=====================================================[September 19, 1994]= __ | __ _ _ ___ | || ___ | __ __ (__ | | | \/ | ____) |___ || |___) |__ (__) | | ___) |___| | | | |___| |___) || |____ The Electronic Fanzine for Cool Folks Like You Editor: Scott F. Williams Internet: Scotty.Williams@launchpad.unc.edu a.k.a. "Pathojam" Managing Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Contributing Martin Bate Writers Al Crawford Bob Gajarsky Tim Kennedy David Landgren Tim Mohr P. Nina Ramos Scott F. Williams Address all comments, subscription requests, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net ============================================================================== Consumable is published by Pathojammic Productions as a service to all who use computers to communicate. All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this document must be sought from the Publisher. ============================================================================== .------------. | Contents |-. `------------' | `------------' Words from the Managing Editor REVIEW: Freur, _Doot-Doot_ by Al Crawford REVIEW: Gigalo Aunts, "Mrs. Washington" (7"), by Tim Mohr REVIEW: Prodigy, _Music for the Jilted Generation_, by Martin Bate REVIEW: Public Enemy, _Muse SIck-N-Hour Mess Age_, by Martin Bate REVIEW: Course of Empire, _Initiation_, by David Landgren REVIEW: Idha, _Melody Inn_, by Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Marck Bailey, _Strings Attached_, by Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Oasis, _Definitely Maybe_, by Tim Kennedy INFORMATION: King, _Steps In Time_, issued in U.S. on CD TOUR DATES: Blur, Echobelly, Hoodoo Gurus, Love Jones COMMENTS: Consolidated and House of Pain in Germany FUTURE INTERVIEW with Carl Caprioglio, head of Oglio Records. What questions would you like to ask him? POLL: You can help! What 1980's new wave material should be issued on CD? FTP site for Consumable! FROM THE READERS --- It's short and sweet this week up top. We've got some great stuff contained within this issue, from all over the globe. As always, we're not trying to tell you what our *critics* like, but for our critics to offer what listeners would like *these* releases. We can use your help with this 1980's poll and the interview with Carl of Oglio Records - *you* will have a say as results of this poll will go to several record labels. Please, however, use the gajarsky@sun490.fdu.edu address for this. And, of course, thanks for your support! - Bob --- REVIEW: Freur - _Doot-Doot_ (Oglio) I never thought I'd see the day when I had this album on CD. Freur's debut album, and the only one ever released in the UK, flopped miserably when first released back in 1984, so it must surely qualify as a minor miracle that it has now seen the light of day on CD a full ten years later. Before the review proper, a history lesson. Freur first appeared on the UK music scene back in 1983, when a memorable, haunting and slightly strange art-pop single called "Doot-Doot" began to get airplay in both the UK and the US. The single never really amounted to much chart-wise, reaching only the lower reaches of the UK charts and missing completely in the US, but it did attract some attention at the time and gained the group a cult following. At this time, of course, the group weren't called Freur. In fact, they didn't even have a name that could be written down. The sleeve of the "Doot-Doot" single carried only a strange squiggle instead of a name, predating the strange metamorphosis of The Being That Was Once Known As Prince by the best part of a decade. The group's name may well have been *pronounced* "freur", but at the time it caused record shops no end of hassle - just what do you file under? Especially if you've never heard pronounced? Record company pressure eventually forced the group to adopt the phonetic spelling of their name. "Doot-Doot" reappeared with a new sleeve bearing the group's name. Further singles followed under this name, but none managed to attain the dizzying troughs as the first single. Eventually the album _Doot-Doot_ came along, attracting the same intensive lack of interest as the singles. The group changed their image, moving away from a look that suggested the high-speed collision of a glam-rock band, a convention for PVC fetishists and Dame Barbara Cartland towards a considerably tamer, "modern rustic" appearance. Their sound changed also, with the first two post-_Doot-Doot_ singles having a subtle "electronic folk" tinge. Unfortunately this change of direction didn't do them much good, and despite the first of these singles, "The Devil And Darkness", getting some radio airplay, both sank without trace. The album they came from (_Get Us Out Of Here_) suffered an even more terrible fate, didn't even get a UK release, and appeared only in Germany and the Netherlands. Understandably disenchanted, Freur dropped out of sight for a couple of years, reappearing in 1988 with the new name of Underworld, minor lineup changes and a slightly more commercial line in synth-rock. History then promptly repeated itself. The first Underworld single, "Underneath The Radar", attracted some attention in the US (but none whatsoever in the UK), but the accompanying album of the same name, all subsequent singles and the second Underworld album _Change The Weather_ rapidly bit the dust. Once again the group re-invented themselves, this time rather more drastically. The name stayed the same, but the group reduced itself to the core duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, recruited DJ Darren Emerson and developed a highly distinctive musical approach that combined a contemporary techno-influenced sound with Hyde's idiosyncratic vocal style and the occasional hint of their past incarnations. This time it worked, and at the moment Underworld are quite definitely hot, with their remixing skills in high demand and a successful album to their name. All this, however, is completely irrelevant to _Doot-Doot_. Freur and the current Underworld are best described as upwardly compatible - fans of _Doot-Doot_-era Freur will be able to hear traces of that sound in recent Underworld releases. However, those whose exposure has been limited to Underworld's latest album _dubnobasswithmyheadman_ may find _Doot-Doot_ difficult to palate. It's early-mid 80s arty synth-pop, from that wave of the genre where conventional instrumentation was no longer frowned upon and the typical sound was less explicitly electronic than it had been a couple of years earlier. Of course, the Freur sound had certain unique elements even then, but it's still a million miles from the group's current sound. Before the praise, the criticism. Oglio's release, while preserving the original front cover art, regrettably dumps everything else. No lyrics, almost no credits ("All selections written by R. Smith, A. Thomas, K. Hyde"), just a two page advertisement for the label's other releases. Given the classy packaging of the original release, this is a bit of a shame. The track listing disappoints too. Oglio have taken the original LP and added the bonus of two post-_Doot-Doot_ tracks, for a total of just under 50 minutes of music. Given the capabilities of the CD medium, I can see no reason why they couldn't have used the cassette version of _Doot-Doot_ (which added four bonus tracks) as the basis of this release, and still added those two bonus tracks. The resulting disc would have been 70 minutes long, tops. Nonetheless, a less than perfect _Doot-Doot_ is still infinitely better than no _Doot-Doot_ at all. After all, the bonus tracks were just that - bonuses. The album gets off to a memorable start with "Doot-Doot" itself. From the subdued intro of insect chirps, to the wonderful haunting chorus and Karl Hyde's stylised vocals, this is a perfect piece of early 80s pop. True, the lyrics don't make a huge amount of sense, but nobody's perfect. "Runaway" is a rather more robust piece of pop, and lacks the ethereal quality of "Doot-Doot", but it's still an excellent song. "Riders In The Night" progresses (albeit slowly) from a quiet, synthy intro into something livelier still. Another classy piece of synth-pop. "Theme From The Film Of The Same Name" changes the pace yet again. Slow and jazzy, the music is secondary to the lyrics here, in direct contrast to the previous three tracks, where the lyrics have been, well, unspectacular. "Tender Surrender" marks a return to lyrical obscurity and subdued, pleasant synth-pop, ending the A-side of the original album on a largely unremarkable note. Had Oglio used the track listing of the cassette of _Doot-Doot_, at this point we'd have been treated to the reasonable "Hold Me Mother" and the excellent "You're A Hoover". Oh well. The B-side of the LP opened with another single, "Matters Of The Heart". This is a reasonably good, slow-paced track, but not in the same league as "Doot-Doot". "My Room" is in similar vein, although slightly more lively, while "Whispering" is quieter and more atmospheric, relying heavily on Karl Hyde's distinctive vocals. "Steam Machine" is...well, "Steam Machine" is best described as quirky. The lyrics are decidedly odd and possibly risque while Hyde's vocals are even more stylised than usual, and the melody somewhat jerky. It's one of my favorites, although it might not be to everybody's taste. The final track of the original LP, "All Too Much", is another strong song. The lyrics are unusual and somewhat childlike, the chorus wonderfully powerful. At this point the original LP finished, while the cassette added two "Dun Difrunt" extended mixes of "Doot-Doot" and "Matters Of The Heart". It'd have been nice to have these included too. Instead, Oglio have added two tracks that postdate the rest of the material on the album. Fortunately, they've chosen well. "Hey Ho Away We Go" was originally the B-side of the "Look In The Back For Answers" single and is essentially a synth-driven eighties folk song with amusing, clever lyrics and a jaunty melody. "The Devil And Darkness" was the A-side of the preceding single, and is included here in the form of the extended Kevin Whyte remix. It's another song with a folky and rustic yet synthesized feel, and fans of Men Without Hats whose ears pricked up at the use of the phrase "eighties folk" a few lines back might find that the song has certain resonances with that group's "Safety Dance". It's a wonderful track, and is certainly my favourite Freur track and one of my favourite songs of any type. A fantastic song, and I'd have bought the CD for this even if the rest of the album had been awful. It's even followed by one of those brief, jingly snippets that the group were prone to punctuating their releases with. Of course, the rest of the album *isn't* awful. It's certainly not consistently excellent, and includes a certain amount of material that's (charitably) somewhat samey or (uncharitably) could be construed as filler. However, at least five of the tracks on the original album are excellent, none of them are actually skip-button material, and the two bonus tracks are great. "The Devil And Darkness" is, of course, sublime, although it's fortunate that while the 12" remix doesn't add anything noticeable to the track, neither does it remove anything from the original 7". In conclusion, I'll give the album a +2 (on a scale of -5 to +5). Some of the songs certainly merit a higher rating than this, but this is counteracted by the weaker material and a recognition on my part that not everybody gets a shiver down their spine and/or sits entranced when they hear "The Devil And Darkness". Definitely recommended to serious synth-pop fans though, and those who liked the first incarnation of Underworld. Those who're familiar with the group's most recent material might want to give it a listen too, if only to put the likes _dubnobasswithmyheadman_ in a historical context. --- REVIEW: Gigalo Aunts - Mrs. Washington 7" (also available on CD with additional tracks) Boston has produced an impressive string of alternative rock bands and many of those acts come vaguely to mind upon hearing the Gigalo Aunts, an emerging Boston quartet. The easiest comparison is to Buffalo Tom, as both bands harness loud but melodic guitars to soaring vocal harmonies. By steering clear of the catharctic laments that characterize Buffalo Tom, and by tossing in a dose of Pixies-esque irony, the Gigalo Aunts create an invigorating take on the now-traditional Boston sound. The band generated attention in Europe for their latest album, _Flippin' Out_ (on Fire Records in Europe), opening for the Wonder Stuff. On the _Full-on Bloom_ e.p. that accompanied the first single from _Flippin' Out_, the Gigalo Aunts covered "Serious Drugs" by the BMX Bandits (Creation), splashing brash guitars over the originally sparse, acoustic tune. The BMX Bandits' consciously maudlin arrangement benefits from the Aunts respectful but rambunctious treatment. The third single from _Flippin' Out_, "Mrs. Washington" is backed with another effective and original cover version. The Smiths' lilting "Ask" sparkles in a loud, fast, straight-ahead Gigalo Aunts version. Best of all, the Gigalo Aunts seem to have learned from other local influences: the cover avoids the novelty-act feel of Dinosaur Jr.'s Cure cover, "Just Like Heaven," and the Lemonheads "Mrs. Robinson." --- REVIEW: The Prodigy "Music for the Jilted Generation" (XL Recordings) The Prodigy are Liam Howlett in the same way that NIN are Trent Reznor. Their debut album was one of the few albums by an out-and-out rave act that I could listen to from start to finish - every track a speed freak thumping pop/dance song with insidious hooks and bass to move rooms. "So....To stop my work falling into the wrong hands, I've taken it back underground." This is The Prodigy getting serious, a reaction to both their alleged teeny-dance status and to the British Governments proposed anti-rave laws. The titles and tunes allude to drugs, crime, and speed (of the motorized vehicle variety), making a concept album of sorts. Few of the tracks go along with the first album's blue-print. There is much more of a variety of styles and tempos, with some tracks even borrowing perceptibly from the industrial, rap, funk and even soundtrack (imagine John Williams with break-beats) genres. Most of this works, although parts don't. For instance, "Voodoo People" mixes up a Nirvana-riff ("Very Ape"), with 70's "Shaft"-style flute, and hardcore techno and comes out as a great bit of dance with a twist. In contrast the Pop Will Eat Itself collaboration "Their Law" trudges along on the back of a lackluster live guitar riff, going nowhere, and doing little to improve my opinion of PWEI. Things finish off on a high note (in more ways than one) with "The Narcotic Suite", a collection of three drug related moods. Thus we have "3 Kilos" with its dreamy keyboards topped with super-fly flute and piano; "Skylined" with its alternating wide open expanses and hard dance; and "Claustrophobic Sting" with its dense roller-coaster beats cut with screams, scary laughter, and a voice repeating "My mind is glowing!" like a mantra. This *is* definitely a more mature album, sacrificing the debut's vicarious pop thrills for more of an exploration of the dance genre, with varying results. Some songs are stretched out a little too long and there is a comparative lack of hooks (especially vocal) for the listener's ears and body to latch onto on initial listens, but really I'm nit-picking. There are few dance acts who could produce an *album* as good as this. --- REVIEW: Public Enemy, "Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age" (Def Jam) A babble of voices....gunshots....a voice announces "Here we go again", a beat starts up and a radio announcer gives you a news bulletin 1999 style....then a *wicked* guitar riff interrupts before the beat kicks back in, louder, with Chuck D sneering and snarling all over the top of it. Ladies and gentlemen......PUBLIC ENEMY! A lot has changed since P.E.'s last proper outing - the gangstas have taken over rap with their simple production and tales of bitches, blunts, 40's and gats, so Chuck, Flav and Terminator-X are back to tell you "What *time* it is". P.E. *know* their backs are against the wall and that they must come out fighting, but rather than simply re-hashing the trademark Bomb Squad wall of noise production, they've chosen to throw some new styles into the mix. They've brought a more live, organic and less structured feel to their sound, even using live instrumentation along with the samples and loops on several of the tracks. This album's closest cousin would be _Fear of a Black Planet_ - it's a long album, with a variety of styles and moods, and an ambitious attempt to move forward. Like _Fear.._ it has also come out of troubled times for the band. The first side is faultless with the style flipping back and forth between the new and old, Chuck and Flav telling you what's wrong with America 1994 and what can be done to stop the rot. The negative gangsta-rap image is attacked several times, no better than on "So Whatcha Gonna Do Now?", which utilizes a laid back, almost Dre-like style to talk about how "Everybody's talking that gangsta *shit*" On the second side there's a few hiccups with some of the experiments not quite pulling it off (although coming fairly close). Flav's re-working of the Last Poets "Godd Complexx" strikes an unconvincing balance between the serious and comical, and "Aintnuttin Buttersong"s beats and Hendrix and child samples don't seem to hang together quite as they should. In addition, the album should have finished on the collosal hard funk guitar and layered-to-fuck samples of "Hitler Day" (in which P.E. question the sense in celebrating Columbus) but instead plays out on the minimalist plod of "Living in a Zoo". But while they can produce something like "Live and Undrugged" where Chuck's rhyme builds to a frenzied climax, with him only *just* holding onto the flow, you have to admit that P.E. are still a powerful force to be reckoned with. --- REVIEW: Course of Empire - _Initiation_ - (Zoo) _Initiation_ is the second album from the Dallas-based group Course of Empire; a maxi-CD, "Infested", was released earlier this year to favorable reviews. They have come a long way since their first album, recorded at the turn of the decade, which saw the group being criticized as being too caught up in their own self-importance. The new album is dark, hyperactive hard rock, tempered by a number of slower pieces. Vaughn Stevenson sings, Mike Graff plays guitar, Paul Samrad plays bass and Chad Lovell and Michael Jerome play drums. Parallels can be drawn with Jane's Addiction, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Bauhaus and Killing Joke. Kindred spirits include Faith No More and Skinny Puppy. The album was recorded with only Lovell drumming, and a drum machine; Jerome came on-line after recording was finished. The two drummers, as much as anything else, contribute to a distinctive sound that the band can call their own. Anyone who cites Kodo drumming as an influence is worth checking out live. Fans who were lucky enough to see them in the early days were able to participate in an innovative essay of interactivity, whereby the band members handed over drums to the audience. Sometimes it worked, but the band had to stop the experiment when clueless drunkards persisted in smashing the equipment rather than playing it. Highlights of the album include the title track, a squalling wall of feedback and white noise, discovered serendipitously when an amp in the studio was set up incorrectly. This then segues into "Chihuahuapile" to close the album. Also rising above the rest of the tracks is the somber piece Sacrifice. Two other tracks that rock out are the first two: "Hiss" and "White Vision Blowout". The calmer tracks add another dimension to the band. What the first half of the album lacks in subtlety, it makes up for with sheer energy. But, after a while, they sneak in a few less frantic tracks. Mercifully, these are not the soapy ballads hard rockers often resort to; you can leave your cigarette lighter at home for these ones. As much as anything, they let Stevenson use his voice as an instrument, rather than just singing his lyrics. As long as they are able to stay away from the siren call of MTV, and other mainstream black holes, they will prove to be an interesting band. I give them a 7/10 for this one. --- MINI REVIEW: Idha - _Melody Inn_ (Sony / TriStar) The Swedish singer Idha Ovelius, who goes solely by her first name, has released her debut album, _Melody Inn_. Although Ovelius is only 21 years old, her music harkens back to folk roots which began before she was even conceived. With a nod of the hat to pioneers such as Gram Parsons (whose "Hickory Wind" she covers), Idha recreates the music of the peace era in a style that also is reminiscent of Janis Joplin. And, the U.K. release was on the ever hip Creation label. Recommended for country and folk fans who are searching for a new diamond in the rough. --- REVIEW: Marck Bailey, _Strings Attached_ A new release, which is only available via mail, recently caught my ear - Marck Bailey's _Strings Attached_. Bailey, who currently resides in the Chicago area, has honed his cafe style throughout numerous Windy City clubs and radio performances. His debut effort, _Strings Attached_, features 10 full length songs (encompassing 48 minutes) The artist claims influences from Crowded House and Shawn Colvin - part of the new genre of the "adult alternative" market that is rapidly growing in commercial acceptance. However, the solo effort doesn't just resemble these artists - this reviewer found similarities to the slower Toad the Wet Sprocket works. The post-production work on _Strings_ is a bit weak, which leaves gaps in between parts of the tracks. However, with Bailey (who plays all his own instruments), this can be seen not as a flaw, but as a positive attribute - the ability to take the live intimate setting of a cafe and bring that into the studio, onto cassette and into the listeners living room. Music afficionados who are fans of acoustic music and introspective lyrics can look to a new face for entertainment - Marck Bailey. Further information on purchasing the 10 song cassette can be obtained by contacting Elizabeth Wasserman at Small Commune Management at 708-864-5694 or via the Internet at wrigley@nwu.edu. --- REVIEW: Oasis, _Definitely Maybe_ (Epic) Here's a quick look at the new Oasis album, song by song. They are musically slightly rough at the edges but the tunes are very catchy and they have a musical affinity with the Stone Roses as well as being fans and nodding acquaintances. Overall, it lives up to all the expecations, but with one reservation - much of the material here is already in the public domain. (Mgr. Ed. note - this is written by one of our U.K. correspondents). The voice of lead signer Liam Gallagher is full of attitude and he slurs his words in an almost Johnny Rotten-like manner at times which is great. At other times his high-pitched timbre recalls the psychedelic era Lennon. 1. "Rock n Roll Star" - Nice and rocky, reminds me of the Bowie song "Star" off _Ziggy Stardust_ a bit, but obviously the guitar is a lot more like Neil Young and Crazy Horse. 2. "Shakermaker" - The second single from the album, which nicks the tune from the New Seekers song of the seventies "I'd Like To Buy Teach The World To Sing". It's about drugs, though. 3. "Live Forever" - See above; I love the song. 4. "Up In The Sky" - There is an acoustic version of this on the single of "Live Forever". This is good (electric) though. Quite Who-ish. 5. "Columbia"- Feedback intro, this is a bit of a wall-of-noise job, with wailing guitars a-go-go. This is my least favorite track by them. Outro goes on a bit. 6. "Supersonic" - Again another single on the album. I didn't like it first time around but I like it now. Reminds of the Happy Mondays tunewise but it is a rock song. 7. "Bring It On Down" - There is a live version of this on the single of "Live Forever". It isn't much different. An aggressive hard rock number. 8. "Cigarettes And Alcohol" - This was on an NME (New Musical Express, newspaper) free tape but this version is a bit more sassy and I love the song anyway. Nice and bluesy riff. Very noisy production. 9. "Digsy's Dinner" - A bit odd. I don't like in-jokes in songs either. A choppy guitar riff leads into an oddly-singsong track. I find it hard to get into this track. 10. "Slide Away" - One of the best songs on the LP; should be a single. Heartbreaking guitar and a great love song about loss. 11."Married With Children" - This is a lowkey look at the gripes of loving couples when familiarity breeds conflict over each other's habits and so on. The lyrics are funny- "You're music's shite it keeps me up all night." The track "Sad Song" is an extra only included on the (U.K.) vinyl. A glum. acoustic number, which goes on about throwing something away a lot. Quite nice guitar playing. In conclusion, the standout tracks are the singles and "Slide Away". The inclusion of all that released material removes the buzz of hearing unfamiliar songs that you really like. However they may have been trying to pack it with classic tunes for a better impact. It is a good record containing some superb songs. I wonder how they'll do in the States. They are a heavy rock group but they don't wear a sign saying 'Heavy Metal' or 'Grunge' so this may hinder them. They're a lot thrashier than the baggy bands ever were despite looking like them. --- INFORMATION: The King album, _Steps In Time_, has recently been reissued on Oglio Records. The reissue includes 8 bonus tracks from the original, including 12" versions of "Soul on My Boots", "Won't You Hold My Hand Now" and the big hit "Love and Pride". For more information, contact Oglio at 1-800-COOL-CDS --- TOUR DATES BLUR UPDATES: Blur's tourdates for Los Angeles has been changed to September 25 at the Palace and the New York show has been changed to the 29th of September. ECHOBELLY: The hot new band from the U.K. will be playing one gig in New York City, Wednesday, September 21, at Wetlands. They will be returning to the States in November to support the domestic release of their debut album, _Everybody's Got One_. Look for an interview with lead singer Sonya Aurora-Madan in a future issue of Consumable. HOODOO GURUS: The band from down under is rocking the States. Here's the dates: Sept 19, Ames (IA), People's Sept 22, Salt Lake City, Zaphyr Sept 24, Seattle, Ballard Firehouse Sept 25, Portland, La Luna Sept 27, San Jose, FX Club Sept 28, San Francisco, Slim's Sept 29, San Juan Cap (CA), Coach House Sept 30, Ventura (CA), Ventura Theatre Oct 1, Los Angeles, House of Blues Oct 2, San Diego, USD Student Center LOVE JONES: The cocktail lounge sound combines with punk styled lyrics on Love Jones' most recent album _Here's to the Losers_. The underappreciated album that shouldn't be offers a pleasant change from the grunge offerings, without being afraid to have fun. Here's their tour dates: Sept 21, Salt Lake City, Cinema Bar Sept 24, Seattle, Moe Sept 29, Los Angeles, The Palace --- Comments on Consolidated and House of Pain Consolidated played Berlin right after the split with House of Pain. They played at a separate venue the same night as House of Pain, about an hour after HOP. Tickets to HOP were valid for both shows but they also sold additional ones for the solo Consolidated show. I think HOP lost a good chunk of cash through this feud, what with getting the alternative venue and everything. In an interview on the radio, the singer from Consolidated said that despite the fact that HOP knew about their politics and message-heavy shows they objected when Consolidated started knocking MTV on stage. Despite their rebel imagery House of Pain apparently kisses MTV's ass to the extent that they feared having their opener bash the station. Pretty fucking lame. Interestingly, the (eastern-oriented) Berlin radio station that sponsored the original show only interviewed Consolidated and pushed their show instead of the House of Pain concert. --- 1980's new-wave fans might want to look here...there's two things here of interest. Please reply ONLY to:gajarsky@sun490.fdu.edu ------------------ 1) I will be conducting an interview with Carl Caprioglio, president of Oglio Records, in the near future. Oglio has quickly become one of the leaders in the 1980's reissue market, having issued four volumes of the "Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites" series, two other volumes of 1980's reissues, Freur, King and Killer Pussy reissues, and three more discs slated for release this month. If anyone would like to submit questions on anything in the reissue process, choices, etc. - I'll try to get as many questions as possible answered by Carl. In addition, if anyone has any specific album/track recommendations or opinions on planned reissues for Altered Images, Bad Manners, Dead or Alive, Flash & The Pan, Translator or Wire Train, please pass those along as well. This interview will be published in a future issue of Consumable as well as marketed to several publications. If successful, we will be interviewing other label personalities in the future as well. 2) With the onslaught of music being reissued on CD, I'm sure that there's something that has been left out. For instance, the Men Without Hats disc (rumoured to be reissued later this year) which contains "Safety Dance" on it has changed hands at several hundred dollars each; I'm sure many people would like to purchase this. Some albums just never made it to disc. Some never made it to disc in the United States. So, here's a poll - which 1980's albums would you like to see issued (or re-issued) on CD? List up to 10 *artists* and 10 singles. Don't forget, since this is being done in the United States, things such as Nik Kershaw CD's (which is not available in the U.S.) count. The results of the poll will be posted and also distributed to various music labels. Again, please ONLY reply to gajarsky@sun490.fdu.edu --- Here's mine, for starters: Tommy Conwell - Walkin' on the Water Hooters - Amore Donnie Iris - Fortune 410 Nik Kershaw - The Riddle, Human Racing Soundtrack - Party Party Soundtrack - Gotcha! Singles: Assembly - Never Never Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want End Games - First, Last for Everything We Feel Good (Future's Looking Fine) Kon Kan - Move To Move (12") Jackie Leven - Love Keeps Shining Down On Me -- For fans who rush to the import shops, there are plenty of imports which have more tracks than their U.S. counterparts or were never issued in America (ie. Adam Ant, Thomas Dolby, etc.) But please limit it to 10... -- FTP site for Consumable! Well, here's a techie thing for you. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Basically, it means you can connect from your computer, in wherever, to some *other* computer (anywhere in the world) for free and get neat files. In this case, that includes old issues of Consumable. So, we're currently FTPable from quartz.rutgers.edu in the directory /pub/journals/Consumable . Here's how to use this. Right now, AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy and Fidonet people can *not* use FTP, except by mail (and I can't help you with that). But others can - and here's explicit directions how. Anything in {} appears on your screen. Anything in () is what you type in - without parentheses. So, here goes: (ftp quartz.rutgers.edu) {Username} (anonymous) {Password} type here whatever your userID is {ftp>} (cd /pub/journals/Consumable) {something else, I forget what} At this point, you have several options: ls which will show you all the issues of Consumable in the directory. mget * which will get all issues of Consumable. get (name of issue) which will get the issue of Consumable. Knock yourself out! --- FROM THE READERS... Impressions on your magazine - the emphasis on music stuff looks great, except that the radio here sucks (in Finland) and I have no stereo for spinning disks anyways .. And the record shops leave something to desire. Your rag makes me wish I was back within range of CFNY 102.1 FM, Toronto ! - Fred (Bob's note - I went through *hell* in college. Our campus radio station could hardly be heard *on* campus - never legally reaching off-campus. The alternative stations in the area couldn't be heard in my room...but I was lucky I was in Hoboken. The first "blind" purchase I made of an album was when I walked into Pier Platters and heard a quirky album with a pink cover and lots of art drawn on it. I wound up buying it off of in-store play and got my first exposure to They Might Be Giants...) ---