From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V3 #274 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 Thursday, October 12 2000 Volume 03 : Number 274 Today's Subjects: ----------------- house of parker ["sandra" ] OT: Liz Phair/Support System Digest Mix #1 review [Jason Long ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 00:37:45 -0500 From: "sandra" Subject: house of parker > > My favorite movie that she's in is Kicking and Screaming. She wasn't the > star but an awesome movie that perfectly depicted an episode of my life and > times and friends (anyone else ever been in 5th year?). For those that saw > it, I'm Grover. i loved kicking and screaming, esp. parker and olivia d'abo. interesting that skippy ended up as kelly's bf on 90210 ... as long as we're going off about parker movies, how many of you saw sleep with me? one of those eric stolz vehicles, starring him, meg tilly (the jennifer tilly, but the one from the big chill), what's-his-name-the-asshole-boyfriend-from-some-kind-of-wonderful, parker posey, and joey lauren adams. it also has the dubious distinction of having a cameo from quentin tarantino pre-pulp fiction where he goes on and on with a diatribe that "proves" the homoerotic subtext of "top gun." priceless, i tell you. oh and jase, thanks for the wellesley tape. love it. am making you an alt-country thing now. sandra 'you can ride my tail anytime' - top gun NP: Smile, the Jayhawks ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 08:53:26 -0400 From: Jason Long Subject: OT: Liz Phair/Support System Digest Mix #1 review I can't believe it's taken me so long to write this, but here's my review of the first side of the mix tape I received from Chris DeLisle as part of the tape swap. Chris was very helpful by including some notes on some of the songs he selected for the tape, which gave me some background on a lot of music that is new to me. In his letter, he started off by saying, "Because you seem like the King Watchdog of Music from the last decade or so, I felt a bit daunted at first as to how approach the mix tape. So, my hope was to select songs that you may have never come across before." He definitely succeeded - -- this tape has been a great introduction to a lot of artists I hadn't previous heard or knew much about, or artists that I had been curious about but never followed up on. I hope everyone else who has received their mixes has been enjoying the music on theirs as much as I've liked that on mine. Anyway, on with my rambling review/commentary of the "Go Ahead and Flunk My Ass" side (great Sleater-Kinney reference, for the record)... Tom Waits - "Frank's Wild Years" Tom Waits is one of those artists that I've read and heard so much about, but have never gotten around to checking out. I tend to be overwhelmed coming late in the game to any artist with a large back catalog; I think part of it is not knowing where to start and being worried that I might pick the wrong disc to begin with (for example, had my first Joni Mitchell album been _Mingus_ or _Dog Eat Dog_, I probably would have given up right then and not discovered the albums I do like). After hearing this song, though, I'm not sure that I feel any further ahead. Overall, I do like it -- I don't have any problems with his writing. He does seem like a really skilled lyricist, in particular. However, the music and his vocal delivery seem a little too laidback for my taste, and I couldn't imagine an entire album in this style being all that compelling. Does he mix things up a bit on his albums and offer more of a variety? Or is there an album that's a little more "punchy" that might be better to start with? This song does still leave me curious and I don't want to make the mistake of possibly writing him off too soon. At the same time, you did note in your comments about Tom Waits that he's "sometimes known in certain circles as perhaps the coolest songwriter around." Whenever I've heard similar statements about other artists in the past, it's usually turned out to be someone whose work I find easier to admire than genuinely love. The Meters - "Look-Ka Py Py" This sounds really familiar to me, although I can't seem to place it. It almost feels like this may have been sampled by one of the more interesting hip hop or rap groups. Nice bassline and some good drumming. Not my usual thing, but I wouldn't mind hearing more. Morcheeba - "Shoulder Holster" I quite like this song. I know I've heard some Morcheeba stuff before on various samplers, but nothing that really stopped me in my tracks. This, however, does. What album is this from? The Origin - "November Days" Another winner; I tend to be a sucker for great acoustic pop songs like this. The background vocals underneath the chorus are a nice touch. Why haven't I heard of this band before? Stone Roses - "Mersey Paradise" I can't believe I'm admitting this, but oddly enough, despite how well-regarded the Stone Roses are, this is the first song of theirs I've heard knowingly. Nice bit of sequencing; this song works very well coming after the previous one. Also, I think this may just be my favorite song on the tape -- although it sounds nothing like any of Aimee Mann's stuff, it manages to pull off one feat she manages quite often: writing a song that's catchy without being obvious, while at the same time, not being too clever. If this was only a b-side, I need to get their first album post-haste. Elvis Costello - "Running Out Of Angels" This is one of the few songs I was already familiar with. I'm a huge fan of Elvis' earliest records and wish his '90s output was as consistently great. But as it stands, I find even early outtakes like this more enjoyable than his recent records -- maybe because songs like this effortlessly win me over rather than making me meet them halfway. Syd Barrett - "Love You" I've been curious about Syd Barrett for a while, not because of the Pink Floyd connection, but rather the good things I've read about his solo work on some of the mailing lists I'm on (particularly Chalkhills, the XTC list) from people who are in the know. This song vaguely reminds me of the Dukes of Stratosphear, an XTC side project which acted as their homage to psychadelic pop of the late-'60s. Overall, I find this rather enjoyable -- the lyrics do seem somewhat tossed-off, but the song has a playful feel to it that overcomes any reservations I might normally have. I'll probably end up checking out more of his work -- from what I understand, he doesn't have much of a catalog to check out, though. Beatles - "Strawberry Fields (Take 2)" More sequencing genius -- taken with "Love You," this is another good one-two combination. This is an interesting take of the song, which is one of my favorite Beatles tracks. Somehow I've never gotten around to getting any of the Anthology discs; as much as I love the Beatles, I've never really been a completist with them as much as other bands and artists (XTC, Liz, Aimee, etc.). Now I'm wondering if I should get the anthologies so I can hear alternate takes of some of my other favorites of theirs as well. The Rutles - "Let's Be Natural" The sequencing genius extends even further. More importantly, this is another one for the shopping list. I've heard a lot about the Rutles, but have been sort of shy to check them out. I guess the impression I had is that while a parody/homage of the Beatles legend seems like a good idea in theory, I thought the result would be a little too obvious or predicatable. This is a lot more tongue-in-cheek than I expected and based on this, I'm ready to hear more. Pete Townshend - "Who Are You (Live 1998)" Again, I must confess only a passing familiarity with the Who. Originally this recording felt a little too long to me, but it's grown on me quite a bit over the course of a few listens. I keep noticing new things in the mix with each listen -- there's a lot going on arrangement-wise, but it doesn't feel overdone in any way. My only real quibble at this point is the "rap," which feels unnecessary. The Wedding Present - "Dalliance" This song is pleasant enough, but it really didn't leave a very strong impression either way. Admittedly, the vocals on this particular track don't do much for me and sometimes that in itself is enough to make or break a song for me. Lhasa - "De Cara A La Pared" Now here's an example of vocals that do make the song. I love her voice; it's easily the most interesting thing here. Without it, I couldn't imagine being anywhere near as impressed with what's left. Bob Dylan/The Band - "Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread" I know it's almost blasphemous to criticize anything Bob Dylan has had a hand in, but this song just doesn't really move me. I am less familiar with his work than I probably should be, only owning three of his albums (_Highway 61 Revisited_, _Blonde on Blonde_ and _Time Out of Mind_) and the first greatest hits compilation, all of which I like a lot. While I didn't really get into this much, I would be interested in recommendations in other of his works to check out, based on what I do like already. I'll try to review the second side tomorrow -- stay tuned. Cheers, Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 09:01:37 -0700 From: carrma@WellsFargo.COM Subject: Re: ah... i just love fan mail //Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2000 16:35:38 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: ah... i just love fan mail Thought everyone would enjoy this email I received... - - -Ken// Hey Ken, Don't pay it any mind...it's just Liz f'in with you! mike ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 15:38:55 EDT From: "Jen Lott" Subject: OT Green Day Hi, I'm going to Tower Records this weekend to pick up Green Day's new CD "Warning." Has anyone gotten it? It's gotten good reviews all around and I always love Green Day's music. But I was wondering if anyone on the list has an opinion on their new CD... Jen "Don't spit into the well--you might drink from it later." - -- Yiddish Proverb _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. 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