REPLIES, RESPONSES, AND REALITY

[FULIGIN%UMass.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU (Peter E. Lee)]

In response to some recent postings :

>Really-From: J. Peter Alfke <alfke@csvax.caltech.edu>

>[5]  Last year 4AD announced there was going to be a collection of posters
>     of 23 Envelope artwork.  These is/are the person/people who do most
>     4AD album covers (Cocteaus, Colourbox, Dif Juz...).  Anyone seen it?
>     Or know where to get it?  Or know who 23 Envelope is/are?  These are
>     some of the most gorgeous album covers I've ever seen!

     Within the last couple of weeks, an add for the poster collection
 appeared in Melody Maker.  I'll dig through my not-yet-disposed-of back
 issues, and see if I can find an address to order from...

>Really-From: hsut@ec.purdue.edu (Bill Hsu)

>Re: Doug on Tuxedomoon
>Is Tuxedomoon still without Blaine Reininger? What do you guys think about
>Tuxedomoon sans Reininger on Holy Wars? I found it one of the most
>disappointing albums of '85...

     Really?  I thought it was one of the BEST albums of '85!  Not a light,
 cheery, or poppy album by any standard, but excellent none the less...  My
 favourite cuts are 'Watching The Blood Flow', 'St. John', and 'Some Guys',
 but there's nothing on it I really dislike.  I find the tape frequently
 crawling into my walkman almost of it's own volition...

>Another suggestion for people who are already sick of Sledgehammer: pick
>up something by this incredible Belgian group called Nurse with Wound
>(I'm rapidly wearing out a friend's NwW tape right now; thanks Rod!!)
>This is AWESOME stuff.

     Another disagreement here.  I picked up "Brained by falling masonry"
 by NWW a couple of years ago, and was astoundingly unimpressed.  I heard
 random noises thrown together trying to masquerade as art.  I was left with
 no indication that any feeling was put into the piece, and no reason to
 keep the single.  I have since heard other of their recorded works, but
 they still strike me as little more than sound-effects records.  If you
 would like to read another strong anti-NWW opinion, read Abstract Magazine,
 issue #6 - they seem to share my feelings about the band.  (As a side note,
 I am not against musicians who do not use 'traditional' instruments, such
 as the Test Department, or E.N. (I won't try to spell it, I don't know
 German), I enjoy some of their music, and can certainly feel the energy
 and emotion they put into their work.  Nurse With Wound are a different
 kind of cacaphony.)

>Really-From: LoveCat%UMass.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU  (Fidelis E. Orozco)

>The Love and Rockets single "If there's a heaven above" is from their
>album, and is as mellow as most of the songs.  However, their second
>single "Ball of COnfusion" is very upbeat and very Bauhaus-ish.

     Minor corrections here, for those who care.  I believe that 'Ball
 Of Confusion' was released before 'If There's a Heaven Above', not after,
 and the Canadian (and, I assume, US) versions of the LP do include it,
 while the British version does not.

>Dalis Car is more soothing synth music...

     'Soothing synth music'?  I don't think I'd describe it as soothing, and
 I don't think there are that many synths on it either...  The best
 description I've been able to come up with for Dalis Car is 'baroque
 new wave'...  There are multiple layers of music, usually working over an
 intricate, STRONG bassline.  The bass demands far too much attention in
 their music to strike me as soothing...  To each their own, I suppose...


RE : "Getting The Holy Ghost Across", by Bill Nelson
     In my 'review', I compared the music on this album to recent material by
 David Bowie.  A far better comparison, I think, is actually to Japan, in
 terms of style, structure, and richness.  The vocals on some of the tracks
 do, however, bear an uncanny (unhealthy?) resemblance to those of the Thin
 White Duke.

RE : A neat title for an album : "Cryogenic Suspension Of Disbelief"
     That just came to me over dinner one night - I'm not sure why...

                             -Save the whales (trade them with your friends)
                                       -Peter Lee
Fuligin%UMass.BitNet@WISCVM.ARPA

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     "When the going gets tough,
      The tough go shopping..."
                  -Tuxedomoon, "Egypt"