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The Quote Of The Day:
Now I guess I’d better go out now
try to find something new
-From Flamingo Baby
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WEB PAGES:
Official: http://www.vfemmes.com
Unofficial: http://www.townserver.com/planetblue
-or-
http://townserver.com/planetblue
http://www.bigfoot.com/~planetblue
http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Show/6806/
http://www.violentfemmes.net
http://www.homestead.com/lucylittleland/vf.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/bates/377/
http://www.geocities.com/thefemmeking/
Yahoo Chat: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/newtimesviolentfemmesclub
Message Board:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb870757&TL=
Discussion Group: http://www.egroups.com/invite/vf2000
and click the “JOIN” button
Past Tour Dates:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes/femmes.html
Guitar: http://therapy.lost.net.au/femmes
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/VFemmes
Glenn Gano’s Page: http://www.alaska.net/~ggano
Charm Records: http://www.charmrec.com
Victor DeLorenzo’s Page: http://victordelorenzo.com
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ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO
AMUSIC
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In Today’s Issue:
The American Music Hall of Fame
RE: Chinese Rocks
RE: Freak Magnet and Viva Wisconsin
RE: Femmes in L.A.
The Femmes
RE: The American Music Hall of Fame
First Femmes Experience
The Femmes Live
First Not First
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The American Music Hall of Fame
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Here are today’s Hall of Famers. To remind you, and to tell our new
subscribers, the following people have been subscribers since I took
over this mailing list back in June, 1997. If your name appears below,
we hope to hear from you!
bubblegum
cspaller
cstaley
Cupide
d.vasas
Davros347
dck9drw
ddearry
ddsparks
Deisig
DESOTEK4447
DH82
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RE: Chinese Rocks
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> About the chinese rocks song. My brother has the Ramones Mania 2
> record set and that song is on there.
Okay, FINALLY bought a replacement copy of the Legs McNeil and Gillian
McCain book Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk
(Penguin, 1997). From pages 213 to 214:
“Richard Hell: Dee Dee [Ramone] called me one day and said, ‘I wrote a
song that the Ramones won’t do.’ He said, ‘It’s not finished. How
about I come over and show it to you and we can finish it if you like
it?’ So I believe he brought an acoustic guitar over. And I had my
bass. Basically the song was done, but he just didn’t have another
verse. I wrote two lines. That’s all. It was basically Dee Dee’s song,
though I think the lyrics, the versus I wrote, were good.
“Dee Dee Ramone: The reason I wrote that song was out of spite for
Richard Hell, because he told me he was gonna write a song better than
Lou Reed’s ‘Heroin,’ so I went home and wrote ‘Chinese Rocks.’ I wrote
it myself, in Debbie Harry’s apartment on First Avenue and First
Street. The Richard Hell put that line in it, so I gave him some
credit.
“Arturo Vega: The Ramones talked about ‘Chinese Rocks’ and didn’t want
to play it because Tommy Ramone said, ‘No drugs. Nothing about drugs.
That’s not a Ramones song. Give it to somebody else.’
“Richard Hell: The controversey about that song comes from the fact
that we played it in the Heartbreakers. I brought it to the next
rehearsal, exactly as it was done by the Heartbreakers for all those
years. I would sing it because it was a song I brought in, and it
became famous in New York.
But after I left the Heartbreakers, they kept playing ‘Chinese Rocks’
and then ended up recording it. And they put all of their names on
it, though nothing had changed about the song -they just added their
names to it. Johnny Thunders did have great songwriting instincts. He
always had the greatest touches and the most catchy kind of ideas,
but he had nothing to do with ‘Chinese Rocks’ at all.”
So that, in a nutshell, is the story. Dee Dee Ramone wrote it with
some minor input from Richard Hell. Hell took it to his first post-
Television band, the Heartbreakers. Hell left, and the Heartbreakers
as fronted by Johnny Thunders kept the song and took credit for it.
Years later, the Ramones “covered” it, even though it had originally
been written right in their own ranks.
-nick reffuse
DAYKARAK
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RE: Freak Magnet and Viva Wisconsin
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> After years of record label fighting, they finally manage to get a
> new album out and no one buys it. I blame the fans and the radio
> industry.
>
> If the TRUE fans had made enough noise, radio stations would have
> played some of the new music. Sleepwalkin’ and Rejoice and be
> Happy are two timeless sounding VF songs that could easily fit in
> 1985 as they could in 2000. They are every bit as sharp and clever
> as anything that the brat punk bands are doing today.
Well, to begin with, it’s not entirely the fans’ fault. Remember,
Freak Magnet was delayed for AGES. Every time it seemed like it was
nearing official U.S. release, it got pushed back. And pushed back.
And pushed back…and FINALLY got released after what seemed like
centuries. Combine this with the fact that Viva Wisconsin had come out
months previous. Now VW is a veritable goldmine for Femmes fans -the
band back in their homestate ripping up primarily acoustic renditions
of old favorites (I saw primarily because the theremin is still
electronic) PLUS the inclusion of “Sweet Worlds of Angels”. The Femmes
were clearly having a great time playing that material. But what’s it
like to non-fans? Hm…with nearly any band or artist out there,
non-fans seem to hate listening to live recordings (popular exception
being Frampton Comes Alive, maybe…). Now, the other thing is every
third person out there seems to own a copy of the Add It Up
compilation. A good deal of material found on Add It Up appears in
acoustic form on VW. What’s an ordinary schmuck going to say when
they hear “Black Girls” or some other classic reworked in a very
very different format? That’s right!: they’re going to say “Ugh!
What the fuck is that?” Never mind that the point was that the
song was intentioned to sound different in this new format, they
don’t care, they want to hear it as they grew familiar with it.
Now, word on the street: the Femmes have a new one out, but it’s a
live album and damn is it unusual. The public doesn’t like unusual
stuff. They want something established. So then Freak Magnet gets
delayed and delayed, and by the time it’s out, any non-obsessive
Femmes fan who might see it on a rack in a store who heard about
VW thinks, “Hm, a new one? Well, the cover art looks pretty amateur,
and I dunno, I heard their last disc was pretty bad, should I really
take a chance this time?” And most will decide no.
Basically, that’s what I KNOW has happened in a lot of instances,
because I’ve talked to people, and I keep getting stories like that.
No amount of fan support could make Freak Magnet a success. It came
out at the wrong time and wasn’t marketed properly. End of story. Sad
how the Femmes seem to keep having bad luck…first Victor left and
they had to scrap their first live album. Then they get some new
material out and then get dropped by their old label. Then Freak
Magnet doesn’t come out for ages…
It’s sad, really. Right up there with the media mistaking shitty
little pop bands like Blink 182 and Eve 6 as “punk” and then all these
little teenyboppers running around with gawdawful bleached hair and
proclaiming themselves fucking “punk”. Hell, kids, if you’re going to
be ignorant of where real punk came from, at least listen to DECENT
new punk ala the New Bomb Turks or something…
Blah blah blah. Yes, I’m done now.
-nick reffuse
DAYKARAK
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RE: Femmes in L.A.
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Someone asked why the Femmes shows in LA were cancelled last june..
It was due to construction at The Knitting Factory (the club they were
booked in)
just to let you know.
One more thing, I love how everyone got into the femmes via someone
else it shows how special and important the Femmes really are. So, no
matter what they decide re: the band they will always live on. Also,
they have broken up before, so even if the worst is true, it may not
be forever.
Christopher Williams
lydon69
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The Femmes
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first of all i would like to give a shout out to all my fellow freaks
of femmes nature…in particular, ronnie thweat who wrote “the femmes
came into my life.”
the first album…it was like an admission. it was passed from the
coolest loner seniors in high school to the loner freshmen. everyone
who had personality and, well taste.
ronnie got me hooked. all i knew was “blister” and “american music.”
he showed me the entire femmes picture.
now i sit here…playing “3,” “why do birds sing?,” the first album,
and “new times.” i take in the music…listen to the words.
i’ve been outside the palace…
i sit here and play my guitar. i sing my songs. i sing the femmes
songs. i feel it all.
i sit here and think to myself, “if the femmes are done…then i’ll
love the music that they’ve given me. if they are done, i should
have skipped my high school graduation a coupla years ago to see the
femmes in concert.”
the violent femmes’ music…what can i say. the albums are like a
sound track to my life…if the femmes really have called it quits,
then damn…that’s sad. i’ll listen to their albums and remember
things though.
when the lights go down, the music still remains.
damn, i think i need to start a band.
joshua ian huffines
qtip
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RE: The American Music Hall of Fame
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Ok, so being a Hall of Famer–I figured I better say a few words. 🙂
Just a little update on me…I am no longer living in Pennsylvania..I
moved to Florida…I’ve been here for a year….wow…so long! I took
a trip to PA a fews months back…actually, I was up north around the
same time the femmes played the bottle and cork…I was actually, 2
beaches away. I did write a letter bitching about the fact that due to
my age, i couldnt go to the show. 🙁 anyway, I dont know what else to
say….oh, how about this…if anyone out there ever visits Walt
Disney World…make sure to check out Pleasure Island..its an “island”
of clubs…7 I believe..anyway, the reason you should go—you will
definitly hear Blister in the Sun…not once, but 2 times the night
you are there…every night they play it…once in the Rock and Roll
Beach club and once 8 Trax…the 80’s dance club. 🙂 its always a
good time….last time i heard it i was on the dance floor in 8 trax
and my friend was in the bathroom..but when BITS came on she ran out
to me! how sweet! 🙂
ok, well, Pat, there ya go…you heard from me! 🙂 take care.
Jen
brownj66
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First Femmes Experience
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I first heard the VF when I was in 8th grade on a college radio program
called beyond the edge on Murray State U. in Kentucky. This program
was on every Saturday night from 11pm to 2am. We would come home from
the local hall show (garage band punk show) and listen to this
religiously. The first song I ever heard was gone daddy gone. I fell
in love with them right away. My favorite song would have to be I held
her in my arms, I just love the horns in that one. Their best over all
album would be hallowed ground. I think that album flows the best.
Rudykitten
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The Femmes Live
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Ok, so I haven’t really said much, even though I have been a long time
subscriber so I decided it was time. The Femmes are one of my favorite
bands…period. In fact, they are the ONLY band that I have chosen to
go see twice. They truly put on a great live show.
As for their website, I was bothered by a remark that Brian Ritchie
made. He states that when they aren’t touring he listens to more “age
appropriate” music. What exactly DOES that mean? I have no problem
with people liking all genres of music. I do not, however, think that
you have to start listening to certain types of music because you reach
a certain age. I was pretty shocked by that statement. I am 29 and I
don’t see myself listening to anything beside rock or alternative rock
anytime soon.
Just thought I’d put in my thoughts for now.
Crystal T.
crystalt1
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First Not First
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Is there anyone else in the world who first got into the Femmes via
something other than their first album? The first song of theirs I
ever heard was “I Hear the Rain” Halloween 1986. They soon became a
favorite, and that place was solidified when I FINALLY got to see them
live in 1990 and the first song they played that day was…. you got
it… “I Hear the Rain”
Gotta Kill the Pain,
M
MMStevens18
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