--------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T (by subscription only - to unsubscribe, see bottom of this message) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2002-50) - Topics This Issue: 1) Top Ten 2) (no subject) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 15:49:51 -0000 From: "dryad" Subject: Top Ten Well this is difficult, seeing as most of my music is overseas, but here goes anyway: Dryad's Top Ten (not including Numan) in no particular order: 90's : Spacehog - Resident Alien Deep Forest - Boheme Star Wars Box Set DJ Krush - Krush Orb - UF Orb Morphine - Cure For Pain Ultralounge - The Crime Scene (Spies, Thighs, and Private Eyes) Loreena McKennitt - Book of Secrets Varttina - Seeleniko Hedningarna - Kaksi! 11. Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona 12. Dimitri from Paris - Sacrebleu! 13. kd lang - Ingenue 14. Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy 80's: Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Big Country - In A Big Country Kate Bush - Hounds of Love ELO - Best of ELO Devo - Freedom of Choice Carl Orff - Carmina Burana, dir. Eugene Ormandy Brazil Classics #1, David Byrne Flock of Seagulls - Flock of Seagulls Adam Ant - Kings of the Wild Frontier 11. Nik Kershaw - Best of 12. Hall and Oates - Private Eyes 13. Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party 14. Abba - Voulez-Vous 70's: (My first three albums! Yeah, I was a weird kid.) Blondie - Parallel Lines Zappa - The Grand Wazoo Queen - News of the World Dryad "Like a midget at a urinal, I was going to have to keep on my toes." Sgt. Det. Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad! http://www.puritycontrol.co.uk - The Grove, XF rec's, updated 1/1/02 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 19:38:55 EST From: Psgifford@aol.com Subject: (no subject) =20 Gary Numan OUT OF EXILE=20 By Eric Kaze =20 With the release of his new album, a new tour, and a new generation of fans,= =20 Gary Numan is definitely a Nu Man these days. I chatted with Gary just prior= =20 to the opening night of his tour, in Philadelphia.=20 e- On Replicas, and even more so on Pleasure Principle, your music shifted=20 from a harder-edged guitar sound to a sleeker keyboard sound. Was this a=20 calculated move, or was it a natural evolution reflective of your mood at th= e=20 time?=20 g- It was definitely done as an experiment. I wanted an album with no guitar= =20 at all, but yet I wanted it to have a full and complete sound, an all around= =20 good sonic vibe. Looking back on it, it was probably a mistake, although the= =20 record did make its mark. But now I wonder what the whole point of it was.=20 e- In my opinion, the whole '80s synth movement owes everything to you, the=20 Human League (Travelogue, Reproduction), and Kraftwerk. Do you feel like a=20 founding father? How do you see your influence?=20 g- I had never given it any thought until about 12 to18 months ago. Suddenly= =20 everyone starting referring to me as an influence. The tribute album came=20 out, which included some amazing artists. I heard Trent Reznor and Marilyn=20 Manson talking about my music, and I finally understood the mark I had left.= =20 I even heard Snoop Doggy Dog dropping my name.=20 e- Along with the music, you were also a pioneer of the video movement. Did= =20 music video become what you envisioned? What do you think of music=20 television?=20 g- Back then, I thought video would totally replace live music, but it reall= y=20 never progressed much from then. There is only so much you can do. I think=20 probably 75% of videos are total crap, including most of the ones I've made.= =20 I did think the NIN video for "Closer" was brilliant, and the Manson videos=20 are all stunning. The problem with video is that it takes away the=20 individuals perception of a song, and replaces it with what the artist force= s=20 upon you, not really a good thing.=20 e- You've recently released Exile, which, by the way, is a great record. Any= =20 musical influences on you during the writing of the record?=20 g- Not really. I am not one who lives within the music business. I don't rea= d=20 music magazines or listen to the radio. I find them very bland and=20 uninspiring.=20 e- The record has a strong dance beat, but the music itself is much more=20 sparse, with a darker tone. Would that be an accurate description? Was this=20 the intended sound?=20 g- I am very happy with the way it turned out. There are about 36 drum loops= ,=20 all dance beats. I wanted a dark feel, but yet with a powerful, heavy sound.= =20 The thing I like is that it still has that groove if you want to move around= =20 to it. It all flows throughout its own central theme, like a soundtrack.=20 e- What is that theme?=20 g- That God and the devil are very similar. I am not a religious person, but= =20 I did a little reinterpretation of the Bible. Made God a little darker,=20 somewhat terrifying. Mary gets raped by the three wise men (they were bearin= g=20 gifts all right, but not very nice ones), angels are pissing on the graves o= f=20 children.=20 e- There seems to be quite a crossover appeal with Exile...gothic,=20 industrial, synthpop. Where do you see your market?=20 g- I wasn't looking for any particular market. I had made a really crappy=20 album in 1992, very un-Numan-like. I had run out of ideas, was in a bad=20 relationship, had no money, almost lost my house. It was time to rethink and= =20 start over. I decided to do music as a hobby, as opposed to being a job. I=20 wrote from the heart and that took a darker turn. I am not too familiar with= =20 gothic music, although I do quite like the Sisters and the Mission. As I had= =20 mentioned before, I also like NIN, and Manson.=20 e- Did you have any input over the artists or song selections on the Random=20 CD?=20 g- Random was great, it really changed a lot of people's attitudes about my=20 music. It really encouraged me, knowing that there was that much interest in= =20 my work. It changed my whole environment. I had no input though, didn=D5t ev= en=20 know it was coming out until about six months before its release.=20 e- The critics always found a way to take the piss out of you, but yet you=20 have maintained a strong, loyal fan base. Why is that?=20 g- I don't really know. Whenever the presses are overly hostile it tends to= =20 harden a fan's loyalty. The British press hurt me very badly, but the fans=20 were always there when I needed their support. They went as far as protestin= g=20 outside radio stations (probably did more harm than good), but it was a nice= =20 idea. I've always toured regularly, and tried to make the best records I=20 could, with that one exception in '92. I always try to make myself available= =20 to talk to fans and sign autographs whenever I can; I think that is very=20 important.=20 e- By the end of the '70s you made a decision to play only large clubs, then= =20 tired of those big shows, then retired. Now you are playing smaller clubs in= =20 the States. What would you prefer these days?=20 g- Earlier on, I had very little confidence on stage; I felt very awkward.=20 But now, after so many years, I feel I've become reasonably good at it. It's= =20 just nice to have anyplace to play, actually. I like the intimacy of small=20 clubs, sort of a feeling of family. I do still play some huge gigs in Europe= ,=20 and they are nice because you feel good being a part of something so huge.=20 e- What type show can we expect on this tour? Will the music be guitar or=20 synth oriented?=20 g- Lots of guitar. It will be a powerful show, but there aretwo keyboardists= =20 with me. I'll be playing a lot of guitar. The material will be from Exile an= d=20 the pre-1980 era, only about two songs from the middle period. The older=20 stuff is reworked, but the basic melodies and arrangement will be the same ,= =20 so people will still know the stuff and can sing along if they want to. My=20 compromise was throwing in added guitar, and more drum loops. Hopefully it=20 will be satisfactory to myself and my fans.=20 e- One of my all time favorite songs is "Down In The Park." Will you be=20 playing that one? What was the inspiration for writing that?=20 g- Thanks. I guess the inspiration was the Roman gladiator days. It was one=20 part of the story on Replicas. The government created a curfew to keep peopl= e=20 off the streets at night. If you were out past curfew, it was a criminal act= =20 punishable by death. The machines in the park would detect the humans and=20 they were programmed to kill them in all sorts of bad ways. Certain members=20 of society were allowed to watch this transpire from a nearby diner. Oh=20 yes...we will be playing that one on this tour; we always play that one.=20 e- Despite 20+ years in music, most people still only know you for one song.= =20 Is that okay with you, or does it continue to frustrate you?=20 =20 g- It has been very frustrating at times, but I guess it is nice being=20 remembered for something. I was a one-hit wonder in the States; people don't= =20 know that I charted 30 singles in England. This tour is definitely my second= =20 chance. I'll never get back to where I was, but I find myself on the edge of= =20 a huge opportunity. I don't want to be known as a nostalgia act, which is wh= y=20 I turned down a few of the '80s reunion package tours. I felt that would be=20 the kiss of death. Once you do that, nobody cares about anything new you try= .=20 I am not interested in past glories. I'd like to re-establish myself as a=20 current act and stand on the merits of my new material, but we shall=20 see.........=20 =20 Recent and some older, still in print US releases from Gary Numan. All of these are currently in print in the US. Sources; Record company press= =20 releases, Cdnow! and Musicblvd. See resource section for where to order.=20 Various Artists Random (Beggars Banquet) Various Artists Random 2 (Beggars Banquet, fea remixes by techno remixers) Tubeway Army (with bonus tracks) (Beggars Banquet) Replicas (with bonus tracks) (Beggars Banquet) Pleasure Principle (with bonus tracks) (Beggars Banquet) Telekon (with bonus tracks) (Beggars Banquet) Living Ornaments 79 (2-CD set of the Hammersmith Odeon Show)* Living Ornaments 81 (2-CD set from Wembley Arena show)* * These two albums available via Beggars Banquet Mail Order only, see=20 resources section White Noise (2-CD set, Cleopatra Records) Exile (Cleopatra) The Mix (Cleopatra) Archive (Rialto) Archive Volume 2 (Rialto) Here I Am (Receiver) The Other Side of...(Receiver) Story So Far (3-CD set, Receiver) =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 Get your very own copy of Lexicon delivered to your door $15.00 a year.=20 Subscribe Now! =20 ------------------------------ End digest@garynuman.info Digest [01/02/2002 18:01] --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced, moderated, and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, davdat@allmusic.com, Joey@GaryNuman.Info ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: digest@garynuman.info If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: listserv@GaryNuman.info and include this line as the first line of your message body: SUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) or UNSUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) (email address is optional but useful if you have multiple addresses) If you want to switch between receiving Digests or individual posts, again send to listserv@GaryNuman.Info and include either of these in your message body: NORMAL digest@garynuman.info or DIGEST digest@garynuman.info ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note: this mailing list is configured to automatically unsubscribe you if mail to your mailbox goes undeliverable for any reason. 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