Subject: Re: A little announcement...
Subject: the redemption of Ivo/no, fuck *you* tiger/Mojave
Subject: Mojave 3
Subject: Saw some old albums
Subject: 4AD IRC channel
Subject: Re: Eric Oehler on "Cuts You Up" live
Subject: BIG mistake
Subject: New Pale Saints, if anyone cares...
Subject: Re: Take the "End of 4AD" challenge!
Subject: #4AD IRC Channel on undernet.org
Subject: Re: New Pale Saints, if anyone cares...
Subject: Re: A little announcement...
Subject: Re: The End of 4AD, or How to Be A Zillionaire...
Subject: Re: Saw some old albums
Subject: Re: Take the "End of 4AD" challenge!
Subject: Cocteau Twins Bonus Disc
Subject: new stuff (ear extraction)
Subject: The End of 4AD Challenge
Subject: projekt mailing list?
Subject: Free penis!
Subject: lush
Subject: Re: Saw some old albums
Subject: Lisa Gerrard In A Trance
Subject: The Muse interview with Lisa Germano (long)
Subject: Re: Lisa Gerrard In A Trance
Subject: Re: an mbv question (someone please take pity on me and answer)
Subject: Re: Then End Of 4AD
Subject: Projekt:the goth wannabees
Subject: End of 4AD or new frontiers
Subject: Re: Help!
Subject: Re: fsa
Subject: Re: Then End Of 4AD
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 00:34:02 -0700
Ivo, you suck. Change your name back, man. This is depressing as hell. If
you're not goin to use it, I am. I swear to God I will, and I will do a
much worse job at it, plus tell everyone you are my business partner.
Fuck, what next? Brant takes up Gardening? k-j starts listening to the
Cranes? Maybe the 4AD scene really *is* going downhill. :(
einexile, the future ivo lorelei
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 09:13:11 -0500
>1) Blame Scheer and the Amps on Robin Hurley, then drop them.
The Amps cannot, unfortunately, be dropped due to Kim's contract
>2) Swallow your pride, kiss Robin Guthrie's butt, and bring the Cocteau Twins
>back to their *real* home.
They're not coming back and I'm sure Ivo realises that. They left 4AD for a
reason, you know.
>3) Recall Kurt Ralske, Mark Kozelek, and Pieter Nooten.
Kurt Ralske has already cost the label too much. Mark Kozelek is probably
not too keen on 4AD right now. You know, it's funny - I remember hearing an
interview with Ivo a couple of years ago, around the time that RHP and
someone else (can't remember who) had just been signed and no matter what he
was asked, Ivo could not utter a sentence without mentioning RHP and how
excited he was about them (it got kind of grating after a while, actually).
He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with them then...
>4) Quit putting out so many damn samplers!
Or at least make them easier to find...
>5) Beg, borrow, and steal Disco Inferno, Tindersticks, the Sundays, that
>Kevin Shields band, Loveliescrushing, and the Innocence Mission.
I don't really think 4AD's future lies in poaching bands from other labels
or signing cast-offs from somebody's roster. DI have split, and I'm sure
Tindersticks, the Sundays, MBV and LLC are quite happy where they are.
Besides, MBV have only just gotten a new contract since leaving Creation. As
for the Innocence Mission - what kind of label needs a jesusfreak band anyway?
My recommendations:
1) Sign Spoonfed Hybrid/ESP
2) Dump Pale Saints and/or Lush. Well, they're not getting any more
interesting, are they?
3) Hand Belly over to Sire/Reprise where they really belong
3) Sign whatever Guy Chadwick is doing these days. After all, if Creation
really is going to sign Martin Fry (?!) as rumoured...
>- reunite Ecstasy of St. Theresa, sign them, and offer them actual (god
>forbid!) distribution for their amazing albums.
They haven't split...or have they?
>- revive Adorable and Swervedriver from their undeserved and untimely deaths
Maybe Ivo should hang around Alan McGee, waiting for him to drop bands. I'm
sure 4AD could have provided a good home for the Telescopes, and besides -
look at Slo-jave
>'Fuck You Tiger'
> What the hell kind of a title is that?
Oh boo hoo. It's only the product of Mark Robinson's imagination. I mean,
it's not as if it's important or anything. Besides, "Go Away Tiger" or
"Shove Off Tiger" doesn't have the same zing...
[Mojave]
>Kind of reminds me of a
>stripped down version of the last song on Just For a Day.
...which is pretty stripped down as it is...just how spare could it sound?
Larry
PS saw an old John "Cougar" "Mellencamp" video the other day...boy, Lisa
Germano really looked different then. Who'd have thought she'd transcend
such crud?
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 15:32:12 +0100
I'm sure that in a few years time Mojave 3's 'Ask Me Tomorrow' will be
considered one of the best mid-90's 4AD releases.
Imagine it is 1998, you're a newby on the 4AD-List, and you are curious
about what the list members thought about the Mojave 3 album. So you
download log 9510, to find out that in the very same week 'Ask Me Tomorrow'
was released, dozens of list members heralded the death of 4AD....
Frank
++++++++++++
[email protected]
++++++++++++
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 10:55:39 -0500
I was visiting the record shops and saw a few 4AD cds that I have never
heard about. First, I saw the Budd/Frazer/Guthrie/Raymonde album (CAD
611) selling for $25, and was wondering if it was worth it. I also saw an
In Camera album released by TeenBeat, but it also had 4AD on it as well.
What do they sound like, and what's the deal with TeenBeat Records?
--- Lucius Kwok ([email protected]) ---
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 12:35:16 -0500
I have heard some interest from a few people in an IRC channel to talk
about 4AD and related
music. I will open one on the undernet.org server from time to time and see
if anyone shows
up. I think that we can take this listserv and the 4AD newsgroup to an
interactive level so we
can actually understand and converse with who we're really talking to by
email all the time.
Especially in the midst of this 4AD's swansong discussion, i would be
interested to hear
opinions about it in an open forum. So if you know about IRC channels and
would be interested
drop by I would love to talk to some of you.
Steve
20th Century"
The Truth is out there.
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 17:50:46 +0100
For your information, I was at that particular show and was most likely
one of the screaming fans in the background! (just tell me, how could you
NOT scream during a show like that?!). Just kidding...no offense or
anything. But, if you're interested, the intro to Cuts You Up that he
was playing was actually a very abstract sort of version to The Doors
"Riders on the Storm" (or something. i kinda haver forgotten, actually!
It was recorded at the Universal Ampitheatre in LA for the Deep tour
August 7, 1990).
But, I, too, would LOVE to hear "All Night Long" live. That's an
incredible song. He's an incredible performer.
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 18:13:19 +0100
sorry, if anyone recieved my message concerning peter murphy on this
list! i accidently sent it to 4AD instead of cascade! (i PROMISE it
might happen again. . . .)
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 13:05:15 -0500
Pale Saints have a track on the new Tom Waits tribute CD, "Step Right Up". PS
do a take on "Jersey Girl", recorded last summer. Although the credits thank
Robin at 4AD, there is no mention of "Pale Saints courtesy of 4AD" (There is
no such note for Kenrdra Smith on "A Means To An End" either). Are they still
with 4AD?
"Step Right Up" also features Drugstore, Tindersticks, and 12 others; I think
it's out within the next two weeks in the US.
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 10:43:52 -0800
cz challenges:
>So here's my challenge: list all the albums you consider "good
>enough" by release date and divide them up in 2 or 3 year sections (be
>consistent). ... i'm willing to bet
>that this latest 3 years has a comparable number of "good enough" releases
>compared to the previous 3 year periods.
1990 was about the last good year for me (Pale Saints, Lush, et al.) 1991
has "Trompe Le Monde" and 1992 that Pale Saints album whose title I can
never remember (I don't listen to it all that often...) and after that
there's damn near nothing. Well, Unrest, but I don't really count them as
original 4AD content since their main label is Teen Beat.
--Jens the Grinch
--Jens Alfke
[email protected]
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 14:42:38 -0500
One gets to the Undernet with the following IRC command:
/server
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 12:46:26 -0600
>Pale Saints have a track on the new Tom Waits tribute CD, "Step Right Up". PS
>do a take on "Jersey Girl", recorded last summer. ...also features
Drugstore, >Tindersticks, and 12 others; I think
>it's out within the next two weeks in the US.
>
That sounds terrific! Thislisty people covering one of my favorite
non-listy artists... and they will all be necessarily quite different
because no-one would dare try to rival the timbral quality of his voice.
Remember Rod Stewart covering "downtown train"
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 10:59:09 -0800
e declaims in his righteous wrath:
>Ivo, you suck. Change your name back, man. This is depressing as hell.
I agree. Change it to "Peep-bo" if you must. What does the J stand for anyway?
--sneJ
--Jens Alfke
[email protected]
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 10:59:12 -0800
The Poster Formerly Known As Eee-vo states with a straight face:
>I keep reading in magazines
>everywhere how 'folk-rock' is the new big thing in mainstream pop music.
>Well, ok, but 4AD's been putting out that kind of music for a couple of
>years now. Artists like Tarnation, RHP, Heidi Berry and such are showing
>such banal rip-offs like Hootie and the Blowfish and Blues Traveler how
>it's really done. 4AD still IS the cutting edge of music.
What you've just said is that the folk-rock stuff 4AD is putting out is
"the big thing in the mainstream". Doesn't sound like cutting edge to me?
>Lush and Spirea X had
>that shoegaze-y sound down best...their critical praise with mediocre
>sales paved the way for bands like My Bloody Valentine and Medicine to
>enjoy the success they have had.
That reverberating thud was my jaw hitting the floor. Don't think I've
ever seen MBV -- who have been around since ~1985, and been refining the
same type of sound since ~1988 -- accused of imitating Lush, who were wet
behind the neonatal ears in '89 and had basically no knowlege of guitar
effects until Robin Guthrie took them under his wing in 1990 and bought
them a bunch of his favorite pedals. (Lush, Pale Saints, Ride, Moose,
etc. were all part of the same scene anyway, and I don't think it matters
much which of them were signed to 4AD; they all learned from each other.)
As for Medicine, I think it's MBV they took their greatest inspiration,
not Lush or Pale Saints, but Brad Laner has been in various
wild-guitar-noise bands since the early '80s (he was in Savage Republic
and Fourwaycross at various points, to name some better known acts.)
>I mean, seriously, would you REALLY like 4AD if it was just pumping out
>goth music (which was pronounced dead years ago) for 15 years straight?
>Or is it better that 4AD can still keep a step ahead of the rest of them
>and not have to resort to the Nirvana/Candlebox/Pearl Jam/Green
>Day/Presidents of the USA/Silverchair/etc type of crap that you hear
>everywhere all the time?
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 12:48:03 PST
[email protected] wrote:
>I was visiting the record shops and saw a few 4AD cds that I have never
>heard about. First, I saw the Budd/Frazer/Guthrie/Raymonde album (CAD
>611) selling for $25, and was wondering if it was worth it.
This album is a collaboration b/t CT and minimalist pianist Harold Budd
it is half instrumental, and half tracks w/ Liz. IMHO, a great album. If
you find you like the instrumental pieces, you should seek out other stuff
by Budd. "Lovely Thunder" as well as his works w/ Eno are quite good.
BTW, according to the last 4AD catalog I received, the vinyl for this
is out of print, so if you saw a vinyl copy I would definitely pick it up.
Martin
[email protected]
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 13:57:25 -0600
>cz challenges:
>>So here's my challenge: list all the albums you consider "good
>>enough" by release date and divide them up in 2 or 3 year sections (be
>>consistent). ... i'm willing to bet
>>that this latest 3 years has a comparable number of "good enough" releases
>>compared to the previous 3 year periods.
Jens plays grinch (even though it's the wrong holiday):
>1990 was about the last good year for me (Pale Saints, Lush, et al.) 1991
>has "Trompe Le Monde" and 1992 that Pale Saints album ...and after that
>there's damn near nothing.
What? Dead Can Dance's *Toward the Within* and *Into the Labyrinth*
are nothing? Heresy!
OK so in the last three years i really really liked the
aforementioned DCD albums plus there was that under-recognized work of
brilliance by Kristen Hersh (Hips and Makers). I also liked Lush's split
(they had to adjust their sound sometime) and Lisa Gerrard's album.
Plus people on this list have said really good things about Mojave
(3), HNIA's Mouth by Mouth (which i thought went in the wrong direction),
the Red House Painters albums (why else are people bemoaning their absence),
The Wolfgang Press, Lisa Germano, and Tarnation. If you want to count
Guernica then we also have Insides and Spoonfed Hybrid. Sure some of these
artists are no longer with 4AD but the company didn't go down after their
critically acclained cash cow (Cocteau Twins) left now did they? So who's
to say that Ivo won't replace those "lost" bands with even better ones?
I'm just saying it's too early to start practicing the funeral
march. I do however think that Ivo might be striving too much for quantity
over quality nowadays though. Could that be a direct result of Warner?
-cz
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 12:10:52 -0800
I have an extra copy of the CT bonus disc found in the box set that I
would like to trade for something. Not much is necessary. Here is the
track listing:
Dials
Crushed
The High Monkey-Monk
Oomingmak
Write me if interested. Brett
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 12:13:27 -0800
On Sun, 29 Oct 1995, EAR/Rational Music wrote:
> If you wish to pre-order a title, send email with the subject of PRE-ORDER
> to [email protected]. In the message, list the titles you wish to
> pre-order. DO NOT list regular catalog titles in your message.
> --- In stock week of Nov. 13, 1995 (Pre-orders due Monday Oct. 30, noon) ---
> Bjork-It's Oh So Quiet CDS#1&2 182TP7CD/I 82TP7CDL $9.25
> #1 features title plus "You've Been Flirting Again" (Sine Wave Mix),
> "Hyperballad"(Over The Edge Mix), & "Sweet Intuition" (Live at Royal
> Festival Hall)- #2 feat the title plus "Hyperballed" (Brodsky Quartet
> Mix), (Beaumont Hannant Mix), & "My Spine". 1 Lil' Indian-
> Moose-Live A Little, Love A Lot CD BIAS32OCD $21.75
> Their 3rd album, and packaged once again in their idiosyncratic collage
> style- Eleven beautiful and charming pop songs, and Liz Fraser provides
> backing vocals on "Play God". On P.I.A.S.
> Oval-94 Diskont DLP/CD 00663 $20.25 (might be out already; might be cheaper)
> *Re-promotion* Although I've had the CD before, this will be the first
> time for the 9 track double vinyl featuring exceptional remixes by Jim
> O'Rourke, Mouse On Mars, Scanner, and Christian Vogel. This is Oval's
> second album for Mille Plateaux- Unique deconstructive musical methods
> including CD sabotage and the improper use of MIDl-hardware, but in very
> precise, musical terms. Beautiful, sensitive, but somewhat confusingly
> centerless music without airy inherent structural hierarchies. On Mille
> Plateaux-
> Pop Book #1 Book $21.50
> Softcover with 112 pages and 130 b/w photos- This contains the
> highlights of rock photographer Steve Gullick's portfolio with photos
> of some of the world's most famous stars, such as Bjork, Blur, Henry
> Rollins, Hole, Metallica, Nirvana, Peari Jam, Supergrass, PJ Harvey,
> The Jesus Lizard, Sebadoh, Swervedriver, Smashing Pumpkins, Tricky, and
> Mercury Rev to name a few.
> St. Etienne-Too Young To Die LP/CD/DCD HVNLP1OL/HVNLP10CD/10CDX
> $14.25/$19.00/20.25
> UK only best of. The standard CD features 14 tracks like "Hug My Soul",
> "Like A Motorway", "Kiss & Make Up", "You're In a Badway", etc.
> The extra CD has 9 remixes--As there's some confusion among the UK
> exporters whether there exist two separate digital formats, or just
> one double CD, I'm preselling both so all bases are covered. On Heavenly.
> V23-1996 Calendar $31.50
> 4AD's in house design teem v23 have produced a "calendar" for the new
> year. Like their previous two (which have become much sought after
> collector's items) it's impractical as a calendar and might be better
> thought of as a collection of 14 unique photographs. Full color through
> out with occasional use of metallic inks- lt is wire bound at the top.
> Limited to only 4,000 for the world and is destined to appeal to both
> 4AD fans and those interested in contemporary design. Don't miss it!
> V/A-Electric Ladyland DLP/CD 00669 $20.25 (might be cheaper)
> The artists featured on this recording take samples and fragments from
> the archives of disco, jazz, & pop, and demonstrate the use of Hip Hop/
> Elertro Beats to deconstruct what we know as pop- 13 track CD, and 14
> track DLP with most tracks unreleased. Features: 1) Mouse On Mars's
> "Schlecktron", a dubby cut with Can like influence. 2) Alec Empire
> "Kick Some Soul Pt 1"; a deep mix of Hip Hop beats and Detroit sound--
> call it Electric Soul. 3) Zulutronic "Drop A Lot"-, known also as
> Ultrahigh, Jammin Unit (Air Liquide) and Kerosene, mixing elements of
> Electro, Acid, Punk, and Hip Hop in a completely new way, 4) Kerosene
> "Please Harder"-hard driving Elertra Funk with an overdose of schizo
> noises, and this is a slammer! 6) Gas "Maschine" is Mike Ink with his
> demonstration of Electric Soul in a homage to Miles Davis- Remember
> "Bitches Brew"! Plus many mare than can be mentioned here. On Mille
> Plateaux-
> Wobble, Jah-Heaven & Earth DLP/CD ILPSD8044/CID8044 $20.50/$22.50
> A sixty minute thematic opus heavily influenced by the mystical and folk
> rhythms indigenous to the Middle East. 7 tracks and Bill Lasweil is all
> over this as well- Island.
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 15:18:35 -0500
IMO, 1990 was one of 4AD shining years...
0001 v23 - Calendar 1990
0002 Pale Saints - The Comforts Of Madness
0003 Lush - Mad Love
0004 Ultra Vivid Scene - Staring At The Sun
0005 Ultra Vivid Scene - Joy 1967-1990
0006 The Breeders - Pod
0007 Dead Can Dance - Aion
0008 His Name Is Alive - Livonia
0009 Pixies - Velouria
0010 Pixies - Bossanova
0011 Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck
0012 Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas
0013 Lush - Sweetness And Light
0014 Pixies - Dig For Fire
0015 Pale Saints - Half-Life
0016 Ultra Vivid Scene - Special One
0017 Lush - Gala
Before 1990, it would have been 1985...
501 Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea
502 The Wolfgang Press - Water
503 Clan Of Xymox - Clan Of Xymox
504 Clan Of Xymox - A Day
505 Dif Juz - Extractions
506 The Wolfgang Press - Sweatbox
507 Colourbox - The Moon Is Blue
508 Colourbox - Colourbox
509 Colourbox - Colourbox
510 Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine
511 Cocteau Twins - Echoes In A Shallow Bay
510/511 Cocteau Twins - Tiny Dynamine / Echoes In A Shallow Bay
512 Dead Can Dance - Spleen And Ideal
513 Cocteau Twins - The Pink Opaque
514 The Wolfgang Press - The Legendary Wolfgang Press And Other Tall Stories
And since 1990, I would vote for 1992...
2001 Lush - For Love
2002 Lush - Spooky
2003 The Breeders - Safari
2004 Pale Saints - In Ribbons
2005 His Name Is Alive - The Dirt Eaters
2006 The Wolfgang Press - A Girl Like You
2007 Michael Brook - Cobalt Blue
2008 Pale Saints - Throwing Back The Apple
2009 Belly - Slow Dust
Lilliput 1 & 2 Various - Lilliput
2010 Swallow - Blow
2011 Michael Brook - Live at The Aquarium
2012 Throwing Muses - Firepile
2013 Throwing Muses - Red Heaven
GU1 Unrest - Imperial f. f. r. r.
GU1S Unrest - untitled
2014 Red House Painters - Down Colorful Hill
2015 Swallow - Blowback
2016 The Birthday Party - Hits
21512 Various - ...and dog bones, too
2017 Ultra Vivid Scene - Rev
GU2 Underground Lovers - Leaves Me Blind
GU2S Underground Lovers - untitled
2018 Belly - Gepetto
2019 Throwing Muses - The Curse
GU3 Bettie Serveert - Palomine
GU3S Bettie Serveert - untitled
2020 v23 - Anatomy Calendar 1993
Mike
[email protected]
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 13:16:09 -0800
Hey, whatever happened to that Projekt mailing list someone said
a month or two ago they were going to set up? That would've been fun.
Speaking of Projekt, is lovesliescrushing's (who should stay
*right* where they are, thank you very much) "Xuvetyn" going to be out
before the new year? Last I heard, it wasn't. The Projekt homepage isn't
much help on that, I'm afriad.
= "Wake up, see \ If there's no God, why + "Where unadmired beings =
= the sun...what's / are there atheists? + dread the due changes =
= done is done..." \ -variation on St. Anselm's + ahead..." =
= -Ride: "Today" / Ontological Proof + -Red House Painters =
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 15:20:06 CST
went to see a free king missile show last night. actually, they didn't play
detatchable penis, i just thought that sounded like a good subject line.
supposedly, these guys broke up after their last album (or that's what i
read), but they reunited.
before the km set, the guitarist performed some songs. his voice sounded
very much like chris trout's. weird.
anyway, they played a 2-hour set, and weren't even done playing when some
idiot pulled the fire alarm. everyone was evacuated from the building, and
we all waited around for like 20 minutes, when this guard came and said they
were locking up the building. the show was promptly over.
the highlight of the show was when they played "jesus was way cool." they
got this guy who was dressed up as jesus (for halloween, duh!) to come up on
stage and dance.
well, i just wanted to share the show's bizarre ending with y'all.
bye now,
eric
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 16:46:32 -0500
>2) Dump Pale Saints and/or Lush. Well, they're not getting any more
>interesting, are they?
Lush, actually, are one of the high spots of 4ad these days. When I saw them
for the Split tour (in Boston), it was one of the best live shows I've been to
(and one of the most damaging to the ears...) It sounded like they really
found themselves with that album, too... I'm excited about the upcoming
material, espcially after seeing someone's posting here (who works for 4ad)
that it's as good as Scar...
True, the Pale Saints lost their creative force (Ian Masters) a while back...
-Matt
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 23:11:30 +0100
>I was visiting the record shops and saw a few 4AD cds that I have never
>heard about.... I also saw an
>In Camera album released by TeenBeat, but it also had 4AD on it as well.
>What do they sound like, and what's the deal with TeenBeat Records?
TeenBeat released the In Camera CD (TeenBeat 106) because Mark Robinson
likes the disc so much (it's early eighties, so...). The artwork is slightly
different to the original UK CD, but the tracks are the same.
What do they sound like? Like most bands ca. 1980 who thought that the world
would perish soon.
There are 4 bonus cuts on the CD, recorded in 1991 (although the band split,
or should I say perished, early 1981), and one of them, 'On The Retina', is
brilliant.
Frank
++++++++++++
[email protected]
++++++++++++
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 23:40:15 +0200
>From the 'Addicted To Noise' pages on the WWW:
-----------------------------------
Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard In A Trance
ATN's Jennie Yabroff spoke to Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, whose solo
album, The Mirror Pool, was just released. Dead Can Dance is widely and
deeply loved for their hypnotic, mesmerizing music, which combines diverse
influences such as Celtic rhythms, Indian instruments, and Gregorian chants
to create truly trance-inspiring tracks. Gerrard's album is not so much a
departure from Dead Can Dance's style as a realization of some themes that
came up while making past albums.
Addicted To Noise: Tell me about the process you go through to create your
music. Do you do any rituals or put yourself in a trance?
Lisa Gerrard: Absolutely not! No, no, I don't do any sort of rituals at
all. I believe my music comes from human experience, not the denial of
experience. It's as much a part of my daily life as anything, as taking
care of my children. It's not at all removed from the rest of me.
counter, and go into your studio?
artist Miro, and I'm not comparing myself to Miro, but I read that he would
do a little sketch, and then go and do something else, work in the garden,
and then draw a little more. The creative process is not a delicate
process, it's something integral to everyday life.
research on world music?
to communicate something other than the spoken word, but it's just
experience. You have experienced as much music as I have, it's just picking
it up, using it to express what you want to say.
is very dark. When I perform, people come up to me, crying, and it makes me
extremely confused. I think they are making it overly complicated, picking
up the wrong messages, because I think there's a lot of joy in the music,
there's absolutely humor, and celebration. I mean, it is somber, but it
points to something positive, it looks to the stars.
very insecure, they've been robbed of a sense of community, a sense of
purpose, and I think a lot of people are in great pain. So they see that in
the music.
but made a real effort not to color them in, not to put more voices, to
keep it simple. Dead Can Dance is more complex, leaves less unsaid. This
album I just sort of pointed to things, and left it there.
album without his influence?
be more feminine than me. I feel like I am like a man as much as I am a
woman. I think this album really exists outside sexuality.
-----------------------------------
Choose Table of Contents, then Music News of the World
Emiel Efdee
============================
rotterdam, the netherlands
============================
[email protected]
============================
NO SENSE AT ALL
http://www.luna.nl/~efdee
============================
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 23:47:44 +0200
The Muse interview with Lisa Germano
Do you remember what your first record was?
Yeah, well, I''m pretty embarrassed about it... "Sugar,Sugar." I remember
buying that and dancing
to it. And then I liked that "Venus" one.
"I''m Your Venus?"
Yes. My friends and I made up a dance to that. So I can definitely remember
those. That was in
junior high or before, like ten years old.
What were you listening to by the time you got to high school?
Well, in high school I was still in the beauty-mushy stage. Which I loved.
I loved James Taylor
and Dan Fogelberg. I liked the Beatles. My brother would bring stuff like
Janis Joplin or
Steppenwolf home and we thought that was really cool but I would never go
play that by myself.
You play so many instruments, do you consider one to be your main instrument=
?
Well, the only one that I ever had lessons on was the violin. Everything
else I don''t consider
myself to be very good at, but I play them if I need to. Like if I need a
sparkly sound, I''ll get a
zither or a mandolin, but if somebody wanted to jam, you know, I''d be
bored out of my mind
because I can''t think of anything to play! It''s just got to be if it fits
the song.
How did you get the gig with John Mellencamp?
I was just very lucky. I was playing violin at a country bar and I knew
John''s drummer, Kenny.
John wanted to put some violin on a song, and I was the only violin player
that Kenny knew, so
they called me to come and do it. John really liked what I did I guess, so
the next week he asked
me to go on tour with him. It was pretty amazing.
It''s like a fantasy.
It was. It was really difficult because of that. Like someone handing you
your dream that you had
already given up. It''s just like, ""I''m not ready for that.""
It must have taken some courage to do it.
It did. It took courage and therapy (laughs).
When you created the ""Happiness"" album for Capitol records, did you feel
confident
about going into the studio and asserting yourself?
On the "Happiness" album, yeah, I felt fine. I was really excited to try to
make an album with
other people. Because the first record, the "Moonpalace" album, I had just
done on my own. So it
was exciting to go to a studio with other people. But it was kind of
frustrating at first too, 'because
I wasn''t used to having other people working on my songs. If I didn''t
like something, I had to
learn to tell people, and to try to bring something out from them that I
felt fit the songs. Because
for me, if you put some slick stuff on my music it doesn''t work. It''s all
gotta be pretty simple. It
could be layers of simple things that makes it sound bigger, but pretty
much anything on that
record could be something that I might come up with. And so, I just feel
like it has to be like that
or it gets too far from the connection of the person with the audience.
Your music is so immediate, I think that to add too much to it would
detract from the
potency of it.
Yeah, me too. Exactly. That''s the whole thing. Too much stuff in between
you and them is... I
don''t know what to do with it.
It''s very unique how you have two versions of the ""Happiness"" album, and =
they
sound pretty different. Is that a result of the mood that you were in while
you were
working on each of them?
No, I had lots of problems on the first record with fighting with the
record company. This whole
idea that we were talking about with too many people between you and the
audience... it was so
difficult, and we had lots of problems. But when I got on 4AD and I owned
my masters, it was
really cool to be able to make it more the way that I wanted it, so that''s
all. Some people think we
remixed the whole record. We only changed like four things really. But
it''s the sequence and
those little things in between the songs that makes it really different.
You did the "Geek The Girl" album basically by yourself at home, but I
wonder if you
feel happier or more comfortable when you''re working by yourself rather
than in the
studio with a producer and other musicians to work with.
I like both, but after all that shit... you know, sorry, but after this
problem of people not letting me
do what I want, and fighting so hard to try to get it to be what I want, I
decided to just record stuff
at home. I wasn''t even thinking of making a record. That''s just what I
do. In between the label
changes, I was just staying home because 4AD didn''t want to promo
Capitol''s record, and we
wanted to wait until they were gone. So I just recorded stuff and I really
enjoyed the fun of not
having someone telling me that I can''t put mandolin on that song or
anything. I was excited that
4AD wanted to put it out. I enjoyed doing it by myself, but I also think
it''s exciting to see what
other people come up with.
Did you play all the instruments on the new album?
I played everything originally, and then when we decided to press it, I
wanted to remix four songs.
We put my friend Kenny on drums, and Malcolm who produced the first album
mixed those four
also. Malcolm had
recorded a few things that I wrote songs on top of: "Sexy Little Girl
Princess" and "Just Geek."
Everything else is just me.
I was curious about where you found what I call the ""Geek Music"" that
punctuates the
album.
It''s a Sicilian folk tune. I just love it, it''s so quirky. It''s so
silly, I think of these little Italian
gangsters going (putting on a diminutive Edward G. Robinson voice),
""We''re gonna go get 'em,
see? Let's go!"" I''ve had it on my answering machine off and on for years
and I always come
back to that little piece. I thought that it fit this really well be'cause
some of it is so serious and I
thought we really needed some comic relief in there.
Much more seriously, I was wondering where you got the 911 call that you=
used in
"Psychopath."
Well, it was something my friend had. He runs a public access TV station
and he had just seen it
on a documentary. It was a documentary on violence. I was writing that
song, and it was so scary
to me. The reason I wanted to put [the 911 call] on it was because a lot of
people, when you''re
being stalked or you''re being harrassed by a man, they don''t take it
seriously. You know, they
say, ""Oh, you''re just being paranoid"." It''s like they don''t know what
it feels like to try to go
to sleep every night with that fear, and the 911 call is the exact fear
that you have when you''re
going to sleep. You''re not scared that he''s just going to hang around
your house; you''re afraid
that he''s going to get in your house and you''re going to get raped, like
she got raped at the end
of that call. In this 911 documentary, it stops and they go to the narrator
and he says, ""Karen did
get raped that night, the police didn''t get there quite in time"." Her
voice is so hysterical, and I
want people to know: that''s what the fear is.
It''s really chilling.
Yeah. It''s from a rape center originally, but we got permission to use it.
When you were recording the album, I guess you were doing it alone a lot of
the time.
Did you ever kinda spook yourself?
Oh, on that song in particular. The night I mixed that, I couldn''t sleep
at home. I did a mix of it,
and it was so scary to me. It upset me a lot. I almost didn''t put that on
the record. But I think it
says something that I wanted to say, so...
There''s an instrumental track on the album after "Psychopath" that''s very
eerie and
spooky.
"Phantom Love." I actually recorded that four years ago on a four track,
and I always wanted to
use it for something because I thought it was just kinda funky with the
organ in there.
I imagined you playing that music all alone and just thinking, "Ooh, this
is spooky".
Boo! Yeah.
Sometimes your music has such a cool quality to it, like a Tom Waits sort
of character.
That''s cool. I would like to do things more like he does someday. He gets
it really deep. Not just
his voice, but the emotion that''s coming through it is so dark. Like that
"Bone Machine." There is
one song on there that is so depressing... I mean it''s almost too
depressing. I think even with my
depressing songs, I think that people can get that I''m trying to see the
light of the day. Whereas...
I don't remember the name... something about "we''re all just dirt in the
grave" or "dust in the
ground"... it''s like, ""Oh, great, why don''t I fucking go die right
now!"" But, I put that song on
and it makes me cry, so it has a value, you know?
Do you think it takes more courage to be a woman in rock music and to put
yourself out
there?
I don''t know if it takes more courage, but it takes a lot of patience to
deal with a lot of shit. And it
takes a lot of trying to be aware of when you feel that people are judging
you from that point. I
didn''t used to think that until recently, but I did a video for "Puppet,"
a song on my last record,
and it''s a real eerie video, but it doesn''t even remotely touch what Nine
Inch Nails'' videos are
like. MTV was like, ""Oh, no, that''s too disturbing for 120 Minutes.""
They don''t like women
to be frightening, you know? And some people have said that about this
record. They''ll like it but
they''ll say, ""Oh, I don''t think we want to do a feature on that, it''s a
little too upsetting."" I''m
like, ""Give me a break, this has to be because I'm a woman."" Because
it''s nothing. It doesn''t
touch so many really scary, emotional, aggressive male bands. It doesn''t
even touch it. It''s like
milktoast compared to that.
Milktoast? I wouldn''t say that.
Well, it is to me! But I think sometimes as a woman, and connecting, it''s
a really intimate
connection. It makes some people uncomfortable.
Are some of the songs on the album more special to you than others?
It depends what mood I''m in. Actually, "Geek the Girl" speaks to me. And I
really like "Of Love
and Colors."
I''m the same way with your music. Your songs a're so catchy, I''ll be
singing one to
myself or I''ll wake up with one in my head.
Oh, that''s great! Do you have one that speaks to you in particular?
I think the first song, "Secret Reason." I like the way you express the
idea, that beyond
all the psychoanalysis and rationalizing, when something is evil, it''s evil=
.
Yeah, that''s what I felt. The Gulf War was going on when I wrote that song
and it made me think
that at the end of the day you know that what we''re reading is all
controlled anyway, so you don''t
really know what''s going on. All you know is something bad is going on.
Some of the songs on your albums almost sound like the songs a kid will
make up to
sing to themselves.
Yeah, I try to catch moments of when that childlike thing is coming out.
Even if it''s a lyric.
"Cancer of Everything" I came up with when I was raking leaves. That line
was going through my
head when I was outside, so I went and recorded it.
So your songwriting process is just spontaneous?
Yeah, well that''s how it starts. But you have to have discipline then to
finish. You know, you might
have a song that''s almost done, but if you just let it sit there and wait
for inspiration, it''ll probably
just sit there be'cause your inspiring moment is already over on that song.
In reading a lot of the other interviews that you''ve done, I was really
impressed by your
openness and honesty about talking about a lot of things. Is that a quality
that you come
by naturally?
Yeah, I think a little too naturally. My sister is always saying, ""You
don''t have to tell people
everything, Lisa!"" But it just seems to come out. I figure what''s the
point of being alive if you
can''t share your feelings with people, you know? You''re trying to connect
with people, right? So
you might as well let them know you. I did a panel on songwriting the other
day and somebody
asked me, ""Why do you always explain your songs before you sing ''em.""
And I thought,
"Maybe that''s not a good thing. Maybe I should just play them." You know
what I mean?
I think you should just be yourself!
(laughing) Just be yourself. Well that''s the whole point of "Geek the
Girl." My self is just still
pretty fucked up, so it''s real hard to. I know that you should really have
confidence in yourself,
and that you have all these problems when you don''t. But, it''s still
pretty hard.
=A9 1995 Muse Magazine
All rights reserved. Redistribution for profit prohibited. Copies must
include this notice
MUSE (the journal of women in music)
Emiel Efdee
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D
rotterdam, the netherlands
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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[email protected]
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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NO SENSE AT ALL
http://www.luna.nl/~efdee
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Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 17:23:05 -0600
>From the 'Addicted To Noise' pages on the WWW:
WOW! That's more reasonable and "down to earth" as i've ever heard Lisa
sounding. That interview makes me respect her a lot more than i had before.
She always seemed so flighty, immaterial, trancendental, etc. This is the
first interview i've read about her that shows her having a backbone.
Thanks for posting it.
-cz
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 16:41:56 -0800
> please answer both questions, okay? thank you. here's #2: So what
> broke the three legged cat's 4th leg? That one web page says "the mirror
> tumbled on me i cried" but i'm not sure if mirror sounds right. I want
I've always heard 'then you tumbled...' in that. Hmm... Not sure if
that explains what happened to the leg or not...
Mike
[email protected]
"He who clearly apprehends the scheme of existence does not rejoice over
life, nor repine at death; for he knows that external limits are not final."
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 16:58:58 -0800
> That's my opinion... what's yours?
I've got no problem with 4ad right now. In fact, I'm glad for the
diversity appearing on the label... finally shedding off the super-goth
image they had through the 80s. I honestly love Throwing Muses, His
Name is Alive, Dead Can Dance... Liquorice is probably the best album of
the year (out of what I heard) in my opinion. Mojave is fantastic.
Diversity - Tarnation is the first country album I've bought. If
anything, 4ad's getting better, I think. Kinda upsetting that RHPs won't be
releasing anything else through them...
Death of 4ad? Maybe death of old-style (heh - 'old school' - now I'm
hip...) 4ad.
Mike
[email protected]
"He who clearly apprehends the scheme of existence does not rejoice over
life, nor repine at death; for he knows that external limits are not final."
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 18:39:08 -0800
Jens recently wrote:
> lovesliescrushing should
>dump that goth-wannabe label they're on and sign to 4AD.
>
>--Jens out.
Cool, Jens again brings up the 'goth-card' ala Johny Cochran's 'race-card'.
Again, shall we bring this peaceful list into yet another semi-anual
Projekt bashing festival? I remember the last silly bashing regarding the
little blurb/description stickers on Projekt discs sold in stores (and us
usual, Jens was on the bashing side). But whatever prejudices some may
have, Projekt, is NOT a goth label. If you think that Lovesliescrushing,
Love Spirals Downwards, Eden, Soul Whirling Somewhere, O Yuki Conjugate,
Thanatos, and Steve Roach (who all have releases on Projekt) are goth
artist/bands, check on one of those Cleopatra records' 'Goth' comps to see
what that kind of music is.
Oh yeah, lovesliescrushing can just walk right into 4AD and get signed!
Take Care,
Ryan
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 18:07:16 -0800
I was the person responsible for starting the talk about 4AD. I found the
comments very interesting and even found out about bands not on 4AD. Right
now I am listening to a lot of ambient, trip-hop and trance music,
especially from the labels of Astralwerks and Silent Records. And here lies
my point. I think it would be very interesting to see 4AD take a jab at
this time of music...full hog. Some will probably cry out that they already
have via HNIA, This Mortal Coil etc. Oh, by the way, I first got into 4AD
by listening to This Mortal Coil, which no one mentions anymore. I really
think that trance, ambient and world beat would offer great new dimensions
to the catalog of 4 AD.
The thought for today.
Fred/Derf
(c/o [email protected])
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 10:23:30 +0800
Hi! I just got on this list and would like some background
information on Kim Deal's latest involvement, I think its called
Tammy & the Amps. I know its probably old news to you guys, but news
about 4AD acts are hard to come by in my part of the world. You could
email me on this one. Thanks a zillion.
GrEg