08-10-98

For your optimum viewing pleasure, switch the font on your email program to Courier New, size 10, and maximize your screen. or not...whatever. ************************************************************************ The Quote Of The Day: Tonight I wanna get high high high I don't care if I live or die -From Tonight -Submitted by boxofrain3 PLEASE send your VF quotes to amusic ************************************************************************ TOUR DATES: (NEW DATES MARKED WITH A **) August 14- 9:30 p.m., House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC (O,T) August 15- 9 p.m., The Boathouse, Norfolk, VA $15.00 (O,T) August 16- Starts @ 3 p.m., Newport Folk Fest, Merriweather Post, Columbia, MD, $27.75-$39-$50 (O,P, http://www.newportfolk.com/tour.html) August 20- Starts @ 4 p.m., Newport Folk Fest, Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH, $15-$26.50-$40 (O, T) Call TM or Concert Hotline (1-800-799-TIXX) August 21- Starts @ 3 p.m., Newport Folk Fest, New World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL, $14.75-$27.50-$42.75 (O,T,P) August 22- Starts @ 1 p.m., Newport Folk Fest, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI, $18-$35 (O,T,P) August 23- Starts @ 2 p.m., Newport Folk Fest, CocaCola Starlite Ampitheatre, Burgettstown, PA, $15-$40 (O,T,P) August 25- Mountain Lair Plaza, Morgantown, WV (O,P) August 27- Ottawa Centre Theater, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (O, P) August 28- Warehouse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (O, TMCA) August 29- Buffalo Naval Park, Buffalo, NY (P, O) Sept. 20- Newport Folk Fest, San Francisco, CA (O) AND/OR: Sept. 19- Newport Folk Fest, Concord Pavillion, Concord, CA (P) October 2- Case Western University, Cleveland, OH (O,P) October 3- St. Norbert College, Green Bay (De Pere), WI (O,P) NOTA BENE: 'O' stands for the Official homepage 'P' stands for Pollstar 'T' stands for Ticketmaster 'I' stands for Insider Info All other references are subscribers To book a show, contact Monterey Peninsula Artists. Serious inquiries only. ************************************************************************ WHO/WHERE Going to a VF concert? Want to know if anyone else on the list also going? Check here first! Myrtle Beach, SC ---------------- Greg.Ward DC/Columbia, MD ---------------- demigoddess (Suesyn) Columbus, OH ------------- weeezer (Jason) Chicago/Tinley Park, IL ----------------------- jellogirl03 (Jenny) Pittsburgh/Burgettstown, PA --------------------------- Kittricken (Kathryn) Morgantown, WV -------------- ddearry (Deana) Kittricken amberlace (Amber, not available to email at this time) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ------------------------ thehappycyclops (Eric) ************************************************************************ ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO AMUSIC ************************************************************************ WEB PAGES: Official: http://www.vfemmes.com Unofficial: http://vf.scopemag.com if this doesn't work, try: http://206.103.163.50 http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/6918 VF Message Board: http://red.cscwc.pima.edu/~cstaley/femmes/board.html Past Tour Dates: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes.html Guitar: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/VFemmes http://www.smug.adelaide.edu.au/~therapy/violent_femmes/ http://www.olga.net Une banane:Send in your top five faves each week to: melancon HERE I AM: Tell me where you live for the Here I Am list. ************************************************************************ In Today's Issue: Change of Address Green Bay Info Needed VF in Ottawa!!! RE: VF in DC for NY RE: Lots of Stuff RE: Lots of Stuff RE: Locked In RE: Locked In RE: Scary RE: Scary RE: Femmes Records RE: Femmes Records Hated Song? Wanted: Release List Wanted: Interesting Stories Impatiently Waiting for FM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Change of Address ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLEASE note the change of address. patwary is no longer valid. From now on, ALL correspondence should be sent to amusic . Everyone who lists or links my email address on their webpage should please change it as soon as possible. I'd hate to lose potential subscribers over this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Green Bay Info Needed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I need ticket info. & details of the Green Bay (DePere) show on October 3. -Tom -boxofrain3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VF in Ottawa!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, the Femmes are coming to Ottawa, and only 2 weeks after my birthday! I was wondering if anybody else out there was going? Give me a shout at thehappycyclops . Its been a while since I've seen them; I can't wait! #45 ia CHAUGNAR FAUGN !!! (2nd ed) Be Seeing You ! thehappycyclops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: VF in DC for NY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In response to Danica, i would love to have the femmes back again on new years eve. that was such a great show when they did that last, and I probably would have to say that was the best femmes show i have been to. It was at the Capital Ballroom right? that is such a perfect place to play because its a big wharehouse, but you still get the club atmosphere. wow...i need to take a break...i'm getting excited just thinking about that show. anyway...if theres anything we can do to promote them coming back for new years.. i'm all for it, just let me know Bobby V. vanallen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Lots of Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OK my response to peoples, Drew: What do you mean; an African or European swallow? Tyler: I've said it before and I'll say it again, the first album got me hooked on the Femmes. I most of listened to it everyday, all day, for months on end. That was the only thing that went in my CD player. I don't listen to it that much anymore now that I have all the Femmes albums. New Times, Rock!!!!!, and my Freak Magnet promo, (which I just got from Southland), are now the staples of my Femmes diet. As far as best albums go, I could see how someone would say that the first album is the best. If you look at the time period that album came out and what was going on in music, it's easy to understand why someone would say that. That whole '70's rock star thing was coming to end. New Wave was beginning, punk was ... well punk. Everything was going up to "11." Then there was the Femmes. Wait a minute... where's the five minute long guitar solos. No distortion!! Is the bass LOUDER than the guitar? BLASPHEMY!!! No spandex or rhinestones. Hey this stuffs pretty cool!!! Personally, I don't think all the albums are on par with each other. I like them all but something about "The Blind Leading the Naked" just doesn't sit right with me. I don't think I liked the Femmes being produced by Jerry Harrison. Danica: If you think it's worth a try just do it. Call them, write them, stalk them, whatever it takes. I would love to spend New Years at a Femmes Concert. My other plan is to spend my 21st birthday at a Femmes concert. So keep your eyes peeled for dates on the 29th of January. As far as the Victor vs. Guy thing goes, I didn't have a chance to see the Femmes play with Victor. In my opinion Guy has the stage presence of a hippie who's way to stoned. "Whoa, there's an audience? Where man? Do I have to talk them? No. OK. Hey... Chicks!! Coooool." Whatever. Both times I've been in a small group of people and Guy was there, the only people he paid any attention were the Sorority looking girls that were wearing next to nothing. The first time he ignored me, the second time he was totally rude to me. I would have been really jacked if it wasn't for the fact that Gordon was really nice. I get enough of that crap at work. So I have no opinion on that subject. Yeah right I have no opinion "I LIKE VICTOR" Everyone else: OK that stupid Quiz is really starting to get on my nerves. I'm going to find whoever put it together and smack them around. What kind of sick and twisted person would do that to us poor little fans? And I would also like to know how to lock someone in their house. That is valuable information that all parents should know. Well, except for my mother. Maybe we should all write into the homepage and demand that Gordon get over his phobia of computers and tell us. Ciao babies, Kathryn Kittricken ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Lots of Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I think I remember reading or hearing somewhere that the reason Gordon was locked in the house was that his parents (and he) lived in an apartment which was able to be locked from the outside, The impression I got was that his parents locked the door, not realizing he couldn't unlock it from the inside. I remember his saying that they didn't lock him in on purpose. It was purely accidental. I love the Femmes songs (like Digeridooblues) that sound slightly psychotic. They always remind me that all of us, no matter how stable and straight and narrow we are, have a darker, less stable side. One thing I love about them is how they walk the line between spiritual wholesomeness and twisted, secular reality. I think we all have a bit of both in us. I kind of understand why the debut album and Why Do Birds Sing are favored by so many. I once read a review of the Femmes which mentioned their cheerful brattiness. I think there is so much of that on both of those albums. It is the Femmes at their rawest and I love that side of them. I think all of the other albums have a few of these bratty gems plus some diversity and experimentation which make them new and exciting. My personal favorite is Add it Up because it is such a generous album. They could have just given us a best of but instead treated us to live versions of our favorites(the live version of Add it Up is incredibly exciting), personal glimpse tidbits (answering machine recording) and one of my personal favorite songs, Johnny. I just love this band!!! Marylee Rubaiyat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Locked In ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, allow me to state what is to come with this preamble: This story has never been told in full, and the abridged versions left the hearers unimpressed. However, I swear that this account is true and was quite frightening at the time that it happened, which was about five years ago. Kind members of the jury, I have been locked inside my house. It was an ordinary morning, and I was on my way to another exciting day of the fifth grade. I lived in an old victorian house in the midwest, and the lock on the front door had recently broken, leaving only a deadbolt (workable from the inside only) to secure the safety of the door and hence our belongings. Egress was only attained from the back door, which had a notoriously sticky lock. Well, as must happen, that fateful morning when I placed my key in the lock on the back door, thinking about some dumb, cootie-covered boy no doubt, the key stuck. I jiggled. It continued to stick. No matter how hard I banged and jiggled and wiggled and did a rain dance in front of that back door, my key remained stuck in the door. I was panicked. After all, I was eleven and I didn't want to be late to school, or even spend a whole day alone in my house. I called my mom at work (she had a lousy schedule at this point), and sobbing a bit, I explained my predicament--I was locked in the house! She sighed as my mother was wont to do when I was being a ridiculous kid, and told me to just go out the front door and leave the house open to the elements for a day. And I did, and that was the end of my harrowing locked-inside- my-house experience. Since then, I have had a dozen locked-OUTside-the -house experiences (I often forget my key), but I am glad to say that I can imagine Gordon's predicament, and why he couldn't make it to their first rehearsal. Thank you for your time, Ladies and Gentlemen. Claire Novalen2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Locked In ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've had a bunch of "locked in" experiences in the past, but never once have I been locked inside my house. I've been locked inside bathrooms, basements, closets, and ceilings before. Yes, sadly once my cousins decided that since I had just turned 8, I was finally old enough to climb through the hole in top of their closet to see "the attic". I'd heard stories about "the attic" and how there were elves and candy there for us kids. There was no attic, just rafters and pink stuff that looked like old cotton candy (they knew that) and when i got inside, they blocked the hole on me. I was stuck in the attic for over two hours until my uncle heard me screaming in their room. He opened a window for me and carried me outside and that was the last time I went upstairs at their house. There is no point to this story, except maybe to show how mean my cousins were, and I still don't understand how you can get locked inside your own house. Maybe Gordon could get out a window or something but he couldn't get his equiptment through it, or maybe he was locked into a room without windows. I don't know... use your imagination or something. -Emilia PunkGirl42 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Scary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >"Balkan Falcon" for example. What if that just heard that without >knowing anything about it. You'd think it was nazi propaganda. who were buried in the mountains?? hahahahah silly little joke...i'm sorry... love me Kyle_Souza ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Scary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > You'd be like "what the hell is he talking about? What's with his > voice? What the hell is that evil sounding thing halfway through the > song? What evil, satan-worshipping people wrote this, anyway? > I know exactly what Drew means. This is one of the things that first interested me in the VF. When I "discovered" the Femmes at was when the three radio stations in town only played top 40 or oldies. I was sick of hearing the same songs over and over. Then a college radio station (with limited broadcast power) started playing things no other station would. When they played Country Death Song I thought it was hilarious. What a twisted song! Then I started buying albums to hear more. I love the look on people's faces when they hear those songs. Songs that tell a story are my favorite kind, and the Femmes have some great stories in their lyrics. Greg.Ward ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Femmes Records ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I haven't spoken up here in a while so i figure it's about time! I'd have to agree with Tyler Boa that Hallowed Ground and 3 are a couple of the best Femmes albums. The first one has a lot of great tunes but they matured a hell of a lot from that one to Hallowed Ground. Every song on there is a winner (which reminds me, has anyone ever heard "I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say" live?). And 3 i think is the most underrated VF album. I remember reading an article with an interview with Gordon when it came out. He said that they were trying to get back to their acoustic basics with that album. My first impression with it was that it was pretty much acoustic stuff but the songs just weren't that great. But you know, they grow and grow on you. There are some very thoughtful pieces on there such as "World We're Livin' In" a song i wished they did live more. Also i remember how i thought "Outside the Palace" was such a simple boring song. Now i absolutely adore that song. The lyrics are so peaceful and simple, and the music supports the lyrical imagery so well. It's now one of my favorite VF songs. Go take a listen to the song if you have the album. So for those of you who have overlooked these albums, i'd suggest going back and taking another couple listens. There's a lot of great stuff here! And by the way, when the hell are the Femmes coming back to the Denver area?! I'm itching to see them again! Greg gfellman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Femmes Records ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I must say that I agree with tyler. I'm a little weird in that after all this time, I'm beginning to almost ignore the first album. Well, that's not true, but when I'm listening to the femmes, I rotate their other albums much more frequently than I do the first, even though I love the first album with all my heart. I think that i've gone through it so many times, and it's become such a vehicle and sounding board for so many of my emotions and experiences, that I can only truly enjoy it at certain times. When i do hear it, of course, it becomes my favorite all over again. Somebody a few weeks back mentioned that they liked it when they didn't fall immediately for a femmes album-- that it had to grow on them. I agree with that sentiment exactly. Although I was a huge fan of the first two, it took me a while to get into blind leading the naked, and a long time to get into 3, which is the now the one i recommend most often. And i couldn't even listen to new times for a year or two, i thought it was so disapointing. Recently, however, I've rediscovered it, and although i still think it has some weak points, i can't believe i was ever so stupid. What a hot, hot album. ... also, i know it's been mentioned before, probably alot, but what about the femmes use of popular riffs and snippets of lyrics? We had a list going for a little while of some examples, which I enjoyed. For a little while, long ago, this practice of theirs bugged me, but now i think it's really pretty ingenius. I think of it almost as sampling, but more that they're creating a pretty intelligent brand and blend of musics. I feel like they're unique as a band, if not necessarily as individual musicians, and that when they're together, as a band, they create a unique idea. They're unquestionably playing American Music, whatever that means, and unquestionably rooted in that, but they're also a radical departure, a jump in the evolution. What i mean is this: there are bands that are simply reworking and reproducing music that is familiar, and there are bands that take a familiar genre and change it and reinvent it in their own ways, often with a knowing and upfront wackiness. (of course, these two fairly stupid categories are not very specific, and only take into account a tiny amount of the music that's currently produced or composed). The two examples that jump to mind immediately are wilco and the japonize elephants. I'm not terribly familiar with wilco, because i think they suck, but i feel like they do a good job of being one in a long line of similar groups. Recently they were given the opportunity, with billy bragg, to compose music to put to a bunch of unpublished woody guthrie lyrics that had never been made into songs. They released the album, and everybody seems to like it, although, again, i think it sucks. I love woody guthrie, but the stuff on this album (theirs is worse than billy bragg's) seems like a pointless excercise. They neither tried to immitate his style closely (which could have, and has been done by his son, arlo, and by rambling jack elliot to great success) nor did they make crazy leaps forward, challenging the listener or transcending the genre. Instead they sort of sat their in the middle of the road, doing little of anything. Now, the japonize elephants, who i love, do something that is different, but not neccesarily that cool, either. They're some sort of guerilla bluegrass band. Bluegrass, from what i understand, is a fairly strict kind of music. While the songs are different, there are pretty solid conventions that everybody follows, so that the variations are a lot more subtle between different bluegrass bands then between groups in other genres. I could be wrong about this. Anyway, the Japonize Elephants are this group that plays music that vaguely resembles bluegrass, but is speeded up considerably and then beaten to death with the wacky stick. They transcend the genre and take it to crazy places, but can't help resorting to being wacky wacky wacky. (they're still great.) Which brings me to my point, which is that I think that the femmes could have fallen into the wilco trap, but instead, pull off the incredible feat of doing what the Japonize Elephants do, only seriously and intelligently. I think that they do truly escape categories, because they are able to manipulate and explore their roots, and take the music unexpected and tremendous places. And the fact they take slices of american music, like the blues riffs and choruses that are totally up for grabs public domain, but also the maybe not so public snippets like the opening of 'ballad of a thin man' on "confessions" or "breaking up is hard to do", and change them and manipulate them and create music that is recognizably similar but so charged and different that they become the badasses that they are. and i like that. whew. that was way too long. sorry. j Jorge.J.Just ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hated Song? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have a topic for you that I was thinking about today....even before i read your call for topics......here goes What is the one Femmes song that you absolutely hate? You never listen to this song on CD and are basically just embarrassed the Femmes made something like that? And none of this "Its all awesome" crap because we all know its not. Im not really sure about mine, but its probally "Machine" it just isnt worth listening to. Also I am not a big fan of "Mirror, Mirror." Now I also only have listened to 6 albums, never having heard Hallowed Ground, Rock!!!!, or Freak Magnet. Just want to see what you guys think. Bobby Helmsley2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wanted: Release List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ i was wondering if anyone had a list of all the records/cassettes/CDs the Violent Femmes have ever put out? i'm sure they've done more than i have, but i don't know what i am missing. Thank you ever so kindly; Mary the 42nd (psychicken) -Pat. Says: You mean singles and compilations, too? This'll have to be done in a later issue, because today's is full. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wanted: Interesting Stories ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I would start in on the old Guy vs. Victor thing but I'd say that their first names tell who the winner is. So here is a possible fire starter: I am actually very bored with EVERYONE posting the set lists and their usually typical and equally boring experience at the Femmes shows. I would like to hear about the Extraordinary experiences at the shows not a bunch of " They rocked" "Gordon was so cool" or "their version of that song was awesome" Lets have some true literary thoughts spoken here for once. Who met the love of their life at a femmes show.... Who got a date out of it...... Who got lewinskied during the show(in laymen terms who got a blow job).... You know that sort of thing. Not everything everyone has already heard. What do I care which songs they played at a show I was not at? Life is only interesting when we SPARK excitement into people. Oellablue -Pat. Says: I try to keep complete set lists to a minimum, but due to the lack of chatter lately, I included it last issue. I think it's interesting to list songs they have played which haven't been heard in awhile; it's interesting to me to see the evolution of their set over time. I had thought that I had given a decent description of how the Folk Fest differed from other concerts, maybe I didn't. O well. OK, now, let me say that being female, I can't technically be lewinskied, but since I am happily married and almost always attend concerts with my husband, I can pretty much count on getting SOME sort of very satisfying action after the show. That's after, not during. So the secret's out. Now nobody has to ask me what I'm doing after the show. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Impatiently Waiting for FM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ well, where the hell is it?! -Drew -thenewkid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~