From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V4 #210 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 Monday, August 2 2004 Volume 04 : Number 210 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [loud-fans] Ani DiFranco [LkDylaninthmvies@aol.com] [loud-fans] Re: Jen's Mix Review [Jenny Grover ] Re: [loud-fans] prehistoric swap review [Aaron Mandel ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 04:56:11 EDT From: LkDylaninthmvies@aol.com Subject: [loud-fans] Ani DiFranco Not exactly crisp, literate pop, but literate, anyway. I heard her perform "Grand Canyon" on Mountain Stage tonight and I can't tell if the piece is with or without musical accompaniment on her new record, EDUCATED GUESS, as my Windows Media Player won't stop buffering and play the track at her site (I don't have her new record...she puts out records so often that I can't keep up). Does "Grand Canyon" have music to go along with it on the record, anyone? On the radio, she did it as a spoken word/poem. I read she recorded her new album at home on an 8-track reel-to-reel, btw. I liked GC very much, but I'm not sure if I want to plunk down 18 dollars for EDUCATED GUESS. It seems like I just bought EVOLVE. Thanks! - --Mark S. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 05:37:19 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: [loud-fans] Re: Jen's Mix Review AWeiss4338@aol.com wrote: > Clever theme, twofers of each artist. I may try this myself with a > mix. I liked it becuae it helped me get a little more into a band. These are all bands Andrea had expressed an interest in, and she had also told me she has a hard time deciding if she likes a band based on one song, so I decided to give her a better taste. > > 1,2, Carrie Crash, The last Time (I lose my Mind), Stole the Show. > Christian rock at it's finest, makes you think, no preaching. Actually, they're not Christian rock, just shoe-gazery. Russ was in a Christian band called Bleach at one time, but lyrically, Carrie Crash is not. > The first 6 songs are from Jen's local scene, and all 6 share members, > in this case Russ Fox and Matt Gingerich. Not exactly true. Neither play in Guinness Clark's Wine, but Jeff Ellis sings for both GCW and Frauenfeld, and GWC record in Russ' studio. > 3,4, Frauenfeld, Not Your Fault, She Might Fly. Russ and Matt are in > this group too, plus a guy named Jeff Ellls. These songs sound much > like Carrie Crash's musically and lyrically, and just as good. She > Might Fly is where the name Carrie Crash originated, a song about a > friend going down, and the main character wanting to help her. Fraunfeld actually started out as the cARRIE cRASH, but when Jeff was called up to active duty soon after the project got started, Russ and Matt wanted to continue working on their stuff and not have to wait on his availability, plus Jeff is much more busy with GCW. So they renamed the Jeff material and then retained the CC name for their further collaborations. > > 7,8, In Passing, You're Mountain Is Waiting, Waverly. Florida band who > opened for another of Jen's local bands, Audible Campaign. This is > much harder rock than the bands before this one. But catchy, makes you > want to jump around the room. I like that too. Actually, Audible Campaign are from Chicago, but they record in Russ' studio and play here at least once a year. > > 9,10, Beauty Pill, Such Large Portions, Drive Down The Coast. A > Dischord band, and very different. I like the latter more than the > former, the latter is sung by a woman, sweetly, about an airport > terminal from hell. The calm singing masks the turmoil and unease > lyrically but not musically. Musically I though the CD was warped when > i first played it, it's not, that's the way the band recorded it. Love > it, all these guitars weaving all around the mix, making you wonder > what is going on. The former is more of a sound collage, somewhat > formless, but still interesting. What's the best album to get from them. Any suggestions out there? This is the only one I have. > > 11, 12 Mogwai, Hunted By A Freak, I Know You Are, But What Am I. I've > heard this band before, but they never knocked me out until now. Nice, > calm music, very ambient, you can float on this music like floating in > a pool. What is the best album to start with. See above. > > 13, 14, Lansing-Dreiden, VI A Silent Agreement, III An Uncut Diamond. > The first is ambient, softly played and sung, like a dream. The second > song raves all over the place. I like the contrast, and again wonder > what is the best album to start with. They only have one full length, The Incomplete Triangle, and one EP, both available from their website. The EP is softer and beachier, Triangle a bit dancier. > > 15,16 Soundgarden, Flower, 4th Of July. Flower is not a Liz Phair > cover, just like 4th of July isn't the Aimee Mann or X/Dave Alvin > song. What they are is grunge at it's finest, slow, but hard charging, > dirge like but still dancing around. Chris Cornell is some singer, > making the words signify powerfully with his strong voice. What albums > are these from? Flower is from Ultramega OK. 4th of July is from Superunknown. > > Thanks for a great mix Jen! > You're quite welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 11:00:52 -0400 From: Stewart Mason Subject: Re: [loud-fans] prehistoric swap review At 12:48 AM 7/30/2004 -0500, Fortissimo wrote: >9 Leslie Spit Treeo "Chocolate Chip Cookies" - Yep, definitely running >out of band names. I've heard of this song - and I thought I had it in >my collection, but I can't find it. It doesn't sound familiar either. >Was it on everyone else's mixes a few years back? I went through a rather massive love affair with this album when it came out in '96, and pretty much every mix I did during the next six months to a year included the song "Nebulous." Having picked up most of the LST's other records in the interim, it's clear that CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES was a bizarre fluke -- none of the three records that came before (1990's DON'T CRY TOO HARD, 1992's BOOK OF REJECTION and 1994's HELL'S KITCHEN) touch it. The duo split up after this album, so it's hard to say what could have happened next. Last I heard, Laura Hubert was a torch singer in Toronto. S ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 09:49:41 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: [loud-fans] Another Jer Swap Review While we're on the subject of reviewing Jer Fairall discs, I'm criminally late in posting notes on the excellent 2-CD "Best of 2003" he sent me in the Spring. The comments are not pithy, the observations hardly unique, but at least I got the tracklisting typed out right...I think... 1. Zwan "Lyric" - you know, if I didn't know better I'd say this was Smashing Pumpkins. Wait a minute...I think I just heard Billy Corgan break up another band... 2. Liz Phair "Red Light Fever" - living in Chicago you couldn't escape the hype for "Exile in Guyville," but I ended up feeling oversold on what was IMO was a decent (but not great) album. I think this is finally what it was supposed to sound like. Boffo. 3. Wheat "These are Things" - currently vying for 'Favorite Music I Was Supposed To Buy Last Year But Never Got Around To for Some Reason.' I saw all the raves about Wheat but it slipped through the nets...absolutely love the way the vocals hook around into verse sections. A couple of rough changes keep it from being absolutely perfect for me. 4. Bleu "Watching You Sleep" - another one I missed entirely. This reminds me very specifically of another artist that I just can't pin down. I like it a lot, though...haunting and kind of sneaky but in an oddly wholesome way. 5. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists "The Ballad of the Sin Eater" - my favorite song on this collection to play REALLY loud at work after most people have left for the day. Bonus points for ryhming to 'Beau Geste.' 6. Weakerthans "Plea from a Cat Named Virtue". Eh. 7. Atom & His Package "Does Anyone Else in this Room Want to Marry His or Her Own Grandmother" - not exactly my cup of tea, but not unpleasant. 8. The Postal Service "Clark Gable" - this is very enjoyable. 9. Thursday "Asleep in the Chapel" - not is not very enjoyable. Sounds like a poorly produced blend of Admiral Twin (#12, below) and a band that occasionally listened to bad metal. 10. Death in Vegas "Girls" - Very tasty. In a future remix of my own best of 2003 which will include lots from this collection, this song will follow on #8 (above) directly. 11. Lucinda Williams "Sweet Side" - I listen to a lot of LW, but the raw emotional power of this song seems oddly out of place in the middle of the rest of this disc. 12. Admiral Twin "On and On" - for me the powerhouse discovery of this two-disc set. I absolutely adore this, and quickly got some more info from Jer offlist about the band that is leading to further purchases. To me this is what it should sound like. 13. Rachel Sage "Slow Down" - very pretty, and a nicely spotted tempo break. 14. All American Rejects "Swing Swing" - this song has a lot of the requisite elements I like in a power-pop song, i.e. guitars that alternately chug out rhythm and arpeggios, straight drums, hooky vocals...but just doesn't seem to all come together for me. Dunno why. 15. "Mendoza Line" - I don't have any Mendoza Line recordings so I'm not sure if it all sounds like this, but for some reason I thought it was a little bouncier. Disc 2 to be reviewed soon... Michael "thanks a lot, Jer" Wells ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 14:27:57 -0400 (EDT) From: dmw Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Re: Jen's Mix Review On Sun, 1 Aug 2004, Jenny Grover wrote: > > 9,10, Beauty Pill, Such Large Portions, Drive Down The Coast. A > > Dischord band, and very different. I like the latter more than the > > former, the latter is sung by a woman, sweetly, about an airport > > > Any suggestions out there? This is the only one I have. The Unsustainable Lifestyle is their only full-length to date. The debut ep "Cigarette Girl from the Future" is a little more electronic and less of a "band" record; "You are right to be afraid" is 3 songs + a short found-sound interlude more in the vein of "Lifestyle" The band's leader/chief writer used to be in another band called Smart Went Crazy, who were more musically aggressive, but similarly smart and complex. They have a few compilation appearances, most notably on a couple of exotic fever releases www.exoticfever.com which are of similar quality. the pathetic caverns: a zine - opinionated and eclectic reviews a studio - specializing in indie/rock/mobile/live/demo recording http://www.pathetic-caverns.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 22:13:59 -0400 (EDT) From: Aaron Mandel Subject: Re: [loud-fans] prehistoric swap review On Fri, 30 Jul 2004, Fortissimo wrote: > 12 The Cansecos "What It Was You Said" - Kinda tweaked pop that reminds > me of someone, but I can't think of who. I like it though. Synths sound > sorta like an '80s video-game, but they're textural, not the whole story > - never heard of these folks: tell me more. On Canadian label Upper Class, along with The Russian Futurists (less bouncy, more dreamy) and Girlsareshort (less songy, more electronicy), who, aside from what I've written in parentheses, are both pretty similar. a ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 22:22:53 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: [loud-fans] chat? I'll be hanging in irc.eskimo.com for a while if anyone wants to drop in. Jen ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V4 #210 *******************************