blee blee blee

[turner%mpgs.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM (Debbie Gibson: the Kate Bush of the 90s)]

> Also, I would very desperately like to have a copy of either of the
> new D.Dax CDs.  If anyone can purchase them and send to me I would be
> indebted to you.
 
If we could find them at Tower Records, I think they're all over the
place at better alternative record shops.  "The Chemical Wedding" has
a great little interview with Danielle "Millions of Women Would Kill
for My Hair" Dax in Japanese which I'm gonna try translating...
 
> I heard word yesterday of a new album released in Europe by the
> Epidemics.  The band is led by L. Shankar, and may still include Steve
> Vai.
 
STEVE VAI and PETER GABRIEL TOGETHER? Hearing about his working with
Donny Osmond was bad, hearing that he was leaving Jill Gabriel and
being seen in public with Roseanna Arquette was worse, but THIS....
yuck....
 
> I've always wondered why Kate Bush choreographed her early videos
> (and let Keefe direct so many of them).

Hi Larry!  You know, I can still remember you dancing around CCC to
the strains of "Wuthering Heights"...

> I really respect her as a musical artist, but frankly she's a
> *terrible* choreographer (though I will admit that her cinematic
> view (as well as her choreography) have improved somewhat with _Hair
> of the Hound_).

Well, ya gots ta remember, Lawrence, that in the mid to late 70's,
that -style- of choreography (along with that HIDEOUS red lipstick
that she refused to remove up until the video for "Suspended in Gaffa)
was very "in" and very "popular". That, of course, was then and this
is now, and We Don't Like That Sort Of Thing Anymore.

Kind of.

I mean, yeah, it's painful to watch "Hammersmith Odious" because it's
so CHEESY and TACKY (wow! I can hear IED's brain sizzling all the way
here in Boston!)  but part of the reason I sometimes like to watch it
is because I put myself into the mindset of "It's 1978 and people are
actually going out to buy KISS albums" and then the apparent tackiness
don't seem so tacky anymore.  I would not want to watch things like
that all the time, because I'm not REALLY a fan of 70's tackiness
(though I do like "Rock and Roll parts I and II" by Gary Glitter) and
everything else on video from 1970-1979 isn't Kate.

In other  words:  Yeah, it's crap and Keef should have a video camera rammed
up his ass, but put yourself back 10 years and it's not bad at all.
 
> [ Well, you don't have to like Kate's choreography, but that
> certainly doesn't make it "terrible".  It's certainly unique, and
> that alone is worth a whole lot.  -- |>oug ]

Uh... hmm...  there's a hole there somewhere. Uniqueness is a Good
Attribute but it doesn't qualify whether something is "good" or "bad",
or "terrible".  I could start a band and be totally unique, like, say,
"Stump", but the fact that they are a truly terrible band makes their
uniqueness only a novelty.  Now, of course, Kate is no novelty ---
THESE DAYS. If I were my current age and saw that video back in 1978,
however, I think I would have said she was unique, but her dancing and
choreography was THE PITS. In other words: we've discussed this
before, let's not discuss this again, why on earth am I perpetuating
it, I think I'll just shut up now, I could never argue this shit
anyway...
 
>> The rabid Wire fans gave up on them last year, or so I claim.  Given

Not me!!!  I thought "The Ideal Copy" and "Snakedrill" were dead brill!

>> that Commercial Suicide was a dismal failure and Ideal Copy was a

It was?  I thought it was a grand album! I've seen it a lot and before
I bought it, I heard a lot of people saying Good Things about it. I
enjoyed it, and I also enjoyed his latest(?) solo, "Isn't It?". I'd
reccomend them both.
 
> Facts is facts:

Only when they're not opinions! :-)

> (1) `Ahead' is one of the greatest singles ever made.  Period.  When
>      it was released it made a complete joke of everything that came
>      out of the radio around it.

No, it was a joke to release it when incredible songs like "Madman's
Honey" languish in the "Gone and Certainly Forgotten" file.

> (2) The video for `Ahead' also makes a laughing stock of almost
>      every single music video I've seen in the last two years.  It's
>      that good.

You -are- nuts!  The video for "Ahead" is a confused melange of
senseless imagery (not unlike Wire's music, mind you, which I
obviously love) and I find it both boring and hard to watch. The best
thing in it is the woman in the tight vinyl dress and even then, she
don't show enough tit. :-) :-)

> Now, I would *agree* that there's `not much hope' for A Bell Is A Cup
> Until It's Struck (although I did hear at least 2 strong cuts live),

ABiaCUiiS (abacus?)  is an incredibly strong album. Best they ever
did. "The King of Ur and the Queen of Um", "The Finest Drops", "Silk
Skin Paws", etc are top-notch!  Incredible how Gotobed can make his
drum kit sound so good when it's just a snare, kick, and high-hat...!

> but the previous two records have nothing to do with it.  What has
> more to do with it is Colin Newman's increasing influence over the
> content, and his apparent decision to become more `accessible', or
> whatever.  If you listen *very* carefully to Gilbert & Lewis in
> concert, you'll still hear that same `Keep It Simple, Stupid'
> philosophy that isn't a million miles away from `Chairs Missing'.

Oh no!  Another "music can't be good if it's accesible" debate!!!
Look, I find "154" to be just as accessible as "ABiaCUiiS" and, far
from stupidly simple, just as COMPLEX.  Are you sure you're talking
about the same Wire?

> Are the drums at the beginning of sat in your lap sequenced or
> programmed or drum-machined (non-human) OR are they done by a real
> drummer?
 
> Damian
 
Jeez, M.L., is you stupid or something? It's so obvious. She got the
guy from the Fat Boys, the one who calls himself the human beatbox.
Chee, some people! :-)
 
>  _The_Kick_Inside_: _The_World_of_Henry_Orient_; _My_Man_Godfrey_
>  _Lionheart_: _The_Three_Lives_of_Thomasina_
>  _Never_For_Ever_: _Mary_Poppins_; _Ninotchka_
>  _The_Dreaming_: _The_Hunger_; _The_Lacemaker_; _2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_
>  _The_Ninth_Wave_: _Blade_Runner_; _Brazil_; _The_Incredible_Mr._Limpet_
 
I wish, I wish, I wish I was a fish!!

Here's a weird thought... when women were sick Way Back When
(1700/1800's) it turns out that dogs were sometimes put on their
breasts to lap up any excess lactation (for any breast infections)...
anyone wanna stretch their brains (as well as their credibility) and
try and link this startling development to the cover of
_Hounds_of_Love_?  Hmmm???  Any takers??

/joe
 now at DEC.  Oh boy, I've moved up in the world.