From: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org (lucy-list-digest) To: lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: lucy-list-digest V6 #48 Reply-To: lucy-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk lucy-list-digest Sunday, February 29 2004 Volume 06 : Number 048 In this issue: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada RE: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada Re: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada [lucy-list] Hearing the words... Re: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... Re: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:58:25 -0600 From: "Larry Kunz" Subject: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada Since the NYCers told us all about subway designations in NYC, I thought those of us that drive cars should get our turn. I don't normally pass on perimid things ( except for a recipe thing my mother made me do), but the following makes sense. Gas prices in the USA are driven by what the market will bear, not supply & demand. We all know gas prices will go up Spring Break and Easter week because gas prices won't stop us from travelling to see family, etc. It gets old seeing "I'll raise my price today, and you follow tomorrow; next time you raise it first and I'll follow". If that's not collusion, then I don't know what collusion is! Boycotting Exxon-Mobil is very easy for us in the Southeast, at least Birmingham, since they are a minor marketer here. Matter of fact they are just now testing the Mobil name here since the merger. However those of you in the NE & SW could have quite an impact, since Exxon is stong in the NE & SW and Mobil (originally Standard Oil of New York) is strong in the NE. It's worth a try but as I said, it's not much hardship for us in the SE. Wish I knew the author of the following, but I don't. However the UK and European listers would still trade prices with us. I know since I used to live in Italy. (What's the price on the continent now?) Larry from Birmingham GAS PRICES Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer. Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea: This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read it and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $1.97 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50- $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace....not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war. Here! 's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do!! Now, don't whimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!! I am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to, at least, ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all You have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am ... so trust me on this one.) How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you I didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:27:36 -0500 From: "Kristen Myshrall" Subject: RE: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada Obviously WAY off topic but I wanted to respond to this... You're partially correct. Gas prices are somewhat driven by customers and by certain times of the year....but supply and demand plays an extremely important role!! The current high prices are moslty because of the increase in need for crude oil due to the economy and all the cold weather creating a high need for oil to heat homes. Then as we move into spring the prices will stay high and rise slightly as everyone drives to enjoy the weather to escape from all the cold! It's been predicted that the gas prices actually won't rise too much higher through the rest of this year. The current prediction is that through the beginning of spring gas prices may rise up to 12-20 cents a gallon and then will fall in mid-April and level off. Don't expect them to drop too much...the industry is also having to pass on costs to customers from the work they are having to do to meet government regulations (which are still too low, and something I don't mind paying the extra money for!) Unfortunately it's not just Exxon/Mobil (which does usually have the highest prices and I personally boycott 24/7 for their environmental irresponsibility) but all the gas stations that have high prices. Best advice....don't drive as much and carpool as much as possible! - -Kristen _________________________________________________________________ Get fast, reliable access with MSN 9 Dial-up. Click here for Special Offer! http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 18:18:26 -0800 (PST) From: Steve Gravano Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Gas Prices in the USA/Canada I've been driving and buying gas for over twenty years and can count on one hand the times I've purchased Mobil or Exxon. I hope the Mobil/Exxon customers are on the Lucy list. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail. http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:59:23 -0800 From: "Gina" Subject: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... Hey Listers, I have a friend who went to see Lucy last night and complained that they couldn't hear the words. Either the guitar was too loud or her voice was too low. I had a similar experience with Lucy once and she kept asking for more guitar, which of course made it worse. I figured this was a one time deal until my friend told me of his experience. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so, should this be mentioned to Lucy? The lyrics are so important. For those of us who know the words, it isn't as obvious, of course. But for newbies, it is very frustrating. Comments? Gina ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:46:21 -0500 From: "Doug Fuller" Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... When she's asking for more guitar, she's asking for it in her monitor (what she hears on stage), not out to the PA (what the audience hears). It's possible the sound tech isn't adjusting the monitor but IS adding more guitar to the PA mix which, as you state, makes matters worse. The performer (Lucy, in this case) should be made aware of it if there's an opportunity. The other option is to look for the sound tech and mention it to her/him. The performer can't hear the PA mix (and they're completely independent) so this is up to the sound tech. There was a related situation when I say Lucy at the Grey Goose in Londonderry, NH a number of weeks ago. The house mix (that is, the relative levels of her voice and guitar) was pretty good, the volume was OK (could have been a bit louder) but the EQ could have used some work. EQ stands for equalization and this is how you boost or attenuate certain frequencies based on the singer, instrument, PA system, acoustics of the room plus a number of other factors. It wasn't bad by any stretch but since I know a little about it I almost asked the sound tech to take out a little of the low mid. This is the low end of the middle frequencies which is where the human voice falls, which leads to a topic I was going to bring up at some point so I might as well do it now... :-) Dissecting Lucy - ------------------------ Lucy's voice is remarkable. I don't know if there's a word to describe it but the tone and clarity are just amazing even though she has almost no range. Saying she has no range isn't an insult by any stretch -- as a matter of fact one thing that drives me crazy about some singers (Whitney, Mariah, Celine) is they do what I call vocal gymnastics. Sure, you have a 5 octave voice but I don't want to hear it unless it means something to the song. For an example of how range CAN work in a song, give a listen to "Oh, Had I A Golden Thread" but Eva Cassidy. She hits a couple notes in this song that rip your head off, not simply by the note she hits but by what she puts behind it. For the record, the high note is E5 which is the E below high C and she sings it in full voice, not falsetto. Amazing. Try that Mariah :-P Anyway, back to Lucy. What amazes me about her voice is it seems that when she sings a note almost every sound she makes is pretty much the same frequency, meaning there's very little spread. When us normal mortals sing a note (and I use the term "sing" loosely) you get a primary frequency but it's surrounded by lots of other sort of random frequencies. The better the singer the more centered this is but with Lucy it sounds damn near perfect. The "downside" of this is it really loads up the particular frequency which can sound a bit overpowering if not EQed. If I were to EQ Lucy's voice I'd attenuate where her strong frequencies seem to be and boost above (mostly) and below (maybe just a little -- for such a tiny person Lucy's voice is surprisingly low). I bet that's a whole lot more that you cared to know, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it :-) Cheers, Doug Fuller Boston - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gina" > > Hey Listers, > > I have a friend who went to see Lucy last night and complained that they > couldn't hear the words. Either the guitar was too loud or her voice was too > low. I had a similar experience with Lucy once and she kept asking for more > guitar, which of course made it worse. I figured this was a one time deal > until my friend told me of his experience. I was wondering if anyone else > has experienced this and if so, should this be mentioned to Lucy? The lyrics > are so important. For those of us who know the words, it isn't as obvious, of > course. But for newbies, it is very frustrating. Comments? > > Gina ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 19:06:19 -0800 From: "Gina" Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... Wow Doug, maybe Lucy should just take you on the road. I will think about finding a way to mention this to Lucy when I see her, or maybe just email her "people" and they can bring it up with her. It's a shame for anyone to miss anything that Lucy sings. Eva Cassidy was an utterly amazing talent in every way. Any of you listers who haven't heard her work, you most definitely should check her out. I heard her for the first time in a set of earphones in Border's and it became instantly apparent that I had stumbled across greatness. I would suggest starting with "Time After Time" or "Songbird." I couldn't agree with you more about the use of range in popular music these days. I find those soul chops to be mostly annoying, almost as annoying as Judy Collins' swooping thing. To me it just sounds like they are having a hard time hitting the right note and doing a little vocal dance so that you don't notice. Thank you for explaining why Lucy's voice is special too. Gina - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Fuller" To: Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 7:46 PM Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Hearing the words... > When she's asking for more guitar, she's asking for it in her monitor (what > she hears on stage), not out to the PA (what the audience hears). It's > possible the sound tech isn't adjusting the monitor but IS adding more > guitar to the PA mix which, as you state, makes matters worse. The > performer (Lucy, in this case) should be made aware of it if there's an > opportunity. The other option is to look for the sound tech and mention it > to her/him. The performer can't hear the PA mix (and they're completely > independent) so this is up to the sound tech. > > There was a related situation when I say Lucy at the Grey Goose in > Londonderry, NH a number of weeks ago. The house mix (that is, the relative > levels of her voice and guitar) was pretty good, the volume was OK (could > have been a bit louder) but the EQ could have used some work. EQ stands for > equalization and this is how you boost or attenuate certain frequencies > based on the singer, instrument, PA system, acoustics of the room plus a > number of other factors. It wasn't bad by any stretch but since I know a > little about it I almost asked the sound tech to take out a little of the > low mid. This is the low end of the middle frequencies which is where the > human voice falls, which leads to a topic I was going to bring up at some > point so I might as well do it now... :-) > > Dissecting Lucy > ------------------------ > Lucy's voice is remarkable. I don't know if there's a word to describe it > but the tone and clarity are just amazing even though she has almost no > range. Saying she has no range isn't an insult by any stretch -- as a > matter of fact one thing that drives me crazy about some singers (Whitney, > Mariah, Celine) is they do what I call vocal gymnastics. Sure, you have a 5 > octave voice but I don't want to hear it unless it means something to the > song. For an example of how range CAN work in a song, give a listen to "Oh, > Had I A Golden Thread" but Eva Cassidy. She hits a couple notes in this > song that rip your head off, not simply by the note she hits but by what she > puts behind it. For the record, the high note is E5 which is the E below > high C and she sings it in full voice, not falsetto. Amazing. Try that > Mariah :-P > > Anyway, back to Lucy. What amazes me about her voice is it seems that when > she sings a note almost every sound she makes is pretty much the same > frequency, meaning there's very little spread. When us normal mortals sing > a note (and I use the term "sing" loosely) you get a primary frequency but > it's surrounded by lots of other sort of random frequencies. The better the > singer the more centered this is but with Lucy it sounds damn near perfect. > The "downside" of this is it really loads up the particular frequency which > can sound a bit overpowering if not EQed. If I were to EQ Lucy's voice I'd > attenuate where her strong frequencies seem to be and boost above (mostly) > and below (maybe just a little -- for such a tiny person Lucy's voice is > surprisingly low). > > I bet that's a whole lot more that you cared to know, but that's my story > and I'm sticking to it :-) > > Cheers, > Doug Fuller > Boston > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gina" > > > > Hey Listers, > > > > I have a friend who went to see Lucy last night and complained that they > > couldn't hear the words. Either the guitar was too loud or her voice was > too > > low. I had a similar experience with Lucy once and she kept asking for > more > > guitar, which of course made it worse. I figured this was a one time deal > > until my friend told me of his experience. I was wondering if anyone > else > > has experienced this and if so, should this be mentioned to Lucy? The > lyrics > > are so important. For those of us who know the words, it isn't as > obvious, of > > course. But for newbies, it is very frustrating. Comments? > > > > Gina ------------------------------ End of lucy-list-digest V6 #48 ****************************** This has been a posting from the Lucy Kaplansky mail list digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe lucy-list-digest" in the body of the message