Chalkhills Digest Volume 1, Issue 32
Date: Friday, 9 June 1989
Chalkhills, Number 32
Friday, 9 June 1989
Today's Topics:
Re: UK Radio, and Plea
RE: Chalkhills #31
XTC's musical content
Chord progressions in songs
Drums and Wires
Notation to Chalkhills and Children
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: dschmidt@athena.mit.edu Date: Thu, 8 Jun 89 21:59:13 EDT Subject: Re: UK Radio, and Plea Plea: has anyone worked out the changes for any XTC stuff (esp O&L---and esp Chalkhills & Ch), that they could post? I figured out `The Loving' the other day and am happy to post/mail the chords (no guarantee they'll be the right ones!) I'd be happy to write down the changes for any songs people want them for (or maybe I'll get my act together and do all of O&L). If you have any particular requests let me know; Chalkhills & Children is first on the list. Right now I don't have Mummer and Skylarking on me, so I can't do those, sorry... Dan
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Date: 9 Jun 89 00:01:00 EDT
From: "Joe Turner" <turnerj@gw2.hanscom.af.mil>
Subject: RE: Chalkhills #31
The C-arpeggio ("C-a"). Play the strings as A-D-G-D once.
E||---|---|---|---|---|---
A||---|---|---|-*-|---|--- X
D||---|---|-*-|---|---|--- X
G||---|---|---|---|---|--- X
B||---|---|---|---|---|---
E||---|---|---|---|---|---
The D-arpeggio ("D-a"). Play the strings as A-D-G-D once.
E||---|---|---|---|---|---
A||---|---|---|---|---|-*- X
D||---|---|---|---|-*-|--- X
G||---|---|---|---|---|--- X
B||---|---|---|---|---|---
E||---|---|---|---|---|---
C-a D-a C-a D-a C-a D-a
Never been near a university
C-a D-a C-a D-a C-a D-a
Never took a paper or a learned degree
G A7
Now some of your friends think that's stupid of me
C D
But it's nothing that I care about
C D G
And I don't know how many pounds make up a ton
C D G
Of all the Nobel prizes that I've never won
G A7
And I may be the Mayor of Simpleton but I
C D
Know one thing and that's I
C-a D-a C-a D-a
Love you...
C-a D-a C-a D-a
When their logic grows cold and all thinking gets done
C-a D-a C D G C G
You'll be warm in the arms of the Mayor of Simpleton...
Bm Em
I'm not proud of the fact that I never learned much
G
Just feel I should say
Bm E7
What you get is all real, I can't put on an act
C D C/D
It takes brains to do that anyway...
B/D A/D
And anyway...
Really, a disgustingly simple tune. Now, if anyone can figure out
"Punch and Judy" for me, I'd be much appreciated.
/joe
"this must be paradise/ cause we can't be in heaven yet"
- a. domino
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Date: Fri, 9 Jun 89 10:07:18 EDT
From: glickman%hustat@harvard.harvard.edu (Mark Glickman)
Subject: XTC's musical content
>
> Plea: has anyone worked out the changes for any XTC stuff (esp O&L---and
> esp Chalkhills & Ch), that they could post? I figured out `The Loving' the
> other day and am happy to post/mail the chords (no guarantee they'll be the
> right ones!)
>
> Toby
I'm not sure if there's much of an audience here for discussion of
the musical aspects of XTC songs, in contrast to the lyrical content,
but I would love to discuss people's thoughts on the music. XTC's musical
composing talent is what really got me hooked. And while it's on my
mind, here's an example of what I mean:
Consider the relatively simple song (relative to other XTC songs)
"Towers of London." The song begins in F, and starts with a guitar riff
that essentially follows the notes (forgetting the rhythm)
e-f-c-e--C-d-c-d-b-g (the big C is an octave lower than little c)
The song eventually goes through a key change so that after the bridge
("I've seen it in a painting ...") the chorus resumes in G rather than
in F. Okay, that's all fine - nothing very striking (in fact it appears
a large percent of Drums & Wires and Black Sea songs experience key
changes - guess it was fashionable). But while in G, the same guitar
riff from the onset of the song reenters (while Andy sings "Lon-lon-lon-
dinium") which doesn't undergo a key change! In other words, the riff
is identical at the beginning and the end of the song, but the context
under which the riff is played is entirely different (musically). My
guess is that in more "ordinary" songs, this riff would be transposed
up a whole note to match the key change. But the riff fits in beautifully
without any transposition. Am I the only one who finds stuff like this
intriguing?
Other musical thoughts: I guess it should come as no surprise to me
anymore that XTC kept on starting their radio shows with "Scarecrow
People" - the more I listen to that song, the more impressed I get.
Lyrically, the song is amazing - the scarecrow metaphor really works
nicely. But musically, "Scarecrow People" is full of anticipations
that resolve unexpectedly (but not sounding like the song is 'trying' to
force unexpected resolutions) while still sounding natural. The only
evidence in my mind of forced dissonance is at the end of a verse
when the guitar plays in seemingly the wrong key (or at least in contrast
to the bass and other guitar). For instance (assuming the initial
chords in the song are A followed by F7), the last chord of the 3-chord
passage in the chorus ("...for we ain't got no brains...") sounds
like it should end on a B-flat (the natural resolution) but instead
resolves to an F7 (a dissonant resolution) - I find stuff like this
wonderful.
I also applaud XTC on their use of rests in Funk-Pop-a-Roll (my favorite
song to cover in a band). Also, I didn't realize for quite some time
after repeated listenings to English Settlement that the song
"English Roundabout" is a 5-beat song - the song is written so well
that attention isn't called to this fact. Contrast this to early 70's
songs by Yes which make intricate use of complex rhythms but do so in a
way that calls blatant attention to them.
I apologize if this musical discussion seems totally irrelevant.
I can't help it - that's what happens when you've been playing in
cover bands for a number of years, and playing music in general
since you were this tall:
O
/|\
^
/ \
- Mark
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 89 14:30:48 CDT From: GJJ5315@star.tamu.edu Subject: Chord progressions in songs Assigning chords to the songs is nice, but it's not feasible. In many (say "Cynical Days") polytonality is taken to an extreme, so simple chords are impossible. In "Mayor" for example. swe have alternating C and D while the bass is playing a figure in G: Things don't get amu simpler than in this song. If there were a way to chart the individual parts it would be cool. Any suggestions? Gary
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Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1989 16:17:37 PDT
From: John M. Relph <relph@presto.ig.com>
Subject: Drums and Wires
Well, it seems as if there are two different Epic USA versions of
_Drums and Wires_ floating around, as we have two different track
listings. If you have either (a) or (b) below, please send a note to
chalkhills-request so we can verify which one (or both) is (or are)
correct. Also, "Millions" may be on (b), but I'm not sure.
a. LP, Virgin USA (Epic), PE 38151, 1982. Making Plans for Nigel;
Helicopter; Life Begins at the Hop; When You're Near Me I Have
Difficulty; Ten Feet Tall; Roads Girdle the Globe; Real by Reel;
Millions; That is the Way; Outside World; Scissor Man; Complicated
Game.
b. LP, Virgin USA (Epic), PE 38151, 1982. Life Begins at the Hop;
Helicopter; When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty; Ten Feet Tall;
Roads Girdle the Globe; Real by Reel; That is the Way; Outside World;
Scissor Man; Complicated Game.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 89 13:27:07-1000 From: Julian Cowley <julian@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> Subject: Notation to Chalkhills and Children Dear XTC lovers and musicians, Someone asked yesterday for the chords to C & C, so I spent some time to learn them. Due to obvious limitations in the characters that can be sent over the network, I copied the lyrics down and put the chord symbols above the closest word that begins each measure. You'll have to listen to the song to get the correct feel for the timings involved. If anyone is interested, you can mail to me at the address below. I didn't want to post them here because they're quite long, and probably don't interest some of our readers. julian@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu | "Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role uunet!ucsd!nosc!uhccux!julian | in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. julian@uhccux.bitnet | It is part of the United States that is an University of Hawaii at Manoa | island that is right here." - Quayle
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] For all administrative issues, such as change of address, withdrawal from the list, discography requests, back issues, etc., send a message to the following address: <chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> The views expressed in Chalkhills are those of the individual authors only.
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