Hi guys!

This weekend I listened to My Nation Underground for the first time in a couple years. It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. There were some slow points ("I'm Not Losing Sleep," "Great White Hoax") but plenty of pep ("Five O'Clock World," "Someone Like Me"), groove ("Vegitation," "My Mation Underground"), and beauty ("Charlotte Anne," "China Doll.") Overall, I think the good far outweigh the bad. Why do people dislike this record so much?

Same with Everybody Wants To Shag and Rite, which I also listened to this past weekend. I remember on the surveys we used to do for The Culture Bunker that people tended to give those three albums low ratings. Certainly they don't stand a chance against Peggy Suicide and Kilimanjaro, but they do compare favorable to most of the other music out there these days.

So maybe this between-album slothy time is a chance for us to get reacquainted with the "black sheep" of the Cope catalog, to break out the B-sides, explore the Autogeddons and the Droolians or whatever albums have been collecting dust on our overstacked shelves for the last couple years.

Meanwhile, I'd be curious to see what would come up if we start a top ten favorite bands thread. I recently completed a huge survey for the The The mailing list, so am not quite willing to do another full-fledged survey for a while, so maybe what we can do instead of answering a lot of questions is to answer the "Top Ten" question with more depth.

I'll go first, but you guys have to promise to follow suit, because I hate monopolizing the list!

Travis

Okay, here goes...

(by the way, has anyone else noticed faraday acting slowly these past few days?)

Trav's Top 5 Favorite/Recommended Bands:

I'll stick to rock for this, so no jazz or reggae or blue grass or new age or any of those goodies. Also, I will refrain from simply linking to or copying from my Favorite Albums page.

1. Chameleons - three great studio albums, over a dozen posthumously released live albums. Though I've lost great chunks of respect for Chameleons fans (the Chameleons list is flooded with sappy, gushing, self-important artsy-fartsies now) and for Mark Burgess's recent boring work and behavior, I still find no flaw in the Chameleons' music itself. It has lots of manly swirling guitars, lots of manly drums, and manly vocals. It's like watching an incredibly handsome man walk across a park, even though you're a hetero guy. You can't help but be admire the muscle underneath the clear-complexioned, classicaly chiseled face. It's a natural instinct to gravitate towards the Alpha Male, especially an Alpha who is kind and wise, as the Chameleons appear to be. Very handsome, respectable music. Pashion, smasion, if you're looking for a father figure here's the place to go.
2. Comsat Angels - hard to follow up that incredibly odd review, but I'll just say that any fan of the Chameleons is also likely to be or become a fan of the Comsat Angels. The Comsats are like the darker, moodier cousin to the Chameleons. Still manly, still assertive. But perhaps more reflecting, more musing. Not as focused, but slyly witty at times. Their first two albums (Waiting for a Miracle and Sleep No More) are their best.
3. The Fall - okay, not so hard to follow up the boring Comsats blumb. The Fall are great fun. They've made tons of albums, so many that I don't know of any fans who actually own them all. And they continue to make albums of consistant caliber. No one can agree on which Fall songs are the best. The Fall are one of the few bands that get away with being atonal, extremely repetitive, and very nastily dispositioned. Mark E. Smith cannot sing worth beans, and in the early days the band could not play worth beans, but there was always something appealing about the way they built entire songs (even albums) on one or two catchy riffs. Flogging a dead horse made an art. The Fall are one of the most likeable, exciting bands I know of.
4. The Smiths - you all should have heard of the Smiths by now.
5. Hmmm... There are a ton of bands I'd put here. I don't want to mention the biggies like the Cure and the Police because that would be a waste of space - you've probably been exposed to them already. But what about some of the smaller bands that I currently play a lot and would recommend as nice, solid albums? Okay, here's a quick list of bands you may not have heard of but which are really cool and on the top of my mind right now. If you have any questions about them, please ask me:
   • Buzzcocks - fast poppy punk
   • Chills - slow bouncy pop
   • Ed Kuepper - singer from the Saints, slow guitarsy pop, reminds me of Julian at times
   • Jazz Butcher - varied jazzy pop
   • Woodentops - fast bouncy pop

Okay, that's enough for now!

Trav

Found some Cope pics at http://www.ticketserver.co.uk/irvine/cope.htm Nothing else been happening recently. Went to Avebury last week, but no sign of the Drude. Quiet apart from that, just prepearing for imminent fatherhood (like 6 weeks) - 20 Mothers is starting to mean different things to me....

later

mike

Mike -

Wow, six weeks - exciting time for you! Have you picked a name yet? :)

Trav

HI - no name yet. I did toy with the idea of Julian if its a boy, but I'm not sure....

Thanks for getting rid of those blips!

later

mike

CDEurope (http://www.cdeurope.com) has a listing for the following CD at the moment. Does anyone out there know anything about it?

R85513 In Concert, Teardrop Explodes, Compact Disc album $36.95 Label: rigu Rel.: 11/26/93 Genre: pop/rock

Andrew

[Forwarded by Travis]

Is this still the address for the teardrop explodes list?

I'm not on the list, but I have a question and would appreciate it if anyone could mail me directly with an answer.

I heard a story that Julian Cope was once a roadie for the Fall. I have a bet on with someone that this is a fact, and I need some evidence. Is it true? Is it documented anywhere?

Please mail any info to the address below.

many thanks,

alan

If he was then that is a new one. I have been into Cope &Teardrops for well over 10 years now and have never heard that one! There is no reference to this in his book Head-On either. I cannot see Cope's super-ego ever letting him be a roadie for anyone either, a groupie maybe, but not a roadie.

The thought made me smile though, thanks.

Does anybody know if Echo (the label) means Julian is more friendly to Echo (and the Bunnymen)?? Or vice versa.

Oh well, time to go practice my sitar.

Scott

I'm glad to hear of someone who listens to the Woodentops. Actually, I'm glad to know someone has even heard of the band. Hmmm...A top ten list...Excluding Julian and some more "popular" artists...

1. Peter Murphy - I recommend Love Hysteria and Deep - Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Daniel Ash solo, David J. solo, Dali's Car, Tones on Tail are all linked to Murphy (through Bauhaus) Labeled the fathers of Gothic, but I tend to label it as lyrically deep, artistic rock.
2. Depeche Mode - most know their work now.
3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads is a good start. Black humor at its best.
4. Madness - Those Nutty boys with that Ska beat.
5. Bob Mould - Been doing it for years...Husker Du, Sugar
6. New Model Army - Never made it in the U.S. but a great political band with potent lyrics and musical punch.
7. The Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos never gets old.
8. The Psychedelic Furs - Known for Pretty in Pink, but their catalog is filled with a plethora of solid tunes. Difficult to appreciate after a single listen.
9. Semisonic - The boys from Trip Shakespeare are cranking out some solid music these days.
10. Talk Talk - Had a wide range of album 'feel'. Natural History covers a good range of more upbeat tunes.

I've exclude many bands in my frequent play list, but feel these are some bands which don't get the recognition deserved.

Note: I found Beautiful Love promo for 3 bucks! Trampolene (Warne Out Mix) is darn good.

--Sorry if this is listed more than once. I'm working with prehistoric equipment.

Hmmmmmm

Fave bands lists are always difficult. It depends on what I've been listening to recently, and what mood I'm in...

Traditionally, I'd go for The Fall, The Wedding Present (always a huge fave here), New Order, Billy Bragg....

Then maybe throw in The Orb, Orbital, Transglobal Underground, Primal Scream, and top it all off with Miles Davis.

But my list will be different tomorrow!

Sorry.....

I've mailed the HeadHeritage address a couple of times, but had no reply. Are people still having problems with KAK?

Mike

YES!!!!!!!

news - go to www.erack.com/select/ and check out the Drude link!!!!!

Live chat with the man himself next week!!!!!!!

gosh

mike

Top 10 bands/recording artists. . . excluding the Arch Drude. . .

1. Beatles
2. XTC
3. Sky Cries Mary
4. Peter Murphy
5. Robyn Hitchcock
6. Patti Smith
7. Jellyfish
8. Velvet Underground
9. Kinks
10. Kevin Ayers

BtW, here's some info you all may find interesting. . . I've found this Cope Cd listed on a few web sites. Does anyone have a track listing?

• title: Brand New Album
• lable: CA
• cat. #: PCCY-00736
• release date: 10 April, 1995
• country: Japan

Also I've seen a listing for a Cope CDS called Dancing Heads, but I've not been able to find any other info. In fact my copy has been on order since 11 Dec.

OK so which is it? The select site which is hosting this live on-line chat with JC says on one page says that it is:

March 17th 7.30pm Arch-Drude's World Congress.

- This is today, Monday!

Click on the Cope face and you get to the next page which says:

Tuesday 18th March - Avebury

Arch Drude and Modern Antiquarian, ex-Teardrop Explodes frontman and author, Julian Cope, will be bouncing through your screen via the wonders of modern technology answering your questions and explaining himself, pre-Christian monuments and anything else you might have been wondering about. For this live conference you need a CompuServe account, and if you haven't got one ring this number now for your free software:- 0800 854 311

I guess the Compuserve thing is important, so which is it guys, Today or tomorrow?

Good to see that there are other Cope fiends out there. I saw something questioning KAK I mailed them concerning some stuff, and it took about 6 weeks for a response. They said I had to mail a money order in pounds to place an order, but the US postal service has a great system for that, apply in writing to St Louis, and they'll send you one in 8-10 weeks. Shit, I could swim to London and buy the stuff before they got it done.

I checked on Compu$erve - and I couldn't even see the conference listed! Neither today nor tomorrow. The plot thickens.... *giggle*

Ob.Moan... Why Compu$erve?!

CDNow.com is now selling the Fear Loves This Place EP for $19.99 (CD). It says "+ 3 tracks" but then it also says "Parts 1 &2". So it's a gamble!

They are also selling the Teardrop's Serious Danger EP for $13.99.

Mike, thanks for the tip on the possibly impending Cope conference on Compuserve! I'm anxious how that pans out! :)

Y'all might like the White Town CD. It's underproduced, like much of Cope's stuff, and has gentle vocals. That one song "Your Woman" is probably the best but overall it is a nice little album.

Dead tired,

Trav

HI All,

I'm sorry, I have no idea which date it is (I'd imagine the 18th?). I guess the compuserve thing is important, but I don't know? I was hoping there would be some pointer today (18th), but nothing.

I was gonna wander out to Avebury this afternoon to see what was happening, but I can't now. Sorry. I'll be out there on April 4th if anyone is interested?

later

mike

Well.... still no mention of it at Compu$erve... Still, I'll pop in &see what's happening at 7:30pm. And, as I recall, they used to publish transcripts of the conferences afterwards, so I'll see if I can get hold of it! See you later...

...maybe!

Hi... went to the conference (found it, finally!) It wasn't really up to much. Ummm... news - Julian's planning to tour in Sept. He's going to the Outer Hebrides in a couple of days time (no reason given, 'cept he's currently working on the Modern Antiquarian, to be released later this year (I think!)) He also went on about The Boy Anal who is apparently doing impromptu raves some nights outside Llanwern steelworks in Newport (Anal is Newport!) at 3 in the morning , helped out by ThighPaulSandra. Head On 2 is shelved until 1999 (at the earliest!). Ummmm... my mind's gone blank! I'll check in a couple of days to see if they publish the transcript of the interview...

HI,

Sorry Trav, I have no idea why that happens....

Anyway - thanks Louise. I wasn't able to look myself because

a) I have no compuserve account

and

b) I was at 'ohmigod we're going to have a baby very soon' class.

Were there many people in there? Was Julian very chatty? I hope he's in Avebury at the start of April when I toddle along for my birthday/nearly baby day rave (well, cup of coffee and piece of cake in Stones) .

later all

mike

Here's a question that just came to me; if Julian releases a best-of sequel to Floored Genius, what do you think will be on it? He has the following albums to draw from:

• Jehovahkill
• Rite
• Skellington II
• Floored Genius II
• Autogeddon
• Queen Elizabeth
• Twenty Mothers
• Interpreter

I certainly think all the singles would be on it:

• "Fear Loves This Place"
• "Paranormal in the West Country"
• "Try Try Try"
• "I Come From Another Planet Baby"
• "Planetary Sit-In"

Do you think Rite and Queen Elizabeth would get ignored? What's the shortest version of "Bring Cherhill Down" out there?

Let's see, for non-single tracks I would guess:

• "No Hard Shoulder to Cry On"
• "Upwards at 45 Degrees"
• "Poet is Priest"
• "Electrical Stormgirl"
• "I've Got My TV and My Pills" (Skellington II version)
• another song off S2 whose title I've forgotten. You know: the really pretty, gentle one.
• "Ain't No Getting Round Getting Round"
• "Arch Drude's Road Trip"
• "Ain't But the One Way"
• "Highway to the Sun"
• "Greedhead Detector"
• "Senile Get"
• "Since I've Lost My Head It's Awl-Right"
• "Redirected Male"
• "Maid of Constant Sorrow"

So that's 5 singles and 15 non-singles, to make 20, same as with the first Floored Genius. It would be great if they'd throw in a live cut or two from his upcoming tour, but Julian doesn't seem much into releasing live cuts.

So, what do you think? What would be your guesses?

Trav

Hi,

If you check out that Select site now, there is a whole bunch of new Cope stuff from Tuesday.

mike

From the Select site:

Upcoming album: Citizen Caned???

Anyone else heard anything about this?

Trav

Haven't visited in a while. Hope everyone is well, especially Mike ;)

Been checking out these dudes(drudes?) on PBS trying to erect stones ala Stonehendge. I thought I might catch Julian hangin'. What's up with all the fences?

Top 10, tough call, but more what I'm currently listening to:

1. Julian Cope
2. Tool (a 90's Faust?)
3. Soundgarden
4. Collective Soul
5. Rolling Stones 'Live at the Max' on Laserdisc. Keith Richards performance of 'Happy' is worth the price of the disc alone. p.s. AC-3 Dolby Digital THX IMAX
6. 6-10 Various Artists

One (1) vote for Travis as Julian Cope's North American Publicist.

outahere,

Hi All,

Does anyone know why the CD version of Wilder has the black and white photograph cover, not the flowers from the vinyl version?

I prefer the flowers I think.

Another Floored Genius - I certainly wouldn't include anything from Queen Elizabeth....

BTW - the echo site is live again... www.echo.co.uk.

later drudes...

m

The original release of Wilder in the US had the b/w cover, it is the same shot that is used for the Passionate Friend single. Why the CD release has this cover I have no idea though, perhaps they lost the original artwork, (hey I work in the design world and believe me this happens!), or maybe the original label, Mercury wouldn't authorise it. Who knows!

Thanks for the echo update! It's been over..., well it's been a long time since I checked in on it. Not bad, however I thought our guy was the 'Arch Drude' not the 'Arch Druid'?

They harrassed me enough when I asked for the 'drude' name at my 'net service. She asked me if it meant Dr. Rude. I must say I honestly never thought of it that way, but I gave her a 'laymans' definition of a drude, she seemed to buy it.

Inclusion into Best of vol II: Cryin' babies, Sleepless nights...for Mike:)

Hello everybody! Hope y'all had a lovely Easter weekend!

Mike, got a baby update for us? :)

Last night on a whim I decided to exercise to The Doors, whom I haven't listened to in at least five years. I must say it was very enjoyable! The music was catchy yet intense, and seemed like something that inspired Cope. Morrison's vocals even sound like Cope's at times.

So, add The Doors to the list of bands-that-Cope-fans-might-like.

Trav

HI - Sorry, no baby news yet. Two weeks to go though...

No transcript of the Cope thing has been posted to the Select site yet, though it has been promised.

I'm off to Avebury on friday to celebrate my birthday and to get my head together...

mike

Hey, I saw an ad about Cobre Verde doing covers of Teardrop Explodes stuff. Ether Net also doing covers of Echo and the Bunnymen on the same disc. Does anyone have this junk?

I did a search on Cobre Verde but couldn't come up with much. There was a band from Seattle called Pure Joy who have a couple of albums, very heavily influenced by Teardrops and other early 80's bands of the same ilk, don't think they did any covers of Teardrops stuff, but they did get very good reviews of their albums.

Travis- I agree with your comments about Cope fans liking the Doors, but I also listen to them because they remind me of listening to Echo and the Bunnymen for the first time, the band that led me to the Teardrops.

-- Scott

Here is the address to buy the split single of Cobra Verde and Ether Net doing covers of Teardrops and Echo.

• Carcrashh Records
• POB 392
• Lakewood, OH 44107-0392

Send $4 postage paid.

Hello everybody, I've got good news and good news.

The good news is that I was in Plan-9 this past weekend in Charlottesville, Va, and what did I see in the Julian Cope section but two CDs: Floored Genius (well, so what?) and...

Droolian! Yep, that's right, Droolian, for $30. I don't know if it has been re-released somewhere, or if Plan-9 just happened to find one in their back rooms or what... In any case, if you want to buy it, try calling Plan-9 at (804)979-9999. FCFS, and I saw only one, so be quick!

The other, less exciting, good news, is that I have decided I will attend the University of Virginia for grad school. This means that my use of faraday.clas.virginia.edu will actually be legitimate, so we might not have to move after all. Yeah, kind of boring, huh?

Record Guides

This past weekend I bought another record guide book, so now I have five:

1. Trouser Press Record Guide (old)
2. Trouser Press Record Guide (new, 90s)
3. Rolling Stone Record Guide (all sorts of music)
4. a Jazz guide
5. Rough Guide to Rock

So far I agree taste-wise most with the Trouser Press books. I really like the layout of the Rough Guide, however, but some of the reviewers seem to have very different ideas of what is enjoyable to listen to. Some times they seem to have listened to an album only once or twice before reviewing it.

Rough Guide's favorite Cope albums are World Shut Your Mouth, Peggy Suicide, Floored Genius, Twenty Mothers. Of course, everybody likes Peggy, but they dismissed Fried and Jehovahkill and of course Skellington and Droolian as being too unstructured and meandering. Yet why didn't they like the straight-ahead poppiness of Saint Julian and why did they like Twenty Mothers so much? Weird.

Am I the only one who is annoyed by Twenty Mothers? It just seems too incohesive, too patchy. Even Autogeddon had at least a "feel" to it. What is the feel of Twenty Mothers?

Anyway, I am curious what you all use for record guides, and which you most agree with and would recommend to others.

Trav (listening to a Cope B-sides tape as we speak)

Trav,

A huge thank you! I called Plan-9 this morning and ordered the copy of Droolian CD that they have. I have been searching for this CD for ages. I guess everything comes to those who wait! So thank you again for the info, you have just made my day!

It seems as if they have just the one copy and it is a one-off thing. there are obviously though, still copies out there floating around.

Andrew

The Select Magazine site has updated it's article on Cope after its On-Line Forum with the arch-drude on March 18th. It also has a note at the bottom that reads:

A full transcript of Copey's on-line congress is available in the Select Forum Library (call 0800 854 320 for the free Compuserve software) and will appear on the website next week.

Oh yes, there are some good pics of JC and some soundbites too So check it out!

http://www.erack.com/select/

I'll try to post this message just once too.

Andrew

Picked up a vinyl single at a record collectors show... It has Trampolene, disaster, mock turtle, and warwick kingmaker on it. Is this available on cd? I suppose I should check the ole list of Cope releases, but too lazy. Bye for now.

As far as I know the Trampolene 12" was never released as a cd single, there were 2, 7" versions, one in a single sleeve and one in a gatefold sleeve. There was also a limited edition 7" pack, in a thick cardboard sleeve, which came with a poster too.

12" was released as you have said and there was also an extended remix version called Trampolene - Warne Out! Which came with a great sticker of the Saint Julian logo (about 8" across).

I think the first cd single Cope put out was for Eve's Volcano, which has all the tracks from the 12", Almost Beautiful Child Parts I &II, Pulsar and Shot Down (Live), plus Spacehopper (Annexe).

Hey Y'all...

If you are looking for any rare JC stuff try Open Mind Music in San Francisco(415-621-2244). They have a huge selection of used stuff but more importantly, they almost always have CD copies of Droolian, Skellington2, Rite, etc. There is a fellow there (can't remember his name) that is a serious Drude-head and stocks all this stuff...what's more, he once told me that he found a place that has a stash of all these things and he can order whenever (&it's not Ma-Gog directly) he wishes...He also has JC's two books, etcetera...if you call the store you can ask for "the guy who really likes Julian Cope" as I do and he gets very excited to talk to one who KNOWS...the prices are what you would expect...28.99$ for the cd's for example...he usually has Skel2 and rite on vinyl too...of course they do mail-order but I don't know their policies on this 'cause I live in SF. It's our right as free citizens to have a complete Julian Cope catalog!!!

Happy Hunting,

Kevin

HI All,

HI - sorry about that last entry...it seems to happen when I hit 'tab' for some reason.

Anyway - I've been quite lately, having babies! Caitlin Mary was born on April 20th at 1:44 am...and i haven't listened to Julian for a whole week. I'm not sure what JC album to play for her first, probably 20 Mothers...

Back properly next week!

cheers

Mike

Mike -

Congrats!!!

"Caitlin Mary" is a very pretty name, by the way - absolutely lovely!

Trav

Mike: Congratulations to you and your family. Hope Mom is doing well.

Also, thanks Kevin for the tip, you basicly mentioned the things I do not have. Alas, I put the deposit down on my harley today. So...the coins are kinda scarce. Besides gotta figure out how to get to the UK with it and have a picnic at Avebury with Julian, his family, my family, Mike's, and Travis' (surely he'll be through with school by then:) and anyone/everyone else. July 4th, 1999?

Upwards at 45 degrees.........

Greetings....

I thought I'd stick my nose in here with some info.

I know this may sound stupid to anyone who knows of the band called Bis, but if the secret track at the end of their cd 'new transistor heros' does not sound like it's done by Copey, then I'm a banana.

It sounds nothing like Bis normally sound. The vocals are like JC, but with a slight Scottish accent. I think the song sounds like it's from the Peggy Suicide era. I'm guessing the title as 'she is my heroine'. It has that grating bass sound that is familiar to anyone who hears it.

So, is this cause for flames or agreement? Surely I can't be alone with this view.

Chris

HI,

Thanks everyone. I'm up for a picnic at Avebury any time!

I do have some JC news - Island are releasing a CD entitled 'The Followers of St Julian', which is a compilation of B sides. It is reviewed in this months copy of Vox (UK music mag), but there is no release date.

I'll shout if I see anything.

mike

I have looked at the Island Records UK site and found that The Followers of St Julian album is due for release on May 19. It looks like it's CD only.

Thanks, Mike for that info. I'd never have known about this album otherwise.

Chris

Good news indeed!

Siren CD says:

Cope, Julian
Followers Of Saint Julian CD  $16.99  14 track collection of rare b-sides,
                                      live tracks, remixes and more.
Release Date: 19-May-97
        

14 tracks sounds like a tight squeeze! I wonder what they'll put on? Only stuff from the Island days, right? Still, it would be great to hear "Non Alignment Pact," "I've Got Levitation," etc.

Also, the Island [broken link] page lists two different release dates for Followers of St. Julian: 19 May and 2 June. Could the first be a UK release and the second be a US release, or is there a possibility that it will be a two-parter like Best of the Smiths Vol 1 &2 and Best of / Rest of New Order. Probably just wishful thinking on my part! :)

Has anyone heard anything more about Cope's upcoming album? Is it going to be called "Citizen Caned" or did I misread that?

Later!

Trav

Great!!! But, does this new title strike anyone else as kinda strange??? Almost like it's not good enough for any music fan (yeah, I know JC never really hit commercially) but only for fanatics of the man...who is to say that any artist's B-sides aren't up to par with any album track or even A sides...I'm not sure exactly what I'm driving at, really, for some reason I feel vaguely offended by the title...like it's only worthy of that freaky "cult" status...hmm...

Also, I'm going to assume that there are at least a few Syd Barrett fans here...did anyone else see the interview with Ian Barrett, Syd's 22 year-old nephew on this page: www.mtnlake.com/~robp/floyd6.html (sorry, I don't know how to put in links yet)? Being a Syd affecianado, I'm pretty damn sure it is legit. He (ian) say's that one of his favorite artist's is JC...cool.

The new issue of Q magazine has a review of THE FOLLOWERS OF ST JULIAN

The only tracks listed are

• Transporting
• Warwick the kingmaker
• Non alignment pact
• I've got levitation

and it say's several dated 80's remixes but it will be the first time on CD for most of them so it's ok by me and they only give it 2 stars.

I've also got a few items for sale if people would e-mail me for a list

Ok thanks Russ..........

Super! It will be great to finally get the "Julian Cope" EP on CD - those are definitely among his best non-album tracks. 2 stars doesn't bother me one bit, since we already know what the music's going to be like...

Hey, I wonder what became of Patrick's rennovation of the Soul Desert pages?

Oh yeah, I picked up Billy Bragg's Back to the Basics album the other day. It's got some nice little ditties, but in general it all seems to sound the same. The primary instrumentation is vocals and guitar, with the guitar voice not changing at all. It sounds like it was recorded all in one session.

Is the appeal of Billy Bragg in his lyrics? Because I almost never pay attention to lyrics, and I'm wondering what I'm "missing" in order to be able to appreciate him.

If y'all are into The Comsat Angels or Independent Project Records (IPR), you might want to check out my guestbooks for them. The IPR one is barely off the ground; I started it yesterday.

Anyone hear a release date for The Modern Antiquarian?

Trav

Trav- Check out Billy's "Talking With The Taxman About Poetry"...definately his finest &includes the world's greatest living guitar player Johnny Marr on two tracks...you don't pay attention to lyrics? and we're both into Julian Cope? Amazing! -Kevin

Trav wrote...

I picked up Billy Bragg's Back to the Basics album the other day. It's got some nice little ditties, but in general it all seems to sound the same. The primary instrumentation is vocals and guitar, with the guitar voice not changing at all. It sounds like it was recorded all in one session.

Back to Basics is a repackaging of Billy's first two albums and an EP. The first mini album [Life's A Riot With Spy vs Spy] contained the tracks Milkman/To Have &To Have Not/Richard/New England/Busy Girl/Iron Mask/Lovers Town Revisited. The Between The Wars EP contained Between The Wars/World Turned Upsidedown/Which Side Are You On plus a version of It Says Here (different to the album version). The rest of the tracks were on the Brewing Up With Billy Bragg album.

But broadly speaking, yes Billy's appeal is in the lyrics - teenage angst classics such as A New England and The Saturday Boy, while the more political songs still evoke (for me at least) a sense of time and place - The Brewing Up album was released in the wake of The Falklands crisis, while the Between The Wars EP came around the time of the 1983/4 Miner's Strike. Maybe you had to be there.

As Kevin K said, the Talking With The Taxman album (packaged along with its successor Workers Playtime and re-badged as Victim Of Geography) contains more instrumentation than just voice &guitar, but it's still the lyrical contect that makes The Boy Bragg a bit special.

Maybe we should just agree to differ.

B.

Oh, I didn't mean to rag on Bragg... (heh heh)

I will keep my eyes open for Talking with the Taxman About Poetry. Music good, lyrics bad! Just kidding.

Really, I'm not a lyrics person. It's sometimes interesting to make a pointed dive into them (like trying to figure out what "Reynard" is about exactly) but for the most part it is the sounds that grip me. And the voice is part of the sound, just another instrument in my mind.

However, there are some songs whose lyrics are so up-front that you can't help but hear what they're saying. This is not good or bad, just the way the vocals were sung and mixed. Examples of "can't help but listen to the lyrics" songs would be the Buzzcockss "Orgasm Addict," Cope's "Soldier Blue," and many Frank Zappa songs.

Anyway, changing the topic, has anyone else gotten hooked by Squirrel Nut Zippers yet? Great band.

Trav

Hi again I've just bought a new magazine called uncut and it has a full track listing for the followers lp

1. Transporting
2. WSYM (trouble funk mix)
3. I've got levitation
4. Non alignment pact
5. Umpteenth unnatural blues
6. Transporting (with interview)
7. Trampolene (must be the warne out mix!!)
8. Disaster
9. Mock turtle
10. Warwick the kingmaker
11. Almost beautiful child 1 &2
12. Eve's volcano (Volcano lungo mix)
13. Pulsar nx (live)
14. Shot down (live)

I think Island with all the tapes they have could have made it a bit more interesting anyway uncut give it 3 and vox give it 5 both say it's an Island rip off.But some of the tracks have appeared on cd before as with the eve's cd single and the us promo cd beautiful love the best of julian cope and the japanese cd singles for 5 o'clock world and the uk remix of WSYM.

Thanks for the track listing, Russ!

Now we know why it's Followers of Saint Julian... Haven't heard the interview yet - that'll be something new.

I'll let you guys know as soon as I see it at CD-Now....

later!

Trav

I presume that "Followers Of Saint Julian" is the long-planned Island B-side compilation. A few years ago, around the time of the Autogeddon release, JC was talking about how Island were trying to cash in on him by planning to release a b-side compilation called Creaming Off. It seems that, albeit it a little late, this is the end product. At the time JC asked his fans not to buy it, or if they did to buy it in a non-chart return shop, whilst buying Autogeddon in a chart return shop to get him in the charts. I don't know what his stance will be now. Personally I'm a bit gutted that they've only taken the b-sides from the Saint Julian singles, partly because I already have them all and partly because there are far, far better b-sides out there from other Island singles, for example Bagged Out Ken, Mik Mak Mok and my favourite b-side Almost Alive. Hmmm-ha.

Slap wrote...

>Personally I'm a bit gutted that they've only taken the b-sides from >the Saint Julian singles, [...] because there are far, far better >b-sides out there from other Island singles, for example Bagged Out >Ken, Mik Mak Mok and my favourite b-side Almost Alive. Hmmm-ha.

Other b-sides (including Mik Mak Mok) were included as extra tracks on the recent(ish) re-issues of the WSYM and Fried albums.

B.

I agree that there are many much better b-sides than some of the ones included on Followers of..., Mik Mak Mok being just one, but I guess we have to remember that anything Julian did before Saint Julian was not done for Island records. Mik Mak Mok, Land of Fear, Hey High class Butcher etc etc were recorded on Mercury record label and so obviously can not be included here on this cd.

I thought Island might throw in at least one surprise though, they surely must have a bag full of unreleased stuff, or remixes at least. Come on Island, try to think of something new!

The Transporting/Interview track is most likely the version that appeared on the Far East World Shut Your Mouth cassette single.

The cassete was marked as a promo, but was released for export to the west. The only difference between it and the cassette single that was released here is the Transporting track, which is 7 minutes long and consists of segments of Transporting, segments of an instrumental track which appeared on the Saint Julian demos bootleg tape titled Tape Loop 1, (I was told that this is actually the song Saint Julian played backwards), and other screams and shouts. There are bits of interviews with Julian, one of them being an interview he did on a Japanese FM radio station during his 1985 tour there. The full interview is quite hilarious as there are 3 people interviewing him and only one speaks english.

If this is the track that is on Followers of... then I am quite surprised to see it there. I hope that Island releases a Part II to this cd with the b sides from his other singles, tracks like Desi, Rail On, Christmas Mourning, Question of Temperature, SPQR etc. are classics and there are a lot of people out there who having only got into Julian recently, missed these b-sides.

Two queries. Firstly I'm confused. Brian says other b-sides including Mik Mak Mok were recently rereleased as bonus tracks on the CD reissues but aren't these Mercury albums? Yet Mik Mak Mok, I think, was a b-side on the 2nd CD of Fear Loves This Place, an Island release. Has he been issuing the same songs on different labels just to confuse me? For example, Little Donkey was on Skellington on the Zippo label I think and also a b-side for East Easy Rider on Island. Land of Fear which is on the Fried reissue is also on 20 Mothers, an Echo release, and I've Got My TV And My Pills is on both Skellington and Interpreter. If he is allowed to release his past songs again on whatever label he's on at the time then he should get his act together and take it upon himself to stop all this reissue and bonus track malarkey and issue a definitive "All The Songs That You've Been Looking For For Years But Could Never Find Because I Hid Them On Obscure Singles That No Record Shops Ever Sold Anyway Even Though They're Amazingly Good" compilation. If he can't then Island should release another b-side compilation with all his other, and let's face it better, b-sides from Peggy Suicide and Jehovahkill, and Mercury should also release a similar package. Secondly I would like to express my annoyance at CDs. I do not own a CD player and am therefore missing out on these rereleases and bonus tracks apart from the rare occasion when someone I know buys one, which has only happened with Fried, which I had anyway, but the bonus tracks were worth having. What bothers me most is how Droolian, the only album I don't have, is now available but only on CD and his singles are nearly impossible to find on vinyl and aren't released on cassette. Does anybody know what the bonus tracks on the rerelease of WSYM are? Or on any other rerelease that may have passed me by?

Dear Slap and Rail On! Readers,

Mik Mak Mok first appeared on the 1984 Mercury single release of Sunspots, it was on the second 7" of the two 7" pack (Land of Fear and I Went on a Chourney, were the other 2 tracks in the set).

The Fear Loves This Place 2 CD set did not feature a version of Mik Mak Mok. Tracks for these two cds are:

1) Fear Loves This Place / I Have Always Been Here Before / Sizewell B / Gogmagog

2) Paleface / Nothing / Starry Eyes / Fear Loves This Place

Little Donkey was on Droolian, which was independantly released by Julian, in 1990. It was re-recorded and released as a b-side track to East Easy Rider in 1991. A record label just owns the individual recorded version of a song and not the song itself, so an artist can re-record a song for as many different labels as they like really. All the versions of the songs you mention are different versions of the same song.

Given the fact that since 1990 alone Julian has released 12 albums, three of which were double albums of new material, I really do not mind too much that one or two of the songs have been the same but different versions, for example the Droolian version of "Safesurfer" is totally different to the Peggy Suicide version, and likewise with "I've Got My TV and My pills".

The bonus tracks on the re-issue of WSYM lp are, I think, Wreck My Car, Eat the Poor and Hey, High Class Butcher. All of these songs were the b-side tracks to the 1984 single "Sunshine Playroom".

So that's my 10¢ worth for the day!

Slap,

Most of the points which were 'confusing' you have been more than adequately covered by Andrew, so I'll say nothing more except that, according to Uncut magazine's review of The Followers Of St Julian, this is the first of three planned releases of b-sides/obscurities etc, so you may yet get the trax you were looking for.

Woohoo went my heart when Brian told me of the imminent further rerelases. Ooof went it two seconds later when I realised that these would be available on costly disc only (and being stone-age I don't have a CD player and the needle keeps slipping off if I put CDs on my record player.)

Thanks for clearing up my confusion Andrew.

Looking at the old messages people have left I saw that band top tens have been posted so I thought I might as well leave mine to give you all a laugh at the crap music I listen to.

1. Elvis Presley
2. The Jam (yes I know JC really doesn't like them)
3. T-Rex
4. Carter USM
5. Patti Smith
6. Madness
7. The Boo Radleys
8. Buzzcocks
9. Dead Kennedys
10. Terrorvision

There are also newer bands like Longpigs, Hopper and My Life Story that I really like but they haven't done enough material yet to warrant a place in my top ten.

TTFN

Maybe the fact that Followers of Saint Julian is listed twice on the Island page is that the first will be released May 19th and the second June 2nd. Let's hope so.

Anyone interested in Cope merchandise should check out:

http://www.tshirts.demon.co.uk/index.html

They have a couple of t-shirts from the Interpreter singles.

CD-Now

Good news and bad. Bad news is that CDNow.com has dropped some of their Julian Cope titles, including most of the Teardrops albums and the recent re-releases of Fried and World Shut Your Mouth. Good news (for those of you that don't have it yet) is that they have a release date for Interpreter: 17 June.

Nothing on the Followers... CDs yet.

Other Artists

This past weekend I got a nice big shipment of CDs (11 in all) from CD-Now. From what I remember (forgive me if I butcher names and titles!):

Beatles - Revolver

My first Beatles album. Sounds a lot weirder than I expected, but I like it! Almost every track has extreme panning (drums all in one ear, vocals all in one ear...), making Fried's studio experimentalism seem rather tame.

The Bluenotes - (I forget the title)

Nice! Only listened to the first couple songs, but they sound very pleasant.

Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica

Weird, very Zappa-esque. The intstrumentals are the best. He has a nice talking voice - why does he have to sing so weird?

Nick Cave (or whatever his name is) and the Bad Seeds - Your Funeral, My Trial

Haven't given it a good listen yet.

The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette

Very nice! I think I like it better than their debut (Damned, Damned, Damned)

E. Neubauten - Halber Mensch

Very disturbing. I was expecting something along the lines of The Fall. This stuff is *really* dark and even frightening at times. "Futter Mein Ego" is pretty catchy, but man, what an evil sounding album this is!

Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced and Electric Ladyland

I was inspired by a recent VH1 special on him. I almost never get "old classic" albums - this and the Beatles are definitely uncharacteristic purchases for me! So far, I think both are very listenable. Now, whether I keep playing them over and over like I do Cope and the Chameleons and the Fall is something I will have to see...

Morrissey - Viva Hate

I love the Smiths, so this was inevitable. Has Morrissey made any other good post-Smiths albums? The only other one I have is Southpaw Grammar, which I liked at first for its long songs, but haven't found myself going back to.

The Orb - U.F.Orb

Orbital - Orbital 2 (Brown)

My first purchases of "trance" music unless you count Rite. Both are pretty neat, but I especially like the relentless rhythms of the Orbital album. It makes perfect background or "napping" music.

Also, I may have mentioned them a couple years ago, but Jane Pow sound a bit like early Teardrops, "Sanitized" especially. You can get their CD through IPR, at least last time I checked.

Later!

Trav

The June the 17th release of Interpreter is, I guess, the long awaited US release. It looks as if it is to be released on the Cooking Vinyl label. I wonder if it will come in the box the Europe version did? Probably not is my guess.

Hey Trav - good list! Revolver is one of my fave albums, 'Tomorrow Never Knows'....I'm really into The Orb also.

I saw an ad for a Best Of The Chameleons CD - 'Return of the Roughnecks' I think its called. The first so many copies have a free CD ep of unreleased stuff (The 'Tony Smith' ep???).

mikef (cryingbabiessleeplessnights)

Chameleons:

(Funny you mention them - I have Evening Show Sessions on in the background...) Yep, the compilation is called Return of the Roughnecks and is available through SirenCD.com. The (limited) bonus CD contains Tony Fletcher Walked On Water, which is a (previously hard to find) EP of the last material the Chameleons recorded together before splitting in 1987.

Although most Chameleons fans already have all the songs on the compilation (and often many different version of each song), it sounds like an excellent introduction to the Chameleons for newcomers. Highly recommended for the Chameleons uninitiated!

Orb:

I read somewhere that their single verison of "The Blue Room" was 30+ minutes long, but on U.F.Orb it only clocks in at under 18 minutes. Do you think the "30+" length of the single included that of the B-sides?

What is a good Orb album for beginners? :)

Nick Cave:

Gave Cave a good listen last night. It's all quite pleasant, and some of the songs are really cool! He reminds me a lot of Julian Cope meets Ed Kuepper meets Henry Rollins. Very interesting!

ObCopeCon:

Anyone think I should put together a web page for the Cope Tribute Tape? How about a Cope FAQ? (like KAK's address, discography, etc.)

Trav

HI All,

Did I briefly see a message from Louise in here the other day? I caught a glimpse before the page vanished...

The page vanished?

There's a post from her dated 19 March. Could that have been what you glimpsed?

Trav

Yeah - I had problems connecting for a little while (usually early in the morning, UK time). I was sure I caught a glimpse of a message from Louise about moving house. Maybe it was just a ghost in the machine...

Off to town at lunchtime to see if this new compilation is out today.

mike

HI - none of the stores here have the 'Followers' CD - they claim that it isn't out until 2nd June...

I'm sure I saw a message from louise about having moved house???

mike

Mike &Trav,

*looking very apologetic*

Sorry - I haven't posted in here for yonks! I lurk about once every fortnight (that means every 2 weeks for all you USAsians out there). The main reason is because I haven't heard anything interesting about Copey lately - and the other reason is that work's suddenly been very busy.

In my spare time I've been working on putting together a little Copey page of my own... oh, and doing work on this 300 year old stone cottage that I've moved into. *grin* The Cope page will probably live on my Demon Web Space that I haven't used yet - but will link to a chat room on HyperchatUK. Maybe when I get it all working (including the Real Audio *grin to Trav*) we could fix up a time to test it out?

Anyway - judging by my usual rate of progress - that's probably quite a way away...

Congrats, Mike on the birth of your baby! See you soon, maybe?

Just left a message at http://www.sirendisc.com for a followers CD. Fingers crossed. I put the ole' 20 Mothers in the player , and it was much more enjoyable than I remembered. I stay mainly with the trilogy, Suicide, Jehovakill, and Autogedden. But, I go back to Interpreter occassionally, as well. I would like to aquire the Droolian, Skellington, Rite series though.

I was wondering, should this release (Followers) suddenly become huge, 4 stars, Rolling Stone, Q, People (god forbid, can you imagine an interview with the Arch-drude himself in People?). Even Kathy and Regis are raving about our favourite son of Wessex. Would we still hang out with him? Being so mainstream and all? I wonder.

Any news of the lad crawling out of the longbarrow long enough to do a 'live' show?

on the 'Highway to the Sun'.............

Folks,

As a sad would-be JC completist, I have yet to purchase a copy of 'Rite'. But having forked out my hard-earned shekels for the crock of shite which was the 'Queen Elizabeth' album, I'm a bit hesitant to throw good money after bad, so I thought I'd better ask:

Is the Rite album actually good? And in what ways does it differ from Queen Elizabeth?

For the record, I thought the Ambulence mix of I Come From Another Planet Baby was also a pile of piss.

All help appreciated...

Brian,

Rite is far better than Queen Elizabeth, mainly because something actually happens. When I listen to Queen Elizabeth it's almost as though there's nothing playing and so it can become sort of boring. Rite, however , has alot more going on in it and is erm relaxing and takes your mind off things. It's hard to explain. I haven't heard the mix of I Come From Another Planet Baby so I can't say if you'd definitely like Rite, but it is certainly different to Queen Elizabeth.

Ron,

The world would be a far better place if JC hit the big time, and not just because the value of my record collection would rocket. As long as JC doesn't change to suit the market and go back to My Nation Underground and looking like Jon Bon Jovi again. However, he'll never be as popular as he should be. He's always been critically acclaimed but never achieved commercial success through it. Many rock journos recognised the magnifence of Jehovahkill and the Fear Loves This Place single but it didn't stop Island sacking him. If Chris Evans became a fan however.......

HI,

IMHO, Rite is worth getting. I can't stand 'Queen Elizabeth', but Rite is very different. The tracks are instrumental, but are rythmn based, good chilling out music. I actually play it far more than most of Julians 'normal' albums...

m

Hi

The followers cd should be out on the 2nd but don't hold your breath it's not classed as a major release so it could get put back yet again and again depending on what else is released that week because Island don't whant it to clash with any other BIG releases or it could hit sales hard

Russ.........

Does anyone know of anywhere else to get Rite, Droolian, and Q Elizabeth other than converting to pounds and using K.A.K. Ltd? Major pain in the rump, and waiting sucks.

Rite, unfortuanately, is only really available through KAK Ltd, although some copies may turn up in record stores. Queen Elizabeth was released commercially, so it was available in record stores and through regular record distributors. Copies are still out there, a store here in Vancouver still has a vinyl copy, and I recently purchased a cd copy at another store here too.

Rite is ok. I think I have listened to it twice. QE is shite. It has no direction, just noise. Julian and Thighpaulwhatshisname smoked way too many fatties that day and the result shows. That's my opinion. The wonder of Julian's music to me is his lyrics, there is so much irony in them. As well as amazing musically too. So I tend to steer towards the songs with words, songs that I can sing along too, loud as hell, as I am polluting the atmosphere in my 1972 Mazda at 120 KPH down the highway.

Droolian is another story. Very limited quantities of vinyl and cd were produced, which makes it pretty rare. There are copies out there though. Thanks to Trav's tip-off I recently got a cd copy by mail-order from a store in Virginia. It cost aroubd $30.00US. I have a vinyl copy, but have searched for seven years now for a cd copy, so don't despair, everything comes to those...blah, blah, blah.

Andrew

I think Droolian is available on CD from KAK. I got my copy at a gig on the last UK tour. I'll check out the various 'KAK merchandise lists' I have aroud the place.

Mike (who hasn't forgotten those tapes...honest...)

News.....

Just had the latest postcard from the Drude.

He releases Rite 2, a mail order only CD on June 1. This is available from HeadHeritage at a new address:

Head Heritage Ltd
PO Box 1140
Calne
Wiltshire
SN11 8XQ
        

for a mere £12.99, (add £1.50 outside UK).

Or, you can phone/fax them at 01672 539454

or mail them or the drude Headheritage@easynet.co.uk

and there is a new website which the Drude helped to design, at

www.headheritage.co.uk

(although I can't access it yet!).

Mike

Well the headheritage site works fine for me (Friday 23rd). It's tops - a complete discography and the chance to get your mits on those more obscure releases folk were wondering about.

It's certainly the best 'official' site I've seen yet, although there's no guestbook as such, so I guess Rail On stays right where it is.

Just took a look at the Head Heritage site. It is awesome. It kind of bums me out a bit as I am just about to launch my own Cope web-site that focuses on Cope's recordings and what happens? This new site, oh well! I guess there can't be enough info out there on him really.

I'll post my URL as soon as it is up.

Andrew

PS Some very interesting news on the site about Rite 2, QE2 - Elizabeth Vagina and a few other gems. Check it out everyone, and tyhank you Mike for letting us know.

Hello everyone,

Well, prompted by the new Head Heritage site, I thought I'd post my site. Sorry i don't know how to hot link this, but the URL is:

http://www.alchemedia.net/andrew/Index.html

And, yes I know the links on the links page don't work yet! Beware, as this site might move as I have a feeling this address will be temporary, but I'll keep you all posted. So, take a look and let me know what you think. It is called Trampolene.

Andrew

Hi

Well i've just recieved my postcard from Julian and what can I say the Head Heritage site is fantastic good news on the cd front as well also a few new item's the Propheteering 7" a couple of re issued T-Shirts and news of Rite 2 and QE2 Elizabeth Virgina both soon to be released as well as the Followers Cd which is going to be available from Key Mail order for £6.99 as from they say 2/6/97 so things are looking up for the followers of St Julian !!!!

I'm now going out to get Blind Drunk it's my first Wedding aniversery

Well, I viewed both sites (Jule's official and Andrew's), and I honestly believe that I enjoyed Andrew's much more (by a fan for the fans). When I got to Jule's, it may just be me, but the greedhead detector went off the scale, (by the Andrew you forgot to include a 24 hour credit card line, and the very mature click on my d***). In all fairness I guess if they (the ROYAL/Arch drudes) were going for the big bucks they would gladly accept semi-famous dead U.S. presidents.

Headheritage does offer several tidbits of interesting insights to Julian that I had not access to until now, and it is slick and well organized. I am however disappointed that 'Rail On' was not recognized, nor will I believe Andrew's, which deeply saddens me as both are simply labors of true fans sensing a lack of information and sharing that had been ignored.

Travis, I truly hope that you continue 'Rail On' and it is painfully obvious the hard work and effort Andrew has put into his page. Thanks to you both for your insight and your efforts to bring knowledge to the common drude.

stone roses sell out, they just......... et tu julian?

peace...

Hello Everbody,

Ever been invited to a party and you're the only one there? That's what this feels like. This is the launch party for my Julian Cope web site, Trampolene. I mentioned before that it may move and it has. It is now in its final resting place, so everyone take a look and let me know what they think. Your suggestions will be appreciated! Also, the external links are now working too. If the above URL link doesn't work, the address is:

http://www.trampolene.ca/

Andrew

Dear Ron,

I'm posting this message to you here, as I tried emailing you direct, but it was twice sent back to me saying there was no space on the device!

Thanks for writing and thanks for the compliments about the site, Trampolene. Yes, it has been quite a bit of work - I started it last November and have worked away at it on and off since then. I was offered some server space back then, and then recently I wasn't! But now I have it again so Trampolene has its place to rest a while. I was just about to post it when the Head Heritage site beat me to it though. Ha!

I agree about Julian and Rail On! I bet he does read what goes on there, it would be wonderful if he posted info on there for us, you think he would! I quite like the Head Heritage site so far because it isn't just about his music, but I have only flicked through it so far. Hopefully it will be updated often to keep us informed of what is going on. I missed the click my dick thing the first time I logged on, but saw it the second time, my heart sank a bit at that, as otherwise it is very professionally done. The credit-card thing I guess is enevitable and I don't mind too much if the merchandise is quality stuff and Julian has control over it etc...

Andrew

Hey everybody! Sorry I've been gone a while - up in the hills of Pennsylvania for a couple weeks. No computer, no music, just cows! It was lovely, actually! :)

I like RITE quite a bit. I got it through Kak, but didn't have to convert to pounds or anything fancy - I just mailed them a check in U.S. dollars. Of course that was a few years ago - I don't know how coll they are about it now.

Wow! New cool Cope sites to look into!!! :)

Um, as for RAIL ON getting publicized, I am actually trying to keep it as low-profile as possible, because it's not at its "permanent" resting space yet (we're still hiding on a University of Virginia computer). Once I move it to thunder.swa.com, I'll start putting ads for it on the newsgroups and in other mailing lists and with sites like Yahoo and Excite and all that.

Anyway, I'm gonna go check out the new Cope sites... What a nice surprise!

Trav

The Followers of St Julian album is reviewed in the current NME. No surprises really - some good trax, some bad, and an overall 6 out of 10.

Anyway, it's online at http://www.nme.com if anyone's interested.

Whoo! A new postcard from Julian dropped through my letterbox. The front has a photo of Dorian at Calanais. Here it is in it's entirety. The website, btw, is bloody brilliant! I've just given up on my efforts!

DRUIDION,

Mayday Mayday Mayday! Get your Beltane boots on, we're going to a dance: 100 new women MPs and Portillo routed - on Beltane our Fire was re-kindled. A new Sun is shining for the countdown to Zero - the new British tribes voted the Suckers out! Oh Happy Happy Day!!! It's already the middle of 1997CE and I'm keeping The Modern Antiquarian right on schedule for next year's publication. I just returned from fieldtrips to the Outer Hebrides and the Isle on Man, where my mind was constantly blown at the epic beauty of Our magickal isles. At Manchester Airport, Swampy is wooing a whole new generation of Protesters with harmony and direct action, whilst Animal is teaching Just 17 readers to despise the Spice Girls. So trust the thrust of the Uppercrusty, hash to hashish, or Us to dusty. And in the midst of all this, I've surfaced with the mind-boggling grooves of RITE 2. This is my only release this year, a mail order-only CD from Head Heritage. Imagine the first volume of RITE had taken anti-gravitation pills and watched too much Magic Roundabout. It's beautiful, otherworldly and penetrational - an Urban Meditational Groove. And Head Heritage has plans & new ideas and a new Head Commisioner, JoAnne Wilder. So without further ado I'll hand you over to her.

Hang on in there, Kiddies - Love on Ya!

Mr. Drude, Silbury View, Wessex - Beltane 1997CE

Important information from JoAnne Wilder/HeadHeritage Hello... RITE 2 is only available through Head Heritage from 1 June for £12.99 inc. P&P (outside UK please add £1.50). Please note that we have moved: our new address is Head Heritage Ltd., PO Box 1140, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 8XQ. Cheques should now be made payable to Head Heritage Ltd. We can now accept Switch, Delta, Visa and Mastercard! "Phone or fax your credit card orders to 01672- 539454 or send us your details. Our brand new Kakalogue has details of all our products (including some pretty special limited editions) and is available free with every order or by written request with a SAE. You can e-mail HH or Julian at headheritage@easynet.co.uk and we've just launched a Julian/Head Heritage website at http://www.headheritage.co.uk. Julian has contributed a lot to this and will have a monthly "Address Druidion" page. That's it for now except to say Blessed Be to One &All.

Well, I quite like the 'Followers...' CD, but I think its for fans only. The songs on it are good, but the remixes aren't worth getting excited about. I like Mock Turtle a lot...

m

I haven't been able to sum up the enthusiasm to buy 'Followers' yet. Probably cos £8.99 is the cheapest I've seen it, and the 'Island Masters' sticker on the front makes it a reasonably safe bet for the next HMV/Virgin/Tower 3 for £20 offer.

BTW, can Travis archive off some of the old posts? - the page is taking an age to download, and we've got comments from back in March. Cheers!