Chalkhills Digest Volume 6, Issue 216
Date: Tuesday, 1 August 2000
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 6, Number 216
Tuesday, 1 August 2000
Topics:
I'm Loopy for the Violins
Unexpected sighting
Introduction:
MASSIVE TRADE LIST
Middle Age Crisis
What's It All About?
Never Mind The Bullocks, Here's Ed Ames!
check this out!! (way cool site...)
Mea culpa
And you can't hear the words, and you can't tell if it's a boy or a girl ...
Misheard lyrics
Mis-herd
In defense of Nomi
Re: there's another Klaus, Klaus!
Re: not so simple samples on AV1
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Has there been a thief in your storehouse / Stealing away your memories?
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 12:51:07 EDT From: Hbsherwood@aol.com Subject: I'm Loopy for the Violins Message-ID: <7b.780dd07.26b4657b@aol.com> >From: "Mark R. Strijbos" <mast@coss.nl> >Subject: Bum Rap > Besides, nowadays sampling is used just like any other instrument and > not as a gimmicky and often irritating effect. > Perhaps you should take a listen to River of Orchids before you throw > stones in this particular direction OK, we need some clarification here. We are of course bumping up against a nomenclatural problem, here, in the sense that *all* digital recording is "sampling." And I think this is causing some confusion. Music that is made entirely using sample-playback technology in conjunction with MIDI (that is, the genres we group as "electronica") is necessarily heavily quantized and mechanical (not to mention repetitious to the point of sadism). To my perception, the purveyors of this group of genres have allowed their musicianship to become subsumed to the tools they use. It appears to me that the greatest skill involved in creating this category of music is the ability to invoke a cut-and-paste command on a computer. To me, this results in a music that is about as moving as a Gantt chart The demo of River of Orchids was done in this way, with a MIDI sequence built by Andy that triggered orchestral samples in a sound module. But as I understand the matter, the original intention in the final recording of the song at Abbey Road was to have the orchestra play the song all the way through, just as it was written. When it came time to record the piece, the orchestra wavered in some spots, and the tempo wandered (as indeed it will when human musicians are involved). Owing to time and budget constraints (they had the orch. and the studio for one day and one day only), the decision was made not to try to re-record the waverings but to correct them later using a computer. (This is trivially easy to do with modern digital-audio software.) But what I'm hearing now from several knowledgeable folks in Chalkhills, this is not at all my understanding of how River of Orchids was finally executed. There's a great difference between carefully correcting slight errors in tempo, and just picking the best orchestral phrase and setting it to loop for the duration of the song. My understanding is that River of Orchids was "corrected," not "looped." You guys seem to imply otherwise. I wasn't there, so I don't know: Which is it? We know that when Dave Gregory left the band, among the many complaints he voiced was the notion that "the computers are taking over," and that Andy had become far too enthralled to the siren song of digital technology. True or not? Harrison "Command-V" Sherwood
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 12:41:58 +0100 From: "Dean Skilton" <dskilton@welded-widgeon.com> Subject: Unexpected sighting Message-ID: <000201bff959$f95a1820$079168d4@mallard> In the September 2000 UK edition of PC Magazine, in the First Looks section, there is a review of Pagis Pro, which is a piece of scanning software. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the accompanying screenshot, and saw a thumbhail of the b&w portrait of Colin & Andy at Coney Island! It's the one that says 'Souvenier Photo', and was given to members ot the Cooking Vinyl Club. Dean Skilton
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 19:23:21 +0100 From: "Marc Wickens" <xtc-mailing@brzone.co.uk> Subject: Introduction: Message-ID: <LPBBIGMBOKAGPHECDJEPKEHMCAAA.xtc-mailing@brzone.co.uk> Hi I'm a new member of this list, just subscribed. Thought I'd let you know a bit about my self I also have a few questions. My dad introduced me to XTC (I'm 15, how many dads can say their teenage son likes the same music as them!) Not many of my school mates like (or have heard of) XTC, too busy listening to rubbish like Titney Tears, the chip shop boys or whatever they're called! and the like. I wondered if there were any other fans of the same age of me? I'm also into the manics but at the moment prefer XTC mainly you because I could listen to it all day the hear something different each time! -- Regards Marc Wickens http://www.mwic.co.uk
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 16:11:19 EDT From: WESnLES@aol.com Subject: MASSIVE TRADE LIST Message-ID: <6b.7a7728b.26b49467@aol.com> Oh my, the Chalkhills are alive with the sound of XTC fans! It's a bit too much to handle, aint it? Quick mention, my massive XTC trade site, Optimism's Flames: http://members.tripod.com/~The_Last_Balloon/index.html will soon be changing to a much more informative site. It will include real audio and video of mega rare XTC, a tribute to the Little Express and to the 1989 XTC radio tour. I hope to scan and put up all the copies of the LE, though I can't figure out how to do this without screwin' up all my nice clean copies. Any suggestions? I also plan to convert EVERY one of the '89 radio tour gigs to real audio as well. So when you stop by you can take a look at the Memorabilia Museum, check out my trade list and listen to some great audio. Until then...you can still check out my trade list at the old site. If you're looking for a specific item I've probably got it. wesLONG
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 21:29:57 -0500 From: "Joe Funk" <twosheds@mindspring.com> Subject: Middle Age Crisis Message-ID: <000201bff9ce$a21aae60$7721fea9@user> Radios in Motion rapped: >SO, STOP BITCHING, ITS NOT YOUR SONG BEING USED ANYWAY! IF YOU >DONT LIKE IT, DON'T LISTEN! SHUT YOUR WRETCHED PIE TRAP YOU RIDICULOUS PRICK!!! First of all, it has nothing to do with whose songs are being sampled. As Harrison put it: "Taking pre-existing sounds, melodies and rhythms and coming up with something new," I say "Cultural necrophilia." It's all about originality and art, which most ( I said most, Dom!) Rap is devoid of. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it! Secondly, I would love to not listen to this crap, but like I mentioned before, it is impossible to avoid in this "Hell of Sub-Woofers" blaring down my street at all hours!! OH SHIT!! I"M BEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE MY DAD!!!! Joe "I've had enough of your shenanigans, young man!" Funk
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 23:24:00 -0400 From: "Kate Burda" <burdakat@pilot.msu.edu> Subject: What's It All About? Message-ID: <000001bff9d6$00f46f00$fe1afea9@user.msu.edu> So I'm listenting to Across This Antheap for the umpteenth time (my fave song from O&L), and I suddenly realize I have no idea what this song is about. The difficulties of life? Fake people? Fake people making life difficult? Stupid things people do? Insomnia from screaming skies? (and what are screaming skies, anyway?) Can anyone help me out with this one? Don't go running to your 'Song Stories'- I'd love to hear everyone's interpretation on this one before we look up the answers. Kate
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 02:37:58 EDT From: KINGSTUNES@aol.com Subject: Never Mind The Bullocks, Here's Ed Ames! Message-ID: <54.74b8f09.26b52746@aol.com> Pendulous Chalkites, >From Ed "I don't have the time" K; >People get all misty eyed about >how great AM/Top 40 radio was in 1967 just because they played "Penny Lane" >and the latest Stones song. Nostalgia has the nasty habit of filtering out >the crap that completes the picture. For every "Strawberry Fields" there >was 10 things like "Please Release Me" by Englebert Humperdink. >Well, fair enough, but that's not really a good reason for people to just >shut up and stop complaining about bad music. Besides the catharsis of good >old fashioned venting, the fact that there's always been crap means that >there's always been just cause for complaint. The ever-increasing narrowing >and insularity of the various market niches IS getting worse, however, and >"scary" is as good a term as any, especially with the continuing >conglomeration of the music industry into larger and fewer corporations. Phew! Well said, Mr. Ed! You know, I had this discussion with a knowledgable friend of mine not to long ago. I was contending that, yes, there was always a high volume of crap, even during the misty eyed good old glory years. But I felt that during the period from the British invasion up to the early seventies that ratio of what could be generally agreed to be quality output was much higher. Of course, the social as well as the technical revolution of the times had a serious effect, which also lends the period it's mythical quality. For me, however, I remember all the music going on at the time and I knew, instinctively as well as conciously that it was an extraordinary time for pop music. I don't have blinders on. Of course we filter out the worst with age. But I actively read and listen to all I can about that period, so I'm not relying totally on my addled 'Good ol' days' memory. To make this even more interesting, I have the Billboard top ten charts book from 1958 to 1997. Here's the top ten chart from March 18, 1967, when Penny Lane (the flip side of Strawberry Fields) hit number one: 1 Penny Lane - The Beatles 2 Happy Together - The Turtles 3 Baby I Need Your Lovin' - Johnny Rivers 4 Love Is Here And Now You're Gone - The Supremes 5 Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones 6 Dedicated To The One I Love - The Mamas And The Papas 7 Sock It To Me Baby! - Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels 8 Threre's A Kind Of Hush - Herman's Hermits 9 My Cup Runneth Over - Ed Ames 10 Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye - The Casinos Yeah, Baby! Shagadelic! (Ed Ames; oh well. And who the hell were the Casinos?) And now, March 15th, 1997 1 Wannabe - The Spice Girls 2 Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy Featuring Mase 3 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton 4 You Were Meant For Me - Jewel 5 In My Bed - Dru Hill 6 I Believe I Can Fly - R. Kelly 7 Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface 8 Don't Let Go (Love) - En Vogue 9 For You I Will - Monica 10 Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Madonna (just shoot me instead!) Percentage of classics? Draw your own conclusions. As for Radios in Motion's rap rejoinder - I've heard quite a bit of those artists. The Disposable Heroes, in particular, really interested me. As I recall, they had a jazz guitar trio sound. Played live, very little sampling. Is their CD still available? BTW, Roots are from Philly. Our local "alternative station" WXPN plays some clever stuff. Who was it did that one that went "My definition, my definition is this.... over a sample of that Quincy Jones instrumental (that was used in the swingin' London scenes in the first Austin Powers)? That was great! To be fair, I've not collected any rap, so my knowledge is limited so far to what I hear on the radio and on TV. And I will check out some more now that I have more disposable cash. Thanks for the list! But again, I reiterate, it's not rap itself that I'm concerned about. It's the pervasiveness of rap among young listeners to the exclusion of song oriented music. Is it as bad as it seems? That is all the average youth seems to be playing. Where are the songs? And everyone's favorite trap door spider delurks with; >On the other hand...Sex Pistols? Over-rated??? COME HERE AND SAY THAT!!!! >Out-feckin'-rageous... OK. Where are you? Actually, Dom, I atoned for this sin earlier. However, give me the Ramones anyday over the Pistols! >Many lyricists in hip hop are extraordinarily gifted and comparable to Gil >Scott-Heron, the Last Poets, Linton Kwesi and so on, while many of the >producers are just plain amazing; the beats, the manipulation of samples, >the incredible atmospheres they can generate...you just haven't heard (or >listened to) the right stuff. and... >but knock the Crowes and you're pissing up my front door, pal. Got yer back, soldier. I am good for something. BTW, I've heard some of the Crowes/Plant CD; I think it's F***ing awesome! >This statement has no basis in reality. MOST rap songs have >melody, it's just that the lyrics are spoken and (generally) not sung. For >fuck's sake. Huh? Hum a few bars, please? (and I thought you were a musical kinda guy!) >Where's the song???? Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom...and I thought you were a >musical kinda guy! Oh, for shame! Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom, Dom...Well, where is it? (I ask shamelessly) Glad to see ya 'round again, Dom! ObXTC - I scanned through the top ten song and album lists - needless to say no XTC. It can also be argued that no matter the period a great deal of the best stuff obviously lurked off the industry charts. Another gem from the "ouch!" patrol - "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!" Tom "Casey Kasim - *NOT*!" Kingston "I'd never join a club that would have me for a member." - Groucho Marx
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 10:33:08 -0400 From: "Daniel Phipps" <phipps@schoollink.net> Subject: check this out!! (way cool site...) Message-ID: <000901bffa33$183b9fa0$c38c04d8@pavilion> hey all! just found this...you won't believe what you hear!! check it out, won't ya'??? (trust me...it's gonna surprise you if you're truly into partridge and xtc!!) http://radio.sonicnet.com/stations/station-59.asp peace and light -- /dan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /dan & ginger phipps <phipps@schoollink.net> "right here in this moment is right where i'm meant to be..." (edwin mccain)
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 01:31:37 -0700 From: Jim Allen <karnevil9@loop.com> Subject: Mea culpa Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.0.20000729204057.00b15290@pop.loop.com> Hello: Ryan and Joe bantered: > >did Gilbert and his band really rip through most or all of > >*The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway* >Yes, they did.. At Prog Fest '94 in CA.... It is not available >for purchase, but there are boots (excellent ones!) floating >around... I was there. It was pretty amazing; they did all the major bits and they sounded really good, very powerful--"Back in NYC" sent a series of caresses that glided up and down my spine. The crowd wanted them to play more, but they ran over their time limit as it was. I talked to the "Mike Rutherford" afterwards and he said that they were planning to do the whole thing as some point. Alas, twas not to be. The Musical Box from Montreal ARE doing "The Lamb" complete in October in Montreal. They got copies of all of the slides that were used in the original production and they'll have full costumes, lighting etc. It promises to be quite an evening. Details at: http://www.iquebec.com/musicalbox Harrison Sherwood wrote: >However, if you are asking "where he got those sounds from" in the official >AV1 release, the liner notes of the album (not to even mention your own >sample-addled ears) would have told you they were recorded at Abbey Road >Studios by The London Sessions Orchestra under their leader Gavin Wright, >and were conducted by Mike Batt. The credits say this: "Orchestral arrangements for 'Greenman' and 'I Can't Own Her', Mike Batt. All arrangements played by London Session Orchestra under their leader Gavin Wright" So, no mention of 'River of Orchids'. There's no mention of Abbey Road anywhere in the credits and "under their leader" implies that Gavin Wright conducted Mike Batt's charts. I'm not in to XTC enough to read every scrap of info on them and buy albums of demos, so how was I was supposed to glean from the credits how Andy arrived at the sounds or where they were recorded? And if they were tweaked with ProTools, that might account for why I thought they might be samples. A good percentage of my music listening is spent on 20th century orchestral/opera things so I'm kind of familiar with what "real" instruments sound like. How silly of me for not recognizing the acoustic of Abbey Road, the particular sound of a session orchestra and the wholly distinctive conducting style of Gavin Wright and/or Mike Batt. Oh that's right, I'm not one Harrison Sherwood with his superior ears and intellect. Poor me. Turning off the sarcasm, I really enjoyed Ed K.'s post about some of things I brought up. I now fully regret the phrase "Yawn. How lazy and boring". That was a potshot and was, er, uh, lazy and all that. >True enough, but you also admit that a lot of it is only accessible by >searching it out (which can involve shelling out cash before hearing). True, but that's one reason reason for using Napster, to investigate stuff I'd heard about. I was hearing a lot about a nu-metal band from here in Los Angeles called System of A Down, so I downloaded 3 or 4 songs of theirs. Didn't like 'em, deleted them and crossed them off my "must buy" list. Music is by far the biggest thing in my life so doing that kind of research comes naturally to me. I realize that other people have different priorities (family, work, church etc.). >(the person who listens to nothing but 100% ambient is no better than the >person who clings exclusively to guitar pop like some extra-tenacious tree >monkey). Great line! Nah, I would never listen to one genre exclusively---I once said this to someone at a ProgFest and they looked at me like I had 4 heads. They honestly couldn't understand why I didn't listen to only prog. As if...... > I didn't notice that you made much of an offer to help people >expand their horizons. Er, I mentioned some rap records I really liked, some of my favorite prog records, some punk records and a bunch of techno/ambient artists I like all in one post. Doesn't that count? Did I use the wrong format for this list? >I'll try anything backed by an honest recommendation, but how is harping on >people's close mindedness any more productive than the complaining you >have such a problem with? Point taken. Obviously, there's not a bit of difference between the two. After I read the digest that my post showed up in, I realized I could have phrased things much better. Memo to self: Don't write a post when you are watching a baseball game on TV at the same time. Undivided attention please. >If you put out a few samples hung on a drum track and can't be bothered with >making a song out of it, writing lyrics, or even making any variations in >texture, claiming to be above that sort of thing because you're so cutting >edge just seems wanky to me (but then I was never a prog fan). I go to raves and the music is perfect for that scene. I'm very aware that it is not suited for listening at home or in the car but that's not what it's really created for. A lot of it IS repetitive and lacking in trad song structures, a human touch and a distinct personality--I don't care about that at 4 in the morning, I just want a stomping good beat, some buzzy synth sounds and the DJ to handle the breaks right. I don't miss vocals/lyrics, clearly defined song structures etc. at all in that setting, but then I'm a prog head, those musical values have never been priorities for me. >(like I said, I've completely lost track of all the names of the ludicrously >proliferating subgenres, so I don't know what exactly it falls under) LOL!!! So true--I'm pretty plugged in to the whole thing and the styles change every three months or so it seems. It can all sound the same to the uninitiated, but I can now instantly tell whether something is drum 'n bass, trance, techno, deep house etc. I'm interested in it so I've researched it. Most don't have the inclination or patience, that's understandable. >(Ambient: as always, I have no problem with being corrected when I'm >mistaken, but this has always sounded a bit too much like "new age for the >too-cool" to me. Ouch!!! True to an extent. As with most genres, there's the innovators and then everyone else. And as is common with most other somewhat obscure, non-mainstream genres, there's a certain amount of snobbery involved. >I have a friend who decided years ago that he couldn't >stand lyrics of any kind ever; this resulted in years of nothing but >Tangerine Dream at his house [which I actually came to enjoy to a degree]. I might get along with your friend! It comes from being such a fan of prog, where the instrumental bits and the sounds are often more important than lyrics or conventional verse/chorus/bridge song structures. >So, do you want to curse the darkness by telling me how ignorant I am, or >shine a light by helping me out here? I really enjoyed your post--you make a lot of good points. I never, ever meant to imply that Joe Funk---whose postings I enjoy on the Gentle Giant (is that the one?) list--or anyone else was ignorant. I just wanted to present the other side of the coin--sort of a Devil's Advocate kind of thing and I did so in a clumsy and confrontational way. I apologize for that. So here are some recommendations: Framz Scherker: Orchestral Music (on Chandos, cond. by Sainaisky with the BBC Philharmonic) Schreker is one of my favorite composers. He's best known for his operas; this CD consists of orchestral suites from them and some tone poems. A wonderful mix of influences like Strauss, Debussy and Wagner. Puressence: Puressence If you like late 80's Cure and early 80's Echo and the Bunnymen, you'd like these guys. Big washes of guitar, quirky--uh oh, that word again--vocals and good lyrics. King Crimson: Red Usually the album that even prog haters can grudgingly accept. Some of the heaviest guitar work ever recorded and in pretty digestible 7-8 minute chunks, well, OK, "Starless" in 12 minutes but it's great. Tangerine Dream: Rubycon Analogue synths, mellotrons and heavily processed sounds that combine for a dense swirling "head trip". A classic of its kind, very much a precursor to late 80's dance things. Unbelievable Truth: Almost Here Lovely acoustic based songs with really strong melodies. Thom Yorke of Radiohead's brother is the singer/main songwriter. Talent surely runs in that family. Air: Moon Safari A nice mix of analogue keyboards, great bass lines and faux 60's lounge music. Contains lyrics and song structures. Leftfield: Leftism Stomping big beat grooves with wonderful melodies and interesting sounds. A good mix of styles. Future Sound of London: Dead Cities Strange, dissonant soundscapes, only occasionally anchored by a beat; a great headphone record. I gave a copy to a stoner friend and he loves it. Orbital: In Sides This might fit your criteria of having actual songs in a techno setting; there are clearly defined structures going on and it's a very "orchestral" album without using an orchestra. And, as their concerts prove, you can still shake your booty to it. A classic. Orb: The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld Sort of like what Pink Floyd would sound like if they came up through the 80's British rave culture and not the 60's underground. Great melodies, wonderful soundscapes. The sharp eared would recognize "Little Fluffy Clouds" from the commercials VW ran to introduce the new Bug. Massive Attack: Mezzanine Cut from the same Trip-hop cloth as Portishead, but a little more hip-hop oriented and musically much more muscular. These are all pretty well known albums, I'm sure you've already heard most of them. Regards, Jim NP: Rathaus, Symphony No. 1
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 11:07:09 +0100
From: "Laura Brown" <Laura@kenaud.dircon.co.uk>
Subject: And you can't hear the words, and you can't tell if it's a boy or a
Message-ID: <006801bffa0d$ee7001e0$b73c70c2@kenaud>
girl ...
> From: Mark <mwot4794@mail.usyd.edu.au>
> Subject: A nervous introduction
(defence of rap snipped)
> (Suggesting music to
> people who've been collecting music longer than I've been alive in some
> cases: am I not the epitome of arrogance?).
Nah. The epitome of arrogance is someone assuming that no worthwhile music
has been produced since they personally stopped buying records by new acts.
> Labels are deceptive: would
> you like to have our beloved XTC judged on Britney Spears because they're
> both pop?
Hell yeah! They'd sell a lot more albums. ...
> Anyway, that's probably enough: seeing as there should probably be at
> least *some* XTC content, I'm currently listening to "No language in our
> lungs",
I asked this on alt.fan.andy-j-partridge a few days ago, but that group
doesn't seem to get much traffic: Has anyone else noticed how much the intro
to R.E.M.'s Pretty Persuasion sounds like the intro to NLIOL?
> my first
> XTC album (virgin experience?) was Go 2, which I love to bits,
Mine was Oranges and Lemons, and I love it too.
> and my
> favourite is my LP of Drums and Wires,
Mine is either Nonsuch or Wasp Star. A minority view, I know.
> (quick namecheck: Soul Coughing, Tom Waits, XTC (of course), Jane's
> Addiction, Nick Cave, Ben Harper, Radiohead, Primus, Mike Watt, Gomez,
> Elvis Costello, Morphine, Skunkhour, Sly and the Family Stone, Living
> Colour, Massive Attack, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and Thelonious Monk.
> Am I entirely out of place?)
Well, I would agree strongly on Massive Attack, and moderately on Nick Cave
and Radiohead. No Primus or Elvis Costello for me, sorry.
> From: davebancroft@cwctv.net
> Subject: napster
> Message-ID: <087630149051b70DTVMAIL12@smtp.cwctv.net>
>
> have you heard they have been ordered to cease operating by u.s law?
They won a stay in appeals court.
See http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/fc/breaking/Digital_Music
> From: STakesh@aol.com
> Subject: ain't nothin' but a Hound Guide
>
> And a banner ad by "Swapit" on "The Onion"'s website several
> months ago read:
>
> "Swap XTC for REM"
>
> Idiots.
Could it be, is it possible, that some copywriter just thought it would be
cute to use two bands that used three letters for their names, and didn't
intend any sinister message?
And at any rate, "swapping" one band for another doesn't necessarily mean
you want to get rid of stuff by the first band. If you're trading tapes of
bootlegs, for example, you make a copy.
Laura Brown
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 19:27:07 -0400 From: "squirrelgirl" <squirrelgirl@hitter.net> Subject: Misheard lyrics Message-ID: <001501bffa7d$c8a6e4e0$1278c0cf@meredith-s> Howdy 'Hillians - Have to pick up on the "misheard lyrics" thread - I'm sure we did this a couple years ago but it's so fun, and we've got a lot of new lurkers in these here parts. Anyway, CCR was getting a lot of airplay in my house when I was a child, and I heard "there's a bathroom on the right" instead of "there's a bad moon on the rise". Likewise, Sir Elton would probably keel over if he knew I sang "B-B-B-Benny has a chest" until I was about 6. A might precocious I was. The child of a friend has given new meaning to TWATM for me - she sings "Rou-ound goes the weasel". And, as I have advised Dom off-list, yes, I was serious about the Iron Maiden thing. I have requested that he record himself singing those hosannas and download it for those of us who would be highly entertained by that. E-mail off list to him to make your requests :-) I've sent my location to Erik for that wonderful Chalkhills map - hope you'll all do the same! SG
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 18:49:58 -0500 From: "Larry Stevens" <lstevens@fgi.net> Subject: Mis-herd Message-ID: <002701bffa80$e5cdf060$e6c6d4cc@oldbessie> Misheard XTC: "Oh Lord, deliver us from the elephants" (Reference to Republicans?) and "Said I'd do a job for all the manatees" (Environmental message?) Enjoy, Larry
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 20:45:59 CDT From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com> Subject: In defense of Nomi Message-ID: <F67ZhWWQ6iCPVpGxFfU000094a0@hotmail.com> Stephanie Takeshita mentioned > >>there are not many Klaus' in the international music business. One >German singer called Klaus Lage came to fame in the 80s. And there is >Klaus Voormann>> > >Oh, man, I can't believe you left out Klaus Nomi! (snip) >Most of it is just >jaw-droppingly bad, and much of it is hysterically funny. (snip) >he had poor artistic judgement (shoehorning disco sounds where they don't >belong and stripping rhythmic songs of their beat) and, I'm sorry to say, >no soul and absolutely no funk. I think you're way too hard on Nomi. I like his work. Is it the sort of thing I want to relax to on a Sunday afternoon? No (unlike Wendy Carlos). But I think he had a lot of artistic (or, if you prefer, "Artistic") vision. He was a bizarre performance artist, and sometimes unlistenable (although I love his rendition of "Falling in Love Again"), but soooo unusual and visually stunning (I mean, at the least, the tuxedo must leave one stunned) as to merit a lot more credit than, a-HEM, William Shatner. In the meantime, I envy the hell out of your used find-- I only have what Nomi I've mooched off of friends. Don't you live in the DC area? if so, where on earth did you find it? m.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 20:50:44 CDT From: "Paul Vicory" <vicory@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: there's another Klaus, Klaus! Message-ID: <F275WCy7rjcxtniFKUL000078fe@hotmail.com> >XTC content: Klaus Nomi can be seen and heard performing one song in a >varied-artists concert tape from the early 80's, in which XTC performs >"Respectable Street". Just in case anyone might not know, the name of that video is "Urgh! A Music War." A CD of the soundtrack was apparently released, although I'm not sure if it is still in print; ditto for the video, which is excellent, BTW. Klaus Nomi performs "Total Eclipse," which is absolutely breathtakingly queer, and Andy and the boys tear it up on "Respectable Street." Paul Vicory
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 20:28:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com>
Subject: Re: not so simple samples on AV1
Message-ID: <200007310028.UAA13944@metheny.brainiac.com>
> From: Paul Brantley <pebrantl@mailbox.syr.edu>
>
> Generally all of the strings are real although they are invariably
> tarted up, or doubled by sampled strings (Easter Theatre) or mellotron
> (Last Balloon).
>
> Easter Theatre: those woodwinds are ALL sampled. Real trumpet (as
> credited) and mellotron flutes.
>
> Frivolous Tonight: The strings are exclusively mellotron. Sounds like
> moog brass (ala "Because" from Abbey Road).
For folks who might not be aware of the minutae:
The Mellotron was essentially the first sampler (OK, first commercially
successful sampler) which used a set of looped audio tapes to generate the
sound. The end result was effectively the same - press a key and get a
prerecorded sound (the "sample") played back. Examples of the Mellotron
can be heard on a number of King Crimson releases (even the newer ones) and
on the album "The Beatles" (y'know, the white one). The little Spanish
guitar riff at the beginning of Bungalow Bill is not one of the lads, but
is in fact a Mellotron sound.
To come full circle, there's a company that sells samples of the old
Mellotron tapes for use in newer digital samplers!
ObXTC: Went back to listening to WSS after a few weeks off. It's still
brilliant, but I still dislike Andy's Pod-processed guitar sounds. Oh,
they're OK, but I can tell that the guitar wasn't played through a "proper"
analog amp. But that's the biggest complaint I have, and it's not a
big one!
======================================================================
Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh@brainiac.com
Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa
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