Gary Numan Digest Sun, 10 Oct 99 Volume 1 : Issue 580 Today's Topics: "she's addicted to the time track" Academy and the 'b' goes on/lyrics bitch, faggot, etc Credit goes to Numan Details about my last post revealed don we now our gay apparel Hmmm ... least favorite albums? thats not too hard ;) Zodiac's Sister of Mercy? Worst of the Worst ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 05:08:19 -0500 From: Valerie Iglar-Mobley Subject: "she's addicted to the time track" To: "Troy L. Walters" Dear Troy and all, > I saw an advertisement on television... for the American Express > card... and the music was the intro and a small portion of the > original CARS! > > Can anyone confirm this? I know it's quite trivial and petty, but it > could be some very significant exposure! Yeah, I heard it, too. "Significant exposure"? Probably about as big as having it featured on all those "Hits of the 80s!" cds that get advertised on late-night television. Coming soon: the new single, "Cars - The American Express Mix!" To be followed by: "Cars - The Chex Mix!" Or: "Cars - The Kotex Light Days Mix!" love and cars, Benjamin Iglar-Mobley http://home.earthlink.net/~iglarmobley P.S. Anyone else notice that "Scar" is an anagram for "Cars"? * * * "I'm not-- Crawling around-- Looking to lock all my doors..." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 17:38:42 +0100 From: vickers@netcomuk.co.uk Subject: Academy To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Please can anyone tell me how to find this place in Manchester, and where to park without getting clamped? Thanking you in advance, Paddy Vickers Proud member of Old Fogeys Like Us ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 12:10:35 +0100 From: Tom Gorham Subject: and the 'b' goes on/lyrics To: >Tom, you also pointed out that you thought the line was stolen from >someone else. I don't really care; Gary repeated it. My point throughout was that Gary often doesn't give much thought to what he writes, so I'd find him guilty of thoughtlessness rather than misogyny. I hate to play devil's advocate here, because I find lines about 'kneel down bitch' as embarrassing as you, but I'm saying that Gary doesn't *think* sometimes. Gary repeating this sexist line doesn't excuse it, but it does surely make him guilty of unthinking plagiarism rather than misogyny, a lesser of two evils, I'd suggest. Incidentally, I've been thinking about Ben's earlier comment re his use of the terms 'girls' & 'boys' rather than 'men' & 'women'. Gary uses the former terms presumably because of their links to the coldness and asexuality of his music - and it wasn't just him: most of the New Wave/electronica from Japan to The Pet Shop Boys (sic) used 'girls'/'boys' almost exclusively. Compare and contrast the overtly sexual singers, such as Barry White, who'd be mortified to be found singing a line like 'now only boys that love only boys, the perfect picture of a boy/girl age' Anyway, just a theory ... >Nor am I trying to spark some kind of protest against his use of that >word. He's an artist, and art should never be censored. Ever. We'll agree to disagree on that and let it pass! :) >I love Gary's music, too, but certainly not for the misogyny. If that's >what you want to enjoy about it, you're welcome to, but you should be >aware of what you're revelling in. It's sexism. Are you sure that's >something you want to celebrate? I hope you're not referring to me because (a) I didn't say I love Gary's music, and (b) I certainly don't celebrate his lyrics. The lyrics, to my mind, have always been the weakest part of the whole set up. For years I adopted the policy of scanning the lyric sheets - and then invariably dismissing it all as meaningless. The only exceptions that stick in my mind are 'Cry the Clock Said', which I love - and the following: 1) Pretty much anything from Replicas, just because all the lines seemed to *work*. 2) The Life Machine from Tubeway Army, which was admittedly simple, but it rhymed and I could understand it 'My body lies immobile I left it days ago, And me I watch from somewhere as the loved ones come and go' 3) I liked the words to "I dream of wires", some of "My Breathing", and I was singing along to a little bit of 'Exile' - the song not the album - the other day. Least favourite lyrics 1) Music for Chameleons: has anyone ever worked this out? 2) Pretty much everything else since 1981, when Gary started concentrating on music over lyrics. Even the ballads, where you can almost *hear* Gary trying to write something meaningful, are a little bit cliched. 'A child with the Ghost' was really nice, but the really good lines "If I had one wish I'd wish to talk with you" were interspersed with tired ones like "You let your heart slip away". The title of that song is great though - did Gary think that one up himself? Does anyone else have favourite/least favourite lyrics? Tom ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 19:56:31 -0400 (EDT) From: "Michael R. Ward" Subject: bitch, faggot, etc To: numan digest in support of benjamin's comments, my enjoyment for numan is linked often to lyrics which i can either identify with on a personal level or can visualize as being interesting or entertaining in a theatrical sense. as for your comments on gary's use of bitch and the like i believe you are correct. i am a christian & i am bothered by much of the lyrical content of exile. therefore i don't listen to it. i am not sure why some (not all) people on the list appear unwilling to understand that some get put off when a lyric attacks someones sensibilities. i didn't think gary's use of words such as faggot were necessary to convey a mood either. i certainly don't want to censor gary or what he says but i don't support him utilizing these words negatively characterizing groups of people (whether i personally agree with those being stereotyped or not). on a personal level i don't find it entertaining, acceptable or commendable. therefore i support gary when he writes what i find enjoyable and i don't support him ($) when he creates art which i don't enjoy. his music has both entertained me and irritated me. i continue to collect the majority of his works and compilations as i enjoy the vast majority of them. i know, i know, time to exit my soapbox for now. opinions are like, well you know the rest. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 08:29:35 -0500 From: Jared Ramey Subject: Credit goes to Numan To: "'Numan News Letter'" Regarding the post made by Troy Walters in the last digest: You indeed heard correct. That was Cars in the credit card commercial. = I thought it was very strange, about as strange as hearing Cars in that = T.V. show Dateline NBC. Although the media attention on Numan is great = I wish that they would focus on maybe another song other than cars. =20 Jared Tibet. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 16:10:08 -0500 From: "Troy L. Walters" Subject: Details about my last post revealed To: The Gary Numan Digest I received the following message prompted by my last digest post: > Howdy Troy- > > >I may be a little off on this, (as I was on my way to the emergency room and > >in an incredible amount of pain), but... > > you didn't really think you could get away with such a message and not have > people wonder - what's up??? > > Clea, thinking you might as well send the answer to the digest ;-) > First of all, I'm not imagining things... apparently American Express IS using Cars for a commercial. I don't see that as a bad thing! Secondly, I should have known better than to submit a post when I was in the condition I was -- heavily medicated. A number of digesters picked up on the above quoted portion and e-mailed concerns. I didn't mean to cause alarm, but I guess it needs to be clarified. So, here goes... (for those disinterested, continue to the next post please) It appears that 36 years is rapidly becoming too many for this vessel I call a body. For a number of years, it has been systematically undermining my plans for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On October 2nd, I was startled (something that doesn't happen to me) at about 2 am, from a dead sleep (again -- rarely if ever happens to me) and the jolt caused some serious damage to my back. I have apparently strained an assortment of muscles, tendons, ligaments and dislocated a lower rib... not to mention the variety of misalignments to my spine. Basically, I gave myself whiplash by getting out of bed. Go ahead and laugh... it IS funny! I waited about 30 hours, until I could not bear the pain any longer, and had my wife take me to the emergency room for treatment. Weeks prior to that I had been getting treatment and testing for damage to my right shoulder and it continued during this ordeal as well. On top of that I am still recovering from my THIRD umbilical hernia surgery! All of this damage (and SO much more) to a person who (normally) pushes buttons for a living. There are NUMEROUS other things going on, none of which belong in this forum. So I will spare you all. I am grateful for the messages of concern and I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of compassion by those on this list. Thank you all. There IS a Numan tie in to all of this. The fact that I have so many physical "conditions" is the main reason that Gemma and I managed to hit it off so well while they were in the states It seems she and I share certain pain factors and conditions. On another note: I've been intrigued by some of the "least" favorites. But I thought I'd through a favorite in here... The HUMAN release, to me, is probably the most deeply moving Numan CD I listen to. When I listen to it, it is often 10 or more times in a row -- sometimes for weeks straight. I can't explain it, and I don't care to analyze it. But, aside from endorphins (naturally released -- of course) it is the most amazing pain relieving substance I have ever encountered. Some days, that CD is solely responsible for me making it through another day. Just felt like sharing that. Take good care. -- Troy L. Walters Indiana USA tlwalter@tctc.com www.tctc.com\~tlwalter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 04:48:50 -0500 From: Valerie Iglar-Mobley Subject: don we now our gay apparel To: =?iso-8859-1?q?sonic=20blade?= Dear [=?iso-8859-1?q?sonic=20blade?=] and numanoids all, > Thaemlitz is hinting at Numan's sexual > desires or actual sexuality from lyrics mainly copied > from William Burroughs books. Well, not really. Terre is discussing the meaning we can pull out of Gary's art. To conclude that because we can find homoerotic themes in his music and imagery we are therefore stating that Gary is himself gay is like saying Gary must also kill people for money because he wrote "I, Assassin." Of course, if there ARE any actual assassins out there who became Gary fans because of that song, hey, we'd love to hear your story! lots of love, Ben Iglar-Mobley http://home.earthlink.net/~iglarmobley (proud member of 'Boys Like Us') * * * "We are not making claims We are only Boys" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 18:56:46 +0300 From: "Peter Enright esq." Subject: Hmmm ... To: "Numan Digest" Just back from Chechnya. Not kidnapped, no bullet holes. In #577 Valerie Iglar-Mobley asked: What would we think if instead he regularly called women "cunts"? Probably that he was Australian ... The use of the term "bitch" (especially in Oz) can be interpreted as a kind of slang-based backhanded compliment; as in "come here you sexy bitch" ... so I would not jump to the wrong conclusions about Gary's lyrics. "Kneel you bitch" could be taken as playful dialogue between lovers. Guess you have to be Antipodean to understand the deeper significance of this. Oh that was Billy's MIME shit - I thought the poor chap had suffered an uncontrollable epileptic fit and TYPED all that crap ... Yeah, I've received stuff from NuStreet, recognised Gary's handwriting on the package, so he does the post too! What a star. Wonder if he shuffles down to the post office and stands in the queue ... think about it, it's a funny scene: There's our boy waiting his turn patiently. Some geezer in front turns around, "Oi! Aren't you Gary Numan?" "No." "Oh, ... sorry." I am still waiting for my copy of Terre Thaemlitz' tribute album, 'Replicas Rubato', hate to say "I told you so" but ... but let me remind all you Digesters that it was I, who suggested, last year, a classical, possibly full symphonic orchestra, version of Numan's music ... remember? Okay this is only a piano (I think) but still, it's on that track ... Kirk out. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 20:13:17 EDT From: "jon glass" Subject: least favorite albums? thats not too hard ;) To: numan@cs.uwp.edu worst albums that i have payed money for: 1.space hog (this taught me never to buy an album after liking one song and not hearing any others) 2.switchblade symphony: their first album (we talk about gary sounding the same, listen to this cd!) 3.dead milkmen : metaphysical graphiti (yeah, their humor gets dull after 2 or 3 songs) 4.any "punk" on epitaph records or pick-a-punk-band-90's-neopunk crap (hey look we have green hair oooo we're punk, lets play hackey sak!) 5.skinny puppy: rabies (what is this, #6?) 6.any ministry album, besides the the early stuff. 7.nine inch nails: the fragile (terrible terrible terrible) 9.nine inch nails: broken (heavey metal anyone?) 10.any metallica thats good enough...theres a lot of music that makes me sick, ill stick to numan, lou reed, iggy pop & bowie :) jon glass---getting my two cents in before the list changes. "isn't it odd you remind me of songs that i'd rather forget, like feelings i long for." ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 22:05:40 -0400 From: dagonet@netwide.net (Don McCrum) Subject: Zodiac's Sister of Mercy? Worst of the Worst To: Gary Numan > Zodiac Mindwarp ... they were a sort of non serious version of the > Sisters of Mercy, with a bit more of a biker look. (to quote The State) I just have one question: Where do you get your crack? (j/k) Zodiac Mindwarp and SoM both had something of a neo-biker look, but they sound absolutely nothing like each other. Zodiac Mindwarp was, well, stupid and their semi-popular song was a blatant rip-off of a Judas Priest song.... Andrew Eldritch (The Sisters of Mercy, now, for all practical purposes) writes lyrics that require a tad more thought than, well, hell, I can't even remember a single Mindwarp song.... Oh well. (I ain't missin' nuttin'.... Or, actually, I miss nothing.) btw, The Sisters are touring. (http://www.netwide.net/users/dagonet/som1999.htm) And with all these ten worst CD lists, I was wondering when someone would finally mention a band that makes Kid Rock sound good... Thanks to Zodiac Mindwarp, the waiting is over.... 1-4 MC Hammer let's get it started 2 legit 2 quit (single) too legit to quit (album) pray (single) 5 Ace of Base, The Sign Hell, I guess that's about it.... Oh, almost forgot... 6-10 (bad enough to count for 5 records) Young MC: What's The Flavor? (All were bought at pawn shops for the explicit purpose of scaring the goth/ intelligence/ musical taste out of my friends....) Looking For Kid Rock and Zodiac Mindwarp in Pawn Stores (while listening to Ozzy and Coal Chamber sing "Shock The Monkey") D * * * As if anyone gives a rolling f*ck at a flying donut.... http://www.netwide.net/users/dagonet/ ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ****************************** _______________________________________________________________________ _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ / \ | | / \ / \ / \ / \ | |-----| |-----| | |-----| |-----| | | | G | | A | | | R | | Y | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-----| |-----| | |-----| |-----| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N | E | W | S |=====| | | | | | | | & | | | | | | | \_____/ I | N | F | O | | | | is produced and distributed by Derek Langsford dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, mail to: numan@cs.uwp.edu If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, you can mail to numan-request@cs.uwp.edu ----------------- The Gary Numan Digest is brought to you via Datta Production and Development, 905 97th Street, Kenosha, WI 53143 USA datta@cs.uwp.edu and computer resources courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Datta Production and Development. 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