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eight artists three years one label zero recognition...no longer |
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WHAT'S NU 28
November 2008 new website mission objective As
of 2007, Numa Records: The Formative Years has switched gears and become a
"Special Projects" site and information archive. Numa TFY is still the most comprehensive
site on the Internet chronicling the history of the Numa artists; I will
staunchly defend that claim until I'm convinced otherwise. However, the emphasis of the site
will be to provide information, song samples and image resources, instead of
remix projects and more bonus features. new site features With
the reorganization came the necessity and the pleasure of including several
new features, one of which you're reading right now: the WHAT'S
NU page. With each
periodic update, visitors may detour to this separate page for an overview of
changes and announcements, and then return to the homepage to navigate the
site. I'm intentionally keeping
the WHAT'S NU page simple and
utilitarian: lean on graphics and gimmicks. turning the wheel forward When
I began this project, I was confident that it would eventually reach a point
when updates would slow down and I would maintain the site primarily as more
facts came to light or more information about the artists became available. I am delighted that some of these
artist have actually been inspired by the site and have been kind enough to
keep in touch with me over the years with news about their ventures and
creativity. Also, the
convenience of MySpace has now given several of the artists their own voice
to showcase careers and interests.
Naturally, I have kept friendships and networks with them. My
own success story, however, has also left its impact on this website. In, in April 2006, I was hired into a
tenure track position for a professorship at a local college, and my
priorities inevitably changed. I
had been interviewing for a permanent position as an English professor for
fifteen years before this opportunity finally availed itself, and although I
received immense satisfaction from working on the Numa Records website, I had
to devote less attention to its otherwise labor-intensive writing, media and
graphical content. Nevertheless,
I am still currently organizing several projects that will one day come to
light on this site. These are
projects that include more rare material from the artists, interviews, and
even another mystery artist that recorded material for Numa single, but never
signed onto the roster for a full recording contract. Also
in 2006, I became significantly involved in another pursuit of interest to
me: paranormal investigating and
debunking. I have since become
one of a dedicated group of skeptically demanding enquirers who rigorously
follow the scientific method and assist those who enlist our aid. I belong to several groups in the
Southern California area with membership in TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal
Society); for one of these, I serve as a Director and Board Member. I am also a TAPS West consultant. This has been a fascinating, creative
and innovative period of discovery for me, and it has continued to avail me
of the opportunity to write articles and other nonfiction with the same zeal
I have demonstrated on the pages of this website. Links to these sites can be found from my MySpace. In
May of 2007, my father passed away.
This, of course, has shattered me in many ways I can't express without
seeming to trivialize the matter, but I trust many of you can empathize with
these sentiments. Although my
father lived to see me achieve my dream of being hired as a full-time
professor, he missed the opportunity to watch my long-time partner and me
marry in July of 2008, as well as move into our first house that same month. My
synopsis of these events will, I hope, offer some explanation about why this
website has fundamentally changed its character and its pace, without
changing its qualities. It's my
continued wish to foster a broader community of researchers in the Numan
camp, now that Gary Numan's contributions not only have sparked intense
interest for twentieth century music historians, but also have ignited a new
following with his excellent newer releases. other updates John Webb: microsite improvements plus new discography (updated 28 November 2008) The John Webb microsite is the next to undergo a perfunctory Javascript makeover and now has an additional feature: a comprehensive discography and image library for all of the primary and secondary works that credit Webb. In addition to music writing credit, Webb's contributions (mainly to his brother's releases) as musician and technician are also fully credited. The result is a lot bigger CV than meets the eye. Lee Munro: Phil Free Image Discography (updated 16 November 2008) It's a little Ritzi, but it's mostly just Crass: a newly added, comprehensive image discography of Phil Free's work from the early 1970s to present, including side projects such as Donna and the Kebabs, illustrates a short biography about this influential guitarist, writer and producer. Caroline Munro and Lee Munro: general microsite upgrades (updated 10 November 2008) I spent some time this past week making badly needed improvements to all the features of the Caroline Munro and Lee Munro microsites--adding new images, fixing links, and, in the case of the Hammer Scream Queen, herself, updating the filmography library. I plan to make similar upgrades to other microsites in the coming months. Stay tuned, y'all. Fo'shizzle. [groan] Caroline Munro: Cover Art (updated 02 November 2008) In
the continuing theme of improvements to the outdated html, I've created a
more visually appealing microsite for the Caroline Munro sleeve artwork for
music Lp's and movie soundtracks in which she was featured. A few scans of the rarer albums have
now been obtained, and I'm that much closer to making this site feature
completely comprehensive. Larry Loeber: all
pages (updated 31 October 2008) I've
begun much needed maintenance on the outdated html of the Numa Records pages,
starting with NUM 2, Larry Loeber.
All pages pertaining to Loeber's music and career have been updated in
Javascript and are infinitely more browser-friendly. Minor updates have also been made to
the informational content of the pages, and broken links to music samples
have been repaired. Put your
favorite headphones back on and get comfortable. homepage: artwork (updated 30 October 2008) Artist
portraits and other artwork used as portals to the various lobbies of the
Numa Records website have been updated with a fresh coat of imagery. Not a big deal, but a step in the
right direction toward overhauling the site into an archival resource. bonus: Who's Zoomin' Who? (updated 25 October
2008) Finally,
with more information available about Hugh Nicholson and Zuma Records, I have
edited and revised the Bonus Feature article about "Love, You Made a
Fool Of Me." Song samples and scans are still accessible, but a
few conspiracy theories about the use of the Numa Records stare-down insignia
had to be cautiously amended.
Dead links to the pages of the now-defunct website, The Record Label,
have also been removed. bonus: Images:
A Recorded Autobiography (updated 25 October 2008) I've
recently made some minor updates to a project that I still consider my magnum
opus, though it may be
hubris to say that. It took
about a year to compile, transcribe, edit, index, and cue the complete eleven
volume Images: A Recorded Autobiography. I've used these
albums over the years as a steady compass for research, quotations, facts and
inspiration for the Numa Records TFY project, and I felt it would have been a
grave oversight on my part not to have shared this work with others who could
benefit from this resource.
Besides compiling Peter Gilbert's interviews with Gary Numan into a
360 page written transcript and creating a meticulous cuing index for each of
the questions, I've created several useful indexes: all music excerpts included in the Images series have been time-indexed and
alphabetically listed; another index references band names either mentioned
or implied by Numan during his interviews. A comprehensive Subject Index guides
the Numan researcher to general topics of interest that have repeat mention
throughout the Images series. However, the sweat equity of the
project is found in the Names and Select Topics Index, possessing every
reference to every proper name, title, and location mentioned in the eleven
volumes of Images. It has become the kind of meticulously
organized and thoroughgoing reference source that I always dreamed I would
find on the shelves of a library but, of course, I never did. So, I created it myself. Thanks
to Barry Sturdy and Lewis Llewellyn's excellent website, NU REFERENCE, for finally availing me of the scans for Images
7 and 8; the artwork for the Images project is, at long last, complete and available on the
Download page of the site.. The
entire project now has a home on its own website, where researchers have the
choice to use a hyperlinked index to jump directly to specific points in the
transcript, or to download the transcript in a variety of options. Users may also view or download
sleeve and cover artwork, as well as catalogue and label details. NOTE:
No audio files have been included; this is strictly a written
document. A link to the
project is currently found in the BONUS FEATURES of the site;
however, all are welcome to go directly to the site, IMAGES: A
RECORDED AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Comments are always welcome. |
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please read This
website is not affiliated directly with NuWorld,
Gary Numan, Numa Records, Beggars Banquet, Mortal Records,
Numan Music Ltd., or any other official agency. The opinions expressed on these pages by way of the
author's commentary belong solely to him and are not necessarily held by the
artists, unless otherwise specified. I warmly encourage contributions of
information, images, media and even original writing relevant to any of the
artists discussed here, but compensation can be offered only in the form of
full and honest credit, loads of good will, and a courtesy link to the
website or webpage of your choice. Numa Records: The Formative Years is also the only known location on the
internet with lyrics to songs written by the artists featured here.
Though many of the lyrics have been verified for accuracy already, some have
not. Listen to the songs and, if you question the accuracy of the
lyrics as they appear here, contact me with your suggested corrections. Furthermore,
Numa Records TFY is not a commercial website and neither accepts payment for
any information provided nor sells or duplicates any of the music that
appears on these pages. I am
sympathetic to those who have had tremendous difficulty finding some of the
rarer recordings by the eight artists on this site, but in the greatest
respect to those artists, most of whom have made few to no royalties on the
sale of their music, I am adamant about not copying, trading or otherwise
pirating any of their music. I
hope all will understand why I am so obstinate about this. And
to those artists, musicians and technicians who contributed to these Numa Records
releases, I offer a standing invitation to contact me with further details
about yourselves, your work, your involvement in Numa Records, or anything
else you would like to share, correct, or announce by way of this site.
Be well. © 2004 - 2009 Karl J.
Sherlock |