Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 155
Date: Thursday, 12 September 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 155
Thursday, 12 September 1996
Today's Topics:
Chalkids Tape
branches and leaves
Sri Lanka Curry House
Close encounters with The Verve Pipe
Murmur/Mummer
Lyrics
Let me tell you about the Good Things
Stone and Clay
Tattoo You
STOP!
More misheard lyrics...
Nonsvch / Drums and Wireless bugs
DG, CTD's Pumpkinhead, and other stuff...
XTC DEMOS?????
stuff
Another Encounter
Interpreting XTC songs
BTW Colin rules!
Just in case you responded and I didn't
Pardon my skepticism but...
mystery songs
Rooked Again
Mystery Tab!
i'm on my knees but dancing
XTC-interview
My personal fave Andy/Colin songs
Through the Hill, at last
the welcome return of mr. eric/holy trinity/dead format society
Andy reference in Guitar Player
The SugarPlastics
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Pick a fight with love and she will / Tan your hide in.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Richard.Pedretti-Allen@octel.com Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 15:38:28 -0700 Message-Id: <235EF540.1240@corp.octel.com> Subject: Chalkids Tape I will be compiling the tape very soon. VERY soon. Once I have the length figured out, I will solicit duplication costs from my local contacts and determine what the package will cost. I NEVER heard another thing from the recording studio (in Ohio, I think) that was willing to do the dubs at cost, so if you know of any Chalkhead in Ohio that owns in a studio please kindly pass along that I am more furious than a gut-shot, bitch wolf-dog with nine sucking pups pulling a number four trap up a hill, in the dead of winter, in the middle of a snowstorm with a mouth full of porcupine quills! ...So it is probably not in his best interest to write to apologize. He bagged out and passed the expense on to you. Additionally, if you know of a dubbing facility that will do them AT COST, queue them up and send me a contact name and number. This must happen fast. ========================================================================= This isn't the actual song order but it is very close. Mitch Friedman "XTSea" Medley Ben Gott Battery Brides Peter Fitzpatrick Making Plans for Nigel Carnine/Posynick Day In, Day Out Richard Pedretti-Allen Complicated Game Christopher Burgess All Of A Sudden (It's Too Late) Eric Day It's Nearly Africa Steve (Skeg) Perley My Love Explodes Tom Slack Meeting Place John Christensen 1000 Umbrellas Chris Spillios Dear God Randy Christopher Sacrificial Bonfire Phillip McEachern Collideascope John Hedges Disque Bleu Tim Kendrick Chalkhills & Children Naoyuki Iso Goosy Goosy Robin Myrick Books Are Burning Harrison Sherwood Living In A Haunted Heart YEEEE-Haaaa!! THIS TAPE IS GOING TO GENERATE SOME CHALKHILLS TRAFFIC! DO NOT SEND A REQUEST FOR TAPE JUST YET!! I WILL POST IT HERE, LOUD AND CLEAR. Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 96 20:20:02 EDT From: Jeff Rosedale <rosedale@columbia.edu> Subject: branches and leaves Message-ID: <CMM.0.90.4.842401202.rosedale@inibara.cc.columbia.edu> If all the new stuff we get is rehashed greatest hits, I'm allowed to post only peripherally XTC-related content. Therrefore, let me contribute two yips and a yahoo in support of recent work from both Yazbek and Jamie Block. They are definitely leaves on the branches of the same tree which bore the fruits of XTC. Also, don't miss Robyn H's new Moss Elixir. If someone has seen, smelled or drank Mossy Liquor, send me email privately. --Jeff rosedale@columbia.edu
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 20:35:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Greg Langmead <gregl@shire.math.columbia.edu> Subject: Sri Lanka Curry House Message-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.95.960910202640.29534A-100000@shire.math.columbia.edu> Chalkhills, I haven't written to this list since the Carmen Sandiego CD first came out and I was asking if Johnny Nexdor and his Neighbors were XTC (they're not, Yazbek replied), but I've been reading all along. My interest has picked up lately because of all the new songs you guys are talking about. And once I started reading the lyrics you've been transcribing, I couldn't hold back: I need one of those demo taps. Whichever one has the most recent batch on it. Is that the group being made into an album for '97? So, point 1 is that if someone could email gregl@math.columbia.edu and let me know what you want me to do to get a tape, I'd appreciate it immensely. Point 2 is an anecdote. On a recent trip to Minneapolis, I ate with a couple friends at a restaurant they'd read about, the Sri Lanka Curry House. It turned out to have been some hip place, we discovered afterward. Anyway, after dinner, on the way out, I noticed that next to the hostess on the wall was a record cover for Oranges and Lemons, and on further inspection I noticed it had been signed by the band, each one's name over his head on that funky picture! I turned to the hostess and asked, "Were XTC actually here?" "Sure," she said. "Did you see them?" I asked. "That was before my time." She said. Granted, she was a little young, but 1989 for crying out loud! I felt old, and I'm only 23. Evidently all of Chicago ate there once too, and she served them. I know this sounds strange, but I thought it odd to see their signatures like that, as if they were superstars. I think of them more as my friends, or as a group of real artists, and less as pop culture heros. I'm not sure how XTC would feel about that, but there it is. I'll keep this brief by signing off now. Nice to be back. Greg L.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 19:20 -0600 (MDT) From: Miles or Gigi Coleman <coleman@cougarnet.byu.edu> Subject: Close encounters with The Verve Pipe Message-id: <0DXJNQPDQ00FA3@ACS2.BYU.EDU> >Donny (the drummer) came back out with the CDs and he poked me in the back >and said, "Hey! Here ya go!". . . Donny asked >me again if I had the songs on the Hello CD, and we started talking about >that. He sang part of Candymine, and I completed it. :D I once got an e-mail from Donny, the drummer. Does that count? Miles and Gigi Coleman Provo, Utah http://www.byu.edu/~coleman Family Home Page http://www.byu.edu/~coleman/guatenor Guatemala City North Mission Alumni Page http://www.mission.net Index for Alumni of LDS Missions
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 00:11:50 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199609110411.AAA16552@cyber1.servtech.com> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> Subject: Murmur/Mummer >XTC: Mummer. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and >shapes in subdued earth tones. > >REM: Murmur. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and >shapes in subdued earth tones. You know, funny story...when I first got into XTC, I was a mild REM fan, and I always got Mummer mixed up with Murmur. Then, after I had been into XTC for a while and started to get back into REM, I always got confused the other way... >I know that REM were big XTC fans when they started and played XTC >covers in concert (and opened for XTC on part of one tour), but are >the above similarities just a coincidence? REM are/were XTC fans? They *opened* for XTC? I *did not know that*. Wow, I'll have to see if I can track down some of those covers... /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ | particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | | "And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stolen clay." | \--------------XTC, "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful"----------/
------------------------------ From: Aaron Pastula <apastula@pepperdine.edu> Message-Id: <199609110815.AA03935@pepvax.pepperdine.edu> Subject: Lyrics Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 1:15:50 PDT Try these: > Want to walk into London smelling like a (pecken) rose "Want to walk into London smelling like a *pagan* rose" > Soul is a (dent) in the willing mask "So does the dance of the willing mass" > /---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ > | "And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stolen clay." | > \--------------XTC, "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful"----------/ How about, "And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stone and clay" Just thoughts, Aaron.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v0211011eae5c22be9b8c@[134.32.48.166]> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 10:51:17 +0100 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: Let me tell you about the Good Things (In Chalkhills #154 Constantine Pappas wrote:) > >re: The Good Things -- Does anyone else like the demo version better >than the TD one? The drums and bass seem too heavy on the later >version and Colin's voice just doesn't have the same punch, imho. I thought the rough and ready version of The Good Things was one of the best XTC demos I've ever heard. I particularly liked the sounds of the bass and lead guitars and the low fidelity sound which gave the vocals a unique quality. However, I felt the TD version was nothing short of magnificent. Mr Yazbeck and the band did a terrific production job. Not only does Colin sing perfectly in tune, but the much higher fidelity sound along with the rich, textured arrangements which were varied and highly refined, even surpassed Nonsuch! I was really surprised when I read in the Little Express that this song was recorded in a very cheap studio above a motorcycle shop in Swindon. Why go to the expense of a top recording studio and hiring difficult producers charging exhorbitant fees, when you can have this? Apparently most of the budget was spent on hiring the drummer! I'm looking forward to more of this superb quality on the next album!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <m0v0pgY-000F1SC@mail.airmail.net> Subject: Stone and Clay Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 08:56:25 -0500 From: Steve Schiavo <schiavo@airmail.net> >/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\ >| particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ | >| "And I see nations playfully hurl snowballs packed with stolen clay." | >\--------------XTC, "You And The Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful"----------/ Might this be "stone and clay" ? And in Wonder Annual: Then I side with the "saints". (Although snakes would make for an interesting meaning, perhaps maybe). - Steve
------------------------------ From: jde@abingdon.geoquest.slb.com (Jon Eva) Message-Id: <9609111458.ZM18832@rs560.abingdon.geoquest.slb.com> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 14:58:25 +0000 Subject: Tattoo You Hi All, I checked out the XTC Bulletin Board when it started up a few weeks ago, and the initial topic was about XTC tattoos, with several people claiming to sport one. This surprised me as I always thought the average XTC fan would prefer to buy a poster or t-shirt to show their devotion to their idols. I was reminded of the near-mythical XTC superfan Peter Kitchen, who apparently has an XTC tattoo, though whether this consists of a huge Uffington white horse on his chest or the letters X.T.C embedded on his knuckles, I don't know. Anyway, are there any other XTC tattoos out there that people want to tell us about?, if so please take a picture of it and scan it in so we can all share it with you (but please, no XTC body piercing). Does anyone have all the lies they ever spoke tattooed on their arm? Jon
------------------------------ Message-ID: <FD42D72F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 10:21:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: STOP! No, really...STOP RIGHT THERE!!! I GOTTA KNOW RIGHT NOW!!! BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, DO YOU... Know what your Top 5 Desert Island XTC songs are?? If you're reading this and have not yet sent me your list, just take a few minutes and do it...it's really not so bad once you start, and you'll get to have all those wonderful XTC songs swimming through your head as you try to decide which 5 would be MOST indispensable. Really, just do it NOW. No, don't say, "oh, I'll get to it soon"...just do it now and you'll feel much better about, well, possibly everything. There's only a week left (Deadline: Sept. 20), so if you've put it off, do so no longer. Send them to me via e-mail at "dgershmn@ametsoc.org" We're rapidly closing in on the desired minimum of 100 responses...do your part now and help us achieve that goal. This may sound like a PBS plea for pledges, but hey, it's not like I'm asking for money. (Though if you feel like sending some, I certainly wouldn't try to stop you...) Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Jasper rapidly eyed XTC: >XTC: Mummer. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and >shapes in subdued earth tones. >REM: Murmur. 1983. Album cover: an obscure mix of shadows and >shapes in subdued earth tones. >I know that REM were big XTC fans when they started and played XTC >covers in concert (and opened for XTC on part of one tour), but are >the above similarities just a coincidence? Coincidence...particularly since "Murmur" came out a few months prior to "Mummer." And really, they're not all that similar aside from title. Mummer's cover is indeed an obscure mix, etc., but is much brighter than the Murmur cover, which is a photo of kudzu, that swampy mossy stuff that's swallowing large parts of the South. Speaking of REM, and sparked in my thoughts by the Verve Pipe tale in the last issue, I could go into how I met all the guys in REM twice, on two separate occasions, circa 1984, following concerts in college gymnasiums...had nice long conversations with each of them individually (even Michael Stipe, though he was quite a bit more withdrawn than the others at the time)...even still own a Coke can offered to me by Peter Buck (silly, I know, but I just can't seem to part with it at this point). Nicest guys you could want to meet (other than XTC, but of course). But this isn't the REM mailing list, so I'll leave it at that. If for some reason you want to know more, you can e-mail me about it. Anyway, reread the first part of this message and send me those lists! Soon you won't have to hear this from me anymore and you'll have the results right there in your hands! --Dave Gershman
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 09:15:00 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: More misheard lyrics... Message-id: <01I9CIF3R4DK8ZT2GB@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> This book is worth checking out: SCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THIS GUY AND OTHER MISHEARD LYRICS by Gavin something-or-other. There is a misheard line from Dear God that had m,e in tears I was laughing so hard, and here it is... "And all the people that you made in your image still believe in that chunky stew." I went back and listened to the track and it really did sound like that! I have also misheard some stuff on my own, like "Everyone;s licking up to the milking bin"-King for a Day "Think I'll pick my arse on up and get away"-Everyday Story of a Smalltown "We're only making plants for Nigel" Goodbye and everlasting XTC love, Amanda Owens
------------------------------ From: adkoning@hvsag01.nl.lucent.com Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 16:40:57 +0200 Message-Id: <9609111440.AA04866@hvsag01.nl.lucent.com> Subject: Nonsvch / Drums and Wireless bugs Hi Chalk Kidz, Two things bug me today: 1. The small pictures on the back of the Nonsvch sleeve all have to do something with the song. Most are straighforward, some are explainable with some difficulty, but there are two I can't understand: 'Wrapped in grey' and 'Books are burning'. One is a picture of a musical instrument floating unsupported above the water (the instrument is not used in the song), the other is a book with a heart on it (no fire). Can anyone give me a decent explanation? 2. For a while I felt that something strange happened during the intro of 'No thugs in our house' on 'Drums and Wireless', but couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. Now, by tapping the same finger to the intro I think I notice Terry speeding up, 7 seconds into the track. Was he in a hurry to 'suck more piss' (I couldn't resist bringing that up again :) or something? Why didn't they do another take? Andre de Koning
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 11:41:33 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: DG, CTD's Pumpkinhead, and other stuff... Message-id: <01I9CNJGE68C8ZTS86@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I know the whole story about the DG postings, so I'll be brief....I was once on America Online when I encountered a posting in an XTC board from someone who said he felt that Christians had no right to "listen to Dear God. It pisses me off when some Christian tells me they like it." As a VERY Catholic person who likes that song a lot, I was more than a little offended. I just want to know what anyone thinks. PS-I am not one to put down Crash Test Dummies, as they are my favorite group and I worship the Winnieg soil they trod on as much as I worship the Swindon air that Dave Gregory breathes, but Ellen Reid cannot sing and was a suck choice to sing Peter Punpkinhead. Love, peace, oranges & Lemons, Amanda Owens
------------------------------
From: WMpjWM@aol.com
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 14:35:49 -0400
Message-ID: <960911143549_520545104@emout11.mail.aol.com>
Subject: XTC DEMOS?????
Is there any body out there who would be kind enough to make me a tape of XTC
demos??
E-mail me privately, please.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.16.19960911184109.285f3770@soapbox.lanl.gov> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 12:41:09 -0600 From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov> Subject: stuff Hello Chalkboppers - I've merely been lurking for the last (?) number of chalkhills... On the Yearbook issue - yeah, if J H-B wants to take it on, why not? Karthik Saminathan - I'm not going to flame you or anything, but I totally disagree with your comments on Colin's songs. I like almost all of his tunes, and I wish a rumor I heard a year ago or so was true: that the new album would be 1/2 Andy songs, 1/2 Colin songs. But I doubt it, given the ratios of songs on all of their albums in the past. The Sugarplastic - thanks for the recommendation by so many in Chalkhills. I picked up a used copy last weekend - only listened to it once so far, and it's pretty good. Don't know if I'll hang on to it, but I'll give it some more listens. Before any Sugarplastic fans get upset at that comment - it's mostly due to the fact that I've got hundreds and hundreds of CD's, so I try to be fairly picky... Simon, I read some of the excerpts from your "deservedly unfinished novel", and hey, keep at it, man. I hope you take this as a compliment - parts were sort of Pratchett-esque, eh? And so what happens to this man who has a problem with wood???? I'm interested in writing myself - maybe I'll send you one of my deservedly-unpublished-short-stories. Keep listenin' to the good stuff, folx. * ------------------------------- DeWitt Henderson *Serious* rock quotes of the day: "I have always thought, in the back of my mind, cheese and onions" (the Rutles) "Bothering your livestock - they know what I need" (Spinal Tap) "Memphis, home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks" (Talking Heads)
------------------------------ From: Bob Thomas <BobT@cait.wustl.edu> Subject: Another Encounter Date: Wed, 11 Sep 96 14:34:00 CDT Message-ID: <323714FD@msgw.cait.wustl.edu> Hello Chlkhillbillies! Just a note to mention one of those encounters. So, on Monday I go to see Richard Thompson at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis wearing my Chalkhills T-shirt (thanks again Phil), and while I'm getting my hand stamped and my ripped ticket portion returned to me by the door guy, a fellow is pointing at me saying "Did you see them?" "Did you see these guys?" I realize he's pointing at my T-shirt (I'm slow sometimes). "Oh, the band?", I say. "No. They haven't performed live for quite sometime, and I've never seen them play." (I realize how sad that is for maybe the first time in my life) We chatted briefly, gushed about XTC. I told him about the web site and the digest and suggested he look into it. Maybe he's out there now. Say hello, will ya'? Sorry I didn't catch your name. Was Richard Thompson great, or what? Richard shown that night. Dave Mattocks on drums, brother Danny Thompson on bass and a guy who played several saxes, mandolin, and other tubular things. Just awesome. Thompson could slice bread with the sounds he gets out the guitar. And he sings better than ever. But the encounter with the XTC fan at the door was a pleasant and interesting thing. Another dimension to the evening. He would have passed unnoticed if I had worn my Barrence Whitfield and the Savages T-shirt instead. Nothing much. Just a note. Go see Richard. Wear your shirt. Bye Bob
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199609112021.NAA09370@dfw-ix7.ix.netcom.com> From: "Mark G. Cuevas" <litserv@ix.netcom.com> Subject: Interpreting XTC songs Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 13:16:33 -0700 > From: Melissa Reaves <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> > I feel bad for Joshua Hall-Bachner not receiving any song > interpretations, but to my mind, XTC songs > are simply too straightforward to need any interpretation. What?! Are you hallucinating? If they were straightforward, there would be no Chalkhills newsgroup discussing them. The popularity of XTC's lyrics continues today precisely because the lyrics are open to numerous interpretations. Witness the double-entendre of Pink Thing. Witness the comments from Combray2@aol.com [Chalkhills Digest #2-153] where he notes the "secondary theme" of Season Cycle as capitalism's treatment of the environment. Brilliant. It hadn't occurred to me. I'll have to give it another listen. Whether or not XTC intended their song to be interpreted in this way is irrelevant. [See Below.] > From: Melissa Reaves <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> > There's nothing wrong with letting our imaginations run wild and making > up wild allegories from the songs, but . . . I just don't think they hold > up when the "real" answers are so obvious. Melissa, this isn't mathematics were talking about here. There are no cut and dried, right or wrong "answers." This is poetry and therefore subject, by its very nature, to varying interpretations. The beauty and timelessness of XTC's lyrics, as in good poetry generally, is a direct result of the various patterns our minds "discover" in them. My point is perhaps best illustrated by what I considered (at the time) to be an outrageous declaration by a former teacher of mine on the subject of World Literature. One student thought that the author of a particular poem "could not have meant that." The instructor's response was "So what? What does the author know about it?" Again, at the time I thought the instructor was off his rocker. The author of the poem not know what he or she meant? But the more I thought about it the more I realized that the instructor was exactly right. Think about it. > From: Melissa Reaves <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> > Something I've been turning over in my head lately is the idea of a > Chalkhills Yearbook. What an excellent idea. If you would like help with the writing element let me know. I'd be more than happy to help edit, write, etc. . . > From: Combray2@aol.com > I separated them into three categories according to whether their > "subject" was Clear, In Doubt or Obscure . . . In Doubt: Holly Up On Poppy First, I'm not wild about the category system because it seems to be putting boundaries on things that should not be bound. IMHO all the songs are subject to interpretation as they should be. Second, regarding Holly Up On Poppy, the song makes perfect sense when you understand that Holly is Andy's daughter and Poppy is her rocking horse. "Canter never stops . . ." A Canter is a 3-beat gait, slower than a gallop. Holly seems to ride Poppy constantly. "She has escaped from the world where they bake beautiful girls . . ." When Holly is riding Poppy she is in her own world, oblivious to the nastyness of the cold cruel world we live in. Etc. . . . . . Why do you revolve around me? Aren't you aware of the gravity? . . .
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 17:09:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Karthik Swaminathan <kqs7816@is4.nyu.edu> Subject: BTW Colin rules! Message-Id: <Pine.OSF.3.93.960911164822.24054A-100000@is4.nyu.edu> In defence of Colin, he has written some exellent songs. My favorite song in White Music is X-Wires and I am the Audience is a killer track off of Go2. In Drums and Wires I actually like all his songs better than Andys. Ten Feet Tall is the purest sounding love song on any of their records. His songs are even top notch on ES and though his Mummer songs sound lacking to me, he returns with Wake Up, one giant of a song, on BE. I just get the feeling that he isn't giving his 100% on many of the later albums while Andy is giving about 200% or more. To me King for a Day sounds like a Everybody wants to Rule the World and there seems to be less experimentation, exploration and development which is a shame since his early output is genius. What is he doing with all that potential? And he also forged a whole new heavy bass sound on the Lillywhite and Padham produced albums which I don't hear anymore. Maybe he needs to go back on a diet of Beefheart and Can to get his bearings right.
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 19:18:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Patricia Haley <acidtongue@smart.net> Subject: Just in case you responded and I didn't Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.960911191201.8965A-100000@smarty.smart.net> Hi all. A few issues back I mentioned that I'm a Bevis Frond fan, and that every time I listen to the Dukes I want to go listen to his stuff. I also mentioned that I was interested in hearing privately from any other fans. Right after that, I had my forward file to my new account blown away, meaning that nothing came through. So, for those of you who responded, can you try again at this address, and for those of you who didn't write, can you please not write to this address one more time? OBXTC: How I wish that _Fossil Fuel_ was new material! It's long overdue! (Yeah, I know that we all know, but gee whiz, the word "fossil" is a bit too appropriate here. -Patty
------------------------------ From: richard.pedrettiallen@octel.com Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 17:06:29 -0700 Message-Id: <23755E60.1240@corp.octel.com> Subject: Pardon my skepticism but... re: post in #151 from "XTC's manager" You can smell that one through the wire!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 21:54:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ted Harms <tmharms@library.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: mystery songs
Message-ID: <Pine.OSF.3.91.960911214758.26064A@library.uwaterloo.ca>
I was listening to my tape of Jules Verne/Golden Guts (thanks again,
Steve L.) and realized that I've got two songs on it that aren't listed
on the J-card. Could somebody (maybe Steve?) help me identify the songs...
Song #1 First line: Okay, started a long time ago when I was a little boy...
Chorus: Yes there is something you can do, my love. Won't you
help me through these troubled times...
Song #2 First line: sounds like 'Tracy Jacks'
Chorus: As the day got closer in his heart he was over. I'd love
to stay here and be normal...
Thanks in advance.
Ted Harms Library, Univ. of Waterloo
tmharms@library.uwaterloo.ca 519.888.4567 x3761
"Then, I would say, lenguage is that we may MIS-unda-stend each udda."
- Krazy Kat
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b04ae5d47c7ac71@[139.80.100.153]> Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 16:55:29 +1200 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: Rooked Again Hi folks - I was just about to send Joshua a song interpretation, BUT... it set me thinking (always a dangerous thing). I can't be bothered checking, to be honest, but one of you is bound to know: Is "Rook" the only XTC song on which Colin does not play??? PS - Joshua, slow down - we can't keep up! James
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 00:11:00 -0500 (CDT) Message-Id: <199609120511.AAA26258@insosf1.netins.net> From: JH3 <jh3@netins.net> Subject: Mystery Tab! For everyone who has contacted me at any of my three previous e-mail addresses (all beginning with "jh3") in the past about anything whatsoever, this is my new e-mail address: jh3@netins.net. Maybe this one will last more than a couple of weeks, but I'm not counting on it. Also, if any of you Chalkies have DAT recorders, I just bought one and I have lots of XTC stuff (analog-source, of course of course) to trade. Drop me a line, OK? ----------------------------- If you have an acoustic guitar handy, pick it up RIGHT NOW! and play these chords in roughly this order: XX0232 -> XX0350 (repeat several times) 022000, 022033, X02233, X02223, X02232, X02220 And the part that had me stumped for a ridiculous amount of time: 4X333X, X2323X, X1212X, X0101X, 133211, XXX565 4X333X, X2323X, X1212X, X0101X, X02221, X02222, X02223 And the end: 022000, X02030, X02020, XX0230 * ------------------------------ Now aren't you glad you did that? And yes, James, if it hadn't been for you I might never have bothered. The undoubtedly fabulous kathryn lynne burda <klburda@umich.edu> writes: >Burning question: why is River Phoenix thanked on O&L (tape only?). Also, >why isn't *anyone* thanked on the CD version? There are thank-you's on my CD, on the inside back cover of the insert. Did yours not get printed correctly? River Phoenix was a fairly big XTC fan who visited them while they were recording in Los Angeles a couple of times. Maybe he brought them a pie or some Guinness Stout or something. Later, of course, he died. I didn't like many of his movies, but no matter, it's always sad to see a fellow XTC fan go -- and what's worse, he probably never even completed his collection. To die without having heard Go 2 at least once would be a tragedy indeed. >Who's Paul Bailey, the mysterious personage who told us nothing new two >digests ago? Is it possible that he's the lawyer the boys hired to get >them de-Virginized? He's actually their former road manager, who also manages Echobelly and used to manage World Party. He's been mentioned in the last two issues of the Little Express. I hear he's a truly wonderful human being -- practically a saint, in fact -- who will do his utmost to keep us Chalkhillians informed of the latest XTC developments, right Mr. B? I say, are you there? Mr. B? (BTW, don't you think Hugh Jones and Mike Thorne are both fine producers?) As for the aforementioned lawyer, *that* could be practically anybody -- those damn lawyers will always screw you! --John H. Hedges
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 01:32:13 -0500 (EST) From: Brookes McKenzie <RMCKENZI@smith.smith.edu> Subject: i'm on my knees but dancing Message-id: <01I9DG5DGD26BRPRPG@SMITH> i've become rather obsessed with this song - i.e. "Church of Women" - AP is working the same slow groove as in "Some Lovely (My Brown Guitar)" but without the Paul McCartney imitation which, much though i love it, disorients me slightly whenever i hear it, and with better lyrics IMHO. one of his better songs in the "I Love Women as a Gender" vein (as opposed to his "I Love All Women But Especially You" vein, which has also led to many *great* songs), but without the slightly strident tone of "Down in the Cockpit" and "Take This Town" and a better melody than either. then he also gets to throw in a little free-love rant in the bridge there. all in all it's just too great for words, so i'll shut up already: (the usual caveats apply) Church of Women Lie for a lie, but a truth for the truce Church of women is made out of milk which they love turns to butter, -er, -er Church of women would have you give praise with a laugh bark and stutter, -er, -er Like us men like us men they are nothing like us men Men have gargoyles round their hearts I'm on my knees but dancing Want to worship at the church of women Breathe 'em in until my head goes spinning around Want to worship at the church, Let me worship at the church of women Church of women is making omissions and loving and giving, -ing, -ing Church of women performing a miracle raising the living, -ing, -ing, Like us men like us men will they ever like us men? Men have thorns around their minds I'm on my mountain preaching Want to worship at the church of women Breathe 'em in until my head goes spinning around Want to worship at the church, Let me worship at the church of women Lie for a lie but a truth for the truth Give 'em back their house - the walls the doors the floors and roof Stop trying to diet 'em on wafers and wine and admit we're in control Now let's put things right, let's multiply the [hugs and] kisses til we have enough to love [any forever] Want to worship at the church of women Breathe 'em in until my head goes spinning around Want to worship at the church, Let me worship at the church of women (x4) * -------------------------------------------- - brookes
------------------------------ Message-Id: <01C8E3237CEA3004*/c=no/admd=telemax/prmd=dagbladet/o=/s=Erlandsen/g=Egil/@MHS> Date: 12 Sep 1996 10:49:39 +0200 From: "Egil Erlandsen" <Egil.Erlandsen@dagbladet.no> Subject: XTC-interview Hello out there! I am a journalist working in Norway's third largest paper, Dagbladet in Oslo, and my question to you XTC-omniscients is as follows: Do any of you have the address and/or phone number to Andy Partridge/Colin Moulding in Swindon? I am frequently travelling to England, and would consider doing a story on the band in connection with the release of Fossil Fuels. I can see that this information may not be suited for general distribution, and you can alternately post it directly to me at this e-mail address: egil.erlandsen@dagbladet.no I gratefully appreciate all help! egil
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 09:36:40 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: My personal fave Andy/Colin songs Message-id: <01I9DX1NMPQY8ZSWKK@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Yeah, it's me again. I keep thinking of things to add after I've already sent a posting. I'm curious to know what people's fave songs by the Father and the Son (otherwise known as Andy and Colin) are. Hrer are mine, off each album... Radios in Motion/Danceband-Both of these songs make me dance whenever I hear them. Beatown/Buzzcity Talking-I like the ending to Beatown, and I like Colin's somewhat odd vocalisation on BT Outside World/That is the Way-Andy's use of alliteration is very KOOL, and I just like TITW for no particular reason. Travels in Nihilon/Smokeless Zone-The former, I light candles in my room, turn off the lights, and veg out. The latter is so upbeat I have to like it. Leisure/Runaways-Took me awhile to get used to Leisure, but I did. Runaways is Colin's best song IMNSHO. Funk Pop A Roll/Wonderland-"Stabbing rebuke at the music industry" and a song that was me and my old boyfriend's song before we started dating. I quoted the "some day you will want me for your own" oart to him one day, and he asked me out the next....awwwwwwwwwww! This World Over/I Remember the Sun-TWO is my absolute favorite XTC song of all time. I love the lyrics, the melody, everything. IRTS, I like theww high notes Colin reaches for in it. (Too many typos in here!!!!) The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul/Grass-MWSAHS I actually danced to in my dance recital. I wore all black, dark sunglasses, and sort of made it like I was a really weird beat poet. Grass was another song for me and my old boy- friend. Across This Antheap/Cynical Days-ATA is great usage of double entendres, espaecially in the line "A bed is creaking as the new Messiah comes". CD was yet ANOTHER b-friend song. (Ain't nothing like a having a man who worships XTC as much as you do :) Pulsing Pulsing./World is Full of Angry Young Men-PP is just one of Andy's short little gems. WIFOAYM-I like piano driven songs (maybe because I like Gregsy so much) Rook/My Bird Performs-Rook makes me cry...sort of makes me think of Andy in a coffin. Very morbid thought. MBP is just a great song. Dukes stuff... You're My Drug/Vanishing Girl-YMD is the perfect song to get sort of psycho-delic to, and VG is another danceable little ditty. As far as the not so good songs.....(please don't come down on me. I'm entitled to my opinion as much as anybody else) Gold, Take This Town, Countdown to Christmas Party Time, English Roundabout, Crosswires, Super Tuff, The Loving, Pale & Precious (too Beach Boys to me!!!), and Bungalow. That's all for now. Amanda Owens "Soon the whole world will be up on it's feet and dancing......."
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 10:59:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Natalie Jane Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu> Subject: Through the Hill, at last Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.960912104948.16163C-100000@stargate.rs.itd.umich.edu> So I *finally* listened to my brand-spanking new copy of "Through the Hill," which has been lurking under the blankets at the foot of my bed in the hopes that someday I might actually be in the mood for it. Contrary to Simon Sleightholm's recommendation, I have neither a couch, a wife, nor wine, but I found that an armchair, a kitten, and chocolate ice cream served just as well. I liked it a lot. The album as a whole induces a sort of gentle stupor which I found very pleasant. The individual pieces vary in quality, but the best pieces depend on subtle changes in texture and timbre, insistent and hypnotic rhythms, and the beauty of silence. Andy sings a little on it - just wordless "aahhhhh's" - and the music incorporates the sound of his breath as well as the sound of his voice. Even the poetry was all right. My kitten was alarmed at the sudden changes in instrumentation, but soon got used to it. It's pretty good stuff - maybe not for everyone, but good nonetheless. Joe Bob says check it out. Natalie Jacobs Visit the Land of Do-As-You-Please! http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gnat
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199609121603.RAA06647@aoife.indigo.ie> From: "Daniel Prendiville" <modjp@indigo.ie> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 23:09:42 +0000 Subject: the welcome return of mr. eric/holy trinity/dead format society Ahem, 1. #2-154 was notable, not alone for the length of Joshua Hall-Bachner's intervention (the Olympics are four years away, lad, don't peak too soon :-)), but also for the welcome return of Eric Adcock to the Digest. Since I may have been partly responsible for his prolonged absence from the Digest, I'd like to formally welcome Eric back to the den and offer him this laurel and hearty handshake... 2. Josh "The Marathon Man" H-B's recent reference to RAG & BONE BUFFET gave me pause to actually listen to the damn thing for the first time in about 2 years. A *somewhat* pleasurable experience, but I won't go into that right now. One thought that did occur to me was in relation to the THREE WISE MEN tracks thereon. The composers are credited as Kaspar/Melchior/Balthazar. Is this, in reality, Sir Andy on his tod, or did all three of the musketeers actually sit down and write the song together? And who was the Good Lord? Enlightenment, please (that was two thoughts, BTW. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, right...?). 3. My good chum Mark Strijbos made some comment recently regarding the Mini-Disc; this was in the context of having come across a number of copies of NONSUCH (look, ma, its "U", not "V"... Nonsvch is the surname of the Bosnian-Serb Minister for Sanitation) in that format. I think Mark may have stated that the format was dead or dying or summat. If Mark was watching Juventus playing Man. Utd. in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, he will doubtlessley have noticed that Juve were sponsored by, wait for it, Sony Mini-Disc... And Utd. were crap!!! I'll go now; Josh is getting impatient - I'm taking up his space... Only joshing :-) Lincoln Diogum, indeed djp
------------------------------ From: Martin_Monkman@fincc04.fin.gov.bc.ca Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 14:18:56 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Andy reference in Guitar Player Message-id: <9608128425.AA842562646@FINSMTP1.FIN.GOV.BC.CA> In the October issue of Guitar Player magazine (on newstands everywhere!) there's a brief blurb on Jason Falkner, formerly of both Jellyfish and Grays (and guitarist on Eric Matthew's "It's Heavy In Here") -- the article describes him thus: "A tastefull, pop-savvy craftsman in the tradition of George Harrison, Andy Partridge, Neil Finn and Jon Brion ..." If anyone has heard Brion's debut solo album "Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown" (Elektra), I'd like to read a review. Thanks. Martin
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199609122204.PAA03591@dfw-ix9.ix.netcom.com> From: "Mark G. Cuevas" <litserv@ix.netcom.com> Subject: The SugarPlastics Date: Thu, 12 Sep 1996 14:58:14 -0700 Dearest Chalkoholics: A number of recent articles in Chalkhills have mentioned The SugarPlastics. Not having heard them (or even of them), I turned to my long-time friend and partner in crime, Jeff. A fellow musician, Jeff knew of them and in fact turned me on to a few bars over the telephone. That night I rushed out to get their latest: "Bang. The Earth is Round." IMHO this is good stuff. There are plenty of XTC-like qualities; some Talking Heads-type vocals; some George Harrison slide guitar; some Beach Boys-esque vocals, etc. All in all, I'd say this is a fine first effort. I like their whimsical take on things. On the down side, it is sparse. But considering that they'll be playing this stuff live (and there are only three of them), it makes sense not to do too much in the way of layering. To read a bit about them visit www.geffen.com/sugarplastic/index.html =========================================================== I say why on earth do you revolve around me? Aren't you aware of the gravity? . . . ===========================================================
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-155 *******************************
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