acoustic gig at SXSW in Texas some years ago, there are doubly > >special events! > > There is a Manhattan show, tomorrow night, SATURDAY, JULY 6 at ARLENE1s > >GROCERY, 95 Stanton Street (212.358.1633). Tickets are only $5, with Atilla > >the Stockbroker/Spunk Lads on at 10:30 and T.V. Smith/Last Burning Embers >on > >at 11:30. (Note! Only on this night, LBE will also play a short set of >our > >own songs immediately following their work with Smith, their first airing >of > >the material since completing the studio work on our debut LP) There is >also > >a Hoboken, NJ show, just across the Hudson river, SUNDAY night, JULY 7 >at > >MAXWELL1S, 1039 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ, (201.798.0406, call club for > >set times) We sure hope to see you there! Note, we1re shocked to see The > >Village Voice gave these shows one of their rare half-dozen music 3picks2 > >for the week (for all music, jazz, pop, rock, blues etc....), and raved > >about both Smith and Atilla, so that just underscores the special nature >of > >these two nights. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 10:25:42 -0400 From: PaulRabjohn@aol.com Subject: Re: [idealcopy] GSTQ > I suppose it all depends on whether you think doing a > 'dance mix' of GSTQ is a > good thing or not. > > (I don't, but then again...) ///i bought it thinking it was going to be pretty laughable , but i thought it was about as good as it was ever going to be. very leftfield of course , and not such a bad stab at a fairly impossible task. pity it didn't get to #1 , as it was surely better than whatever actually got there. p ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 16:27:54 +0200 From: Bart van Damme Subject: Re: [idealcopy] Pennebaker's hard-on keith: > And this might piss a few people off, Guided by Voices apparently appear in a > new Strokes video (Someday)... Not me... I like 'em both! Perhaps this might interest you Keith... Saw a nice film about documentarymaker D.A. Pennebaker the other day with lots of great Bolan & Bowie [The Hammersmith Odeon concert of 3 July 1973] glam material. Pennebaker: "Well, he is incredible to watch. I mean, I could see myself getting a hard-on just looking at him sometimes, which is ridiculous. But I think that the reason we made it was because RCA said, we have this guy and he's going to do a concert, maybe the last one he's going to do, and you've got to go make a film. "I thought they said Bolan. I thought it was Marc Bolan I was going to do. And I was very excited because I really dug glitter rock. So I kind of set off with the wrong guy in mind. But I've spent time with Bowie, and I've seen him go into his head. He just disappears. He's like Dylan. He has someplace where it's just all music, and he's all alone." http://www.5years.com/zstmp.htm Bart ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 16:32:57 +0200 From: Bart van Damme Subject: Re: [idealcopy] GSTQ > i bought it thinking it was going to be pretty laughable , but i thought it > was about as good as it was ever going to be. very leftfield of course , and > not such a bad stab at a fairly impossible task. pity it didn't get to #1 , as > it was surely better than whatever actually got there. p Funny thing is [dutch] Junkie XL got away with the even harder task of Elvis' A Little Less Conversation AND got to nr. 1 all over the world. I have to admit to really liking this one! Anyone else? Bart ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 10:42:16 -0400 From: "Eric Klaver" Subject: [idealcopy] Another the selection... a reply. Sorry to start a thread only to go away awhile. I should reply. >From RL: Eric, this is a great cd! I love the vocals...it has a jazz torch song feeling but doesn't come across as pastiche or Portishead wanna-be....but knowing a bit about the sampling gives it a bizarre twist!....highly recommended! HOWEVER, I would have picked Vien..if for no other reason (besides it being damn good!) for the fact that it is out of print..... ////////////////////////// Yeah, I think the CD is great. I was expecting more Musique Concrete rather than Latin Soul however. You Saw It All is certainly worth the price of admission though. Good beats and an excellent groove created with the samples. There is a bit of humour in the music that I appreciate as well. The reason I hesitated on Vien is that I have seen it second hand for $10 in a few places (though at the time I was broke). I am taking my chances that I will see it again. Additionally I wanted something to play at work, and the last time I played Autechre, it didn't go down so well. >Paul refused to confess: No. Cheers, Paul P.S. (^_^) ///////////////////////// Right. Another stone on his chest, vicar. Confess.... confesss..... >Keith: Well there was this really good Kylie album... sorry, just keeping up appearances ; ) ///////////////////// See, there's an honest man(?). >-kristoph: i always visit that store when i'm in Tronna. last i went was in february, and i went a little overboard on the spending -- i too felt 'like a kid in some kind of store'. i even lied at the US border about how much my purchased cds were worth. they don't have to know how much over my budget i went... i don't remember what the Wire selection was, though i'm sure i looked because i always do, even though i have it all. i'm one who heard 80's Wire first, and for a time i chose others over the 70s stuff. that was a mistake! did you visit Sam the Record Man? /////////////////////// You are obviously not of Arabic extraction to get away unscathed like that. 70s wire was introduced to me late in the game, about 1991. It caught me immediately and sealed Wire as one of my fave bands. Sam's went into receivership and had to close the doors of almost all it's stores. Sam's sons now run the place and they still have the original flagship store that their dad opened up over 50 years ago. The last time I was there was there was for their clearance sale. I got Alone on Penguin Island for half price. Great deal, great CD. Are you coming to the Lee's Palace show on the 15th of Sept? >Eric (the other): No! :-) //////////////////////// Bring in the Comfy Chair! Ian B: When ABIAC came out, I called to Picadilly Records in Manchester and was torn between ABIAC (the reason for my visit) and It Seems which had a free Crammed Records comp album with it. Went for the intended target, and to this day have not heard It Seems //////////////////////// Just got It Seems on vinyl, but I have to get a new turntable. Bill chimed: Vien would've been a more exciting proposition ///////////////////////// I know, I know, and thus the dilemma. I can't listen to "difficult" (a term I dislike) music while working, eating, sleeping. I like to listen to Autechre, for example, when I can focus on it. I feared the same for Vien. Maybe this is why Mortgaged Lives seem so dull. Eric in Toronto ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2002 10:47:05 -0400 From: "Eric Klaver" Subject: RE: [idealcopy] LATEST CONFIRMED WIRE DATES FOR NORTH AMERICA SUN 15 TORONTO ON - Lee's Palace ////////////////////// Excellent venue! Will I see any listers there? Bill, it will be a chance to prove my existence. Tickets are $21CDN (about $1.50 US and 75p UK). Also at Lee's on the 22 of Sept Pere Ubu. Tickets 13.50CDN (free to those from the US and the UK ;-p ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2002 09:51:43 -0500 From: Miles Goosens Subject: [idealcopy] bounce catch-up Been out of town on vacation & business, so I'm sitting down for the first time with bounces since 6/25. They'll be appearing momentarily. Most of them include a taboo word such as "uns*bscribe," "s*bscribe," etc. later, listowner Miles ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 07:41:52 -0400 From: PaulRabjohn@aol.com Subject: Re: [idealcopy] uzine review of R&B In a message dated Tue, 25 Jun 2002 12:52:30 +0200, bartvandamme@home.nl writes: > Therapy??? Motorhead??? :-/ > WTF... who this "pv" is??? > > Bart uzine is a big music newsletter originating in belgium. i do s*bscribe but its often not much interest. so you're not a therapy fan bart? :-) p ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 15:57:25 +0200 From: Bart van Damme Subject: Re: [idealcopy] uzine review of R&B >> Therapy??? Motorhead??? :-/ >> WTF... who this "pv" is??? >> Bart > uzine is a big music newsletter originating in belgium. i do s*bscribe but its > often not much interest. so you're not a therapy fan bart? :-) p Not really, but that's hardly the point. While the rest of the review seemed refreshing enough, the comparison between Wire and Therapy/Motorhead just seems so WAY of! But... originating in Belgium.... that explains a lot... ;-) Brt [had a good holiday in France, Paul? where did you go exactly?] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 10:26:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Mr Grumpy Subject: Re: [idealcopy] Information about Seattle Wire show I wouldn't worry too much about under 21s trying to g*t in... > WIRE-SHOWBOX-21 & OVER > at the Showbox > > Tickets go on sale Saturday August 3, 2002 at > 10:00AM! (Pacific Time Zone) > > Cheers, > Paul ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2002 00:56:31 +0100 From: "Keith Astbury" Subject: [idealcopy] Fw: News & Updates June 2002 Sure there must be fans of The Wake etc here... > RED SUN RECORDS - CD TOP 10 > Our best selling albums of JUNE 2002: > > 01 - Adrian Borland - Harmony & Destruction > 02 - The Sound - From The Lions Mouth > 03 - The Sound - Thunder Up > 04 - The Opposition - Breaking The Silence > 05 - Sad Lovers & Giants - Melting In The Fullness > 06 - The Sound - Jeopardy > 07 - Adrian Borland - Last Days Of The Rain Machine > 08 - Adrian Borland - 5:00 AM > 09 - Adrian Borland - Book Of (Happy) Memories > 10 - The Wake - Assembly > > New entries in our catalogue: > ============================= > > THE LOTUS EATERS - No Sense of Sin (CD) > Appearing for the first time on CD, Vinyl Japan has made the reissue more attractive by adding a clutch of bonus tracks and 12-inch versions which, until now, have been hard to track down. No Sense of Sin, the Lotus Eaters' 1984 debut album, is a gorgeously crafted collection of melancholic guitar pop. The glimmering, jangly pop of the Lotus Eaters evokes images of lonely summer afternoons. "Love Still Flows" and "The First Picture of You" caress the ears with haunting piano and twinkling guitars; both songs unreel with a cinematic feel, the music and lyrics drawing sentimental memories from the listener's imagination. On the powerful "It Hurts," Jeremy Kelly's guitar sounds like a heart shrieking in pain as Coyle wallows in his grief. The starry-eyed keyboards and sing-along chorus of "German Girl" and spellbinding violin of "Set Me Apart" deepen the Lotus Eaters' appeal; they further explore Coyle's hankering for affection while lifting the spirits with sharp hooks. > > HAVEN - Between The Senses (CD) > The world would seem to be Haven's oyster right now. Ever since Travis went interstellar in 1999, it seems that every year throws up another set of understated melodic bands, complete with soaring guitars and heart-rendering lyrics about unrequited love. It was Coldplay in 2000, Elbow and Turin Brakes appeared last year, and now, just one month into the new year, along come Haven. Haven are from Cornwall, but to all intents and purposes, they may as well be honorary Mancunians. Managed by Joe Moss, who used to manage The Smiths and Marion, and produced by Johnny Marr, they certainly have some pedigree talent working with them. And there's a welcome darker edge to this album that suggests that Haven may well be more than the 'earnest young men with guitars' label suggests. If you're looking for a rest from the seemingly constant diet of Pop Idols, wannabe gangster garage and nu-metal, this could well be your perfect Haven. > > ARID - All Is Quiet Now (CD) > Arid is a band from Belgium with driving melodys and beautifull vocals, their music is dynamic and works up quite a sweat. Singer Jasper's voice is enchanting, echoing the brilliance of Jeff Buckley. From the opening bars of All Is Quiet Now, you are drawn into a world of contrasts; a place where complex layers and enchanting vocals live harmoniously alongside raw jam-session riffs and contemporary soundscapes. Seconds apart, but a million miles away; the opening notes of Wintertime transport you to the vast solitude of a snow-covered landscape. Atmospheric layers swirl hypnotically as the tension slowly builds to an explosive climax. The alluring melodies are kindled by complex rhythmic patterns and an unconventional structure. The album closes with the romantic Million Lights - an anthemic and soothing end to an overwhelming journey. All is quiet now. But the melodies will render you helplessly haunted long after the dying embers of the CD's last notes have burnt out. And ! > in the silent afterglow, you're left with the nagging feeling that however many times you listen to this album, there will always be more, and still more, colours to discover. > > PORCUPINE TREE - Stars Die (2-CD) > A deluxe double CD box set exploring Porcupine Tree's Delerium era, incorporating album, EP and single tracks together with assorted rarities, new mixes and previously unreleased tracks. Featuring an overview of the five albums and various singles recorded for Delerium Records, it also includes previously unreleased tracks such as the legendary 'Men Of Wood' as well as 'Signify II', 'Phantoms' the full eight-minute version of 'Synesthesia' and assorted rarities culled from the bands seven years with Delerium. Some tracks have been remixed for the project and the package includes a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring - for the first time anywhere - a full history of Porcupine Tree drawn from interviews with band members. In case you are worried about buying an album from a band labeled "progressive" - forget it in this case. Porcupine Tree are a rock band that are broader than that particular genre , as you might expect with an ex mebmer of Japan on keyboards. This band are! > capable of music that is in turn extremely beautiful and contemporary. > > PORCUPINE TREE - Recordings (CD) > A limited edition Porcupine Tree compilation album, released in the UK on May 21st 2001, with some countries releasing it 2 weeks earlier. The album is mainly compiled from tracks issued on singles during the Stupid Dream / Lightbulb Sun era, but also contains one new song "Buying New Soul" (a fairly long piece recorded in March 2000) and two previously unissued out-takes which were completed in November - "Access Denied" and "Oceans Have No Memory" (SW's demo version of the latter appeared on the B-side of the "Piano Lessons" 7 inch, but this is a new band version). The CD comes in a numbered cardboard slipcase and is limited to 20,000 copies worldwide. 'Recordings' finds them moving away from the more song based aspects of their albums, 'Stupid Dream' (1999) & 'Lightbulb Sun' (2000). Nine tracks including recordings from the 'Lightbulb Sun' sessions, rare UK singles tracks & an extended version of 'Even Less'. Porcupine Tree creates music that is very interesting, complex ! > and yet is very melodic at the same time. Porcupine Tree can't do wrong; they keep releasing stunning material. It's safe to say they may be one of the best bands around today. > > EASTERHOUSE - Contenders (CD) > Formed in Manchester by the Perry Brothers in the mid-80's they first came to prominence after being championed by Morrisey. They signed to Rough Trade Records and the singles 'Whistling In The Dark' and 'Inspiration' were both Top 5 independent chart hits. The singles were both convincing accommodations between music and politics, the band being deeply affected by the betrayal of the working class by the labour Movement. Coming across as a mixture of Johnny Marr's guitar heroics and the anthemic rock mastered by The Chameleons, 'Contenders' is a pretty decent album. There's much to enjoy here with 'Out On Your Own' serving as an explosive opener that possesses urgency and intensity in spades; the relentless 'Get Back To Russia' is a simple tune forced home with similar conviction. The second half of the album has more clarity and has dated better; there are some great moments of Chameleon-like intensity matched with beautiful transcendental passages of guitar as on 'Estates! > '. As with the Chameleons, Easterhouse likes to set a mood, Andy Perry's dour vocals and his brother, Ivor Perry's driving, shimmering riffs summarize the golden years of English post-punk; the moody atmospherics of the Chameleons, the angry folk-rock of New Model Army, the summery jangle of the Smiths - they're all here. > > RODDY FRAME - The North Star (CD) > Aztec Camera were one of those '80s bands who captured a substantial fan-base at the time but did not find this support reflected in a commensurate amount of chart success. The stunningly good "Somewhere In My Heart" still receives its fair share of radio air-play, and well earned at that. Some say Aztec Camera were always a 'one-man-band', that man being Roddy Frame. This solo album "The North Star" lends some credence to this view. He wrote all the songs, sings and plays on them (of course) and co-produced all the tracks along with Simon Dawson. The album itself has many attractions. Nice songs in the Pop genre - some ballads, some with a more driving tempo. All 10 of the songs on the album are good, and you can tell Roddy put a great deal of effort into his (as usual) well-formed lyrics. For every song of happiness, there's a complementary track of subtle soul searching. The singer/songwriter has never sounded this confident over the full length of an album in the past. I! > f The North Star isn't this artist at his best, then he must have purely transcendental songs up his sleeve for future releases. With this confident solo debut, as strong or stronger than any Aztec Camera release, Roddy Frame confirms his status as a first-rate emotional balladeer. If you like naive and romatic melodies, you should get this album as fast as you can. > > THE WAKE - Harmony + Singles (CD) > Full length (72 minute) 15 track CD comprising hard to find material by this collectable Factory/Sarah signing from Scotland. The disc includes all eight tracks from the Harmony mini album from 1982 (including the outtake Chance, only previously released on the Factory Benelux pressing), as well as the first two singles on Scan 45 and Factory Benelux, plus the legendary John Peel session from July 1983. The CD has been carefully mastered from the original studio tapes, recently unearthed in the Factory Benelux store cupboard. Full sleevenotes plus 1983 interview in booklet, with faithful reproduction of the original artwork. The Wake's first album will come as a surprise to those more familiar with their poppier later work. Harmony is early-'80s Factory Records (Joy Division) post-punk gloom. Exception is the relatively cheerful "Favour," which marries the Ian Curtis worship to a bright and Byrdsy guitar part, and the closing "An Immaculate Conception," which ratchets up the! > tempo a bit and features some memorable playing from keyboardist Carolyn Allen. > > THE WAKE - Here Comes Everybody (CD) > The band's second album originally released by Factory in November 1985, plus all tracks from the three related non-album singles for Factory. Right about the time New Order was learning how to play chords, this Glaswegian band (and Factory labelmates) took the layered-synth sound and made it their trademark, soaring above melancholy guitar and vocal work. Now, more than 15 years later, most of the songs are still as beautiful and haunting -- but some of the simpler ones are showing their age as relics of the 1980s. If you're curious about The Wake, this is the one disc of theirs to buy. Most likely the music will mean more if you heard it Way Back When. The eight non-LP singles are tough to find elsewhere and add up to a reasonable CD's worth of music on this otherwise short album. The drums and bass are equally low-key, finally allowing the band to once and for all escape the Joy Division-wannabe tag that had plagued them ever since their first single, "On Our Honeymoon." ! > Dark-hued but not gloomy, the songs on Here Comes Everybody are musically varied enough to keep from sounding too samey. This album is a brooding meditation on lost love with a tightly wound, contents-under-pressure edge that threatens to explode but never quite does. It's a most impressive end to a surprisingly excellent album. > > THE WAKE - Assembly (CD) > This compilation includes the January 1984 BBC session for the David Jensen show, 8 live tracks desk-recorded at Ayr Pavilion on 15 April 1983 while supporting New Order, and both sides of the two non-album singles recorded for Sarah, Crush the Flowers (1989) and Major John (1991). "Assembly" is a fantastic record of a group playing with an awesome amount of measured confidence... The band sound taught, scratchy and dynamic. The body of the "Assembly" cd is a live set from ayr in 1983 which flames into life with the unreleased tune "Recovery" and the definitive version of "Uniform", which respectively ooze the anger and the sadness that new order were also trying to achieve at that time. The bills the two bands shared that year must have been towering indie face-offs. The cd also includes a surprisingly poppy 1984 Kid Jensen session: best of all though, because they didn't quite fit on "Holyheads", you get the two sarah 45s. To conclude, if you've ever had a soft spot for Ne! > w Order or the Field Mice, it would be a crime not to reserve one for the Wake. Especially when you now have, at last, the perfect opportunity. > > THE WAKE - Holyheads (CD) > "Holyheads" comprises their two Sarah Records albums "Make it Loud" and "Tidal Wave of Hype". The Sarah-era Wake is significantly more polished and refined. These albums are certainly pop, certainly C86, and certainly reflective of their Sarah label- mates. Dance gems like 'Cheer Up Ferdinand' and 'English Rain' perfectly compliment the bed-sitting twee pop that fills out the album. It seems the clouds have cleared, and you're at a picnic with Felt and The Field Mice. You could almost mistake The Wake for another band on these recordings, and as perfect as they were on Factory, perhaps it was their labels that forged their sound as much as they did themselves, for here they represent a group perfect for Sarah -- irresistible and addictive pop bliss. > > THE BOLSHOI - Bigger Giants (CD) > Autumn 1984 - singer/guitarist Trevor Tanner and drummer Jan Kalicki emerged from deepest Wiltshire to form the Bolshoi. Having hitch-hiked to the darkest wastelands of Woolwich to seek their fame and fortune, the boys recruited bassist Nick Chown and within 3 months had guested live with The Cult, Lords Of The New Church, Wall Of Voodoo, The Redskins, March Violets, culminating with a headline show at Londons famous Marquee club in January 1985, selling it out on word-of-mouth alone. BIGGER Giants contains Bolshoi's 1985 six-song EP Giants plus the contents of two 12-inch singles, plus two extra versions of "Happy Boy." This album is a wonderful introduction to the Bolshoi, the band mixes a Goth background (like Bauhaus) with classic pop sensibilities. Well worth a try for people who like the early Mission and Gene Loves Jezebel. > > THE BOLSHOI - F(r)iends (CD) > A best-of compilation from the Bolshoi appeared in 1999, but Friends is the real deal. Friends is the group's 1986 debut album, and it summarizes all of the band's strengths. Although not as goth-inflected as the Bolshoi's Giant EP, Friends is still very dark. Trevor Tanner's lyrics unflinchingly relate tales of hypocrisy in "A Way" and "Sunday Morning." Tanner sounds like a bitter former altar boy, disillusioned by the fagade of innocence of the people around him. Paul Clark's moody, nostalgic piano paints the images described by Tanner's words. "Romeo in Clover" and "Books on the Bonfire" revisit the glum, whirling guitars of the Bolshoi's past, echoing the Psychedelic Furs and Bauhaus. All in all this album is strong on brooding melodies, driven along by forceful rhythms and crashing splinters of trebly guitar, all showing enough fire to crash through the dark undergrowth of the post-punk jungle. > > THE BOLSHOI - Lindy's Party (CD) > LINDY'S PARTY is The Bolshoi's second album, a little shop of horrors, hypnotic remedies and happy-go-lucky incantations. From the album's first single, "Please," a yearning, pulsing ballad full of strings and rousing melodies to the darkly cynical "TV Man", LINDY'S PARTY is hard to pin down. There's the almost sinister "Auntie Jean," the Kraftwerk-inspired rock and roll of "Can You Believe It", and the mounting accusations and multi-layered sounds of the album's title track. Credit for this musical grab bag goes to drummer Jan Kalicki, bassist Nick Chown, keyboardist Paul Clark, and in particular, lead singer and guitarist Trevor Tanner. The Bolshoi's music is embodied in a dark mood with a silver lining -- like an odd cross between the Sisters of Mercy and the Dream Academy (if you can imagine that). > > THE BOLSHOI - Away - The Best Of (CD) > Once the "New Wave" had run its course and receded to a safe distance, it was time to assess the damage. Sadly, the landscape was left covered by a weightless spindrift of insipid music, with but a few notable exceptions. The Bolshoi's 1985 debut EP Giants belongs alongside the Chameleons "Strange Times" and Echo and the Bunnymen's "Ocean Rain" as one of the most effective weapons in the battle against the epidemic airhead-ism spread by acts like Thompson Twins and Cyndi Lauper. The Bolshoi do have that indescribable knack of songwriting which is full of character and melody. Rather unfairly lumped in with many witless '80s Goth bands, they have much more to offer. This 'Best of' compilation is a highly accessible introduction whether you thrill to the nigglingly anthemic 'Away', the sonorous 'Barrowlands' or the pure pop thrill of 'TV Man'. Besides a full remastering job and detailing "what came from where" liner notes, lead guitarist/singer Trevor Tanner pens a brief essay! > reflecting on the band's days and what everyone has done since then. Few would have expected such a short-lived group (they disbanded in '87) to deserve a "greatest hits," but in 1999, nearly a decade after their demise, it happened. Loaded with alternate mixes, B-sides, and most of their best songs, it's worth having even if you weren't one of a handful of fans. > > SAD LOVERS & GIANTS - NEW ALBUM > The new album is finished and will be available in July, it has take a long time but it is now 8 tracks (instead of 4) and so a proper album, The title will be "Melting In The Fullness Of Time". You can pre-order your copy here at Red Sun and we will ship it to you when it arrives. > > ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - CONCERTS > 21st july - Guildford - Guilfest - with The Pretenders > 7th august - Lokeren, Belgium - Lokerse Feesten > > THE MISSION - CONCERTS > JULY > * indicates Wayne Hussey solo show > Thu 11th Arvika Festival > Fri 12th Chelmsford Army & Navy (tbc) > Sat 13th Zillo Festival, Germany > Sun 14th Istanbul, Turkey - venue tbc* > Tue 16th Faenza "Piazza Molinella", Italy* > Wed 17th Padova "Banale", Italy* > Fri 19th Trento "Terrazza Panorama", Italy* > Sat 20th San Felice (MO) "Castello Estense"* > Wed 31st Budapest (festival) > > AUGUST > - WAYNE HUSSEY SOLO SHOWS > Thu 1st Crewe Limelight > Tue 6th Cambridge Boatrace > Thu 8th London Borderline > Fri 9th Stourbridge Rock Cafe > Sat 10th Leicester Charlotte > Sun 11th Sheffield Boardwalk > Mon 12th Chester Alexanders > Fri 16th Camberley Agincourt > Sat 17th York Fibbers > Sun 18th Ashton Witchwood > Thu 22nd Southampton Brook > Fri 23rd Derby Flowerpot > Sat 24th. Milton Keynes Stables > > THE WATERBOYS - CONCERTS > JULY > 20th Larmer Tree Festival Salisbury, UK > 21th Brampton Live Festival Brampton, UK > 26th MARLAY PARK, Dublin, Ireland > > AUGUST > 2nd Cambridge Folk Festival Cambridge, UK > 4th Lokerse Festival Lokeren, BE > 7th Interceltique Festival, Lorient, Brittany, FR > 17th Earth Music Festival, Derry, Northern Ireland > > PORCUPINE TREE - CONCERTS > July 22, Middle East, Boston, MA > July 24, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY > July 26, Theater of Living Arts, Philadelphia > July 27, Thunderdome, Baltimore, MD > July 29, The Double Door, Chicago > August 1, House of Blues, Los Angeles > August 2, Slims, San Francisco > > THE CONVENT - CONCERTS > 13.09.2002 WORPSWEDE Music Hall, Germany > 14.09.2002 HAMBURG Schlachthof, Germany > 15.09.2002 G\STROW Gurruh, Germany > 16.09.2002 BERLIN Magnetclub, Germany > 18.09.2002 BREMEN Tower, Germany > 19.09.2002 BIELEFELD Forum, Germany > 20.09.2002 BOCHUM Zwischenfall, Germany > 21.09.2002 KVLN Underground, Germany > 28.09.2002 FLENSBURG Speicher, Germany > > ========================================= > RED SUN RECORDS > Slotmakersstraat 3 > 8754 EL Makkum > The Netherlands > > Tel: +31 515-233402 > Fax: +31 515-233332 > > website: www.redsunrecords.com > e-mail: info@redsunrecords.com ------------------------------ End of idealcopy-digest V5 #223 *******************************