Hey, we’re back!

What took so long? Well, in the weeks prior to the big server crash, the Solsbury Hill Homepage Committee was in the midst of an upheaval. Key members of writing staff were getting burned out after nine years of updates, and after much deliberation, management decided to do a complete company reorganization. This restructuring resulted in a mass exodus of staff after the first round of layoffs. In the middle of this crisis, the site got deleted by accident by our site host. We managed to make a recovery, but it lead to an even higher turnover of the remaining staff.

There were other hindrances as well. Our web host went out of business disrupting things a second time. Then, some flunky accidentally ran all of the Hill’s archived material though a gabrielizer which *really* slowed things down.

We’re not even going to talk about the failed X-Entertainment/Solsbury Hill/Margaritaville merger.

So, we decided to focus on the forums whilst coming up with a solution to our website woes. With the massive help of Ralf aka Orange Leader, we got back on track.

We finally decided to make a key change in the format of the Solsbury Miscellany.

Are you ready for it? [drumroll]

We’re allowing our writers to have bylines.

Shocking, isn’t it?

We also decided to turn the Miscellany into a group blog, which should result in more frequent and more varied posts. As new staffer gabrielized has pointed out to us, operating a blog is risky business that could get us all arrested, but we’re willing to take that risk for the benefit of you, the home viewer.

Please be patient as we get accustomed to this new format. We’re hoping that updates will more frequent and if you have any thoughts or comments on the Hill, please contact us via e-mail or the solsburyhill.org forum.

More and more articles are popping up in the news mentioning Peter Gabriel. No, they’re not ABOUT Peter Gabriel, but they MENTION Peter Gabriel. Any ‘news’ is good news, and I wanted to give you a heads up about who is mentioning our favorite ZorbMeister….in just ONE week!

"Scott Persson Joins McHale Barone" (NY Post Magazine) – Apparently Scott was a drummer for the band Edge Park, "a band mentored by Peter Gabriel.."
http://www.postmagazine.com/post/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=142458

"Erasure: A Problem of Image" (Belfast Telegraph) – In this article about the band Erasure, it is mentioned that on their cover album, "their sense of fun was so palpable that their incongrouous cover of Peter Gabriel’s "Solsbury Hil" reached the Top 10, better than anything from the bands last three efforts."
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/music/story.jsp?story=600044

"Momix: A leap of mind, communal body (The Daily Yomiuri) – the article describes how Momix uses Gabriel’s "The Passion" in their most recent entertainment.
http://www.momix.jp/

"Myst IV: Revelation Interview with Composer/Producer Jack Wall" (Music 4 Games ) – Surprising to me was this article only mentions Peter Gabriel’s "So"’s producer, in a sideways reference, not mentioning that Peter also provided music.
http://www.music4games.net/f_jackwall_myst4_revelation.html

"Movie review: In Good Company **** This comedy has brains – and teeth" (Toledo Blade) – In this movie review, Christopher Borrelli states, "In Good Company is definitely a fantasy – the kind where upstarts are never as talented as curmudgeons who have been at a job 25 years, and your happiness is scored by Peter Gabriel."
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050114/ART09/501140305

I thought my happiness WAS scored by Peter Gabriel. (Must check reality quotient later).

Same movie, different review – "’In Good Company’ misses by taking the easy way out" (Tennessee Democrat) – "And I did enjoy the music in "In Good Company," although even it falls victim to the same easiest-way-out solutions as the script: The Hollywoodized happy ending is accompanied by Peter Gabriel’s "Solsbury Hill," the song millions of movies have concluded with when they were looking for an upbeat way to wrap things up but weren’t sure how to do it. "
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/entertainment/10636394.htm

Now where have we heard that before? Oh yes. How many other movies used Solsbury Hill either in their trailers or in their soundtracks in 2004 alone? Never mind, a rant for a different day.

I guess, in the long run, this means that maybe a tour every 12 years can bring your name and reputation back to the top of the pool…. Or maybe we won’t have to wait that long next time!!

-gabrielized