From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V2 #356 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 Sunday, December 5 1999 Volume 02 : Number 356 Today's Subjects: ----------------- the perfect liz phair website [robert joyner ] misheard lyrics [Valerie Barry ] liz in yale daily news [Oh4sythia@aol.com] Blake Babies Reunion/sell-outs [Dan ] top movies [Nach1120@aol.com] Selling Out [MAILER-DAEMON ] That Beck song [Easter ] millennium madness [Miz Phair ] nothing. [Mark McKee ] Re: top movies [madLucas ] sorry, forgot something [Mark McKee ] [none] [kiskos@webtv.net (Edward Kisko)] The Millennium [MAILER-DAEMON ] "whitechocolatespaceegg" is meaningless [MAILER-DAEMON ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 00:19:42 -0800 (PST) From: robert joyner Subject: the perfect liz phair website Combine all of the following and I think we would have the perfect liz phair website. the visual flair of Robbie's Slick Divide the comprehensive discography, photos and articles sections of Ken's Mesmerizing the url of lizphair.com the multimedia autobiography of my Nashville site the garden of ewok's section of Nicole's May Queen (funny concept) Gwardog's Liz Phair Gigography the FAQ from Aaron Walker's Stratford on Guy the song and lyrics section from Jenny's Cool Tall Vunerable and Luscious And Jason Long as the master of ceremonies robert joyner __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999 10:37:33 -0500 From: Valerie Barry Subject: misheard lyrics hey...i'm not a big web site visitor, but i visited nicole's "I Spy A May Queen" site and it's really cool, great pictures and graphics (i love the pink stripes and the page titles, and one of the pages had sort of a 'james bond' feel). the only other sites i've really gone to in the past are mesmerizing and jenny sayler's site...kudos (and even 'props') to all of you who put so much time, effort and creativity into your liz sites. and nicole, i have one for your "garden of ewoks" list, and i'll share it here so *everyone* can mock me...i was driving from birmingham to atlanta the other night (sounds like it could be the beginning to stratford-on-highway...boring drive except for the shooting star i saw) listening to EIG and singing, when i realized that in 'johnny sunshine', where she sings "now i'm stuck living out of a box", i automatically sing "now i'm stuck living in a rubber box"...go figure. is that like a padded cell? i played that line over and over to train myself to sing it correctly...we'll see. 'bye...v *********************************************************** "...well look at me i'm frightening my friends..." - -Liz Phair ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 14:36:19 EST From: Oh4sythia@aol.com Subject: liz in yale daily news Hey, I found a Liz quote when I was looking at my college newspaper online today. Apparently, the front-page article in the "scene" section was on investment banking because it seems like every other company that recruits here is investment banking, and there's a line about investing in Uncle Alvarez. So Liz got to be the relevant "Notable Quotable" of the day. The newspaper sucks, so it's not a big deal, but I still found it funny that Liz made the Yale Daily News, so take a peek if you like: http://www.yaledailynews.com/arts/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 14:49:33 -0500 (EST) From: Dan Subject: Blake Babies Reunion/sell-outs That totally rocks that the Blake Babies are re-forming, even if only for one album..really hyped for the new Juliana too. I think the reunion I MOST want to see, would have to be a Bangles reunion...I swear, if they could get back together..that would literally make my world. I don't know how well it would fly - but then again - think if there was a Go-Go's/Bangles reunion tour..that would be fucking gigantic, not to mention orgasmic beyond belief...ah well..i can dream. also - regarding the "sell-out" issue...I swear, the entire idea should be wiped out when referring to the music industry. It's just such a stupid statement, saying someone like Liz sold out. I mean, sure..blah blah blah, I guess there is such a thing as compromising artistic integrity...blah blah blah..doing it for the money..blah blah blah..but the bottom line: Are the songs (putting it as simply as possible) GOOD? Do we enjoy them? Are they well-written, thought provoking - and joy bringing? Do we love every damn song beyond belief, knowing how wonderful they make us feel? - yet some still say she Sold Out with WCSE... it all comes down to one single, genius and SIMPLE, obvious solution, to quote our darling Liz Phair: "All that matters is what makes you happy." Dan. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 15:23:16 EST From: Nach1120@aol.com Subject: top movies I can not choose top five, because I have not seen that many this year. One of the best that I saw last night was 10 Things I hate about you. I'm not sure if it came out in 1999 though. Another good movie that I saw over summer (and my fave summer movie) was Eyes Wide Shut. I can't think of any other movies that would be worthy of putting on a list. Does this bother anyone else but me? Going by our calender, and assuming that it is correct, the new millenium does not start for another year. 2001 is the first year of the new one. I hate it that all magazines, TV, etc.. is putting out "millenium lists". I mean, it's one thing to watch the numbers change from 1999 to 2000, but it's not the start of the new millenium....it just freaks me out that so many people are mis led.... sorry for the rambling... christine ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 15:24:09 -0500 (EST) From: MAILER-DAEMON Subject: Selling Out There's been a lot of talk on selling out, and I wanted to throw in my two cents: Because someone changes their musical style does not make them a sell out. Because someone is successful does not make them a sell out. What makes someone a sell out is their intentions when they write and play music. Therefore, not a one of you can call Liz a sell out and be well founded in your claim. People grow and change, and their music does with them. To say that there is no other possibility for the stark change in WCSE other than that she wanted to make money is very ignorant. And whether or not it's a "bad" thing to sell out is a matter of personal opinion. However, if you are just giving people what they want so they'll give you what you want, you're lying. You're lying to the people because you're not telling them what you believe, you're telling them what they want to hear. If there's one thing I've always admired and considered Liz's music to be, it's brutally honest. Even when she sang "....it's nice to be liked, but it's better by far to get paid..." I was appalled at the way she's siding with people who sell out. But, when I really thought about it, I was mainly pissed off because it's true. She didn't say, "I don't care about the money," because that would be a lie, even though it's what a lot of us would want to hear. And I'm going to end with a quote I heard from a teacher in high school: "Better to write for the self and have no audience than to write for the audience and have no self." Joshua Patrick Kanary, Esquire vist my web page: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~kanaryj "As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail." -Henry David Thoreau ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 12:50:07 -0800 (PST) From: Easter Subject: That Beck song Any Beck fans on this list? I cannot get that song out of my head, the new single from his latest album. For some reason, the song always makes me think of Liz and I can't think of any similarities in any way. Katie ();) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 13:32:12 -0800 (PST) From: Miz Phair Subject: millennium madness > Does this bother anyone else but me? Going by > our calender, and assuming that it is correct, the > new millenium does not start for another year. 2001 > is the first year of the new one. I hate it that > all magazines, TV, etc.. is putting out "millenium > lists". I mean, it's one thing to watch the numbers > change from 1999 to 2000, but it's not the start of > the new millenium....it just freaks me out that so > many people are mis led.... > sorry for the rambling... > christine > This REALLY bothers me, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I work in a newspaper and every day some writer or another refers to the end of the millennium. Luckily my TV hero Dana Scully of The X-Files made a comment that well, made my millennium when she referred to this! paige- ===== "I can grow Despite all you know You might not recognize me tomorrow." - --Liz Phair, "Firewalker" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 15:04:13 -0800 (PST) From: Mark McKee Subject: nothing. Why is this selling out thing so important, if you like the forthcoming album buy it, if you don't, leave it alone. It's pretty simple. Music's main purpose is to bring enjoyment. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 02:11:52 +0300 From: madLucas Subject: Re: top movies > 2001 is the first year of the new one. too many people keep telling that about 2001 why? there was year #0 and on 1 january of 0 there was the beginning of let's say our calendar it means that when it came to 1 january of year #1 - 1 year passed away. here we are - there will be 1 january 2000 and this would mean that 2000 years passed away and 1 january 2000 is the beginning of new millenium. as for top movies my list is (i've seen them in 99, so they're '99 movies for me) go lola go run lola run fuck lola fuck and idioterne because i've seen it two days ago nothing else wants to be remembered for now ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 15:14:13 -0800 (PST) From: Mark McKee Subject: sorry, forgot something Regarding the "Money" song. Those lines were written well before Liz was even signed, let alone WCSE, so its not exactly a new sentiment she's opinionating there. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 20:41:14 -0500 (EST) From: kiskos@webtv.net (Edward Kisko) Subject: [none] Craig King -- I, too, hate cries of "sell out!" and I don't think Liz sold out with _wcse_ or will sell-out with the new record, but I don't think her music evolved so much as it "devolved" (ignore the dictionary definition of the word). Why do I feel like I posted this before? I don't think Liz will ever have a hit anyway (that's right), so the whole selling-out 'debate' is kind of moot. If the songs suck, they suck. If they don't, then hallelujah. It doesn't matter how glossy they sound, as long as they're "up to par" to begin with. Make sense? The title of the new record doesn't bug me half as much as _wcse_. I always thought "whitechocolatespacegg" sounded meaningless (it is) and implied a scattershot record (which it is). Liz must really be into that whole "intimacy" thing now -- or is it just pompous? I remember the marquee at the TLA in Philly reading "An Evening with Liz Phair," and when we were standing in line outside the Opera House, somebody asked who the opening band was, and the ticket dude said "there's no opening band; this is an evening with LIZ PHAIR!" I agree with whoever said that Liz should back herself on a record. But apparently she has no interest in doing that anymore (or so I've heard). I just wish she'd at least do a truly solo show somewhere, but she always wants someone to play with her. Nicole, when Liz was touring in the spring, I checked your site all the fucking time because of your setlist page. It helped me decide which bootlegs I "just had to have". Ha ha. Don't feel bad. I saw Guided by Voices last night at the Agora in Cleveland and I think I have permanent hearing loss. Seriously. The coolest thing was getting to hang out with a bunch of cool-as-shit Postal Blowfish (the GBV equivalent of support-systemers, or whatever we're called) and a drunker-than-usual Bob Pollard in a hotel room. You see, the mailing list folk *stole* him from his entourage, promising him a ride to his show in Detroit tonight! Craziness! This tops Liz's Crowbar show in terms of hearing loss and sheer surreality, even if I got to see Mr. Pollard at his absolute worst. Mind-fucking. And the ubiquitous Juliana Hatfield was apparently playing just down the street at the same time at a record store (the Grog Shop?). Hell yeah, Steve ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 21:22:18 -0500 (EST) From: MAILER-DAEMON Subject: The Millennium There was no zero year. The Romans came up with the system we use to count years, and in the Roman numbering system, there is nothing to stand for "0". Therefore, the first year was year 1, not 0. Joshua Patrick Kanary, Esquire vist my web page: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~kanaryj "As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail." -Henry David Thoreau ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 21:27:27 -0500 (EST) From: MAILER-DAEMON Subject: "whitechocolatespaceegg" is meaningless Now, granted I can't say this is what Liz meant, but this is the meaning I see behind whitechocolatespaceegg: It represents a sort of infinity thing. It's a bunch of opposites. White is the opposite of a chocolate color, and space is a representation of something open and egg is a representation of something contained and enclosed. A mixture of opposites like this in one form presents the idea of infinite possibilities in a way I don't feel like explaining right now. Joshua Patrick Kanary, Esquire vist my web page: http://www2.gvsu.edu/~kanaryj "As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail." -Henry David Thoreau ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 21:24:47 -0800 From: "April Haitsuka" Subject: Re: "whitechocolatespaceegg" is meaningless Liz said the name came to her in a dream, and I always figured she came up with it intuitively to represent where the album fit into her life: White: signifying the existential "Other" (opposite of regular chocolate color) Chocolate: sweetness and decadence Space: the cosmic force behind life and creativity Egg: birth (probably related to her pregnancy) Why is it all run together in one word as the title? My guess is that she wrote it that way to defy grammatical convention. That is, "whitechocolatespaceegg" as one word represents a whole, unbroken entity, as opposed to "white chocolate space egg," which can be broken down into parts and analyzed (i.e. egg is the noun, space modifies egg, white modifies chocolate, etc.). The song "White Chocolate Space Egg" seems to try to do just that -- elucidate a fleeting sense of wonder in words and music. Based on what we know about Liz, that's what I think it means. April ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 00:34:27 -0500 From: Jason Long Subject: Aimee Mann/Magnolia soundtrack I'm officially the luckiest person on earth, and feeling the need to enthuse and knowing how many Aimee Mann fans there are here, I just had to post this. Everyone else might want to skip it, though. While doing some shopping today, I decided I would stop into a few record stores to see whether any of them would be stocking the Magnolia soundtrack, so I wouldn't have to waste any time on Tuesday trying to find a copy. The first store I stopped into had never heard of the album, didn't have any information on it in its computer system and doubted they would be getting it anyway. Okay, not so good. Slightly paranoid that I would not get to hear the album as soon as it's released, I was already starting to worry I would have a similar run of luck anywhere else I tried. The next store I stopped into was Sam The Record Man. After looking through the bins for a few minutes for other albums, I went up to the counter and asked the sales clerk if they would be getting Magnolia on Tuesday. He went over, checked the computer and all-too-happily told me, "No, we won't be getting that." I stood there thinking to myself, "Okay, you little schmuck, either wipe that smirk off your face or I'm going to do it for you" -- not that I'd really do such a thing -- until he followed it up with the explanation, "Because we've already got it in stock." I stood there a little stunned, knowing for a fact that the CD isn't supposed to be out until December 7. The clerk went over, pulled a copy from the bins and brought it over. Still surprised, I pulled out my wallet and bought it immediately, barely even glancing at the cover. Ripping the plastic off of the CD before I was barely even out of the store, I was on a definite high. I've been waiting so long for new Aimee music, and I felt so giddy and ecstatic to finally have it in my hands. The last time I experienced this was after I bought _whitechocolatespaceegg_, having waited four years for it as well. I took a quick look through the CD booklet and decided to put off the rest of my shopping until tomorrow so I could get home and listen to it right away. That was several hours ago, and the CD has been on repeat here ever since (although I did program out the final four non-Aimee songs). I must say, this is some of Aimee's finest work and I'm completely in awe over how good it is. "Save Me," "Deathly," "You Do" and "Build That Wall" are all standouts, and the instrumental version of "Nothing Is Good Enough" is gorgeous. Also, the songs are masterfully sequenced; they flow together so well that you know a lot of care went into determining the running order. This was definitely not achieved by happy accident. The packaging is great, as well. Throughout the CD booklet, there are photos of Aimee and the cast of the film, all of which appear to have been taken from the video for "Save Me." There's also a great picture of Aimee with Paul Thomas Anderson, the writer/director of the film, as well as his liner notes and the lyrics for all of Aimee's songs on the album. Anderson's liner notes are as great a testimony to Aimee's talents as I've ever read, so I thought I'd transcribe them here for everyone to read: "I sat down to write an adaption of Aimee Mann songs. Like one would adapt a book for the screen, I had the concept of adapting Aimee's songs into a screenplay. All that follows in these liner notes should be prefaced with this notion: I was an Aimee Mann fan before I was an Aimee Mann friend. That said, I will proceed to shine her shoes: In the late summer and early fall of 1997, I was listening to Aimee's music over and over and over again. This was not something new, this is something that I always did and continue to do. It just so happened that this was the time that I was starting to write my new film. Now, having the benefit of knowing Aimee I was allowed to hear demos, acoustic experiments and basic work-in-progress material that she was working on for her upcoming record. So while she was working, I was working. Everything she seemed to be thinking were things that I was thinking. Now this may be due to the fact that at the time, we were very close friends sharing a majority of our time together, or it may be due to the fact that she was articulating feelings and ideas better than I ever could and I wanted to rip her off. I would say the second is true. For instance, in my _original_ motion picture screenplay, Claudia (played by Melora Walters, with a true sense of Aimee Mann insanity) says, "Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?" I must come clean. I did not write that line. Aimee Mann wrote that line as the opening of her song, "Deathly," and I wrote backwards from that line. It equals the story of Claudia. It equals the heart and soul of "Magnolia." All stories for the movie were written branching off from Claudia, so one could do the math and realize that all stories come from Aimee's brain, not mine. Aimee is a brilliant writer. She writes lines that are so simple and direct, you are convinced that you have either A) heard it before, B) said it before, or even C) thought of it before (and just never wrote it down.) But the truth of the matter is: It's None Of The Above. Like any great writer, she has the ability to articulate. She is the great articulator of the biggest things we think about, "How can anyone love me?" "Why the hell would anyone love me" and the old favorite, "Why would I love anyone when all it means is torture?" So here it is, the perfect memento to remember the movie -- or you can look at the movie as the perfect memento to remember the songs that Aimee has made. Paul Thomas Anderson September, 1999, Los Angeles, California" After hearing the soundtrack, I do have to say that Aimee should take some time off from writing songs -- she's going to need it in order to start working on her Oscar acceptance speech. :) For all those who think I may be going overboard in my praise and making too many superlative comments, just wait until you hear this material for yourself. Wow. Also, for all the Canadian Mann fans on the list, you might want to take a look for the CD before Tuesday. My guess is that for Sam's to already have it in stock, it must have been released early here. They hardly seem the type to violate street dates; most of the big chains are pretty strict in regards to that. Cheers, Jase NP (like there's any question about it): 'Magnolia' ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V2 #356 ************************************