Chalkhills Digest Volume 1, Issue 158
Date: Tuesday, 14 May 1991
Chalkhills, Number 158
Tuesday, 14 May 1991
Today's Topics:
Re: Chalkhills #156
(none)
RUSHER's musical observations
john thomases
clanking drums and stranger things
Re: Chalkhills #157
Re: This World Over
Where to find BoFwB
Chalkhills #157
Some modulations in English Settlement
"Call my name on your dream telephone"
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Date: Fri, 10 May 91 14:13:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: Chap Godbey <cg47+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills #156
Somebody asked about "Pink Thing" and what it was in reference to--I was
rather surprised and my wife went into hysterics laughing when we found
out that it's an ode to his private parts--no joke, read it in a phone
interview about the time of "O&L" a while back that was printed in a
local fanzine.
What we really need in this Skylarking diskussion is a transcript of the
Warner Brothers interview disk Andy talked on with Todd that got
released as a promo. Any takers?
Chap Godbey (WACK@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU)
(cg47+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU)
Un! Znqr lbh ybbx!
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Date: Fri, 10 May 91 14:16:03 EDT
From: robertk@lotatg.lotus.com (Robert Krajewski)
From: rhb9805@usl.edu (Bird Rendell H) in Chalkhills #157
I was at the CD shop the other day (looking for the new Elvis Costello --
which won't be released until May 14th) and I got a look at the upcoming
releases list. XTC _Rag and Bone Buffet_ was on the list for mid June
release by a company with the acronym "UNI".
As John Relph pointed out in #157, Geffen is going to release R&BB
domestically -- that explains the marked-down prices on the import
copies. (Now, what about explode together.)
David Geffen's production company and record company were under the
wing of Time/Warner, but not owned by it. As part of a deal,
Mitsubishi bought MCA/Universal, and brought in Geffen to manage it.
(Or at least a large part. See a recent past issue of _Spy_ for
details.) Evidently, MCA has changed the name of its record
distribution arm to UNI, which was also used as the name of one of its
record divisions in the 60s. The division was revived about three
years ago, with acts like Eric B & Rakim and Transvision Vamp, but
it's gone again.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Date: Fri, 10 May 91 13:48:50 PDT
From: Duane.Day@ebay.sun.com (Duane Day)
Subject: RUSHER's musical observations
Some time ago...
RUSHER writes:
>I supposed the producer(s) of `Big Express' caused me
>to be confounded. But I don't know of David Lord's works.
The only other album he produced that I know of is Peter Gabriel's fourth,
sometimes called _Security_ (at least in the U.S.; I don't know how it's
referred to in Japan.) I know he's done at least a few other things, but
I don't remember the titles or artists.
>For example, "Funk Pop A Roll" is played in G-lydian (someone might
>express it as A7th on G). I have never heard tunes written in such
>unstable scale.
I'd think of this as being basically in A mixolydian, with the bass
shifting between G and A. This makes the most sense to me - it makes
the D and E chord in each verse a straight IV V progression, resolving
to I (A, except with the bass going back and forth between G and A.)
Many pieces of modern music make more sense if you don't try to think
of everything happening at the same time as a single chord, simple
or complex, but rather as the sum of several elements each of which
can be described in simpler terms.
This month's issue of _Keyboard_ (Patrick Moraz on the cover) has a
nice column by Dave Stewart (Hatfield & the North, National Health,
Bruford, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, etc.) which discusses
this issue - I think it's referred to as "the naming wars" wherein
you say to-may-toe, I say to-mah-toe, you say G11 no 3 no 5, I say
F major/G bass, etc.
[Obligatory XTC tie-in: Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin do a great
cover of "Roads Girdle the Globe" on _Up From the Dark_. Their
most recent album, _The Big Idea_, contains several excellent originals
as well as great covers of Billy Bragg ("Levi Stubbs' Tears") and
The Blue Nile ("Heatwave"). Both albums are unique and wonderful,
both on Ryko, at least in the U.S.]
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: Bailey@polisci.sscnet.ucla.edu Subject: john thomases Date: Fri, 10 May 91 14:19:00 PDT May I be the first to confess that I took my list of synonyms for John Thomas [et al] from Monty Python's `Not the Noel Coward Song' [or, `Isn't It Awfully Nice to Have a Penis?'] in _The Meaning of Life_. Never let it be said that I am an original thinker.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: Dances With Voles <jondr@sco.com> Subject: clanking drums and stranger things Organization: Mangled Bloody Carcass Of Sound Productions Date: Fri, 10 May 91 11:39:57 PDT james@nrc.com (James McGowan): >I've always thought the drums on that song were a dead ringo for the >Fab Four drum sound. The snare drum has that "toonk" sound, ya know? >Note also how the song ends in 3/4, just like "We Can Work It Out." >Clever lad, that Todd, Faithful as ever. I completely agree. Of course, they have been pushing the Fab 4 connection since The Dukes came on the scene, so I don't know how much of this we can attribute to Todd's Faith. And the drums of Mayor Of Simpleton also clank. ------- rhb9805@usl.edu (Bird Rendell H): >_Skylarking_ sound quality -- sounds pitiful in headphones, easily >the worst sounding CD in my XTC catalog. Sonics are over-bright, bass >is non-existant. I think maybe a survey is required to settle this. I've listened to my disc several times since this debate has started. I've got a portable CD player at work with a pretty good set of Koss porta-pro headphones. I have no problem hearing the bass, and that's even without the XBS switched in. The highs are not bad enough to make me wince, like some of the ones on my Severed Heads "City Slab Horror" CD. Maybe there was more than one pressing? >_Big Express_ -- I have to agree with 'Jones Rutledge', not one >of the better XTC CDs. Quite a few of the songs wear thin easily. >It is strange to note that "Train Running Low on Soul Coal" >is one of my favortie XTC songs of all time (...maybe because I, too, >am nearing 30, and 'doing what I'm told'...) HERETIC! Burn in the everlasting fires of hell for your blasphemy. It seems to me that The Big Express is a love-it-or-hate-it album. I haven't seen too many "well, it's just OK" kind of posts on it. -- jon drukman jondr@sco.com always note the sequencer: sco docland wage slave uunet!sco!jondr this will never let us down
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 11 May 91 01:19:36 EDT From: Jones Rutledge <76516.430@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: Chalkhills #157 re: Chalkhills #157 Big Express - The songs soul coul this world over reign of blows and smalltown. I doubt my dislike was as dependant on the quality of the songs as much as the fact my neighbors (who came to XTC from a progressive rock background (while I came from more of a punk background) would play those particular songs over ad infinitum, and I am the type that has often to space a least a year between replays of a album after my initial exposure if I wish to enjoy it all in the future. Soul Coal in particular was a particular favorite of theirs during times of their personal duress from exams, relationships etc. Also I tend to favor interpersonal themes to global sociopolitic ones at times (although the themes can be mixed quite well.) Another thing that makes me not reach for Big Express that often is the fact that it was about the only XTC cd my local record haunt had in stock for the longest time. If I were a bit anxious around time of a new xtc release, I always had that wagon wheel staring me in the face. What I meant was... dept: I could see someone mistaking Black sea with Big Express as far as cover art themes has that industrial revolution flavor. I misplaced Senses Working Overtime proper place due to its video being a fixture at a local club regardless of what my Xtc platter du jour was, and becuse I'm plain stoopid. Pink Thing on Retrospect - people who didn't know of Partridges Baby through reading interviews would probably would not have thought of anything other than a phallus or a damn fine place for one rather than the consequences of such a union. Jones Rutledge 76516.430@@compuserve.com
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Subject: Re: This World Over Organization: Department of Chemistry, Tokyo Institute of Technology, JAPAN Date: Sun, 12 May 91 18:19:13 +0900 From: Yuji `RUSHER' Chikahiro <rusher@tansei.cc.u-tokyo.ac.jp> Thank you folks for comments on "This World Over". John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com> wrote: > As you dry odd numbered limbs? I had misunderstood this meaning, because I read translated lyrics in a CD which written as "you dry limbs written strange number. Last week my friend had me notice the lyrics means deformed twins. p.s. I must correct myself ; I wrote about "Funk Pop A Roll" ; > Also I would like to point out wonderful counterpoint in this tune, > Eflat -5 add9. I have no courage enough to use such un-harmonic ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is incorrect. It should be Eb7 -5. excuse me. > voicing in the process(Fortschreitung). - RUSHER <ychikahi@cc.titech.ac.jp>
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: mrp@polari (Mad Rabbit Productions) Date: Sun, 12 May 91 09:41:51 PDT Subject: Where to find BoFwB Many thanks to jondr@sco.com and Mark.C.Kirk@physics.umass.edu for the "Bags of Fun with Buster" information. Anyone know where a copy might be found? (I'm presuming it's never been released in the US, so if you know of a UK source, please provide a mailing address) Chris
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 13 May 91 17:12:48 BST From: toby <toby@computer-science.manchester.ac.uk> Subject: Chalkhills #157 > The CD _Lyrics by Ernest Noyes Brookings Vol. II_ Who, what, when or where is Ernest Noyes Brookings? Toby
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Subject: Some modulations in English Settlement Organization: Department of Chemistry, Tokyo Institute of Technology, JAPAN Date: Tue, 14 May 91 14:52:35 +0900 From: Yuji `RUSHER' Chikahiro <ychikahi@cc.titech.ac.jp> I found a little obvious customary courses of chords or modulations in some tunes of _English Settlement_...... XTC often plays or sings on lydian scale for major-chord, instead of normal ionian scale. XTC's modulations show me that XTC belongs to pops actually. However, except for several classical modulations, their modulations seems to close to jazzy kinds of so-called : `minor-3 degree up or down' (Across This Antheap ;E->G etc.), `minor-2 degree up' (All You Pretty Girls ;Bb->B etc.), `major-3 degree down' (Garden Of Earthly Delights ;D->Bb etc.) `add-4 degree up'---above are normal also in pop music---, and `major-3 degree up' (Merely A Man ;E->Ab etc.) While "Sences Working Overtime" seems to be ordinally kinds of pops, it includes some smart course of chords. Basic pattern of this song begins in key=G#minor, is modulated to Emajor in the bridges through (A, G/A, B, A/B,). After second bridge part, you listen to variety chords, and you might find last bridge is in key=Fmajor. Modulation from Emaj to Fmaj is `minor-2 degree up'. "Melt The Guns" begins with F7, is immediately modulated into Dmajor, goes through F#major, and returns to F7 by means of Bmaj7(lydian). Modulation Dmaj to F#maj is `major-3 degree up' of seldom kinds. Another case in "It's Nearly To Africa" is classically simple, A7 -> Emaj(Em). But at the same time, I comprehend this tune doesn't be played in diatonic chords. I say "Snowman" is remarkable tune. It begins with piano playing Bb-diminish scale, goes forward into Bb add9th +11th C#maj7 -9th, and starts main theme, key=Amaj. I am impressed deeply with this introduction/coda course. If you would listen to Jazz, you easily find there are a lot of musicians who use unharmonic chord harmonically. On the contrary, I suppose XTC were good at using harmonic chord or available notes unharmonically. It is very interesting. - RUSHER <ychikahi@cc.titech.ac.jp>
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 14 May 91 19:36:14 PDT From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com> Subject: "Call my name on your dream telephone" Hello folks, I had a dream the other night. A benefit was being staged and a band was playing on a barge floating in a lake. Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory were both in this band. The barge broke free and started to float untethered around the lake. It seemed dangerous. The barge floated near one end of the lake and it was discovered that there was a dam across that end of the lake, a dam which nobody knew about. In fact the dam was actually two very large metal doors, painted red, each perhaps forty feet tall and fifty feet wide. The doors were bolted shut, of course, and had a set of rungs welded over the seam where they met. The doors kept the water from flooding a small valley nestled in the rolling hills at that end of the lake. There were trees on the hills and dry brush lay as if it had been undisturbed for years. And in fact it had. Andy climbed down, very excited. He found lots of spent ammunition, both shells and slugs, as if a battle had occurred there long ago. Many other odd small objects lay strewn around, partially hidden in the dirt. I climbed down (how did I get there?) and noticed a small gold object lying on the edge of a small mound. I picked it up and examined it. It was very delicate, shaped almost like an old-fashioned key, and it had a small gold chain or wire attached. Then the scene changed. I was looking at a magazine. It contained the latest gossip about which stars were donating their time to charity appearances. A two page spread contained a collage of various pictures from recent charity events. There was a picture of Colin Moulding and Larry Hagman standing on a grassy field. The picture was taken from a high angle, as if from the second story of a building (that's the first story for you non-Yanks). The picture was cropped, but you could see a number of variously coloured electric guitars and basses lying nearby. There was also a picture of Andy or Dave, but then... I woke up. XTC on the brain! What's happening to me? -- John
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] For all administrative issues, such as change of address, withdrawal from the list, fan club addresses, discography requests (last update 12 May), back issues, etc., send a message to the following address: <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> All views expressed in Chalkhills are those of the individual contributors only.
Go back to Volume 1.
15 May 1991 / Feedback