From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V96 #131 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 96 : Issue 131 315 subscribers Today's topics: Strategy / Sojka laurence green Mark's defence,Reading Gig and pilgrimage II Richard Smith He is still the King. Tucker A. Hass General Comments Pat Flanagan Re: Phil's Drumming and Children Say.. birchn Staring at the Sun Julian Arnold Phil vs. Gary / Evil Mark Vince Mora Newest member!!! Julian Arnold Another Baby! Julian Arnold Synchronicity in action - probably Marcus Bone Re: Level42 Digest V96 #130 pjschill Love songs........ Takeo Sonoi Elson's band's (JIBE) show LittleHalo Artistic 12"s etc... NECADon Mark as the "clown" Jerry Rehn New Subscriber Martin Lewis I'm a west coast man... (???) Eric J. Hansen ------------------------------ Subject: ? From: laurence green Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 11:21:48 PDT Hi All, I have an exam in two and a half hours! The 6 pressings for Strategy were just test pressings made from master tapes. Andy Sojka had the tapes long before he made the pressings, in fact he only made the pressings to scare Polydor into giving a huge wodge of cash for the rights to them. He phoned Polydor and asked for 10,000 pounds. They said no. They phoned back later with an offer for two singles and the master tapes. Andy had two sets of masters, he still has one to the best of my knowledge, and a couple of copies of the test pressings. Polydor didnt like the album, but they didnt want Sojka to release it independantly which he had threatened to do, and he was quite within his rights to do. Polydor thought it would hamper the progression of the group. They released it shortly before , 'The Pursuit Of Accidents' with little promotion, basically to cover their losses. Hope that clears things up. Bye.................................................LOZ ------------------------------ Subject: Mark's defence,Reading Gig and pilgrimage II From: rsmith @ zipmail.co.uk (Richard Smith) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 12:22:14 +0100 The time has come to tell you how I feel.... I can no longer sit by and let this "foul mouthing" of our KING continue unchallenged ! For what it's worth, I think these changed Lyrics were one of the small details that made Level 42 such an interesting Live Band. Mark's swearing was usually used in the context of correct surroundings and added a level (sorry Degree) of humour that very few other bands can generate. L42 would not have been half the Live Band without Mark's character shining through. As well as the changed Lyrics, I have seen Mark take the band off stage right in the middle of a song because the crowd were not singing enough....... and who do you think thought of the grand finale to the Guaranteed Live Tour !! I appreciate that most others appear to think diferently to me but I for one am glad that Mark was such a colourful figure with more stage presence than Phil Gould, Gary Husband et al put together. (IMHO Mark should be the one wearing the freshly starched undergarments ! red ones on the outside of his tight blue suit with the letter S on it !!!) Please do not flame me these are just my opinions.... you have yous I have mine.. >From: steve @ redac.co.uk (Steve Robson) > First L42 gig was about 1982 (Readin Top Rank Club) Hey Steve I was there too !! You probably remember me I had a Blue Level 42 T-shirt on you could n't miss me ! I lived in Benson near Wallingford then ! > Also, 'My top 10', again with Andy Peebles, where MK picks his top 10 fave tracks. Can you post a list of MK's top ten for us ? > Chinese Way, "My Fly's wide open, I feel a breeze, My winkle reaches, down to my knees!" Better than the original lyrics !!! And if true.....he has my respect !!! > if I had a daughter....... I do, and if Mark wants to go out with her then he will have to release a Rarities CD Free to all Digest subscribers first !! You've just experienced the Cybersensational Smith ! "Now the Time has come to show you how I feel....." ------------------------------ Subject: He is still the King. From: "Tucker A. Hass" Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 08:58:53 -0500 Yesterday Tom wrote concerning input to the King's behavior: 3) Speaking of being judgemental, the world is too judgemental as it is, in >my opinion. Mark's playing the hell out of the bass and singing soulfully and >helping write amazing songs, so let's appreciate him for that. > Tom's as right as a three-legged man in circus side show. I respect Mr. King for the musician he is and always will. I don't care if he licks chicken butt (eeyew!), he will continue to make money off of me. People get worked up to easily. Hell, I'd rather put my effort into finding something off-the-wall to make me laugh (even if no one else does). Now, to finish my scambled osterich eggs and peanut butter..... Tucker ------------------------------ Subject: General Comments From: pfpd @ pobox.com (Pat Flanagan) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 11:07:13 -0400 (EDT) Re: All this "Mark should not be respected anymore" stuff Huh? See, this is the sort of thing that happens when you put someone you admire for their talents up on a pedestal and forget that they're human just like you and me. Just because someone's a great bass player doesn't mean they're Buddah, for krissakes. Yeah, he's made some crass remarks, but haven't we all. We're just lucky enough not to have had our crass remarks immortalized on video/audio, that's all. Personally, I've never been offended by his remarks, because I've taken them with a sense of humor, which is the way I believe he meant them to be taken. Re: RITF is about incest Huh? Sorry, I just don't see that in either version of the lyrics. I see both versions as being about how we are similar, whether we like it or not, to our parents, due to our genes and environmental upbringing. The first lyric was just a bit more scholarly, that's all. [although I hate to admit it, I totally agree with Pat on this one... I've always interpreted this song to be about how children make mistakes and parents [hopefully] understand this because they've "been there / done that", too... -Eric] Ok, I'm done ranting. Flame away. Pat Flanagan Publishing & Design PO Box 281, Granger, IN 46530-0281 email: pfpd @ pobox.com website: http://www.pobox.com/~pfpd TOTALMEDIA PUBLISHING: Print * Disk * Interactive * CDROM * Internet ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Phil's Drumming and Children Say.. From: birchn @ Meena.CC.URegina.CA Date: Thu, 09 May 1996 09:09:47 -0600 (CST) I would have to agree that the drumming in this song makes it for me. I remember as a kid listening to the first few bars of Children Say and being wowed by the ease and simplicity of the little roll he does near the beginning. While I just started to play drums recently, I can understand even better what in interesting sound that is. I hope everyone understands what part I am refering to. Another point is that the bass on the REmix album version of Children Say ROCKS. Not too hard to play, but boy does it fit. Ok, enough out of me. NEIL ------------------------------ Subject: Staring at the Sun From: "Julian Arnold" Date: 9 May 1996 11:32:00 -0700 Hi ho Levelists! Yesterday steve @ slamsoft.netkonect.co.uk wrote: >IMHO, and despite being the biggest Level 42 fan ever (well, in the road where >I live anyway!), I think that SATS was probably the worst of all their albums. >Okay, "Heaven in my hands" was an excellent single, and yes, "Man" was an >okay track as well, but overall, by their own very high standards, I think >that it was a poor album. Does anybody else share my view here? I mean, even >Mark King, in an interview to The Sun newspaper (whose comments you cannot >always trust), said it was a pile of cak, and not worth the vinyl it was >pressed on (though I think I remember him denying this in the Fait Accompli >video). >Personnaly, I think that Level 42 were never quite as good after the Gould >brothers had left, and with Staring at the Sun being the first release >under a new lineup, I think that this goes part way to proving the point. >However, "Guaranteed" and "Forever Now" were vast improvements. >I await a flaming! Indeed no flame from me I agree wholeheartedly in fact I couldn't agree with you more!!!!! even though Gary's Husband is an accomplished and excellent percussionist, I couldn't take to him or to any other guitarist even though Alan Murphy was fabulous in Go West's debut album. After the brother Gould left it was a black hole! but I also think Guaranteed was a vast improvement over SATS and Forever Now even better. So I'll stand beside ye if theres a scuffle!! WRT: Mark's dirty mouth? doesn't change my thinking, in fact I just smile when I read about it. Would it change my opinion in buying any such videos? nah its just cobblers!! P.S. Hi Marc Doopee!! Julian "Jules" Arnold. ------------------------------ Subject: Phil vs. Gary / Evil Mark From: "Vince Mora" Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 12:45:26 -0600 (MDT) Lolita writes: > Speaking of Phil's drumming, I took a really good listen to Children Say the > other day. That was always one of my favorite songs anyway, but I paid > closer attention to the drumming than normal. His timing and style are what > makes the song, IMO; particularly the fit between the bass and the drums. If you think that's good, have a close listen to Lessons In Love. Phil sets up quite an intricate little groove with his use of hi-hats. What blows me away is that it's effortlessly natural and metronome-steady. The man is a true virtuoso. > I haven't heard anything in Gary Husband that comes close to hitting me as > strongly (no pun intended) as Phil does in that song. Agreed, although I think it really boils down to our personal preference. I think it's unfair to compare Gary and Phil -- they have different styles and approaches. As Allan Holdsworth sez, Gary "sounds like thunder", while Phil is delicate and restrained. But both are excellent musicians and ensemble players. Lisa.Baylus writes: > I am just sick of all this talk of Mark's dirty mouth! I have completely > lost all respect for the man, (personally, not musically) and am ending my > search for the Fait Accompli video. I don't need to see an insecure man make > an ass out of himself!!! Lisa, I think you're jumping to conclusions. After all you're getting a distorted & incomplete picture from reading some typed-in quotes on your computer screen! You need to see him and hear him before you pass judgment. My assessment of Mark is that he's got a great sense of humor that crosses over into crassness sometimes, but he's not some evil bastard in general. And he's got a real gentle personality -- he's not malicious at all. I think there's a difference between being a ham and a flirt, and being a full-bore asshole. Why not get the video and see what he's like for yourself? Not flaming you here, Lisa -- I just don't want you to get biased about Mark before you get the full picture. > So let's start a new thread....what about the love songs? They are the most > perfect love songs ever written. Two Hearts Collide? Come on!! You can't > tell me that doesn't do something to all of you!!!! It does, definitely. But the ones that get me every time I hear them are Leaving Me Now, Talking In Your Sleep, She Can't Help Herself, and of course, Something About You. Pat Flanagan writes: > Loz> While Im over there I intend to buy much Level 42 stuff, if I can > Loz> find it! > > You're dreaming, Loz. You're dreaming. Seconded. Remember, Loz, that America is like being in Hell for a L42 fan. Vince Keeper of the L42 Home Page ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vince Mora, Synthmedia Web Design email: synth @ swcp.com http://www.swcp.com/synth/ voice: USA: 505 332 0139 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LIFE IS LIKE A MEANINGLESS ANALOGY ------------------------------ Subject: Newest member!!! From: "Julian Arnold" Date: 9 May 1996 11:44:59 -0700 Yesterday Prashant Joshi wrote: >Announcing the arrival of a new Levelhead, Christopher Samir Joshi. He >joined the fan club on April 11, 1996 weighing in at an agile 6 lbs 4 oz. >His favourite songs? Why, "My Father's Shoes" and "Running in the Family" >of course! >************************* >* Prashant Joshi * >************************* Heeeey!!! welcome, welcome newest member and congratulations Prashant!! you must be very proud!! Cheers, Jules ------------------------------ Subject: Another Baby! From: "Julian Arnold" Date: 9 May 1996 11:49:50 -0700 Congratulations also to Jerry Rehn! another Level Baby born this week! (maybe its something in the music????!!!!) Well done guys! Jules ------------------------------ Subject: Synchronicity in action - probably From: Marcus Bone Organization: Kingston University (Science) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 12:18:13 GMT0BST After Jerry Rehn's fairly synchronous happening my experience pails into a small dot - but here it is anyway - I was reading a book about human computer interactions the other day (thats about as far away from L42 as you can get), I had the stereo on in the background. There was a section about how a computer translates english to russian and back again. Anyway the phrase they used was "Out of Sight, Out of mind" (which translates back as "Invisible Idiot"??) and you guessed it - the song on the stereo was Out of sight. Society Against Mail Signatures (Affiliated to the Ritual Humiliation Network) ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V96 #130 From: pjschill @ students.wisc.edu Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 14:34:11 -0500 Howdy, I just subscribed to this list and am already enjoying it very much. I have all kinds of questions, but my first is: - The cover of Guaranteed pictures the band on a boat, with Mark at the 'helm', in an almost arrogant sort of stance (don't mean to offend anyone's sensibilities, I am very much an admirer of M.K. myself). Does anyone know what the 'meaning' (if any) of this cover is? Is there a background to it, anything? Paul ------------------------------ Subject: Love songs........ From: tsonoi @ sea.ar.ispnet.com (Takeo Sonoi) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 13:57:25 -0500 Hi all! I just wanna drop my 2 yens about L42's love songs.... I just broke up with my girlfriend. I dated her for 7 long a&* years and ......WoW!! there's perfect song for me!!...."Seven Years"...since I left her............. How about "It's over." huh? Now, another perfect song for me..... Well, sorry for this too personal comment....I'm losing my mind..... tko ------------------------------ Subject: Elson's band's (JIBE) show From: LittleHalo @ aol.com Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 20:20:21 -0400 So.....who all is going to Elson's band, Jibe's show on Friday night? I will be there so email me and tell me if you are so we can say "hi." Bye, Angel ------------------------------ Subject: Artistic 12"s etc... From: NECADon @ aol.com Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 22:09:24 -0400 Hi all...Couple questions from Oakland. A couple of years ago, I found an artistic 12" to 'Take A Look' in a used record store. It's got T.A.L. (extended mix) on the A-side w/ Man and T.A.L. (7" version) on the B-side. I say artistic because it's a piece of art...Japanese artwork motif on the A-side, consistent with the SATS liner design. So, my question is...I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere on the journal...and something this nice I thought would be mentioned once in a while. How rare is the disc I've got? Did L42 do other such 12"s? Also, I'm in the midst of putting together a mix to listen to while I drive from Oakland to Omaha on I-80....Starting with Take Care of Yourself and ending w/Kansas City Milkman(live). While scanning through the various lyrics, I've notcied that sometimes the printed lyrics don't necessarily match the actual song lyrics. Now, either there's a problem or I'm just being extremely stupid/deaf and not listening closely enough. For example, on the lyrics on the UK album version of World Machine, in "Leaving Me Now" the liner sheet gives...."I turn the page......not even love could bring you to stay/this time/walk away/you don't need me." Now, doesn't the song go..."walk away/it's so easy"? So, I'll end by asking am I deaf, or are there differences between the sung lyrics and the printed lyrics avery once in a while? If there are differences, are they intentional, accidental....or what? Thanks all. BTW, in the Bay Area, L42 gets alot of radio play on KKSF on average at least 2-3 different tracks a day. So far, I've heard on the radio Children Say, Two Solitudes, Good Man in a Storm, Leaving Me Now, Something..., Love in a Peaceful World, Tracie, Freedom Someday, Lessons in Love, Hot Water, Silence. Do any other stations around the nation play them on such a consistent basis? Thanks... ------------------------------ Subject: Mark as the "clown" From: lonestar @ redshift.com (Jerry Rehn) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 22:08:17 -0700 Hello all, Just wondering if anyone out there has a graphic file of Mark as the "clown" wearing the yellow checkered suit. If so, please contact me. I'd really like to get a picture of him in that outfit. Also a graphic file of him in the get up from the Take Care of Yourself video. Thanks, - Jerry ------------------------------ Subject: New Subscriber From 106016.3125 @ compuserve.com Thu May 9 17:50:00 1996 (Martin Lewis) Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 17:49:05 -0400 (EDT) Hello There. Just a short introduction from a new subscriber. My name is Martin Lewis, 25 years old, and I live in East London (UK). I have been a huge fan of Level 42 since first hearing Hot Water played in the singles chart, way back in '84 (I was a young and impressionable 13 year old). Since that fateful moment, Hot Water has always been my favourite Level 42 track. I have a reasonable collection of 12" singles, which I collect for the rare B-sides and remixes. I am fairly new to this Internet lark, and I was amazed and overjoyed that my favourite band of all-time have their own Internet page, and a regular update by equally keen fans. >From what I have seen of the Digest so far, I think it's great. Keep up the good work. Martin Lewis EMail : 106016.3125 @ compuserve.com ------------------------------ Subject: I'm a west coast man... (???) From: "Eric J. Hansen" Date: Fri, 10 May 1996 01:44:49 -0400 (EDT) ...Well, not exactly, but I _am_ actually considering re-locating myself to the sunny state of California. Why? As some of you know, I'm looking for new employment, and I have an opportunity to start up an Internet/WWW company with several other very qualified people. Don't worry, though... If I *do* go through with this, worldmachine.com will continue to live on -- in fact, it will probably find a new home sitting on a T1, so all you new-found Level 42 Digest Archive surfers will have only the best, fastest access possible!! ANYWAYS, the whole point of this is that I'm curious how many of you are out there in San Francisco / Bay Area... (this is where I'd be moving to). Please send me email privately, as I'd like to start a small dialogue with the group of you to get some feedback about what it's like to live and work there (as opposed to L.A., where you're dying instead of working =). i.e., lifestyles, cost of living, potential for natural disasters, etc. Thanks tons!! -Eric Level 42 Digest Administrator -- Eric J. Hansen .............................. http://www.worldmachine.com/eric Developer, Worldmachine Technologies ............ mailto:eric @ worldmachine.com