Gary Numan Digest Thu, 17 Feb 2000 Volume 2 : Issue 13 Today's Topics: Alien Magazine A Machman by any other name... A Rolling Stone Gathers No Numan ... gold and gems Have you seen this man? I will be top! numan doll Telekon and on and on ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 17:41:21 -0500 From: "Todd M. LeMieux" Subject: Alien Magazine To: digest@GaryNumanFan.NU Hello All, I usually lurk because I haven't had anything to add for awhile. However, after receiving the most recent issue of Alien magazine I feel compelled to write. I feel that Alien is self-congratulatory and masturbatory to the point of arrogance. I'm sure it's not written by real writers nor edited by a real editor; it's probably completely produced by the Numan clan. And you know what? It shows. It's poorly designed, poorly written, and poorly edited. Period. To say I am dissappointed with Alien would be an understatement. As a professional graphic designer I have had some very strong opinions about the design work on just about all of Gary's recent output, from CDs to posters to t-shirts, etc. but I have witheld comment. There has been very little, from a basic "Graphic Design 101" perspective, that is any good at all. If I were to add to that my personal likes and dislikes I would say that most, if not all, of his graphics are amateurish at best and could stand to be improved considerably. I bring this up because of the many debates that have raged over Gary controlling every aspect of his work and trying to do it all. Like the debate over using outside producers and/or engineers to improve the sound of his CDs, I feel he should also use professional graphic designers to improve his image both in print and on the web. Nobody, no matter how talented, can do everything and do it well. If Gary is so intent on doing everything, fine. But he should take the criticism of various aspects of his work like a man. His ranting (on his website and in Alien) are pathetic. Get over it. Either ignore the comments or, if they are many and frequent maybe you should take them to heart because your fans are putting the food on your table and there will come a time when they may choose to not buy your stuff. I didn't pay for a magazine subscription to hear him whine about these things in print. I've heard all the "Oh Gary's been screwed so many times in the past that now he wants to do it all himself." arguments. Well maybe that's so. I wonder how much of this is about control but also about money. Doing it all yourself means you don't have to pay others for their expertise. There are ways to work with other professionals to realize your vision. They're called contracts, and they can be written in such a way as to ensure you have final say in anything and everything you want. But you are afforded the opportunity to work with the talented people and maybe improve your output to achieve greater success. If the loss of control is such an issue for Gary and he still feels he needs to do it all himself, fine. Deal with the consequences of those actions. But I don't want to hear Gary (or fans) complain about valid criticism. Well, that's all for now (that's enough, isn't it?). Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Best Regards, Todd ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 12:03:25 -0600 From: Jeff Tolva Subject: A Machman by any other name... To: digest@GaryNumanFan.NU Jim "The Machman" Napier wrote: >Well it's happened again. My bargain basement e-mail has reposted a message to >the digest twice. No it wasn't double vision, it was my Excite mail that I >have banished. Well, how about using some of the proceeds from your lucrative E-bay auctions to upgrade your e-mail application then? Sorry, but I can't hold out any longer on this one. Justify your video bootleg auctions the way you want, but I think it's simply pathetic! The only person benefiting financially from those auctions is you, Jim!! Sure, I believe in expanding my Numan contacts too, but not at the expense of auctioning bootlegs on E-bay! I have some principles. I fully admit that I trade and sell Gary Numan bootlegs to fellow fans. I ALWAYS try to make a trade first, but if a trade isn't possible, then I sell the stuff for the most part AT COST! That even included you as I recall. I take virtually no profit from the sale of any Numan boots that I have. First and foremost, I don't own the copyrights to any of them! Why do I do it then? It helps that Gary himself doesn't mind a health bootleg market, but only to the extent that it doesn't hinder sales of his official releases. Basically, I do what I do in order to increase my own personal collection; not to increase my own profits. I can't get enough of Gary's live music! I venture to say that I've made alot of Numanoids happy too, Jim, but I don't boast about it as if I'm the fucking Messiah of Numan merchandise like you do sometimes. And you call yourself "The Machman"? A true Machman would never do the things I've seen you do lately! Specifically, selling Gary Numan compilation video appearances (to which you have no copyrights to) to the highest bidder on E-bay! Sorry, Jim, but I couldn't bite my tongue in silence any longer on this one! If you wish, let The Machman wars begin...so much for your holy trinity of Machmen shit. Frankly, I nearly died when I read that load of crap you so easily seem to write. Jeff Tolva (The Machman)...not to be confused with the other imposter! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 00:08:10 +0300 From: "The Tik-Tok Man" Subject: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Numan ... To: "Numan Digest" Found a couple of funky time-wasters on the Rolling Stone site http://entertainment.netscape.com/entertainment/. Go to photo archives, Artist Search panel, type in "Numan", click search, click on Gary Numan, click on photos, and when the thumnails have loaded, you'll see the trivia section to the right. But you have to register and log in first: 1. You can nominate Gaz for a cover. 2. You can also add a Numan question in the trivia section. Do an artist search on Numan, download the 2 funky photos there, then answer the trivia questions and add your own. For true fans: the Rolling Stone bio on Gaz is below, see if you can spot the error: Gary Numan A true integrator, innovator and industry legend, Englishman Gary Numan was the man behind the mixing boards during the birth of synth-pop. Pumping on keyboards and sampling new wave sounds, Numan created an electronic mosaic of pop sounds from influences like Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and David Bowie. It was this industrious mix that won Numan two No. 1 albums and a devoted fan club that stuck by the artist throughout his career. While frontman for Tubeway Army, Numan made his debut with the post-Sex Pistols punk singles "That's Not It" and "Bombers." Shortly after, he decided to tune into the public outcry, plug in to an electric keyboard and turn on the juice. The now divided band split up and Numan went on to top the British charts with "Are 'Friends' Electric?," the trailblazing single with android lyrics and futuristic sounds that started the electropop trend. 1979's Pleasure Principle spawned "Cars," an internationally appreciated single that captured the No. 1 spot in the U.K. and hit the U.S. Top 10. British fans remained loyal to Numan as if he were royalty, granting him countless Top 10 hits and pop legend status. In 1981 Numan's passions turned to the air when he flew around the world in his own airplane. Numan continued to record into the '90s, releasing Sacrifice in 1994 and a greatest hits package, Premier Hits, in 1996. Numan's latest CD, the electronica-influenced Exile, was released on Cleopatra Records in February 1998. Anni Layne TikTokMan Bored 2000 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 12:28:27 -0600 From: Valerie Iglar-Mobley Subject: gold and gems To: The Gary Digest Dear numanoids, Does anybody else get the impression Gary doesn't really want to work on this new album? He has yet another news post at NuWorld about mucking around with his studio equipment, which in turn has interfered with him working on the album. Maybe he's feeling pressured into doing it, instead of inspired. The impetus is coming from outside himself, instead of from within. At any rate, before the album is finally finished (whenever that might be at this rate) could somebody who has access to him ask him to use some speakers other than those Tannoy Little Golds that Craig MacNeil described in Digest #538? I really don't want to hear another album with such muddy production, and if they're eq-ing the sound so that he's not hearing it as muddy, dang, maybe we could all pitch in and buy him some different ones! Thanks for reminding me, Rick, I checked out GEMM for some other records I've been looking for for years-- some old singles by The Wake, not the goth band but the old Factory Records new romantics-- and found them there! Sure did, at $45 and $66. Oh well, it's nice to know they're out there, somewhere, anyway. I did a search there for Dramatis and Hohokam and found several releases by each (which were much less expensive), so let me just pass that along for anybody still hunting around for those two. http://www.gemm.com with love, Ben Iglar-Mobley http://home.earthlink.net/~iglarmobley (proud member of Boys Like Us) * * * "It's so quiet and dark And I shouldn't be here" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 13:09:45 +0300 From: "The Tik-Tok Man" Subject: Have you seen this man? To: "Numan Digest" Anybody knowing the whereabouts or contact details for the elusive former Digest member and strangely quiet Denver resident Stephen Austra-Beck? If so, kindly send the info to me. FBI Moscow Missing Persons Unit ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 07:38:59 +0000 From: My love is a liquid Subject: I will be top! To: digest@garynumanfan.nu Hi haven't posted for a while what with work and the ending of a very odd relationship. arrr bless her... IN HELL. ...but I'm not bitter honest! Nice to see the afe site back up and running. Great idea with the quiz but maybe some kind of restriction to how many attempts you get. One hopeless individual 'Valerium' tried at least 8 times before he beat me.... puff!:-) No but hardly in the spirit of things is it? You know what they say 'if you have no knowledge, keep it to yourself' well they don't actually say that i just made it up. Can't seem to get 'the fragile' nine inch nails, out of the cd player. Its been there for a couple of months too. Even wakes me up at 7.00 in the morning. The neighbors seem to enjoy it as they bang the wall almost in time to the music. I would very much like it if Numan tried something as experimental in the future. I've listened to some of the new stuff on the phone lines yesterday, and it did intrigue me, some good atmospheric pieces but then thats what we always expect and normally get. It did however leave me feeling more mellow than angry as i was lead to belive the album would be. But it is still very early days and the quality on those phone lines is horrendous. Well not long now I suppose, then the neighbors with have a some new tunes to tap away to. A proud member of 'Denium, for the guy who only has to play the quiz... one time.' Best regards liquid (Simon Joseph) mailto:myloveisaliquid@hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 11:09:36 -0600 From: Jared Ramey Subject: numan doll To: "'digest@garynumanfan.nu'" Hello all! The other day as i was walking through the local toy store, i could not = help but notice all of the dolls that were being manufactured to depict = famous celebs. For example there was Drew Carey, George Burns, Britney = Spears and even The Misfits had there own doll. So i began to wonder = why on earth there isn't a Gary Numan doll yet. Just think, they could = make a doll for each period of Gary's career. There could be a Telekon = doll with Numan dressed in the black outfit he had during the teletour. = How about a dance and I assassin doll with Gary dressed as 1920's = gangster. Also, there could be a warriors doll with gary having = bleached blonde hair and bondage outfit. The best would be the = Berserker doll. Blue hair, white face paint and perhaps even a mic and = mic stand as an accessory. With the sacrifice and exile doll we would = find a variation of the previous dolls with Gary sporting extra hair ala = the hair plugs. and to top it off (and to add more revenue from this = line of toys) there could be packages of "extras" to go along with each = doll. for example, there could be sets of accessories to go along with = each doll as well as vehicles like the little space car he drove around = on in the early days on stage. Maybe even a jaguar like the one on the = cars single or even a corvette. guitars and extra mics and mic stands = would also be available to purchase. So what do you think? I think there is a lot of money to be had if = someone at the numan camp were to read this and actually try and market = such a toy. I for one would buy each and every doll and accessory. = Maybe one day we will se the Gary Numan doll up there on the shelf = between the Britney Spears and Misfits doll, or maybe i just have too = much time on my hands to think up stuff like this. J-Tibet. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 23:01:59 +0000 (GMT) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Gary=20Perkins?= Subject: Telekon and on and on To: Gary Numan Digest At long last I have managed to read all of the old digests. Phew. Well worth the effort though. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable on most things Numan, but it turns out I have a long way to go. Anyway, as things seem a little quiet on the digest at the moment, I thought I might take the chance to discuss Telekon. As in Telekon the track, not the album. You see, this has always been a favourite of mine. And I mean a real favourite, alongside tracks like Down in the Park, Metal, Pray and Exile. But time and time again as I read through back issues of the digest, Telekon appeared in lists of the least favourite Numan tracks. Even Numan calls it a dirge in Praying to the Aliens. Now of course it is all down to individual taste, and if you don't like it that is fair enough. However, what puzzles me is that Telekon seems to include all of the right elements to be a firm favourite. You see what really got me interested in Numan early on was that he was so different to everything else that I had heard. Remember how strange Are Friends Electric? sounded when you heard it for the first time? How could a single like that get to number 1? How could an album like The Pleasure Principle reach number 1? Can you imagine it happening today? Anyway, I was attracted to the Numan sound because it was different, and I guess a fair few others were also. I would be in awe of how someone could make these sounds and put them together in such a way to create music like nothing else I had ever heard. Added to that the strange other world image he had and I was sold. The weirder the sound, the better. And to my mind, Telekon rates with things like My Love is a Liquid, Observer, Conversation and This Wreckage in this category. Why do they work? I had no idea then and even less now. The thing is, they do work, and to my mind Telekon is the best of the lot. The constant pounding beat. The way the piano sort of tinkles around in the background, almost out of control. The indecipherable lyrics. You Are. You Are. The sparseness of sound. Can you imagine anyone else recording this. The only comparison I can make is with the OMD track, Dancing. Anyway. This is not to say everyone should like Telekon, far from it. I am just interested to know why so many people seem to dislike it, while liking other tracks that seem to my mind to be equally unusual. On a separate issue. Just why did the I Assassin album use the Dance labels? I always thought it might have been because they had a lot left because Dance sold poorly. Surely Beggars Banquet were not that cheap were they? Someone asked this way back but no one had an answer. Anyone out there have any ideas? Gary P ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ****************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, datta@cs.uwp.edu, Joey@GaryNumanFan.NU ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: digest@GaryNumanFan.NU If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: digest-request@GaryNumanFan.NU ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Gary Numan Digest is brought to you via Joey Lindstrom and the GaryNUmanFan server Joey@GaryNumanFan.NU All of the opinions in this digest belong to the respective authors and do not necessarily agree with those of the Digest Producers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Produced and distributed by Derek Langsford dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, mail to: digest@garynumanfan.nu If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, you can mail to digest-request@garynumanfan.nu --------------------------------------------------------------------------