On Tuesday, October 15, 2002 at 9:11:38 PM UTC+1, A to the L wrote:   
   > On Tue, 15 Oct 2002 15:47:58 +0000 (UTC), logubeli@lycos.com (lb)   
   > said:   
   >   
   > wow - you wrote all this for one of the wackest songs I've ever   
   > heard...   
   >   
   > I pity your poor fingers...   
   >   
   > PEACH   
   >   
   > A to the L   
   >   
   > >Spooks is probably the band held in highest regard by hip-hop fans but   
   > >with the lowest recognition factor among the general population.   
   > >"Karma what?" "Spooks who?" "Well, I've heard of M&M, and Ice Cube,   
   > >and LLCoolJ!"   
   > >   
   > >Karma Hotel is a track on their S.I.O.S.O.S CD, not as well know as   
   > >Things I've Seen, the all time top download at rapstation.com.   
   > >Laurence Fishburne opened his drug double cross drama, "Once in the   
   > >Life," with it's intro of spacey vocals followed by the haunting and   
   > >melodic chorus, "Won't believe the things I've seen, far beyond your   
   > >wildest dreams."  What's the lesser-known Karma Hotel about and how   
   > >does it compare.   
   > >   
   > >If not structurally a twin brother, it's at least a close cousin.  A   
   > >vocal intro is followed by the entry of bass and drums to provide a   
   > >beat of metronomic regularity.  The sequence of three male rapped   
   > >verses alternates with female sung choruses until the last verse,   
   > >where Ming Xia is given a rare opportunity to beguile us with her   
   > >voice from the front of the stage.   
   > >   
   > >Each verse relates a separate vignette; the playing of a game of   
   > >Russian Roulette, a Dorian Grey like gambling episode, and a soul sale   
   > >to the devil by way of sex.  These tight stories are clearly portrayed   
   > >in 25 or so lines.   
   > >   
   > >A cloyed seeker of thrill and zest finds a barrel at his dome.   
   > >"Fourth time I clicked and popped BOOM!  Money shot!"  You can only   
   > >pull the trigger so many times.   
   > >   
   > >Next, we "peep the gambling scene," where a great winning streak   
   > >causes "green growing like chia pets."  "Fans flock" to this intense   
   > >episode, but rapture transforms to stiff, wooden unreality for player   
   > >and crowd alike.  "Years have passed in one night," and he winds up an   
   > >old man with cash who "never lived life."   
   > >   
   > >The last verse warrants the most attention.  Students of the Book of   
   > >Revelations understand the disguised symbolism in "triple nines on   
   > >nails danglin' off the door."  "Macristo," the name a satanic   
   > >variation of "Christ," makes an overt play for "Eve" with an offer of   
   > >the apples equivalence.   
   > >   
   > >Succinctly and with poetic facility, the mechanics of the transaction   
   > >is recounted.  "Transform lust to thrust" relays intention becoming   
   > >the act.  Being won over:  "ooh, invitation accepted, too good to   
   > >reject it.  So I join in unprotected" also graces the listener with a   
   > >triple rhyme.  Four more in three lines adorn an interchange showing a   
   > >lack of self-regard, "expected one life to live don't respect it."   
   > >"Respect what?"  "Ooh you poor child you've been neglected."  Eve   
   > >delineates the unusual twist to the transaction, "Why do I feel so   
   > >cold?  It's like each time I climax you take a piece of my soul."   
   > >Four bars of lively jazz guitar melody leads out the song.   
   > >   
   > >The first verse allegorizes a bold and dangerous venture; more   
   > >specifically, perhaps, the gamble on drug bliss.  More sober persons   
   > >found his body the next day "with a needle stickin' out of" his arm.   
   > >Also implied is the phantasmic loss of insight that drugs cause; the   
   > >perceived excitement, pleasure and energy of a poison induced   
   > >delusion.   
   > >   
   > >The casino episode can paradoxically depict a grindstone life that   
   > >isn't lived or an intense desire for an objective whose attainment   
   > >reveals the absence of it's worth.   
   > >   
   > >The title term karma, while encountered frequently, often is used   
   > >poorly.  It's a Sanskrit word that comes to us from the Hindu   
   > >religion; literally it's a deed or an act.  It describes the concept   
   > >that present time thoughts and actions have consequences in the   
   > >future.  And not just later in the day after lunch, often pretty far   
   > >into the future, such as after one dies and is reborn!  This and other   
   > >eastern terms often are used to call up deep significance.   
   > >   
   > >But the term really isn't used well.  Even when considering only the   
   > >time frame, verses one and three pass in an hour.  While karma might   
   > >be seen to manifest thus as a result of thoughts and actions in the   
   > >past, nothing of this sort was revealed to the listener.  Verse two   
   > >appears to take place over most of an adult lifetime and it's more   
   > >realistic to consider a decision to completely throw in with a   
   > >gambling plan could produce this type of adverse outcome.   
   > >   
   > >Overall, the lyrics are sharp and colloquially lively, fit for verse   
   > >with their clear descriptions and incidents of real life   
   > >believability.  An apparent description in verse three of erotic   
   > >statuary; "the way they're entwined so good it's a crime."  Many   
   > >mid-sentence rhymes are added gifts to the listener as are the choice   
   > >of expressive verbs.  Some of the nice word play:  "Peep the drama   
   > >another sad story at the karma," "rambled the fiends," mannequin   
   > >matched with panickin' and "beat (not meet) the friends and family."   
   > >   
   > >The presentation of singing and speaking is excellent, as it was in   
   > >"Things I've Seen."  There's no amateurish gallop of sing song iambs   
   > >but the professionally poetic ending of sentences and lines in   
   > >different places.  There's no rushing or dragging, no explosive over   
   > >emphasis or insufficient projection.  There's an authenticity in   
   > >presentation such as a light touch on the consonant that ends the   
   > >syllable, leaving the listener with more easy-on-the-ear vowel sounds.   
   > >   
   > >But even with these attributes and verses that relate complete   
   > >stories, this song doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with "Things."   
   > >The lyrics lack the power and poetic inspiration and the choral   
   > >melody, while pleasant enough, isn't as commendable and in fact,   
   > >sounds derivative.  There's nothing to compare to the formers summary   
   > >line, "I've seen and experienced things that take the average to the   
   > >edge and swan dive to death."  They even spin a little out of control   
   > >in the second verse, one eye open, watchin' his gat, back, stack, etc.   
   > >   
   > >"Karma Hotel" is a good song that should keep the band in the eye of   
   > >their fans and earn them some downloads and sales, but it's not of the   
   > >quality to catapult it to the forefront.  Don't expect to see it as a   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)