From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V9 #42 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 21 2006 Volume 09 : Number 042 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] OT: Nina Gordon [Jase ] [support-system] interview part 2 [robert joyner ] [support-system] bradwood part 2 post 2 [robert joyner Subject: [support-system] OT: Nina Gordon I know there are a few Nina Gordon fans here, so I thought I'd post that you can listen to her new single "Kiss Me 'Til It Bleeds" by visiting her MySpace page (www.myspace.com/ninagordon). According to ninagordon.com, her new album, _Bleeding Heart Graffiti_, will be released on August 8. Cheers, Jase ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:35:52 -0700 (PDT) From: robert joyner Subject: [support-system] interview part 2 part two of the interview i did with brad wood. gonna break it up into two posts so that it doesn't bounce.: > 7. I noticed in the whipsmart credits on Chopsticks that there is a credit for John Henderson for distorted guitar. Was Henderson still in the loop at this point, this a misprint, inside joke, or nod to some creative decision he made back in the day during the Guyville sessions? Brad Wood: That version of Chopsticks dates back to the earliest sessions for Guyville on which Henderson played a guitar part, which is why he is credited. No inside joke or any such sinister intent. > 8. You mentioned your love of Whipsmart sonically, and the strength of the second half of the album. These are sentiments i have echoed in many a discussion on Whipsmart. It seems to be a much more rhythmic album, it has an undulating feel when listened to straight through. It is also a very good example of Musical synergy. The individual tracks are good but taken as a whole they rise way above their individual parts, and there is such a beautiful flow to the album. Could you comment a bit on the masterful sequencing job that went into Whipsmart? What other conscious decisions went into crafting an 'album' as opposed to just recording 12 or 14 songs to throw on there? Brad Wood: I recall Liz wanting a blueprint for Whipsmart similar to Guyville, but the sequencing ultimately fell into her capable hands. She did a great job of putting that order together. Casey may have helped, but I know I didn't. Sequencing a record is really the last chance for a band/artist to obsess and fool around with their document before it is presented to the public. It can be a very emotional and even traumatic process and is best left, I think, to the musicians who wrote the songs. Not to mention that I don't think I am very good at it... > 9. Could you comment a bit on the two different sessions that went into the recording of Whipsmart. What were the musical highlights for you of the Chicago and Bahamas Sessions? What was accomplished in the Bahamas that you couldn't get in Chicago? Brad Wood: The Chicago sessions were a bit perfunctory. I didn't like recording at Idful in the winter- the heating was spotty at best and it was the time of year that reminded me most of all the shortcomings of that facility. When it came time to record vocals, none of us felt too inspired and the suggestion to record somewhere else, preferably warmer, was all we needed to go to Compass Point. That was a great time. We slowed the pace and mostly recorded vocals, watched the 1994 Winter Olympics on satellite tv, drank local rum, played pool, hung out with Ozzie (our assistant), Terry and Sherri Manning, ate food. It seemed a good time to reflect. I liked it a lot, but I don't know if it affected the sonic outcome of the record. We just took a bit of a working holiday, that's all. > 10. Of the songs that you did with Liz for whitechocolatespacegg, several had a more electronic feel to them (What makes you happy, Johnny feelgood, Uncle Alvarez). Was this a joint decision? A function of some of the other albums you were producing around that time (Smashing Pumpkins' Adore, Whale)? Or her working in a similar vein of some of WCSE's tracks (Headache, the title track)? Brad Wood: The electronic touches reflected what I was listening to at the time. I was really enjoying electronic music and thought Everything But The Girl's integration of techno, drum & bass & house was brilliant Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 17:38:20 -0700 (PDT) From: robert joyner Subject: [support-system] bradwood part 2 post 2 > 11. Before working with you on WCSE, Liz went back and listened to her earlier stuff and was blown away. Liz Phair: I don't look back very often, and that's a fault, because it would behoove me to re-examine my previous work more often. What it did was really shock me, because I realized just how much that was special about it was owed to Brad. I had always assumed I had all these great ideas -- and I did -- but a lot of it was him, in terms of how things sounded, and the way he miked the instruments, or the way he mixed it. And I was just flabbergasted at how much of his talent had maybe been taken for granted. Do think this realization lead Liz to abdicate ownership of some of the musical portion of her work and make some of the musical decisions she did with her most recent albums (self titled, Somebody's Miracle) as far as her choice of producers and shared songwriting? Brad Wood: I can't know what Liz was thinking when she chose to work with other songwriters, but I was happy to read the above quote! Its nice to get a compliment like that anytime. I think Liz' last two records are a testament to how difficult it is to interpret her music successfully. > 12. While you produced several tracks for WCSE, Tom Lord Alge was brought in for mixing. Most of the work you had done with Liz previously you were able to do mixing also. Was it odd to not have final approval on your tracks with Liz? What were your opinions of his work on your tracks? IMHO, he kinda butchered the intro to What makes you happy, I prefer the earlier version with the acoustic guitar intro. That original intro was a nice juxtaposition to the sonic boom of the rest of the track Brad Wood: I think TLA did a fine job of mixing- remember, he had to piece together tracks from many different sources. I don't remember the old intro, but the final version of WMYH was not exactly what I had in mind- a different beast, but still cool. > 13. I'll end the interview with a pretty predictable question. I know you and Liz have remained friendly over the years. Can you forsee any possible collaborations with Liz again in the future? Brad Wood: Highly unlikely. I hardly recognize the artist she is now and, unless she were to change artist direction, I don't know what I could possibly offer her in the studio. Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V9 #42 ***********************************