[Glitch]

Welcome [back] Jonathan.  Good to have you and thanks for the interesting
read.  Glad you haven't taken the recent quarrels too seriously and are
throwing in your lot with the rest of us.
--Glitch Baby
"when will i be yours...when will i be mine?" --midnight oil

> From: leftjab <leftjab@well.com>
> Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 19:33:10 -0800
> To: powderworks@cs.colorado.edu
> Subject: [Powderworks] (re)introduction
> 
> hello, p'workers of the world,
> 
> please allow me the indulgence of saying hello, which i hardly did when i
> was on the list in late '96-'97 (my only real contribution was that I was a
> branch on the Eye Contact videotape tree, a dubbing project I remember
> well).  My name's Jonathan and I've been a Midnight Oil fan since 1984
> (hello, Jonathan ...)  I've much enjoyed the discussions of all things Oil
> the last few weeks, am used to e-mail list drama and don't worry about it
> much, and expect to stay for good this time.
> 
> ah, '84, when I was sixteen and living in the suburbs of New York City,
> trying not to get sucked into the Reagan-era backwash, and  listening to
> the Clash, U2, and the Alarm, when onto the MTV screen leaped Peter and the
> "Power and the Passion" video, and I wondered who those lunatics were with
> the anti-corporate rhetoric and intense music and vocals.  An amazing
> "People" magazine article  of all things (April 11, '84, I still have it)
> that focused on their politics and it was impossible for me to resist --
> this was the real deal, a band that could play hard and smart, and
> seemingly not compromise their message or ideals.  Heady stuff in a cynical
> world.  After wearing out my first vinyl copy of 10 to 1, and then the
> lucky find of the 12" of "Glitch Baby Glitch" and "Weddingcake Island," I
> was extremely fortunate in Feb. '85 to be able to successfully order the
> entire Oils vinyl catalog imported by a dealer in California, including
> RSITS (not released until August '85 in the U.S.), and all the pre-10 to 1
> albums that also took years to be released in the U.S.  The proverbial
> mother lode, it was amazing to receive a package with MO, PWOP, BN, 10 to 1
> (why not buy the Aussie version too, I love that double fold out) and RSITS
> all at once, having only heard 10 to 1.  My first two live shows were the
> Oils opening for UB40 at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island and the Pier in
> NYC in July '85, and the latter was incredible, the Oils unrelenting in a
> monstrous thunderstorm, which left me so wet that my wallet was soaked
> through.  I'll never forget the rain bouncing off Peter as the band tore
> through "Stand in Line."
> 
> Every new album/EP or tour since then has been a treat, for both the music
> and the message.  it surprised me that "Beds are Burning" was so popular,
> but it kept the Oils somewhat in the public eye in the U.S. through
> ESM.  Breathe and RW got no airplay, but I liked how the music evolved,
> particularly in RW, which showed the Oils willing to stretch and experiment
> to terrific results.  no one sounds quite like them.  Capricornia is a
> return to a more typical Oils sound, and they still have it, it's an album
> that fits like a well worn pair of jeans already.
> 
> meanwhile, I moved to Berkeley, California to go to law school in '89,
> which musically dumped me in the lap of the Grateful Dead, the only band
> that has mattered more to me than the Oils (the "Wharf Rat" on the
> "Deadicated" tribute album was an amazing convergence for me, and if
> there's a tape floating about of the Oils' live version at the San
> Francisco DNA lounge show in Sept. 93, I'd be indebted to the source
> forever).  One positive effect was that I was introduced to the DAT taper
> community, and though I've never smuggled in the mics and deck myself, I
> occasionally can buy a ticket for someone who does and "sponsor" a decent
> audience tape (my own personal DAT taping has been of electronic dance
> music, and I've taped hundreds of hours of DJ sets straight from the mixer
> the past few years).  I've been lazy when it comes to Oils live music, and
> only have a handful of tapes, including one a taper made for me of the 6
> Oct. '96 Fillmore show in San Francisco, other versions of which are fairly
> widespread.  I hope to take part in future trees, hopefully of the KFOG
> live show when it is broadcast sometime in the next couple of weeks.
> 
> as for the law part ... I started practicing energy regulatory law in the
> early '90's, which led to an attorney position at the California Public
> Utilities Commission in the mid-'90's, right before the shit really hit the
> fan with the fallout from the disastrous deregulation.  i've had a front
> row seat for extreme corporate greed and politically-driven responses, and
> it's as ugly up close as it appears from afar.  but at least my job isn't
> boring, and once in a while I'm able to fight the good fight.
> 
> ok, i'll shut up now, and get psyched for tomorrow's KFOG show :)
> 
> Jonathan
> 
> 
> 
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