From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest)
Subject: Level42 Digest V96 #199

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Level42 Digest                                          Volume 96 : Issue 199
                                                        376 subscribers
Today's topics:
   "It's a Wonderful Life"                           Elson Trinidad
   Re: The meaning of Video?!?!                      Rob Crossland
   Old vs. New                                       lolita
   Poster, Cyber-bass                                Marc_Dupuis
   Jaco and Mark                                     WJGreer
   RE:VIDEO-SOMETHING ABOUT YOU                      WALTFRA
   Remixes                                           Martin Lewis
   Goldrush...                                       Eric J. Hansen
   Lasso the Moon etc.                               Nigel Collier

------------------------------

Subject: "It's a Wonderful Life"
From: Elson Trinidad <elson @ westworld.com>
Organization: Worstworld Communications, Inc.
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 03:37:39 -0700

It was inspired by
> the part(s) where the character George says he'd do anything for Mary (I
> think it's her name), he'd even lasso the moon for her.  Later, she creates a
> picture entitled "George Lassos the Moon" in which it shows someone literally
> lassoing the moon.
  

Everytime a bell rings, Angel gets her wings. :)

Or rather, everytime a bass slaps, Mark King gets new strings... 
 
Elson

                                 - 30 - 
===================================================================
Elson Trinidad * elson @ westworld.com * http://www.westworld.com/~elson 
              Transmitting live from Los Angeles, CA, USA
===================================================================

------------------------------

Subject: Re: The meaning of Video?!?!
From: Rob Crossland <100535.3535 @ CompuServe.COM>
Date: 16 Jul 96 08:54:45 EDT

<< WHAT IS THE SOMETHING ABOUT YOU VIDEO ALL ABOUT?  I'VE NEVER 
     UNDERSTOOD IT.  WHY IS MARK DRESSED AS A CLOWN?  WHAT DOES IT ALL 
     MEAN??
     
Jennifer, here goes...Mark tell's the story of complicated relationships 
between
couples and how hard it can be, however that person is special and it would 
mean
more than anything to lose them.........or Mark had one over the eight and
decided it was his turn to dress up! which is more likely.

<<...Yeah, Hot Water is a stonker, ain't it?  8)  That and Heaven in 
my Hands both make phunkitate.

Marc, I watched Level 42 play three consecutive nights at the Brighton Arena 
(SE
England|) and each night they opened with Heaven in My hands, I can still feel
the hair on the back of my neck standing up at the memory, it was fab, though I
longed for the set to feature older stuff (in general terms) but as an opener 
it
was superb. Mark and the boys used to love coming to Brighton as it is very
close to the Isle of Wight (you can see the Island on a clear day from the top
of the big slide at the end of the pier!) and they knew the tour was nearly
over. ALways an excellent gig to attend.

Rob

..."(You Said)
This is a sad day
I would gladly give it all away
In exchange
For a floating life..."

------------------------------

Subject: Old vs. New 
From: lolita @ interserv.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 06:20:01 -0700

In response to Rob's question yesterday of old vs. new, my heart is with the 
old.  I like all kinds of music (except country, opera and heavy metal), but 
my favorites are jazz-funk, R&B and straight-ahead jazz.  Their instrumentals 
tend to be my favorite songs, my top three being 43, Pursuit of Accidents (the 
song) and Return of the Handsome Rugged Man.  Those three songs, particularly 
the second one, come off more as total group interplay IMO.  Check out Mike 
Lindup's solo in Pursuit of Accidents and the vamp that Mark and Phil play 
underneath - they are truly jamming!  That's the stuff I miss, but alas, 
things change.  I appreciate the direction the band took, but I must say I am 
definitely nostalgic for less pop, more funk.

Lolita

------------------------------

Subject: Poster, Cyber-bass
From: Marc_Dupuis @ MADISONUSA.CCMAIL.CompuServe.COM
Date: 16 Jul 96 09:39:04 EDT

Hey, awhile back somebody had mentioned they had L42 merchandise that 
included posters.  My 3-1/2 year old daughter is a L42 FREAK, so I'm 
looking for a poster that shows the boys, any line-up is cool (Gould era or 
post-Gould era).  Please email if you have something for sale/trade or if 
you know a retail source where I could buy or order from.

Concerning the discussion of Mark's WAL bass/MIDI controller; I understand 
Peavey has the license now.  Does anyone know if Peavey also has a six or 
seven string guitar version?  Peavey is very difficult to reach by phone, 
any info would be appreciated.  Thanks!

-Marc

------------------------------

Subject: Jaco and Mark
From: WJGreer @ aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 09:54:09 -0400

Let's talk more about Jaco and Mark.  I don't remember anywhere in the
biography (and I haven't heard or read many interviews) where Mark states an
opinion about Jaco.  I wonder what he thinks?  It seems that, in the
Jaco-----------------Stanley bass dichotomy, Mark would definitely lie
strongly on the Stanley side.  But, everytime I listen to "At This Great
Distance", the first couple seconds sound just like Jaco's "Portrait of
Tracy", from his first solo album (the one with his ugly mug on the cover).

By the way, my cat's name is Jaco.  If I get another one I'll name him
Stanley!

Later,

-Will

------------------------------

Subject: RE:VIDEO-SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
From: WALTFRA @ frmail.rosemount.com
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 10:09:41 -0500

>FORGIVE ME IF I'M ASKING A QUESTION THAT IS WELL KNOWN, BUT HERE IT
>GOES...
>
>WHAT IS THE SOMETHING ABOUT YOU VIDEO ALL ABOUT?  I'VE NEVER
>UNDERSTOOD IT.  WHY IS MARK DRESSED AS A CLOWN?  WHAT DOES IT ALL
>MEAN??

The story about Mark as 'clown' can be found at the "Fait Accompli"
video. It goes something like this : After the last video before
s.a.y, (hot water?) the guys wanted to do something without any
instruments. It ended up in the s.a.y. video, where everybody plays a
particular role which would reflect their characters, with Mark as
clown. S.a.y. became a hit in the usa. When l.m.n. was released, the
US recordcompany asked to have the clown back, so again, mark appeard
as clown in this video.
That's all. For the full story, see the "Faith Accompli" video.

Walter
WaltFra @ frmail.frco.com

------------------------------

Subject: Remixes
From: Martin Lewis <martinlewis @ dial.pipex.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 19:44:03 -0700

Dear All,

I was thinking about the potentially forthcoming Remix CD by the Digest 
Members, just wondering what Remixes I would chose if I were to make my 
own Remix CD. Just out of curiosity, I would be interested to see your 
favourite remixes and the reasons why (if any). I know that not everybody 
likes remixes (I quite often prefer an 'Extended Version'), but I thought 
it might be an interesting idea. Then again...

Here's just a couple for starters...
Two Hearts Collide by Tom Lord Alge
Tracie - U.S. Remix

Regards

Martin

------------------------------

Subject: Goldrush...
From: "Eric J. Hansen" <eric @ worldmachine.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 17:45:12 -0400 (EDT)

Funks...

I just trucked out to HMV Records here in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
(USA) to pick up the new Incognito "Remixed" CD (just released today) and
found alot of L42 stuff.  If you're in the Boston, MA area and need to fill
out your CD collection, this is the store.  They had *all* released CD's
except for Standing in the Light and Resurgence FN.  I also picked up the
new "Level 42: The Remix Collection" for $12 which has been mentioned a few
times recently.  Here's the label info:

Level 42 "The Remix Collection"
(c) 1996 Connoisseur Collection, Ltd.
VSOPCD 227, made in England

Although it's already been posted, here is the tracking information again
with running times for the discography:

1. Love Games (U.S. remix)			6:34
2. Starchild (remix)				3:28
3. The Chinese Way (extended John Luongo remix)	5:54
4. Sun Goes Down (up front remix)		4:12
5. Hot Water (12" mix)				10:21
6. I Sleep On My Heart (remix)			5:52
7. Something About You (Shep Pettibone remix)	8:02
8. Children Say (extended remix)		5:40
9. Running In The Family (Dave O remix)		6:38
10. Heaven In My Hands (extended remix)		7:07
11. Take A Look (extended)			7:44
12. "Tracie U.S." (remix)			6:55
						----
						78:21

Other than Level 42 and Incognito, the "Journeys by DJ Coldcut, 70 Minutes
of Madness" CD is also quite a showstopper!

-Eric
Level 42 List Admin
-- 
Eric J. Hansen .............................. http://www.worldmachine.com/eric
Developer, Worldmachine Technologies ............ mailto:eric @ worldmachine.com

------------------------------

Subject: Lasso the Moon etc.
From: Nigel.Collier @ ncl.ac.uk (Nigel Collier)
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:35:17 +0100

Lasso the Moon
******************
I've increasingly found many of the songs in which Lindup had a hand to be
rather 'treacly' and childishly sentimentalist.  I refer to the recent
thread of Lasso The Moon and its ilk (People, Time Will Heal etc).  Don't
get me wrong, I like these songs but they're just a bit 'soppy' - not to be
confused with other tracks like 'Hours By The Window', 'Why Are You
Leaving?' or 'A Kinder Eye', all of which are brilliantly written.
(incidentally, I think 'Talking In Your Sleep' is Level 42's best 'song'
ever, beautifully written with classic, understated keyboard and bass)

The latter tracks I've just mentioned above really stand out as being
evocative and even depressing but are written in a very mature way, by
someone who's been around, taken a few knocks and has a story to tell; the
former tracks, to me, carry much less impact because they sound lightweight
and naiively idealistic, sounding as though they're written by a fluffy 17
year old suffering from teen-angst ("wouldn't the world be a nicer place if
we were all nice to eachother and stopped fighting? etc etc...").  If Mark
King's allegedly "too dark" material from his solo album means more tracks
like 'A Kinder Eye' and less like 'People' then I say let's have it.

Mark's the best?
******************
The question of whether or not Mark is the best bassist in the world is a
pointless one.  There are a lot of very good bass players out there with
very different styles - even within slap bass there are many variations of
playing style.  Mark's slapping is arguably less complex than some others,
relying on a repetitive, percussive style but it sounds all the funkier for
it.
QUESTION: Would you rather fall from a 40 storey or 50 storey building?
ANSWER: It doesn't matter, once you get so high the difference in effect
would be negligable.
 MEANING OF TENUOUS ANALOGY: Once bassists achieve a certain level of
ability  the difference between them is negligable and it's fruitless
trying to pick  one from another.

Nigel Collier (Nigel.Collier @ ncl.ac.uk)
Webmaster, Newcastle University Careers
Service.(http://kalonji.ncl.ac.uk/careers/careers.html)
Eater of donuts & Jedi Knight