EM Survey 4 (Part 16 of 19)

[datta@vacs.uwp.wisc.edu (David Datta)]

                Eclectic Music Survey #4 Results

Survey Posting                                      February 1990

Part 16 of 19 (Thru Siouxsie and the Banshees)


R.E.M.

     Just goes to show (ie South Central Rain) that you don't have to be able
     to understand much of a song to like it. At least they realized that and
     gave us a clue in videos for Cant Get There from Here (philomath?) and
     Fall on Me (magnets) the latter my # 1 song of 86.
          - Paul Mount prm@whutt.att.com

     "Reckoning" and "Fables of the Reconstruction" are just brilliant
     albums. Work since then is pretty good, but it's been sabotaged by
     producers or engineers whose hearing has probably been shot by too much
     live rock and roll. If they get back to a good producer like Mitch
     Easter or Joe Boyd, they could do great albums again; the songs on
     "Green" were pretty good. (Scott Litt seems to have trashed the "Indigo
     Girls" CD too; it's harsh, almost unlistenable, just like R.E.M.'s
     "Document".)
          - Ken Josenhans 13020KRJ@MSU.BitNet

     Another favourite of mine. Not ground-breaking in any way, but very
     listeneable. Beatles meets Neil Young. And they support Greenpeace, too.
     One day I'll buy "Reckoning" and "Murmur" and then I'll have all of
     their albums.
          - Hans Huttel  hans%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     College radio faves who graduated to arenas and haven't suffered for it
     unduly. Indecipherable lyrics on early releases gave way to merely
     opaque lyrics later on.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     Doubtlessly, my favorite band. It kind of upsets me that so many people
     dump on them because they're popular, _Green_ wasn't that good, etc...
     Either way, I'll still love 'em. _Lifes Rich Pageant_, _Murmur_ and
     _Chronic Town_ are my favorite albums by them, but all the others are
     excellent, too.
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

     Great songwriter, can't say enough good things about her. One of the
     most intelligent, down-to-earth songwriters I know of. She's usually
     classified as country, but I think with "Storms" she's moving out of
     that style of music.
          - rmiller@sbcs.sunysb.edu

     Like just about everything they have done, except "Stand", which I think
     is far too repetetive and generic.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     Now getting tons of attention, R.E.M. are largely misunderstood by their
     new audience. They deserve a lot of credit for being the first band in
     quite some time to become very popular while not compromising their
     integrity (well, for the most part). For instance, they maintain
     complete artistic control over their videos and album artwork. If top-40
     returns to guitar (especially acoustic guitar) and/or folk-based rock in
     the near future, you'll have this band to thank for it.
          - Anton C Shepps (Tony)
          rochester!moscom!telesci!ashepps%ll-xn.UUCP@cs.wisc.edu

     The American Smiths. Music is a bit better though..lyrics not so
     depressing.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

The Replacements

     Definitely has a "college band atmosphere" even after becoming famous.
     I like their style, but to someone who doesn't, I can see why they might
     hate them; it's very strong in their music.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     Trash rock holdovers from another time, they just wail the bejezus out
     of their instruments. Also capable of the odd ballad here & there.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

The Residents

     This band is the weirdest of any I've ever seen. They make Laurie
     Anderson look mainstream and Weird Al Yankovich look like Michael
     Jackson. Try listening to "Bach is Dead," "Lizard Lady," etc.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

Rev. Jim Jones

     the actual tapes from the jonestown mass suicide.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

     comedic songwriter.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Boyd Rice

     Has done much great INDUSTRIAL(and that doesn't mean Skinny Puppy) noise
     under both his own name as well as Non.A friend of mine played Steve
     Reich a Non record because he saw parallelisms and Reich was intrigued.A
     Non cd exists.Bad rumors exist regarding his political lean, however.
          - Jon Kincaid dsrekjk@prism.gatech.edu

Richie Rich

     Don't tell me his dad bought him a rock band.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

Terry Riley

     Never knew one could create such interesting music with just an organ
     and some tape recorders until I heard _Rainbow In Curved Air_.
     Fantastic.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     The harp of New Albian is wierd but good. Is Rainbow in Curved Air still
     out there anywhere?
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Risse

     Appeared on a Steve "Silk" Hurley remix.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Steve Roach
     Does quite interesting synth music. He's got a whole bunch of solo
     albums out, as well as a couple with Kevin Braheny and some other guy
     whose name I've forgotten.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Roxy Music

     glam rock ala david bowie, but with a heart-breaking crooner: brian
     ferry.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Run DMC

     How a group of people with so little musical talent can be so popular is
     way beyond me.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

     I liked their duet with Aerosmith.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     If you've gotta listen to rap, at least listen to guys like RunDMC who
     make rap with amusing lyrics.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Todd Rundgren

     A wizard, a true star. A prime example that not all good progressive
     rock comes from the European continent. Personally, I like the albums he
     did with Utopia a little more than his solo work, but they're both quite
     good. And am I imagining things or did you omit his first band, Nazz,
     from the list entirely?
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Aging wunderkind with a rabid following. Chooses a wide variety of
     settings for almost every album: white soul, autobiography,
     electronicized a capella, what have you. An original.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     Boring in concert, but I like bang on the drums.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

Rush

     "2112", "A Farewell To Kings" & "Hemispheres" are all supreme examples
     of progressive HM. "Moving Pictures" is THE techno-rock album of the
     80s. Their recent albums will probably appeal more to Police/Simple
     Minds fans than metal-kids although "Power Windows" is impressive.
          - Iain Smith & Jonathan Habrovitsky
          jhabrovi%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Heavy metal on the first album & progressed more into what I consider
     the progressive style.
          - TRM900@PSUVM.PSU.edu

     My personal all-time favorite group. What you get when you put the best
     drummer in the world, with the best bass/synth combo man, and a very
     talented guitarist together. I hope they never quit!
          - Chris Chavez ccmchris@pollux.ucdavis.edu

     Pretty good prog-rock up until _Moving Pictures_. After that, they
     started to go downhill and become boring. _Signals_ was fairly good,
     _Grace Under Pressure_ had a few high spots, but after that I started
     gagging every time their new songs came on the radio.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Save yourself some money. Instead of buying the new Rush album just play
     one of the old ones again. You won't notice the difference.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     They are one my favorite groups. I even like their recent albums a lot.
     It's too bad they lost that raw energy ala 'Working Man' though. I like
     their polished music of late for different reasons.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

     Tried and true! Success hasn't spoiled this bunch!
          - David Caldwell macs!dfc@bikini.cis.ufl.edu

     Very good rock group regardless of responses to previous survey. Their
     best work was from 1976 - 1982. Most of their songs had some story
     connected with it, rather than having ethereal lyrics or endlessly
     repeating, meaningless gibberish with extensive sexual connotation. They
     started to lose it on "Hold Your Fire", and were pretty bad on their
     latest, "Presto"
          - Christopher Waldemar Bochna cb2w+@andrew.cmu.edu

S-Express

     "Mantra for a State of Mind" was a big disappointment as far as I was
     concerned. The album "Original Soundtrack" was OK but they seemed unsure
     as to exactly what sort of house music they performed.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Bad house music.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

     I though I'd like the album on the basis of hearing a single or three
     but no-go. The "Music Lover" CD-5 is worth getting though, lots of mix
     and class.
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

Sade

     If only I had girlfriend who looked like Sade...
          - Hans Huttel  hans%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     The smoothest arrival of the '80s. Good old-fashioned torch songs with
     supple backing.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Ryuichi Sakamoto

     I like his album 'Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia'. My favourite track
     from this has to be 'Field Work' but the rest of it is good too.
     Different.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Merry Christmas Mr. Datta
          - Geir Stenstud geirs@ifi.uio.no

Carlos Santana

     Santana be way bad. Soaring sustains on guitar while the bad cooks away
     in the back. Also, many killer blues leads.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Jean Paul Sartre

     French existentialist author.  The only work I can remember off-hand is
     a short story titled (I believe) "The Wall." I don't know what he's
     doing on this list.
          - James Martin <martin@cpsc.UCalgary.CA>

     Interesting ideas, but basically full of s***.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     Singing?
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Joe Satriani

     Great insrumentalist, but FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM is almost like a Weird
     Al album in spots; he kypes licks and vocal styles from everyone from
     Prince to ZZ. It's all fun though!
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

     The newest guitarist from hell.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com


Kevin Saunderson

     Forms Inner City (house group) along with Paris Grey. Also known as
     Reese. An excellent house artist whose music is sampled by many others.
     _Almost_ as good as Baby Ford.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Initiator, with paris Gray and others, of the Detroit techno house
     sound. He made terrific house mixes too. See Inner City.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Peter Schilling

     I like "Major Tom (Coming Home)" but can't think of anyother thing he's
     done that I can even name . . .
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

     Well I like him anyway. Major Tom and Different Story were in my top 10s
     for their years, if one reminded me of the other well that probably
     helped
          - Paul Mount prm@whutt.att.com

Johannes Schmoelling

     Ex Tangerine Dream member. "The Zoo of Tranquility" is the most varied
     Newage album I've heard.
          - Iain Smith & Jonathan Habrovitsky
          jhabrovi%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I'd say he's produced the best solo output of any ex TD member. I can't
     really decide whether I prefer 'Wuivend Riet' or 'Zoo Of Tranquility'
     though. Is there a release date for his new album yet.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Yet another ex-TD musician come out of the woodwork. _Wuivend Riet_, his
     first solo album, is one of the best albums in the TD style I've ever
     heard. In fact, if I had to pick my two favorite solo works by ex-TD
     members, I'd pick _Wuivend Riet_ and Hoenig's _Departure..._, with
     Froese's _Stuntman_ a close third.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Tom Scott
     Much sought-after L.A. sax session wizard. Was on just about everything
     made in the '70s.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Jonathan Segel

     ex camper van beethoven violin player does his own thang. quite good.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Bob Seger

     Midwestern rocker with riffs as beefy as his midsection.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     The man Bruce Springsteen out-Bob-Seger's. Amazing staying power.
          - Paul Maclauchlan moore!paul@uunet.UU.NET

     Yucch Yucch Yucch: the symbol of modern commercial rock n roll.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

John Serrie

     His first album _And the Stars Go With You_ is just FANTASTIC. I highly
     recommend it if you enjoy true space music. It's a lot of flowing
     chords, and a lite beat once in awhile. Truely amazing. I haven't heard
     his latest _Flightpath_ yet. Recommendations: _And The Stars Go With
     You_
          - Steven Seidman sseidman@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (The MIDIman)

Severed Heads

     Australian weirdoes - they used to be into tape loops and noise but
     they've gotten danceable lately. Good toonz.
          - Jon Drukman jsd@GAFFA.MIT.EDU

     at all accesible. make sense?
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Sex Pistols

     *The* punk band. Too anarchic to last very long, they lived down to
     everyone's expectations. "Never Mind the Bollocks" is quite tuneful in
     retrospect.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     I was thirteen, had never heard the band , and had no chance of getting
     there or getting in, but I wanted bad to go see their American debut
     1/5/78 at the Graet Southeast Music Hall here in Atlanta (in a K-Mart
     shopping center ). Twelve years later,a bootleg lp from that show (the
     first good tape(a board) of that show) called "My Name Is John" is
     available, and anyone who cares should own one.
          - Jon Kincaid dsrekjk@prism.gatech.edu

     It's hard to compare the band that was the "basis" for the Punk Movement
     to anything else; I like them a lot, though I think some of their songs
     were written for pure shock value (not necessarily a bad thing, but
     tends to lead to underdeveloped music).
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     Shockabilly Between them and Eugene Chadbourne's solo work, Country and
     Western music will *definitely* not be the same ever again. Not to
     mention their definitive version of Simon&Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound".
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Shadowfax

     I think most people outgrow them quickly.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

Shaggs

     a re-issue of the original late 196Ts records. absolutely the worst band
     of all time. girls, lets go into the studio and make a record. so awful
     it is brilliant. true punks. almost a decade ahead of their time.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Ravi Shankar

     "What is that caterwauling?", my mom.
          - Paul Maclauchlan moore!paul@uunet.UU.NET

     I got his autograph after his concert at the Edinburgh festival last
     year. The music is good, too.
          - Hans Huttel  hans%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I saw Ravi in concert once, it was very interesting. I think 'highly
     spiritual' is the best way to describe his music. I was very impressed
     by the concert. I also think his musical influence on George Harrison
     was very positive.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

     Popularizer of classical Indian music in the U.S. Friend of George
     Harrison. Still going as far as I know.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Shelleyan Orphan

     I heard "Southern Bess" a few years ago and really liked it. I bought
     _Helleborine_, but didn't like it. Oh well...
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

Shop Assistants

     scotish pop. loose. female vocalists.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Mark Shreeve

     Why does he stay with Jive? They won't release any of his work on CD,
     and (in Britain at least) every album he's ever released (including
     <sob> 'Legion') with the exception of 'Crash Head' has been deleted. I
     can't help but think he'd be better off on a specialist synth/electronic
     label.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik, best abbreviated as $^3 -- Well, they aren't ruling the
world or owning EMI like they promised on their first album Flaunt It, but at
least they've survived long enough to produce an album which actually has
more drum lines than Love Missile repeated for almost every track of Flaunt
It. They're doing OK, although their attitude might end up looking too 80's.
On the other hand, like many groups (including PWEI), they claim they're the
90's.
          - Kevin Martin sigma@pawl.rpi.edu

     Dear Doctor, Sigue Sigue Sputnik are talentless, manufactured and don't
     have a musical bone in their bodies. So why do I like, nay, love 'Love
     Missile F1-11'?
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I thought "Success" (single) was pretty neat. I liked the way it was
     marketed as a sell-out (punks produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman).
     And it had more than 3 chords as well...
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Obnoxious, overhyped, stupid stuff. Still listen to it constantly,
     though.
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

Silly Sisters

     Originally the title of the album recorded by Maddy Prior and June Tabor
     in 1976; a folk-rock landmark which has remained in print through three
     successive record companies. Adopted as a group name by Prior and Tabor
     for their 1988 followup "No More to the Dance", which is maybe 80% as
     good as the original and is certainly the best thing Prior has recorded
     since the 1978 dissolution of Steeleye Span.
          - Ken Josenhans 13020KRJ@MSU.BitNet

Paul Simon

     Dean of American balladeers. Many long-lasting hits with partner Art
     Garfunkel, almost as many as a solo. Teaches songwriting.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     For those people who listen to music without listening to it.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Gets a special place in rock and roll history for his use of South
     African musicians and melodies in "Graceland". Peter Gabriel was first,
     but Simon broke through to the masses, especially in the US, and so I
     give him more credit for the current flourishing world music scene.
     Maybe it was just steam-engine time...
          - Ken Josenhans 13020KRJ@MSU.BitNet

     Great, and improving!
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     One of my favourite song writers, but he lifts some of the tunes from
     places that are a bit too obvious.
          - Paul Maclauchlan moore!paul@uunet.UU.NET

     Very inconsistent since 'Simon and Garfunkel' days, but he still managed
     to write some great songs since then (e.g. 'Kodachrome') and his last
     album was pretty good.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

Simple Minds

     "New Gold Dream" is one of the best albums ever recorded. Why can't they
     make stuff like that nowadays ?
          - Hans Huttel  hans%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I thought "This Is Your Land" sounded like Tangerine Dream in places.
     Hard to describe...they have changed their style a bit over the years.
     Rivals of U2, better IMHO.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     The most aptly named band at the moment. Their popularity is totally
     unfathomable.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Siouxsie and the Banshees

     Have a hit every now and then..the old days were the best.."Israel",
     "Arabian Knights", "Spellbound" - 1980-81 was their best patch.
     "Haunting" music.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I've been listening to this band for a long time. _Peepshow_ and
     _Tinderbox_ are the only albums I like as a whole, but they have a lot
     of really great songs scattered over their n albums.
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

     Siouxsie Sue needs to get a real name (and tone down the makeup), but I
     like their music for its uniqueness and the fact that they sometimes
     don't try to say anything meaningful, but don't resort to the
     over-worked popular song subjects.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     Uncompromising if obscure outfit likely to rock your socks off or
     piquing your curiosity with the slow ones.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU
--
-Dave 	datta@vacs.uwp.wisc.edu
	....uwm!uwpvacs!datta
	uwpvacs.UUCP!datta@cs.wisc.edu