From: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org (jinglejangle-digest) To: jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Subject: jinglejangle-digest V1 #21 Reply-To: jinglejangle@smoe.org Sender: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jinglejangle-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jinglejangle-digest Sunday, March 1 1998 Volume 01 : Number 021 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [MLL] Re: Philly Show [ELGOODO1 ] [MLL] Re: jinglejangle-digest V1 #19 [Recordings ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 15:25:45 EST From: ELGOODO1 Subject: [MLL] Re: Philly Show AWeiss4338@aol.com >The show starts at 7:30 and in 21 and over only. I was told by a friend who is going to the show that Mary Lou's set is all ages, but the later set by Tommy Stinson (ex-Replacements) would be 21+. I hope for his sake that this information is accurate, cause he's under 21. If his info is wrong, I apologize to the list. And by the way, I'm new too, so hi all (joined the list the night after I saw her at Westbeth in nyc!). Vinnie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 23:46:14 EST From: Recordings Subject: [MLL] Re: jinglejangle-digest V1 #19 Mary Lou Lord Live at Muzak - reviewed by Dino DiMuro I assume most of you already have this cassette, since it came out over two years ago and has been endlessly copied and traded, but I thought I'd add my two cents. First off, LIVE AT MUZAK benefits tremendously from the "intimacy" of the street recording, since it's obvious (after a few listens) that Mary Lou is basically performing for the person taping her and one or two others. It is just as obvious that she has NO IDEA she's being recorded, resulting in a few unintentionally funny moments (halfway into side 2 MLL sweetly invites the recordist to "...have a seat if you're gonna stand there all day!" and the bootlegger's mumbled response, "It's cool, I LIKE to stand. Just keep playing!") The MUZAK of the title refers, of course, to the Muzak Factory in Washington. Yes, they program the drek you hear in supermarkets and elevators, but the facility has been a hotbed of underground artists since the early 80's (Amy Denio and Robin James, to name just two). It is impossible to tell exactly how close ML's performance is to the Muzak building (the bird sounds seem to indicate a park), so the more likely scenario is that a slumming Muzak drone decided to take an afternoon stroll and just happened to catch ML playing. (The cover photo is darling - ML VERY bundled up, her arms almost unable to reach around the guitar! - and she can be heard sniffling and sneezing now and then on the tape). What really makes the tape sing, aside from splendid versions of ANDALUCIA and SPEEDING MOTORCYCLE, are the special requests Mary Lou attempts to play for the onlookers. An especially high-energy version of the Beatles' BIRTHDAY so delights a passerby that he drops a $20 into ML's case, garnering lots of gratitude from the artist. ("Fuck it, I could go home right now - on the bus!" she laughs, to the protests of her audience). Another new fan wants to hear I AM A ROCK; old and hoary though that tune is, ML brings it QUITE LITERALLY to life right there in the street (her voice, so it happens, is perfect for Simon & Garfunkle). Most touching of all, though, is her finale of Maria McGee's THE GIFT... a naked & vulnerable valentine to a lost soul. Another cool surprise is an as-yet-unrelease Mary Lou original, HARBOR FERRY. Though some of the words are unclear, I love the moment in the chorus where she whispers: "These harbor ferries are like ships full of Christmas trees/but my heart tells me it's only Easter week..." The embryonic version of HELSINKI is also a revelation, and Mary Lou's pride in its creation is clear. Okay, so it's a bootleg cassette. As a supporter of ML, I know I shouldn't encourage this kind of thing - but hey, it was a trade. ------------------------------ End of jinglejangle-digest V1 #21 *********************************