From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V6 #313 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, November 26 2003 Volume 06 : Number 313 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] "Why Can't I?" single [Jase ] [support-system] Point me in the direction of Albuquerque ["Norman Davis"] [support-system] attack of the vocaloids ["dana p." Subject: [support-system] "Why Can't I?" single I don't know if it's been mentioned on the list yet, but a CD single of "Why Can't I?" has now been released in Canada. It's the same as the ones issued overseas; the b-sides are "Jeremy Engle" and "Fine Again." It looks like a commercial single still hasn't been released for the US, but the Canadian single can be ordered online from [http://www.cdplus.com] for $2.59 ($3.49 Cdn) plus shipping. I still haven't had a chance to post reviews of the incredible shows in Toronto at Sunrise Records and the Guvernment a week ago, but hopefully I'll be able to soon. I also have pictures from both shows and will be uploading those this week as well. Cheers, Jase NP: Courtney Love, "Life Despite God" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 04:57:55 -0700 From: "Norman Davis" Subject: [support-system] Point me in the direction of Albuquerque Hadn't been around for a while, but I thought I'd come back at least long enough to fill you in about my close encounter with Liz. (Hey, Ken Lee and Mr.E, howyadoin, still here?) Was up in Albuquerque on business a week and a half back, couldn't believe it when the radio station said Liz was appearing at the Sunshine Theater on the 21st. Off to the nearest Ticketmaster where I was shocked again to find tickets were general admission and less than 20 bucks. Blew off a day on the trip I was supposed to be making to the eastern part of the state, and I'm set. Tried to see Liz 5 months ago when she was opening for the Flaming Lips in Oklahoma City, but on 2 days notice, tickets were long gone. I once bought a ticket to see Alannis Morissette in Phoenix, just in case Liz was opening the western dates. Puedes decir obsesion? Got to the theater at 6:30- paper says doors open at 7- paper lies. Hour later, they're letting us in. Someone walks past the line on Central, says "line's not too long", not seeing where it turns south and has about 150 to 200 people in that stretch. Get in, and have instant flashback to the Joint at the Hard Rock in Vegas. Same general layout, general ambience. Though why you'd want to sit in the balcony if you're not a sniper escapes me. There's a spot free on the extreme right, couldn't get any closer without actually being on stage (thank you, Jesus). Wheat is on first- Boston area band- never heard of them, but they turn out to be pretty good and Liz comes out to do backup on one song, so that's not hard to take. Ought to change their name to Wheet, then they could tour with Korn or Riice or Barlee or Sore-gum. Set ends, then Liz is back, looking like a 13 on a 10 scale. Tight blue jeans, black belt, changed into a yellow tank top- tied in a knot in back so her stomach and lower back are showing- hints of black bra, hair like the latest CD cover. She's got the Brittney-style microphone/headset. Starts out with "6'1", then "Johnny Feelgood", some other song, then my personal fave, "Polyester Bride". Liz promises a mix of old and new, and delivers on that, plus 2 songs that are either new or obscure enough that I don't recognize them. "Flower" sounds great, solid backing that the CD version lacked. After she does the song, she says that when she see small kids in the audience, she wishes someone would cover their ears. For the new stuff, she does "Why Can't I", "Extraordinary", "Favorite" and resting a hand on top of a red guitar, "Rock Me". We seemed to make some eye contact, especially during "Never Said". I know she looked over at least once, because she read the cardboard sign the guy next to me was holding up, and gave him a thumbs-up. She was in good voice, but she did stop three-quarters of the way to use a throat spray. While she was doing it, I called out "Lucky spray", don't know if she heard me or not. If she had stage fright, it didn't seem to show. Maybe she felt less pressure since it was the last night of the tour. Only one encore, but she sang "H.W.C.", "Fuck and Run" and "Supernova." Overall, I thought it was well worth the trip. No "Uncle Alvarez", "Take a Look", or "What Makes You Happy", but you can't always get what you want. Rolling Stone called her a M.I.L.F., and after spending a good part of an evening looking at her butt, I'd have to say that that's a Phair statement. Feel kind of a letdown, now I guess I have to find a new obsession. Saw Michelle Branch in concert, good music, but hard to get excited about. And Avril- not in this life. Wonder if Vanessa Carlton has been feeling neglected lately. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 11:33:29 -0800 From: "dana p." Subject: [support-system] attack of the vocaloids hey gang: thanks for the interesting replies to the Vocaloid story. as i said, i'm so intrigued, but that quote from scott spock was just *too good* to pass up. i was pretty much playing devil's advocate with that one.... cause, no kidding, that "getting the good vocal" comment, well.... yeah. i'm a bit fascinated by the perceived evil that is the matrix. is it just me? *** as an artist myself, guess what? i want this software! oh, the fun you could have.... the sky's the limit! we're talkin' having ethel merman sing, oh, i don't know, "god save the queen" or something. neil young's "old man." i mean, yikes! blaze one up and let me know what y'all come up with. in the article i think they mentioned having barbra streisand sing megadeth or something like that. *** so, i'm wondering what's gonna happen as far as copyrights; now, *that's* an interesting tangent.... 'cause, according to cingular wireless commercials (snort!), a person's voice is as unique as a fingerprint! [so, maybe next time glen or wynonna get hauled in for drunk driving, they'll have to sing something for the files instead of getting their fingers all messy with ink (?!?!) Glen: Don't you know who I am??! (which he really did say, by the way) Police Officer: Well, as soon as you sing something into this computer, we'll have a much better idea....] *** as dan mentioned, i, too, am hoping someone comes out with a really interesting, pure-computer pop song, featuring a cybervoice. i find that the best pop is done by unknowns: it's all about the anonymous mad genius behind the mixing desk who's got us out there shakin' our rumps. hence the rise of the supercool club DJ.... anyway, as mike said, it's the same as photoshop. it's true: you gotta have skills. at first i thought, "oh, this will be so fun for the average creative person who wants to make some music," but i guess this software isn't that user-friendly, even for music engineers, so.... hmmmm. guess not. but, of course, they're refine it further and it'll probably be easier to work with in a few years. who knows? meantime, i have no doubt this will be used heavily by the advertising industry, for one. and then, of course, the music industry. the "industry" part, especially. it would certainly be good for people who can't afford to bring in backup singers. with this program and protools, you can do it all yourself. provided, of course, you know what you're doing techwise--and you can fork over the--what?--five grand? ten? gotta be... *** oh, chris--good luck with your "defense" of LP; should be interesting. i can't wait to hear that!! please make sure you post a link. i figger just before going over there you need to either put yourself in a zenlike trance or just go for broke and hit the JD--*hard*. also, maybe it would put you in the mood to don a supershort skirt with those parachutist-suspender thingys and a rainbow-striped tube top. don't forget to toss your hair around so it's all "bedroom-y" and sexy. or you could just show up naked and put a guitar between your legs a la the cover of said CD. don't forget the eyeliner, or the whole "look" is shot. in any case, have fun, buddy! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 19:21:15 -0500 (EST) From: Stephen Griffes Subject: [support-system] liz makes pitchforks top 100 of the 90s redux EIG is #30 on pitchfork.coms top 100 albums of the 90s (?) there's also a picture at pollstar.com (probably won't be there too long) from the Roxy show and it says something about her "newfound freedom" via the controversial headsets. her outfit is ugly. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 00:33:10 -0000 From: "Paul Spinks" Subject: [support-system] Liz's rap version of Flower > Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:12:11 -0500 > From: Dan MacDonald > Subject: [support-system] PG 13 flower > PS - yeah - I agree - the new version of FLOWER is by far the most > superior live rendition of the song yet. well....I like the one with the > list member who got up on stage too in chicago.. that's a sweet version as > well.. ;) - but this new version - holy shit....red hot beautiful! Which reminds me, I mentioned in a previous post that the London rendition of Flower had extra lines, but on closer listening to the recording, I realise Liz was rapping - has this ever happened before? What happened was... the band played Flower in a novel (and excellent) style I have not heard on EIG or bootlegs, following a subtly different rhythm, building the volume through the song, with Liz singing in a near monotone rather than the traditional hi-lo-hi-lo main melody, and without the overlaid lyrics (except on their own at the beginning). Then just at the close, Liz says "Let's see if I can rap". The band falters for a moment (I guess she caught them out for a second) but picks up straight away, and she sings... "Your face is like an English Rose I like the crook of your big long nose It makes me faint, I love [the things] Like what you got inside your jeans Maybe I'm up here on stage And maybe you're acting the - [???] Maybe I'm gotta get to you No matter what you think I'll do Because [???] [just?] a white girl [hair? here?] I can't rap much, but I - [?] And there's a lot of things I don't [do?]" I can't 100% make out the lyrics in [brackets] and rhyme is no guide because it was sometimes absent in the performance (sorry, Liz). But it was a fun moment, well received by the audience, and I take it as evidence that Liz was really enjoying herself on stage. Plus, fans can rest assured we will not lose her full-time to the rap /shouting genre. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 00:33:12 -0000 From: "Paul Spinks" Subject: [support-system] "Liz Phair, A Rant" > Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 14:30:29 -0700 > From: carrma@wellsfargo.com > Subject: [support-system] Night of the Vocaloids > > Overall like rough edges to my music. I like it that guitars might be > slightly out of tune or the drummer not perfectly on time. I like > the vocal > inflections that can arise when an untrained voice stretches to reach a > note. I find that the imperfections often make the performance. When the > emotion and charisma is there, and the song is scraping up against the > limits of the performers' talents it makes the performance all the more > moving and powerful. I totally agree. I'm reminded of the Camden Joy novel "Liz Phair, a Rant" (1). This devotes 2 pages to the anti-hero's analysis of Liz's voice and singing style, which he finds utterly compelling: - - "she does not so much as sing her songs as seethe them; she seethes better than any vocalist I've heard" - - "when she feels like trilling she combines it with a low growl to come up with a very unusual warble" - - "[she] chooses to [sing] in the voice of someone who has never been trained to sing [...] she runs out of breath in mid-line, she insists on stretching for low notes she can't possibly reach, [...] her throat catches [...]" - - "it's as if she's saying she's truly in love yet at the same time impossibly lonely" OK, it's just a novel, and I don't agree with all the author wrote, but Liz's voice and style is unique, IMHO. Unless the vocaloid software has "seethe", "growl" and "catch" buttons, there'll never be a robo-Liz. Paul (1) ISBN 1-891241-07-9, for anyone who's never read it. The full title is "The Last Rock Star Book, or: Liz Phair, a Rant". It has 10-12 pages of worthwhile opinion and commentary on Liz / EIG (actually, the best analysis of EIG I've ever read), but the rest is utter fiction (Liz Phair is the secret love child of deceased Rolling Stone Brian Jones? I don't think so). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:07:09 -0500 From: "Jim" Subject: Re: [support-system] liz makes pitchforks top 100 of the 90s redux Thanks for the info Stephen! However, I must disagree on the outfit. Unbuttoned shorts on Liz Phair is just hot. =) Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen Griffes To: support-system@smoe.org Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 7:21 PM Subject: [support-system] liz makes pitchforks top 100 of the 90s redux EIG is #30 on pitchfork.coms top 100 albums of the 90s (?) there's also a picture at pollstar.com (probably won't be there too long) from the Roxy show and it says something about her "newfound freedom" via the controversial headsets. her outfit is ugly. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:12:35 -0500 From: "Jim" Subject: Re: [support-system] Liz's rap version of Flower Paul, Any chance there's a recording of this floating around? Thanks, Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: Paul Spinks To: Support-System@Smoe. Org Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2003 7:33 PM Subject: [support-system] Liz's rap version of Flower > Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 09:12:11 -0500 > From: Dan MacDonald > Subject: [support-system] PG 13 flower > PS - yeah - I agree - the new version of FLOWER is by far the most > superior live rendition of the song yet. well....I like the one with the > list member who got up on stage too in chicago.. that's a sweet version as > well.. ;) - but this new version - holy shit....red hot beautiful! Which reminds me, I mentioned in a previous post that the London rendition of Flower had extra lines, but on closer listening to the recording, I realise Liz was rapping - has this ever happened before? What happened was... the band played Flower in a novel (and excellent) style I have not heard on EIG or bootlegs, following a subtly different rhythm, building the volume through the song, with Liz singing in a near monotone rather than the traditional hi-lo-hi-lo main melody, and without the overlaid lyrics (except on their own at the beginning). Then just at the close, Liz says "Let's see if I can rap". The band falters for a moment (I guess she caught them out for a second) but picks up straight away, and she sings... "Your face is like an English Rose I like the crook of your big long nose It makes me faint, I love [the things] Like what you got inside your jeans Maybe I'm up here on stage And maybe you're acting the - [???] Maybe I'm gotta get to you No matter what you think I'll do Because [???] [just?] a white girl [hair? here?] I can't rap much, but I - [?] And there's a lot of things I don't [do?]" I can't 100% make out the lyrics in [brackets] and rhyme is no guide because it was sometimes absent in the performance (sorry, Liz). But it was a fun moment, well received by the audience, and I take it as evidence that Liz was really enjoying herself on stage. Plus, fans can rest assured we will not lose her full-time to the rap /shouting genre. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 20:49:00 -0800 (PST) From: trent with that boom boom Subject: Re: [support-system] liz makes pitchforks top 100 of the 90s redux agreed. liz looks and sounds happy ... i just love her! t Jim wrote: Thanks for the info Stephen! However, I must disagree on the outfit. Unbuttoned shorts on Liz Phair is just hot. =) Jim - --- remember, always be yourself. unless you suck. -- joss whedon ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V6 #313 ************************************