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And here's another question..

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Elav Ynnek

unread,
Feb 28, 2008, 1:39:23 PM2/28/08
to ec...@smoe.org
The Junkies album 'One Soul Now' had a companion CD with it featuring a song
called "lungs" and a Bruce Springsteen tune. It was a total of 5 songs I
bought from BestBuy for $.01. It did not have the actual 'One Soul Now'
album, just the supplemental CD. It was at /least/ on par with their best
work. I lent it to a rather unstable friend of mine who up and disappeared
before I could get it back. I've been searching for years now to no avail.
Can anyone help me locate this CD?
Peace,
Vale

Paul Blair

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Feb 29, 2008, 7:43:59 AM2/29/08
to Elav Ynnek, ec...@smoe.org
The Junkies have a site, latentrecordings.com, where they make available for
download rare and unreleased music of theirs and related musicians. The
following page includes "Lungs" by Townes van Zandt, "Thunder Road" by Bruce
Springsteen, and the other songs on the album you mention. (I also found
that album, *'neath Your Covers,* available "used and new" at Amazon.

> Title: *'neath your covers, part 2*
> Artist: *Cowboy Junkies*
> Release Date: *2007*
>
> When we released One Soul Now in 2004 we released, **
> along with it, an EP of cover songs called 'neath your **
> covers. part 1b& here we present 'neath your covers, part 2.**
>**
> Cover songs have always been a big part of what we do. **
> It's important for us to bring our voice to the lyrics and music **
> of others. It helps us grow and it allows us to say "thank you" **
> for the inspiration. On this page you will (eventually) find all of **
> the cover songs that we have recorded, but have not been **
> included on our studio albums. We will also be adding newly **
> recorded cover songs, which will be exclusive to this pageb&**
> check back often.

http://www.latentrecordings.com/detail.php?al_id=28

Elav Ynnek

unread,
Feb 29, 2008, 9:46:32 AM2/29/08
to Paul Blair, ec...@smoe.org
*ahem* I stand a fool. It never occurred to me to look within other
albums. I'm not normally that clueless. Be that as it may, many thanks for
the response.
Peace,
Vale

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 7:32 AM, Paul Blair <cir...@phobot.net> wrote:

> The Junkies have a site, latentrecordings.com, where they make available
> for download rare and unreleased music of theirs and related musicians. The
> following page includes "Lungs" by Townes van Zandt, "Thunder Road" by
Bruce
> Springsteen, and the other songs on the album you mention. (I also found
> that album, *'neath Your Covers,* available "used and new" at Amazon.
>
> > Title: *'neath your covers, part 2*
> > Artist: *Cowboy Junkies*
> > Release Date: *2007*
> >
> > When we released One Soul Now in 2004 we released, **
> > along with it, an EP of cover songs called 'neath your **

> > covers. part 1 here we present 'neath your covers, part 2.**


> >**
> > Cover songs have always been a big part of what we do. **
> > It's important for us to bring our voice to the lyrics and music **
> > of others. It helps us grow and it allows us to say "thank you" **
> > for the inspiration. On this page you will (eventually) find all of **
> > the cover songs that we have recorded, but have not been **
> > included on our studio albums. We will also be adding newly **

> > recorded cover songs, which will be exclusive to this page **

Bernie Mojzes

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 10:51:33 AM3/10/08
to ec...@smoe.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Tail

> This article makes no sense to me, because I have NO IDEA what is
> meant by "long tail".
>
> Huh?
>
> --Doug
> P.S. - If this list has a moderator, I'd appreciate it if they'd
> change it such that replies would go to the list, not to a person.
>

--

brni

i don't want the world,
i just want your half.

http://brni.livejournal.com/

meredith

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Mar 10, 2008, 11:36:58 AM3/10/08
to ecto
Hi,

Doug wrote:
> P.S. - If this list has a moderator, I'd appreciate it if they'd
> change it such that replies would go to the list, not to a person.

This comes up every few years.

ecto was deliberately set up this way to keep replies that were meant to be personal from
inadvertently going to the whole list. Believe me, it's best this way. It's one of the reasons
we've managed to remain a (relatively) flame-free zone since 1991.

--
===============================================
Meredith Tarr
New Haven, CT USA
mailto:me...@smoe.org
http://www.smoe.org/meth
===============================================
hear at the HOMe House Concert Series
http://hom.smoe.org
===============================================

meredith

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Mar 10, 2008, 11:40:18 AM3/10/08
to ecto
Hi,

Thanks for posting that article, Neal! I saw a pointer to it on WWdN a few days ago, and have been
pondering it ever since as it applies directly to my life in many ways, on both sides of the equation.

Paul Blair wrote:
> By that definition, for Happy to live off her music she'd need 1,000
> Vickies. That is not an easy goal to reach!

I dunno, I can think of several more ectophiles than just Vickie who would do/have done most of that
for Happy over the years. I know that definition applies to me for several other artists, as well.

I do wish the author had picked a different term for that than "True Fan", though. I hate the
notion that "you're not a *real* fan of ___ unless you have THIS exceedingly rare, quite expensive
item that *I* have and *you* don't". Perhaps "Most Loyal Supporter", instead??

But more to the point, I think 1,000 Most Loyal Supporters is a realistic, achievable goal for a lot
of independent artists willing to put in the work to get there. And the amount of work required to
get there isn't unrealistic, provided that the artist is doing work that is appealing to at least
1,000 people on the planet. And if they're not -- well, as the article stated it's scalable, so if
an artist who is happy keeping a day job can get by with occasional temp work when they're not on
tour doing house concerts put on by some of their 500 Most Loyal Fans, then in that case that's
cool, too.

Carolyn Andre

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 11:56:17 AM3/10/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 09:13 AM 3/10/2008, you wrote:
>This article makes no sense to me, because I have NO IDEA what is
>meant by "long tail".
>
>Huh?

Aha! had to look it up myself. Here's a short summary by the fellow who first proposed the concept in Wired magazine (in 2004):
http://www.thelongtail.com/about.html

>The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-targeted goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare.

IOW the Internet, distributors like CDBaby, and new home recording technologies have changed the traditional model away from commercial media and selling a small group of "one-size-fits-all" hits at Best Buy.

The author of the forwarded article is positing that this model may shift the bulk of product away from the traditional sources but at the same time it also shifts the costs and competitive disadvantages to the individual producers and magnifies their impact.

Also Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Tail

>--Doug


>P.S. - If this list has a moderator, I'd appreciate it if they'd
>change it such that replies would go to the list, not to a person.

And I'd appreciate if the Subject line could be changed to include [ecto] so that my spam filters don't regularly dump messages with the unique and creative titles that pass through this list.


Regards,
Carolyn Andre
---
can...@house-of-music.com
Chicago, IL / USA
Support Independent Music! Use the Internet
http://house-of-music.com

gaseous clay

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Mar 10, 2008, 12:29:39 PM3/10/08
to ec...@smoe.org
one time at band camp, Doug (dbail...@gmail.com) said:

>P.S. - If this list has a moderator, I'd appreciate it if they'd
>change it such that replies would go to the list, not to a person.

ecto doesn't have a moderator per-se but it does has me turning the
gerbil wheels behind the scenes.

adding a reply-to-list is not a good idea for a number of reasons. the
primary one is that the potential damage from a personal message
misdirected to the list is significantly higher than the inconvience of
resending a public message misdirected to the poster. the secondary one
is that sometimes people set reply-to: headers of their own and it's
not cool to mess with them.

modern mail programs should have a reply-to-list function. if yours
does not, you just have to remember to change the addressee of a reply
to the list address.

woj

Bernie Mojzes

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 12:31:30 PM3/10/08
to meredith, ecto
I got the feeling that "True Fan" was somewhat of a riff on the the old
Marvel Comics "True Believers" line...

I've been wondering for some time whether there was some way of doing this
on a collective basis, i.e. artists who have some commonality, whether
it's, say, Ecto, or geographic (Philly area local indie) or whatever.
Something to minimize the amount of dealing with developing and
maintaining the infrastructure needed to do this sort of thing.

Bernie

> Hi,
>
> Thanks for posting that article, Neal! I saw a pointer to it on WWdN a few
> days ago, and have been pondering it ever since as it applies directly to my
> life in many ways, on both sides of the equation.
>
> Paul Blair wrote:
>> By that definition, for Happy to live off her music she'd need 1,000
>> Vickies. That is not an easy goal to reach!
>
> I dunno, I can think of several more ectophiles than just Vickie who would
> do/have done most of that for Happy over the years. I know that definition
> applies to me for several other artists, as well.
>
> I do wish the author had picked a different term for that than "True Fan",
> though. I hate the notion that "you're not a *real* fan of ___ unless you
> have THIS exceedingly rare, quite expensive item that *I* have and *you*
> don't". Perhaps "Most Loyal Supporter", instead??
>
> But more to the point, I think 1,000 Most Loyal Supporters is a realistic,
> achievable goal for a lot of independent artists willing to put in the work
> to get there. And the amount of work required to get there isn't
> unrealistic, provided that the artist is doing work that is appealing to at
> least 1,000 people on the planet. And if they're not -- well, as the article
> stated it's scalable, so if an artist who is happy keeping a day job can get
> by with occasional temp work when they're not on tour doing house concerts
> put on by some of their 500 Most Loyal Fans, then in that case that's cool,
> too.
>
>
>

--

brni

meredith

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 12:55:57 PM3/10/08
to ecto
Hi,

brni wondered:

> I've been wondering for some time whether there was some way of doing
> this on a collective basis, i.e. artists who have some commonality,
> whether it's, say, Ecto, or geographic (Philly area local indie) or
> whatever. Something to minimize the amount of dealing with developing
> and maintaining the infrastructure needed to do this sort of thing.

I believe at least the geographic version of this is the point of the "street team" concept that
most indie musicians have latched onto. You find your big fans in an area, lure them into your fold
with promises of free tickets and special swag, and in return they put up your posters when you come
to town and spread the word about your show and your music to all their friends, and get the
word-of-mouth machine going.

Some artists are more successful at cultivating their street teams than others, but in general it's
a very useful thing.

gaseous clay

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 9:22:06 PM3/10/08
to bloated lapses of trope
rbj sed:
>> all's i can say is that the ecto mailing list is the only mailing list i am
>> subscribed to that does not Reply-to the list. i've gotten into the habit now
>> of hitting Reply All and deleting the individual poster that i am replying to,
>> but it's a pain and sometimes i forget.

so, if all the other mailing lists jumped off a bridge, should ecto jump
off one too? ;) i know, i know, i know, reply-to-list is not the same as
jumping off a bridge but forgetting to delete or change an addressee of
an e-mail isn't really a pain either.

one time at band camp, Doug said:
> I concur. If you want to count frequency, I think the number of
> replies that need to be kept private is probably small when compared
> to the number of times that people are forced to hit the Reply All
> button (and then delete the original poster's email address). I think
> we're sacrificing convenience for a very small return.

i dunno. the number is probably small, but the convenience is pretty
small too. making sure an e-mail is properly addressed is just good
practice and i would say that the ten seconds it takes to check and
change the addressee of your reply isn't too much to ask.

this debate has gone on for years. google "munge headers bad" if you
don't believe me! there's no solution that's going to make everyone
happy except migrating to majordomo2 which has personal settings for
reply-to (and subject tags too for that matter!). that'll happen sooner
or later but in the meantime, i think it's best to leave it the way it is.

woj

Paul Blair

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 10:23:13 PM3/10/08
to ecto
On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 11:15 AM, meredith <me...@smoe.org> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Thanks for posting that article, Neal! I saw a pointer to it on WWdN a
> few days ago, and have been
> pondering it ever since as it applies directly to my life in many ways, on
> both sides of the equation.
>
> Paul Blair wrote:
>

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 2:10 AM, Kevin Kelly via neal copperman <
> ne...@swcp.com> wrote:
>

> > > A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and
> everything
> > > you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy
> the
> > > super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they
> have
> > > the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They
> > > bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They
> come
> > > to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the
> t-shirt, and
> > > the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work.
> They
> > > are true fans.

> By that definition, for Happy to live off her music she'd need 1,000
> > Vickies. That is not an easy goal to reach!
>
> I dunno, I can think of several more ectophiles than just Vickie who would
> do/have done most of that for Happy over the years. I know that definition
> applies to me for several other artists, as well.
>

I didn't mean they all had to be Vickie! But 1000 people with that degree of
enthusiasm is a lot. I'm an enthusiastic fan of a few bands, but spending
$100 per year takes some dedication. A small-name local artist I might get
to see for 10 or 15 dollars, so I'd have to see her six or seven times a
year plus buy a CD to spend that much. If a bigger-name touring band like
Cowboy Junkies comes through the NYC area twice I might get there--say $40
each for the shows, plus $15 for whatever the new CD is.

OK, maybe another CD for a gift. And a new DVD if there is one. Oh, and that
XX book...and flowers for Margo, of course!

neal copperman

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 10:53:40 PM3/10/08
to ecto
At 10:19 PM -0400 3/10/08, Paul Blair wrote:

>I didn't mean they all had to be Vickie! But 1000 people with that degree of
>enthusiasm is a lot. I'm an enthusiastic fan of a few bands, but spending
>$100 per year takes some dedication. A small-name local artist I might get
>to see for 10 or 15 dollars, so I'd have to see her six or seven times a
>year plus buy a CD to spend that much. If a bigger-name touring band like
>Cowboy Junkies comes through the NYC area twice I might get there--say $40
>each for the shows, plus $15 for whatever the new CD is.

I have probably put in $100 a handful of times on artists over the
years. When I am totally gaga about a local band, I can easily see
them 10 times in a year. And I'd be happy to give them $100 in that
case, particularly in support of a new album. I probably came close
to spending $100 on seeing Jewel in the early days at $3 a pop :)

>OK, maybe another CD for a gift. And a new DVD if there is one. Oh, and that
>XX book...and flowers for Margo, of course!

Cowboy Junkies in Albuquerque on June 3. Come out and visit :)

neal

F.J.Fornorn

unread,
Mar 10, 2008, 11:19:59 PM3/10/08
to Ecto
I side with woj on this. If the possible choices for defaults are:

- the possible inconvenience of having to resend an item to the list
after erroneously replying to the individual sender

vs

- the probable sense of public humiliation of sending private
comments to the list at large

then I'll take the former.

(Woj, please fwd to the list :)

Richard Messum

unread,
Mar 15, 2008, 4:27:58 PM3/15/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I hesitate to suggest that people, in general, are stupid, but i do think
that people (again, in general) don't know how to *use* their brains, or how
to behave in public.

They attend a concert, or go to the cinema, and yammer away, thinking
perhaps that they are at home watching TV, where their logorrhoea doesn't
disturb innocent bystanders.

I actually got into a spot of trouble over this at a Peter Hammill show a
few years ago. One table away from me were people who insisted on yakking
constantly. I leaned over and politely suggested that they "put a sock in
it" and they threatened to take me outside.

One of the rarest commodities on this planet is common sense.

Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Blair
To: Ecto
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2008 1:14 PM
Subject: From the goose's mouth


I don't know if using the word "geese" for people who talk at concerts goes
beyond Cowboy Junkies fans, but I find it apt. During the Karan Casey/Lunasa
show I had a unique glimpse into goose psychology.

I was seated next to three young women who started off Karan Casey's set
with a fit of giggles. They soon piped down, but during the break between
sets I heard one of them complaining about "how quiet everyone is. They're
all just sitting there listening! I mean, when I'm at a concert I expect to
be able to talk. It's one thing if it were the Met, or the ballet, or
something like that. But this is a concert!"

That said, they were all polite enough not to talk during the show, except
for a giggle or two. The one who was chafing spent most of the show doodling
and writing messages to the others on a napkin, and she was all set to leave
before Lunasa had even left the stage.

I wonder what leads to the expectation of talking during a show. There are
certain situations where you're expected to talk over the music--e.g., a
jazz band or pianist playing in a restaurant, a musician playing in a busy
cafe--but that didn't seem to be their milieu. The only other thing I can
think of is the clubs where the music is so overamplified it doesn't matter
whether or not you talk--but what kind of a conversation can you carry on
then?


--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1329 - Release Date: 3/14/2008
12:33 PM

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Mar 15, 2008, 5:09:49 PM3/15/08
to ec...@smoe.org
There are two possibilities, possibly more:

1) The desire for running commentary. The artist performs; people talk
about it, state their thoughts.

2) The desire to use the concert, or event, or whatever it is, as not
an end but a means towards social interaction. This, I think, is the
worse of the two, because it's missing the point. After all, if you're
commenting on the concert, you're at least listening to a degree.

Carolyn Andre

unread,
Mar 16, 2008, 10:38:54 AM3/16/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 03:12 PM 3/15/2008, birdie wrote:
>i agree and also people who are accoustomed to being in bars and clubs
>where recorded music is played loud for dancing and background music
>(jukebox or otherwise) do it and i suspect some don't switch gears when
>at live shows.....

For some types of music, I think it is folks who are used to stadium type concerts or outdoor festivals, where standing, walking, chatting, etc. is quite common.

Although I think some people have adjusted poorly to the difference in venue setting - somewhat to the effect that rows of seats are for listening, but standing or sitting at tables (with beverages) is a social setting. Even if it is in a concert room for which they've paid a cover charge and possible drink minimum. (And, like Sue, my question for these folks is always "why?" There are certainly other local or trendy establishments in which they could sit, drink and chat for less) I can understand the confusion when these things were new ideas, but come on folks, this has been the standard for quite awhile.

(I love the geese considering that "highbrow" events like ballet and Met are for listening, but anything else must be chopped liver.)

meredith

unread,
Mar 16, 2008, 4:26:00 PM3/16/08
to ecto
Hi,

Paul Blair wrote:
> I wonder what leads to the expectation of talking during a show. There are
> certain situations where you're expected to talk over the music--e.g., a
> jazz band or pianist playing in a restaurant, a musician playing in a busy
> cafe--but that didn't seem to be their milieu. The only other thing I can
> think of is the clubs where the music is so overamplified it doesn't matter
> whether or not you talk--but what kind of a conversation can you carry on
> then?

Since this was a concert of Irish music, I wonder if these people are used to only seeing that genre
performed in pubs, where you're pretty much expected to be drinking and talking and carrying on
while the music is happening.

More likely they were just stupid, but considering the type of music I wonder if that might actually
have something to do with it...

leon

unread,
Mar 19, 2008, 2:52:10 PM3/19/08
to Alexander Johannesen, ecto
Alexander Johannesen wrote:
> http://www.hereinmyhead.com/updates/?p=503
>
> Anyone know what this means?

click through to http://www.little-blue-world.org/

When a Happy Song Isn't: reviewing the latest by Happy Rhodes.

John Higdon

unread,
Mar 19, 2008, 3:44:32 PM3/19/08
to Ecto
Alexander Johannesen wrote:
> http://www.hereinmyhead.com/updates/?p=503
>
> Anyone know what this means?
>
> 'Reviews and retrospectives: "Singing Ears with Feet: Casey Stratton"
> and "When a Happy Song Isn't: Happy Rhodes."'
>
The latter refers to a review submitted to the Tori Amos fanzine "Little
Blue World" for a regular music review column. Since the fanzine is
devoted to Tori and many might not have heard of Happy, I felt that a
description of Happy's background and past works was needed before
launching into discussion of the latest album. The title stems from this
early sentence in the review: "Yes, Happy is her name a cognomen she
made legal at 16 but the name belies the artist s music." (The title
isn't my best work, I admit.) In other words, a Happy song isn't
necessarily (and seldom is) a happy song.

I was hesitant to do this review, I admit. I'm not really wowed by the
new album, have very mixed feelings about the songs. But I'd been
wanting to do a Happy review since I took over the column, and here
finally was my chance. And even if I dis the album some, I hope that
what I say about Happy and her work in general and her past albums will
inspire some new fans. As I conclude the review: "Overall, I don t think
Find Me is Happy s best work. But then, the standard her previous
albums set is impossibly high."

--
John Higdon

Alexander Johannesen

unread,
Mar 19, 2008, 4:35:37 PM3/19/08
to John Higdon, Ecto
On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 8:32 PM, John Higdon <jchi...@mindspring.com> wrote:
> As I conclude the review: "Overall, I don t think
> Find Me is Happy s best work. But then, the standard her previous
> albums set is impossibly high."

Thanks all. I'm not a Tori fan (and only a slight Kate fan of a small
portion of her work), so I don't really want to miss out of anything
Happy. It's a weird thing, being a Happy fan, to absolutely love
something coming from someone who nobody really knows anything about.

BTW, I think I can put my finger on what's missing on Find Me;
surprises. It's all as expected, really really good, but expected
good. I was reminded of this the other day listening to "Nevermore"
(Left-hand demos) when she all of a sudden burst into a weird
cacophony of a chorus medley ending so so sweet, making me all
ooo-eee-yeah, ooo-eee-yeah ... That! That little thing right there is
what Find me should have a little more of.

Ahem. Yes. Thanks for the clarification.

Regards,

Alex
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Wrangler, SOA, Information Alchemist, UX, RESTafarian, Topic Maps
------------------------------------------ http://shelter.nu/blog/ --------

John Higdon

unread,
Mar 20, 2008, 1:31:51 AM3/20/08
to Ecto
Alexander Johannesen wrote:
> BTW, I think I can put my finger on what's missing on Find Me;
> surprises. It's all as expected, really really good, but expected
> good. I was reminded of this the other day listening to "Nevermore"
> (Left-hand demos) when she all of a sudden burst into a weird
> cacophony of a chorus medley ending so so sweet, making me all
> ooo-eee-yeah, ooo-eee-yeah ... That! That little thing right there is
> what Find me should have a little more of.
>
With me it's less easily definable. What I'm missing from "Find Me" is
some sort of connection, the type of emotional connection I had with her
previous work. This connection is why I listen to Happy's music, and so
to find it lacking was distressing. This further explains my hesitation
to review the album. There was the concern that, maybe it's not Happy
that's lacking here, but me. And there was the concern that I might be
pigeonholing Happy, only able to appreciate her when she covers specific
emotional territory, and nowhere beyond that. This started, actually,
with MWABT. I find a few songs on that one, such as the title track,
really very beautiful. But otherwise, I find the album a bit cold, and
don't listen to it very much. MWABT seemed like more of an art project
than the exploration of emotional depth that I was used to and loved,
and so it never really clicked for me. With "Find Me", Happy stepped
back from that brink into territories unknown, but...perhaps not as
emotionally bare. And again, it feels unfair to me for me to expect her
always to be a certain way. But I don't seem to connect with her songs
so well when she isn't that way.

--
John Higdon

JoAnn Whetsell

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 12:57:23 AM3/27/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Karen (and all Sarah Slean fans),

I hope you won't give up on the album. I agree with a lot of your comments -
lots of ballads, 'Sound of Water/Change Your Mind,' 'So many miles',
'Shadowland' being the best songs on the album, the excellence of "Parasol"
(bonus download only for pre-order customers, of which I was one). But I
don't find the album boring. At first, the songs were pretty same-y, but a
couple of listens, and they started to reveal themselves. (Okay, "Willow"
could probably have been left off." I really think it's a lovely album, and I
hope others will give it a chance.

Full review:


I m really enjoying The Baroness. I had lost interest in Sarah Slean after
Universe and returned to her music with her wonderful (mostly) live album
Orphan
Music. I thought The Baroness would
follow in that direction catcy, upbeat, theatrical. Parasol, the bonus
download for people who
pre-ordered is in that vein. It s a
great song, but I can understand why it s not on the album; it really
wouldn t
fit. The single Get Home is more
representative of the album. Many of the
songs are mid-tempo ballads, and on first listen, the album sounds pretty
samey. There s more variety than is at
first apparent, but it s subtle. On
subsequent listens the songs begin to differentiate themselves, and I can
hear
different textures that I missed the first time. There s the beautifully
haunting Shadowland,
the up-tempo pop-rock of So Many Miles, the dark cabaret-tinged and
string-accented rock of Sound of Water/Change Your Mind, the light and
springy Notes from the Underground, the simple but elegant Looking for
Someone, a beautiful ending to an excellent album.

JoAnn

> Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:53:45 -0400
> From: karen....@gmail.com
> To: ec...@smoe.org
> Subject: Sarah Slean, The paper raincoat
>
> It's problematic seeing an artist for the first time when they've got
> a back catalog you love, but you're not into their current album.
> Universe, Blue Parade, Night Bugs, Day One, Orphan Music - like, love,
> adore them. The Baroness - am rather bored by it so far (fingers
> crossed, am continuing to listen). The songs and lyrics are too
> plain; lots of slow boring ballads; the genres it touches on are
> gospel, cabaret etc - I want more pop, rock, hell I'll take opera.
>
> The new song I liked the most at the concert was 'Parasol' which isn't
> on the album - this mad lively song was only available to pre-sale
> buyers who were willing to pay as much for postage as the album.
> 'Parasol' tumbles along at great speed, spilling melody over the side,
> silly rhymes piling on top of one another. "And I coughed this up in
> a sooty perfume, Out of my mouth like a feather plume, And now here's
> one more crazy tune", stench, bench, wrench; lane, Spain, explain.
> Eliza Doolittle would choke. A song I would happily legally download
> IF it were available. Such are the reasons I hate record companies.
>
> Somehow she picked all my least favorites from The Baroness to play -
> the most boring of boring. No poppy catchy 'Change your mind' or 'So
> many miles', ghostly 'Shadowland', dramatic 'Hopeful hearts'. She
> played 'California', 'Pilgrim', 'Duncan', 'Blue parade', 'Universe' (a
> request), and those were all lovely. Great band (upright bass, drums,
> guitar). Sarah stood and danced for 'Lucky me,' and the cameras came
> out. Her theatrical mannerisms can distract from the music - even
> though the persona goes with the music, it is awkwardly realized and
> can be uncomfortable to watch for some.
>
> Still, enough lovely moments, and I don't like the previous albums any the
less.


_________________________________________________________________
Watch Cause Effect, a show about real people making a real difference.
Learn more.
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CollectedSounds

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 9:41:39 AM3/27/08
to Jill Hughes, ec...@smoe.org
Hi Jill (who I always still think of as Jill Dee), and everyone else!

I saw Dar, well, several times, and I knew that she did talk about it at
least once. So I had to look back at my reviews to see which show it was and
I found two.
I don't remember this all too clearly, but this is what I wrote:

June 21, 2001:*
*When Dar was little she was always into scaring her family. They used to
take the kids to a place called Breakneck Ridge. "Don't ever take your
children to a place called 'Breakneck Ridge' that's horrible!" She would do
things like run up to the top of the ridge before her family got there and
pretend to fall off and they would all look at her with horrified faces. She
said she thought they were playing along because, 'how many times have they
seen this before?'" So she was thanking her family for letting her be so
macho.* "When I was a Boy"

*And October 29, 2005:
There was one point after a representative from the Domestic Abuse center
came out and did a speech, where Dar said she was going to play a family
song. I just had a feeling that *The Babysitter's Here* was coming and I was
excited. But as she started introducing it, she starting talking about how
she used to freak her parents out by doing crazy things, and I knew she'd
changed her mind. She said, "Oh, no, I'll play this one instead", and went
into *When I Was a Boy*. *

***Hope that helps!! I assume it means that when you're little, boys and
girls aren't so different, it's when we get older and society puts rules on
us that we become our gender. (?) Something like that? Maybe?

~Amy
*

*
On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 6:25 AM, Jill Hughes <jillr...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Does anyone know if Dar Williams has commented on the meaning of her song
> "If I Was a Boy"?
>
> Or would any of you like to offer your interpretations?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jill :D
>

--
Amy
Collected Sounds
www.collectedsounds.com

meredith

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 1:57:46 PM3/27/08
to ecto
Hi,

CollectedSounds wrote:
> ***Hope that helps!! I assume it means that when you're little, boys and
> girls aren't so different, it's when we get older and society puts rules on
> us that we become our gender. (?) Something like that? Maybe?

That's always how I've taken the song. Plus I did hear Dar introduce it with a similar story a
couple times, back in the day.

I also believe she's on record as saying it was inspired by the Jane Siberry album, she used to
listen to _When I Was A Boy_ a lot and that got her thinking about the things that became the song.

To this day it remains one of the best and most affecting of Dar's songs...

Jill Hughes

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 4:20:58 PM3/27/08
to CollectedSounds, ec...@smoe.org
Thanks so much, Amy. ;-)

That's exactly what I was looking for.

Jill :D

On Thu, Mar 27, 2008 at 9:30 AM, CollectedSounds <collect...@gmail.com>
wrote:

neile

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 5:49:45 PM3/27/08
to Ectophiles
Welcome, Aly!

Good taste in music--and I love to hear that people appreciate the
EctoGuide!

--Neile

Aly Fields

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 6:04:15 PM3/27/08
to neile, Ectophiles
I've seen your name before! :) Thanks for the welcome :D

I have more music if anyone would like to see listed at
http://www.last.fm/user/poor-de-chirico - that's got what I'm listening to
most on it...

Paul Jensen

unread,
Mar 27, 2008, 6:59:29 PM3/27/08
to ecto
Welcome aboard, Aly! Hope you have a good experience on ecto and find some
new artists recommended to you along the way!!
I see you also like Laurie Anderson, Liz Phair, 10KM.. awesome!! :) Wish my
musical taste was that sophisticated at age 18.. I think I was still
listening to Wilson Philips and the Sister Act soundtracks back then. :-p

Paul

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is the time.
And this is the record of the time."
-Laurie Anderson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Mar 28, 2008, 4:29:38 PM3/28/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Quoting Aly Fields <the.w...@gmail.com>:

> Rob -
>
> I thought they were closing Vickie's site?
>

Wait, *what*? When did this happen? (I'm not saying you're wrong or
anything, just...wow. I missed something.)

-Sarah

Richard Messum

unread,
Mar 28, 2008, 5:10:38 PM3/28/08
to ec...@smoe.org


Quoting Aly Fields <the.w...@gmail.com>:

>-Sarah

The site's still up. Apparently Vickie was having some troubles for a while
but these have now been resolved.

Best

Richard

neile

unread,
Mar 29, 2008, 2:31:16 PM3/29/08
to Ectophiles
We were listening to Jane's _When I Was a Boy_ the other day for the first
time in well over a year. I had forgotten how brilliant an album that is,
and was amazed at how much I still love it and how it doesn't sound dated,
like so many old albums I love do. It was a joy to hear each song.

I wish I could articulate better my responses to Veda's new album. The
first time I heard it (and I have to admit, this happens the first time I
hear any of her albums) I thought, "well, she's finally lost me," but that
initial impression disappeared immediately on the second listen, and
turned to "wow, listen to this, and *this* and **this**". It also is a
brilliant album. Veda is amazing for how she can make a song both
artsy and catchy. I'm curious as to how it will seem to someone new to
Veda's music.

I've got an update to our Veda page for the Guide nearly ready, and would
love any comments on the album that anyone wants to add!

--Neile

Damon

unread,
Mar 29, 2008, 3:31:18 PM3/29/08
to neile, Ectophiles
hi neile, all -

> I've got an update to our Veda page for the Guide nearly ready, and would
> love any comments on the album that anyone wants to add!

i was lucky to be at the cd launch earlier this month (with art),
which was wonderful. veda puts on such a great show. first she opened
with duplex, which was fun - i hadn't seen them perform before. then,
out came the eight-piece veda orchestra and off we went on another
veda musical extravaganza. some new faces and some people she's been
playing with forever like ford pier, patsy klein, peggy lee, and the
bass player whose name i forget.

i had not even heard samples of the new songs before this, and i must
confess i don't have great concert hearing, but i thoroughly enjoyed
the show anyway. i haven't actually had much chance to listen to the
cd yet, though i think if it weren't veda i might have had a somewhat
nonplussed first reaction similar to neile's. but i *know* by now
that most anything veda does is going to grow on me pretty quickly, so
i just kept listening and i quite love it now, though i still don't
feel i've fully grokked it.

she also played one song that she introduced as a kind of musical
about alien abduction, which was fun. i was disappointed when she
mentioned that it wasn't on the album! i think she said she'd be
releasing it on itunes or some such.

-damon

--
dl+...@usrbin.ca: protecting my real address since 2002 (too late!)
> EWS starts here! < http://www.last.fm/user/kalaleq/

Karen Hester

unread,
Mar 29, 2008, 8:29:27 PM3/29/08
to Aly Fields, ec...@smoe.org
Hi Aly, definitely check out Noe's music. You can download 'Prayer
for beauty' ("she runs out in her stockings, as invisible cities they
burn") and 'Ice dragons' ("can you feel the white furry hooves of
time?") on her website, in addition to great earlier songs like
Juniper and Boots. Live with them for a bit and see if it's your kind
of thing.

http://www.noevenable.com/music.php
http://cdbaby.com/cd/noevenable4 etc

K.

On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 1:53 PM, Aly Fields <the.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Off topic, but I can't stand Jane's new persona.
>
> Anyway, sounds like a great show! I should check out her music, I've heard
> much about her via ecto...

jessica spurling

unread,
Apr 5, 2008, 5:11:31 PM4/5/08
to ec...@smoe.org
mmmm.

When I was 16, in 1986, I dicovered Kate. I had always loved singing
but had never taken it very seriously. Once I got into Kate's music I
started really loving singing and singing along to her music was so
challenging and exciting and I especially loved pushing my
already-relatively-high voice to kate-like extremes.

It was not until I discovered Happy a few years later, that I discovered
the joy of singing low,
and started enjoying the wonderful feel of the low end. Getting to
exercise both ends of the spectrum
is definitely one part of my love for Happy's music. I adore every sound
she's able to make.
As fleur says here, it really GETS to me. Both her highs and her lows.
And everything in between.
Knowing this is one woman's voice means I don't think she sounds like
anyone else.
I definitely hear "other people" when she sings certain things in
certain ways.. She can 'imitate'
or 'emulate' just about anyone with that voice of hers. But put that all
together and this is
a voice unlike anyone else's.

*speaking* of singing. I went to see the Asylum Street Spankers last
night. I know they're
not loved on ecto, but bear with me. They have a new fellow, Charlie,
who can do tuvan throat
singing REALLY well. Oh My Goodness. It was amazing. I've never heard
anything like it. The low
notes sounded like a didgeridoo, and the high notes sounded like.. not
quite as high as a
flute, but kinda like a flute. Wow. Oh cool - you can hear him here:

http://www.myspace.com/mrcharlieking

Check out My Baby In The CIA. They played it last night.
He does the thoat singing for the chorus. It's so cool.
That's just him doing the aliens singing part.
Wow!

more in a minute, on another topic.

Country Mouse wrote:
> Hmmm, I have never thought of Happy's lower register in that way before, but
> I really prefer her songs in which she sings low--just GETS to me! Powerful,
> sometimes almost chilling (according to the lyrics) She doesn't sound like
> *anyone* else. ::thinking back to "'Til the Dawn Breaks", "Building the
> Colossus", "If I Ever See The Girl Again", "Temporary and Eternal" (Keep
> version), and not so long ago to "The Chariot":: I'm glad she did quite a
> bit in her lower register on "Find Me". I *love* "One and Many" and
> "Charlie", although they are actually kinda creepy songs. :-P Well, it's
> Happy, what can I say? :-D
>
> fleur
>
> On Wed, Apr 2, 2008 at 10:44 AM, Rob Caldwell <caldwe...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>> Pretty funny description, but that's actually a pretty
>> accurate way of describing it for me personally...
>> Rob (who prefers the higher tones in Happy's voice...)
>>
>> --- Timothy Jones-Yelvington <ti...@sbcglobal.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Great review, but...
>>>
>>> Jolting man voice??
>>>
>>> He he
>>>
>>> tim
>>>
>>>
>>> On 4/2/08 5:14 AM, "Richard Messum"
>>> <spri...@cyg.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>> http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2008/4/Music/Happy-Rhodes
>>
>>>> Richard

neal copperman

unread,
Apr 5, 2008, 5:57:53 PM4/5/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 1:36 PM -0700 4/5/08, jessica spurling wrote:

>*speaking* of singing. I went to see the Asylum Street Spankers last night.

Who doesn't like the Spankers? They are one of the most outrageously
fun bands around. And you can make a case that Christina Marrs
singing falls into the ecto range. Regardless, it's definitely worth
checking the band out, preferably live. You can get a sense of what
they are about on their web site: www.asylumstreetspankers.com. They
have 6 videos on their site, some from their recent off-Broadway
production and others live.

How can you not love the non-politics of "Whatever", the Capital
Steps on acid "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on your SUV", "Winning the War
on Drugs" and the always riotous intersection of country murder
ballads and gangsta rap "Hick Hop". (All videos you can - and should
- watch.)

We've got the Spankers back in New Mexico in May and I can't wait!

neal

np: Together Again - Jeff Daniels and Jonathan Hogan

neal copperman

unread,
Apr 7, 2008, 10:07:22 PM4/7/08
to ecto
I dunno. Those are fun cans of worms, I think. Sort of like the top
10 performers of all time or the best albums kind of lists.

From my book, Noe doesn't have the history, stature or impact to be
dubbed a goddess yet. I think the goddesses are supposed to be the
absolute pinnacle of ecto artists. Noe is a great artist, but there
are probably 100 other artists that are just as solid.

My two cents :)

neal

.

At 9:41 PM -0400 4/7/08, Paul Blair wrote:
>I'm with Tim--much as I'd like to see Noe on this list, even the little
>discussion we've had so far suggests it wouldn't be productive to open this
>can of worms.
>
>But... Who is this Jane Siberry person the list refers to?
>
>On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 5:13 PM, Neile Graham <ne...@zipcon.com> wrote:
>
>> Yes, the section is contentious enough that ever time it comes up for
>> discussion the options and opinions are so all over the place I can never
>> bring myself to do anything about it so it just stays as it was first set
>> up.
>>
>> I keep telling myself there's plenty to tackle with the Guide without
>> messing wit it--it's just too overwhelming.
>>
>> And yet, I don't want to just delete it.
>>
>> So.
>>
>> --Neile
>>
>> On Apr 6, 2008, at 1:00 PM, Timothy Jones-Yelvington wrote:
>>
>> For some reason, I thought the "goddess" section had been deleted.
>> >
>> > It seems to me that such a category is invariably contentious.
>> >
>> > At the same time, I never would have known to prioritize Veda Hille
>> > otherwise.
>> >
>> > tim
>> >
>> >
>> > On 4/5/08 9:50 PM, "robert bristow-johnson" <r...@audioimagination.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > here i am listening to Lion Dreams (there is this wonderful Grand Pause
>> > > around
>> > > 2:49 into the song) and still tingling from the Pummeling she gave us
>> > > a week
>> > > ago.
>> > >
>> > > come on, those of us who were there a week ago Friday, isn't Noe a
>> > > goddess? i
>> > > think she comes from Ectolympus but i don't see her name in:
>> > >
>> > > http://ectoguide.org/genre/goddess
>> > >
>> > > doesn't it belong there?
>> > >
>> > > --
>> > >
>> > > r b-j r...@audioimagination.com
>> > >
>> > > "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

neal copperman

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 5:04:23 PM4/8/08
to Karen Hester, ec...@smoe.org
>Though I agree with Neile that we'll decide it's too confusing and
>leave things as they are, I think there's a major problem with the
>Goddess list in that it misrepresents ecto.
>
>I've been on ecto for over a decade, but I still have this (silly)
>feeling that loud band (a), weird artist (b) or folkie (c) "aren't
>really ecto," and I shouldn't post about them. This is nonsense -
>ecto discussions skew more towards alt-rock, indie, americana, folk
>and world music than they do ethereal fairy winged floaty stuff.

See, I'm not sure I agree with that. (As if we are all going to agree anyway!)

In my eyes, ecto is quintessentially Happy and that general vibe that
runs through Happy's music. It seems like the real precursors of
that are Kate, Tori and Jane, the artist's that I think would most
widely be recognized as the ecto pinnacle.

I remember when the goddesses were first listed that Sarah was always
a contentious choice and there was a lot of debate about that. While
I like Sarahs's music pretty well, I think it never really had the
far ranging nature of the other artists.

While Veda's music does have that nature (and Veda would be on my
personal goddess list), I've always been dubious that she has the
reach and impact to really make sense on the list. (And yeah, Neile
kind of got to put her on cause it's her baby, and everyone liked
Veda enough and it was ecto, so no one was going to throw a tantrum
about it.)

I do think there are many artists who carry on that tradition, and
those are the core ecto artists. For me, carrying on that tradition,
and doing it well, wouldn't qualify for goddesshood. I would
certainly consider folks like Bjork, Laurie Anderson, Cocteau Twins,
Dead Can Dance as perfect for the list. And I'd consider Noe to be a
strong next generation performer. Maybe if I still lived in the
east coast and saw her regularly, I'd have stronger feelings.

(It'll only be a matter of time before someone asks about male ecto
pantheon, which has happened before, and usually is topped by Peter
Gabriel.)

For me, ecto really is that kind of vibe indicated by Happy and the
core pantheon. The other stuff is all ecto-friendly music that is
well suited for list discussion, but doesn't necessarily grow
straight off the ecto tree. It kind of feels like the name as a
genre (if you will) should almost have a Pandora association. If you
like Happy, Kate and Jane, you will flip over Noe. It's not a given
that you will flip over Susan McKeown, Dar Williams, ani difranco, PJ
Harvey or Kristin Hersh. (yeah, yeah, nothing is totally given
anyway!)

Anyway, that's my view, for what it's worth.

>Maybe there should be someone on the ecto Goddess list to represent
>noise, roughness, and edginess. I suggest PJ Harvey, Patti Smith
>(though I think of her as historical, we don't discuss her current
>music much), or Kristin Hersh (my fav).

That sort of happens just by the definition of Beautiful and Fierce,
right? (That was from memory, I didn't check.)

neal

np: Beck on an old Paste sampler

Sue Trowbridge

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 5:54:39 PM4/8/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On 4/8/08, Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Ha, methinks the Northeasterners (myself included) are somewhat
> feverish about Noe. No one (including Neal) said Noe wasn't very
> talented. But Issa came because she shared a drummer (still, great
> compliment), and Vienna and Alex came because they're part of the
> Brooklyn music mafia, and such people attend one another's shows.

Aren't Noe & Vienna also both ex-Bay Area residents? Perhaps they have
a bond because of that.

The one person whose name has come up that I can't believe isn't
already on the goddess list is Kristen Hersh. She's been making
brilliant music for over 20 years now and I think there is at least
some consensus here that her work is worthy of recognition.

--Sue

neal copperman

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:32:05 PM4/8/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 5:27 PM -0400 4/8/08, Karen Hester wrote:

>On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 4:56 PM, neal copperman <ne...@swcp.com> wrote:
>> See, I'm not sure I agree with that. (As if we are all going to agree
>> anyway!)
>
>I've decided that I agree with you, rather than with myself :)

Let me try to win you back to your side! :)

>I worry that the core is a somewhat historical group, representing the
>tastes of those of us who came into our music infatuation during the
>80s/early 90s, but perhaps that's best - non-interventionist Goddesses
>can't embarrass themselves with bad new albums!

I've kind of wondered about that too. Clearly there are artists
working in those styles. Are they having as strong an impact on
people today as those albums had on many of us in the 80's and 90's?

One possible explanation is that the core artists were kind of
forging a new sound/style that opened up how people listened. There
are people that continue to do that, but it all sounds really
different then how the ecto folk did it. And their fans are spinning
off in their own directions.

>I don't think 'Beautiful and Fierce' applies to Sarah - very very
>pretty, and as fierce as a puppy in a tissue paper advert. But she
>can be a Goddess for services rendered to women in music.

I actually meant that was the place to point people to for
suggestions on artists like PJ Harvey and Kristin Hersh.

neal

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:44:20 PM4/8/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Forgive me, but I've wondered this for a while now - what's the whole
Jane/not Issa thing about? I know about the name change, but I've
noticed a bit of...well, for the lack of a better word, animosity.

-Sarah

Quoting Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com>:

> On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 4:56 PM, neal copperman <ne...@swcp.com> wrote:
>> See, I'm not sure I agree with that. (As if we are all going to agree
>> anyway!)
>
> I've decided that I agree with you, rather than with myself :)
>

> Usually I define ecto by its core (Happy, Kate, Tori, Jane (not Issa),
> in that order), and that flows outwards, becoming less ecto but still
> acceptable, just because we share various other tastes. Wot you said.
>
> Sometimes I define it by 'what we like in common', or 'what we discuss
> the most', which is often less ecto in the former sense.

Greg Bossert

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:44:42 PM4/8/08
to ecto [place]
On Apr 8, 2008, at 2:27 PM, Karen Hester wrote:
> I don't think 'Beautiful and Fierce' applies to Sarah - very very
> pretty, and as fierce as a puppy in a tissue paper advert. But she
> can be a Goddess for services rendered to women in music.

ah, but that's a post-Lilith, post-Surfacing viewpoint. when
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy first came out, and Sarah was still cranking
her guitar through a little Crate amp, she seemed, to me at least,
exactly beautiful and fierce.

artists drift about, and ecto has drifted about.

but then again, i'm opposed to the notion of deity, and all the more
so of deification. i'll take my artists human, thanks...

'tah
-g

-- i have never been afraid to change
-- the circumstances of the world
-- Happy Rhodes

Aly Fields

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:45:23 PM4/8/08
to neal copperman, Ectophiles
Yes, but what is beautiful and fierce meant to be anyway? What about
Diamanda Galas?

On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 6:12 PM, neal copperman <ne...@swcp.com> wrote:

> At 5:27 PM -0400 4/8/08, Karen Hester wrote:
>

> > On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 4:56 PM, neal copperman <ne...@swcp.com> wrote:
> >
> > > See, I'm not sure I agree with that. (As if we are all going to
> > > agree
> > > anyway!)
> > >
> >
> > I've decided that I agree with you, rather than with myself :)
> >
>

> Let me try to win you back to your side! :)
>
> I worry that the core is a somewhat historical group, representing the
> > tastes of those of us who came into our music infatuation during the
> > 80s/early 90s, but perhaps that's best - non-interventionist Goddesses
> > can't embarrass themselves with bad new albums!
> >
>
> I've kind of wondered about that too. Clearly there are artists working
> in those styles. Are they having as strong an impact on people today as
> those albums had on many of us in the 80's and 90's?
>
> One possible explanation is that the core artists were kind of forging a
> new sound/style that opened up how people listened. There are people that
> continue to do that, but it all sounds really different then how the ecto
> folk did it. And their fans are spinning off in their own directions.
>

> I don't think 'Beautiful and Fierce' applies to Sarah - very very
> > pretty, and as fierce as a puppy in a tissue paper advert. But she
> > can be a Goddess for services rendered to women in music.
> >
>

Aly Fields

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:50:14 PM4/8/08
to Karen Hester, ec...@smoe.org
I agree with the lack of edge but also wonder its place on ecto.
Regardless, I support PJ and Patti both.

Also agree with Lisa Gerrard, I repeat my nomination for Liz Fraser/Cocteau
Twins (and I guess to a lesser extent This Mortal Coil) because I feel like
her voice with that music IS the pinnacle of ethereal ecto. Cocteaus have
always been consistent with musical quality, even as they got poppier.

I like Veda where she is, I don't have as much by her but I feel like her
inclusion is pretty worthwhile.

On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 4:05 PM, Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com> wrote:

> Though I agree with Neile that we'll decide it's too confusing and
> leave things as they are, I think there's a major problem with the
> Goddess list in that it misrepresents ecto.
>
> I've been on ecto for over a decade, but I still have this (silly)
> feeling that loud band (a), weird artist (b) or folkie (c) "aren't
> really ecto," and I shouldn't post about them. This is nonsense -
> ecto discussions skew more towards alt-rock, indie, americana, folk
> and world music than they do ethereal fairy winged floaty stuff.
>

> Maybe there should be someone on the ecto Goddess list to represent
> noise, roughness, and edginess. I suggest PJ Harvey, Patti Smith
> (though I think of her as historical, we don't discuss her current
> music much), or Kristin Hersh (my fav).
>

> I agree with Lisa Gerrard/DCD too - she could represent world music,
> goth, ambient, mediaeval.
>
> I can't think of any suitable folkie - Ani is musically patchy (though
> so important as a person), and Dar's newer releases aren't so popular
> among ectophiles. It seems silly to include Joni Mitchell because we
> rarely discuss her, and this isn't one of those annoying Rolling Stone
> magazine 'most important' lists.
>
> I kinda think Sarah McLachlan should be removed (though I don't care).
> Did Lilith have a lasting impact? (It was important for a decade or
> so, but...) Do her fans think she has more than one great album?
>
> I assumed Veda was on there solely because Neile liked her :), but
> it's good having someone obscure on the list, and she'll do.
>
> For reference, the Goddesses:
> Tori Amos
> Kate Bush
> Veda Hille
> Sarah McLachlan
> Happy Rhodes
> Jane Siberry
>
> K.

Paul Blair

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 6:50:22 PM4/8/08
to Karen Hester, ec...@smoe.org
On Tue, Apr 8, 2008 at 4:24 PM, Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com> wrote:

> Ha, methinks the Northeasterners (myself included) are somewhat
> feverish about Noe. No one (including Neal) said Noe wasn't very
> talented. But Issa came because she shared a drummer (still, great
> compliment), and Vienna and Alex came because they're part of the
> Brooklyn music mafia, and such people attend one another's shows.


I'm sure Rachael came in part because of Todd Sickafoose, too, but in my
experience it still takes something to get a musician out at another
musician's show--partly because they work hard, and that's their work.

As to Noe's six albums, I bet you've only got the most recent two :)


Actually, no. I have "No Curses Here," "Down Easy," "Boots" and the most
recent too.

>
> I classify the first three as juvenilia: she was still finding her
> voice, and the great songs only begin to appear on album four (Boots,
> which is still patchy). I haven't heard her play anything pre-Boots,
> and she has let the first album go out of print.


I'd love to hear her do "Alcina's Things" some time. And "Look, Luck" is
right up there with "Sparrow I Will Fly" on my list (and she's played it
within recent memory). I haven't listened to them in awhile, so that's just
off the top of my head.

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 7:21:09 PM4/8/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Younger ectophile speaking, and I definitely explore backwards.
(Speaking of Vickie, I haven't seen her post in forever...)

I also 100% agree with your previous post (well, except for the
been-on-ecto-for-a-decade part, obviously).

-Sarah

Quoting Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com>:

> That sounds fun, as long as it's non-binding :)
> Did you mean vote for what we think the ecto Goddesses should be, or
> vote for our favorite ecto-ish goddesses? I'd pick some different
> people - more influential/central to represent ecto in the first
> instance, and stuff-what-I-like in the second.
>
> It would interesting to see what our musical tastes really are. Do
> people tend to stick to a few genres, or are we usually wide in our
> tastes? There must be many ectophiles who have no favorites in
> common. Though Kate should definitely stay a Goddess since she
> influenced Happy, and Jane Siberry/Issa was prominent in ecto up to
> 'Maria', I wonder if younger ectophiles explore backwards.
>
> I think that Happy should be left out of voting, because it's her
> list, our use of 'ecto' is quoting her, and I like a happy Vickie.
> Plus I want 10 votes.
>
> Remember ten/fifteen years ago on Usenet and mailing lists, boring
> poll upon boring poll - what is your favorite song, omg me too! How
> old are you? What other artists do you like? What is your star sign?
> And then I'd leave the list in horror. Thanks for the off-list
> offer, Jason :)
> K

Bill Mazur

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 7:22:33 PM4/8/08
to Greg Bossert, ecto [place]
Thank you Greg! I have been reading this thread and wanted to say something.
You said it much more succinctly than I would have:

"But then again, I'm opposed to the notion of deity, and all the more so of
deification. I'll take my artists human, thanks..."

I agree with that statement 100% - The only other thing I might add is that
I feel like the artists themselves wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable
with being deified either.

I realize that this concept of "goddesses" is a way of showing great respect
to the artists we all love. So I don't want to sound critical here.

Timothy Jones-Yelvington

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 7:58:43 PM4/8/08
to mora...@email.unc.edu, Untitled
I believe she actually said she was taking a break after that somewhat
emotional conversation that took place about people leaving Happy off their
year-end lists.

Everything got patched up quickly and it ultimately wasn't that big a deal,
but I still haven't seen her post since.

I hope everything's okay.

tim

Timothy Jones-Yelvington

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 8:05:50 PM4/8/08
to Bill Mazur, Greg Bossert, Untitled
I ultimately agree with you both.

It's still fun to play in the sandbox.

Timothy Jones-Yelvington

unread,
Apr 8, 2008, 8:42:46 PM4/8/08
to mora...@email.unc.edu, Untitled
For what it's worth, I was never able to see Jane as Jane, but have now seen
her twice as Issa, and find her to be as inspired as ever (I hope we'll soon
see more than a two song recording out of her).

All of the new life-path stuff sounds completely crazy on paper, but when
you hear her talk about it in person, it becomes much more clear. She
definitely operates on a different wavelength than most of humanity, but
within that wavelength she's completely lucid.

tim

Alexander Johannesen

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 3:49:31 AM4/9/08
to neal copperman, ec...@smoe.org
On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 12:12 AM, neal copperman <ne...@swcp.com> wrote:
> I've kind of wondered about that too. Clearly there are artists working in
> those styles. Are they having as strong an impact on people today as those
> albums had on many of us in the 80's and 90's?

I just got to add here that when I fell in love with Happy Rhodes (not
that long ago) and displayed her to my wife, she said "more 80's
music, eh?" For me, Happy is the essence of the whatever the 80's were
good for, like an ethereal amalgam of where I came from and where I'm
going. I don't really follow any of the other godesses (I have a Kate
album or two somewhere). Another question is if Bjxrk wasn't so poppy,
would she be a godess?


Alex
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Wrangler, SOA, Information Alchemist, UX, RESTafarian, Topic Maps
------------------------------------------ http://shelter.nu/blog/ --------

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 12:13:31 PM4/9/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Ah, OK. I was just confused (and not all that familiar with her back
catalogue).

-Sarah

Quoting Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com>:

> I meant that solely as a musical comment - Issa's music is much less
> ecto to me than Jane's. If Happy had made 3 albums continuing the
> electronics of Many Worlds, I'd class them as less traditional ecto
> too - maybe just as good as, but different genre.
>
> I divide Jane into
> - very early/a bit folky
> - Mid-Jane (with a subset of Pure Jane - Borders, Speckless, The
> Walking) = very Ecto
> - When I was a boy = very Ecto too
> - Maria, the first step into jazzy Issa territory
>
> The Issa change maybe provoked more amused eye-rolling than animosity?
>
> K.


>
>> From: mora...@email.unc.edu
>> Forgive me, but I've wondered this for a while now - what's the whole
>> Jane/not Issa thing about? I know about the name change, but I've
>> noticed a bit of...well, for the lack of a better word, animosity.
>>

>> - -Sarah

Ellen Rawson

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 12:16:08 PM4/9/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Hey there,

I saw Karine Polwart last night at the Bloomsbury
Theatre in London (lovely venue, btw), and she was
honestly quite surprised by the number of people who
turned out to see her. (It was a pretty full house.) I
think she's still surprised that people like her, they
really like her.

And there's a reason for it. She's great live. I like
her albums, but she's even better live -- there's
something about her -- she's fresh and earnest --
that's caught better live than in the studio.

Anyway, it was a great night.

Ellen

Tim Jones-Yelvington

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 1:34:09 PM4/9/08
to mora...@email.unc.edu, ec...@smoe.org
You should download her back catalogue. It is magnificent, and all of it is self-determined pricing.

At least download "The Walking."

tim

mora...@email.unc.edu wrote:
Ah, OK. I was just confused (and not all that familiar with her back
catalogue).

-Sarah

Aly Fields

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 4:17:52 PM4/9/08
to Karen Hester, ec...@smoe.org
I agree with pretty much everything you said :)

On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 2:50 PM, Karen Hester <karen....@gmail.com> wrote:

> (as wrote the sensible Michael)
>
> Yes, that sounds right. I think of archetypal ecto as Kate (and
> immediate successors), and the ethereal side of 4AD (Cocteau, DCD),
> and both have a specific place in the chronology of music, 'forging a
> new sound/style.' Newer artists following in their footsteps will
> either sound like a non-innovative throwback, or will also be
> influenced by other types of music, like dance (Bjork, Massive Attack,
> Goldfrapp, Dido) or 90s alt/grunge (PJ Harvey, trio Muses). A
> musician who grows up listening to Kate rather than the music Kate
> grew up with can't help but be different.
>
> And if Kate and Tori were more influenced by recent music, their dance
> remixes wouldn't be so crap :) (I enjoy Kate's more).
>
> K.

Aly Fields

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 4:23:41 PM4/9/08
to Tim Jones-Yelvington, mora...@email.unc.edu, ec...@smoe.org
I agree with Tim. *The Walking* is amazing. *grins, looks at her email
address*

On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 12:53 PM, Tim Jones-Yelvington <ti...@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 4:27:38 PM4/9/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Wait, I missed this? I know a lot of people who went to the conference,
but I wasn't there myself. I don't have any of her CDs, but I've heard
her music before and it's quite nice.

-Sarah

Quoting Aly Fields <the.w...@gmail.com>:

> I was pleased to see that she was in the Ectoguide, and especially under all
> of the ways I would have chosen to classify her (mostly beautiful and
> fierce). I saw her live this weekend at a conference for LGBTQ unity in
> Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was really good! Her music was so
> engaging and she could be inspirational ("Fire"), confrontational ("Fuck
> Bush"), and completely insane ("Chink"). I met her, got two signed CDs for
> $20, and had an awesome time. Anyone else like her music? She's pretty
> good at piano, too. She's getting her degree from Berklee now.

Michael Quinn

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 9:49:08 PM4/9/08
to Karen Hester, ec...@smoe.org
Well (I'm sorry if it's a bit OT here) many but "Old Goths" can't stand
Marilyn Manson and what his music represents and don't consider it goth at
all and many of his prepubescent fans have never heard of bands like The
Sisters Of Mercy or Bauhaus and think that they and their "hero" invented
goth music and subculture.


[Sorry the "old goth" in me just couldn't let that one slip by :)]

More on topic...I love a lot of stuff from the 80s so it'd doubtful that
most things recorded after 1975 sound "dated" too me in a bad way, although
things like analogue synths sound dated in a good nostalgic way :)

I also don't understand ppl who think that most things produced at big
recording studios sound "better" I can't tell the difference between an
album that cost millions to produce and one recorded independently on a
shoestring budget most of the time, and often the cheaply recorded album
will actually sounds better to me.


Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: owner...@smoe.org [mailto:owner...@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Karen
Hester
Sent: April-09-08 3:02 PM
To: ec...@smoe.org
Subject: listening to older music

Thanks Aly, Sarah. I'm glad 'younger ectophiles' can enjoy Kate and
Happy without thinking "it might be a great song, but the production
is so dated, I can't listen to it..." I find Rearmament (and some of
Kate's Fairlight) a bit hard because of the olde keyboard sound. Do
young Goths who came into music with Marilyn Manson giggle at the
Sisters of Mercy's drum machine and dismiss the Cure as light pop?

My teenage favs Cocteaus, Muses, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Smiths,
Kate etc all produced albums that pre-dated my musical obsession and I
loved those older albums just like their newer ones. However, I find
it hard to hear most earlier rock music (60s, early 70s) with fresh
ears. Lots of reasons:
- sounds dated (esp electronic, but other instruments have changed)
- sounds like childhood radio staples, and my ears say "boooring" and
don't listen closely
- aversion to one's parents' music (kill their idols, etc)
- prefer current genres (I'm a post-punk kid, not post-prog)
- infatuation with the new
- like to support active artists, and go to shows
- lack of need to go back cos there's so much new stuff

I'm like this with books too. Some of my happiest reading experiences
have been with Dickens, but he's always there so I don't feel
compelled to read all his books now, and instead this month read New
Yorkers (cover to cover), Oliver Sacks on music, Dave Eggers and
Charles Stross (near future SF needs to be read near its publication
date!).

K.

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
Apr 9, 2008, 11:48:40 PM4/9/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I'm a first-year student and NC native. I haven't seen very many shows
here, though - I was going to see Christine Fellows tonight but then
something else came up.

-Sarah

Quoting Aly Fields <the.w...@gmail.com>:

> Yeah, she was totally there and signing crap and she had some kind of online
> deal. If you email her your contact info and say you go to UNC you can
> probably score two signed albums for $20 and it would be nice. Also, Kate
> Bornstein (one of my idols) was there and I met her and almost peed myself
> when I learned she loves Laurie Anderson too.
>
> What year are you? Are you an NC native?

jessica spurling

unread,
Apr 11, 2008, 4:04:33 AM4/11/08
to Greg Bossert, ecto [place]
Greg Bossert wrote:
>
> but then again, i'm opposed to the notion of deity, and all the more
> so of deification. i'll take my artists human, thanks...
:) yay greg.
thanks for that comment.

random comments for this thread:

* i absolutely love sarah mclachlan's earlier work, and really dislike
some of the more recent work. i'd still put her on my list of all time
favorites, even though i don't love her more recent work.
* i *absolutely* have noe on my list of all time favorites. yes, i've
only seen her play once. yes, I only have a couple of her albums, and
yes, she is that amazing to me. i've actually cried while listening to
her songs. she may not be a goddess for *you* but she is for me. i love
her poetry. her expression connects with me.
* kristin hersh is *amazing*. i'm glad lots of other people think so too:)

i don't personally want to make a list. there are a small number of
folks who've made a *huge* difference to my actual life's choice, or to
how i experienced a part of my life. kate & happy are the most
influencial. best to leave it at that i think, for me.

--jessica

Robert Lovejoy

unread,
Apr 12, 2008, 5:12:40 PM4/12/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Reminds me of one of my Happy Gift Project contributions from the prior
century, although it was the Seagull Cossacks. Those Russians can _Sing_, I
tell you what.

Bob Lovejoy

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Paul Blair" <cir...@phobot.net>
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 12:35 AM
To: <ec...@smoe.org>
Subject: Words fail

> The Red Army Chorus -- the real one -- sings "Sweet Home, Alabama":

Amy-Collected Sounds

unread,
Apr 13, 2008, 9:29:10 AM4/13/08
to Ecto
I reviewed her record last year and it even made my best of 2007 list. But I
probably didn't post anything about it because I always feel like I am
trying to "pimp" my site when I do that. But if anyone is interested:

Here's the review:
http://www.collectedsounds.com/cdreviews/ancientshadows.html

Here's her spotlight:
http://www.collectedsounds.com/spotlight/priscillahernandez.html

I thought I suggested her to Ecto when I mentioned Sleepthief, Blue Stone,
Feathermerchants, etc...but I might have accidentally left her out.

Anyway, I'm glad she's getting more exposure, she's great!
Yay!

~Amy

Paul Blair

unread,
Apr 13, 2008, 11:33:50 AM4/13/08
to Ecto
On Sun, Apr 13, 2008 at 9:23 AM, Amy-Collected Sounds <
collect...@gmail.com> wrote:

Re the image of her on that page -- her latest livejournal post shows an
illustration that artist Chris Down made from that photo. It's a nice study
in romanticization:

http://yidneth.livejournal.com/76174.html

For me, the "Willow's Lullaby" video there calls to mind what Craig said in
his review about her Andrew Lloyd Webber tendencies.

Amy-Collected Sounds

unread,
Apr 13, 2008, 11:02:34 PM4/13/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I found some "videos" of the tracks on You Tube:

http://www.blog.collectedsounds.com/?p=751

~Amy

jessica spurling

unread,
Apr 16, 2008, 4:44:12 PM4/16/08
to Amy-Collected Sounds, ec...@smoe.org
oh sadly i am too late. videos no longer available.

CollectedSounds

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 9:43:58 AM4/17/08
to jessica spurling, ec...@smoe.org
Oh no!! Oops, sorry folks, I thought they were sort of sanctioned by the
band and they'd stay up. I'll see what I can do....

On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 3:33 PM, jessica spurling <jes...@viscous.org>
wrote:


--
Amy Lotsberg
Collected Sounds
www.collectedsounds.com
blog.collectedsounds.com

Sue Trowbridge

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 1:34:31 PM4/17/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On 4/17/08, Jeffrey Burka <jef...@burkas.net> wrote:
> Well, the new Terami Hirsch is available (yay!) which means I'm
> looking for other things to pad out a CD Baby order. Any particular
> suggestions?

Well, there's always Jill Tracy's new CD, "The Bittersweet Constrain" :)

I am also a huge fan of the band Spottiswoode & His Enemies. They are
not typical ecto fare (male vocalist), but they are unique and
wonderful and worth checking out if you're into, say, Tom Waits, Nick
Cave or dark & twisted cabaret music:
http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=spottiswoode&submit=search
"Salvation" is the latest disc.

--Sue

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 2:38:52 PM4/17/08
to ec...@smoe.org
sue sez:

> Well, there's always Jill Tracy's new CD, "The Bittersweet Constrain" :)

Too late -- I already bought the signed edition directly from 125! I
was very excited that I received #13 -- a perfect number for something
by Ms Tracy.

Thanks for the other suggestions (from you and others) -- I'm checking them out!

jeff

gor...@optonline.net

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 2:47:51 PM4/17/08
to Jeffrey Burka, ec...@smoe.org
good to know about the release of the new terami :)i went with:1 of TERAMI HIRSCH: A Broke Machine 1 of REBA HASKO: Seeds from the Twisted Pear1 of ROSIE BROWN: Clocks and Clouds 1 of UNWOMAN: Blossoms (with only 200 things on my wish list at cdbaby, it was hard to decide :) )jasonnp elika - s/t----- Original Message -----From: Jeffrey Burka Date: Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:30 amSubject: time for a CD Baby orderTo: "ec...@smoe.org" > Well, the new Terami Hirsch is available (yay!) which means I'm> looking for other things to pad out a CD Baby order. Any particular> suggestions?> > jeff> n.p. _Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?_, The Cranberries>

Paul Jensen

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 4:34:25 PM4/17/08
to ecto
Gabriela Kulka: "Out".. it's just $11, too!! :)

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is the time.
And this is the record of the time."
-Laurie Anderson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DanS

unread,
Apr 17, 2008, 7:17:02 PM4/17/08
to Jeffrey Burka, ec...@smoe.org
I think I may double up my order w/ Kristilyn Robertson - The Bee Tree

Paul Blair

unread,
Apr 19, 2008, 5:33:41 PM4/19/08
to Sue Trowbridge, ec...@smoe.org
On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 1:25 PM, Sue Trowbridge <tr...@interbridge.com>
wrote:

> I am also a huge fan of the band Spottiswoode & His Enemies. They are
> not typical ecto fare (male vocalist), but they are unique and
> wonderful and worth checking out if you're into, say, Tom Waits, Nick
> Cave or dark & twisted cabaret music:
> http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=spottiswoode&submit=search
> "Salvation" is the latest disc.


Jonathan Spottiswoode's "partner in crime" (girlfriend, I think) is Bronwen
Exter, who sings a bunch of his songs and some of her own, and who has
something of an ecto flavor. See

http://www.myspace.com/bronwenexter
http://www.spottiswoode.com/accomplices/bronwen-exter

Amy-Collected Sounds

unread,
Apr 24, 2008, 6:42:04 PM4/24/08
to Jeffrey Burka, ec...@smoe.org
Hee hee!! That's what I thought too. That's why I said that I thought you
all would be in for a big (good) surprise.

She's been taking singing lessons. I'd say she's gotten her money's worth
huh?

~Amy

-----Original Message-----
From: owner...@smoe.org [mailto:owner...@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey
Burka
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:34 PM
To: ec...@smoe.org
Subject: A Broke Machine

I'm on my first listen to Terami's new disc, and while I'm sure I'll
have more to say about it later, I just need to say, good grief, what
the heck happened to her voice? It's become utterly incredible, where
before it was merely captivating!

Her vocals on this album are richer, more assured, jazzier, more
sultry, and, I dunno, maybe "grown up" is the right term.

Anyway, Terami fans should be lurching to get their hands on this one,
and I'm guessing she'll get a lot of new fans with it too.

jeff
n.p. _A Broke Machine_, Terami Hirsch

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
May 5, 2008, 10:27:04 AM5/5/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 3:48 PM, Paul Blair <cir...@phobot.net> wrote:
> Yesterday I had the good fortune to get an advance preview of Kevin
> Bartlett's new album, _Glow in the Dark_

Color me completely jealous. Completely.

You said the album drops on the 13th. Do you know if it's available
for pre-order anywhere yet? (Kevin? You out there and reading this?)

jeff
n.p. _Find Me_ (still brilliant, still my fave album of '07. Phbbttt.)

Carolyn Andre

unread,
May 5, 2008, 12:15:58 PM5/5/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 09:23 AM 5/5/2008, Jeffrey Burka wrote:
>On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 3:48 PM, Paul Blair <cir...@phobot.net> wrote:
>> Yesterday I had the good fortune to get an advance preview of Kevin
>> Bartlett's new album, _Glow in the Dark_
>
>Color me completely jealous. Completely.
>
>You said the album drops on the 13th. Do you know if it's available
>for pre-order anywhere yet? (Kevin? You out there and reading this?)

Dang. I meant to post a few days ago when Kevin had a bulletin about it up from his MySpace account. And now the bulletin(s) are gone. Only the blog info about being able to order from CDBaby or the label, but nothing up on either site yet.

But! He has "God's Little Do Over" from the album up on his MySpace music player:
http://www.myspace.com/kevinbartlettmusic

Will that help the pain?


Regards,
Carolyn Andre
---
can...@house-of-music.com
Chicago, IL / USA
Support Independent Music! Use the Internet
http://house-of-music.com

jessica spurling

unread,
May 5, 2008, 1:33:40 PM5/5/08
to Jeffrey Burka, ec...@smoe.org
Jeffrey Burka wrote:
> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 3:48 PM, Paul Blair <cir...@phobot.net> wrote:
>
>> Yesterday I had the good fortune to get an advance preview of Kevin
>> Bartlett's new album, _Glow in the Dark_
>>
>
> Color me completely jealous. Completely.
>
me too. wow.

-jessica

Paul Blair

unread,
May 5, 2008, 7:04:52 PM5/5/08
to Ecto
On Mon, May 5, 2008 at 10:23 AM, Jeffrey Burka <jef...@burkas.net> wrote:
>
> You said the album drops on the 13th. Do you know if it's available
> for pre-order anywhere yet? (Kevin? You out there and reading this?)

He doesn't himself have any copies yet (otherwise I'd have one!); he
said he should be getting them this week. His MySpace blog says:

"The manufacturer predicts completion of the project on May 7th. Then
there's the big brown truck and we're off to the races.

"CD baby requires some copies for stock and the scanning of artwork,
etc, as do the other outlets. So if you just can't stand the wait (and
why couldn't you after all this time) they'll be available from the
label at $17.99 + 2.00 for the postage and packaging.

"Slightly higher overseas of course."

Aural Gratification is indeed the label for this release.

Paul

n.p. "God's Little Do Over" on Kevin's MySpace -- thanks for pointing
that out, Carolyn!

(now wondering--have I ever had an n.p. at the end of one of my ecto
messages before?)

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
May 6, 2008, 8:31:59 AM5/6/08
to ec...@smoe.org
paul sez:

> "CD baby requires some copies for stock and the scanning of artwork,
> etc, as do the other outlets. So if you just can't stand the wait (and
> why couldn't you after all this time) they'll be available from the
> label at $17.99 + 2.00 for the postage and packaging.

Perfect, thanks. Much as I like Derek and the CD Baby crew, I'd just
as soon send all my money to AG if possible...and Kevin doesn't mind
handling a little bit of fulfillment on his end!

jeff
n.p. _A Broke Machine_, Terami Hirsch (been listening to this daily
since I got it. Still a wow!)

jessica spurling

unread,
May 9, 2008, 1:50:50 AM5/9/08
to Paul Blair, Ecto
I'm woohooing about the bay area show.
Just bought 2 tix.
Wow. villa montalvo. hooray!
thanks for sending this:)
-j

Paul Blair wrote:
> The woohoo part is down at the bottom. (I'd be woohooing about the Bay
> Area show too, if I lived there.)

meredith

unread,
May 9, 2008, 11:23:30 AM5/9/08
to ecto
Hi,

Paul Blair wrote:
> The woohoo part is down at the bottom.

*does crazed Snoopy Dance of joy*

:)

> (I'd be woohooing about the Bay
> Area show too, if I lived there.)

As well you should. Noe *and* MBD?!? Holy CRAP batman. I don't know when the show is (am I insane,
or is the date nowhere in her email??), but that's the kind of thing I would consider doing a
cross-country trip for.


--
===============================================
Meredith Tarr
New Haven, CT USA
mailto:me...@smoe.org
http://www.smoe.org/meth
===============================================
hear at the HOMe House Concert Series
http://hom.smoe.org
===============================================

jessica spurling

unread,
May 9, 2008, 1:43:15 PM5/9/08
to me...@smoe.org, ecto
Well I sorta accidentally bought *4* tickets instead of 2... so if you
want to claim 'em. heehee.
May 23. And at Villa Montalvo. mmmmmmm such a beautiful place! What a
treat!!

-jessica

jessica spurling

unread,
May 13, 2008, 2:13:00 PM5/13/08
to Aly Fields, Bill Mazur, gor...@optonline.net, ec...@smoe.org
Aly Fields wrote:
> Oh gosh, Bill, you are absolutely right about Sandy Denny.
>
Yeah!

A big influence in my wee years. my parents listened to lots of stuff
like fairport convention.

I'll have to check out all these others folks you mention..
-jessica

Ellen Rawson

unread,
May 13, 2008, 4:34:05 PM5/13/08
to ec...@smoe.org
--- jessica spurling <jes...@viscous.org> wrote:


> A big influence in my wee years. my parents listened
> to lots of stuff
> like fairport convention.

I'm feeling so old, says she remembering their last US
tour with Sandy Denny in 1975... ;)

Fairport influenced me also, as did Steeleye and the
Albion Band.

But, the biggest influence on me then was...

Renaissance, my all-time favourite band, first in the
late '60s with Jane Relf singing lead, then in the
'70s with Annie Haslam.

Janis Ian. Joan Baez. Odetta. Anne Briggs. Frankie
Armstrong. Shirley Collins. Joni Mitchell. Judy
Collins. (She's playing Cambridge this summer -- wow!)

And others I'm forgetting.

Ellen

neal copperman

unread,
May 14, 2008, 7:18:37 PM5/14/08
to ecto
>I've already
>read a review that rolled its eyes at the album and said something along the
>lines of "You just don't cover Tom Waits songs!" - I feel such reviews are
>extremely unfair.

Kind of silly too. You don't cover Tom Waits like you don't cover Bob
Dylan. Two artists who write great songs and have voices that many
find unlistenable. He's also been heavily covered too.

I don't have the CD, but it is a collaboration with the guy from TV
on the Radio, who apparently has as much to do with the sound as Ms.
Johansson. And David Bowie sings back-up too. (Can you imagine
having David Bowie sing back-up on your debut album?)

neal

np: Harmony of Body, Mind and Soul - Pandit MuKesh Desai
nr: Flight - Sherman Alexie

Michael Curry

unread,
May 14, 2008, 8:09:03 PM5/14/08
to ecto
Wil Wheaton blogged about this yesterday, and his post includes a Warner
Music sanctioned widget on which you can listen to the entire album (I
haven't listened yet):

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/05/anywhere-she-la.html


Paul Jensen wrote:
> Wow. Has anyone checked out Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers
> yet? The official release isn't out yet, but it's leaked.

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
May 14, 2008, 8:24:39 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Funny you should mention this, as I was thinking about it earlier. I
was about to bring it up, but I was a bit afraid of the response. I
know Milla got a positive reception, and She & Him (I *think* they were
mentioned), but you never know.

I haven't heard the album in its entirety (because it isn't out yet),
but I did hear previews. And it isn't nearly as horrible as some people
are making it out to be.

And I do like Scarlett's voice.

-Sarah

Quoting Paul Jensen <lash...@gmail.com>:

> Wow. Has anyone checked out Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers
> yet? The official release isn't out yet, but it's leaked.
>

> I'm not familiar with Tom Waits' music (very selective out which
> male-singers I'm into) - so you won't hear me dissing Scarlett's attempt at
> a cover album based purely on admiring the source material.. I've already


> read a review that rolled its eyes at the album and said something along the
> lines of "You just don't cover Tom Waits songs!" - I feel such reviews are
> extremely unfair.
>

> At first listen, I didn't think I'd be into this album. Scarlett's voice is
> deeper than I would have imagined - at times she almost reminds me of Nico..
> very slow, thick, deep.. It's nice, very nice, just not what I had expected.
> Her vocals also seem low in the mix - as if her voice is floating amongst
> the music. A little distracting at first..
>
> But man, this album has grown on me big time. A great headphones-album, but
> it sounds great blasting out of the speakers in the car as well. The songs
> are moody, ethereal, melodic and catchy. Her voice is fantastic, and it
> sounding low in the mix adds to the mood and airy-ness of the songs. The
> entire album has a great feel to it, too. No songs sound out-of-place, which
> is interesting considering songs were taken from various albums from Waits'
> career. I think a lot of ecto-folk will love this album. It's most
> definitely going to end up high on my best of 2008 list.
>
> Paul

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
May 14, 2008, 8:24:41 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On May 14, 2008, at 7:48 PM, mora...@email.unc.edu wrote:

> And I do like Scarlett's voice.

it took me a little while, but it just dawned on me who she reminds me
of: a perky Tanita Tikaram.

jeff

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
May 14, 2008, 8:32:44 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On May 14, 2008, at 7:42 PM, Michael Curry wrote:

> Wil Wheaton blogged about this yesterday, and his post includes a
> Warner
> Music sanctioned widget on which you can listen to the entire album (I
> haven't listened yet):

Thanks for the link, Mike. I'm listening now...and at least so far,
have to agree with Paul's "wow" assessment. Not at all what I'd
expect her to sound like. And as for the "no one covers Tom Waits,"
I'd have to say that I'm in the camp who finds his song writing
fascinating and his voice unlistenable.

Besides, what about Patty Smyth covering "Downtown Train" on her first
solo album? Beats the hell out of the Rod Stewart cover. That was,
what, '87?

jeff

neal copperman

unread,
May 14, 2008, 9:25:14 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I'd have more opinions if I could get those damn widgits to run
reliably! Is anyone else having trouble with them? For me, they
don't load all the time and then stop playing and won't restart.

Very annoying...

neal

np: nothing - damn it!

.

Jeffrey Burka

unread,
May 14, 2008, 10:20:32 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Dunno what to tell you...I was able to listen to the whole album via
the widget using Camino on a mac.

Jeff

n.p. "Fall", Happy Rhodes

neal copperman

unread,
May 14, 2008, 10:42:32 PM5/14/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I was having a bunch of problems and rebooted and it has all been
working great. Hmmm, you'd think my new MacBook was a PC!

I'm on the fence about the album. I find it kind of interesting, and
it sort of grows on me. But I don't feel like Scarlett discovered
the inner core of these songs like Holly Cole did. Course, I've
listened to "Temptation" a hundred times and I'm only on my second
pass through AILMH.

neal

.

Leonora Christina Skov

unread,
May 15, 2008, 3:59:24 AM5/15/08
to ec...@smoe.org
Hi there,

I ll be reviewing Scarlett's Anywhere I Lay My Head in the Danish music
magazine www.gaffa.dk so I have been listening to it for quite some time. And
I am not too pleased especially not with Scarlett's faux-Nicoesque croon. I
have seen her delivery compared to 'a faintly goth Marilyn Monroe lost in a
sonic fog', 'Debbie Harry singing for This Mortal Coil', and 'Nico backed by
The Flaming Lips', but I'd rather call it Scarlet's diminutive voice drowned
in sound. I m sure it's artsy and all, but her adopted coon is simply not
within her register, as far as I can hear. Actually, her voice is so low in
the mix you can barely hear her at all and what she's actually singing is
still very much of a mystery to me. Such a shame when the lyrics are most
likely first rate I'm not that familiar with Tom Waits to be honest.
Finally, I'm not impressed with Dave Sitek's wall to wall-shoegazey production
which does indeed recall This Mortal Coil and The Flaming Lips, but in a very
repetitive way. The sonic fog goes on and on and you can't imagine why. Only
highlight for me is the poppy "I Don't Want to Grow Up" previously covered by
the Ramones.

I am sorry, but I would go for Martha Wainwright's splendid "I Know You're
Married But I've Got Feelings Too and Martina Topley-Birds innovative "Blue
God" anytime..

Cheers,
Leonora

"After a certain age you get the face you deserve" (Joan Collins)
Forfatter, mag.art. Leonora Christina Skov
www.leonorachristinaskov.blogspot.com

> Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 16:54:19 -0500> From: lash...@gmail.com> To:
ec...@smoe.org> Subject: Scarlett Johansson's "Anywhere I Lay My Head"> > Wow.


Has anyone checked out Scarlett Johansson's album of Tom Waits covers> yet?
The official release isn't out yet, but it's leaked.> > I'm not familiar with
Tom Waits' music (very selective out which> male-singers I'm into) - so you
won't hear me dissing Scarlett's attempt at> a cover album based purely on
admiring the source material.. I've already> read a review that rolled its
eyes at the album and said something along the> lines of "You just don't cover
Tom Waits songs!" - I feel such reviews are> extremely unfair.> > At first
listen, I didn't think I'd be into this album. Scarlett's voice is> deeper
than I would have imagined - at times she almost reminds me of Nico..> very
slow, thick, deep.. It's nice, very nice, just not what I had expected.> Her
vocals also seem low in the mix - as if her voice is floating amongst> the
music. A little distracting at first..> > But man, this album has grown on me
big time. A great headphones-album, but> it sounds great blasting out of the
speakers in the car as well. The songs> are moody, ethereal, melodic and
catchy. Her voice is fantastic, and it> sounding low in the mix adds to the
mood and airy-ness of the songs. The> entire album has a great feel to it,
too. No songs sound out-of-place, which> is interesting considering songs were
taken from various albums from Waits'> career. I think a lot of ecto-folk will
love this album. It's most> definitely going to end up high on my best of 2008
list.> > Paul> > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> "This is the time.> And this
is the record of the time."> -Laurie Anderson> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_________________________________________________________________
Hvorner har du sidst vfret til koncert? Se Live koncerter pe
www.msninconcert.msn.com
www.msninconcert.msn.com

mora...@email.unc.edu

unread,
May 15, 2008, 11:58:01 AM5/15/08
to ec...@smoe.org
> The Blue God! I've been meaning to buy that since it came out this
> week. How is the entire album? I've only heard the tracks that are on
> her MySpace.
>
> -Sarah

Carolyn Andre

unread,
May 15, 2008, 1:35:48 PM5/15/08
to ec...@smoe.org
At 02:47 AM 5/15/2008, Leonora Christina Skov wrote:
>... , but I'd rather call it Scarlet's diminutive voice drowned
>in sound. Im sure it's artsy and all, but her adopted coon is simply not

>within her register, as far as I can hear. Actually, her voice is so low in
>the mix you can barely hear her at all and what she's actually singing is
>still very much of a mystery to me.

Being more attracted to voices in the lower, earthy end of the ecto spectrum than the ethereal, and enjoying Tom Waits' lyrics if not his voice, I figured I'd give this a try. "voice ... so low in the mix" is an understatement! When I first listened yesterday, I thought it was a problem with my laptop (Mac)'s speakers. So today gave another listen on my desktop. Same thing, though I listened my way through the whole album this time. At least the production is uneven enough that *some* times her voice (and lyrics) actually become audible. And I agree that she seems to be singing below her natural register. Not that I'm such a Scarlett Johansson fan that I'd have seen/heard her singing anywhere else.

>Finally, I'm not impressed with Dave Sitek's wall to wall-shoegazey production
>which does indeed recall This Mortal Coil and The Flaming Lips, but in a very
>repetitive way. The sonic fog goes on and on and you can't imagine why.

The production seems rather uneven so (I strongly dislike "albums" where i have to keep playing with the volume to avoid blaring or whispering.) And I couldn't figure out whether it wanted to be an ambient/electronica (instrumental) album or a vocal one.

In the end I decided it was too much work to listen to this album for the voice/lyrics. Though I definitely did appreciate this effort by mainstream music to make the music available fully, without all the paranoid "protections".

Paul Jensen

unread,
May 16, 2008, 10:39:48 PM5/16/08
to ecto
Whoa!! Thanks for posting this!! Just got back from purchasing SIX of these
wonderful gift cards at $4.99 apiece. Insane! I almost feel bad for taking
so much of emusic's music for free (basically!).. In fact, there were even
MORE on the rack, but six of them seemed like more than enough. Of course
now I think I should go back tomorrow and scoop up the rest. :)

Paul Blair

unread,
May 18, 2008, 12:28:28 PM5/18/08
to ec...@smoe.org
On Thu, May 15, 2008 at 3:47 AM, Leonora Christina Skov <
christi...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I ll be reviewing Scarlett's Anywhere I Lay My Head in the Danish music
> magazine www.gaffa.dk so I have been listening to it for quite some time.
> And
> I am not too pleased especially not with Scarlett's faux-Nicoesque

> croon....

> Finally, I'm not impressed with Dave Sitek's wall to wall-shoegazey
> production

which does indeed recall This Mortal Coil and The Flaming Lips, but in a
> very
> repetitive way. The sonic fog goes on and on and you can't imagine why.


I'm with you on this one. The first time I heard it, I thought: "Maybe I
could like this, if only Liz Fraser was doing the vocals." The second time I
just didn't like it at all--I think your comment on the shoegazey production
pretty much hits it on the head.

CollectedSounds

unread,
May 21, 2008, 9:28:14 AM5/21/08
to ec...@smoe.org
I have finally heard it now too and what struck me the most is that they did
such weird things to her vocals. She actually has a really terrific voice,
but you wouldn't know it because of the effects and distortion on there.
A while back I reviewed a record of lullabies sung by movie stars and she
sang "Summertime" (not that is necessarily a lullaby, but it was on there)
and her track was my favorite. I loved her voice. This new album, while
really cool, I think...does not sound like what I remember Scarlett sounding
like. But if I can get over that, I think I'll like it. I'm just afraid
critics are going to think of her as another movie star that wanted a
recording contract, but can't sing so they alter her voice. When I don't
think that's the case.

Bowen Simmons

unread,
Jun 5, 2008, 2:44:33 PM6/5/08
to Ecto
Hard to pick individual songs.

For great sensitive / funny lyrics, I'd just go with more big heaping
scoopfuls of Kirsty MacColl, like say "From Croydon To Cuba: An
Anthology".

For still funny, but quite a bit darker and less sensitive, I'd go
with "The Beautiful South".

Oh, and if he likes Leonard Cohen, Jennifer Warnes' LC cover album,
"Famous Blue Raincoat" is a must, assuming you don't have it yet.

Dar Williams can sometimes by a little hippy/dippy, but I've come to
really like her lyrics as well.

For a more broadly comic turn, try Domestic Science Club; "Kayaking",
can still bring a big grin to my face after dozens of hearings.

Bowen

On Jun 5, 2008, at 10:09 AM, Jill Hughes wrote:

> Although I prefer listening to the music and instrumentation of a song
> rather than the lyrics, my new beau prefers lyrics. I want to make a
> mix CD
> of such songs for him but don't really know where to start, so I'm
> asking my
> fellow ecto-philes for assistance. He has fairly broad taste in
> music and
> among his favorite songs are Kirsty MacColl's "In These Shoes" and
> anything
> by Leonard Cohen. I guess he likes amusing lyrics, maybe some
> sensitive-type
> lyrics, and I don't know what else.
>
> I know this isn't particularly helpful, but can anyone tell me some
> of your
> favorite lyrical tunes?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jill :D

Paul Jensen

unread,
Jun 5, 2008, 6:41:25 PM6/5/08
to ecto
Sufjan Stevens writes some amazing songs.. "Come On Feel the Illinoise",
"Seven Swans" and "The Avalanche" all offer up some incredible lyrics.

Paul Blair

unread,
Jun 5, 2008, 10:58:15 PM6/5/08
to ec...@smoe.org
For lyrics, I'm particularly attached to Cowboy Junkies. Say

Bea's Song
Anniversary Song
Cause Cheap Is How I Feel
Ring on the Sill
Summer of Discontent

to name a few.

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