EM Survey 4 (Part 17 of 19)

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

                Eclectic Music Survey #4 Results

Survey Posting                                      February 1990

Part 17 of 19 (Thru John Tesh)


Sir Mix A Lot

     seattle rapper who pisses all over sterotypes.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Sisterhood

     two bands, in actuality. a sisters of mercy side project of andrew
     eldritch. (they put out a 5-song ep called the gift) or the intermediate
     between sisters of mercy and the mission for wayne hussey (they toured
     europe with the cult in '85(?) )
          - joel metz mantis@ucscb.UCSC.EDU

Sisters of Mercy

     oppresive gothic gloom-and-doom. "tune in, turn on, burn out in the acid
     rain" to much bass to leave behind...a must have!!
          - joel metz mantis@ucscb.UCSC.EDU

Skafish

     Jim Skafish was/is the band's nucleus.  I only know of one album (it was
     released on I.R.S.).
          - James Martin <martin@cpsc.UCalgary.CA>

Skinny Puppy

     Canadian Noise Terrorists - agressive synths, huge percussion and
     screaming tortured vocals from the throat of one Nivek Ogre. Nasty and
     wonderful. Scary shit.
          - Jon Drukman jsd@GAFFA.MIT.EDU

Sky

     A couple wondeful albums. And they introduced me to Rameau's harpsicord
     music, for which I am grateful.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     Almost new-age, fortunately early enough to not "qualify" under that
     category. Interesting instrumentalist work but nothing really special in
     my opinion, except maybe for the John Williams guitar work.
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

     Anyone know what happened to Monkman?
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Great Britain's answer to Mannheim Steamroller. Original founding
     members: John Williams (the British classical guitarist, not the Boston
     Pops guy), Kevin Peek, Herbie Flowers (ex-Blue Mink), Tristan Fry, and
     Francis Monkman (ex-Curved Air). Highly recommended, if you can find any
     of their albums, which you probably won't.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK
     Outrageously talented bunch of musicians led by John Williams phenomenal
     classical guitar playing. Herbie Flowers' bass is as domineering as
     usual and their music is varied enough to appeal to anyone.
          - Iain Smith & Jonathan Habrovitsky
          jhabrovi%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Sly And Robbie

     Bass & drums duo, powered many reggae hits, branched out to lots of
     funky stuff too.
          - Chris Koenigsberg ckk+@andrew.cmu.edu

     S&L are a roving rhythm section that started out in reggae and then
     appeared on tons of albums to give them the kick and spice they needed,
     whether inna reggae stylee or not.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

The Smiths

     "How Soon Is Now?" is one of my favorite songs, and _Louder Than Bombs_
     is really good, but most of the rest is kind of ho hum.
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

     Extremely popular in England, to the point of being universally hailed
     as gods, they were on their way to becoming popular in America when
     suddenly... they broke up. The Smiths is largely a dichotomy of
     Morrissey's despairing lyrics and vocals and Johnny Marr's brilliant
     guitar and songwriting. Some say Morrissey should just get it over with
     and kill himself -- that's how depressed he seems to be when he's
     writing -- but I say, a Smiths lyric is always there when you really
     need it. Marr is just beginning to get the rich credit he really
     deserves as a guitarist -- he has a knack for the subtle, the
     understated riff, the kind of guitar part that works perfectly in its
     place. Marr is now guitarist for The The.
          - Anton C Shepps (Tony)
          rochester!moscom!telesci!ashepps%ll-xn.UUCP@cs.wisc.edu

     Guitar band. Miserable. Why do 99% of all indie guitar bands sound just
     like them? Listen to Half Man Half Biscuit instead.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     i have heard someone say that johnny marr is the guitar hero of the
     80's. too bad they broke up...too bad they made "strangeways" (lousy for
     them...not half as good as the worst of their earlier stuff) too bad
     morrissey thinks he can make it without marr. without johnny, he just
     isn't the same....
          - joel metz mantis@ucscb.UCSC.EDU

     Saw em in concert, but it didn't make an impression.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     See Morrissey.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU
Joe Smooth

     A pilar of contemporary Black Dance Music. He used to work with Tyree,
     Marshall Jefferson and others Chicago House Music inventors.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Soft Cell

     early synth pop.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Software

     I quite liked 'Electronic Universe II'. Really clear sound, but not very
     complicated when compared with, say, Tangerine Dream.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Sonic Youth

     droning slow guitar & atmosphere.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Richard Souther

     Quite good new age synth music. The song "Heartcall" used to be my
     favorite new age song. Very light and easy music. Sometimes with a
     strong beat, while sometimes there is no beat at all. Recommendations:
     _Heirborne_
          - Steven Seidman sseidman@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (The MIDIman)


Soul II Soul

     aw, come on. arent you tired of these brits yet? smooth female crooning
     over the catchiest hip hop on the dance floor.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

SPK

     chameleon band. industrial -> disco. the earlier the better.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu


Squirrel Bait

     thrash & guitars. very tight.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Bruce Springsteen

     Captain America. Honestly, a favorite of mine "from before he got
     famous." Muscular American rock with a heart and a mind.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     I HATE HIM. He can't sing, he can't write and everybody thinks hes cool.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     I have all his official albums. He's one of the few really popular rock
     artists that I like.
          - Hans Huttel  hans%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I personally don't like Springsteen that much, but I do respect him as
     a songwriter.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     Like Dylan, much better when other people (like Manfred Mann) sing his
     songs. A lot of people like Bruce's singing. Damned if I can figure out
     why.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     The best live rock act in the world. Endless enthusiasm and humour.
     Great respect for his musical roots. IMHO none of his albums are nearly
     as exciting or interesting as a concert.
          - Paul Maclauchlan moore!paul@uunet.UU.NET

     This guy sure got popular for a while. I'm not sure how he managed that
     from an album like 'Born in the USA'.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

SSQ

     ill dated synth. the singer is Suzie Q.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Billy Squire

     Wank rock.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Chris Squire

     Bassist for Yes from start to present. Also did some solo work which is
     pretty good.
          - Christopher Waldemar Bochna cb2w+@andrew.cmu.edu

Ringo Starr

     Half-hearted rocker in his dotage, but beloved by millions for his days
     with the Beatles. Very tasteful drummer.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     His RINGO album is quite a masterpiece. How is the recent collection
     from Rhino?
          - Neil Ottenstein OTTEN@UMCINCOM.BitNet

     Pretty good, surprisingly.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     Talk about a lucky guy, having little musical talent and managing to get
     in the Beatles :-). His first solo album had a few good songs written
     with the help others (notably George Harrison).
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

Steeleye Span

     Folk-rock at its finest. And _Sails of Silver_ is one of the best
     reunion albums ever.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     The most successul English folk-rock band, led by Maddy Prior and Tim
     Hart. 11 albums between 1970 and 1978, all decent to excellent, composed
     almost entirely of traditional English folksongs arranged for rock
     instrumentation. In their heyday, you could buy their albums in mall
     record stores! Reunions in 1981 and 1986-date have been marred by the
     group's feeble attempts to write original songs, though I hear the
     latest album returns to trad material and improves as a result. Tim Hart
     didn't come back for the current reunion and he is missed.
          - Ken Josenhans 13020KRJ@MSU.BitNet

     Yet another great folk-rock group from Britain. Maddy Prior's voice is
     still good after all those years. They just finished a new album,
     _Tempted and Tried_, not long ago, which shows they haven't lost their
     talent yet.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK


Sterling Void

     Average Chicago House style.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Stetasonic

     what they do. _talkin all that jazz_ is great!
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Steve Silk Hurley with Risse

     See "Risse"
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Rod Stewart

     Never-say-die holdover from half a dozen genres with some great songs to
     his credit, as well as guilty pleasures like "Hot Legs."
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Stiff Little Kittens

     Just to see if anyone knows who they were.
          - Kevin Martin sigma@pawl.rpi.edu

Sting

     zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     A very literate pop singer.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     He's okay as a solo artist but I wish he'd stick to the Police.
          - Frank J. Schima francis@pawl.rpi.edu

     I love his solo stuff, especially ...NOTHING LIKE THE SUN. Even better
     is seeing him live, though . . . it was a solid three-hour show and
     everybody got a shot at the spotlight. He attracts a crowd of really
     talented folks around him and his material lives up to them.
          - Lazlo Nibble lazlo@ariel.unm.edu

     Pretentious bandleader aching to taken seriously. Actually quite a
     melodyman. I wish he'd rock more.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Strawbs

     A couple of former Strawbs "spun-off" to form the Monks.  I like the
     Monks, but have never heard the Strawbs.
          - James Martin <martin@cpsc.UCalgary.CA>

     Another folk-rock band from England. Good stuff, but rather hard to
     find. All their albums are quite good, so I have a hard time picking out
     a particular one to recommend.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Style Council

     all these records and i now i hate the band. paul weller started out
     fresh and then went stale & staler & then began to rot.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

The Sugarcubes

     I really liked _Life's Too Good_, but the new album is another ho
     hummer.
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

     The lead singer's voice irritates me at times (I can't explain why), but
     I like this band in general; I find them fresh and inventive.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

     icelandic pop band.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Suicidal Tendencies

     An OK band, but too many times I've heard people call them the standard
     in hardcore. They are too pretentious for that; most "real" hardcore I
     have listened to is on a more personal level, and isn't just griping
     about things.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

Donna Summer

     Cute, sings good, and has some good songs.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     Disco superstar with highly erotic image who later found God. Great
     pipes.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Andy Summers

     A jazz-fusion guitarist who was in the band The Police for several
     years, but is now back to playing jazz-fusion and is (IMHO) doing a lot
     more interesting music.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Ex-Police drummer known for penchant for odd percussion.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

Sun Ra

     Earth's only interplanetary jazz big band leader.
          - sco!martyst@ucscc.UCSC.EDU

     From Birmingham, Alabama.A friend of mine's father got inducted into the
     Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame at the same time as the Ra and she remarked
     how bad the man smelled.
          - Jon Kincaid dsrekjk@prism.gatech.edu

Swans

     low growling male voice & feedback noise & sequencers. then they got a
     female vocalist and sound like the carpenters.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Sweet Tee

     One of the best girls in Hip House.
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

Swing Out Sister

     I hate their music. I think Corinne Drewery is tone deaf (cf. Chris de
     Burgh). She certainly has no talent as a singer. Eurovision.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

Sybil

     Or "how to use the Soul to Soul beat"...
          - Hussein Yahia hussein@bora.inria.fr

David Sylvian

     "Voices from the beehive" was beautifull, but when he attempts for
     something etheral he just loses touch with the rest of the world.
          - Wingerde van FJ fjvwing@cs.vu.nl

Synergy

     A combination of Larry Fast and more synthesizer equipment than will fit
     in most people's houses. Has done some of the best electronic music
     albums to come out of America. Especially recommended: _Electronic
     Realizations for Rock Orchestra_, _Metropolitan Suite_, and _Sequencer_.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Larry "Synergy" FAst showed what a synthesizer could do. His work with
     Nektar (conspicuous by its absence) is some of the best rock synthesizer
     work extant. Check out _Recycled_ if you don't believe me.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     Sound interesting.Haven't heard any of their material though.
          - Geir Stenstud geirs@ifi.uio.no
Tack>>Head

     the most talented collection of DJs in britian. their use of samples and
     expertese at mixing and redefining what is dance music is amasing.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Tangerine Dream

     I prefer their Schmoelling era work. Their recent stuff is good too, but
     I find their early material a bit dull and repetitive.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     My favorite group. These guys are the best in electronic music. It's
     hard to pinpoint any specific style, because it changes every few years.
     Early stuff is very organic, consisting more of sounds than traditional
     instruments and timbres. With the added drum machine, their music took
     on more form and structure. Their early 80's period is probably their
     best. The best way to describe this period is dreamy music with a beat.
     Finally, their latest period contains much more driving music. Heavy
     paced with a definite and strong beat. Recommendations: _Rubycon_
     (early), _Poland_ (middle), _Livemiles_ (latest)
          - Steven Seidman sseidman@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (The MIDIman)

     The original electronic music group from Germany, which has spawned off
     so many solo artist and inspired so many imitators. There's still
     nothing like the original. Practically any album by them is good, so I'm
     not going to pick a specific one (if I did, I'd probably end up choosing
     10 or 12 "best" TD albums.)
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     The original tangerine dream hater.
          - Russ Levreault RLEVREAULT@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU

     Their early 80's music is the most daring of all their varied styles.
     Older stuff is too spacey and their recent output lacks punch. "Logos
     Live" is one of their most consistent albums.
          - Iain Smith & Jonathan Habrovitsky
          jhabrovi%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     Their stuff in the early eighties is probably the best. I don't listen
     to it much nowadays though. It all sounds a bit "samey" after a while.
     Electronic..
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     They have been around since Jean was wearing dipers(not really). They
     certainly lost track around 82 --and when they signed up to Private
     Music I was quite happy actually. At last they would be able to get back
     to their previous incredible good style of
     20-minuts-musical-sequencial-grand-landscape and what happend? They
     started to make American POP jingles! Haven't heard their new one, from
     the responses I got, I probably wont either.
          - Geir Stenstud geirs@ifi.uio.no

Tangerine Dream & Jon Anderson

     I only know of one song Anderson did with Tangerine Dream. It was on the
     US soundtrack to "Legend". What else did he do with them?
          - Christopher Waldemar Bochna cb2w+@andrew.cmu.edu

     Only one song that I know of. They did a song for the movie soundtrack
     of "Legend".
          - Steven Seidman sseidman@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (The MIDIman)

Cecil Taylor

     free form jazz & improv for 4 or 5 players. sparce.
          - del Amitri del@ab.ecn.purdue.edu

Tears for Fears

     An overall great band. I liked _The Hurting_ and _Songs From The Big
     Chair_ and _Seeds of Love_ is currently growing on me.
          - Valerie valerie@athena.mit.edu

     Get these people off the airwaves, I am so sick of their pretentiosness
     I could "shout". Sowing the seeds of love: glistening slick slimy
     teenage pop.
          - John Gateley gateley@m2.csc.ti.com

     Their new album is nothing like their older stuff. I don't like it, but
     some might.
          - Bill White bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu

Todd Terry

     (Acid) House artist. Not quite as good as Tyree or Fast Eddie.
          - Stephen K Mulrine
          smulrine%computer-science.strathclyde.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

John Tesh

     Entertainment Tonight reporter, part-time Klingon, and electronic
     musician. What I've heard of his _Tour de France_ album sounds
     promising.
          - Richard Caley rjc%cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK

     I though he was some kind of american TV host -- oh no he made some Jan
     Hammer kind of music didn't he? He just have to spend some of his money
     perhaps on expencive equipment -- Finally he got it all back from the
     people who bought his album. Maybe he just laught his head off! And Tour
     De France! He just have to rip of the classic KRAFTWERK title doesn't
     he! (I know he made it for his Tv-series, but anyway)
          - Geir Stenstud geirs@ifi.uio.no

     Is his album 'Tour De France' the music from Channel 4's coverage? If
     so, I'll buy it. If not, I might buy it anyway.
          - Alan Crawford awrc%lfcs.edinburgh.ac.uk@NSFNET-RELAY.AC.UK
--
-Dave 	datta@vacs.uwp.wisc.edu
	....uwm!uwpvacs!datta
	uwpvacs.UUCP!datta@cs.wisc.edu