From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V6 #235 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 Monday, September 1 2003 Volume 06 : Number 235 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] 10 ?s for Liz [Steve Rhodes ] [support-system] mall times ["Mark J. Foxx" ] [support-system] backslash [Catherine Molanphy ] [support-system] Chicago Metro Show -- Aug. 23 ["Orange Nish" Subject: [support-system] 10 ?s for Liz Liz answers 10 questions from the forum at her favorite paper http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/29/readersopinions/phair-questions.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 04:30:17 -0500 From: "Mark J. Foxx" Subject: [support-system] mall times In case anyone cares, I heard "Extraordinary" at the Gap today. _________________________________________________________________ Get MSN 8 and help protect your children with advanced parental controls. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/parental ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 07:57:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Kate Stewart Subject: [support-system] Shelby/Capitol A review from Bust magazine of Identity Crisis, Shelby Lynne's new album (Why didn't Liz use that title?) states that, "Mostly recorded in her home, Shelby wrote, played on and produced all ten tracks on this album.... Identity Crisis proves that Shelby doesn't need any help making records- she is one of the few broads who can back up her halter top and hip-huggers with talent." Ok, so the million dollar question is, why did Capitol let Shelby Lynne have complete control over her album? Why won't they let Liz record at home and produce her own stuff? Is it Liz's choice? Somebody send Andy Slater a copy of Girlysounds.... obviously he hasn't listened to it. And why the hell is she calling the record "Liz Phair/Backslash" in the NY Times? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 11:11:17 -0400 From: Catherine Molanphy Subject: [support-system] backslash > From: Kate Stewart > And why the hell is she calling the record "Liz > Phair/Backslash" in the NY Times? I was wondering the same thing. At first I read it wrong and thought she was saying "backlash" to be funny. Anyway, your guess is as good as mine... I'm glad there was at least *one* question about a specific song (help me mary). I'm sick of all the general questions in interviews. I was hoping that an interview by *fans* would be all about specific areas of her work. Oh yeah... and HWC, but every interviewer asks about that song. - --Catherine ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 11:02:57 -0700 (GMT-07:00) From: April Haitsuka Subject: [support-system] Backslash Here's the part of the Onion interview where she talks about the backslash: O: Speaking of assigning meaning where there may not be any, was there any particular reason that this one was self-titled? LP: No. I mean, there's a little meaning, but not giant meaning. I kept trying out different titles, but a title just hadn't occurred to me. I was so busy with the music that I hadn't thought of a title. As it got closer, and people were like, "Well, what are you gonna call it?," nothing came. And that straightforward side of me just felt like sticking a name on it that was an afterthought, that didn't really mean anything, kind of galled me. [Laughs.] I feel funny saying this to you, but the record really means a lot to me. I'm very attached to it, so I didn't want to stick something on it that seemed fake or false. Because to me, the record is very real. So I kept resisting. I came up with a couple of names that didn't really work. Finally, I came up with the idea of the backslash, which is sort of a theme throughout all the songs. I feel like my life tends to be lived in the center of two extremes, of any given emotion, and that's how I know where I am in things. So I was trying to think of what we could do, things like "Love/Hate," "Sane/Psycho," all these different ones that were going to be ghosted in the background [of the album cover]. For "Red Light Fever," something like "Stop/Go," "Red Light/Green Light," something like that. Because almost every song has that theme in it. And my art director goes, "Can't we just symbolize it? Do we have to spell it out?" We thought about, at the photo shoot, using a wall on an angle, like me lying on a wall at that particular backslash angle. In the end, it just became the guitar at that angle. But no one would ever get that but us. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 15:54:26 -0500 From: "Orange Nish" Subject: [support-system] Chicago Metro Show -- Aug. 23 Sorry this is so late... We got downtown around 5:15, and there were already about 15-20 people lined up outside. After grabbing a quick dinner, we walked over at about 5:45. I came with a friend who has only ever heard WCI. I was expecting us to be the youngest people there, but there were other people about our age  and it seemed as if one girl was there with her mother, but she may have just been chatting with a stranger. We stood in line behind this really nice 30ish couple, and after hearing me ask my friend if she had any gum, the woman gave me a piece. Thanks, Gum Lady! The gum couple was just behind the edge of the Metro, standing in the alley. Some Metro workers moved them and everyone behind them, to the other side of the alley. The Gum Lady joked that she was now first in line  in the second line. About ten after six, they started letting people in. I had brought along the booklets to Exile and LP, wishfully hoping that Liz would sign them. I knew that there would be the buy-the-CD-get-15-seconds-with-Liz thing, but I guess I was a little bit pumped from Emils (I think...) talk of dueting with Liz. Obviously, she didnt sign it, but Im not broken up by that. My friend and I were concert virgins; the only other concert we had attended was Christina Aguleria, pre-skank. We stayed on the stage floor, and made small talk with a couple of people around us. There were very few people in at the time; we were able to stand in the third row, about 20 feet from where Liz would later sing. However, within a half hour, the place was packed. Two guys in the 30s were standing next to me, and I heard one of them mention that they had visited Bliss and Fetish. Im not sure if the webmaster is on this list, but I thought it was pretty awesome that someone had gone to the site. I later talked to them about Liz touring with the Flaming Lips after some Lips music came on the speakers while they were setting up. One of the guys had been to the Tower in-store signing, and he told me a bit about that. It was so awesome to finally speak to fellow Liz fans; Ive spent years telling people about my favorite singer, and no one else ever knew who she was. I couldnt understand one damn word the lead singer of Wheat sang. As one of the guys standing next to me pointed out, he looked a bit like David Spade, and I thought he had Spades mannerisms down also  mainly, annoying as hell. He kept trying to make chit-chat with the audience, but by the third song, I wanted him to shut up and Liz to come out and play already. He also kept name-checking Liz. (I know you all are exited that Lizs coming. Cmon guys, its Saturday night! Liz will be mad at us if we dont pump you up. etc.) Halfway into Wheats set, two 15-16ish girls came struggling through the crowd. I thought they were trying to make their way to a bathroom or something, but they were just changing spots. They took whatever little breathing space I had, and kept putting their arms up and dancing through both Wheat and Lizs set, dancing that would have been found annoying and inappropriate at a Destinys Childs concert. Liz opened with 61, which was not a surprise. (In fact, none of her set list was a surprise.) While making Liz compilations, Ive found it impossible to *not* begin with it, and still have a good CD. She then played Polyester Bride, and I then promptly forgot the order of the songs she played next. Of course, after the show, the second I turned my back to leave, stage techs gave away some set lists. For those keeping track, Liz wore this black/purple top, short-shorts, and really high heels. (One of the annoying girls shouted out, Where did you get your shoes? but Liz didnt answer.) She really has legs to be jealous of. Liz had virtually no stage banter; it was as if she was trying to balance out the guy from Wheat. I thought she would name-check Chicago, which she sort of did by saying that she might never leave, which drew a huge whoo! from the crowd. She also told the Steve Albini/Glory story, which was the longest she talked to the crowd. She made a cute suburban crack, which I took as a shout-out, while setting up the Glory story. Paraphrasing, she said she used to go to see bands like Big Black, and smoke, trying to adopt an air of not being from the suburbs. I hope the Help Me Mary she played wasnt the revamped awesome version that some of you praised. Personally, I thought the way it was performed was weak. It seemed to lose all of its charm  a disappointment, because Ive always enjoyed the song. She also played Stratford-on-Guy solo, while Dino was switching instruments. Im a huge Stratford fan, it was the first Liz song I loved. However, I really think the drums make the song, so hearing it only with a guitar wasnt as great. The only other real song disappointment was that she didnt make eye contact during Flower at all. It was very strange. Although she spoke very little to the audience, she at least made eye contact through all her songs. During arguably her most famous song, however, she just stared above the main floor crowd  but not high enough to be looking at the balcony audience. I thought, Is she really so sick of this song that she just wants to get it over with? Strangely enough, she seemed fine during F&R, her last song. But it was awesome to hear a packed room yell I want to be your blowjob queen. (Apologies to those who dont like that Flower has turned into a sing-a-long.) I glanced at my friend at this point, and even though I had warned her of Lizs lyrics, citing Flower and HWC specifically, she still looked shocked. Not shocked enough that she never wants to hear Liz again, though. She wants me to burn a Liz CD, and include those songs specifically. For those curious about merchandise: there were several (4 or 5?) Liz t-shirts. I didnt get a good look at them, however, because the little booth selling them was packed. I bought a pink t-shirt with maroon sleeves. Screened in white onto the shirt is Lizs upper body, the picture used is the cover of LP. The bit of hair thats in her face and part of her lip is also maroon. Her name is written in white letters next to the picture. One more thing  James, if you and others were still planning on shouting out requests, I heard you scream for May Queen. I looked over, but the crowd was too dense to see who did it. _________________________________________________________________ Get MSN 8 and help protect your children with advanced parental controls. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/parental ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 23:46:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Stephen Griffes Subject: [support-system] Re: support-system-digest V6 #231 > is there plenty of dancing at the other venues around the country? wasn't > there also too many people to dance/pogo/jump around? perhaps the crowd was There may have been too many people up front, but the place was far from packed and most of the people there didn't seem very into it...I wasn't feeling very much energy from the crowd, which is how the crowds usually are in detroit at "rockshows". detroit rock city my ass. i'm sure at Liz it had partly to do with the unbearable heat (that didn't stop me from dancing my ass off during help me mary!), but not totally because during the encore the people that were left in the venue did actually look like they were having a good time. Why Can't I is now number 5 on vh1's top 20. what alternate universe are we living in?! steve. ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V6 #235 ************************************