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alloy-digest Sunday, June 25 2000 Volume 05 : Number 158
Today's Subjects:
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Re: Alloy: more on Bowie's show ["Trevor James Blagg" <Blagg@norling.fsne]
Alloy: Re: Radio Silence/Science [RThurF@aol.com]
Re: Alloy: Song of the Week: Urges ["Michael and Denise Luckey" <LUCKEY7]
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Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 14:19:07 +0100
From: "Trevor James Blagg" <Blagg@norling.fsnet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Alloy: more on Bowie's show
Original message from spin magazine via Robin stated:
Bowie, backed by his more than able new band, heads to
> England this weekend, where he is due to headline the Glastonbury
> festival on Sunday night.
>
Just a pleasant shot in the dark type of thought....
If Bowie is on his way to Glastonbury, is it not inconceivable that Thomas
may be starting to think about which pair of wellies to pack too?
Trev...
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Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 19:36:24 EDT
From: RThurF@aol.com
Subject: Alloy: Re: Radio Silence/Science
In a message dated 6/24/00 1:32:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
stevewho@pacbell.net writes:
:: I have a question about my copy of Wireless on LP. The label
incorrectly lists track #2 as "Radio Science", while the LP album
cover correctly lists the song as "Radio Silence". Is this error
present on many pressings? Was it corrected on later pressings? ::
My LP says 'Radio Silence' on the label - and it's a later pressing. I think
someone else had mentioned the misspelling here somewhere along the line -
your early pressing is probably rare! For reference to all things imaginable
regarding Dolby's recorded work the best place is Lazlo's Discography which
is found at http://www.swcp.com/~lazlo/index.html
(incidentally, Alloy has archives which are found at
http://www.smoe.org/lists/alloy/?N=R
this is the 'backward' version, which gives the most recent digests first...
the normal chronological version is
http://www.smoe.org/lists/alloy )
My copy of GAOW does have this strange little inscription in the vinyl next
to the label that looks just like one of my tattoos. It's the alchemical
symbol for 'crucible' only the one on the LP is slightly elongated. it's
very strange, I'd never noticed it before!
Robin T
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Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 20:07:38 -0400
From: "Michael and Denise Luckey" <LUCKEY7@prodigy.net>
Subject: Re: Alloy: Song of the Week: Urges
I could never sum this song up as eloquently as you Robin but I do agree
that "Urges" shares a special place with me as well. I never knew this song
existed until a friend of mine brought back an original "Golden Age" from an
import store in Michigan in 1983 with "Leipzig" and "Urges" on it. It
immediately became one of my favorites! I loved the lyrics and thought they
exemplified the complexities of Dolby outside of "Science!" which is all
anyone knew of him then. I had a musical debate with a good friend of mine
in independent art study who happened to be a big fan of Iron Maiden at the
time. I even got her to admit that "Urges" was a great piece of
songwriting. When Thomas played here in 1984 "Urges" was the fourth or
fifth song on his playlist much to my surprise! That pretty much cemented
the song then and now as one my favorite Dolby tunes.
Back to a bar somewhere in clubland,
M.L.
- ----- Original Message -----
From: <RThurF@aol.com>
To: <alloy@smoe.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2000 12:03 AM
Subject: Alloy: Song of the Week: Urges
>
> I've tried writing out the lyrics but it is so space consuming for the
> list... I really think I'll skip that part & go straight to discussion if
> nobody minds. Of course, I'll happily put the lyrics up if anyone wants
to
> see them. I'm assuming that anyone commenting on this song will already
be
> familiar with the lyrics though.
>
> Anyway, this song does mean a lot to me personally. I actually first
heard
> "Urges" at around age fifteen & what struck me about it right away was
that
> it ultimately put sexuality into a normal light, when other songs and
> entertainment either were constantly glamorizing/demonizing it. The song
> begins by going through descriptions of people posing around clubs in
> leatherette, with light effects, smoke & mirrors, imagining themselves to
be
> film stars. The refrain describes sexual feelings which everybody has,
and
> everybody knows everybody else is having, and which they're acting out
about,
> but aren't supposed to ever mention in conversation or even really admit
to
> oneself. But at the end of the song, the fakery and the posing is broken
> away from with the lines:
> 'Girl this time it's a new sensation,
> it's never been this way before
> I look at you and I feel half human'
> To me as a teenage kid, this very last verse struck me with such
simplicity
> and honesty, that feeling sexually attracted to another person is a
genuine
> aspect of human existence, and that real sexuality is perfectly human and
> normal. That it typically is taught to be otherwise, and when it is, it
> leads to absurdities of behavior like that seen at the average dance club.
I
> loved his use of his feeling 'half human' as indicating that he was closer
to
> his true human/sexual self with this person. Most of the time people use
the
> term 'human' as being distinguished away from 'animalistic' things such as
> sex... but here he seemed to be drawing the sense of humanity and
sexuality
> together to form a sane completion.
>
> I also loved the line:
> 'In the footlight, the ape in motion
> spins circles all across the floor'
> Absolutely wonderful visuals there; putting into perspective what's really
> going on. Despite all the glamor we may put on in our various
socialising,
> human beings still do interact in basic, animal ways. The ape spinning
> circles across the floor is just your average clubgoer trying to show
> him/herself off as good mating material.
>
> I just found it very refreshing & liberating to hear such things pointed
out
> so clearly, especially as a young teenager. I think it's really important
to
> hear from someone you admire that at least *something* about you is okay,
> particularly at that age, because you feel so berzerk on a daily basis &
it
> often feels as if you're not doing anything right! It also helped me to
be a
> lot more philosophical about such things as glamor and appearances when
I'd
> find myself in various social situations in those days, providing me with
a
> different sort of remote viewpoint (and a humorous one at that! :) which I
> think might have really helped me to feel less awkward as well as less
likely
> to be drawn in.
>
> That sums up some of my basic thoughts about 'Urges' - a song I still
love.
> Has anyone else felt this song has impacted them? If so please share it
with
> us!
>
> Robin T
>
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End of alloy-digest V5 #158
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