Chalkhills Digest Volume 1, Issue 304
Date: Monday, 22 November 1993
Chalkhills, Number 304
Monday, 22 November 1993
Today's Topics:
Here I am
Re: Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down
Homo Safari
news flash!
Biography finally available
stupid question
XTC on MTV europe
Biography
XTC
Intro
XTC Book
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: BENTSEN TERJE/2MO <BENTSET@novell.oih.no> Organization: Oslo College of Engineering Date: 18 Nov 93 14:40:24 MET-1 Subject: Here I am I heard about this splendid opportunity to exchange thought of XTC's music and their incredible way of making people unisonous say that this is the best music made ever by using e-mail! As you may have understood, I my self is a huge fan, nearly desperat, of Ecstacy (oh; the band ofcourse...). I first heard them about four years ago, I'm now just turned 20. It was their 'Orange and Lemonds' album that made me come to understand that there is more to life than just food and ordinary commercial music... (perhaps a parallell to This is Pop!); all though I've allready liked U2, R.E.M., and others not by that date Mega-stars. XTC opened a new door into music-land that I definitivly haven't realiesed that existed. Their nurseary rythems with a flow of controlled creativaty and for me new and really mind-bombing/bizzare sounds, that is the urge especially on the start of this album, came over me; and I loved it. By that time I was not into buying records, and the only medium I used was cassettes. But now I became more and more conscious about music delivered to the listener by using a stereo-system. Infact, after hearing Mummur in a store, and beeing told that the album only could be obtained as cd (it was a lie ofcourse); my parents did not have one of those "futuristic music-boxes" (there where no second- hand shops in my town by that time), I nearly got depressed and thought that my days was counted... I got myself a repressing of Mummur (not the best quality, but it worked out), and in time I have bought every bit and piece of their recordes that I have found in my way to Ectacial-Nirvana (I would love a t- shirt and perhaps a poster...eh anything is interesting when I come to think about it!). As said XTC opened a door to a view over many other music-styles and artiests/groupes; I'm greatful to Andy and Colin, +++, and other bands I am delightful listen to are: Pixies, Talking Heads, Jethro Tull, DePress (norwegian; infact produced by John Leckie) and ofcourse many others. I will take part in any descussion when it'll refere to my interest, and anybody should feel free to comment my understanding of the 'Orange and Lemonds' album. Thanks for reading this far... Terje 'A-not-to-good-writing-English-Person;- So-you-have-to-Excuse-me' Bentsen
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Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 10:08:15 PST
From: "John Relph" <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Re: Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down
"Thomas V. DelRosario" <tomtom@glue.umd.edu> asks:
>
> Where is the track "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down available.
That song is available on _The Compact XTC: The Singles 1978-85_,
available in the UK and in Japan.
-- John
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From: Stewart Evans <stewarte@sco.com>
Subject: Homo Safari
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 11:19:18 -0800 (PST)
In Chalkhills #303, John Relph sez:
->I really like the "Homo Safari" series, except for number four, "Mantis
->on Parole". That song sounds a little disorganized, unrehearsed, and
->it suffers. However, the remainder are quite good.
Which prompts me to post another excerpt from a 1987 Andy Partridge
interview (if I ever finish transcribing the whole thing, I'll make
it available for the archives):
Q: One of your more infamous, or famous, set of B-sides was the "Homo Safari"
series. Was that always intended as a series?
AP: No, it snowballed! What happened was, we actually did the instrumental
"Homo Safari", and it came out, and everyone said 'what a strange little
track, the instrumental on the other side', and we were quite chuffed
that people actually noticed it. For some reason, there's a film in
existence of us doing a playback to this on Irish television. I don't
know if there are any Irish fans out there who happen to have a video
recording of this, but it's probably one of the most bizarre instances --
all of us are set on a row of stools playing this inside-out
instrumental, "Homo Safari", to one half of the stereo because the
TV station botched up the taping thing and there's just one
half of the stereo! So we're miming to one half of the stereo of a
very strange B-side.
But what happened it, we put that out, and then we actually wrote other
instrumentals...maybe they were intended to have lyrics on them later,
maybe they were just sketches of ideas that were going to be worked into
something different. So the "Homo Safari" series was put together as
this cupboard to contain tracks that we didn't know what to do with.
They were tracks that didn't seem to fit the feel of XTC, or they were
tracks that only myself was on, or me and Colin, or just Colin and Dave
or whatever. They were really like lost kids. So the Homo Safari *series*,
the word series was added and then we just grabbed a number -- six -- you
know, it felt like a good number -- and it was like this box to put these
tracks into that -- we didn't want them go astray and remain homeless and
never come out. Kind of like an artistic pebble-bin [Transcriber's note:
I'm not sure about this word, it's not a term I recognize.]
Q: What about the fourth part? That seemed to come out of sequence.
AP: Oh, we actually made a mistake, and put out parts five and six, and
someone wrote a letter in and said "what happened to part four, you've
forgotten it". And we all sat 'round and slapped our foreheads and
said "My goodness, we've forgotten part four"! And it's true, we'd
actually jumped and numbered them five and six and we'd forgotten four.
Actually four is the weakest one, 'cause that was knocked up very
quickly, and that's one of my least favorite things that we've ever
done. There's very few things that I would disown of ours, but funny
enough part four of the Homo Safari series must be one of the only
things.
I think we were embarrassed -- we knocked it up very quickly and
embarrassedly. But if you get number 1,2,3,5 and 6, I think they're
pretty interesting.
"All the wrong notes are right."
-- Charles Ives, to his music copyist
/* stewarte@sco.com is Stewart Evans in Santa Cruz, CA */
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Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 14:32:03 EST
From: Jeff Rosedale <rosedale@columbia.edu>
Subject: news flash!
Not a flash in the pan!
Released this week, find while you can, 12,000 copies of a recording
known as "On XRT: Live from the Archives " Volume 1. It's probably a
CD, though the obscure reference I found through NEXIS from the Chicago
Tribune calls it only a "disc".
You'll be interested to know that an unnamed acoustic XTC live medley
>from their radio tour, at Chicago's WXRT radio, is included.
The recording is *only* being released in the Chicago area. My evil
stragegy was to call Tower Records in Chicago 312 477 5994 and ask that
they deliver it. This they will do with a credit card number for $3.50
(add that to the $11.99 purchase price of the "disc").
Wasn't that fun???????????
--Jeff
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: ngold@agora.rain.com (Neil Goldstein) Subject: Biography finally available Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1993 12:21:49 -0800 (PST) Hey 'yall: Finally found the Chalkhills & Children bio at my local bookstore after several months of N/A. Very informative to say the least. I am one of those who "discovered" XTC at the time of Oranges & Lemons, and have been a fan of subsequent albums until recently I checked out their older stuff, and was pleasantly surprised indeed. As many have stated they are "a cut above" whats out there. So it is with great interest that I read their history. Its not as glarmorous as the Beatles, but fascinating to see how this unit came together and what they went through to produce this amazingly original and tuneful catalog. Since it seems to be the only info on the band's history, I would recommend it. Neil
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From: "Kevin Dooley" <kdooley@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: stupid question
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 13:08:23 -0600
What does "DIY" stand for?
Kevin Dooley University of Minnesota
"The land where everything is frozen, including the salaries"
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From: dhgpa!adkoning@hvgtw.att.com
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 93 09:15 MET
Subject: XTC on MTV europe
A message for all those European Chalkhillians:
MTV Europe is broadcasting something like a 'greatest hits ABC' this month.
According to MTV-teletext they will reach XTC on the 26th. The title of the
track(s?, nah!) will probably appear on the teletext a few days before that.
Check it out.
,
-- Andre de Koning
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: BENTSEN TERJE/2MO <BENTSET@novell.oih.no> Organization: Oslo College of Engineering Date: 19 Nov 93 16:46:15 MET-1 Subject: Biography Vince Layton wrote: > noticed an XTC biography at the bookstore the other day > I think "chalkhills" was part of the titel > Has anyone read this? It looked rather new "Chalkhills and Children" is as I know the only official biography written about XTC. It's a soft-cover (bought in England) costs stlg 8.99 and there is propably 240 pages; I don't have the book right now. I belive it was out in spring 1992; I first saw it introduced in Vox magazine in april/may...(?) I found the book pretty amuzing and allso quite informative;the autor based the story on several interviews with especially Andy, Colin and Dave Gregory, but allso as far as possible with others. The story is told from start of their attempt to become musicians and through the albums and all their hazardios riots and fights up to their last album 'Nonsuch', that was not released before the book though and therefore not entirely covered in it. There are allso some photographs through-out their career and a cople of familly shots. Back in the book there is a well informative discography with a "What are they doing now?" chapter. Note: The book is not for those who what a lyrics-compendium; there are only three songs covered, they're used to tell the story. Terje
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Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 17:44:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Derek C Miner <dm0229@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu>
Subject: XTC
Hello, all, I'm new to this mailing list...
My name is Derek Miner. I'm a freshman at the University of
Central Florida in Orlando. I plan on studying film while I'm here. I'm
interested in music in general, but mostly in a few groups (the Beatles,
the Monkees, They Might Be Giants, and XTC).
I heard XTC for the first time when I saw the world premiere of
"Peter Pumpkinhead" on MTV's 120 Minutes. The next week I took a listen
of Nonsuch at a local CD shop. I wasn't immediately impressed, but I
bought it anyway. After a couple listens, however, the album became one
of my favorites. A friend then suggested Oranges and Lemons and
Skylarking. Oranges didn't impress me greatly (although it does sound
better each time I play it) but Skylarking made me a fanatic. I generally
like to tell people Skylarking is an undiscovered (to mass audiences
anyway) masterpiece. I've even moved into the back catalog and discovered
the extremely varied songs they recorded. Some are so good I can't go
without and some are annoying, but that is how /every/ XTC album seems to
me. The Dukes of Stratosphear projects are also among my favorites.
I found out about this conference by checking some FTP listings.
When I saw a FAQ for XTC, I couldn't believe it!
Anyway, I hope to get some good information and/or discussions
out of this mailing list.
| Derek C. Miner | "The World's Address, a place |
| University of Central Florida | that's worn. A sad pun that |
| Orlando, Florida | reflects a sadder mess." |
| home: (407)-382-9752 | - They Might Be Giants |
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: princevlad@aol.com Date: Fri, 19 Nov 93 19:35:37 EST Subject: Intro Greetings, all! I've been into XTC for a few years now, thanks to a terminally hip ex-ladyfriend (I was mainly into the synth/techno side of progressive things before her influence). I've also come to the conclusion that Andy Partridge is bloody clever. No, honestly, he is. Or did you know that already? Ah, I see... I suppose this is a *bit* off-subject, but I must know...is any of the work that Andy did with Perennial Divide available in any form, rare or otherwise? 'cos *my* local shops haven't a clue about that (useless, they are), so I'm afraid I've been unable to track anything down on my own. I'm a huge Meat Beat Manifesto fan as well, and I'd love to hear the results of MBM and Andy working together. -Vlad princevlad@aol.com We say it "cuuuu-uuuu-uuuuuuuu-BA!!"
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Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1993 23:06:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: MIKEDEPUMPO@delphi.com
Subject: XTC Book
>I noticed an XTC biography at the bookstore the other day. The
>name escapes me though I think "chalkhills" was part of the
>title. Has anyone read this? It looked rather new and I don't
>remember seeing it discussed here(in other words, sorry if this
>is a FAQ).
Vince, the book is "XTC Chalkhills And Children" subtitled "The
Definitive Biography", and is by Chris Twomey. It's published by
Omnibus Press!
^^^^^^^
Personally, I think it's a must have for any XTC fan. I learned a LOT
from this book. I could be wrong, but I believe that Andy, Dave, and
Colin didn't actually let themselves be interviewed for this book,
rather, previous interviews throughout their career have been used.
However, this book is not a hack job. It seems thoroughly researched,
and focuses extensively on the history of the band, both personally
and musically. Also, just about everybody around the band (past and
present) DID get interviewed for the book. Past band members,
producers, etc.
There are many interesting accounts and anecdotes to be found. For
instance, there is a detailed account of how close Our Heroes came to
splitting up during the _Skylarking_ sessions.
It covers from their childhoods up to their then-unreleased
_Nonsuch_ album.
_________________________________________________________________
*** |\/|ike *** "Know Pizza, Know Happiness" (:
...from the land of Nelmst...
mikedepumpo@delphi.com "No Pizza, No Happiness" ):
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] For all administrative issues, such as change of address, withdrawal from the list, fan club addresses, discography requests (last update 12 November), back issues, FAQ list, etc., send a message to the following address: <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> The Chalkhills archives are available at "http://chalkhills.org/". All views expressed in Chalkhills are those of the individual contributors only. But the words got in the way.
Go back to Volume 1.
22 November 1993 / Feedback