From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V7 #221 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Monday, October 28 2002 Volume 07 : Number 221 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: ROCK x POP ["Paulo" ] Alloy: SBMWS ["Sally" ] Re: Alloy: ROCK x POP [Jon Drukman ] Re: Alloy: ROCK x POP [Gryphon987@aol.com] Alloy: Giants and Capitol ["Mary A. Brown" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 17:24:57 -0200 From: "Paulo" Subject: Alloy: ROCK x POP Robin wrote > Having heard him voice his annoyance for years that of all his achievements > in music, SBMWS is what everyone remembers (feeling it kept the general > public from taking his other, personal work more seriously), my first > thought is that maybe he is trying to kill the damn thing while making as > much profit off it as possible. Just a theory! Make it part of general > culture, and get on with the new stuff. > > > xx > ~robin Unfortunately the pop world is terribly unfair. You see: groups like Nirvana, Oasis or U2 get all the credibility from public and press "critics" while others like Dolby who are much more accomplished musicians, get no credibility as serious artists just because they are out of the rock arena, working in the POP field. ROCK gets more credibility because it is suposed to be intelligent, politically and socially revolutionary, alternative, conscious and not alienated at all... All the opposite values goes to POP (without any distinction if they are talking about Thomas Dolby or Britney Spears). Maybe one day rock music was like that (in the 60's with the hippie movement, etc...) but in the 90's rock is as revolutinary as Happy Birthday To You. Today, besides rock, hip hop and rap gets the same credibility... I dont like it too. I don't mean to offend anyone here who like any of these artists, but I just can't stand that "school of thinking" which proclaims that if it is loud and agressive is good. For instance: The Sex Pistols are worshipped everywhere to this day! How come?? Their music is awful... so how come they have a lot more fans, credibility and sales than Thomas ???. It has no logical explanation, specially if you compare their rediculous Never Mind The Bullocks with ANY Dolby stuff. Personally I always view Thomas as part of an 80's trilogy (PETER GABRIEL, KATE BUSH and THOMAS DOLBY). The 3 artists make unprecidtable keyboard based first class music, with chord sequences and sounds rarely found in the normal POP. But all this isn't Thomas fault. Of course he has reasons to be annoyed, but he did what he sat out to do: sophisticated pop. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 21:03:29 -0800 From: "Sally" Subject: Alloy: SBMWS While we're discussing new versions, I want: "She Blinded Me With Hydrochloric Acid". Now there's a happy thought for a cold Sunday night... Sally ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 15:38:08 -0800 From: Jon Drukman Subject: Re: Alloy: ROCK x POP At 05:24 PM 10/27/2002 -0200, Paulo wrote: >I don't mean to offend anyone here who like any of these artists, but I >just can't stand that "school of thinking" which proclaims that if it is >loud and agressive is good. For instance: The Sex Pistols are worshipped >everywhere to this day! How come?? Their music is awful... so how come they >have a lot more fans, credibility and sales than Thomas ???. It has no >logical explanation, specially if you compare their rediculous Never Mind >The Bullocks with ANY Dolby stuff. the sex pistols are celebrated because of what they brought to the music scene, rather than the music itself. it was a clever bit of marketing and promotion by malcolm mclaren, really. see "the great rock and roll swindle", and the other one that i've forgotten the name of now. actually quite fascinating stuff. it's a great story, and a great story ABOUT music, rather than great music. if that makes sense. - -jsd- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 22:17:25 EST From: Gryphon987@aol.com Subject: Re: Alloy: ROCK x POP In a message dated 10/27/02 3:27:32 PM Eastern Standard Time, jason66@ig.com.br writes: > Unfortunately the pop world is terribly unfair. You see: groups like > Nirvana, Oasis or U2 get all the credibility from public and press > "critics" while others like Dolby who are much more accomplished musicians, > get no credibility as serious artists just because they are out of the rock > arena, working in the POP field. > Oasis gets credibility from the press? As a big fan of Oasis, I know that they do not get any credibility in the US. In the UK (from what I can tell, all I have are publications) they had good 2 albums, since then the critics have abandoned ship, and the only reason they seem to get press is because of the train wreck that is their personal lives and their mass of fans that eat it up. Your articles about the band sell well if there is a public hunger for them resulting from the tabloids. The reviews for their new album were far from stellar from what I have read thus far (and I have only read UK reviews online, I haven't bothered with US publications cause I seem to be one of their few fans here). And besides, U2 is pop, too. It is just that guitars have such deep feelings as opposed to keyboards? um....hmmm... Laura Beth ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 22:59:19 -0500 From: "Mary A. Brown" Subject: Alloy: Giants and Capitol After diligently reading the World Series supplemental section of the San Francisco Chronicle every day, I finally saw that today's had a bit about Thomas. It clears up a couple of questions I had. Like the eminent Michael Luckey, the remake didn't make sense to me. And, Mike, you're a Yankees fan? But you seem like such a nice guy! ;-) I also didn't understand why we weren't seeing TMDR at Pac Bell Park. Here's what it said: Blinded by the Giants Caught up in the wave of Giants fever is Silicon Valley audio whiz Thomas Dolby, better known for his 1983 funk hit, "Blinded Me With Science." In heavy rotation on MTV, the video starring Dolby as a love-struck nutty scientist helped his "Blinded by Science" EP go to No. 5 on the Billboard chart, but he left the limelight soon after and currently works on cellular audio technology. Now, thanks to the Giants (and KFRC-AM disc jockeys), the English-born Peninsula resident is back on the airwaves with a remix, "Blinded by the Giants." A few Fridays ago, Dolby says, he got a call from his wife, who had been listening to the oldies station when she heard DJs shout "the Giants" instead of "Science" while playing the song. He called the program director and offered his own remake for the playoffs. "The scan and the rhyme worked so well," he explained, "and I thought it was too funny. I couldn't help liking the irony that the Giants might adopt that particular song." He did another remix for the Series-bound team, which "a growing number" of radio stations were playing last week, Dolby said. "I would have loved to have shown up and played (the song) live in the stands," Dolby said. "I suggested it to the Giants, and they dismissed it as yet another attempt by a crazed fan to get into the stands." Jeanne Cooper And in other Science news, Capitol Records is releasing a 96-track, 6 CD box set celebrating their 60th anniversary. "She Blinded Me With Science" is included, a show of a good judgement, normally uncharacteristic for Capitol, in my opinion! Europa ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V7 #221 ***************************