Hello, etc.

[megatest!kax!bgregory@Sun.COM (Brian Gregory)]

[I wrote this about two weeks ago, but it's taken a few times to get
 this to Love-Hounds.  If this appears more than once, my apologies!]

Hello!

After a long quiet spell (years!) on gaffa, I thought I should rejoin the
mainstream.  I think the last time I posted something, gaffa and luminaries
like |>oug were just getting started...  Nevertheless, I've tried to keep
up reading gaffa when I can, and corresponding with a couple of folks.
I think gaffa has been the source of some of the best music suggestions
(from Vickie, others) and info (IED, et. al.) -- not to mention being a
definitive forum on Kate.

With introductions out of the way, I wanted to ask, can anyone send me
whatever threads there have been on possible Kate concert tours?  I have
seen some mention of such here, but haven't kept up quite enough to get
the whole picture.  Thanks in advance!

Finally, there's been a lot of talk about the "Whole Story" videos lately
(possibly because it has a new, low domestic price?):  the interesting
thing is how long some of the videos have been around.  Until I got my copy
just recently, the last time I had seem some of them was on the early 80's
version of Night Flight, and even KQED-San Francisco's Videowest program,
a little earlier.  I think the thing to realize was that at the time, these
videos were far ahead of their time.  I was certainly impressed, both then and
even to this day.

For videos like "Wuthering Heights" I agree that the techniques used are
simple, but the ends for which they are used...  As opposed to modern MTV
stuff, where really sophisticated production techniques are (mostly) used to
practically no end, other than for simple exhibition of such techniques --
style without substance?  Please don't think that I feel this way because
I'm some sort of TV snob, or jaded old-timer.  In fact, there are many
exceptions.  It's just that so many things now are rehashed over and over...

When reviewing the Whole Story videos, I felt much of the excitement that
I had felt when viewing them for the first time.  It's an association thing,
something that newer viewers/listeners simply don't have.  Everything was so
new then.  The early impressions carry.  A more recent example of roughly the
same thing would be that the Art of Noise popularized sampling, whereas
now it's pretty basic stuff.  That doesn't prevent one from appreciating
"Close to the Edit" does it?  Or does it?  Hopefully that's a good example.

Speaking of Videowest and early Night Flights, I don't suppose you folks
know of some ways to see these shows again??

Cheers,
Brian Gregory          ...sun!megatest!bgregory