From: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org (sycophant-digest) To: sycophant-digest@smoe.org Subject: sycophant-digest V8 #50 Reply-To: sycophant@smoe.org Sender: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-sycophant-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk sycophant-digest Monday, May 5 2003 Volume 08 : Number 050 Today's Subjects: ----------------- RE: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... ["Myles Cochran" ] Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... [kenneth thomas <] Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... [TRman2323@aol.co] sycophant further tour dates [DanielWerner@t-online.de (Daniel Werner)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 09:20:46 +0100 From: "Myles Cochran" Subject: RE: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... No question, it's great to see someone like the record. My gripe is that, like a lot of music reviews, it's as much about the reviewer vogue-ing with his/her keyboard than the actual artist or CD being reviewed. And, in this guy's case, there's something I've seen before - it's almost a dismissal of the musical part of what Lisa (or any other artist) does. Reviewers are basically word people, they're writers - duh. And they're more comfortable writing about words than about music. As this guy writes, "I have to assume she begins with lyrics..." Why? It's as if they believe the myth about rock (or pop or folk or whatever multi-hyphenated construction you want to use) being "simple" and "easy", that it's OK to describe 50 or so minutes of hard-won music as "effects-pedal atmosphere". Well, that's arrogant and stupid, sorry. Lisa (and anyone else who writes, records and performs songs) is about music, and words, and arrangements, and production - it's all part of what she does, and removing any one of those components changes the equation. So, I get irritated when a writer misses this sort of important piece of reality and expects his readers to be so overwhelmed by his deathless prose (as, I assume, he is ) that they don't notice. In the end, it is a positive review, which is good. Although I don't know if it would make me want to track her music down if I hadn't heard it before. And shouldn't that be the point of any positive review? I'll shut up now. Myles > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-sycophant@smoe.org [mailto:owner-sycophant@smoe.org]On > Behalf Of TRman2323@aol.com > Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 12:01 AM > To: sycophant@smoe.org > Subject: Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... > > > I don't know, I just like the review...I'm not saying I agree with it! > > > > ------- > The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ > ------- > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: > unsubscribe sycophant > > If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, > they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list > address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before > unsubbing. - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 02:24:55 -0700 From: kenneth thomas Subject: Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... I totally agree - at the same time, though, I'd like to some review, somewhere, that acknowledges her extremely unique use of atmosphere... For example, listen to "big, big world" - there's a very simple track of a tambourine effected with heavy reverb. On "lullaby," you can hear the sound of a guitar being plugged in before one of the last songs. There are little elements like these that I never hear in other music, and that, to me, is what makes her music stand out from other albums. So, when I see someone dismiss her use of atmosphere, I can't help but be a little miffed that they didn't notice her unique touches... - -ken On Sunday, May 4, 2003, at 01:20 AM, Myles Cochran wrote: > No question, it's great to see someone like the record. > > My gripe is that, like a lot of music reviews, it's as much about the > reviewer vogue-ing with his/her keyboard than the actual artist or CD > being > reviewed. And, in this guy's case, there's something I've seen before > - > it's almost a dismissal of the musical part of what Lisa (or any other > artist) does. Reviewers are basically word people, they're writers - > duh. > And they're more comfortable writing about words than about music. As > this > guy writes, "I have to assume she begins with lyrics..." Why? > > It's as if they believe the myth about rock (or pop or folk or whatever > multi-hyphenated construction you want to use) being "simple" and > "easy", > that it's OK to describe 50 or so minutes of hard-won music as > "effects-pedal atmosphere". Well, that's arrogant and stupid, sorry. > > Lisa (and anyone else who writes, records and performs songs) is about > music, and words, and arrangements, and production - it's all part of > what > she does, and removing any one of those components changes the > equation. > So, I get irritated when a writer misses this sort of important piece > of > reality and expects his readers to be so overwhelmed by his deathless > prose > (as, I assume, he is ) that they don't notice. > > In the end, it is a positive review, which is good. Although I don't > know > if it would make me want to track her music down if I hadn't heard it > before. And shouldn't that be the point of any positive review? > > I'll shut up now. > > Myles > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-sycophant@smoe.org [mailto:owner-sycophant@smoe.org]On >> Behalf Of TRman2323@aol.com >> Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 12:01 AM >> To: sycophant@smoe.org >> Subject: Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... >> >> >> I don't know, I just like the review...I'm not saying I agree with it! >> >> >> >> ------- >> The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ >> ------- >> To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: >> unsubscribe sycophant >> >> If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of >> computers, >> they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list >> address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before >> unsubbing. > > > > ------- > The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ > ------- > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: > unsubscribe sycophant > > If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of > computers, > they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list > address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before > unsubbing. - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 16:33:11 EDT From: TRman2323@aol.com Subject: Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... In a message dated 5/4/2003 1:21:10 AM Pacific Daylight Time, myles@mylescochran.com writes: > Lisa (and anyone else who writes, records and performs songs) is about > music, and words, and arrangements, and production - it's all part of what > she does, and removing any one of those components changes the equation. > Yes, and I think it's especially true of Lisa...her songs integrate songs and music better anyone else. She frequently uses the muscial effects to highlight what she's saying, or, more often, contradict what she's saying, rendering it ironic. E.g., in "dream glasses off" where the words "Someday someone is going to come through" are backed by a creepily off-key piano line--indicating, of course, that she knows that they aren't going to come through... - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 May 2003 09:39:22 +0200 From: DanielWerner@t-online.de (Daniel Werner) Subject: sycophant further tour dates does anyone know how or if at all, the tour will go on after the 15th in London? on Germano Online, the further dates are still TBA.... btw fine review for LFLP in the west german free indie mag WESTZEIT ... gives it 4 out of 5 "headphones" Daniel - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 10:33 PM Subject: Re: sycophant Best Lullaby for Liquid Pig review yet... > In a message dated 5/4/2003 1:21:10 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > myles@mylescochran.com writes: > > > > Lisa (and anyone else who writes, records and performs songs) is about > > music, and words, and arrangements, and production - it's all part of what > > she does, and removing any one of those components changes the equation. > > > > Yes, and I think it's especially true of Lisa...her songs integrate songs and > music better anyone else. She frequently uses the muscial effects to > highlight what she's saying, or, more often, contradict what she's saying, > rendering it ironic. E.g., in "dream glasses off" where the words "Someday > someone is going to come through" are backed by a creepily off-key piano > line--indicating, of course, that she knows that they aren't going to come > through... > > > > ------- > The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ > ------- > To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: > unsubscribe sycophant > > If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, > they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list > address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before > unsubbing. - ------- The Ectophile's Guide to Good Music: http://www.smoe.org/ectoguide/ - ------- To unsub, mail majordomo@smoe.org with the message: unsubscribe sycophant If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of computers, they would all get AOL accounts and send unsub messages to the list address. AOL users please read the instructions six lines up before unsubbing. ------------------------------ End of sycophant-digest V8 #50 ****************************** ======================================================================== Please send any questions or comments about the list to sycophant-owner@smoe.org