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          tmbg-list Digest, Volume 2, Number 239

                 Monday, 2 September 1996

Today's Topics:

                 Re: Disappointment + OAT
            Re: The style of Factory Showroom
                   Re: Factory showroom
                     metal detector?
                    a beautiful thing
                 TMBG single...cheapies!!
                  opening for Hootie???
                 Re: Disappointment + OAT
                          Smoke
         Re: metal detector? + Mono Puff concert
            Re: The style of Factory Showroom
            Re: The style of Factory Showroom
                   Re: Factory showroom
        Re: metal detector? It's back + Real Audio
                   Styles, Appointing,
                        The .wavs
                     excellent stuff
                       MD and SEXXY
              TMBG, REM, and changing styles
                     XTC mailing list
                   Re: Factory showroom
          Re: John Henry(1st time heard was bad)
                 Newsgroup, and more crap
                     Re: MD and SEXXY
                         Concert

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from the list, etc., send a message to the following address:

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---------------------------------------------------------------------
The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 08:57:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: Sarah Kunz <cb378@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
Subject: Re: Disappointment + OAT

On Sat, 31 Aug 1996, Ruprecht Jee wrote:

> 	I've been thinking about about the line in Avalanche or Roadblock
> that goes like this "If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any
> appointments"... I've been thinking maybe it's just a bad pun or maybe
> it's referring to something specific... I've been thinking a specific
> profession, in which case it could very well be referring to an abortion
> doctor, as in, they are disappointed for various reasons and have made an
> appointment... it sounds rather unsettling... oh well, I didn't write
> it...
 i've always thought this guy was so down on his luck, and had no one to
turn to, that disappointment was the only thing he really had.  maybe so,
maybe not...

sarah

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 09:17:51 -0500
From: Jeff Gustafson <Moogle@tmbg.org>
Organization: They Might Be Giants
Subject: Re: The style of Factory Showroom

Ruprecht Jee wrote:
>
> On Sat, 31 Aug 1996 17:27:45 -0400 (EDT) Josh <josh@fyi.net> writes:
> >I have recently d/l'd and listened to .wavs of SEXXY and Metal
> >Detector(!!!) and I was also at the 9:30 club concert.
>
> Wait, hold it right there, where did you download these?
>
> .sig
You can all get em' at http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html (for
Metal Detector)
and http://www.netvista.net/users/virgil/index.html fo SEXXY.  Warning:
These are the full versions of the songs so even at 28.8 it may take
awhile.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 12:32:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com>
Subject: Re: Factory showroom

>
>As for the Factory Showroom/album progression thread: I do agree that a
>group's style progresses from one album to the next, but I also think
>that TMBG might be progressing too far. They have a full band and in my
>opinion that has enabled them to have the fuller, more complete sound,
>but also seems to have decreased the "fun factor" that comes out so well
>in the first few albums. I liked John Henry immensely, but it isn't by
>far my most favorite (it might be my least favorite even...). My favorite
>is Apollo 18, which was an album where this "fun factor" came out rather
>well, song after song. Now TMBG is progressing more with FS, longer
>songs, less tracks ... we can all gripe and whine and complain that TMBG
>is going mainstream, maybe they are. But so what? Still TMBG. Still our
>most favorite band (or at least mine :) Nothing will change that, not even
>if TMBG did something similar to what REM did -- going from a _good_ style
>[Automatic] to a poor style [Monster].

REM may be a good comparison here, but I would hardly say they went from a
"good" style to a "poor" style. I enjoy Monster a lot, thank you. True, it's
nowhere as good as Automatic, but the other choice was to do A4TP2 and make
another album just like the last one. All through their time at Warner,
their style had remained pretty similar, with the mandolins and the quiet
Country Feedbacks on one side and the happy pop songs on the other. They
didn't want to do another album like that, and thus Monster. Which brings me
to the *real* point here...

...TMBG wanted a break. They'd been doing the exact same thing for four
albums. And while each of the first four albums has a unique style, there's
still a sort of overlying feel to all of them. After four albums like that,
J&J wanted to do something a little different. First they brought the band
with them on tour, and then they said, "Hey, this is pretty neat." So on
their next album they decided to use the band, without the extensive
overdubs and everything you usually hear on their albums. *They* enjoyed it,
it's what they wanted to do. Not neccesarily as a new style that would
continue on for all the succeeding albums; just as "this is what we feel
like doing now." TMBG are an evolving band. If you want a band stuck in a
rut, there are thousands of choices. (and yes, I do think new Pink Albums
and Lincolns every two years would be a rut.) TMBG don't do that; they go
whichever way they feel like and experiment with different styles and
sounds. Which brings us back to the example of R.E.M. above -- by most
accounts, their newest album (out Sept. 10!!!) combines the songwriting and
feeling of Automatic with the energy and power of Monster for something that
combines the best aspects of each. This seems to be what TMBG are going for
with Factory Showroom -- a mixture of the full-band style (On The Drag,
S-E-X-X-Y, XTCvAA) the more eclectic, happy-go-lucky sound of TMBG of old
(Metal Detector) and some new sounds altogether (Reprehensible, Counterfeit
Faker) I can hardly wait. :)
/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\
|     particle@servtech.com    http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/   |
| "Life is like a jigsaw. You get the straight bits, but there's something|
\-----missing in the middle."--XTC, "All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late)"-----/

------------------------------

From: mjames@sloth.loyola.edu (Matthew James)
Subject: metal detector?
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 14:23:10 -0400 (EDT)

Hi,
I believe it was Jeff Gustafson who posted the web address to
the Metal Detector song:
http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html
This does not go to any link, nor does http://www.inlink.com/~mitch.
Could you have posted the wrong address?  Thanx.
Matt
--
-----------------Bruce Campbell-Sam Raimi for '96------------------------
Matt James  polk@tmbg.org Matt.James.K.Polk@tmbg.org |TMBG|Sleeper
"EIREANN GO BRATH!"|Menswe@r|Echobelly| The Ocean Blue|The Beatles|XTC
Judybats|Robyn Hitchcock|Cause & Effect| "Hail to the king, baby"-Ash
Pogues|Erasure|Warsaw-JoyDivision-NewOrder|Elastica|Blur|Suede|Pulp
Smiths|Revenge|Other Two|Moxy Fruvous|Lightning Seeds|SPOCK|Supergrass
-------The poor remain poor.  Someone has to work at Woolworths.---------

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 09:00:12 -1000
From: psss@pixi.com (Sarah Cooke)
Subject: a beautiful thing

Something unexpected and wonderful happened today.  It involved my
neighbors, whom I normally regard with distaste.  They bought a scanner
last week and leave it on all night, making it difficult to sleep.  They
often listen to loud rap music, which I despise, and they are fond of my
least favorite radio station.  Today is a regular Sunday morning.  After my
shower, I sit down with the new TV section scanning for James Burke
documentaries when what do I hear but the strains of "Theme from Flood."  I
opened the kitchen window and listened to my neighbor's Flood, and someone
was singing along too!  It made my day.  It was truly a beautiful thing.

Sarah Cooke

The sun is so hot, that everything on it is a gas.  Iron, copper, aluminum,
and many others.

------------------------------

From: PinkPrnces@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 14:43:10 -0400
Subject: TMBG single...cheapies!!

 It's not very special or  anything, but I got the Don't Let's Start single
(tape) with We're the Rplacements. WIRIS, and Famous Polka. Good part is, I
got it for 1 buck!!! Hee-Haw!! Yippee!! anyway, just wanted to share.
Princess

------------------------------

From: Christi587@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 14:43:14 -0400
Subject: opening for Hootie???

>>Kay, who can't believe TMBG _will_ be opening for Hootie and the Blowfish
after all (according to _Billboard_ magazine, anyway)<<

Whoah. What issue is this from? I thought They refused this offer a long time
ago. (Rightly so, imho)

Christy

------------------------------

From: KdsInThHal@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 15:11:40 -0400
Subject: Re: Disappointment + OAT

Well, I think I'm pretty safe in saying that the narrarator of the song is
saying "If it wasn't for disappointment" meaning "if it wasn't for my
depression, "I wouldn't have any appointment" meaning "I wouldn't have a
therapist appointment" (or something like that). That's what I always
assumed.

-sarah :)
http://members.aol.com/kdsinthhal/site.html
"You can really whip a polar bear's ass up." - Wesley Willis ("Dave Grohl")

------------------------------

Subject: Smoke
From: freon@juno.com (Cody J Reynolds)
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 15:46:06 EDT

Not to mention that smoke destroys your voice.
Cody Reynolds
Freon@juno.com

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 15:05:20 -0500
From: Jeff Gustafson <Moogle@tmbg.org>
Organization: They Might Be Giants
Subject: Re: metal detector? + Mono Puff concert

Matthew James wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I believe it was Jeff Gustafson who posted the web address to
> the Metal Detector song:
> http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html
> This does not go to any link, nor does http://www.inlink.com/~mitch.
> Could you have posted the wrong address?  Thanx.
> Matt

Well that WAS to URL, but it seems to be gone now.  Never fear those of
you who wanted to hear it, I'll be uploading it to my web page soon.
Hopefully it will be there in about an hour.  Its the same file that was
on the other place but I changed it from stereo to mono which cut the
size by more than 50%.  The sound is almost the full version, but its
missing the opening.  It'll be up at
http://www.dragonfire.net/~Moogle/tmbg.htm soon.

I went to see Mono Puff at Mississippi Nights last night.  It was all
the fun of a TMBG concert with about 2/3 less people.  They played all
their songs except Hello hello, Dont I have the right?, and Tryptophan
(I couldn't believe they played To Serve Mankind!).  They also played
about 5 or 6 new songs which were Hillbilly Drummer Girl, Felt tip pen,
Security guard, On the drag, and a couple others that I don't remember.
And As an encore they played SEXXY and New York City which will both be
on the new TMBG album.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 16:21:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Josh <josh@fyi.net>
Subject: Re: The style of Factory Showroom

On Sat, 31 Aug 1996, *groovechild* wrote:

>
> On Sat, 31 Aug 1996, Josh wrote:
> > Many of the other songs from Factory Showroom which I heard at the concert
> > also seemed to be classic TMBG. Agree or disagree?
>
> Now don't hurt me for this, but I would like to disagree that there is a
> "classic TMBG" style.  There have been definite progressions from one
> album to the next, and I think that each album can stand on it's own.  For
> example, the John Henry style that many people had a problem with was
> actually just the next step in the evolution of the TMBG style.  Can
> anyone still say that John Henry is not TMBG?
>

Oh! I agree with that...All I was saying is that what I have heard from
Factory Showroom definitely is part of the evolution of the TMBG style
and not a drastic turn. Each album definitely has a very different feel,
but each album also could not be mistaken for anything but pure TMBG. :)

About the .wavs I mentioned, here is the url for the SEXXY one:

http://www.netvista.net/users/virgil/index.html

And I finally found the url for Metal Detector!:

http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html

Although, I just tried to go to this page and it doesn't seem to be up. I
dunno, I heard about it from somebody on Efnet IRC #TMBG. (By the way, I hang
out there with the /nick Jish) Ummm...I could try to offer the small .wavs on
my web page maybe, but the best one is the long one. I will email it to
anybody who wants it I guess, and I guess I will try to put the shorter
ones on my web page at:

http://www.fyi.net/~josh/

OK, new idea...I have a second page on my linux system which is up when I
am on my ppp account. I will put all the .wavs on this one so they can be
d/l'd whenever I am connected...bear with me:

http://josh.fyi.net/~josh/

Anyway. I guess I have nothing else to say right now...

Josh

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 15:41:58 -0500
From: Jeff Gustafson <Moogle@tmbg.org>
Organization: They Might Be Giants
Subject: Re: The style of Factory Showroom

Josh wrote:

>
> And I finally found the url for Metal Detector!:
>
> http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html
>
> Although, I just tried to go to this page and it doesn't seem to be up. I
> dunno, I heard about it from somebody on Efnet IRC #TMBG. (By the way, I hang
> out there with the /nick Jish) Ummm...I could try to offer the small .wavs on
> my web page maybe, but the best one is the long one. I will email it to
> anybody who wants it I guess, and I guess I will try to put the shorter
> ones on my web page at:
>

I just put the full version up on my web page.  Its there now.

http://www.dragonfire.net/~Moogle/tmbg.htm

------------------------------

Date: 01 Sep 96 16:41:29 EDT
From: Robert.Grabill.Jr@VALLEY.NET (Robert Grabill Jr.)
Subject: Re: Factory showroom

---That cutie josh wrote:
TMBG wanted a break. They'd been doing the exact same thing for four
albums.
--- end of quoted material ---
four? The last fun happy album they did in my opinion was Lincoln. Now I've
heard all the songs that will be on FS and I think that after the past three
"trendy" albums, It's time to revert to their Bar none kinda music. I think
that This album may be a present to the long term fans. (despite what elektra
says.)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 16:52:43 -0400
From: John Murray <jmurray@vt.edu>
Organization: Virginia Tech
Subject: Re: metal detector? It's back + Real Audio

Matthew James wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I believe it was Jeff Gustafson who posted the web address to
> the Metal Detector song:
> http://www.inlink.com/~mitch/metal.html

This is where I got the sound files before.  Could it be that the
eltra's lawyers got to the ISP?

But never fear I have put the these files on a web page plus I have
added a Real Audio Version of both metal detector and SEXXY on a web
page at:
http://jmurray.campus.vt.edu/tmbg/
of you can get the wav files from the above location or from my ftp
server at:
ftp://jmurray.campus.vt.edu/pub/tmbg/

If have questions feel free to e-mail me.

--
-John Murray
jmurray@vt.edu
The Unnoffical Pritcahrd Home Page
http://csugrad.cs.vt.edu/~murray/pritchard

------------------------------

From: NitpickR@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 18:31:32 -0400
Subject: Styles, Appointing,

Hello 41-

Lots of groovy fun talk has been going on, so here is my thoughts.  BTW, I
normally don't quote people's stuff, because you have probably read it
before, and can figure it out.  You are all bright.

Dissapointment:  I think this boils down to TMBG's way of saying "Between
grief and nothing, I'll take grief."  Because dissapointment makes you feel
like maybe you had a chance, or at one time you were important.  Nothing is
just nothing.

Styles:  I agree that TMBG over the years is a progression, but only to a
certain point.  I recall a quote from Mr. Linnel, I belive, that went along
the lines of "the song is our form of expression."  They also make songs
fairly frequently, so I belive each song is just a progression.  What I
belive is different is the "fun factor."  I belive that there are several
things that go into it.  The first that I don't know if it's been mentioned
is the record label thing.  I am not too sure how happy Elektra would be, if
they signed what they belived to be a "serious" band, and TMBG did more "not
serious" stuff.  Some of it is also probably TMBG's maybe getting sick of it,
or maybe maturity.  You can see bursts of the "funside," like in the latest
120 Minutes and things like that, but the change is very evident when you
compare recent radio appearances, to older ones.

REM- Skip over this if you'd like-  Summing it up simply, you can pretty much
break REM into four stages.  The early Radio Free Europe Stage, The
Green/Document Stage, The more experimental Out of Time/Automatic Stage, and
the Monster stage.  I prefer the second.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 19:12:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Josh <josh@fyi.net>
Subject: The .wavs

OK, I have all those .wavs up on http://josh.fyi.net/~josh

You should really go to http://www.fyi.net/~josh first tho
Cause that will always be up...

Remember to right click the link to the .wav if netscape tries to play it
when you want to save it or something...

Josh

------------------------------

From: mjames@greed.loyola.edu (Matthew James)
Subject: excellent stuff
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 20:24:35 -0400 (EDT)

I was at a cookout today and was talking to my friend, Greg.  Greg has
been in some bands but I found out that one of his bands did covers
of Youth Culture Killed My Dog and Don't Let's Start.  Also, he did
an acoustic show and played She's An Angel, it was excellent hearing
that.  He also had Lincoln on vinyl in great condition!  As well he
had the Snowman DLS single on vinyl although I didn't get to see that.
We tried to call Dial-A-Song but it just rang and rang.  Apparently
he had listened to his sister's Pink album in 1988 and has been
a big fan ever since!  I have a new respect for Greg, not that
I didn't respect himn before ;)
Matt
--
-----------------Bruce Campbell-Sam Raimi for '96------------------------
Matt James  polk@tmbg.org Matt.James.K.Polk@tmbg.org |TMBG|Sleeper
"EIREANN GO BRATH!"|Menswe@r|Echobelly| The Ocean Blue|The Beatles|XTC
Judybats|Robyn Hitchcock|Cause & Effect| "Hail to the king, baby"-Ash
Pogues|Erasure|Warsaw-JoyDivision-NewOrder|Elastica|Blur|Suede|Pulp
Smiths|Revenge|Other Two|Moxy Fruvous|Lightning Seeds|SPOCK|Supergrass
-------The poor remain poor.  Someone has to work at Woolworths.---------

------------------------------

From: mjames@greed.loyola.edu (Matthew James)
Subject: MD and SEXXY
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 21:04:53 -0400 (EDT)

I doubt that Elecktra hunted down the people who put up Metal Detector
and SEXXY, it was probably taken off because it was taking up so
much space on the server.  I mean 2.7MB is not a small amount.  Even
worse is the amount of hits for this song, which can take up a lot
of processor time.
Matt
--
-----------------Bruce Campbell-Sam Raimi for '96------------------------
Matt James  polk@tmbg.org Matt.James.K.Polk@tmbg.org |TMBG|Sleeper
"EIREANN GO BRATH!"|Menswe@r|Echobelly| The Ocean Blue|The Beatles|XTC
Judybats|Robyn Hitchcock|Cause & Effect| "Hail to the king, baby"-Ash
Pogues|Erasure|Warsaw-JoyDivision-NewOrder|Elastica|Blur|Suede|Pulp
Smiths|Revenge|Other Two|Moxy Fruvous|Lightning Seeds|SPOCK|Supergrass
-------The poor remain poor.  Someone has to work at Woolworths.---------

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 21:33:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Jeff Scanlon, Jr." <jscanlon@osf1.gmu.edu>
Subject: TMBG, REM, and changing styles

On Sun, 1 Sep 1996, Joshua Hall-Bachner wrote:

As much as an REM thread is probably unwanted, I can't help but
contribute :)

> REM may be a good comparison here, but I would hardly say they went from a
> "good" style to a "poor" style. I enjoy Monster a lot, thank you. True, it's

As to the "Monster a lot, thank you" I apologize, no offense was
intended. However, you're the first REM fan that I've heard say really
liked Monster, ever since it was released. From the start everyone I've
talked to said how they were tired of WTFK being overplayed; then the
actual album sucking a lot. I share in their opinion.

> nowhere as good as Automatic, but the other choice was to do A4TP2 and make
> another album just like the last one. All through their time at Warner,
> their style had remained pretty similar, with the mandolins and the quiet
> Country Feedbacks on one side and the happy pop songs on the other. They
> didn't want to do another album like that, and thus Monster. Which brings me
> to the *real* point here...

I disagree here, a lot. First off, no group ever does a sequel to a
previous album, nor do any have a need to. REM has progressed over time.
Each album really isn't too much like the previous. Look at contrasts
such as Document to Murmur, Green to Automatic and such .. or go ahead
and compare any album with any other. To me, REM is more primarily
getting out politcal messages than bothering with making Feedback songs
with mandolins or happy pop songs. (This comes out especially with
Document :) In its own respect Monster is a good album, but I feel REM
progressed TOO far. Almost tried to reinvent themselves instead of going
with themes that have worked for them ever since they started. And tying
this in with TMBG, TMBG's progressiong from pre-JH to JH to FS is a much
smoother progression than REM from Automatic to Monster.

> ...TMBG wanted a break. They'd been doing the exact same thing for four
> albums. And while each of the first four albums has a unique style, there's
> still a sort of overlying feel to all of them. After four albums like that,

Again, disagreement .. I believe TMBG progressed some over time
throughout their albums. Some though, since if I recall correctly
Flansburgh said that most of the songs on Flood, Pink and Lincoln was stuff
they had written before Pink came out.

> J&J wanted to do something a little different. First they brought the band
> with them on tour, and then they said, "Hey, this is pretty neat." So on

Do you have proof of them saying "This is pretty neat"? From what Flans
said, they had choices of what to do with their money for their next
album/shows/etc and decided to opt for the full band regularly rather
than other stuff. I can get precise quotes if you like.

> like doing now." TMBG are an evolving band. If you want a band stuck in a
> rut, there are thousands of choices. (and yes, I do think new Pink Albums
> and Lincolns every two years would be a rut.) TMBG don't do that; they go

I couldn't agree more; no band should be stuck in a rut. As I even said
in my message you responded to, its fine for a band to evolve, and even
if an album comes out crappy its no less the band than any other album,
and can be appreciated in its own way.

> sounds. Which brings us back to the example of R.E.M. above -- by most
> accounts, their newest album (out Sept. 10!!!) combines the songwriting and
> feeling of Automatic with the energy and power of Monster for something that
> combines the best aspects of each. This seems to be what TMBG are going for
> with Factory Showroom -- a mixture of the full-band style (On The Drag,
> S-E-X-X-Y, XTCvAA) the more eclectic, happy-go-lucky sound of TMBG of old
> (Metal Detector) and some new sounds altogether (Reprehensible, Counterfeit
> Faker) I can hardly wait. :)

1) Good! I can't wait for the new REM album; infact dare I say I
anticipate it more than FS? :) Monster does have energy; I'll give it
that. But the heavy guitar work is just a bit too overbearing on Stipe's
voice. I've only heard the new single, and think its terrific since REM
is switching back to teh Automatic style, something that works for them
(but not something they should cling to with every album from now on, of
course)

2) And good! TMBG is allowed to progress. Perhaps with FS the full band
will sound even more smooth than on JH (it seemed a bit rough to me on a
few songs) and come out quite good. Another album I anticipate greatly.

Thanks for your comments, perhaps we can continue these threads :) Or
perhaps change to email if 1) noone else joins in and 2) it gets too
outta hand for this list (mailing lists should not stay on subject at all
times, but also shouldn't drift too incredibly far from the intended
purpose :)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 22:36:14 -0400
From: nmcgrath@world.std.com (Nancy McGrath)
Subject: XTC mailing list

In tmbg-list Digest #2-236, stevie <stevie@interport.net> suggested:

> Sorry to bore you all w/ non-TMBG stuff.  Maybe someone should start an
> XTC list?  I guess not; there would never be tour dates to post!
>
It exists.  To subscribe, send the usual email with only the word "subscribe" (leaving
off the quotes, of course) to: chalkhills-request@mando.engr.sgi.com.
Tour dates or no, there's some intelligent discourse.

Nancy McGrath
nmcgrath@world.std.com

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Factory showroom
From: superuprecht@juno.com (Ruprecht Jee)
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 22:56:11 EDT

On Sun, 1 Sep 1996 12:32:35 -0400 (EDT) Joshua Hall-Bachner
<particle@servtech.com> writes:
>
>...TMBG wanted a break. They'd been doing the exact same thing for
>four
>albums. And while each of the first four albums has a unique style,
>there's
>still a sort of overlying feel to all of them.

The *first* [that includes Misc. T. and not Flood] three albums had an
over all feel to them because they were TMBG's style, TMBG's pre-major
label style.  When Elektra came along and signed them, They attempted to
sell out in a sneaky way, Istanbul is just one small example of this
[releasing a cover as a single] and well, you can see just how
uncomfortable they are in that 120 minutes interview with "Dave Kendall"
when he mentions them selling out... It is arguable that they didn't
sellout since they didn't even become ultra popular, but they still sold
attempted out, regardless of the fact that they attempted to stay
underground while trying to sellout... I know this will make plenty of
you mad because you only came in around John Henry or Apollo 18 or Flood,
but I don't happen to care...

>After four albums like
>that,
>J&J wanted to do something a little different. First they brought the
>band
>with them on tour, and then they said, "Hey, this is pretty neat." So
>on
>their next album they decided to use the band, without the extensive
>overdubs and everything you usually hear on their albums. *They*
>enjoyed it,
>it's what they wanted to do.

They wanted to make some money, Flansburgh wanted to be a rock star...
They wanted to be hip and now...

>Not neccesarily as a new style that would
>continue on for all the succeeding albums; just as "this is what we
>feel
>like doing now." TMBG are an evolving band. If you want a band stuck
>in a
>rut, there are thousands of choices. (and yes, I do think new Pink
>Albums
>and Lincolns every two years would be a rut.)

Staying in a Lincoln/Pink Album "rut" as you call it, would not at all be
harmful.  They would still be doing incredible stuff, they would still
have that left over eighties synth sort of thing going on.  Frankly, I
would not have minded if they had just stayed on Bar/None and continued
making inovative and original music.  The major difference is that there
would be about half as many people on this list [and we'd be talking
about Ween as an example, not REM], or maybe it wouldn't exist.  Anyone
can have a rock band.

>TMBG don't do that; they
>go
>whichever way they feel like and experiment with different styles and
>sounds. Which brings us back to the example of R.E.M. above -- by most
>accounts, their newest album (out Sept. 10!!!) combines the
>songwriting and
>feeling of Automatic with the energy and power of Monster for
>something that
>combines the best aspects of each. This seems to be what TMBG are
>going for
>with Factory Showroom -- a mixture of the full-band style (On The
>Drag,
>S-E-X-X-Y, XTCvAA) the more eclectic, happy-go-lucky sound of TMBG of
>old
>(Metal Detector) and some new sounds altogether (Reprehensible,
>Counterfeit
>Faker) I can hardly wait. :)

Me, I can't wait for the new Wally Pleasant record.  Getting Rumble at
the Kareoke Bar and Let's Play Life on cd would be great... but I
digress... and as for TMBG's so called progression, I'd call it a
digression... flame me if you like... it's your life...

=========================a spooky man named Ike=========================
The Web: http://www.inca.de/user/ruprecht/
The E-mail: superuprecht@juno.com
The Annoying Quote: "Get a good look Costanza?"
=================I wish that I could jump out of my .sig================

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 22:45:21 -0500 (CDT)
From: pucketaw@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu (Andy Puckett)
Subject: Re: John Henry(1st time heard was bad)

>Question. Am I the only person who felt that John Henry was bad the first
>time you listened to it? I remember being so thrilled when I bought it,
>and couldn't wait to hear it. I put it in the radio, and my brother and I
>started listening to it.
>	After the first side, we had to turn it of because it was so bad.
>I put it away, and didn't listen to it for about a month, until I decided
>to try it again. And when I did, I loved it.

You're not the only one.  It also happened with MonoPuff:Unsupervised, all
kinds of ska CDs I've bought...basically anything I believe will be good but
have never actually heard before.  My theory is that if you don't like it
the first time, keep letting it play while you read email, go to sleep, do
homework, etc.  Then the beats and the lyrics will get to you, if it's stuff
you're gonna like, and if not, *that's* when you gotta sell it or give to
friends for birthday presents, etc.

I know i'm behind.  I'm trying to catch up.

        andy PUCKett
        pucketaw@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu

------------------------------

From: wglodell@baraboo.com (Leda Glodell)
Subject: Newsgroup, and more crap
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 00:10:35 -0500

        I've been trying to connect to the newsgroup but can't. My main
probably is probably because i never used a newsgroup (no interesting
subjects) then when i point netscape news to alt.music.tmbg, it says it
can't find it or occaisionally "Error while retriving data" thing.. Can
Anyone Help?

                About the Metal Detector  .WAV'S i was dowmloading this
morning, and the page disappeared while I was downloading it.... it sucked....

        About factory showroom, i say just accept what it is, John Henry was
different than the others more noticably, but i don't think they're turning
mainstream. In My Opinion, a lotta people are afraid to like they because
they look nerdy and they're songs don't have a really loud guitar though
most of it.....

                is it still possible to get new copys of the demo tape??? i
wanna hear it.

        Is there any chance John  and John will dare come to this hell named
wisconsin and play in a place a 12 year old can get into???? Not that anyone
would come, there are probably about 13 TMBG fans in the state.... Well,
there are people that go to any concert, that or they'll get on mtv and
aqquire some fans....

        (A Stipid Hick kid Puts In A Boyz 2 Men Cd during a dumb part of
music class)

                Me: AAAARRGGHHH!!!! IT'S HELL IN A CD, MAKE IT STOP...

                Hic Kid: What Music Do You Like then??? CLASSICAL?? hahaa

                Me: Yeah

                Hic Kid: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

  _________________________________________________
 /     -WYATT GLODELL-WGLODELL@BARABOO.COM-        \
|"Chinese people were fighting in the park we tried |
|to help 'em fight no one appreciated that" -TMBG   |
 \_________________________________________________/

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 00:31:48 -0500 (CDT)
From: Chris Kopenec <kopenec@tenet.edu>
Subject: Re: MD and SEXXY

On Sun, 1 Sep 1996, Matthew James wrote:

> I doubt that Elecktra hunted down the people who put up Metal Detector
> and SEXXY, it was probably taken off because it was taking up so
> much space on the server.  I mean 2.7MB is not a small amount.  Even
> worse is the amount of hits for this song, which can take up a lot
> of processor time.

I personally think that 2.7meg isn't that much...of course it does add
up, but for most servers, 2.7meg isn't a lot to ask.

But!!! On a good note, isn't it great to know that there are enough
people out there giving the page its hits that we can take up processor
time!  That means we care!  Woohoo!!!!
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message may not be broadcast,  reproduced, or by any means transferred,
over the  Microsoft Network,  unless the  author (Chris Kopenec)  receives a
check for the sum of $500,  paid in  full, by  Mr. Bill Gates.  Transmission
over the Microsoft Network is  considered agreement to the above conditions.
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-=*( Chris Kopenec )*=-                           -=*( kopenec@tmbg.org )*=-
               -=*( http://www.chrysalis.org/kopenec/ )*=-

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 18:33:31 -1000
From: Coffee Store Kihei <coffee1@maui.net>
Organization: n/a
Subject: Concert

Well, my names Liam and I've been unsubscribed to the list since the end
of school cause of no computer acess, but I'm in one of those funky
cyber-cafes, so I thought I'd tell you about their concert in Norwalk,
CT. a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know if anyone else was there, but I thought it was great cause
there were HARDLY ANY MOSHERS, so I spent the concert right up front,
where I got smiled at by both Brian and Linell, probably cause I kept
making weird faces at them. (There were a couple moshers, but linell
said "stop that..whatever you call it...that running into eachother
stuff, because we're trying to play happy music here", and then he
played "whistling in the dark). They played lots'o new stuff from their
upcoming album FACTORY SHOWROOM.  It was a very educational evening,
cause they played WDTSS, James Ensor, James K. Polk, and S-X-X-Y.

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST:

During AKA Driver, Flansy went into a weird version of "STAYIN' ALIVE"

They played Leslie Gore's song "Maybe I know that he's been cheating" on
the accordian.

The guy next to me was downing Tic-Tacs and smashing the cases.

Good conga line during "No one knows my plan", without Them even telling
us to.

That's All for now 'till school...
Liam.

------------------------------

End of tmbg-list Digest #2-239
******************************