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alloy-digest Friday, May 4 2001 Volume 06 : Number 112
Today's Subjects:
-----------------
Re: Alloy: WOTF Interpretation [Brian Clayton <stemish@lns.com>]
Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild [jonathan.chiddick@no]
Alloy: Cloudburst [jonathan.chiddick@nokia.com]
Alloy: One more bio to add [Elaine Linstruth <elaine@qnet.com>]
Re: Alloy: One more bio to add [Robin Thurlow <rthurlow@binghamton.edu>]
Re: Alloy: One more bio to add [Slarvibarglhee <slarvibarglhee@alloy99.fr]
Re: Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild [Slarvibarglhee <]
Alloy: a link from Thomas ["Robin" <rthurlow@worldshare.net>]
Re: Alloy: One more bio to add ["Robin" <rthurlow@worldshare.net>]
Re: Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild ["Robin" <rthurlo]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 22:36:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: Brian Clayton <stemish@lns.com>
Subject: Re: Alloy: WOTF Interpretation
On Wed, 2 May 2001 Spencer2424@aol.com wrote:
> Just for the fun of the discussion, I've always liked to think of "Wreck of
> the Fairchild" as the missing "prequel" to "Airwaves." The end of the
> "Wreck" has that same radio noise sound that serves as an intro to
> "Airwaves." In fact, you can almost mix them right into each other at that
> point.
Er, they *are* mixed together that way on the original British "Wireless."
Side Two starts with "Fairchild," then segues into "Airwaves" (the full
version), and then into "Radio Silence." The three songs definitely form
a trilogy of sorts.
BC
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 14:34:46 +0300
From: jonathan.chiddick@nokia.com
Subject: Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild
Hi all,
Robin wrote:
> Wreck of the Fairchild is one I like to play a lot. The one line of
> lyrics on the recording (though it seems to be sung differently than the
> original conception which is in a handwritten note in Thomas' FES
> Gallery) is quite chilling. The elements within the music
> could not be more beautifully arranged. I really love this piece.
And now from Norwich: it's the quiz of the week!
[cue cheesy theme song]
Norwich is my home town (city actually) and the above isn't going to mean
anything to anyone who was there at the time.
It seems to me that much of Thomas's early work is located (logically and
physically) on the East coast of England; especially the county of Suffolk.
- - a place I know like the inside of my pocket. Maybe that is one of the
reasons that I connect with so much of his work.
Has anyone tried to sing 'Sale of the Century' over the top of TWOTF? I will
try this today as I am at home trying to recover from a virus before I leave
for CA on Saturday. (it is also a good opportunity as I am very shy about my
singing and I have the apartment to myself. I *think* my voice is rather
good and I seem to have very good pitch but hell I can't share. 'Just can't)
Paul wrote:
> I fully agree - the w.o.t.f . is a great track , one of my favourites
> alongside Therapy/Growth,I hardly ever hear that track ,
> yet when I do , I always wonder why ive left it so long --- and why isnt
it on
> any CD??????.
Yet. The eternal optimist!
> By the way - for anyone who maybe hasnt seen a similar item
> -- the spanish single - Wreck of Fairchild/Airwaves - has a great cover
to
> it - taken from one of the videos of Live Wireless - cant remember which
one
> at present .
Grrr. Three, count 'em, one, two, three of these beauties have gone on ebay
recently and for one reason or another I still don't have one.
I believe that the cover for this was shot, as you also note, at the same
time as the video for Europa. The setting looks very familiar to me. I think
this is the Nuclear Power station on the coast at Sizewell, Suffolk. This is
just a stones throw away from the legendary Shingle Street. This is one of
my favourite places on our flat old earth. Between Shingle Street and
Sizewell is a place called Orford which has the most mind-blowing castle to
be found anywhere. Imagine the castle in Monty Pythons Search For The Holy
Grail and multiply its splendour by an unfeasibly large number and you will
have a basic idea what Henry II's 12. Century (virtually intact) keep looks
like. I *love* it there.
For those with too much time on their hands:
http://www.altavista.com/r?ck_sm=81186ebf&ref=20080&r=http://www.touruk.co.u
k/castles/castle_Orford.htm
Anyway, to get back on topic I decided to give my dad a call. We/I have been
there many times on trips to the coast but I had never asked him what he
knew.
Jon: "Shingle Street, what do you know about it?"
Dad: "That's where the Germans tried to land or an exercises went wrong or
something."
Jon: "Yes, there are several theories about what happened there but what
have you heard?"
Dad: "Around the coast during the war there were pipelines installed so that
they could pump petrol or some other kind of flammable into the sea and
ignite it to make the surface burn and turn back an invading force."
"Something went wrong there. There was talk that it was a German invasion
force but I heard that it was a landing exercise that went wrong. I was just
a kid and it was a long time ago"
Come out of your shell
and look at the sea
it may be just as well
you stayed here with me
private hell at turn of a key
(blindly) into the cloudburst overhead
I wanna get my face wet
been buried in these hands for years
(mindless) into the cloudburst naked
there's really no escaping it
there's gonna be a cloudburst here
Yep. I really think so. There is also a great Martello tower at Shingle
Street that was one of a series of over a hundred built to repel a
Napoleonic invasion. That beach has been a hot spot for ever. It draws me to
it. You have to go there and feel it for yourself.
> Oh yes - dont worry im going to sort out my own e mail
> address soon - my wifes getting bored of receiving emails which have
nothing to do with her.
Bored! How dare she ;-)
>there's really no escaping it
>there's gonna be a cloudburst here
What an evocative song. Now Befordshire, that's a lousy place...
Jon
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 14:58:10 +0300
From: jonathan.chiddick@nokia.com
Subject: Alloy: Cloudburst
Hmmm,
I gushed that text down into a mail and then sent before I realised that I
had already posted something similar a while back. Apologies for the Shingle
Street repetition but I couldn't hold myself back!
'there's really no mistaking it...'
Jon
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 10:30:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Elaine Linstruth <elaine@qnet.com>
Subject: Alloy: One more bio to add
I hope it's not too late to join in. I'm 33, living on the westernmost
edge of the Mohave Desert in Palmdale, southern California (not to be
confused with Palm Springs). We currently live at 2,600' elevation,
surrounded by brown color as far as the eye can see. In the heat of the
summer it's 103-105F every day, and we have sunny skies probably 300 days
a year. This is not as good as it might initially sound. I have a
husband and am full-time mom to two little girls, ages 4 and 19 months.
In another life (prior to 1996), I was a meetings and convention planner
in Washington, DC. Sometimes I miss those days, but at least I still have
plenty of opportunities to keep my organizational skills sharp.
I knew about Thomas from the early 80's (SBMWS, Hyperactive!, Europa). I
met the dude who would become my husband through his BBS in the Virginia
Beach area in 1988. (He was the Sysop and I was a User. Crackers could
probably write a wicked song about that one.) We didn't meet face-to-face
until 1989. As we were dating, he introduced me to the real world of TMDR
with the album "Aliens Ate My Buick." My husband had all of Thomas's
albums except TFE, which we went scouring for in used CD bins. I was
absolutely hooked, floored, devoted, and captivated. By both men, you
could say. Aliens still ranks as my favorite album by Thomas, although I
very much like them all.
My favorite TMDR story is from 1993, when I first took the aforementioned
events planning job. I was assigned to spend a week in Las Vegas for my
company's annual meeting. It was the first business trip I'd ever taken
- -- I'd never even so much as hailed a taxi before -- I was somewhat
sheltered as a kid. I decided to go whole-hog and rented a car after the
meeting, driving down to Arizona for the night. This was a whole new
world! First time I'd rented a car, first time I'd been in the desert,
freedom from all things office-mundane, my first expense account. I was
enjoying myself. I drove way too fast, had all the windows down and the
stereo blaring, smoking cigarettes like it was going out of style. I had
purchased "Astronauts & Heretics" just days before leaving on the trip,
but hadn't heard it yet, and it was back in DC. All of a sudden, this
gorgeous song came on my rental car radio! A very familiar vocalist began
singing, and it didn't take long to figure out who it was. I turned it
way up and started drifting along with it. The song moved me and brought
tears to my eyes, in spite of all the childish self-gratification that was
going on. The juxtaposition of swamp sounds in that dry, hot, barren
place. I still hear and smell and remember that day, every time I hear "I
Love You Goodbye."
(Yes, in 1993, Las Vegas radio was playing TMDR!)
Living 65 miles north of Los Angeles, there are more celebrities down
there that I could shake a stick at. I've never seen any up close, but
used to in Washington occasionally. Up here in this desert, the only
famous person I know of is legendary drummer Carmine Appice. He lives up
here in a big ol' compound and is a customer of my husband's company. My
brother-in-law went over to help him set up computers once. He was
described to me as being very cool and especially nice.
The nearest widely-known landmark (skipping L.A. itself) would probably be
Edwards Air Force Base, about 25 miles northwest of my house. Today is
5/1/2001 and the space shuttle Endeavour landed around 9 this morning. The
two sonic booms triggered someone's car alarm to go off up the street! I
heard the booms, then probably 60 seconds later heard them on the live
television feed from Edwards. I don't know how it all works, but I think
it's baaaaaaaad, brother.
If I could ask Thomas one question, hm. One thing I always wondered is
whether or not he had any groupies in his touring days. (Somewhere,
Robin's head is exploding as I type this.) What was it like backstage?
As I mentioned, I also have wondered about the album A&H, and the stories
that inspired those songs. I get the impression he wouldn't want to share
that, though.
The truth is, if I ever got to meet Thomas, I'm sure my mouth would go dry
and my mind would go blank. I'm not very good at in-person chitchat.
I'd be lucky to eek out something silly like, "Pleasure to meet you. Big
Fan." Then I'd go home and bang my head against a wall the rest of the
day.
To sum up, I'm quiet in real life but tend to type on and on and on
without meaning to. I've long since quit smoking. :) I really like TMDR
and a few select others -- just like I have few close friends (vs. a ton
of acquaintences.) I'm not outgoing, but I'm friendly enough. I've been
around here since Paul's creation of Alloy, and found the group through
the Kaleidospace artist-in-residence, although I never took part in the
old FES. I feel like Thomas's work has shaped my life in subtle ways, and
I thank him.
Elaine
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 03 May 2001 14:50:31 -0400
From: Robin Thurlow <rthurlow@binghamton.edu>
Subject: Re: Alloy: One more bio to add
Elaine Linstruth wrote:
> If I could ask Thomas one question, hm. One thing I always wondered is
> whether or not he had any groupies in his touring days. (Somewhere,
> Robin's head is exploding as I type this.) What was it like backstage?
Elaine, if you only had any idea how funny it is that you should say
this, and what a strange coincidence it is that you should say it just
now.... I'm just having a lovely email chat with a friend and recalling
my far-distant guitarist ex-boyfriend's horrid "plaster caster" exploits
backstage with demented groupies... eh, right before we broke up many
years ago.
But, quite apart from plaster cast taking..
(!!!!)
it would be interesting to hear Thomas' views of fans' general behavior,
and perhaps some of the basic differences he might have noticed from
country to country. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the way artists
are publicized, and how different cultures tend to view artists
historically.
You also mentioned smoking in your post, another strange coincidence as
I've just had lunch and sat around talking with a bunch of people about
all of the different things it's possible to smoke. Very interesting!
Any other psychics among us out there? :)
xxxxxx
Robin T
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 03 May 2001 23:29:07 +0100
From: Slarvibarglhee <slarvibarglhee@alloy99.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Alloy: One more bio to add
Robin Thurlow wrote:
> {fearlessly snipped}
> You also mentioned smoking in your post, another strange coincidence as
> I've just had lunch and sat around talking with a bunch of people about
> all of the different things it's possible to smoke. Very interesting!
>
> Any other psychics among us out there? :)
>
I just KNEW you were going to ask that.
Slarv
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 03 May 2001 23:34:27 +0100
From: Slarvibarglhee <slarvibarglhee@alloy99.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild
jonathan.chiddick@nokia.com wrote:
>
> And now from Norwich: it's the quiz of the week!
> [cue cheesy theme song]
>
You're showing your age a bit there, sunbeam.
>
> Norwich is my home town (city actually) and the above isn't going to mean
> anything to anyone who was there at the time.
>
Erm, shouldn't that be 'the above isn't going to mean
anything to anyone who wasN'T there at the time.'
I wasn't there, but I remember rushing to the TV to switch over to another
channel (there were no remote control TVs in those days) as soon as I heard that
dreaded phrase.
<let's snip again, like we did last summer>
Slarv
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 19:13:11 -0400
From: "Robin" <rthurlow@worldshare.net>
Subject: Alloy: a link from Thomas
Thomas has just given me a link to singer Tata Vega's web site, and suggested
I post it here so that everyone may visit and learn about her. I've just had
a look and found she's a truly fascinating and inspiring woman.
Tata is the incredibly talented singer who Thomas featured on "Armageddon"
from the Gate to the Mind's Eye soundtrack, and on "I'm on my way" from Fever
Pitch. In looking at her very extensive discography, I see she was also
featured on the Howard the Duck soundtrack.. I wonder if she worked with
Thomas there as well?
Here's the link:
http://www.tatavega.com/
xxxxx
Robin T
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 19:35:17 -0400
From: "Robin" <rthurlow@worldshare.net>
Subject: Re: Alloy: One more bio to add
Slarvibarglhee wrote:
> I just KNEW you were going to ask that.
Then you also must have known I'd fall out of my chair laughing at your
post! LOL!! (ow, my hip)
xxxxx
Robin T
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 20:36:53 -0400
From: "Robin" <rthurlow@worldshare.net>
Subject: Re: Alloy: Sale of the century / Wreck of the Fairchild
Jon wrote:
> Jon: "Yes, there are several theories about what happened there but what
> have you heard?"
>
> Dad: "Around the coast during the war there were pipelines installed so
that
> they could pump petrol or some other kind of flammable into the sea and
> ignite it to make the surface burn and turn back an invading force."
> "Something went wrong there. There was talk that it was a German invasion
> force but I heard that it was a landing exercise that went wrong. I was
just
> a kid and it was a long time ago"
>
> Come out of your shell
> and look at the sea
> it may be just as well
> you stayed here with me
> private hell at turn of a key
> (blindly) into the cloudburst overhead
> I wanna get my face wet
> been buried in these hands for years
> (mindless) into the cloudburst naked
> there's really no escaping it
> there's gonna be a cloudburst here
I'm really fascinated by historical things like this. It does sound as if
it might have played into the conception of the song, but personally I've
always felt "Cloudburst.." was a more personal kind of statement, or
train-of-thought... about not wanting to be trapped in a certain stage of
life or situation, and having to make it through something really wrenching
and difficult in order to break free.
> Yep. I really think so. There is also a great Martello tower at Shingle
> Street that was one of a series of over a hundred built to repel a
> Napoleonic invasion. That beach has been a hot spot for ever. It draws me
to
> it. You have to go there and feel it for yourself.
On a documentary recently I saw footage of a certain town somewhere in the
south of England, where one of the houses has a giant shark sculpture
positioned head-first, halfway through its roof. The house's owner put it
there, and apparently the people in the town complained for a little while,
then realized they kind of liked it.... What town is this, does anyone know?
xxxxx
Robin T
who can't seem to shut up today
------------------------------
End of alloy-digest V6 #112
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