From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V4 #125 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, May 7 2004 Volume 04 : Number 125 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [loud-fans] a question of temperature... i mean, technicalities [Phi] Re: [loud-fans] a question of temperature... i mean, technicalities [d] [loud-fans] Bands reunited (the bands, not the TV show) ["Rex.Broome" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] a question of temperature... i mean, technicalities - --- Miles Goosens wrote: > Me, I most often go by when I got it -- for > instance, I sprung for the November '03 import of > Kylie's BODY LANGUAGE, so for me, it's on the '03 > list. But I sure wouldn't be upset or throw a > pedantic hissy fit if anyone listed it as an '04 > release. And I'm putting the Church on my '04 list > -- and it's currently #1, as a matter of fact. > > later, > > Miles I also had BODY LANGUAGE in '03. Also THE CURSE OF BLONDIE. Since I knew they in fact were scheduled to be released in '04 in the US... I'm putting them in the running for my best of '04 list. Phil F. Last played: Read Yellow - RADIOS BURN FASTER __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at Yahoo! HotJobs http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/careermakeover ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 11:07:53 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: Re: [loud-fans] a question of temperature... i mean, technicalities On Wed, 5 May 2004, Aaron Mandel wrote: > On Wed, 5 May 2004, dmw wrote: > > > even at that level, though, it's arbitrary if not outright > > fictional. > > Arbitrary, yes. Fictional, no. I'm saying, if a label says an album's > going to be available on a particular day, and then it IS, I would call > that a "release date". How is that fiction? ok, if the general public has access to the record on the release date published by the label, it's certainly not fiction. and i suppose that's the majority case. but it's far from always true, ergo, sometimes fictional. for an example: future farmer put out a couple records in 2001 that had very spotty (read: all but nonexistent) distribution. about eight months later (presumably after inking a better distro deal) they did a new release campaign on the same pair of records, with new release dates (but not identified as reissues). one or the other of those dates was pretty fictional by my standards. i dunno. i don't think it's worth putting a whole lot of calories into. it does make year's best lists kinda complicated, but life is complicated in a lotta other ways too. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 09:15:24 -0700 From: "Rex.Broome" Subject: [loud-fans] Bands reunited (the bands, not the TV show) Jeffrey: >>Speaking of worthy new releases: on my first listen or so, I'm pretty >>impressed with the new Mission of Burma. Agreed. I'm changing my assessment of Matador from "the label where great bands go to die, the second time" to "the label where reunion albums magically don't suck, at all". Dear Matador, please sign Television, and the Pixies. And have a little chat with the guys from Husker Du. Thank you. Your pal, Rex. >>Which gets back to what I used to do: make note of when the damned thing >>was *recorded*. I still hew to this with compilations (dated from the most recent recording), but it can be a real crapshoot, especially when re-recorded or live-reunion songs are appended to boxed sets or whatever... thus my Byrds box set dates to 1990, and the next-to-last chronologically filed Throwing Muses disc largely consists of a remastered version of their debut and includes recordings that predate it. Oh, well. >>(BTW: the drum tracks for the Wrens' _Meadowlands_ were recorded way back >>when - '98 or so. Very little was changed there - some looping in spots, >>I think, and processing - but no new drum tracks - for an album that was >>released in 2004.) If I finish my damned record this year (or ever), it's gonna have some drum and bass that date back to 1997. (Drum and bass the instruments, not the techno subgenre, that is). But this case is a little more clear-cut. It's just a record that took a long time. You wouldn't date a new Peter Gabriel album from the first Fairlight noodling he put down when starting the record seven years earlier... same thing, despite the fact that drum tracks imply that the songs might actually have been written when recording commenced. BTW, I probably have a few 5" floppies here at work, but they probably contain closed captioning for like the Bob Newhart show or something, and yes, I still get requests for them! - -Rex ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 12:46:50 -0400 From: "jer fairall" Subject: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules What is the best Mission of Burma album to start with? I've heard especially good things about VS, but I thought I should appeal to the experts before making a decision. Also, *my* rules for release dates: - --release dates, not copyright dates, determine which year an album is eligible for consideration in. - --albums released domestically the year after being released abroad (and for me, albums released in the US but not in Canada until later count, cf. DRESDEN DOLLS) are considered for the year of their domestic release. - --in the special case of an album released in Europe one year, and then the U.S. (but not Canada) the next, I go by the U.S. release date, as I have easier access to American record stores. - --the aforementioned points only count when I don't hear an album until it's domestic/U.S. release. If I get an album as an import only to have it released the following year, it cannot be considered a second time. I am cheating a bit, I admit, by counting THE CURSE OF BLONDIE as a 2004 album, as I got an import copy in the very last week of 2003 and only got to hear it once. - --I reserve the right to change my own rules at any time whenever it suits my purpose. Jer np: Now It's Overhead, s/t Support Care2 Email: Stop "scientific" whaling, the whale-killing loophole http://www.care2.com/go/z/12803 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 13:34:58 -0400 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules At 12:46 PM 5/6/2004 -0400, jer fairall wrote: >What is the best Mission of Burma album to start with? I've heard >especially good things about VS, but I thought I should appeal to the >experts before making a decision. Honestly, there's not much to choose from: an EP, SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES (which on CD also includes the "Academy Fight Song"/"Max Ernst" single) and VS. were the only things the band released in their first incarnation. There's also a live album called THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA and a pair of demo collections, PEKING SPRING and FORGET, along with the new album. Having not heard all of the new album yet, I won't rank it, but if I were you, I'd go: SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES (gets the nod if only for the single, which is a classic) VS. PEKING SPRING (very spotty, but the high points are very high) THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA FORGET (you can actually skip this one entirely unless you're a completist) There used to be a Ryko CD called MISSION OF BURMA that was SIGNALS and VS. in toto, plus the single. It's now rare enough that it's cheaper to buy the more recent single reissues than to pick this up on eBay. S ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 13:32:37 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules On Thu, 06 May 2004 13:34:58 -0400, "Stewart Mason" said: > At 12:46 PM 5/6/2004 -0400, jer fairall wrote: > >What is the best Mission of Burma album to start with? I've heard > >especially good things about VS, but I thought I should appeal to the > >experts before making a decision. > > SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES (gets the nod if only for the single, which is > a > classic) Plus, if you're not sure, it's only an EP > VS. > PEKING SPRING (very spotty, but the high points are very high) > THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA > FORGET (you can actually skip this one entirely unless you're a > completist) I'd agree - except that I'd reverse the last two and omit Stewart's parenthetical. But then, I'm not generally a live-album fan. I think _Forget_ is spotty, but not quite as dismissible as Stewart says. Hey, the discography is small and pretty consistent: if you like any of it, you'll probably like almost all of it. I suppose now we have to rank the Burma offshoot bands. I'm too lazy to rank, so instead I'll just list the ones I can think of: The Moving Parts (pre-Burma, Miller & Conley) Volcano Suns (Prescott) Kustomized (Prescott) Birdsongs of the Mesozoic (Miller & Swope) Roger Miller (solo, w/others) No Man (primarily Miller) Consonant (Conley) - --and there are more... Off the top of my head, Volcano Suns & Consonant seem the best of what I've heard... - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: "In two thousand years, they'll still be looking for Elvis - :: this is nothing new," said the priest. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 19:10:33 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules Fortissimo wrote: > SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES (gets the nod if only for the single, which is > >>a >>classic) >> >> > >Plus, if you're not sure, it's only an EP > > > >>VS. >>PEKING SPRING (very spotty, but the high points are very high) >>THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA >>FORGET (you can actually skip this one entirely unless you're a >>completist) >> >> > >I'd agree - except that I'd reverse the last two and omit Stewart's >parenthetical. But then, I'm not generally a live-album fan. I think >_Forget_ is spotty, but not quite as dismissible as Stewart says. > > As a longtime Burma fan, and someone who still ranks them as a very favorite band, I'll weigh in. I'm operating from the "the new one was mailordered and hasn't arrived" perspective here. I'd go with VS. first, (and if you get the Rykodisc version, it includes Signals...), Signals... second if you can't score the Ryko VS., then Horrible Truth. I can't imagine life without HT. Period. Absolutely vital. Peking Spring has great songs, but I like them better in their live incarnations. I'm very fond of Forget. It's not up to par with VS., but it ain't shabby either. >Hey, the discography is small and pretty consistent: if you like any of >it, you'll probably like almost all of it. > > Yep, I would agree. >I suppose now we have to rank the Burma offshoot bands. I'm too lazy to >rank, so instead I'll just list the ones I can think of: > >The Moving Parts (pre-Burma, Miller & Conley) >Volcano Suns (Prescott) >Kustomized (Prescott) >Birdsongs of the Mesozoic (Miller & Swope) >Roger Miller (solo, w/others) >No Man (primarily Miller) >Consonant (Conley) >--and there are more... > >Off the top of my head, Volcano Suns & Consonant seem the best of what >I've heard... > > > I just wish I'd SEEN more of those offshoots. I did see Volcano Suns circa 1985? '84? and that was a truly fun show. Jen ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 18:27:40 -0400 From: "David Seldin" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules VS. is definitely my favorite, but it's a dense, "difficult" record in a lot of places. Absolutely ferocious. SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES is a much easier introduction, and great in its own right. David - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stewart Mason" To: Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 1:34 PM Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules > At 12:46 PM 5/6/2004 -0400, jer fairall wrote: > >What is the best Mission of Burma album to start with? I've heard > >especially good things about VS, but I thought I should appeal to the > >experts before making a decision. > > Honestly, there's not much to choose from: an EP, SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES > (which on CD also includes the "Academy Fight Song"/"Max Ernst" single) and > VS. were the only things the band released in their first incarnation. > There's also a live album called THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA and a pair > of demo collections, PEKING SPRING and FORGET, along with the new album. > > Having not heard all of the new album yet, I won't rank it, but if I were > you, I'd go: > > SIGNALS CALLS AND MARCHES (gets the nod if only for the single, which is a > classic) > VS. > PEKING SPRING (very spotty, but the high points are very high) > THE HORRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT BURMA > FORGET (you can actually skip this one entirely unless you're a completist) > > There used to be a Ryko CD called MISSION OF BURMA that was SIGNALS and VS. > in toto, plus the single. It's now rare enough that it's cheaper to buy > the more recent single reissues than to pick this up on eBay. > > S ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 00:32:35 GMT From: TweeBoy Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Bands reunited (the bands, not the TV show) >>I'm changing my assessment of Matador from "the label where great bands go to die, the second time" to "the label where reunion albums magically don't suck, at all". Hi, What great bands died there, the second time? I don't understand. TB ________________________________________________________________ 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, 06 May 2004 22:23:06 -0400 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules At 07:10 PM 5/6/2004 -0400, Jenny Grover wrote: >As a longtime Burma fan, and someone who still ranks them as a very >favorite band, I'll weigh in. I'm operating from the "the new one was >mailordered and hasn't arrived" perspective here. I'd go with VS. >first, (and if you get the Rykodisc version, it includes Signals...) Not anymore. That was the 1988 CD called MISSION OF BURMA, which is now out of print. A few years ago, Ryko reissued SIGNALS and VS. as separate CDs in their original cover art. Consonant is my favorite Burma offshoot by some distance, but I do love Volcano Suns and Birdsongs as well. It's not quite fair to call Birdsongs a Burma offshoot, though: that's always been very much Erik Lindgren's project, which only featured Roger and Martin for a few years back in the mid-'80s. What was the name of that late '60s/early '70s band that Roger had with his brothers? I see their album at Twisted Village sometimes, but I've never ponied up. S ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 20:14:02 -0700 From: "Bradley Skaught" Subject: Re: [loud-fans] a question of temperature... i mean, technicalities > PS, Really digging the Freaks and Geeks box set - >highly recommended to > all who were, are, or wished you were one or the other. I second that. I'd never seen it before, but my girflriend was a huge fan so I bought her the box set and have been really enjoying it. The portrayal of the hyper-emotional mean girl is absolutely spot on. I think you can tell the quality of a high school themed TV show by how much squirming it causes! The more the better! B - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.669 / Virus Database: 431 - Release Date: 4/26/2004 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 23:26:00 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: Re: [loud-fans] question for the M.O.B. mob/release date rules Stewart Mason wrote: >What was the name of that late '60s/early '70s band that Roger had with his >brothers? I see their album at Twisted Village sometimes, but I've never >ponied up. > > > Sproton Layer? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 23:28:42 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: [loud-fans] lots of talk about a guy named Miller, but don't worry! On Thu, 06 May 2004 22:23:06 -0400, "Stewart Mason" said: > Consonant is my favorite Burma offshoot by some distance, but I do love > Volcano Suns and Birdsongs as well. The first two (if I'm remembering the sequence correctly) No Man albums (Win! Instantly! and How the West Was Won) are pretty cool too. Whamon Express, if I recall, was a bit of a letdown. Then there are others that are more Miller's experimental stuff. I've never really heard much Birdsongs though. It's not quite fair to call > Birdsongs > a Burma offshoot, though: that's always been very much Erik Lindgren's > project, which only featured Roger and Martin for a few years back in the > mid-'80s. I thought Miller played with them pre-Burma too. "Offshoot" isn't really right, correct: but I can't call to mind a single word that encompasses both "offshoot" and "acts that Burma guys were involved in even if it was before there even was a Mission of Burma or if it wasn't really their band." > What was the name of that late '60s/early '70s band that Roger had with > his > brothers? I see their album at Twisted Village sometimes, but I've never > ponied up. Ponying is wrong, Stewart. Mike Breen told me so. Anyway, I'm trying to remember what band Ben Miller (one of Roger's bros) was in in Ann Arbor in the early '80s, when I was there. Oh: and what is/was a "Mission of Burma" anyway? Speaking of Lindgren (I always get confused: I know a guy called Erik Lindberg - pretty close) - did any of the Burma folks play with the infamous Space Negroes? Questions are a burden to others. - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: "In two thousand years, they'll still be looking for Elvis - :: this is nothing new," said the priest. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 01:14:30 -0400 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] lots of talk about a guy named Miller, but don't worry! At 11:28 PM 5/6/2004 -0500, Fortissimo wrote: >> It's not quite fair to call Birdsongs >> a Burma offshoot, though: that's always been very much Erik Lindgren's >> project, which only featured Roger and Martin for a few years back in the >> mid-'80s. > >I thought Miller played with them pre-Burma too. I think he's actually played with them off and on throughout their career, for a song or two at a time, but he was only a full-time member during the BEAT OF THE MESOZOIC/MAGNETIC FLIP era. >> What was the name of that late '60s/early '70s band that Roger had with >> his >> brothers? I see their album at Twisted Village sometimes, but I've never >> ponied up. > >Ponying is wrong, Stewart. Mike Breen told me so. Ah, the Breenster. Good times. >Anyway, I'm trying to remember what band Ben Miller (one of Roger's bros) >was in in Ann Arbor in the early '80s, when I was there. Wasn't one or the others of Roger's brothers in Destroy All Monsters? Oh, and Jenny's right, it was Sproton Layer. >Oh: and what is/was a "Mission of Burma" anyway? I believe the story in Michael Azerrad's book is that Clint Conley was walking aimlessly around Manhattan and ran across a sign in front of an office building that said "Mission of Burma," as in the Burmese diplomatic headquarters. Is that what a mission is? I always get them confused with embassies. >Speaking of Lindgren (I always get confused: I know a guy called Erik >Lindberg - pretty close) - did any of the Burma folks play with the >infamous Space Negroes? I have the compilation DIG ARCHAEOLOGY, 1980-1990, which features no Burmese names in the extensive credits. The Space Negroes were basically Erik Lindgren's solo outlet, though, and other people were only brought into it on special occasions, usually playing horns. S ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 02:56:32 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: Re: [loud-fans] lots of talk about a guy named Miller, but don't worry! I found a very cheap copy of the Sproton Layer disc on half.com tonight and promptly ordered it, so I should be able to let you all know sometime in the near future just what it sounds like. Jen ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V4 #125 *******************************