From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V6 #164 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 Wednesday, June 25 2003 Volume 06 : Number 164 Today's Subjects: ----------------- tv appearances [LilRussianGirl@aol.com] Re: it's all good? [Tyler Coates ] (no subject) [TitleTK@aol.com] Internet EP = DRM = BAD = NOT WORKING [tzn@mail.utexas.edu] ??????????? ["sandra" ] Re: support-system-digest V6 #163 [tzn@mail.utexas.edu] TV APEARANCES [SHERLY McLACHLAN ] Regarding the Internet EP [Kenneth Lee ] Re: TV APEARANCES [TitleTK@aol.com] Re: Regarding the Internet EP [Jase ] Re: support-system-digest V6 #162 ["over pavema" ] Re: liz and guitar on the new album [Jase ] JASON MARTZ [SHERLY McLACHLAN ] Making MP3's of the Internet EP [NeverTell1117@aol.com] RE: JASON MARTZ ["trent [hardcore since '74l]" ] Higher Quality EP file ["trent [hardcore since '74l]" ] Re: Higher Quality EP file [Jase ] RE: Making MP3's of the Internet EP ["trent [hardcore since '74l]" ] Bounced message [owner-support-system@smoe.org (by way of Jase ] No Worries! [TitleTK@aol.com] (no subject) [TitleTK@aol.com] Re: leno [Tyler Coates ] EP recorder help ["Mike Katsoulis" ] the EP songs ["trent [hardcore since '74l]" ] Another review ["nickn626" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 19:59:50 EDT From: LilRussianGirl@aol.com Subject: tv appearances When is Liz on jay leno and other TV shows again? It's gone from her website now... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 20:06:19 -0400 From: Tyler Coates Subject: Re: it's all good? (quoting dana p.) "and can i just say, for the record, as a woman, how fucking ANNOYING i find it when media women hide behind some kind of weird postfeminist "empowerment" chant every time they appear in public nearly naked--for the money, to take their career to the next level. give me a small break, wouldja?" Isn't Liz nearly naked on the cover of Exile and in its liner notes? Was it okay and artistic then and, if so, why not now? And is it just me or does it seem that almost every bad review of the new album sound like it was written by a vindictive ex-boyfriend? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 20:23:17 EDT From: TitleTK@aol.com Subject: (no subject) In a message dated 6/24/03 8:08:21 PM Eastern Daylight Time, coatesjt@jmu.edu writes: << Isn't Liz nearly naked on the cover of Exile and in its liner notes? Was it okay and artistic then and, if so, why not now? >> I believe it's different on the cover of EIG, b/c it isn't in anyway provocative. I'm not saying one or the other is good or bad but they are totally different. No one looks at the cover of EIG and says, man, I can almost see her nipple . . . I'm buying that . . . but one look at LP and little boys are going to be saying I LOVE LIZ PHAIR! >>i truly love that she said, "i can't write like that anymore." see, *that* i understand. i get that; it makes sense to me.<< She also mentioned in some artcle that she just doesn't have the time to write complicated songs anymore. I think those were her exact words, though I'm not sure. She said that she isn't just sitting in her room smoking pot anymore or something like that. I think that's is bullshit. She had 5 years, she could have carved out some time to sit alone and write some more complicated stuff. james ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 19:23:48 -0500 From: tzn@mail.utexas.edu Subject: Internet EP = DRM = BAD = NOT WORKING Dear Capitol Records, I cannot express to you how happy I am that you put out an extra bit of music for Liz Phair's immense release in the form of the Internet EP. It is immense because it is her return, whether people like it or not; just look at the amount of press it is getting her and you. If you choose to do this though, please make sure that it actually works. I've tried the disc that I payed for with my own money in two Windows computers and one Linux system and it simply does not work. The first one actually told me that it failed the authentication check (Sony PCG-Z1A) and the second told me that it couldnt' find the .asf file on the website. What about my Linux box? Why does this happen? Do you really think that badly encoding the music and trying to shield it with inaccurate, ineffective, and fault-ridden software will help you to be better in the eyes of your customers? I'm sorry, but it wont. I didn't have to buy Liz Phair's Liz Phair, but I did because I liked the album and am looking foward to the Internet Only EP. Sadly, I can't seem to access it even after I've paid for it. I guess I'll just have to go online and pirate it illegally. I can also return my product to the place of purchase since it is defective. Thank you, John-Paul Finger P.S. - Thank you also for the check for $13 from your parent the RIAA after the lawsuit. Its helped me to buy more CDRs. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 19:25:59 -0500 From: "sandra" Subject: ??????????? jesus effing christ. if i want to continue to read poorly-written, snide diatribes on how much the album sucks (from people who, hilariously, haven't even heard it), and how much liz sucks, i'll join some other fucking list. but i don't have time for that shit. and i don't have time for this. i'm not gonna ask y'all to shut the fuck up, because you won't, and you'll just take it as fodder for more spewing. so spew all you want. just know that there's at least one person out here wondering why you have so much free time, and why i have to spend *my* time wading through the fruits of it. go outside, get some sun. i think liz is being remarkably gracious about the whole thing, even if she knows clearly what she's up to. she's still a frickin human being. no matter what you think of the album. for the record, with the exception of the matrix songs, which i think blow as much as the majority of y'all do, the new album sounds just like liz to me. the liz i love. so i'm glad i met that liz. i'm sorry you didn't. it's just music. you don't have cancer. sandra ps: if i've pissed you off, sigh, whatever, bitch at me offlist, ok? the list doesn't need any more bickering. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 19:32:46 -0500 From: tzn@mail.utexas.edu Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #163 Quoting support-system-digest : > > Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:52:38 -0400 > From: Jase > Subject: Internet EP > > I just downloaded the Internet-only EP and I'm curious ... does anyone know > how to convert the .asf file to .wav files, so I can burn a CD for myself > of these songs? > > I kind of wonder why they didn't just post MP3s for download ... are they > afraid they'd end up on file-sharing services right away? I just wish > they'd used a higher-quality format, since I noticed these were only > encoded at 96 Kbps. Still, I shouldn't really complain -- it's not like > they had to make these extra songs available in the first place. > > I was thrilled to see that "Bouncers' Conversation" is among the EP tracks, > "Jeremy Engle" is a great song, and this version of "Hurricane Cindy" is > much different than any of the others we've heard. > > "Shallow Opportunities" just started and seems pretty damn great as well. > > Any word on if Liz is still planning on doing that monthly-subscription > service? I'd love to hear more of these outtakes. > > > Jase Jase, You can use ezConverter from http://ezc.goldlimit.com/ to convert the .asf file (which should be in your temporary internet files) to either wav or mp3 files. I'm guessing it would be easier to convert it to .wav so its easier to chop up into individual tracks. I'd love to do this for myself since I've paid for the album, but as my last post suggests, I can't get the thing to work. So for those of us who have paid for the album but can't seem to get it working for one reason or another, I'll put up the bandwidth to host the individual MP3 files as soon as I get them. This is exactly why we should not just 'let it slide' when we see DRM encroach on our rights as a consumer. I'm all about a system that gives the copyright owner their share, but in my book that system must also get the material to the customer as well. A bit peaved, John-Paul Finger NP: Cowboy Bebop the Movie - WOW, It actually works. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 18:03:53 -0700 (PDT) From: SHERLY McLACHLAN Subject: TV APEARANCES Hey Everyone, Someone asked about the TV appearances. She's on Jay Leno Tonite 6/24 and the Jimmy Kimmel show on the 27th. Just a word on the reviews. Some of them are pretty brutal. It seems that some people really wish her ill will. While the new cd isn't what most of us wanted it's not that bad. Sure the Matrix songs suck. She said from the begining it was intended for radio. What did you think it would be like? I still have faith that she's in there. And I'm glad that she didn't waste any great songs on this cd. Hopefully this will be a success for her and next time she wont have to go so main stream. And just to throw my two cents in, I thought wcse was great from the get go. I found the sound differance to be a natural progression from '94 to '98. I never considered it to be a sell out. I'm looking forward to seeing her live does anybody know when the Metro tickets go on sale? Later Lor SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 18:14:52 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: Regarding the Internet EP Ahh, love the internet EP songs... Hope it takes Emil Breton 6 months to get a used copy of the CD... ;) But seriously... I attempted to convert the damn .asf file to .wav or .mp3, but the freaking file is copy protected! So I can't even make a CD copy! What's the point of providing the artwork for a CD when you can't even burn one??? Oh, by the way, just added that Liz article from Time magazine. Enjoy! - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 21:16:16 EDT From: TitleTK@aol.com Subject: Re: TV APEARANCES In a message dated 6/24/03 9:08:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time, lcf3818@yahoo.com writes: << I'm looking forward to seeing her live does anybody know when the Metro tickets go on sale? >> I contacted both the metro box office and the liz phair advanced ticket people and both say the show isn't even confirmed yet. Email me if you hear anything first! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 21:37:17 -0400 From: Jase Subject: Re: Regarding the Internet EP Ken wrote: >But seriously... >I attempted to convert the damn .asf file to .wav >or .mp3, but the freaking file is copy protected! >So I can't even make a CD copy! What's the point >of providing the artwork for a CD when you can't >even burn one??? Yeah, that's a little baffling ... where's the logic? Ah well, I guess where there's a will, there's a way. Rather than convert the .asf file to a .wav, I'm going to open Cool Edit Pro and record the songs as a .wav file next time I play them. I'll keep everyone posted as to how it turns out, but I'm thinking this could be one workaround. Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 03:11:13 +0000 From: "over pavema" Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #162 regarding those comments about l.a. reid and the usa today article, something that i can't explain but which will probably make some people on the list shiver, is that i would rather, today, buy the new michelle branch cd than the new lpcd. why? well, it's not because i think branch is more brilliant or talented, or even because i think her record will be (very much) better than lp. it's because i know she played the 930 club with a bad cold, and then played on leno's show the next night, and she still had a bad cold. the singing was unfortunate and she struggled to find every note, and clearly didn't feel good at all. but she stood there, ready to embarrass herself, and put on the show because it's part of the job. i was watching this person that i've never thought about much at all, and thinking, 'she is working hard and trying her best to make the audience enjoy it. and, crap, she was just in d.c. last night, already sick, and she flew 3000 miles to do this show when she knew it would not present her at her best, and she didn't lip-synch or anything.' she just got up there with her band, and blew through 'are you happy now?' i had to hand it to her. plus, she has kenny aronoff drumming for her now, and he is, literally, the best. so, i'm not trying to convince anyone else to buy a michelle branch cd. i'm just observing that i really like the fact that she tries so hard, and doesn't phony up her performance just to make herself look better. like when liz used to go on letterman and just try to sing those songs when her voice wouldn't do what she really wanted it to. you couldn't help but pull for her and go spend some money to hear more where that genuine-ness came from. probably makes zero sense, but just found it interesting to myself -- and, by extension, that means that everyone else on earth should find it fascinating too! :) also, here's a question for the group: think of u2 and r.e.m., just to name two (although i think it would be hard to name 10). how did they manage to get so huge and still manage to maintain their credibility. i hated 'the one i love', but i never thought r.e.m. was just grabbing for record sales. i *always* thought they were trying to do something different, something a bit startling, something they'd look back on in 5 years and still say, 'yeah, i could play the songs off that album and do a good job of it.' same with u2 or pearl jam or a few others. a) can you name other bands that have made the transition successfully, and b) what do you think they did that let them get huge and still stay on a respectable artistic course? ideas? (and i'm not really talking about one-shot wonders like maybe paula cole or something...the huge-ness has to be maintained for a couple-three albums, at least.) and, lastly, in football this is what is known as piling on... but i'm very annoyed with capitol that they haven't released the new cd on the apple music store. i'm not that gassed about buying a real cd when i should be able to pay for a download and get it right away. it's ridiculous. now i'll have to go buy a used copy, if only to get the EP songs. although, to be honest, i'm giving them a chance to convince me to buy a new copy, if they'd make it available on the apple store. if not, i'm not sure why i wouldn't just go pull the whole goddam thing off of winmx. this is silly. join the 21st century already, for chrissakes. o _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:17:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Stephen Griffes Subject: liz and guitar on the new album i havent gotten a copy of the new liz yet, but a friend said that the liner notes say that she plays guitar on two songs. that surprised me. is that true or is he being a dumbass? i was in LA and didnt get to see liz. i did however see a huge subway poster of the album cover. i got my picture posing in front of it like liz. it was a very starfucking vacation in hollywood...didnt get to meet the golden girls (grrr) but went to the charlies angels premiere and randomly got to meet drew, cameron, and lucy (but not demi). and sang karaoke with the barenaked ladies (who i cant stand). im back in the michigan with NO tan because there was NO sun. and its hotter here than it was in LA. i also had my very own personal consultation with scientologists, which was one of the most interesting and amusing experiences i've had in awhile. go hollywood! hopefully a detroit area date will be announced for this tour?? heard "Supernova" in jimmy johns today, steve ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:43:20 -0400 From: Jase Subject: Re: liz and guitar on the new album Steve wrote: >i havent gotten a copy of the new liz yet, but a friend said that the >liner notes say that she plays guitar on two songs. that surprised me. is >that true or is he being a dumbass? When I looked through the credits earlier, I recall only seeing Liz credited for guitar on one track ("It's Sweet") and for "samples" on another ("Little Digger"). Kinda surprised about that, too, especially the fact that she didn't even play on any of the tracks she produced herself. Jase ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 20:33:37 -0700 (PDT) From: SHERLY McLACHLAN Subject: JASON MARTZ When I go to ticketmaster and punch in Liz why does this guy come up with her? She can't be opening for this guy is she? Isn't he a Matrix product also? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:56:21 EDT From: NeverTell1117@aol.com Subject: Making MP3's of the Internet EP I've made mp3's of the Internet EP, in case anyone hasn't figured this out, it's possible to do this by: 1) Right clicking and saving the .asf file to your computer where it says "Download" on the website, 2) Opening the file in Windows Media Player and burning it to a blank cd. (The protection on the file only allows this action to be done 3 times.) 3) Ripping the file off the burned cd. (You may want to use an mp3 editing program to edit the EP into the 5 seperate songs.) - -Robbie (NeverTell1117@aol.com)- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:57:52 -0400 From: "trent [hardcore since '74l]" Subject: RE: JASON MARTZ He is opening for her - -----Original Message----- From: owner-support-system@smoe.org [mailto:owner-support-system@smoe.org] On Behalf Of SHERLY McLACHLAN Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:34 PM To: support-system@smoe.org Subject: JASON MARTZ When I go to ticketmaster and punch in Liz why does this guy come up with her? She can't be opening for this guy is she? Isn't he a Matrix product also? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:11:08 -0400 From: "trent [hardcore since '74l]" Subject: Higher Quality EP file Was anyone able to download the higher quality .asf file from the website? The "burn from Windows Media Player" trick works like a charm ... If anyone has the higher quality file can they host it since the offical site isn't working? - --- "frankly it's ludicrous to have these interlocking bodies and not interlock please remove your clothing now." anya -- buffy the vampire slayer ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:30:16 -0400 From: Jase Subject: Re: Making MP3's of the Internet EP Robbie wrote: >I've made mp3's of the Internet EP, in case anyone hasn't figured this out, >it's possible to do this by: > >1) Right clicking and saving the .asf file to your computer where it says >"Download" on the website, >2) Opening the file in Windows Media Player and burning it to a blank cd. >(The protection on the file only allows this action to be done 3 times.) >3) Ripping the file off the burned cd. (You may want to use an mp3 editing >program to edit the EP into the 5 seperate songs.) I've never used Windows Media Player to burn to a blank CD before; usually, I use Adaptec Easy CD Creator. Does it burn it as an .asf file, so it can still only be played on a computer, or as a .wav, so it can be played in any CD player? Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:36:41 -0400 From: Jase Subject: Re: Higher Quality EP file Trent wrote: >Was anyone able to download the higher quality .asf file from the website? >The "burn from Windows Media Player" trick works like a charm ... > >If anyone has the higher quality file can they host it since the offical >site isn't working? I was able to download the higher quality .asf file. I'll see if I'm able to host it; I'm not sure that I have enough web space free, though, so I'll have to check. Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:23:25 -0400 From: "trent [hardcore since '74l]" Subject: RE: Making MP3's of the Internet EP The option is "copy to Audio CD" and it converts and then burns the .asf file to the blank disc playable in any audio player. Then you can extract the track (as a WAV) and then carve it up into individual tracks (with something like AcidWAV). - -----Original Message----- From: owner-support-system@smoe.org [mailto:owner-support-system@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Jase Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 12:30 AM To: NeverTell1117@aol.com; support-system@smoe.org Subject: Re: Making MP3's of the Internet EP Does it burn it as an .asf file, so it can still only be played on a computer, or as a .wav, so it can be played in any CD player? Jase ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:38:05 EDT From: AWeiss4338@aol.com Subject: Re: support-system-digest V6 #162 In a message dated 6/24/2003 11:12:56 PM Eastern Standard Time, overpavement@hotmail.com writes: > think of u2 and r.e.m., just to name > two (although i think it would be hard to name 10). how did they manage to > get so huge and still manage to maintain their credibility. i hated 'the > one i love', but i never thought r.e.m. was just grabbing for record sales. > > i *always* thought they were trying to do something different, something a > bit startling, something they'd look back on in 5 years and still say, > 'yeah, i could play the songs off that album and do a good job of it.' same > > with u2 or pearl jam or a few others. U2 and REM just became too good to ignore. They did it there way, all the way, and turned it into gold. I never liked The One I love either, but i was glad it was a hit. it was different, and that's what made people buy it, it wasn't hair metal, synth-pop, or anything else really 80s, just good singing, playing and songwriting. I wish it could have been like that for every band that was good. Andrea ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 21:39:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Matt Tilden Subject: Liz on Leno Well, she seemed really thrilled about her new album. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:58:24 -0400 From: owner-support-system@smoe.org (by way of Jase ) Subject: Bounced message From: "Michael Worrell" To: Subject: Fear and Loathing in Guyville Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:33:36 -0400 Or, to steal a line from Rocky & Bullwinkle, "Son of the Spaceegg". Anyways. I had to drive kinda far to find this album today, because I found out (much to my surprise) that the local indie store that I had relied upon since 1998 to supply me with non-mainstream material had been closed since January. Bummer. Going away to school is no fun sometimes. Before I get started, a quick question that occurred to me while listening to the album: Why is it that those who preach a dogma of change being absolutely inevitable, change merely for the sake of change being the greatest thing since sliced bread, who don't mind kicking down established laws and orders simply for the heck of it are the first to pitch an anguished cry of dismay, defeat, and of dirty deeds done dirt cheap when an artist tinkers a bit with her sound? To the USA Today reviewer who dissed Miz Liz with 2 stars, I can only say that I hope someone leaves a revolver in your desk with a single bullet and a note that you should do what is best for the profession. To the track by track, semi-stream-of-consciousness review, gleaned from listening to tracks 1-9 while driving around, and 10-14 in front of the computer before typing: The cover ain't bad. I dislike the "PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT" thing sprayed on an otherwise intriguing cover photo. Thanks, Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson Gore. I suppose that was something your damned husband didn't invent. Unfortunately, we see very little of ECP's face in this. That's unfortunate. For liner notes, the response to chicks in fishnet is a resounding no. I'm glad that the lyrics are in this one. The lips thing and the sketch motif is odd---I'll defer to the more artistically-inclined people on this list. "EXTRAORDINARY" - It's the voice of Liz! This song strikes me as being wcse-ish. That whole "may not believe/I believe" part sounds like it was cut from the troubled relationship cloth of the prior album. This song paints ECP as a still-aggressive, but less confident gal; however, the whole "who the hell are you" bit goes against the less confident notion. Go figure. I can't understand all of the chorus/refrain, and driving around makes it hard to look up the lyrics. Thumb up. "RED LIGHT FEVER" - Liz does "Complicated", only with skill. Take that, sk8r girl---momma said knock you out, or something. This song seems muddled, however. Is "always goin' nowhere" a one-liner defining this song, perchance? I was going to fiddle with the graphic equalizer and made a specific note to do so, but I changed the auto tone to "Pop" from "Rock" in the middle of this song. It sounded immediately better, but I wondered if that was a bad omen. Thumbs are nominally down. "WHY CAN'T I?" - The voice we know and love continues. Heh, she's an adultress this time out, and it's amusing. It's a chirpily innocent song in tone, but a downright rotten subject matter. I marked this down as Liz Phair being subversive. Not only does she sing it, she produced it. Hooray. Thumbs up. "IT'S SWEET" - No, it's weird. Elevators throwing her into space? Ma'am, put down the crack pipe and put your hands over your head. The line about how the dude _believes_ he's in love with her is amusing. Witty? It is in my book, thanks. Thumbs more up than down, by a muscular twitch. "ROCK ME" - The quintessential Liz Phair song, and probably the album's anthem, even if it was produced by the Evil Trio. This song echoes the carnal simplicity of "Flower", and that's a good thing. This song definitely passes the Beavis and Butt-head test, which requires a guttural "huh huh huh" at some point during the song. That being said, I still wouldn't mind marching the producer on this song out to the nearest ditch and having him shot, because someone should have told ECP that the "ROCK ME ALL NIGHT" bits just don't work. Like I said before, I hear "Flower" in this song, namely that fresh young jimmy bit. Thumbs up. "TAKE A LOOK" - I wouldn't have put this song on the album. Some wiseass reviewer is going to tag lyrics from this song as a metaphor for the album as a whole, if the reviewer is hostile towards the album in general. Well, as Imus says, "Eff them". What is this "able to put cards on the table" stuff? We're slipping into Lenny Kravitz "See the stars/Milky Way and even Mars" land here, and that's not good. I did, however, sing along with the chorus/refrain thing, but there's something overly simplistic in the lyrics. I'll blame it on Michael Penn. Null thumbs. "LITTLE DIGGER" - Augh, a song about kids. It's my opinion that she's got one good kid song, and that's "Whip-Smart". However, there's a piano solo of sorts and even though it's not ECP ticklin' the ivories, I didn't know it until I looked at the liner notes. Null thumbs. "FIREWALKER" - We know this one. It's typical ECP lyrical gymnastics and so forth; that's a good thing. Strange and beautiful, yes. ECP has certainly gone strange on us at this point, but she's still beauty, eh. Who is joy? Thumbs more up than down. "FAVORITE" - I hear Avril Lavigne. Wonder why? However, it's mostly 'cause at some level, Lavigne's voice can, if you're low on serotonin and sleep-deprived, sound like Liz Phair. In a straight-up match between Liz Phair and the hygenically-challenged Canuck, score one for Liz. I don't think that the "old" Liz Phair ever cared about the greater rightness or objective correct quality of her actions---she just did it, and that was that. She didn't care, and this song confuses me to some extent; further examinations required. Null thumbs. "LOVE/HATE" - Uh, right. What the hey, eh. I'm certain I can tease a political statement out of this, if I give it more time on the brain. Some of the background work is nifty, too. Thumb more up than down. "H.W.C." - Cringe. Augh. Gag me with a spoon. When I copy this CD for day-to-day use, this song gets left off. It's classic ECP in a way, blatantly graphic in a manner I can't really endorse but would listen to, if _only_ the bloody chorus/refrain thing wasn't on there. It's the casual obscenity we're used to from ECP, but it's coupled with that hideous refrain. No! Say it ain't so! This Vincent dude should have excercised some oversight and scrapped her refrain. Gah. Thankfully, it's only 2:49 or so. Thumbs down. "MY BIONIC EYES" - Heh, she scores again last night. We know Liz likes to make story albums, or did, or something. This may be the point in the story where she's all confident again. For some reason, I got the sense that she was some sort of jaded romantically predatory woman who was a veteran of the mattress. Or floor; we don't know. But I'd volunteer to find out. Thumbs more up than down. "FRIEND OF MINE" - Take it or leave it. I'll leave it; I couldn't get into this one. It was a Michael Penn song. That explains much. Thumbs down. "GOOD LOVE NEVER DIES" - Or, Liz and her bartending friend meet again. I thought she was talking to the mythical Henry, if he didn't die in that fire set by the old '80s hair band a while back. I hear the old Liz in this song, and that's good. It's the old days for her to chit-chat with someone in the audience or something---shades of "Bars of the Bed", my favorite non-album track---and this one isn't too bad to close out the album. Thumbs more up than down. OK, so without tallying the score, I like the album. I went into this with a lot of fear, and a lot of loathing of circumstance. Turns out, I wasn't hit with bad things on the purchase. For the time being, the album is a good purchase that I'll try and sell to others. Of course, the people I know aren't Liz Phair listener material, so I'll be on yet another exercise in futility. There are two possible views of the Matrix: The first, stolen from my childhood, is from the Transformers feature-length animated movie, and the Matrix there is a good and cool thing that does nifty stuff, glistens, and is a handy little trinket when it counts. The second is that from 1999 and which is defended by Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith. I fear that the Matrix we see here is, overall, the stifling and stultifying force that Keanu Reeves of all people is fighting against. Michael Penn ought to stick to tanking his own albums, not my current favorite artist's. Sign me the Ostensible Republican, Michael "You think you know what I'm doing, so obviously you don't."---Aeon Flux ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:46:07 -0500 From: "Mike Katsoulis" Subject: leno did anyone else think that liz on leno tonight was a complete disaster? she look amazing and all, but the overall performance was atrocious. Well, it was atrocious given Liz's past. What i cannot understand is how "why can't i?" turned into a country song with a soulful back-up singer. It was like a country/rock/r&b mix... If anything i thought it would be a guitar-driven rock song when performed live. Liz reminded me of a dixie chick. Every time the camera panned to the backup singer, i thought "what the hell happened here... this keeps getting worse and worse." Liz's voice IS a lot better, but i can't help but wonder who was hitting those high notes... the backup singer or liz? they sounded really awkward - like an opera singer or something. I honestly felt like laughing, and i can only imagine that the innocent viewers who are not familiar with liz got a huge laugh out of it too... i know i would've been rolling around on the floor had it not been... liz phair. ouch. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:46:36 EDT From: TitleTK@aol.com Subject: No Worries! Just saw Liz on Leno . . . she looked incredibly sexy, but was also suffering from what looked like a great deal of stage fright as her voice strained in a delightfully wobbly way. My roommate commented "this is the girl you're always talking about? She can't sing a lick . . . so why can't I stop looking at her?" Just to nip it in the bud, I love the new album, and Liz was right, it rocks! But she'll never be a pop star, and I have a feeling the next few albums will bring her back to urban grit. james ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:48:03 EDT From: TitleTK@aol.com Subject: (no subject) P.S. That back-up singer has got to go! james ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 00:53:48 -0400 From: Tyler Coates Subject: Re: leno I think the backup singer didn't need to be there, and no one really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Is that the same backup band she's been touring with, and with that singer? I thought Liz seemed really nervous, but she looked like she was getting comfortable. Still, I didn't think the band and the backup singer was good at all. However, I think it shows promise for what Liz is like on tour, without all of The Matrix's production. - ---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:46:07 -0500 >From: "Mike Katsoulis" >Subject: leno >To: > >did anyone else think that liz on leno tonight was a complete disaster? she >look amazing and all, but the overall performance was atrocious. Well, it was >atrocious given Liz's past. What i cannot understand is how "why can't i?" >turned into a country song with a soulful back-up singer. It was like a >country/rock/r&b mix... If anything i thought it would be a guitar-driven rock >song when performed live. Liz reminded me of a dixie chick. Every time the >camera panned to the backup singer, i thought "what the hell happened here... >this keeps getting worse and worse." Liz's voice IS a lot better, but i can't >help but wonder who was hitting those high notes... the backup singer or liz? >they sounded really awkward - like an opera singer or something. I honestly >felt like laughing, and i can only imagine that the innocent viewers who are >not familiar with liz got a huge laugh out of it too... i know i would've been >rolling around on the floor had it not been... liz phair. ouch. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 23:56:34 -0500 From: "Mike Katsoulis" Subject: EP recorder help A few months back my Juliana Hatfield list had a similar problem that a lot of people are having with the online "comeandgetit" EP. There was a streaming interview with live performances that a lot of people wanted to burn onto a CD, and someone posted the link that i have below. It is a program (it is a really small download/file) that records streams, or .asf/.asx files into .wavs or .mp3s i guess. I put it in my favorites folder, and just tried to use it now with the online EP, but then i remembered how technologically dumb I am. I have no idea how it works... I'm sure it will be able to make separate files out of the 5 EP songs so that they can be burned individually, but the directions say that there is supposed to be a pop-up window box that specifies a file name to save the individual downloads as... my computer doesn't give me that. It just plays the one big file like Winamp or MusicMatch does. I hope this helps, and let us all know how to use it (or e-mail me individually). http://sourceforge.net/projects/asfrecorder/ mike ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 01:03:46 -0400 From: "trent [hardcore since '74l]" Subject: the EP songs man oh man ... the ep songs are sooooo good. this is the Liz we ALL know and love ... the demo "Shallow Opportunities" is my fave ... and hearing "Bouncer's Conversation" (formerly "Conversation Overheard Between Two Bouncers") all cleaned up is HEAVEN ... i've always loved this song. once we get the .asf fiasco fixed and mp3s can be made there are going to be a lot of happy support-systemers :) Trent PS: yes, Liz's voice did sound shaky on leno ... i couldn't tell if it was intentional vibrato or nerves. - --- "frankly it's ludicrous to have these interlocking bodies and not interlock please remove your clothing now." anya -- buffy the vampire slayer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 22:07:09 -0700 From: "nickn626" Subject: Another review This is from the Gigantic website, it's mixed, but with more positivity than most posted here (for a change of pace). http://www.giganticmag.com/reviews/000109.php ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V6 #164 ************************************