--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2002-135) - Topics this issue: 1) Top 5 b-sides, 2) Singles and b-sides, 3) Yay! B-side voting time!, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 21:01:42 EDT From: jtolva@aol.com Subject: Top 5 b-sides Here's my Top 5 b-sides: 1) Exhibition 2) We Are So Fragile 3) I Don't Believe 4) We Need It 5) Noise Noise I've noticed some common ones so far... Jeff Tolva (The Machman) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 19:40:16 -0600 From: "Joey Lindstrom" Subject: Singles and b-sides On Fri, 30 Aug 2002 18:02:37 -0600, Ben wrote: >"Rip" placed extremely highly. I find myself wondering if that's just >excitement about its newness; I wonder if it would still place so highly >after the next album is released. I love Gary's industrial sound, but that >song just doesn't say "single" to me; I don't think it's catchy. It's a >GOOD song, definitely, but radio material? Whether or not it's "radio material" is not, in my opinion, at all relevent. The question was what were his best singles. :-) Now, I know I mentioned this in the Digest at some point or another, but let me rehash it in light of your observation. Back when I was driving cab, and when Pure first came out, I would inflict it upon my unsuspecting passengers. :-) The whole album got generally VERY positive reactions, but *THE* most popular song on the album, amongst my random taxi passengers, was "Rip", followed by "Pure". This was especially true with younger listeners. "Rip" has grown on me. I didn't think it was the strongest song on the album, and when it was announced that it was gonna be the single, I was disappointed: I was hoping that "Pure" would be the single, or, failing that, "Listen To My Voice". But two years later, and having listened to all of the tracks many times, "Rip" to me stands out head and shoulders above the rest as THE best track on the album. It's a very, very strong song that benefits from repeated listenings. That's why I placed it at the top of my list: maybe five years from now I lower it a bit, but I still think it'll be on my top five. >That's another distinction I think deserves mentioning. Joey lobbied hard >for "Cars." (Should we call in some election officials to go over the >results because of that? Does that count as "electioneering"?) He browbeat >us 'noids into voting for it, practically questioned our fan-ness if we >didn't, and sure enough, it topped several lists after his post. Here's the >point I would make about that song: it's definitely Gary's CATCHIEST single, >but I wouldn't say it's his BEST. If we're choosing based on how much any >partakes of the quality of "goodness," I'd agree that "I Die: You Die" >deserves that honor-- even though I didn't vote for it at the top of my >list. (Our lists were supposed to be our FAVORITES, after all, and that one >is just not my personal favorite; "A Question Of Faith" is. Of singles.) There is something to what you say, but for me personally (and this whole exercise is about our opinions), "Cars" is a song that grabs me emotionally. It's not, to me, a light and frothy "let's get up on the dance floor!" kinda song. I "get" where Gary was coming from, indeed I sometimes feel that same sense of alienation, and will even sometimes just go jump in my car and drive around, looking at the world but not participating (other than to occasionally flip the bird at that JERKOFF in the other car! heh heh!) To me that song is more than just a #1 single, radio ear candy. It's a song I can listen to and find myself swept away by it, even though I've now heard it hundreds upon hundreds of times. I also particularly enjoy the Fear Factory cover of it - it's clear that these guys also "get" the true meaning of the song, though they've put a bit of a different spin on it (more aggressive). I'm glad you think I've got that much influence over the other 'noids here - I'd always thought they thought I was full of shit. :-) Well, I know YOU do. (insert wide grin here) Now, changing the subject slightly, I see we've started voting on fave b-sides. I agree it's a good candidate for voting on and I'd like to see us go whole hog on it, including doing an audio presentation at the end just like we did with the singles voting. To that end, I wonder if we could impose on you again to organize this whole thing a la last time (you did a fine job!), and: 1) Present a complete list of eligible songs. I have hesitated to vote so far because I just *KNOW* I'm going to wind up missing one of my favourites. 2) After doing so, allow those who've voted to change their votes ("DANG! I MISSED THAT ONE! CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE?") 3) Tabulate all the votes for us again. Whaddaya think? Oh, and just before the suggestion of voting on b-sides came along, I was going to make the suggestion that we vote on covers and collaborations. After we do the b-sides voting, and tabulate all the results and stuff, d'ya think we could do it all again, this time voting on covers and collaborations? What I had in mind is both straight covers (ie: "Down In The Park" by Foo Fighters, "Cars" by Fear Factory, etc.) as well as stuff he's done WITH other artists (whether or not the song was written by him or not), which would then include songs like "Found You Now" and "I Dream Of Wires" with Robert Palmer, the remix of "I Live Your Dream" by Projekt Pitchfork, all of the "Human" stuff with Michael R. Smith, etc. / From the desk of Joey Lindstrom / / A while ago, I went skiing in England. It was a rare package: two weeks / in England, one night in Connecticut, two weeks in England. I said, "Yes, / I'll take it." I got on this chairlift with this guy I didn't know. We / went halfway up the mountain without saying a word. Then he turned to me / and said, "You know, this is the first time I've gone skiing in ten / years." I said, "Why did you take such a long time off?" He said, "I / was in prison. Want to know why?" I said, "Not really. Well, you / better tell me why." He said, "I pushed a total stranger off a Ferris / wheel." I said, "I remember you." / --Steven Wright ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2002 13:50:54 EDT From: DCGaySLP@aol.com Subject: Yay! B-side voting time! --part1_d.2c4440f9.2aa25bfe_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Oh joy! I finally get to submit my b-side favorites. Here's my list :) 1) Whisper of Truth....I just love this song, it's so beautiful 2) Glitter & Ash....one of Numans best instrumentals along with: 3) Random 4) This House is Cold 5) Metal Beat...OK, maybe it's not officially a 'b-side' as far as I know, but it's a great song that deserves a lot of credit On a side note, I do like some of the classic b-sides like Noise Noise, but some of them don't strike a chord the way these 5 did. For those wondering, my trip to London was outstanding both in terms of the Reading Festival experience and roaming around London proper. Greatly enjoyed Greenwich, Soho and Picadilly. Harrods was fun and I found a lot of great pubs, particularly in Soho and am looking to plan on returning as soon as possible! People were friendly and fun. I was somewhat dissapointed to come back to DC and fight the road rage from Dulles airport to my house.....I definitely felt like I was "back" :( Now playing: Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf Later, all! Rick in DC --part1_d.2c4440f9.2aa25bfe_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Oh joy!  I finally get to submit my b-side favorites.  Here's my list :)

1) Whisper of Truth....I just love this song, it's so beautiful
2) Glitter & Ash....one of Numans best instrumentals along with:
3) Random
4) This House is Cold
5) Metal Beat...OK, maybe it's not officially a 'b-side' as far as I know, but it's a great song that deserves a lot of credit

On a side note, I do like some of the classic b-sides like Noise Noise, but some of them don't strike a chord the way these 5 did.

For those wondering, my trip to London was outstanding both in terms of the Reading Festival experience and roaming around London proper.  Greatly enjoyed Greenwich, Soho and Picadilly.  Harrods was fun and I found a lot of great pubs, particularly in Soho and am looking to plan on returning as soon as possible!  People were friendly and fun.  I was somewhat dissapointed to come back to DC and fight the road rage from Dulles airport to my house.....I definitely felt like I was "back" :(

Now playing:  Queens of the Stone Age- Songs for the Deaf

Later, all!
Rick in DC --part1_d.2c4440f9.2aa25bfe_boundary-- ------------------------------ End digest@garynuman.info Digest [08/31/2002 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 Back Issues: http://digest.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. If you suddenly stop receiving this list, you should assume you've been automatically unsubscribed and should then manually resubscribe. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Gary Numan Digest is produced with the facilities of the Gary Numan Info Server and The Interocitor. All of the opinions in this digest belong to the respective authors and do not necessarily agree with those of the Digest Producers. This digest is published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is governed by all applicable Canadian laws. --------------------------------------------------------------------------