From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V3 #179 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 Friday, June 20 2003 Volume 03 : Number 179 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present [Miles ] Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present [Stewar] Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present [Dave W] [loud-fans] tenuously connected to the present, Hell House (ns) [dana-boy] Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present [Jeffr] [loud-fans] more cool-sounding contemporary music stuff for Miles and others [Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey ] Re: [loud-fans] more cool-sounding contemporary music stuff for Miles and others [Roger Winston Subject: Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present At 02:37 PM 6/19/2003 -0700, Joseph M. Mallon wrote: >On Thu, 19 Jun 2003, Miles Goosens wrote: >> At 04:01 PM 6/19/2003 -0500, Bill Silvers wrote: >> >Or #8 either, I'm guessing. I've yet to find anybody who can do better than >> >"damned by faint praise" on the thing, but maybe it's the company I keep. >> >> Oh wait, I momentarily forgot who the members of the Thorns are. I should have said "but remembered now." :-) >> Haven't heard the album yet, though. > >Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullens. Yay, eh, and yuck, respectively... >If you liked Ambrosia in >the late '70s-early 80's ca. "How Much I Feel", The Thorns are your thing. Um... um... um... um... Life beyond LA?, Miles ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 18:57:37 -0400 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present At 04:10 PM 6/19/2003 -0500, Miles Goosens wrote: >>The PR kit >>has caused many clueless folks to compare them to Teenage Jesus and the >>Jerks, which is utterly specious. Charity, who had never heard of the band >>and was unaware of the hype, nailed them perfectly when we saw them on >>Conan a few weeks ago: They're Siouxsie and the Banshees (JUJU-era) plus >>the guitarist from Naked Raygun. > >That doesn't sound too bad to me, and potentially very enjoyable! Thanks, Stewart (and Charity)... You're welcome! I'm feeling rather tenuously connected to the present in terms of music at the moment myself, but here's some of the highlights in the to-be-filed stack here on my desk (eMusic downloads marked *): *AZ -- MUSIC FOR SCATTERED BRAINS (Atavistic 1997): The former bassist for Chicago no-wavers the Scissors Girls does a one-woman-band solo record. All instrumental, mostly synthesizer (permanently set on "duck farting"), with some tape-splice and accordion thrown in. Parts of it are on the unsettling side, but there's a kind of playfulness here that keeps it from being just annoying noise. Club 8 -- STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL (Hidden Agenda 2003): Wispy female vocals, synthesizers, acoustic guitars, electronic drums, tempos that rarely rise above a relaxed amble...just the sort of thing you hate, actually. But these guys do it really well, although I don't like this one as much as last year's SPRING CAME, RAIN FELL. *Culture -- SCIENTIST DUBS CULTURE INTO PARALLEL UNIVERSE (RAS 2000): Straight-up '70s-style dub of straight-up '70s-style roots reggae: proper bass and drums, minimal synth, not particularly flashy. Recommended both to the confirmed dub fan and the curious novice. Ivor Cutler -- BBC Sessions, '77-'96 (downloaded off the site of someone else on the Cutler list): My man Ivor in his best setting, just him and his piano and harmonium, doing what he does best. Dame Darcy -- GREATEST HITS (Bop Tart 2003): If you know her comic MEATCAKE, you might imagine this to be all dark and oppressive and gloomy and Gothy...which it largely is, but because it primarily consists of utterly straight, basically tradition-minded (with some noise and weirdness) murder ballads and folk songs, plus several originals in the style and a couple odd ringers. Her father, a folk musician named Mike Stanger, appears on several tracks, including Steve Gillette's "Darcy Farrow," which probably explains how she got her name. I did not expect to like this at all, but I found it utterly endearing, and anyone who likes Cordelia's Dad might appreciate it. Dengue Fever -- DENGUE FEVER (Web of Mimicry 2003): L.A. psych band with a female Cambodian-born lead singer, who take their cues from those grey-market collections of obscure Asian psych records from the '60s but are making something identifiably new out of their influences. Basically the southeast Asian equivalent of that Violeta de Outono record I mentioned last night, except I think I like this more. *Roger Eno and Peter Hammill -- THE APPOINTED HOUR (Voiceprint 2000): Okay, you might roll your eyes at the concept, but here goes: at an agreed-upon time and date, Eno and Hammill sat down in their respective studios, on opposite ends of London, with no communication between them and started improvising for exactly one hour. Yes, it's quite high-concept, but it's actually a lot more accessible and listenable than a lot of improvised electronic records. *Roky Erickson and the Aliens -- THE EVIL ONE (PLUS ONE) (Sympathy 2003): Disc one is basically a reissue of the 1987 Pink Dust CD THE EVIL ONE, itself a combination of all the tracks from two related albums released in the UK and the US in 1980-81. As a whole, this album is prime Roky, with many of his best-known songs given their best treatments. Particular highlight: "Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play," one of my all-time faves of his. Disc two is a very rare pair of EPs from the late '70s and clips from a radio interview with a lucid and good-humored Roky in Berkeley, circa 1979. Family Fodder -- WATER SHED (Dark Beloved Cloud 2001): Anglo-French collective centered arund multi-instrumentalist Alig Pearce and singer Dominique Levillain, doing their first album in 17 years. Imagine if Stereolab had been more into dub reggae and Dada than krautrock and Marxism. A couple of tracks remind me bizarrely of the likes of Toto Coelo, the Belle Stars and Amazulu. *Tommy Guerrero -- A LITTLE BIT OF SOMETHING (MoWax 2000): Another instrumental album -- clearly I've just been in a mood lately. Recommended for fans of Cornelius and Portishead, though it's a bit more nebulous and generic than either. Half Man Half Biscuit -- An Assortment (trade from a friend on Audities): I used to have several EPs and 12s by these guys, which I loved. Can't imagine what happened to them, but this collection reminds me of how much I loved them circa '86-'87. I believe I've subconsciously adopted their song "Irk the Purists" (which I barely remembered) as my personal credo. *The Lovetones -- BE WHAT YOU WANT (Bomp/Committee To Keep Music Evil 2003): Australian trio that surprisingly includes neither Dom Mariani nor Kim from the Summer Suns, but sounds very much in that style: jangly pop rooted in the '60s, but not beholden to any particular style. Recommended to Michael Penn and Allen Clapp fans in particular. *Masters of the Hemisphere -- MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE (Kindercore 2001): I tread very carefully when it comes to the Kindercore label, because from the label name on down, they're capable of excruciating coyness mixed with a general lack of ability. This Athens-based duo (which unusually for Kindercore seems to have no relation to any of the Elephant 6 bands) are a big exception, though, and I rather wish I'd discovered them before. Proper songs given varied and interesting arrangements, decent singing and a fair number of hooks per song. Wimpy as hell, naturally, but not at all irritating. I have their other records due for download soon. *The Methadones -- ILL AT EASE (Lookout 2001): Like recent albums by the Queers or Atom and His Package, the general tone of the Methadones is "I'm well into my 30s, but dammit, I still like the Undertones." Replace "Undertones" with "early Social Distortion" and you have the Rumblers' HOLD ON TIGHT (Lookout 2003), which I also recommend. Speaking of the Queers, many of their early albums -- unfortunately not including my favorite, GROW UP -- are also available on eMusic, and I've been enjoying rediscovering them. *Mono -- ONE STEP MORE AND YOU DIE (Arena Rock 2003): Don't let the description "Japanese noise rock band" give you the wrong idea. This album is about dynamics and pacing, not aural assault. It's actually rather quiet and, dare I say it, very pretty in spots, and when the noise level does kick up -- see the last half of the 15-minute centerpiece track "Com(?)" -- the results sound like LARKS TONGUES-era Crimso fed a steady diet of anabolic steroids and Red Bull. Comparisons to Mogwai are legion and not far off the mark, but if you've heard of an American band called Larval, that's closer. This album has been kicking my ass for a good couple of weeks now. And yes, it's another all-instrumental album. *Bill Nelson -- WITH CULTUREMIX (Resurgent 1999): Roger's probably already found this on eMusic. Bill sings all of half a verse on one song, and his guitar isn't much more prominent than that, but this is a welcome rarity: an album that aims to mix indigenous ethnic music (mostly from Asian countries) and Western pop/rock that's neither skimpy and condescending on the local tunes nor wimpy and deracinated on the rock. Surprisingly good stuff in a style I usually hate. *Spirea X -- FIREBLADE SKIES (4AD 1991): Basically Jim Beattie and Judith Boyle of Adventures In Stereo under another name. Very much an album of its time, but if you have fond memories of the Stone Roses, early Ride and pre-dance Primal Scream, it'll be a nice surprise. *Danny Thompson -- LIVE 1967 (What 2003): The Pentangle bassist leading a small combo (sax/flute, guitar, piano, drums) on a set of jazz standards done in a low-key, relaxed style. Really nice, although at 24 minutes, way too short. This is on top of the Richard Thompson and New Pornographers albums you already know about. Admittedly, this sample is skewed because I've been going on a download tear the last week or so, but clearly, it seems the best way to join the musical present is to join eMusic! S ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 19:48:59 -0400 From: Dave Walker Subject: Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present On Thursday, June 19, 2003, at 06:57 PM, Stewart Mason wrote: > *AZ -- MUSIC FOR SCATTERED BRAINS (Atavistic 1997): I've really enjoyed most everything I've downloaded on Atavistic, but then I have a high tolerance for skronk. I really love the Spaceways Inc. records. > Club 8 -- STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL (Hidden Agenda 2003): Ooh, gotta get this one. I really liked the last 2 Club 8 records. > *Culture -- SCIENTIST DUBS CULTURE INTO PARALLEL UNIVERSE (RAS 2000) I really like this one. I just listened to it this morning with my coffee, as a matter of fact. > > *Roger Eno and Peter Hammill -- THE APPOINTED HOUR (Voiceprint 2000): > Okay, > you might roll your eyes at the concept, but here goes: at an > agreed-upon > time and date, Eno and Hammill sat down in their respective studios, on > opposite ends of London, with no communication between them and started > improvising for exactly one hour. Yes, it's quite high-concept, but > it's > actually a lot more accessible and listenable than a lot of improvised > electronic records. If you're looking for some more interesting improvised electronic music, check out the roman-numbered live Pete Namlook albums on Fax. The first 15 of them were improvised live by Namlook at various festivals, concerts, and chill-out rooms during the first half of the 90s. I believe 16 and up are studio improvs, but I don't think any of those have made it to Emusic yet anyway. _Namlook VII_ is the best recorded live electronic performance I own in any format, and is probably the one to sample if you're not sure if it's your bag or not. If you like that, the website http://www.2350.org is an exhaustively thorough (it's probably the best single-label fan site I've ever seen on the internet, in terms of thoroughness, and you'll find multiple reviews of just about every release in the label's catalogue there, and we're talking about a label that's released over 250 albums!) -d.w. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:29:34 -0400 From: dana-boy@juno.com Subject: [loud-fans] tenuously connected to the present, Hell House (ns) [Miles] Also, just for the heck of it, here's the top 25 for the week of 6/2 - 6/8 at Grimey's, Nashville's coolest record store... 11. Pinback - Offcell EP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I had an earlier album of theirs, "Blue Screen Life." Nice, tasteful indie-guitar rock that was unlikely to thrill *or* disappoint. Similar to what Seam used to do, but slightly more upbeat. 17. +/- (Plus/Minus) - Holding Pattern EP >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The current home of James from Versus. I've heard some live tracks of +/-'s that were pretty rocking, but have no idea what the album/ep sound like -- the reviews I've read seem to indicate something softer. Versus were always solid but rarely great (they were also always better live, where the guitars could overcome the limitations of their lousy drummer/s), so I wonder about a band that doesn't play to James' biggest strength. There are samples here http://plusmin.us/listen.html. 24. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This is a re-issue of some early '70's stuff that came out in 2001 on Luaka Bop. One man band does the funk-pop-guitar solo thing with early drum machine. The reissue contains only four songs from the album "Freedom Flight" and unfortunately, one of those songs "Strawberry Letter 23" is the best thing on the CD, making me wish that they'd just reissued all of "Freedom Flight." Which I've never heard, so maybe the rest of it stinks and they made the correct decision. I wonder if the record store is actually selling the similarly named 2003 sessions CD that I see listed at allmusic. On a different subject, Shari and I rented "Hell House" which is out on DVD last night and loved it. Sad to think that many people will take it as a laugh-fest, though maybe I'm being unfair to hypothetical hipsters. It challenged my preconceptions in the sense that I had no idea the Slint were such a major influence on the Pentecostals. Seriously, their band rocks. - --dana np: Ride/"Carnival of Light" the 2001 reissue, and really liking it. It gazeth not at its shoes. ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:50:17 -0500 From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present Quoting Stewart Mason who, despite any impressions to the contrary you might receive below, has not in fact hired me as his fact-checker: > *Masters of the Hemisphere -- MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE (Kindercore > 2001): > This Athens-based duo (which unusually for > Kindercore seems to have no relation to any of the Elephant 6 bands) Ah, but it does, it does: according to AMG, multi-instrumentalist Adrian Finch has also played with Elf Power, Summer Hymns, and Great Lakes... > Proper songs given varied and interesting arrangements, decent singing > and > a fair number of hooks per song. Wimpy as hell, naturally, but not at > all > irritating. I have their other records due for download soon. I have _I Am Not a Freemdoom_, which, if only the lyrics, title, and "plot" (rendered in an included comic book) are considered, constitutes a powerful argument against the legalization of marijuana. So long as you pretend they're singing in Japanese and pay no attention to the strictly coincidental fact that some syllables seem to form English words, this is a pretty good album (Stewart's description will serve for mine). > This is on top of the Richard Thompson and New Pornographers albums you > already know about. Admittedly, this sample is skewed because I've been > going on a download tear the last week or so, but clearly, it seems the > best way to join the musical present is to join eMusic! I'm trying desperately not to have more new music to listen to than I have time to listen to it in: I'm not doing too well, and your list of suggestions is not helping at all here... ..Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ADS.html :: As long as I don't sleep, he decided, I won't shave. :: That must mean...as soon as I fall asleep, I'll start shaving! :: --Thomas Pynchon, _Vineland_ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 23:01:56 -0500 From: Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey Subject: [loud-fans] more cool-sounding contemporary music stuff for Miles and others The description of this band on the label website makes them sound pretty intriguing - textural, varied arrangements; clever, insightful lyrics...I think I even might have heard of them before. Plus I hear the drummer's a total hottie as well. You might check them out: - --- 125 Records will be releasing LOUD FAMILY LIVE 2000, a film by Danny Plotnick, on Sept. 16, 2003. It will be available on all-region DVD. The film includes complete live performances of many Loud Family favorites as well as interviews with the band & its fans and candid backstage footage. Track listing: 720 Times Happier Than the Unjust Man Deee-pression Idiot Son Years of Wrong Impressions Motion of Ariel Sister Sleep Slit My Wrists Asleep And Awake On The Man's Freeway The Waist and The Knees Cortex The Killer The Apprentice No One's Watching My Limo Ride Blackness, Blackness Nice When I Want Something The Story In Your Eyes (Moody Blues cover) Where They Walk Over Saint Therese Tearjerkin' (dB's cover) 24 Like A Girl Jesus Rosy Overdrive ..Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society www.uwm.edu/~jenor/ADS.html :: I suspect that the first dictator of this country will be called "Coach" :: --William Gass ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:17:03 -0600 From: Roger Winston Subject: Re: [loud-fans] various... At Thursday 6/19/2003 01:41 PM -0700, Joseph M. Mallon wrote: >On Thu, 19 Jun 2003, Roger Winston wrote: > > That's not a conclusion I would've jumped to. I have never, in my life, > > seen anyone put butter on a bagel, poppy seeds or no. > >I, like Jen, put butter on bagels, most times after splitting them and >heating them in a microwave. This, in itself, does not make me evil. True. I didn't say that this practice indicated evilness (at least not on the Sauron/Daleks/Magento/Lex Luthor/Hilary Rosen scale), only that I had never seen anyone do it before. Really, it never even occurred to me to put butter on bagels. Cream cheese, lox, jam - yes. Just never seen butter applied in that fashion. And remember, I prefer ketchup to mustard on hot dogs. Latre. --Rog ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:18:33 -0600 From: Roger Winston Subject: Re: [loud-fans] more cool-sounding contemporary music stuff for Miles and others At Thursday 6/19/2003 11:01 PM -0500, Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey wrote: >125 Records will be releasing LOUD FAMILY LIVE 2000, a film by Danny >Plotnick, on Sept. 16, 2003. It will be available on all-region DVD. The >film includes complete live performances of many Loud Family favorites as >well as interviews with the band & its fans and candid backstage footage. But is it in anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 sound??? Latre. --Rog ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:32:26 -0600 From: Roger Winston Subject: Re: [loud-fans] h*lp me remain tenuously connected to the present At Thursday 6/19/2003 06:57 PM -0400, Stewart Mason wrote: >*Bill Nelson -- WITH CULTUREMIX (Resurgent 1999): Roger's probably already >found this on eMusic. No need for me to download it from eMusic, since I've got it on CD. I must admit that it's one of the best things Bill has been involved with in the last decade (it actually came out in 1995). Also, count me in as an Ad Frank booster, even though I've never seen him live. As I've mentioned before, IN GIRL TROUBLE is fabulous, and so are his previous solo albums. (The album IN HARMS WAY from Ad's previous band Permafrost, is still an all-time favorite album of mine.) And even though I've never met him, I know he's one heckuva nice guy. BTW, this eMusic thing is getting way out of hand. Stop suggesting bands! I don't even have an iPod yet (though will soon, hopefully), so I can only easily listen to my downloads while on the PC. I am duly impressed with the breadth of material available on eMusic - there is so much stuff on there from my want (or check out) list that it's going to save me a lot of money. Hey, they've even got the new Richard Thompson! I was just reading the latest issue of The Big Takeover today, and that gave me some additional suggestions... Note: Glossary and Nadine (which Miles mentioned earlier) both have albums available on eMusic. This is so weird to actually get excited about music again... Latre. --Rog ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 22:39:53 -0700 (PDT) From: "Joseph M. Mallon" Subject: [loud-fans] Re: several messages On Thu, 19 Jun 2003, Roger Winston wrote: > And remember, I prefer ketchup to mustard on hot dogs. Good man! On Thu, 19 Jun 2003, Roger Winston wrote: > At Thursday 6/19/2003 11:01 PM -0500, Jeffrey with 2 Fs Jeffrey wrote: > >125 Records will be releasing LOUD FAMILY LIVE 2000, a film by Danny > >Plotnick, on Sept. 16, 2003. It will be available on all-region DVD. The > >film includes complete live performances of many Loud Family favorites as > >well as interviews with the band & its fans and candid backstage footage. > > But is it in anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 sound??? No, but it does have a pretty cover. Joe Mallon jmmallon@joescafe.com ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V3 #179 *******************************