BOC: HF and a bizarre coincidence [fwd by moderator]

[Ben Cohen]

Nick English is having some email configuration problems and asked me to
forward the following to the list while he gets it straightened out.
   YnSSHM,
   Ben

>First of all, bravo to BOC for Heaven Forbid! Worth the wait? I think
>so. In fact, I think it stands tall compared with BOC's overall body
>of work.
>
>See You In Black kicks ass! I'm a bit saddened that some people have
>compared it to thrash metal. I don't see that at all. Then again, I've
>been trying to convince people for years that Motorhead isn't thrash
>either, so what the heck. As for the lyrics, I actually think they're
>really cool. Even before the release, when I'd only heard the tune
>live, and could only understand the first two lines, I thought it was
>neat...very indicative of BOC's droll sense of humor.
>
>Harvest Moon is the most Cult-ish tune on the disc, which stands to
>reason, since it's completely Buck's. While I don't hate Shirley's
>lyrics as much as some people on this list, I agree that they're a bit
>unsophisticated and unimaginitive. They leave little room for
>interpretation. Buck's HM lyrics are much more atmospheric and
>mysterious. "A change in the weather / I feel some evil here". Very
>cool. By the end of the song, you don't know exactly what happened,
>but you know it wasn't right. Textbook Cult!
>
>I guess the consensus is that Damaged is a new BOC classic. I agree!
>JAMMIN'! Especially Allen's keyboards, which -- as I think John said
>-- are way too underused. At least they covered his "In Thee". It
>would have been a shame for a guy who really is such an important part
>of this band to not get a single writing credit.
>
>Back in 1992, I finally realized my dream of seeing BOC live. It was a
>show at Cornell University in Ithaca, and I had to suffer the
>indignity of having my favorite band open up for Fishbone and the
>Violent Femmes (On the plus side, at least I got to see the Cult,
>without having to sit through the others!). At that show, the band
>played a tune called "Still Burnin'", and announced it was from their
>upcoming album Harvest Moon. We know all too well the ups and downs
>that have occurred since then. But it's all been worth it. We're
>definitely in an 'up' period right now. I implore everyone who gets to
>see BOC live in the coming year -- please let these guys know how much
>we LOVE THIS ALBUM! Even if you hate it...LIE! Maybe our positive
>response will help get them back into the studio a lot quicker next
>time!
>
>As for the bizarre coincidence...here goes. As you know, Harvest Moon
>is about a sleepy rural town where a young girl disappears. Someone
>posted recently that Buck said he took the name Bobrow from a family
>in Ithaca. At the time of Harvest Moon's release, I was reading a
>novel called 'The Church of Dead Girls' by Stephen Dobyns. What is the
>book about? It's about a sleepy, rural town in Upstate New York where
>one young girl, then others, disappear. It contains several references
>to Ithaca, Norwich, Binghamton, Cortland, Syracuse, etc. It's a great
>book and although I doubt there's any true connection, it very much
>puts one in mind of Harvest Moon...to the point where you could almost
>believe one was based on the other. If you like reading fiction, I
>recommend it highly.
>
>--  Nick English