08-28-00

Best viewed with COURIER NEW size 10 maximized screen *********************************************************************** The Quote Of The Day: Now I guess I'd better go out now try to find something new -From Flamingo Baby ************************************************************************ 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 *********************************************************************** ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO AMUSIC *********************************************************************** 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The American Music Hall of Fame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Chinese Rocks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Freak Magnet and Viva Wisconsin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Femmes in L.A. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Femmes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: The American Music Hall of Fame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First Femmes Experience ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Femmes Live ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First Not First ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~