Chalkhills Digest, Volume 12, Number 37

                Wednesday, 23 August 2006

Topics:

            Re: Elementary, my dear audiophile
                    Ramblings at home
                Getting Preorders Straight
Yet another MOJO Fab-fest (yawns being stifled in some quarters?)
                   Undertime Overdrive
                   Coffee, XTC, and me
                       Re: masters
  Re: "Farthest Off-Topic" honors at the Chalkie Awards
                  Tapers - Please help!

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Well you can wear your brand new nurse's outfit...

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

Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:14:22 -0500
From: Steve Schiavo <steveschiavo@mac.com>
Subject: Re: Elementary, my dear audiophile
Message-ID: <F26E6757-4B29-436A-95B1-8831A05D30B8@mac.com>

On Aug 18, 2006, at 8:38 PM, Paul Culnane wrote:

> But if it's only on Sony's SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc), consider
> that it's an expensive investment to get a unit to play it?

They start art about 150.00 U.S. and go up to many thousands of
dollars.  Many also play DVDs.  There are also decks that play both
SACD and DVD-A.

- Steve

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

Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 18:45:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cheryl <mcgregoc4@yahoo.com>
Subject: Ramblings at home
Message-ID: <20060820014514.67063.qmail@web34313.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hello Everyone,

I've been enjoying reading all the suggestions and thoughts on me
introducing XTC to the kids. It looks as if Cd number two will have to
be burned in the future.

>From Chris Derfler: "many of our students fall in love with XTC
>through the song "Playground."

I waffled a bit on adding this one but in the end I just couldn't
resist.  It really is a great song.

SoCal Gathering
Oh that brings back memories of  meeting various Chalkhillers over the
years.  Sounds as if a good time was had.  One of my biggest XTC
experiences was the XTC convention in England back in '97?!  Wow! That
seems so long ago. I met ALOT of wonderful people that weekend
in....Basingstoke I think is the name of the place.

I guess the connector in these events is that my friend in XTC, David
Pardue, attended the SoCal micro-meeting.  Hmmm, Since I met him in
England and he now resides in LaLa land would he be one who has
covered most of the Earth and met XTC Fans along the way?  Anyone
traveled around the world and met XTC fans in each location they have
been in?

What a great community chalkhills is! Every time I come back to the
list, I feel like I've just returned home again.

>From the kindly Paul Culnane:
>Of course, none of us here will be surprised that the music was a
>success with the kids, and it sounds like to touched base with a
>couple of other fans along the way.  Well done!

Thanks friend and thank you for also making me feel at home here
again. I will continue my plan to bring XTC to the children of this
world so that their music will live on :)

As I listen to all of the XTC I have, I am reliving the old feelings I
had but also experiencing new ones. The other day I had Nonsuch
playing as I commuted home.  "That Wave" came on and the chills just
climbed up my arms. I had this sudden feeling as if I had run into an
old crush and all those feelings of longing just filled me again. It
brings me back to why I listen to their music. Everytime is a new
discovery of some lyric, sound or feeling. Sorry as I just go on and
on again but I'm just enchanted.

I suppose I have rambled enough. I wish everyone well.
Cheryl

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

Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 01:52:53 -0500
From: "Zoom" <zoom98@mindspring.com>
Subject: Getting Preorders Straight
Message-ID: <000e01c6c425$5e4f09b0$0a0110ac@XLZOOM>

NOT GETTING MAD

It's a sad thing when I don't find out about the latest XTC efforts from
here because I'm too busy to read these things.

But Fate has a way of sending me where I need to go, and FW 7 and 8 popped
up unexpectedly.

I'm going to say it, and I don't care who hates me for saying it, or hates
the group:

LEVEL 42 HAS A NEW ALBUM!!! WOOHOO!!!

And it was upon clicking on the preorder on Amazon.co.uk (the website so
hot, its got two dots) that I unexpectedly saw FW 7 & 8 and got to preorder
them as well.

No new album by my other favorite, Madness, but a) they just had one last
year or so, and b) it was too much to expect a trifecta.

----
"I WANT A NEW" OR "MORE THAN A"?

I had a whole bunch of XTC serendipitous anecdotes (i.e. the names Andy and
Colin turning up in unusual places, etc.) but I forgot them all. Typical of
me to have forgotten everything, maybe I should start writing them down?

But just today, as I was acquiring some Accept albums (yeah, the heavy metal
group, so what?) I noticed the first track of 1989's "Eat the Heat" is
titled... XTC! Probably about either the drug or the feeling though.

----
DAME FORTUNE FROWN

Oh yeah, I do remember one. Apparently AP had won the first "design your own
monster for Doctor Who" contest in the 1960s. Just recently, Blue Peter
(erstwhile UK kid TV show) had another contest for the new Doctor Who, but
it was won by some kid.

The kid's prize, however, was for the monster to appear in the show! (And it
did, but opinions are divided as to whether it was any good.) I don't know
what Andy won, but it looks like he was getting gypped even then!

----
SNAKE POP A ROLL

Just watched the movie "Snakes on a Plane". I'm not giving a review of it
here, nyah nyah!

But I noticed the soundtrack already has a popular song on it (heard it on
the radio a couple times), and they even put a number of fan song MP3s on
the data portion of the CD. (Lot of fan songs for this movie, because the
internet buzz has been enormous.)

I can't help but wonder... if XTC had submitted something for the album,
which section do you think the execs would have put the song?

It figures.

I doubt the music industry will ever change.

----
Until next time and space.

Eric

"I've already been poisoned by the industry."

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

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 04:49:49 +0100 (BST)
From: Paul Culnane <paulculnane@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Yet another MOJO Fab-fest (yawns being stifled in some quarters?)
Message-ID: <20060821034949.93816.qmail@web86903.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>

July 2006 issue of Mojo.  What more can be wrung from The Beatles
legacy?  Well, this time they've chosen to mount a rather fascinating
exploration on the making of "Revolver", replete with CD of cover
versions of all the album's songs + "Rain".  And a (justifiably)
ego-centric interview with Macca.

As well, the mag canvasses the views of a range of musical luminaries
for a survey of The 101 greatest Beatles songs.  And there's a beaut
piece of serendiptious irony on page 90.  There we find Mr Partridge
stroking his chin pensively as he explains why the song "Rain" is so
special to him.  And in the bottom right hand corner is a picture of
Mr Rundgren, looking directly up at Andy.   Todd's selection: "I Want
To Hold Your Hand".  Tee hee-

"God is good with an 'o' removed.  Evil is the devil without the 'd'"
- Paul McCartney.

Paul Culnane
ICE Productions Australia

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

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 12:08:58 +0200
From: "don device" <device@noos.fr>
Subject: Undertime Overdrive
Message-ID: <018101c6c509$d8bb02f0$743e4251@computer>

Hiya,

Thanks to everyone for their enlightening responses, boht on and off-list to
my posting about my loss of hearing. I'd heard about loss of smell before,
but never without loss of taste.

I just saw a very interesting film, the first one is french by MIchel Gondry
(he of dream-like Bjork videos and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind')
called 'La Science des Reves (The Science of Dreams'). In it a character
remarks ont he fact that they guy who came up with a certain 3-D techinique
for depth perception was himself one-eyed. He says 'That kind of makes him
the BEethoven of stereo.' The more I think of this the funnier nad more
surreal it gets: Beethoven was deaf, and I suppose he means streo-VISION,
but... Well, I laughed, anyways...

Remember the string of responses to mixed senses? Like Andy's descriptioon
of the colours of chords. This has always been fascinating to me and still
is regardless of the comarative lack of stimulating substances in my blood.
I can still see their music, that's for sure.

Some music comes in colours, but some just stinks.

xo,
d-square

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

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:19:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kzincat <kzincat98@yahoo.com>
Subject: Coffee, XTC, and me
Message-ID: <20060821121951.96635.qmail@web52103.mail.yahoo.com>

> From: Steve <ste7phen@yahoo.com>
>
> xtc has made it to starbucks!  an 80's compilation
> cd entiled "senses working OVERTIME"
>
> hmmm...
> now which xtc track did they choose??
>
----
>
> From: Paul Culnane <paulculnane@yahoo.co.uk>
>
> Well, XTC are threatening (or at least considering
> to offer) to make their back catalogue available in
> 5.1 Surround Sound.  Contentious, yet exciting.  If
> they do it, I hope it's to be made available on
> DVD-Audio (I suspect more individuals have DVD with
> such a facility).  It might sound beaut...

A couple responces:

Yeah, the last time I was at Starbucks getting my
usual cold Chai with one raspberry pump (not too pink,
please!) I saw that CD compilation on the counter and
smiled. I didn't get the disc, but I was wondering
which version is on there (black eyes, black skies,
black ice), or the shorter version.
"Mirror in the Bathroom" is also on there, love that
tune!

Recently started a new XTC compilation of my own, I
wanted to have a car CD with lots of favorites from
the recent numbered discs. Had to have "Everything"
and "Dame Fortune" with all my fav Oranges & Lemons
songs, now I don't have to skip stinkers like
"President Kill". Just no relistening pull there.
I have 3 versions of the O&L album. The original CD,
the Mobile Fidelity Gold Disc, and the Remaster.
The MF version is sooo muddy! Vocals, the horn parts
and the cymbals are not as bright as they should be,
very rare poor recording for that label. Not
recomended!

Now we all need to chant over and over to Andy and
Collin SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING NEW....

Heck, I remember when they were having label problems
some years ago and Andy said he would like to put out
something every 6 months, bwaaaaha!

CHEERS,

Dave in Detroit

***************************************************
It is no longer possible to keep an interesting
secret. The only real way to maintain privacy is to be
uninteresting. It may be that privacy is a passing
fad. -- Larry Niven on the Internet, about the
Internet

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

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 23:39:26 +0100
From: Mark Fisher <mark-fisher@blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject: Re: masters
Message-ID: <C10FF4AE.A384%mark-fisher@blueyonder.co.uk>

On 19/8/06 2:38 am, "Chalkhills" <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote:

> And crikey, weren't the recent remasters such a wonderful revelation?
> They were pretty good!  How much more do we really need?  How
> empowered is the human ear?

Is this true? I've never listened to them, assuming that only audiophiles
would notice the difference. Am I missing out?

Also, I think it's interesting that there's been no significant discussion
of the Milk and Honey Band on Chalkhills. Do other people share Andy's
enthusiasm for his Ape signing?
--
Mark

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

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 23:50:35 -0600
From: Lee Shedden <lee@brindleandglass.com>
Subject: Re: "Farthest Off-Topic" honors at the Chalkie Awards
Message-ID: <51adaf304b343154d6202a14e709d06b@brindleandglass.com>

> Who performs, and what is the name of, the song in
> which the Lord God Jehovah puts Charlie Russell (a
> contemporary and peer of Frederic Remington) in charge
> of sunsets because, the Almighty gruffly but freely
> allows in a relaxed and manly way, "you're better at
> 'em than I am"?

Sweet mother of said J-dawg. Or J-gawd, I guess. This is a question I
never expected to come from an XTC fan. But we are a diverse lot,
aren't we?

Ryan Anthony, I am here to be of service. The song is "The Gift" by Ian
Tyson, from the album "Cowboyography." The verse in question is:

When the Lord called Charlie to His home up yonder,
He said, "Kid Russell, I got a job for you:
You're in charge of sunsets in old Montana
Cause I can't paint them quite as good as you."

But that's not my favourite cowboy song. That dubious honour probably
goes to "The Goodnight-Loving Trail" by Utah Phillips. ... er, even
further off-topic. Anyhow, there's no better reason to pull out your
battered old copy of "Cowboyography" than that lovely little story you
told. Go, Yankee supremacists!

Lee Shedden,
Ex-tea seeker

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

Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 10:29:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: "GREENBERG,MIKE CARLO" <kappa02@ufl.edu>
Subject: Tapers - Please help!
Message-ID: <1263495606.228311156256947411.JavaMail.osg@osgjas02.cns.ufl.edu>

As many of you know, XTC opened for The Police in 1979, 1980.

That said, please contact me if:
a) You taped (DAT, analog) a show by The Police
b) Have tapes of The Police in concert
c) Know of someone who may have one of the above

I am working hard to track down low gen/master tape
audience recordings of The Police and restore them
with fantastic tape transfers to CD. I realize many XTC
fans also enjoy The Police and may have what I am
looking for. If anyone can provide me with help in
obtaining such tapes (to borrow for transfer only), I
will send you some excellent live recordings from my
list:
http://www.geocities.com/kappa02

Thanks for your help,
Mike
kappa02@yahoo.com

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

End of Chalkhills Digest #12-37
*******************************

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