Chalkhills, Number 133

               Wednesday, 20 February 1991
Today's Topics:
              _XTC - The Comeback_, t-shirt
                   Re: Chalkhills #132
                        Residents
                      XTC on MTV???
                      child-oriented
                     Towers of London
        Look Look, Big Night Music, and a request

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Date: Wed, 13 Feb 91 22:20:46 PST
From: 6600kevc%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu (Kevin Carhart)
Subject: _XTC - The Comeback_, t-shirt

Andre de Koning writes:
>list of producers' names... during the making of _XTC - The Comeback_...

I would be real happy if Thomas Dolby were chosen as producer for an XTC
album.. he produced _Jordan - The Comeback_ by Prefab Sprout, an excellent
album by another excellent band.

I found a skylarking t-shirt at Wild Planet in Ventura, CA.  I am quite
utterly thrilled.  I feel like my life has been leading up to the day
when I can walk down the path and think " Look at me!  Take in my
influence!" :)

That reference at the top was a paraphrased fake. :)

Do you think there'll be a single released fairly soon,anyone?

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From: dhgpa!adkoning@hvlpb.att.com
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 12:44 MET
Subject: Re: Chalkhills #132

John M. Relph <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> typed it in for us:
> The fifth and last part of a recording history of XTC found in the
> November 1990 issue of the U.K. magazine _Record Collector_, by Gary
> Ramon:

Thanks John, for typing in all those articles.
I don't know how much response you get, but it's very much appreciated!!

Andre de Koning

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Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 12:23:26 EST
From: David W. Millians <millia@athena.cs.uga.edu>
Subject: Residents

Yes folks, that missing line in my message of CH#132 was in reference to the
Residents, who I know some you out there are at least peripherally aware of.
Query still stands: does anybody have any R. & XTC writtne news or news more
advanced than that given in Andy's "Contrast" interview?
Thanks- yourz in Residents & XTC deification,
David W. Millians    millia@athena.cs.uga.edu
University of Georgia, Athens GA USA.
"What exactly is UNIX, Mr. IFF?" "It is a P2C2E, thief Haroun, on a M2C2D."
(Apologies to Salman Rushdie)  I guess all opinions are mine and only mine.

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From: William H Stoner III <bilbo@cis.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: XTC on MTV???
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 91 14:15:51 EST

Hullo,

The following is a quote from the last part of the "Record Collector"
article.

    "We also did a live acoustic set for MTV in front of an
    audience which worried Andy a bit but he got through it.
    We're gradually getting him used to audiences again!"

Does anyone have this/or has anyone seen it!!!????  MTV strikes again
they record one the most talented pop bands in history and then promptly
throw it on the pile of old musty tapes.  Was this really MTV-Europe?
In the context of the article you'd think it was MTV-USA...
Yet another great musical moment lost to the archives :-( :-( :-(

bilbo

--
"Have you got the master race the bigot's son	|  William H. Stoner III
 who like his daddy's full of fear. Not so much |  Systems Operator OSU CIS
 a son more of a stormtrooper to burn the books |  bilbo@cis.ohio-state.edu
 when dad's not here"  XTC - "Happy Families"   |

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Date: Fri, 15 Feb 91 17:20:09 PST
From: 6600kevc%ucsbuxa@hub.ucsb.edu (Kevin Carhart)
Subject: child-oriented

Stewarte@sco.com, back around #114, said:

something like >Oranges and Lemons a child-oriented album, with Chalkhills
               >&Children, Hold Me My Daddy, Pink Thing
                                             ^^^^^^^^^^

phew, I sure am glad to know that's a CHILD-oriented song.  I thought
they were doing another subtlety-free "My Weapon"!

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Date: Mon, 18 Feb 91 11:16:47 -0800
From: mcb@presto.ig.com (Michael C. Berch)
Subject: Towers of London

In Chalkhills #130 John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com> writes:

	William H Stoner III <bilbo@cis.ohio-state.edu> posts:
	>Does anyone know what the story is behind "Towers of London"
	>Is it that something happened during construction (ie. lots of death)
	>or is it, as I suspect, that the song is just a comment on
	>colonialism in general?

	I prefer the latter explanation.  However, it definitely has direct
	references to the Irish question.  I can't say that I understand what
	the reference means:

	    Rain is the tears of the never never navvies who cry
	    For the bridge that doesn't go
	    In the direction of Dublin

	Perhaps it is a cynical look at those who think that the Irish
	Republic should still be part of the United Kingdom.

My reading is that it refers to the homesickness of Irish laborers who
came to London, by the thousands, to work on big construction
projects.  The workers were trying to escape the desperate poverty of
Ireland and earn enough to send money back to their families.
But when they got to London, besides being discriminated against and
working in unpleasant and dangerous conditions,  they were often unable
to make enough to save up for a return trip to Ireland -- hence,
"...the bridge that doesn't go/In the direction of Dublin."  I think there
are a number of Irish folk songs that make reference to this era; perhaps
someone can mention a few specifics.

--
Michael C. Berch
mcb@presto.ig.com / uunet!presto.ig.com!mcb / ames!bionet!mcb

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Date: Wed, 20 Feb 91 08:45:42 CST
From: oconnor!siouxsie!jtl@oddjob.uchicago.edu (Joe Lynn)
Subject: Look Look, Big Night Music, and a request

XTC and Moody Blues fan Kevin Carhart sez:

> I bought the videotape "Studiosongs 1-11" tonight.  Well worth it!
> The older ones are quite strange..does Andy ever drum, say on "This
> is Pop"?  I am confused as to who is who, though I was under the
> impression that they were easy to figure out.  Dave Gregory looks a bit
> like A. Whitney Brown.  It was fun to see the stage setup, complete
> with White Horse, for "Senses Working Overtime."  The visual style of
> "All of a Sudden" was quite interesting.

["Studiosongs 1-11" is the US release of "Look Look!" (aka "Best Hits").]

The older XTC videos are *great*!  I agree that they're a little
bizarre (esp. "Making Plans For Nigel"), but it's kinda neat to see
the boys having fun, as well as watching Andy's hair go from long-ish
to crew-cut in the same video ("This Is Pop").

Using the videos as a guide, here's who's who:

	Andy - sings lead on "This is Pop", "Statue of Liberty",
		"Are You Receiving Me?", etc.

	Colin - sings lead on "Making Plans", "Life Begins at the Hop,"
		"Generals and Majors", etc.

	Terry - banging the drums, twirling the sticks

	Barry - tickling (or tinkling, you make the call) the ivories

	Dave - Guitar, backing vocals.  Yeah, he does look a little
		like A. Whitney Brown (as opposed to THE Whitney Brown :-)

Of the videos on the tape, my favorite has to be "All of A Sudden."  Every
time I see it, it really gets to me.  (It probably has something to
do with what was going on in my life at the time I first heard the song...)
And the video for "Senses Working Overtime" is pretty cool too.  I like
the "horse" backdrop and emblem on Terry's drum.  ("Senses" was my first
exposure to XTC -- the video was being shown on MTV (?!?!!) back in
1982 (oh, that explains it).)  "Respectable Street" is great, too, especially
with the 'punk' old folks and their Sex Pistols posters.

By the way, the Virgin-Canada NTSC-VHS copy of "Look Look!" is in HiFi Stereo.
(Thanks to Mark LaForge.)

--------------

> someone a while ago was comparing Skylarking to Shriekback's
> Big Night Music.  Is there a correlation?  Would I like BNM
> for the reasons I like Skylarking?

That was me (among others).  I bought _Big Night Music_ after
reading a _Skylarking_ review that compared the two records.
_Big Night Music_ has a vaguely similar feel to _Skylarking_, but is
a little 'jazzier.'  The comparison was drawn to _Skylarking_
in that the XTC record evokes "daytime" images (e.g. "Summer's
Cauldron", "Grass"), where _BMN_ explicity focuses
on "nighttime" images (e.g. "Shining Path", "Exquisite").

Shriekback uses synthesizers a lot more than XTC
does (Barry Andrews founded Shriekback after leaving XTC, so
there's your connection), so if you like the Beatle-esque-guitar-sounds
of XTC, you may not like _BNM_.

A few people have complained that _BNM_ evokes artists like Sade and
Basia (and a couple songs mix well with those artists, actually), but
I really like it:  especially "Exquisite" and "Underwaterboys."

_BNM_ is now a budget CD, so you should be able to find it pretty cheap.

----------------

A while ago, I remember seeing the UK 45 for "Towers of London" (I think),
and the back of the sleeve had a legend that cracked me up-- it
said something like "Terry Chambers Banged it,  Dave Gregory Twanged it,
Colin Moulding Clanged it, and Andy Partridge Sanged it."  Does anyone
have the single and could they tell me what it *really* said?

Joe Lynn

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