From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V1 #6 Reply-To: support-system@smoe.org Sender: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk support-system-digest Tuesday, September 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 006 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Article/interview from www.wallofsound.com [Jason Long ] News blurb from www.wallofsound.com [Jason Long ] 'whitechocolatespaceegg' review from Access magazine [Jason Long ] Bounced message [Jason Long ] One in a Million Girl? and Fake IDs [Lucas Miller Johnson ] 2 EIG's? [Jeffrey Larson ] Re: 2 EIG's? [Jason Long ] Non-Liz: Amy Rigby's new CD [Jason Long ] LA show [myphairlady@juno.com (Complicated Communicator)] BOUNCE support-system@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) [Jas] BOUNCE support-system@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) [Jas] Oops! [Jason Long ] FWD: Message posted to the old list address [Jason Long Subject: Article/interview from www.wallofsound.com PHAIR ENOUGH The woman who makes grown men cry By Russell Hall ALANIS and Fiona take note: Five years after blazing a trail by which female songwriters could inject their sexuality into their art without shrouding it in veils of coyness, Liz Phair is moving on. Though the former exile in guyville can still crank out libidinous bluster when the urge strikes (witness the lust-and-submission groove of "Johnny Feelgood," from her new album, whitechocolatespaceegg), these days Phair is more likely to contemplate the joys and perils of parenthood, rather than take aim at matters below the belt. The married mother of a 2-year-old son, Phair today finds herself facing issues that are of greater consequence than dissecting a latest fling, and to her credit she's allowed her new concerns to displace the ones that established her bad-girl reputation back in 1993. Whitechocolatespaceegg is anything but Pollyanna-ish, however. More than a year in the making, and bearing the sonic marks of three high-profile producers (Scott Litt, Brad Wood, and Phair herself), the album nonetheless coheres brilliantly, radiating more substance than sentiment. Songs such as "Love Is Nothing" and "Go on Ahead" examine issues of marital fidelity and trust with clear-eyed realism and a grounded sense of romance. As was the case with Lou Reed's work in the '80s, whitechocolatespaceegg seems directed specifically at adults who can relate to both the trials and the pleasures of domestic life. During a two-week respite sandwiched between several Lilith Fair dates and an upcoming solo tour, Phair spoke by phone with Wall of Sound about her much-anticipated return to rock and roll. Fittingly, her comments were often accompanied by the sound of her baby cooing in the background. Punctuating her comments with lots of laughter and the occasional, "Do you know I mean?," she was unguarded and forthcoming, her demeanor marked by an easy confidence. When you began recording whitechocolatespaceegg, you decided to have Scott Litt produce. Why was he your first choice? Liz Phair: I had always loved R.E.M.'s albums, in particular the way they sound. And I liked [Litt's] way of capturing a pop sensibility without being unoriginal. The things he does sound great. He makes vocals sound fantastic. But after recording for several months with him, you decided to go back to working with Brad Wood, who had produced Exile in Guyville and Whip-Smart. What prompted that decision? Scott and I did really well in the studio when we were sort of creating stuff ourselves, when we were being experimental without utilizing a bunch of extra musicians. But when we tried to record the bigger rock-song sounding stuff, it just didn't work that well. We both got very frustrated, and we didn't know what to do. Finally it was suggested that I work on my own for a little bit, to kind of flesh out the songs arrangement-wise. I did that, and then when it came to recording again, everyone wanted me to try to work with Brad. It so happened I had reacquainted myself with my earlier work, and had reappreciated all that he'd done. I saw its merit, and what his genius is. Which is what? Which is to take small songs that I create and help realize them and give them a lot of instrumentation without losing that core "Liz Phair" sound. As it turns out, that's much harder to do than I originally thought. You continued to write during the time you were pregnant with your son. How did being pregnant affect your songs? It made them a little trippier. Sometimes when I write songs, I'm really conscious of it, and I focus hard on certain things and really try to work at it. But when I was pregnant, I wasn't paying that much attention to writing songs. I just did it in relation to my emotional ups and downs. My favorite way to write songs is when they come out of you from some subconscious place, kind of like a dream does—where they have that powerful, already-written quality. And a lot of that happened while I was pregnant— there was a lot of stuff, emotionally, that I hadn't thought about that suddenly appeared. Did that continue to happen after the baby was born? For about eight months or so. Then it all kind of synthesized. The thing about this album that really strikes me is that it combines the person I am now with the person I was throughout my whole life, rather than just being indicative of a two-year or a three-year period. It really felt the way Exile [in Guyville] did, in that it encompassed my whole lifetime. It's similar to Exile in a lot of ways, in terms of how I recorded it, and in the way I drew from my past and my present. Four years passed between your last album and whitechocolatespaceegg, and even after you began recording there were a lot of delays. Did your record company put much pressure on you to come up with something during those years? They were pretty cool. They were all waiting to see if I would resurface at all. No one really knew what to expect, after I had the baby, but I'm thrilled to say that they were very supportive. I felt like it wasn't until the end [of recording], when they could tell I had a substantial body of work, that people started to get frantic. Then it was like, "Try this," or "Do this," or "We need more of that." It got exciting for them. At the time I was really kind of frustrated, because I kept trying to convey things to them and they would be like, "I don't see it, I don't get it." And I'd go back to the drawing board and record more stuff. In retrospect, I realize they were doing that because they were getting excited, because now they had something they could work with. You say that at some point while you were working on this album, you went back and listened to your previous work. Did you feel any urge to revise your old material? [Laughing] I sometimes have the urge to go back and revise statements I've made in the press. But no, I didn't have that kind of urge at all, really. I don't look back very often, and that's a fault, because it would behoove me to re-examine my previous work. What it did was really shock me, because I realized just how much that was special in my earlier albums was owed to Brad. I had always assumed I had all these great ideas—and I did— but a lot of it was him, in terms of how things sounded, and the way he mic'd the instruments, or the way he mixed it. And I was just flabbergasted at how much of his talent had maybe been taken for granted. He has a way of taking my personal slant and allowing that to live and breathe all the way to the finished product. As it turns out, that's something that isn't very common with a producer and a songwriter. I had to go and explore and work with other people in order to learn that. Despite being recorded with two producers—or rather three, including yourself—the album coheres really well. To what do you attribute that? A lot of that has to do with Tom Lord-Alge, who mixed the whole thing. I mean, you could say a lot of that has to do with my feisty ways, too, since I picked songs where I really felt myself to be present, personality-wise. But I think a lot of the credit goes to the way Tom mixed it. I learned a lot [from him]. This four years between albums wasn't just about, "Oh, can we squeeze something else out of Liz Phair while she's busy having a baby." It was about me wanting to grow, and wanting to get a sense of what other bands get at the beginning of their careers, just by virtue of having already been working at it for so long. I got famous much sooner than I should have. I was totally inexperienced, I didn't know anything about the business, and everything happened just like that. So this time—between Whip-Smart and whitechocolatespaceegg—was my time to actually learn what it's like to do all these different things, to try different things and to appreciate all that you have to do. Which come easier for you, ballads or rockers? They're pretty much equal. A lot of it has to do with the environment that I'm in. I'm pretty reactionary, so if I'm sitting around being pregnant, or, after the baby's been born, if he's sleeping, I'll find myself writing quiet songs, or kind of wistful songs. And if I get a couple of days to myself—where everybody's out of town, and I can turn the volume up on my amp and mess around with the knobs and dials—suddenly all I want to write are punk songs. It really has to do with the situation I'm in, in terms of making it loud or keeping it soft. How much of your writing is autobiographical, and how much relies on empathy, or putting yourself into the soul of an imagined person? Which album are you talking about? Let's stick with the new one. Probably three-fourths autobiographical, and one-fourth imagined. Does that ever frighten your husband? [Laughing] It ought to, but it doesn't. I'm really lucky that he doesn't listen much to lyrics, and when he does, he doesn't pay attention to them. Or rather, he does pay attention, but he's a mellow guy. I think he understands what a lot of people don't; namely, that this is a creative expression. He understands that there's a lot of imagination going on, although a lot of it might be drawn from our life. Do you think what made Exile especially shocking five years ago was the fact that you couched these lyrics in such pretty melodies? The whole concept behind my earliest work—the "Girly Sound" tapes, before I had a record deal—was really conceptually subversive. It was to mask adult female sexuality in a little-girl package. "Chopsticks" [from Whip-Smart], for instance, is like that. "Chopsticks" is the basis for a really dirty song about real life and adult sexuality. I used to speed up the vocals so they would sound even more childish. So that concept was entirely deliberate on your part? You knew what you were doing? Oh, yes. Conceptually, I knew what I was doing, but in terms of the impact, I didn't have a clue. If Exile In Guyville came out today, how different do you think the reaction to it would be? (laughs) People would probably accuse me of riding on the coattails of Alanis Morissette. They would be like, "Oh, you're just trying to use shock value to jump on the 'female sexuality' bandwagon." But I think those are still great songs. I'm sure they would appeal to people, although I don't think they would have the same impact. It would be seen as me trying to ride a wave. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 13:44:39 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: News blurb from www.wallofsound.com Liz Phair Surprised by Lilith Audiences Although it's been more than five years since Exile in Guyville jolted listeners with its frank depiction of female sexuality, only recently did Liz Phair get to witness firsthand the effect her lyrics have on audiences who've never heard them. Speaking from her home in Chicago—where she’s preparing to embark on a tour in support of her acclaimed new album, whitechocolatespaceegg—Phair explains that her performances as a participant on the Lilith Fair festival often generated reactions she hadn’t expected. "It wasn’t until I saw myself juxtaposed with my peers, with all these other female songwriters, that I realized how shocking it is to stand up there onstage and sing these things to people," Phair tells Wall of Sound. "With Lilith, a lot of people who were there to see Sarah [McLachlan] or Natalie [Merchant] or someone else just weren’t that familiar with my work. A lot of times I was performing for a kind of neutral audience, so to hear something like '6'1"' [from Exile in Guyville] was an affront, in a way, to the audience. I was totally surprised—it wasn't until I played to those audiences that I understood how I came across." For Phair, much of the past four years has been dedicated to constructing a viable family life with her husband and their newborn son. Fortunately, this period away from the public limelight hasn't exacerbated her longstanding sense of stage fright, which she insists is something she's nearly succeeded in putting behind her. "I’m getting there," she says with a laugh. "I have to say, I like performing a lot. I look forward to it now. It feels more like an opportunity, rather than feet-to-the-fire time." —Russell Hall ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 13:52:58 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: 'whitechocolatespaceegg' review from Access magazine Hey everyone, Here's a review of 'whitechocolatespaceegg' I found in the September issue of Access magazine (a freebie given away at various record stores throughout Canada). LIZ PHAIR whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador) Motherhood gets a bad rap. Breeder Kim Deal might dis it in song as equivalent to 'mental freeze,' but it's obviously not curdled Liz Phair's talents. In fact, whitechocolatespaceegg is one of 1998's best records thus far, a knowing pop album which unselfconsciously showcases both new mom Phair's knack for songcraft and infamously sexy lyrics. What Phair displays on this record is maturity without compromise, development without blandness. 'Polyester Bride,' the first single, is a prime example: combine tart lyrics ('I was talking, not two days ago/ To a certain bartender I'm lucky to know/ And I asked Henry, my bartending friend/ If I should bother dating unfamous men') with Phair's workaday but engaging voice, and a beautiful melody and a smirk-worthy song is born. The rest of whitechocolatespaceegg is equally inspiring, with 'Uncle Alvarez,' 'Johnny Feelgood,' and 'Shitloads Of Money' being standouts. 'Woh, momma' is right. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:03:55 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: FWD: Message posted to old list address From: Tim <"t-walker@4dcomm.com"@4dcomm.com> Subject: San Diego appearance This month, SEPT 23 Liz is playing at San Diego St U. I was wondering if anyone out there who could make it would want to go. I have 2 tickets and my girlfriend can't go now. She has to work. So..... If anyone is interested give me a call or email SOON!!!! (619) 279-1513 twalker15@juno.com Tim ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:07:28 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: Bounced message [This message bounced on its way to the list because it contained HTML encoding (which I've of course deleted in reposting it). Please, if you're using a mailer built into a web browser, make sure your preference is set for plain text only. - JL] From: Paul Leung Subject: wanted: sf tix i am looking for two more *floor* seats to the warfield show in san francisco on sept 25. if you have one or two extra tickets, please contact me at pauleung@uclink4.berkeley.edu; thanks. - -paul. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:15:59 -0500 (CDT) From: Lucas Miller Johnson Subject: One in a Million Girl? and Fake IDs Hello, What song is the One in a Millin Girl Lyric from, I saw it in the footer of Jaimee's post? And to all the underage unfortunates, have you though about fake IDs? Sure they're expensive, and illegal, but it's LIZ. You might also try borrowing the ID of a 21+ who looks somewhat remotely like you, like the same sex and skin color. I swear, I used someone else's ID to get into clubs, and we didn't resemble each other too much. Don't lose HOPE!!! : ) Love, Lucas ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 15:38:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Tiffany M Wilson Subject: girlysounds tapes Hello new and (improved?) support system list! I am willing to tape the Girlysound tapes for people. Just e-mail me and I'll let you know what to do. - -tiff (tmwst31+@pitt.edu) ps-to anyone who e-mailed me at the end of the summer, sorry I couldn't get back to you. I was so behind with my taping and I was working non-stop. E-mail me again and I will tape for you. "If I ever pay you back, if my money and wallet's in tact, I'll probably be in a box lying down, loosely suited in black..." -Liz Phair "Little girl keeps growing up, playing makeup, wearing guitar..." -Paul Westerberg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:05:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Jeffrey Larson Subject: 2 EIG's? i am a bit confused. could someone please explain what the two versions of EIG are? i have EIG and didn't know there was a different version. thanks jeff ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:20:31 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: Re: 2 EIG's? At 02:05 PM 9/14/98 -0700, you wrote: >i am a bit confused. could someone please explain what the two versions >of EIG are? i have EIG and didn't know there was a different version. >thanks > >jeff The two versions of the CD are identical musically; the only difference is that the artwork on the discs themselves is different. The older pressings have the Barbie and Ken dolls with the fire-brushed effect; I forget what's on the new ones, but I know this has been mentioned a few times before... Jase ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:55:37 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: Non-Liz: Amy Rigby's new CD Hey everyone, I know I'm posting entirely too much today, but what the hell, what's one more? :) I know from past discussions on the list that there are quite a few Amy Rigby fans on the list, and I just thought I'd mention that her new CD, _Middlescence_, is being released tomorrow, in case you didn't already know. I've been looking forward to this album for quite a while now myself; I only hope that I am able to find a store tomorrow that will have it in stock. I hope I don't have nearly as tough of a time finding this new album as I did her first, _Diary of a Mod Housewife_... Jase NP: Hole, _Celebrity Skin_ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 15:35:45 -0700 From: myphairlady@juno.com (Complicated Communicator) Subject: LA show I am ecstatic ... I just got my tix in the mail for next week's LA show. Is anyone else planning on going to this one? Next week is going to be the best of my life: On Sunday, I'm going to see Tori Amos at the Santa Barbara Bowl, then on Thursday, LIZ!!! I've been waiting for this for SO long! And my photography teacher is making me a pass that I can flash to the security in order to bring my camera in to both shows! I can't wait! By the way, does anyone know how strict they are about cameras at the Mayan or the SB Bowl? I'm paranoid that I won't get to take mine in even with a pass. Loving "Celebrity Skin," - -Marie- "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:17:07 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: BOUNCE support-system@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) >From owner-support-system Mon Sep 14 20:46:58 1998 Received: from mailsorter-105.bryant.webtv.net (mailsorter-105.iap.bryant.webtv.net [207.79.35.95]) by smoe.org (8.8.7/8.8.7/daemon-mode-relay2) with ESMTP id UAA10639 for ; Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:46:57 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mailtod-151.iap.bryant.webtv.net (mailtod-151.iap.bryant.webtv.net [207.79.35.215]) by mailsorter-105.bryant.webtv.net (8.8.8/ms.gso.08Dec97) with ESMTP id RAA18459; Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:46:52 -0700 (PDT) Received: (from production@localhost) by mailtod-151.iap.bryant.webtv.net (8.8.5/mt.gso.26Feb98) id RAA21704; Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:46:50 -0700 (PDT) X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAtAhUAx3T9glEh8efsi2992tSuGxj7wXACFCYSjt3mVJkgE8HbJqJs0Nz8WZI3 From: kiskos@webtv.net (Edward Kisko) Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:46:50 -0400 (EDT) To: support-system@smoe.org Subject: The ONLY SON Newsletter, 1.1 Message-ID: <29522-35FDB8FA-5141@mailtod-151.iap.bryant.webtv.net> Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) In this issue... 1. "A Shock to the System" - a criticism 2. "Calm Down, Frat Boy" - a response 3. "Why I Love Meredith Robbins" - an essay 4. "The Long Road to Liz" - a plea "A Shock to the System" Hey, what's with this mailing list? There's no tag at the bottom of each digest telling you where to send mail, or where to go to visit Jason Long's website! I miss that. Posts on this smoe.org list look ugly. Nothing compares to the polished, pretty, easy-to-read digest Mr. Long had going. I miss that. His style cannot be matched. How dare some of you subscribe to the non-digest format! Hopefully, this list won't turn into another guyville. The good point is that the list gets sent out promptly, it seems, night after night. Pretty satisfying in the morning when I stumble out of bed over to my TV/VCR/WebTV area, connect to my ISP, and click on my Web TV mail box to find, as expected, a digest. I suggest that those of you who will be offended by this newsletter unsubscribe from the list. That oughta be about 500 of you, and that way we can go back to using the bconnex.net server again. That is all. "Calm Down, Frat Boy" FRAN says 'what the fuck, yo? you all have girlysounds and shelved demos and you never wanna share the wealth!' You know what? I agree. When I subscribed to the awful 'guyville' years ago, I immediately sought out all the great bootleg/rare stuff they mentioned... I don't even remember how I got people to pay attention to my requests, and I hope no one here remembers either. But somehow, within two or three months, I was the proud owner of not only Girlysound (the complete hiss-laden set, not the Secretly Timid thing), but Phairities, Pottymouth Girl, and various other live tapes. Maybe a year or so later, I received the Liz Phair 2-hour '93-95 TV compilation and then the NYC Town Hall Live boot. Since I have all this stuff, and I'm not really looking for too much else (except the new stuff that I've been too lazy to seek out), I generally don't sympathize with those who are less fortunate. You want Girlysound? So does everyone else. Go check out Divorce Song, to which you can find a link at Ken Lee's site (which is the best Liz site on the net, hands down): www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471 ... Divorce Song is Chris Kushmider's page. He'll get you yer Girlysounds and your Phairities and your Shelved Demos for real cheap, real fast.* Seriously, though, FRAN (and I know you're not a fraternity guy, it's a joke), you and others of your ilk are probably better off emailing the next person who posts to the list and says that he/she has what you're looking for. Most likely, they won't be saying "Hey, I've got [this] and [that] and I am dying to dub for any and all who ask!" However, they will be saying "Has anyone ever noticed how [this new Liz song] sounds like [this old Girlysound song]?" That oughta be a dead giveaway. Then email that person, offer them flowers, brownies (what you choose to put in the brownies for them is another matter), homemade fudge, money, birthday/anniversary cards for the rest of their lives, whatever. Try it. It works. Believe me. The reason why no one replies to any person's repeated requests for Girlysounds, etc. is because they assume other listmembers are replying to you first. That's what I usually think: "Ah, I have the Shelved Demos, but somebody else will probably offer their services first, so I won't waste my time. That tape sucks anyway..." See how it works? Actually, send me an email, I'll give you my address, and anything that I mentioned before I will dub for you. I'm not really an asshole. "Why I Love Meredith Robbins" Meredith Robbins is inspiring. It was late last night, and I should have been in bed. But something compelled me to click on Ken Lee's link to the new, improved, now-with-its-own-domain! Exile In Netville, maintained by (you guessed it) Meredith. I liked the new un-cluttered layout of the first page. I liked the new additions to the content of the sub-pages. Better yet, I like 'eclectricity,' Meredith's other, non-Liz site. I was surprised to see all the new additions to it. What I like best about 'eclectricity' is its archives section. Nothing in 'eclectricity' matches the hysterical wit of Meredith's early musings. The Macaroni and Cheese thing slays me every fucking time I read it. I've recommended it to total strangers. It's so funny, I couldn't sleep after I read it cuz I was still laughing about it. Swear to god. Meredith Robbins is younger than any of you would expect (I won't reveal her age here, of course). She is also smarter than I'll ever be. She's too smart for the internet. She's too hilarious. I know I'm not good enough to talk to her, but I do it anyway. In the rarely used (outside of the major-players in the Liz-net game here) IRC chat room #wcse, I've talked to Meredith and argued with her about stupid stuff. We've exchanged Simpsons quotes. I've revealed my immaturity and ignorance way too many times in #wcse, on Meredith's computer screen. I think she dislikes me (or at least looks down on me). But who cares. Liz Phair would be probably dislike me and look down on me, too, if she met me. Meredith, I stand. I salute you. I raise my cup and drink a toast in your honor. (mmm... generic root beer...) Next up: "Why I Love Matt George and Why He'll Probably Dislike Me If I Make It To Philadelphia 10/7/98" (for more details about my upcoming excursion, read on.) "The Long Road to Liz Phair" I went to see Liz this summer in Maryland and in Buffalo at Lilith Fair. The former trip took 6+ hours to drive one way, the latter took 2. Both times, I borrowed my parents' car. Both times, I returned it to them, unscathed. So now Liz is playing Philly. I have cousins in Philly. I have at least $45 to spend on tickets (one for myself, two for whoever I feel like bringing along, if anyone). I also have the balls to assume that my parents would lend me their car for two days, again. My mom wants nothing to do with my trip. She hates the idea of me missing two days of classes here at school (which she paid for). My dad doesn't want me to take their precious Pontiac Grand Am all the way to Philly because, since I didn't wreck it the last two times, I'm *bound* to wreck it now! Three times lucky, I suppose. So now I have these freaking tickets, and no way to get to Philadelphia. The bus is too expensive -- $125 roundtrip. It also leaves too early (8:15 a.m.) and arrives in Philly too late (7:00 p.m.). It's ridiculous. I'd have to leave a day in advance just to get there for the show. And miss *another* day of classes. I'm asking everyone I know over the age of 25 if they'll rent me a car... I'm asking my 89-year-old grandmother if I can borrow her 1985 Mazda for the trip... I *am* her favorite, after all. My parents don't like that last idea. How it's any of their business, I don't know. If any of you are willing to send me some extra cash for a plane ticket, I am currently accepting any and all contributions. If any of you are willing to drive up to Northwest PA and pick me up, I'll be waiting in the parking lot with my bags. Just give me an estimated time of pick-up.** If any of you have any other suggestions relating to my already-ill-fated trip to Philadelphia, you know what my address is. - -------------------------------------------- * this is a joke. ** this is not a joke. - -------------------------------------------- The ONLY SON Newsletter is written entirely by Steven Edward Kisko. It is, admittedly, a waste of space and time. It is a lame attempt at delurking (it's been what, two weeks now since I posted?), and an even lamer attempt at humour. (Hey, I don't hear anybody laughing -- do YOU?!) This is probably the only Only Son newsletter I'll ever write, so save this email. Print it out. Sell it. Bootleg the hell out of it, I don't care. - ------------------------------------------------ steve ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:20:54 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: BOUNCE support-system@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) From: kiskos@webtv.net (Edward Kisko) Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:46:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: The ONLY SON Newsletter, 1.1 In this issue... 1. "A Shock to the System" - a criticism 2. "Calm Down, Frat Boy" - a response 3. "Why I Love Meredith Robbins" - an essay 4. "The Long Road to Liz" - a plea "A Shock to the System" Hey, what's with this mailing list? There's no tag at the bottom of each digest telling you where to send mail, or where to go to visit Jason Long's website! I miss that. Posts on this smoe.org list look ugly. Nothing compares to the polished, pretty, easy-to-read digest Mr. Long had going. I miss that. His style cannot be matched. How dare some of you subscribe to the non-digest format! Hopefully, this list won't turn into another guyville. The good point is that the list gets sent out promptly, it seems, night after night. Pretty satisfying in the morning when I stumble out of bed over to my TV/VCR/WebTV area, connect to my ISP, and click on my Web TV mail box to find, as expected, a digest. I suggest that those of you who will be offended by this newsletter unsubscribe from the list. That oughta be about 500 of you, and that way we can go back to using the bconnex.net server again. That is all. "Calm Down, Frat Boy" FRAN says 'what the fuck, yo? you all have girlysounds and shelved demos and you never wanna share the wealth!' You know what? I agree. When I subscribed to the awful 'guyville' years ago, I immediately sought out all the great bootleg/rare stuff they mentioned... I don't even remember how I got people to pay attention to my requests, and I hope no one here remembers either. But somehow, within two or three months, I was the proud owner of not only Girlysound (the complete hiss-laden set, not the Secretly Timid thing), but Phairities, Pottymouth Girl, and various other live tapes. Maybe a year or so later, I received the Liz Phair 2-hour '93-95 TV compilation and then the NYC Town Hall Live boot. Since I have all this stuff, and I'm not really looking for too much else (except the new stuff that I've been too lazy to seek out), I generally don't sympathize with those who are less fortunate. You want Girlysound? So does everyone else. Go check out Divorce Song, to which you can find a link at Ken Lee's site (which is the best Liz site on the net, hands down): www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471 ... Divorce Song is Chris Kushmider's page. He'll get you yer Girlysounds and your Phairities and your Shelved Demos for real cheap, real fast.* Seriously, though, FRAN (and I know you're not a fraternity guy, it's a joke), you and others of your ilk are probably better off emailing the next person who posts to the list and says that he/she has what you're looking for. Most likely, they won't be saying "Hey, I've got [this] and [that] and I am dying to dub for any and all who ask!" However, they will be saying "Has anyone ever noticed how [this new Liz song] sounds like [this old Girlysound song]?" That oughta be a dead giveaway. Then email that person, offer them flowers, brownies (what you choose to put in the brownies for them is another matter), homemade fudge, money, birthday/anniversary cards for the rest of their lives, whatever. Try it. It works. Believe me. The reason why no one replies to any person's repeated requests for Girlysounds, etc. is because they assume other listmembers are replying to you first. That's what I usually think: "Ah, I have the Shelved Demos, but somebody else will probably offer their services first, so I won't waste my time. That tape sucks anyway..." See how it works? Actually, send me an email, I'll give you my address, and anything that I mentioned before I will dub for you. I'm not really an asshole. "Why I Love Meredith Robbins" Meredith Robbins is inspiring. It was late last night, and I should have been in bed. But something compelled me to click on Ken Lee's link to the new, improved, now-with-its-own-domain! Exile In Netville, maintained by (you guessed it) Meredith. I liked the new un-cluttered layout of the first page. I liked the new additions to the content of the sub-pages. Better yet, I like 'eclectricity,' Meredith's other, non-Liz site. I was surprised to see all the new additions to it. What I like best about 'eclectricity' is its archives section. Nothing in 'eclectricity' matches the hysterical wit of Meredith's early musings. The Macaroni and Cheese thing slays me every fucking time I read it. I've recommended it to total strangers. It's so funny, I couldn't sleep after I read it cuz I was still laughing about it. Swear to god. Meredith Robbins is younger than any of you would expect (I won't reveal her age here, of course). She is also smarter than I'll ever be. She's too smart for the internet. She's too hilarious. I know I'm not good enough to talk to her, but I do it anyway. In the rarely used (outside of the major-players in the Liz-net game here) IRC chat room #wcse, I've talked to Meredith and argued with her about stupid stuff. We've exchanged Simpsons quotes. I've revealed my immaturity and ignorance way too many times in #wcse, on Meredith's computer screen. I think she dislikes me (or at least looks down on me). But who cares. Liz Phair would be probably dislike me and look down on me, too, if she met me. Meredith, I stand. I salute you. I raise my cup and drink a toast in your honor. (mmm... generic root beer...) Next up: "Why I Love Matt George and Why He'll Probably Dislike Me If I Make It To Philadelphia 10/7/98" (for more details about my upcoming excursion, read on.) "The Long Road to Liz Phair" I went to see Liz this summer in Maryland and in Buffalo at Lilith Fair. The former trip took 6+ hours to drive one way, the latter took 2. Both times, I borrowed my parents' car. Both times, I returned it to them, unscathed. So now Liz is playing Philly. I have cousins in Philly. I have at least $45 to spend on tickets (one for myself, two for whoever I feel like bringing along, if anyone). I also have the balls to assume that my parents would lend me their car for two days, again. My mom wants nothing to do with my trip. She hates the idea of me missing two days of classes here at school (which she paid for). My dad doesn't want me to take their precious Pontiac Grand Am all the way to Philly because, since I didn't wreck it the last two times, I'm *bound* to wreck it now! Three times lucky, I suppose. So now I have these freaking tickets, and no way to get to Philadelphia. The bus is too expensive -- $125 roundtrip. It also leaves too early (8:15 a.m.) and arrives in Philly too late (7:00 p.m.). It's ridiculous. I'd have to leave a day in advance just to get there for the show. And miss *another* day of classes. I'm asking everyone I know over the age of 25 if they'll rent me a car... I'm asking my 89-year-old grandmother if I can borrow her 1985 Mazda for the trip... I *am* her favorite, after all. My parents don't like that last idea. How it's any of their business, I don't know. If any of you are willing to send me some extra cash for a plane ticket, I am currently accepting any and all contributions. If any of you are willing to drive up to Northwest PA and pick me up, I'll be waiting in the parking lot with my bags. Just give me an estimated time of pick-up.** If any of you have any other suggestions relating to my already-ill-fated trip to Philadelphia, you know what my address is. - -------------------------------------------- * this is a joke. ** this is not a joke. - -------------------------------------------- The ONLY SON Newsletter is written entirely by Steven Edward Kisko. It is, admittedly, a waste of space and time. It is a lame attempt at delurking (it's been what, two weeks now since I posted?), and an even lamer attempt at humour. (Hey, I don't hear anybody laughing -- do YOU?!) This is probably the only Only Son newsletter I'll ever write, so save this email. Print it out. Sell it. Bootleg the hell out of it, I don't care. - ------------------------------------------------ steve ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:28:14 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: Oops! Hey everyone, I'm sorry about having posted Steve's message twice. It bounced to me, the list owner, when he posted it, as it was too long. The message was delivered by the server to me, wanting me to approve the post because of the size. I did and sent it again, only when I received it back, I wasn't expecting all of those headers to appear, so I thought it had bounced back to me again. The second time I trimmed the headers and resent it with the approval, and when it appeared, I figured out what had really happened the first time. Hence, the second posting was unnecessary. Oops! I'm still getting used to the new set-up, but hopefully there won't be too many more mistakes like this on my part. Sorry, Jase ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:54:29 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: FWD: Message posted to the old list address From: "David Perry" Subject: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait I would just like to say that after all this time, my original choice for the name of this list finally won out! Woo-hoo! Now that I've indulged myself in some totally unjustified gloating, I'd also like to say that if anyone else would like to contribute his/her top 10 Liz songs list, they should do so by Sunday, 9/20. I'll be tabulating the results that evening. I can't heeeear yooooouuuu, Jase.:-) David Perry "Hot, short, impregnable, and freeze-dried" ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V1 #6 **********************************