http://groups.yahoo.com/group/spectropop
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Volume #0404 April 6, 2000
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Special Disc Jockey Record
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Subject: Overproductions
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: David Feldman
To: Spectropop!
> If My Car Could Only Talk To Me - Lou Christie.
Forgive me, for I think I posted about this before, but
the mention of one of my favorite Lou Christie songs and
the ongoing "favorite moments in girl groups songs" brings
to mind that I have a soft spot for songs/albums who are
"overproduced" in thrilling ways. There is always something
moving about watching someone's reach outstrip his grasp.
That's one reason why Ed Wood is a moving figure, and not
a merely a laughable one.
Of course, even a brilliant artist can "overproduce," too.
To my taste, for example, "River Deep" falls into that
category, IMO -- I know this is heresy, but the Spector
recording doesn't move me nearly as much as "Walking in
the Rain" or "A Fine, Fine Boy" or "(Today I Met) The Boy
I'm Going to Marry," because he buries the song, and it's
a GOOD SONG (I realized this most profoundly when I heard
Darlene Love sing it recently with a 4-piece band and no
vocal accompaniment backing her up).
So if some "overproductions" just strike me as pretentious
and "over the top," others I find moving. Here are a few
examples:
1. "Funny How Love Can Be" - Danny Hutton. 3 production
hooks per ten seconds; everything but the kitchen sink is
thrown in, shamefully so. What unbelievable fun.
2. "I'm Into Looking for Someone To Love Me" -- Bobby Vee.
Did he produce this himself? A desperate stab at a hit -- a
Yorkshire Terrier attempt at one.
3. The whole Johnny Mathis-Thom Bell collaboration, "I'm
Coming Home." A shotgun marriage between the then-hottest
producer in R&B and the Great Romantic, the results are
sometimes hilarious, sometimes gorgeous, almost always
interesting. It includes one beautiful anti-abortion
polemic ("A Child Is Born"), an anthem ("I'm Coming Home"),
a cool R&B cover ("I'm Stone In Love With You") and a
crazily ambitious, wildly overproduced but still wonderful
"Life Is a Song Worth Living."
I'm glad I'm not a music critic. Guess I'd have to carp
about the productions on all three of the above, but you'd
have to mug me to wrest any of these recordings from my
clammy little hands.
Dave Feldman
http://www.imponderables.com
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Subject: Exciting posts
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: john rausch
To: Spectropop!
Thanks to all who have submitted posts lately, I have
enjoyed reading Spectropop lately and there seems to be a
lot of activity. It`s like everyone had a burst of energy
all of a sudden. I too also enjoyed reading the post by J.
Crescitelli. What a great image he has painted with words.
I also would like to mention that Ronnie Spector will be
performing in NY at the From The Heart IV benifit concert
for Timi Yuro. Sunday, April 30th. Location is the Nassau
Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Also performing are:
Bobby Rydell
Joanie Sommers
Barbara Harris and the Toys
...just to name a few acts that would interest those on this
list. There are also some R&B groups from the doo wop era
scheduled.
Keep those great posts coming everyone!
John Rausch
Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes @
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/2469/
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Subject: For J.Botticelli & J. Madani
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: Jimmy Crescitelli
To: Spectropop!
<<< This may have been the alltime spectropop post of alltimes.
I swear I shed a tear while reading this.
--- Jack Madani >>>
I heartily concur...Botticelli
===================================
Hey you guys, thanks so much! Makes a writer proud to know
he's reached his audience.
Best,
Jimmy Crescitelli
P.S. With names like Madani, Botticelli & Crescitelli, it
sounds like we've got the makings of a tough Brooklyn guy
gang... : )
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Subject: Barnstormers/Availability
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: jake tassell
To: Spectropop!
Dear Frank
I don't know if those records are available. It might be
worth checking the Ace catalogue
(http://www.acerecords.co.uk).
However, there is a RealAudio file of the Holly St. James
record at:
http://home.clara.net/stevecee/1978.html
Jake Tassell
[ed. note: Although the Ace website is worth a visit,
unfortunately none of the tracks mentioned in Jake's
previous post are to be found there.]
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Subject: Re: High Fidelity
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: Stewart Mason
To: Spectropop!
At 06:25 AM 4/5/00 +0900, Spectropop List wrote:
>Spectropop Listers in the United States are surely aware
>of Touchstone Picture's new romantic comedy release "High
>Fidelity," but I wonder if it isn't worth mention here.
>There is a lot of hype going around; perhaps members
>familiar with the project can present a more balanced
>perspective.
>
>I haven't seen the flick, but the synopsis apparently is:
>Self-professed music junkie Rob Gordon (John Cusack) onws
>a not-too-successful all-vinyl record store in Chicago.
>Rob and his staff, armed with "vast knowledge of pop
>music" (I hope that doesn't mean Elton John and Santana!),
One of the characters chases a customer out of the store
and up the street because he wants to buy Stevie Wonder's
"I Just Called To Say I Love You." That answer your
question?
>converse about their relationships, comparing and
>intermingling real life experiences with the music they
>love. The screenplay is based on a novel by Nick Hornby.
>
>Has anyone seen the film yet, and if so, irrespective of
>the period of music these "pop" vinyl junkies are "vastly
>knowledgeable" about, will it appeal to us music junkies?
In a word, yes. To give you an idea, when I bought the
book upon its US publication several years ago, my friend
Joyce read the jacket copy and said, "Wow! Someone wrote a
book about you!" The novel might appeal more than the movie,
and I suggest reading it before watching the film (the
soundtrack of which ranges from fairly obscure Kinks and
Love tracks to a song by current UK press darlings the
Beta Band, whose prog-pop-jazz-funk oddities sound like
Hatfield and the North crossed with Beck). However, those
fans of the novel who worried that the film wouldn't
withstand the shift in location from south London to
Chicago can rest easy. The movie is exceedingly true to
the novel in nearly every respect, and record store geeks
exist in every western city.
Stewart
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Subject: Re: High Fidelity and Vinyl
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: Nat Kone
To: Spectropop!
Jamie wrote:
>I haven't seen the flick, but the synopsis apparently is:
>Self-professed music junkie Rob Gordon (John Cusack) onws
>a not-too-successful all-vinyl record store in Chicago.
>Rob and his staff, armed with "vast knowledge of pop
>music" (I hope that doesn't mean Elton John and Santana!),
>converse about their relationships, comparing and
>intermingling real life experiences with the music they
>love. The screenplay is based on a novel by Nick Hornby.
That's a good description. I suspect most people here
would enjoy the scenes that take place in the record store,
if not the scenes that don't.
I'm going to take advantage of this moment to do some
shameless self-promotion for a film that most of you may
never get a chance to see but who knows? Maybe with
self-promotion like this, something will change.
This is MY documentary on a similar subject to High
Fidelity. I started it five years ago but unfortunately
it's only emerging into the world now. I so hoped it would
emerge just before High Fidelity - which I read after I
started my film - but the truth is, it's probably better
that it comes out after the Hollywood film has softened
the ground a bit.
Here's a quasi website, if you can read really small
letters.
http://www.iprimus.ca/~klymkiw/vinyl.html
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Subject: High Fidelity movie
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: Frank Youngwerth
To: Spectropop!
<>
Well, somewhat. It's plot-heavy, based on a novel that's
set in the U.K., not Chicago, which provokes a little
confusion here and there. One line of dialog taken right
from the book refers to Father whatever and the Smurfs as
a potential musical influence on a new band; the Smurfs
had some pop hits in England, but never over here, so it
probably should have been changed to, oh, something like
Schoolhouse Rock.
The store itself looks to have an all-too predictable
selection (e.g. 70s Isley Brothers, Fleetwood Mac), and
its employees are more full of themselves than they are
really in the know. In the end I'd say the movie might not
be especially sophisticated about records, but it's pretty
endearing all the same. Like, the first song you hear is
the 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" and the
last is Love's "My Little Red Book."
Frank in Chicago
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Subject: High Fidelity/Low Obscurity
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: DJ JimmyB
To: Spectropop!
In a message dated 4/4/0 4:21:59 PM, you wrote:
>Self-professed music junkie Rob Gordon (John Cusack) onws
>a not-too-successful all-vinyl record store in Chicago.
>Rob and his staff, armed with "vast knowledge of pop
>music" (I hope that doesn't mean Elton John and Santana!),
I have yet to see the film version of "High Fidelity" but
I read the book about 4 years ago. One of the things that
disappointed me was the tip 'o' the iceberg hits the
alleged vinyl junkies in the book referred to. All were
very well-known songs. The guys I know that run used
record shops go for the obscure, cool, and strange sounds
not found on the radio. This was my only REAL beef with
the book though. I heard from an old friend (boy is this
guy old too) that the characters that work in the shop are
worth the price of admission...
Hope that he'ps..JB
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Subject: Re: hi fidelity.....and fuel injected dreams...and my
favourite
Received: 04/06/00 2:57 am
From: Rough Trade Shop
To: Spectropop!
hi,
The nick hornby book this is based on is great! and the
music WILL appeal...its full of moments that will touch
every spectropopper's heart.......there's one great part
in the book where a 'wronged wife' wants to sell her
husband's record collection for fifty pounds (read the
book for more...) and its full of sue originals etc etc...
and the narrator of the book is a sometime dj who is
ALWAYS Making 'topten' lists.....actually the record shop
and its workers are very similar to intoxica in portobello
road, but don't tell them i said that......
another book which i've been meaning to recommend is 'fuel
injected dreams' by james robert baker. it's absolutely
fantastic! it's a kind of wild fictional mystery story that
includes pastiched versions of pretty much every apocryphal
'mad producer' story you've every heard..its centred round
a fictional girl group as well.........its kinda extreme
and beserk but absolutely fantastic (in my opinion and I'm
always right of course...hem hem!)
My favourite girl group moment is pretty much the whole
song 'dead' by caroline o sullivan...especially juxtaposed
on the compilation album I found it on which includes paul
and paula and the 'peanuts'.....very strange...couldn't
believe my ears first time i heard it.........
xxxxxxx delia xxxxx
p.s. u.k. members look out for my 'actionettes' dance
troupe which is an all girl dance troupe which does
routines to girl group songs.....we're planning a
performance at the may da doo ron rons if chris king lets
us!!!!!
www.roughtrade.com
if you'd like to be sent regular new releases emails let
me know
ph-0171 792 3490
fax 0171 221 1146
at....130 talbot road , london, wiiija, u.k.
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Subject: BOUNCE: Non-member submission
Received: 04/02/00 10:39 pm
From: Spectropop: Archive | Bulletin Board
To: Spectropop!
========= Start of forwarded message =========
Don't It Make You Feel Good
Posted by Jim Gardner on Tue, 04 Apr 2000 09:16:32
This is the most likely place I know of to find an answer
to a question I have about an obscure, beloved 45. If it's
not appropriate here, or there's a better place for me to
ask, please let me know. I acquired a tape of a 45 that
has baffled me and I'd like to know more about the record
and the group. The song, "Don't It Make You Feel Good," is
a snappy pop thing with traditional 60's combo
instrumentation: guitar, combo organ, rhythm section. The
title line is the hook and there's some nice, two-part
harmony on it. There's a nifty organ solo that sounds not
unlike one of Leon Russell's Gary Lewis efforts; in fact,
the whole thing sounds not unlike G. Lewis' type of
material, although the lead singer's much better. Not that
I'm suggesting this may, in fact, *be* them. I got the tape
from a d.j. who has a white label promo copy of the 45. The
only writing on the label is the song title and the word,
"Over," which the d.j. took to be the band name, but I
figured indicated the B side. (Don't know *which* side
"over" was written on.) As in, flip the 45 over. This is
probably a hopelessly obscure Midwest, late-60's group
(the d.j. was formerly on the air in West Lafayette,
Indiana), and the 45 may be self-released by the band for
all I know. If this title or anything about the song sounds
familiar, please post here or drop me an e-mail. And
thanks. (Btw, the Spectropop site rocks!)
Jim Gardner
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