From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V2 #409 Reply-To: loud-fans@smoe.org Sender: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk loud-fans-digest Tuesday, November 26 2002 Volume 02 : Number 409 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops [Dana Paoli ] Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops [Dana Paoli ] RE: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 ["Keegstra, Russell" ] Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops ["Micah Bedwell" ] Re:Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops [dana-boy@juno.com] Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops ["Andrew Hamlin" ] [loud-fans] Riaa forces navy to surrender computers [Carolyn Dorsey Subject: Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops > At one point I had *two* Suckdog CDs (didn't pay for either of 'em). > I vaguely > remember something about "cats in the stars," but otherwise figured > out that the > CDs were eminently tossable. > > Kept the packaging, however... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I had said: > You know, for a > totally unlistenable album that seems to consist entirely of a couple of > girls on acid babbling, "Drugs Are Nice" has certainly made itself a > little home in my subconscious. Again, I would never say that her stuff was "good," but the fact that I can remember that the song that you're referring to starts off "Flying Cats! From the stars! With their freaky fancy! FREAKY FANCY!!" kind of proves my point (possible lyric misaprehensions aside). I mean, I haven't listened to the thing in about eight years. For some reason, I keep wondering if Andy might like it. - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:48:59 -0500 From: Dana Paoli Subject: Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops > Again, I would never say that her stuff was "good," but the fact > that I can remember that the song that you're referring to starts > off "Flying Cats! From the stars! With their freaky fancy! FREAKY > FANCY!!" kind of proves my point (possible lyric misaprehensions > aside). I mean, I haven't listened to the thing in about eight > years. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Oh no, my point *isn't* proven!! On second thought, the song actuallys starts off with the flying cats from the stars knocking on the door and introducing themselves, and then screaming for a while before the lyrics start. But wait, I remember that part too, nearly word for word. My point is proven!! - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:33:44 -0600 From: "Keegstra, Russell" Subject: RE: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 Brian prods: >Since it's a little early to make Best of 2002 lists, i do at >least figure we can rave about our favorite pre-2002 albums we've >bought this year. Huh. Nobody seems to wanna play this game. Well, I do: Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record This has been on my to-buy list for a long time, and I never really knew what to expect. It's not metal, it's not punk, it's not prog. Odd times, hooky riffs, wonderful bass lines. A singer who sometimes seems to singing a completely different song than the rest of the band. Impenetrable lyrics, but interesting nonetheless ("Here's a tip - you could take a lot of abuse if you exchange your skin for leather/All over town they've got these like messenger girls what ride around on innertubes/Their asses are all scraped up/Their eyes cold kick me off the bus, y'all"). When I just did three days in Houston this was the only album I brought, and then I spent the whole time riding around pissed because the rental car didn't have a CD player. Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True Another rant against the music industry, carefully pieced together posthumously by Nick D'Virgilio from bits of tape and scribbled notes. Includes a brilliant three part vocal fugue (Suit Fugue (Dance Of The A&R Men)) ("You sound like Air Supply meets GWAR, in a good way"). Hey, did anyone see Nick's band do this live at ProgWest a couple of weeks ago? Unfortunately that was the weekend just before I had to be in Houston. Waiting for the next conference call, Russ np: Porcupine Tree, in absentia, which will be on the 2002 list ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 09:39:02 -0500 (EST) From: dmw Subject: [loud-fans] poping the top On Sun, 24 Nov 2002, Dave Walker wrote: > I'll risk saying something here, though "Is Daydream Nation > great or is it crap" is the closest thing to a religion argument > you're likely get when indie kids gather... > > It's got at least 3 or 4 of the best songs Sonic Youth > ever did ("Teen Age Riot", "Silver Rocket", > "The Sprawl", "Candle"), and they're the only > people to ever base any music on William Gibson > without sounding like complete fucktards. > That's gotta count for something. who is this "Dave Walker" guy, and what is he doing with my brain? can i have it back? thing is, i could never quite make up my mind whether four of the greatest songs the band ever did actually added up to a good record or not. i wish i had it here with me today, though, 'cuz i sure feel like listening to it. i vote against mark being voted on or off the list. i like the idea of the best pre-2002 purchases list, but i'm not sure what i'd put on it. naked raygun and x reissues probably, - -- d. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 07:06:56 -0800 From: "Micah Bedwell" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops I used to worship that album when it came out and a couple years after. This summer, driving back home, I tried listening to it. Everything was still good, except for the drummer. The rhythm was so static. It sounded like he was back there building furniture.... Regards, Micah Bedwell "I have arrived, I am home." - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Walker" To: Sent: Sunday, November 24, 2002 6:10 PM Subject: Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops > On Sunday, November 24, 2002, at 08:23 PM, Dana Paoli wrote: > > > Still can't figure out why anyone would like Daydream Nation though. > > Lord, I think I'd even go with Goo before that. > > I'll risk saying something here, though "Is Daydream Nation > great or is it crap" is the closest thing to a religion argument > you're likely get when indie kids gather... > > It's got at least 3 or 4 of the best songs Sonic Youth > ever did ("Teen Age Riot", "Silver Rocket", > "The Sprawl", "Candle"), and they're the only > people to ever base any music on William Gibson > without sounding like complete fucktards. > That's gotta count for something. > > -d.w. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 16:25:41 GMT From: dana-boy@juno.com Subject: Re:Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops [Re: Daydream Nation] I used to worship that album when it came out and a couple years after. This summer, driving back home, I tried listening to it. Everything was still good, except for the drummer. The rhythm was so static. It sounded like he was back there building furniture.... >>>>>>>>>>>> One of the things I always loved about Mold's great song "Sonic Youth at Disney World" is that they declined to name Steve Shelley. The final verse goes "Kim!!...Thurston!!...Lee!!......the drummer." I think the song came out in '94, so you can't say it was due to Steve just showing up. He really is awfully bland, and seems to love to play "buh-buh-bah, buh-buh-bah, buh-buh-bah" endlessly. I kind of hold him responsible for the decline of Sonic Youth. They should have kept Bob (look what he did for Pussy Galore!). The only song I'd save from DN is "Total Trash." - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 08:43:17 -0800 From: "Andrew Hamlin" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] top o the pops >For some reason, I keep wondering if Andy might like it. I must be going soft. How did I ever miss a totally unlistenable album that seems to consist entirely of a couple of girls on acid babbling? Anybody know how to get ahold of this, Andy "Sapp [suggested] Sherman cursed at him and then termed the Packers coach 'a lying, (manure)-eating hound.  If I was 25 years old and didn't have a kid and a conscience, I would have given him an ass-kicking right there at the 30-yard line.'" - --from an article by Len Pasquarelli the altercation between Tampa Bay Bucs defensive back Warren Sapp and Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman, at http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1465999.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 13:26:43 -0500 From: Carolyn Dorsey Subject: [loud-fans] Riaa forces navy to surrender computers http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/28263.html ************************************ Also this is kind of interesting- Categories of rock and pop http://starling.rinet.ru/music/index.htm This is written by a 24 year old guy who is from Russia. Some of the classifications are pretty funny. Carolyn ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 13:41:44 -0500 From: John Sharples Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Riaa forces navy to surrender computers Carolyn: > http://starling.rinet.ru/music/index.htm > > This is written by a 24 year old guy who is from Russia. > > Some of the classifications are pretty funny. My fave (early hard rock/metal): "WE'RE HEAVY AND THAT'S THAT" Gotta love a site with a rave review of Badfinger's WISH YOU WERE HERE, even if he pretty much misses the point. JS - ------------------------------- This mail sent through Brooklyn Law School WebMail http://www.brooklaw.edu/webmail - ------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 19:03:29 -0000 From: "richblath" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 Time to join in on this one, partly at least because I'm currently playing one of them. that is... Flashing Lights - WHERE THE CHANGE IS. Basically I reckon it's the album Sloan always promised to make but never managed to. Some great driving power-pop, mixed with beautiful interludes. But it is surpassed by P76 - INTO THE SUN. Ok there might be a bit of a sun fixation going on here, but they're from Aus so I guess it's kinda forgivable. This, imo, is the best summery power-pop album I've ever heard. On that basis I'd put it above the Shazam or Cotton Mather. Great melodies, great mood, great driving rhythms on many of the tracks. Bill Janovitz - UP HERE. Top album full of beautiful basic arrangements of wonderfully emotive songs - some say great alt.country, but I reckon they're just great songs. The Smiths - STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME & THE QUEEN IS DEAD. Slightly cheating here as I already had them both on vinyl years ago. I'd forgotten, or maybe never realised at all, what a fabulously varied album the former is - almost as good as the latter? Richard - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Keegstra, Russell" To: Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 1:33 PM Subject: RE: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 > Brian prods: > >Since it's a little early to make Best of 2002 lists, i do at > >least figure we can rave about our favorite pre-2002 albums we've > >bought this year. > > Huh. Nobody seems to wanna play this game. Well, I do: > > Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record > This has been on my to-buy list for a long time, and I never really > knew what to expect. It's not metal, it's not punk, it's not prog. > Odd times, hooky riffs, wonderful bass lines. A singer who sometimes > seems to singing a completely different song than the rest of the > band. Impenetrable lyrics, but interesting nonetheless ("Here's a > tip - you could take a lot of abuse if you exchange your skin for > leather/All over town they've got these like messenger girls what > ride around on innertubes/Their asses are all scraped up/Their eyes > cold kick me off the bus, y'all"). When I just did three days in > Houston this was the only album I brought, and then I spent the > whole time riding around pissed because the rental car didn't have > a CD player. > > Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True > Another rant against the music industry, carefully pieced together > posthumously by Nick D'Virgilio from bits of tape and scribbled > notes. Includes a brilliant three part vocal fugue (Suit Fugue > (Dance Of The A&R Men)) ("You sound like Air Supply meets GWAR, > in a good way"). Hey, did anyone see Nick's band do this > live at ProgWest a couple of weeks ago? Unfortunately that was > the weekend just before I had to be in Houston. > > Waiting for the next conference call, > Russ > > np: Porcupine Tree, in absentia, which will be on the 2002 list ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 14:43:08 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Mitton Subject: Re: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 Because I'm a uniter, not a divider, let me pull two threads together: DAYDREAM NATION is one of the best pre-2002 releases I've bought this year. But enough said on this. I'd add Scott Miller and the Commonwealth THUS TO ALL TYRANTS. Took a while for me to warm to it, but warm I did. Search the archives for "Miles Goosens" to find out more. The Delgados THE GREAT EASTERN. It's hard to believe this was the same band that put out DOMESTIQUES. Their new album, HATE, has been out in the UK for a while, but they're still taunting the U.S. fans. Best song, however, goes to "Piano Fire" from Sparklehorse IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Rarely do I think one song is so good it would be worth buying the album even if the rest were crap. - --Michael ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 15:21:33 -0600 From: Chris Prew Subject: [loud-fans] There's No Such Thing as a Stupid Question What's the proper name of the Fleetwood Mac greatest hits collection that's being hawked on TV lately? Is it the same as the one that Allmusic.com calls "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" on Reprise? Chris To keep this post from being a complete irritating waste of time: If you get the chance to see the Mission of Burma reunion tour - do it. The Minneapolis show last night was fantastic. 2 sets, 2 encores, 110 minutes, and every song I wanted to hear and a few I wasn't expecting. As a friend said "They could have quit after the first set and I would have been perfectly happy." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 16:26:55 -0500 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] There's No Such Thing as a Stupid Question At 03:21 PM 11/25/2002 -0600, Chris Prew wrote: >What's the proper name of the Fleetwood Mac greatest hits collection >that's being hawked on TV lately? Is it the same as the one that >Allmusic.com calls "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" on Reprise? One and the same. A lot of older-skewing albums are doing heavy TV advertising like that, since they can't catch a break on the radio. S ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 18:28:01 -0500 From: John Sharples Subject: Re: [loud-fans] There's No Such Thing as a Stupid Question > At 03:21 PM 11/25/2002 -0600, Chris Prew wrote: > >What's the proper name of the Fleetwood Mac greatest hits collection > >that's being hawked on TV lately? Is it the same as the one that > >Allmusic.com calls "The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac" on Reprise? Stewart: > One and the same. Yeah, and it's a big improvement over the 1988 Reprise single-disc package (green cover with white flower design), which was woefully short on Lindsay tracks--I think only "Go Your Own Way" and "Tusk"! As the resident Louds F-Mac fanatic, I give "The Very Best" a hearty thumbs up, particularly for the inclusion of the epic, RUMOURS-era b-side "Silver Springs" easily one of the best tracks of Stevie Nicks' career. Unfortunately for me, to get "Silver Springs" before this new comp was released I had to shell out about forty bucks on eBay to pick up 25 YEARS: THE CHAIN, an OOP four-CD overview of the band, including the Peter Green and Bob Welch years, which is a wildly uneven box set. Lots of excellent album tracks (including a surprisingly hefty load from TUSK), lots of Lindsay, but also too many inclusions from the lame 80's albums, and bizarre omissions ("Hold Me", one of their best and biggest U.S. hits, isn't included for reasons I can't begin to fathom). I'll just add that the definitive performance of "Silver Springs" is actually on the recent reumion live album THE DANCE. > A lot of older-skewing albums are doing heavy TV > advertising like that, since they can't catch a break on the radio. Hey Stewart, I don't quite follow what you're saying here. Do you mean they can't catch a break advertising on radio, or getting airplay? Cuz radio ads certainly do skew well for the boomer/older Gen-X market, and of course F-Mac are staples of several thriving AM and FM formats today. JS - ------------------------------- This mail sent through Brooklyn Law School WebMail http://www.brooklaw.edu/webmail - ------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 19:51:49 -0500 From: Michael Bowen Subject: Re: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 Best historical discovery for me this year was Great Plains. I found the 2-CD compilation of their entire output, "Length Of Growth 1981 - 1989", in a used bin for 4.99 earlier this year, and it was easily the best value for money I've gotten in ages. Ron House ain't the greatest singer in the world, but he writes 'em real good. Song titles include "Rutherford B. Hayes", "When Honesty Gets Old", "Letter To A Fanzine", "Time To Name The Dog", and "Alfalfa Omega". Waiting for a remastered version of "Tusk", Michael Bowen np: Bruce Springsteen, "Thundercrack" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 20:24:47 EST From: JRT456@aol.com Subject: Re: [loud-fans] list-makers painted blue in 2002 In a message dated 11/25/02 4:51:22 PM, mbowen@frontiernet.net writes: << Best historical discovery for me this year was Great Plains. I found the 2-CD compilation of their entire output, "Length Of Growth 1981 - 1989", in a used bin for 4.99 earlier this year, and it was easily the best value for money I've gotten in ages. Ron House ain't the greatest singer in the world...>> I've never been a Great Plains fan, but this year's Ron House solo album is certainly a touching tribute to creepy behavior. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 22:59:40 -0600 From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: [loud-fans] where have you gone, Annabella Lwin? An interesting little article on the imminent passing of the cassette tape, from the Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/30f9 I actually listen to tapes more than I do vinyl - primarily because the car I usually drive ('96 Toyota Tercel) has only a cassette player. Surprisingly, a lot of my older cassettes have held up pretty well. Of course, I was pretty good at not leaving them merely strewn about the room - or left on the dash of a parked car. Jeff Ceci n'est pas une .sig ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 00:09:22 -0500 From: Dana Paoli Subject: Re: [loud-fans] There's No Such Thing as a Stupid Question Yeah, and it's a big improvement over the 1988 Reprise single-disc package (green cover with white flower design), which was woefully short on Lindsay tracks--I think only "Go Your Own Way" and "Tusk"! As the resident Louds F-Mac fanatic, I give "The Very Best" a hearty thumbs up, particularly for the inclusion of the epic, RUMOURS-era b-side "Silver Springs" easily one of the best tracks of Stevie Nicks' career. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A few years ago, I discovered "Bare Trees" which still strikes me as the best Mac album, and I'm still convinced that Scott M. could do a killer cover of "Dust" which has all the wierd chord changes and catchiness factor of prime Game Theory. I investigated slightly the albums surrounding it, including that Penguin album, but got the impression (based only on brief listens to sound samples) that their quality dropped off for a while after "Bare Trees." Does anyone here have anything else to recommend from that period, which I *think* would be defined as the peak Danny Kirwan era? Does he have any solo stuff worth looking for? As I understand it, he ended up homeless and in bad shape mentally, but I'm not entirely sure of the source for that. - --dana ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 00:44:04 -0500 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] There's No Such Thing as a Stupid Question At 12:09 AM 11/26/2002 -0500, Dana Paoli wrote: >A few years ago, I discovered "Bare Trees" which still strikes me as the >best Mac album, and I'm still convinced that Scott M. could do a killer >cover of "Dust" which has all the wierd chord changes and catchiness >factor of prime Game Theory. I investigated slightly the albums >surrounding it, including that Penguin album, but got the impression >(based only on brief listens to sound samples) that their quality dropped >off for a while after "Bare Trees." Does anyone here have anything else >to recommend from that period, which I *think* would be defined as the >peak Danny Kirwan era? Pudman will be along in a few hours with the same recommendation, but the album just before BARE TREES, FUTURE GAMES, is also pretty nifty, as is (to a lesser extent) the one before that, KILN HOUSE. They all have the same sort of extremely mellow, almost minimalist, sound, far removed from the blues-rock of their very early days. >Does he have any solo stuff worth looking for? When I was a little kid (and an *enormous* Mac fan -- this would have been around the time RUMOURS was playing 24 hours a day on Denver's KIMN), my older sister gave me a Danny Kirwan album called SECOND CHAPTER on DJM Records that I believe was from about 1976. It was his solo debut, and I recall it as sounding basically the same as his BARE TREES material, only not as good. Bear in mind that I have not heard this album in well over 20 years. >As I understand it, he ended up homeless and in bad shape mentally, but >I'm not entirely sure of the source for that. So did Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer -- clearly there was some bad juju happening there in the early Mac. I rediscovered BARE TREES about 18 months ago, and as a result of being reminded how goddamn wonderful Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady" is, I bought his first solo album, FRENCH KISS, from a vinyl remainder bin. It's pure State-Of-1977 in its sound, but the remake of "Sentimental Lady" and a good chunk of the other songs are as good as corporate California rock ever got. Stewart NP: DIZRYTHMIA -- Split Enz ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 02:23:04 -0600 (CST) From: Miles Goosens Subject: [loud-fans] where have you gone, Mick Taylor? >Subject: [loud-fans] where have you gone, Annabella Lwin? Sometimes, these things are in the air: before tonight's Stones show, Melissa and I had a brief conversation about Bow Wow Wow, prompted by the similarity between "I Want Candy" (yeah, I know it's a Strangeloves song) and a couple of the blues/R&B tracks played before the show. Some random Stones notes before I forget them. May include spoilers, but I'll try to space the more spoileriffic ones down a bit... * You may have to pay an exorbitant price even for the cheap seats, but in return, these incredibly rich and famous rock stars kick their asses for you for two hours, when most people would go home happy with a half-assed effort. I'm not saying that the Stones don't still enjoy taking your money, but at some point in the '90s, they seem to have decided that it's more fun to offer the audience something really good in return. This tour doesn't even seem to have a "basic" setlist -- there's about six of the 20-22 songs that get played every night, but even they can show up anywhere in the setlist, and the rest of the show seems geared toward the Stones fan rather than the casual listener. It's almost like you get a collectable show! * Keith didn't move around nearly as much as he did the last time I saw them, five (eep!) years ago. Not that all of us aren't older... he looks really *fit,* however, which is weird. Maybe Reba McEntire got him a deal on the body of a 19 year-old guy the last time she had her head transplanted to the body of a 19 year-old girl... * Mick, on the other hand, seems almost unchanged. He dances, poses, moves, exhorts, and otherwise stays in perpetual motion, with only a brief break while Keef belts out "The Worst" and "Happy." * Ron Wood played a whole lot more prominently than I had ever noticed before, including several show-stopping solos. Maybe it was just the song selection tonight vs. the other shows I've seen (in person on via video), but Ron got to do *a lot* tonight. Lots of Mick Taylor-originated parts in the setlist, and he did 'em proud. * There was a big story in the paper here a few weeks ago about how sax man Bobby Keys was suing a dentist here in Nashville because a filing and capping job the dentist did on Bobby's teeth rendered him unable to play the sax, and thus unable to join the Stones for this tour. Keys was suing the guy for the money he would have made as a well-salaried employee of the Glimmer Twins. But lo and behold, he was onstage playing his sax tonight, and showing no ill effects. * Melissa and I thought the show took a long time to really get going. Charlie Watts was incredible throughout, and the band seemed to be putting in a good effort, but it just wasn't catching fire. The same thing happened in '97 at Vandy's football stadium, but by the third song of that show, the sound crew got the right balance, song #4 was "Gimme Shelter," and from that point forward, the thing just caught on fire and never stopped burning . Tonight, the sound was awful, as it always is in our Arena (strangely, the same design team built the Pyramid in Memphis, which has good concert acoustics by arena standards), bass drowning out the guitars at one end, and the hight stuff going very bright as it bounced off the concrete. I think this contributed in a major way to the show not feeling "right." The Stones' crew *finally* got the sound into a more acceptable shape, but not until midway through, during "The Worst" and "Happy." The rest of the show cooked, but it was a pity that they couldn't have made the adjustments sooner. * Even with the bad acoustics still troublesome when it was played, this LET IT BLEED fan was delighted to get "Monkey Man" at this show. The *best* performance, IMO, was "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," complete with hugely long outro (how long can something be and still be considered an "outro"? It's really the bulk of the song!) played to perfection, with Ron Wood handling all those lovely lead guitar parts. * Hearing "Sympathy for the Devil" was pretty special too. * There was an entire four-song EXILE ON MAIN STREET section of the show. Unfortunately it came in the crappy-sounding part of the evening's festivities. Plus it always strikes me that they'll never quite get the EXILE sound live, because they're playing at such a high level now that it's nearly impossible for them to force themselves to sound so sloppily! (Speaking of crap in song, "Sweet Virginia" was one of the EXILE choices.) * The "second stage" portion ended the regular set. Only three songs there, unlike 1997-98's five, and instead of being rarity-packed as per 1997-1998, two of the three choices were those obscure numbers "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" and "Brown Sugar" ("Little Red Rooster" was played between them). Not that you can't recontextualize the b-stage from "b-side stage" to "climactic hits finale stage," especially since they've already served up lots of fanatic-friendly fare... It did occur to us that the sound coming from the "B Stage"'s more centrally-located was superior to the sound we'd gotten from the end stage, and maybe the Arena should could solve its acoustic problems by having more "in the round" setups. * Lifehouse opened. What a bore. Turns out I had heard one of their songs on the radio, but had been unable to distinguish it from Creed and the other Vedder-alike bands. The folks around me made fun of them, and even if they did get it a little wrong by taunting them for being Nirvana (!) wannabes (ah, the popular mind, all of it's undifferentiated "grunge"), it was still darn funny to see these overly earnest chaps meet with such riotous disdain. OK, gotta sleep. If -- and it's a big "if" that makes an understandable "no" -- you can afford it, I highly recommend the Stones. Some things just rock, and they're still one of them. later, Miles ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V2 #409 *******************************