From: owner-bomp-digest@ (bomp-digest) To: bomp-digest@Bolis.com Subject: bomp-digest V1 #21 Reply-To: bomp Sender: owner-bomp-digest@ Errors-To: owner-bomp-digest@ Precedence: bulk bomp-digest Tuesday, January 28 1997 Volume 01 : Number 021 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Jan 97 12:16:48 UT From: "Bill Holmes" Subject: RE: brushes with greatness Your Patti Smith comment reminded me of an encounter I had at the Bottom Line in NYC. I drove down to see John Hiatt (I think Greg Trooper opened, but it could have been Butch Vig's old band - no matter, both those shows were great) and sat at a table with a couple of NYC friends. We held two seats for latecomer "friends" of one of them, which the Bottom Line staff weren't too keen on, but when Patti Smith and Fred (the Sonic one) Smith showed up, I guess they didn't mind. This NYC acquaintance who knew them simply introduced all of us and turned back to the show as if she had just seated her Aunt Clara and Uncle Bert, while I sat there trying to pry my jaw off my kneecap! Between sets and after the show we had some nice, unpretentious, unassuming conversation, and after the show a rather fond farewell, with all names remembered. Thank God they did, cuz I couldn't remember mine at the time. It was really nice and reassuring to see that they were as unpretentious as I had imagined and there were no start spotlights involved, even though that would have been easy enough to do in that club in their town. Bill - ---------- From: Bomp-Sender@bolis.com on behalf of James R Parrett Sent: Monday, January 27, 1997 8:41 PM To: Bomp@bolis.com Subject: Re: brushes with greatness It's funny about greatness - you don't always know who's going to be cool. When I was a rock hack, the absolute best people were Gene Simmons (who remembered my name a year after I first met him) & Paul Stanley, Geddy Lee, Kevin Cronin of REO, and Bun E. Carlos (who shared a monstrous joint with us scribes backstage in Dallas much to the chagrin of Rick Neilson, who was not such a great guy). Bun E., by the way, was quite a garage rock fan at the time, and used to turn Neilson on to some classic rarities, which Neilson would in turn retool into Cheap Trick riffs. Then there was my run-in with Patti Smith, who rushed by us after declining an interview request with my fanzine, pausing only long enough to snatch the gifts our arms had extended. (More details of this encounter in Denim Delinquent #6). Lenny Kaye wrote a postcard later expressing his appreciation for the gifts and apologizing for not stopping to chat. Now that's a great guy! win "A Session with the Remains" CD at http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/denimdelinquent/denim.htm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:32:43 +0100 From: "Didier Georgieff" Subject: Re: brushes with greatness On 27 Jan 97 at 20:41, Phil Lerman wrote: > This is a reply to a few different things. Over the years, I've run into > [snip].... Carl Reiner,... [snip]. probably others I can't think of right now, > but not anything relevent to this list. Obviously one belongs to this list ! On 27 Jan 97 at 22:04, Bill Holmes wrote: > Sounds like SPINAL TAP to me! Amazing! > > Our radio station has an old promo lp with an interview with these > guys from around '70 or so. It's hilarious to hear them talking > (seriously!) ....... [snip] Didier. - -- Didier GEORGIEFF -/- mailto:dgieff@mail.sdv.fr -/- Strasbourg, France ======================================================================= "DIVINE RITES" : Radio Birdman, New Christs, Rob Younger, Deniz Tek & more... URL : http://www.sdv.fr/pages/dgieff/rob.htm MAILING LIST : e-mail with SUBSCRIBE DIVINE RITES in *subject* message ======================================================================= ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 09:49:46 -0500 From: "Andrea Lauritzen" Subject: Brushes with greatness Phil and I met Crispin Glover when "Rubin and Ed" premiered at the Boston Film Fest (about five years ago). He was shy and goofy but nice. I met the guitarist and bass player for Echo and the bunnymen while in high school. Ian McCollough breezed by quickly, but I have a photo of myself with the other two. At the same time I met the drummer for the church. I think his name is Marty or Martin. He was a great guy. I met the REd Hot Chili Peppers (cough, cough) on a couple of occassions (before they were megastars). The drummer is the nicest one; Flea is not very friendly, but Anthony is suprisingly nice and didn't seem to have an ego (fame may have changed that). I also often came in fairly close contact with Alex Chilton in New Orleans; he mixed the Royal Pendletons' first single and has given them mucho support. He's very quiet but nice. Thanks Andrea ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 97 10:14:15 -0500 From: Evan Davies Subject: Re: brushes with greatness >I got to play pinball with the Tubes in '75. It was in a sub shop in off >Harvard Square in Cambridge. Might that have been Elsie's? >I think it was the Hai-Karate. And the rest of the day you were kicking yourself for not wearing English Leather! Evan - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evan Davies "Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology" - I. Pop evan@funk.mtvn.com http://www.interport.net/~efd MTV Networks may deny all knowledge of the existence of this message. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 10:15:42 -0500 From: mlawren1@explorer.csc.com Subject: Re: Brushes with greatness In Studio City in 1981, I was crossing at a light on Laurel Canyon BLVD. A white Mercedes was about to jump the light and clip me in the process, I turned and prepared to offer the typical one digit salute when I saw that the driver was Ray Manzarek. So I offered all 5 in a happy little wave and crossed over for an hour of browsing in Dutton's books. - - Frank ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 10:14:15 -0500 From: Don Smith Subject: garage in the mainstream >Is there ever going to be some kind of breakthrough that will >have the young masses digging the Lyres and the Headcoats There was a time and it was called the mid-80s. bands like REM (Who, lest I remind any of you, covered the Clique's "I am Superman.") got shuttled into top 40 radio. Bands like the Fleshtones attracted huge crowds in large venues in Washington, DC. The Cramps played 2000-seat theaters, almost arenas... The Slickee Boys were all over MTV. The Lyres released top 10 (college charts) lps. The Bangles (nee Bangs) became superstars. The Cynics were so huge they played Washington, DC almost every month, selling out almost every show, their video appeared on MTV at least once... Mainstream acceptance meant the death of the mid-80s jangly, byrds-y, dress-up garage style. By today's standards do the Paisley Underground sound garagey? No. And by 1990 eyes were focussing on San Fran's South Bay (?) for the source of the next big garage thing. Greg's got exactly the right idea about the garage thing. I programmed a radio station in those days and around 1989 or so started hearing the garage influence in a lot of stuff, probably starting with Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick" as the first big grunge hit, which combined a garage riff feeling with more of a punk beat & Dinosaur JR guitars... Grunge was *all* garage based, and likely to be the closest thing we'll see in the next few years unless the new Jungle/ Drum & Bass dance music which is taking the kids by storm leans on trad rock sampling... >there's a song on the new Beck album (yeah, to me he's mainstream) >that uses the riff from "I Can Only Give You Everything". Yeah, it's from the version by Them. There are at least 3 other Them samples on that record, plus several drum or guitar riffs so familiar that they were likely re-recorded by the Dust Brothers instead of sampled... however much of the lp is more slack-country-circa-1973 based. Beck, who is a 1997 Grammy Nominee, is certainly mainstream, even if he's not Whitney Houston. Don ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 10:53:04 -0500 From: mary robinson crews Subject: Re: raunch-o-rama got the word that the covered dish's (gainesville, fla) raunch-o-rama schedule has yet to be determined. probably will be later in the year rather than in february this go-round. adios, +=-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-=+ mary robinson crews FREEZE 'EM and EAT 'EM mary@catalogue.com -Chilly Willee http://www.catalogue.com/ http://www.chapel-hill.nc.us/ +=-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-=+ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 11:11:46 -0500 From: mary robinson crews Subject: Re: Brushes with greatness while not exactly relevant to this list, i did encounter Dick Van Dyke in the Rhino rekkid store in LA whilst i worked there in 89/90. lots of famous folks came in there -- springsteen & little steven, bob newhart, sherman hemsley and of course lotsa rockers like dave alvin, steve wynn & sid griffin (both of whom used to work there). the dick van dyke thing was pretty cool, though. Dick came in and looked around for quite awhile and then asked if we had a bathroom -- made a joke about his bladder not being able to make it back to malibu. we didn't usually let customers use the employee bathrooms (questionable cleanliness and papered in risque album covers), but we made an exception for dick. he took care of business and then left. (unfortunately i can't remember what reckerds, if any, he bought.) then one of our employees (i think the accountant) went in the bathroom and came out w/ dick's glasses! his wife (who did _not_ look like Mary Tyler Moore) came back and got 'em the next day. he was a pretty regular guy for being so incredibly famous. he must not be able to walk around hardly anywhere without being recognized. +=-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-=+ mary robinson crews FREEZE 'EM and EAT 'EM mary@catalogue.com -Chilly Willee http://www.catalogue.com/ http://www.chapel-hill.nc.us/ +=-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-=+ ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 11:30:39 -0500 From: "Andrea Lauritzen" Subject: Headcoats shows in the NE Does anyone have info on Thee Headcoats playing in the Boston (MA) area? I hear there are three shows (Mama Kin, the Middle East and the Paradise) but no dates. Thanks Andrea ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 10:32:36 -0600 (CST) From: dothepop@ix.netcom.com (Lisa Lindstrom) Subject: Re: bomp-digest V1 #20 > >Does modern garage and psych music have the same kind of following that >so-called "alternative" rock (or "grunge," natch) had before it became >mainstream? Is there ever going to be some kind of breakthrough that will >have the young masses digging the Lyres and the Headcoats, or seeking out >the roots with the Standells and the Chocolate Watchband, or playing fuzz >guitar and Vox organs in order to emulate their new garage heroes? > I've wqondered this for years, and often thought there was going to be a big "garage" breakout, but it never happens. Anything touted as a "garage" thing usually tends top be a watered down version anyway. This >is the 'real' alternative music..." > Yes! >I was never into grunge, but I'm sure it had the same sort of small, >enthusiastic following that all of us bompsters are familiar with. I >wonder how the early grunge fans feel about the state of music now? Well, "grunge" was never a real thing. I used to use the word to describe garage bands and such ("they're real grungey"). It started as a joke by Mudhoney, who called themselves "grunge" (actually, it may have been when they were in Green River), and the media took it from there. For me, "grunge" was epitomized by loud, fuzzed-out and doistorted guitars reminiscent of Stooges, Blue Cheer, MC5, etc. and played by Seattle/Northwest bands like Green River, Wipers, Mudhoney, Nirvava, Blood Circus, Swallow, etc. What is considered "grunge" now (ie: Pearl Jam., Soundgarden) is a watered-down, pop-radio friendly version, and I don;t think it's "grungey" at all! > >>Is there ever going to be some kind of breakthrough that will >>have the young masses digging the Lyres and the Headcoats, or seeking out >>the roots with the Standells and the Chocolate Watchband, or playing fuzz >>guitar and Vox organs in order to emulate their new garage heroes? I don't know about this, but all I can say is that there weren't newsgroups like this ten years ago. Twenty years ago, there were only a few fans and fanzines. Things have definitely gotten better! There are very big punk bands like Gas >Huffer that use garage structures in their songs. Gas Huffer have been around a lot longer than people credit them before. Tom Price (gtr.) was in the legendary art/noise/grunge combo The U-Men back in the early '80s (they did a great version of The Wheels/Shadows of Knight song "Bad Little Woman"). Then Kings Of Rock, a cool garage combo that did Watchband, Milkshakes, Link Wray, and so forth live and on record. Gas Huffer have always been rooted in garage and rockabilly music, as well as punk. I think Epitaph markets them as more of a punk band now. I know from talking to Tom that he feels they don't fit in with the other acts there. >We know in fact that for 15 years of more a lot of mainstream bands have had >'60s obscurities in their record collections. Nirvana surely had a pile of >Pebbles albums in their collections.... but unlike, say the Mono Men, they >didn't try to cater to a tiny audience of cultists by doing a lot of cover >songs and wearing the exactly perfect 1966 clothes. I don't think the Mono Men ever wore exact 1966 clothes! They do a lot of covers, though! Still they're as influenced by The Wipers as by 1960s punk. I think Doenic Prior said it best recently in an interview with Misty Lane where he addresses Nirvana by saying that he liked them and that they had a lot of garage-band attitude in their sound. This from a major "60s purist!" >Subject: Close Encounters of the Bomp Kind > Well, Lisa and I were waiting to board a plane in Burbank last Thursday, and who should I think I see walking up but The Presidents of the USA! Lisa didn't think it was them, so as we boarded and walked through "business class" I stopped and said "Hey, you guys are the Presidents aren' you?" And they were and intoduced themselves to us. They were rather pleasant and polite. Alan W. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 12:54:48 -0500 (EST) From: Lelia Ellen Raley Subject: Re: Power Pop DIDs Isn't it amazing - I don't even KNOW but two of these 30 songs, and I thought I was pretty serious about music. Jeez. Popless and happy, Lola On Sat, 25 Jan 1997, David Bash wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Here's some power pop songs that would serve as DIDs, as arranged by > decade: > > The 1970s > > 1. No Matter What-Badfinger > 2. Go All The Way-The Raspberries > 3. Starry Eyes-The Records > 4. Come On, Come On-Cheap Trick > 5. Real Life Saver-Gary Charlson > 6. It's Your Heart Tonight-The Secrets > 7. Tomorrow Night-Shoes > 8. Let's Be Friends Again-The Toms > 9. Hearts In Her Eyes-The Searchers > 10. Money's No Good-Off Broadway > > The 1980s > > 1. Tracy's World-The Smithereens > 2. Get My Message-Shoes > 3. He's The Man-Uncle Green > 4. Whenever You're On My Mind-Marshall Crenshaw > 5. Turn To You-The GoGos > 6. I Won't Be There-The Shout > 7. Sooner Or Later-The Innocents > 8. 101 Damnations-Scarlet Party > 9. I Didn't Mean That-The Someloves > 10. Tell Me-The Pranks > > The 1990s > > 1. Open Wide-Chris Von Sneidern > 2. And Nothing Is True-Ross > 3. What Can I Do-The Nines > 4. Twisterella-Ride > 5. Just In Time-Black and Blonde > 6. Love Sick Trip-Three Hour Tour > 7. Downward Rise-Rainyard > 8. That Kind Of Girl-Sparrows > 9. Something/Anything-The Beatifics > 10. No Romance Today-Elliot Kendall > > > I figure it's fair to have 30 songs, given that 10 albums would yield > much more. > -- > Pop Rules!!!!! > Take Care, > David > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:01:17 -0500 (EST) From: Lelia Ellen Raley Subject: Re: John Cale/musical "heroes" Chuck is a mean, mean man. My husband opened for him once and he sat backstage on a straight chair with his arms folded and a scowl, daring anyone to approach him. A photographer friend timidly asked if she could take his picture & he shrugged & said "It's a free country" & resumed ignoring her. George wasn't about to tell him how much he admired and had been influenced by him! He doesn't bother to tune his guitar either, and generally seems contemptuous of his own work and his fans. Pity. Lola On Sun, 26 Jan 1997, John Chilson wrote: > My brush with a musical hero came in the late 80s when my band (The > Trebels) opened for Chuck Berry here in San Diego. First off, we had a > healthy amount of Chuck Berry covers. ABSOLUTELY NO CHUCK BERRY songs was > what the promoter told us. Good enough. We obliged. Anyhow, there was a > line to have Chuck sign stuff (he was in a surly mood--he sat in his > car out in the parking lot between sets). There were a few people in > front of me that had their items signed. Chuck signed my snare head ( > with a smiley face even!) and I thanked him and walked away. Welp, I > guess he'd had enough cuz the guy after me was denied. Chuck: "No more > autographs". Guy: "That's cool. I understand, Mr. Berry". Chuck: You > BETTER F*CKIN' understand!" Good ol' Chuck Berry. jc > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:07:59 -0500 (EST) From: Lelia Ellen Raley Subject: Re: brush with fame Cub Koda (once of Brownsville Station) told us he called Howlin' Wolf at home in Chicago - he was in the phone book (no, as Chester Burnett, silly) and 19-year-old Cub called & chatted with him for a long time. The great one was very cordial after his wife called him to the phone with "It's some white boy. He says he's got all your records". Generally, I think most oldtimers in the biz are relatively free of conceit and appreciate their fans...Lola ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:27:13 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Poust Subject: Re: brush with fame You might also want to recall that black artists didn't have the same kind of Rock Star pretentions that the rock and rollers did (do). Music was their way of life, where most rock bands were in it for the fame, the chicks and the parties. When was the last time you heard of Howlin' Wolf throwing TV's out of hotel windows? Sure, they partied it up for sure, but never seemed to let their fame go to their heads. Possible exception to this is Jimmy Smith. I took one of his Blue Note LP's to one of his shows and heard him ask somebody else for $20 for an autograph. Disheartened, I forgot about asking myself. But I went to see him the next night, and when my girlfriend took our tickets to get signed, Jimmy's wife threw a fit, called Jimmy a pompous bastard and made him sign the tickets. She told my girlfriend "I don't know why he always acts like this!" Brian Poust At 01:07 PM 1/28/97 -0500, you wrote: >Cub Koda (once of Brownsville Station) told us he called Howlin' Wolf at >home in Chicago - he was in the phone book (no, as Chester Burnett, silly) >and 19-year-old Cub called & chatted with him for a long time. The great >one was very cordial after his wife called him to the phone with "It's >some white boy. He says he's got all your records". > >Generally, I think most oldtimers in the biz are relatively free of >conceit and appreciate their fans...Lola > > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:28:43 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Poust Subject: Re: John Cale/musical "heroes" Almost forgot about ol' Chuck! This is the man who was filmed urinating in some poor girl's face and yelling at her! Brian Poust At 01:01 PM 1/28/97 -0500, you wrote: >Chuck is a mean, mean man. My husband opened for him once and he sat >backstage on a straight chair with his arms folded and a scowl, daring >anyone to approach him. A photographer friend timidly asked if she could >take his picture & he shrugged & said "It's a free country" & resumed >ignoring her. George wasn't about to tell him how much he admired and had >been influenced by him! He doesn't bother to tune his guitar either, and >generally seems contemptuous of his own work and his fans. Pity. Lola > >On Sun, 26 Jan 1997, John Chilson wrote: > >> My brush with a musical hero came in the late 80s when my band (The >> Trebels) opened for Chuck Berry here in San Diego. First off, we had a >> healthy amount of Chuck Berry covers. ABSOLUTELY NO CHUCK BERRY songs was >> what the promoter told us. Good enough. We obliged. Anyhow, there was a >> line to have Chuck sign stuff (he was in a surly mood--he sat in his >> car out in the parking lot between sets). There were a few people in >> front of me that had their items signed. Chuck signed my snare head ( >> with a smiley face even!) and I thanked him and walked away. Welp, I >> guess he'd had enough cuz the guy after me was denied. Chuck: "No more >> autographs". Guy: "That's cool. I understand, Mr. Berry". Chuck: You >> BETTER F*CKIN' understand!" Good ol' Chuck Berry. jc >> > > ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 14:17:09 -0500 From: "Andrea Lauritzen" Subject: Mean ol' chuck Brian P wrote: >Almost forgot about ol' Chuck! This is the man who was filmed urinating in >some poor girl's face and yelling at her! I was going to mention this but thought better of it (the subject matter is too disgusting)! Andrea ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 14:41:51 -0500 From: mlawren1@explorer.csc.com Subject: Re: Films Harking back to film thread... Does anyone know where I might find a copy of The Karen Carpenter Story (the banned one, with the incredible shrinking Barbies. I can't recall the Director's name, but I think the film came out in 1988)? Please e-mail me privately if you have any information. Thanks. - - Frank mlawren1@csc.com ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 15:28:50 -0400 From: Laura Taylor Subject: RE: Mean ol' chuck I think it makes him all the more subversive and ROCK-N-ROLL, man... Hail, Hail... Lounge Laura "It's just my nature to do weird stuff..." Laura Taylor (813) 974-3733 ltaylor@wusf.usf.edu Andrea Lauritzen wrote: > >Brian P wrote: > > >>Almost forgot about ol' Chuck! This is the man who was filmed urinating in >>some poor girl's face and yelling at her! > >I was going to mention this but thought better of it (the subject matter is >too disgusting)! > >Andrea > > ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 15:35:43 -0400 From: Laura Taylor Subject: RE: Re: Films Actually, please reply to the whole list! Did not either Sonic Youth or Dave Marquis(who did the Redd Kross films and THE YEAR THAT PUNK BROKE w/ SY, Nirvana and others...) Thanks! Lounge Laura-trollin' for weird films! "It's just my nature to do weird stuff..." Laura Taylor (813) 974-3733 ltaylor@wusf.usf.edu mlawren1 wrote: >Harking back to film thread... > >Does anyone know where I might find a copy of The Karen Carpenter Story >(the banned one, with the incredible shrinking Barbies. I can't recall >the Director's name, but I think the film came out in 1988)? > >Please e-mail me privately if you have any information. Thanks. > > >- Frank mlawren1@csc.com ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 15:42:44 -0400 From: Laura Taylor Subject: Yo, Andrea, and other Bostonians Wassup with said Lyres show in Boston in two weeks? Anythang? Lounge Laura-frequent poster and former coffee achiever... "It's just my nature to do weird stuff..." Laura Taylor (813) 974-3733 ltaylor@wusf.usf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 16:09:00 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Poust Subject: Re: Films The film is called "Superstar" Brian Poust At 02:41 PM 1/28/97 -0500, you wrote: >Harking back to film thread... > >Does anyone know where I might find a copy of The Karen Carpenter Story >(the banned one, with the incredible shrinking Barbies. I can't recall >the Director's name, but I think the film came out in 1988)? > >Please e-mail me privately if you have any information. Thanks. > > >- Frank mlawren1@csc.com > ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 16:22:19 -0500 From: "Andrea Lauritzen" Subject: Lyres Lounge Laura asked: >Wassup with said Lyres show in Boston in two weeks? Anythang? The Boston Phoenix has it listed as 2/13; however, folks who are friends with Jeff Connelly have told me that the Lyres NEVER play on a weeknight, so it may be on 2/15. I may know after this weekend; I'll just pop by his work and ask! BTW, Mick from the Hatebombs will be visiting Boston at that time too! >former coffee achiever... Speaking of which... - -Andrea big-time coffee achiever ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 14:19:42 -0600 From: dtomlinson@coris.com Subject: Re[2]: The Wipers Alan W said: >I don't think the Mono Men ever wore exact 1966 clothes! They do a lot >of covers, though! Still they're as influenced by The Wipers as by >1960s punk. I think Doenic Prior said it best recently in an interview >with Misty Lane where he addresses Nirvana by saying that he liked >them and that they had a lot of garage-band attitude in their sound. >This from a major "60s purist!" Alright, I can't take it any more! You mentioned the Wipers twice in your message. I've got to admit that this has, since the mid to late 80's, been one of my favorite bands. BUT, I've only heard them on record or CD, have they EVER toured? I heard that Greg Sage moved to the southwest (first I heard the Austin area, then I heard Arizona). Any information about the Wipers or Greg Sage would be appreciated. My wife and I have been scanning the Chicago Reader every Thursday for over five years and we're secretly afraid that we might have missed 'em playing in some small club. Did they ever play clubs and will they ever tour again?! David ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 16:45:13 -0400 From: Laura Taylor Subject: RE: Re: Films "It's just my nature to do weird stuff..." Laura Taylor (813) 974-3733 ltaylor@wusf.usf.edu Brian Poust wrote: >The film is called "Superstar" Yeah, but details, pa-leeezzee(was I right about the Sonic Youth or Marquiz connection?) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 13:44:09 -0800 From: Roger Joseph Mah Subject: Re: brushes with greatness a couple of years ago my wife and i were in nyc for a visit and i was holed up in some tiny dark record store down in the village, flipping through stacks of dusty old vinyl. the door to the shop opens and in walks lou reed with two younger, male companions. at least it looked like lou reed, because this geezer was old, with lots of graying curly hair in a mullet/michael bolton style and a very wrinkled face. with his tight lips and bugged out eyes, he looked like a lizard. he was wearing prescription glasses and a three quarters length dark leather coat like on the cover of 'new york'. also black jeans and black boots. 'could that really be lou?', i asked myself. he looked so much different than i would have expected him to. as soon as he opened his mouth, asking the store owner if he had any elvis presley 45s, and i heard that deadpan monotone voice, all doubts were cast aside. immediately my pulse shot up from 70 to 170 and i broke out into a sweat. oh shit oh shit oh shit, mr. cool nyc, ostrich guitar, crazed feedback, sister ray, what goes on...lou reed right in front of me. mustering up my courage, i approached. 'hey lou', i blurted out, 'i just recently bought a copy of the velvet's third album with your closet mix'. 'what closet mix?!', his tone of voice was irritated, annoyed, 'i don't know what you're talking about'. i pressed on, 'you know. the third album, there were two mixes, your original and one by val valentin...'. my voice trailed off. surly silence from lou. suddenly i felt as if i were harrassing him. 'oh yeah, you're right'. the lizard broke out into a genuine smile. 'i'd forgotten all about that. well good for you. i'm happy to hear people still enjoy my music'. he signed a flyer i was holding, 'to roger, all the best....lou reed', and left as abruptly as he had entered. anyone else have any lou reed encounters? roger ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 17:05:51 -0500 From: mlawren1@explorer.csc.com Subject: Re: Films Laura Taylor: > > According to my only response thus far: Superstar and was directed by Todd Haynes. Hope that helps. Best, Frank > > > Brian Poust wrote: > >The film is called "Superstar" > > Yeah, but details, pa-leeezzee(was I right about the Sonic Youth or > Marquiz connection?) ------------------------------ Date: 28 Jan 97 17:23:30 -0400 From: Laura Taylor Subject: RE: Re: brushes with greatness "It's just my nature to do weird stuff..." Laura Taylor (813) 974-3733 ltaylor@wusf.usf.edu abruptly as he had entered. > >anyone else have any lou reed encounters? > >roger No, but I think Laurie Anderson has done *wonders* for his hair! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 18:06:26 -0500 From: Brian Phillips Subject: Re: John Cale/musical "heroes" Apparently, I got off light. I bought his autobiography in DC. He was there to sign it and he was a machine, no conversation, just signatures. This was fine by me, since that was why I bought the book, instead of waiting for it to come to the library( a strategy that served me well when I found that Stan Freberg's autobiography was very short, because he planned to split it into two volumes!). Back home, Brian Phillips >Almost forgot about ol' Chuck! This is the man who was filmed urinating in >some poor girl's face and yelling at her! Brian Phillips http://www.mindspring.com/~hagar ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 18:16:50 -0500 From: Brian Phillips Subject: Re: Films This is what I found out about Superstar: By Desson Howe Washington Post Staff Writer January 20, 1989 You might start laughing at Todd Haynes' "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story," a surreal reenactment of the singer's ill-fated career that uses Barbie dolls instead of real-life actors. But the giggle will soon die in your throat. This 43-minute drama, which initially appears to make campy mockery of the '70s singer, turns out to be a compassionate and deeply affecting treatment of America's easy-listening siren. Approximately one-third the length of a regular movie, "Superstar" manages to cover mor ground and leave a greater resonance than half a dozen rise-and-fall biographies (a genre that "Superstar" parodies). Countless impressions echo throughout your mind after viewing "Superstar," including strains of the hits you thought you had long since escaped -- but which have aged disturbingly well and which, in light of her untimely 1983 death, seem imbued with a deeper, fatalistic quality. With dolls "playing" the parts of Karen and Richard Carpenter, as well as their parents, Haynes and cowriter/producer Cynthia Schneider chart the disturbing course of the singer's life -- a heady, sweet-natured success, followed by touring pressures and the ultimately fatal battle with anorexia nervosa (she died in her parents' home after a massive ingestion of ipecac syrup). Haynes and Schneider create a subjective but stirring sense of her increasing neurosis and, by intercutting images of President Nixon, the Vietnam war, the sitcom faces of television and antiwar demonstrations, indicate the troubled times she sang to. "Superstar" is loaded with other, more grim significances. When the Carpenters perform for Nixon at the White House (in his banner year of 1973), you're clearly supposed to see the duo as Diet-Rite and doll-perfect fiddlers to a burning America. The depiction of Carpenter's family is unflattering; they seem ignorant, though not uncaring, about her anguish. Anorexia nervosa is examined as an obsessional sickness, a denial of femininity; it is called a "fascism over the body in which the sufferer plays both dictator and the emaciated victim." Karen Carpenter-the-Barbie-doll literally deteriorates before your eyes, her plastic "flesh" scraped away (by Haynes) as her condition worsens. But throughout these horrors (including recurring images of a hand slapping a doll's buttocks -- the disciplinary aspect of anorexia -- and a body plummeting to earth) is a heartfelt, though eerie, eulogy to a tormented woman who died for fame. Watch "Superstar" while you can. Haynes, who has no rights to the Carpenters' songs, claims to have recently received a letter of warning from Mattel and has yet to hear from the Carpenter family. Brian Phillips http://www.mindspring.com/~hagar ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 01:27:51 EET From: "T P Uschanov" Subject: Re: Fabulous Flipsides Mark Robinson quoted me: > >Some of the tough flips I play more than their tops include: > >...... > >The Gestures, "It Seems to Me" c/w "Run, Run, Run" > >...... > > This was a GREAT group, with a killer track "Don't Mess Around". > "Run, Run, Run" taint too shabby either. Yes, I just played it to death on Pebbles Vol. 9 (or was it 10?) before getting the 45...! Was "Don't Mess Around" one too, or did it remain unreleased until the Sundazed album? I haven't got that one yet. T P Uschanov, University of Helsinki, Finland, European Union tuschano@cc.helsinki.fi ### http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/ "Omnia praeclara tam difficilia, quam rara sunt." (Baruch Spinoza, 1632-1677) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 18:45:36 -0500 From: Brian Phillips Subject: Re: Fabulous Flipsides Run, Run, Run was on Vol. 9. I thought that that was the hit side (#44). I started a tape once with these songs: Run, Run, Run - The Gestures Run, Run, Run - Sly and the Family Stone Run, Run, Run - The Who I also could have used Run, Run, Run by the Third Rail. The great part about this is that NONE of these are the same song! Brian, Brian, Brian, Phillips >Yes, I just played it to death on Pebbles Vol. 9 (or was it 10?) >before getting the 45...! Brian Phillips http://www.mindspring.com/~hagar ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 19:35:14 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Robinson Subject: Re: Iron Butterfly I hate to admit it, but I do remember this! It's seems too good (bizzare) to be true. Get Oliver Stone on the blower-we gotta story here babe! M At 02:26 PM 1/25/97 -0500, you wrote: >There was a bit about this on "Unsolved Mysteries" a while back. I >don't remember the name of the particular Iron Butterfly member... he >wasn't in the In-a-Gadda/Ball line-up, but in any event, he lived in >California, and had become quite the computer guru in recent years, and >was at work (ironically) on a software application that could supposedly >identify missing persons from digitized crowd photographs (!). He >worked like 20 hours a day on it, and became increasingly erratic and >unbalanced, according to his girlfriend. Then one day he disappeared >after calling his friend, Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy, on a cellular >phone from his Suburban, mumbling "I've found the answer" or some such >quasi-mystical rambling. And that's the last anyone's heard from him. >I think I've got the facts pretty much straight here, but it's been a >few months since the "U.M." piece. Anyone else know anything about >this? > > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 19:43:20 -0800 From: gary mollica Subject: Re: Fabulous Flipsides Brian Phillips wrote: > > Run, Run, Run was on Vol. 9. I thought that that was the hit side (#44). > > I started a tape once with these songs: > > Run, Run, Run - The Gestures > Run, Run, Run - Sly and the Family Stone > Run, Run, Run - The Who > > I also could have used Run, Run, Run by the Third Rail. The great part > about this is that NONE of these are the same song! Back in the 70s when I was on radio, I'd do all 4 PLUS Run Run Run by the Velvets! Best, GaryM (who remembers loving both the Gestures & 3rd Rail tunes on AM) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 22:28:26 -0600 From: paddygav@kcnet.com (Paddy (or Steve)) Subject: Rhodes and "alternative" Emitt Rhodes didn't even know what was released on his old stuff. He mentioned that his old guitarist had a Japanese version of the MGR LP on disc, but I don't think he had even listened to it. I for one would love to see that stuff re released,as the Versase(?) cd left out so much good material. The problem with garage becommiing so popular is that the cost of old records goes up. I am guilty as hell too, as I have only discovered the great sub hits of the 60's in the last five years. It's great though, to have labels like Bomp, Arf Arf, and Sundazed (to name only a few) re releasing all of that stuff. If they could only do it faster dammit faster! Have you ever wondered if in thirty years some small labels will start putting 80's garage bands on disc, and calling them lost gems? If my home town was any indication, I would say probably not! How do I get there? http://kcnet.com/~paddygav/images.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 01:06:11 -0500 (EST) From: Mattdietr@aol.com Subject: Re: John Cale/musical "heroes" I agree that it can be disappointing meeting a hero sometimes, but just as often it goes the other way. Again I digress to my two two interviews with Mike Love, who may have lots of enemies, but sure is a fun interview, and is always available despite the way he's been treated (justifiably). But let's not get the Mike Love thread started again. It seems all my real heroes (minus Brian Wilson and a few others, Cale included) are dead. I've often wondered if meeting my ultimate hero, Frank Zappa, would have been fun or just intimidating and depressing. I'm hoping that maybe Dweezil can fill that void someday. He seems pretty cool. Ahmet too. Matt ------------------------------ End of bomp-digest V1 #21 *************************