Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 17
Date: Monday, 30 October 1995
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 17
Monday, 30 October 1995
Today's Topics:
Re: Testimonial Dinner
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-16
Prefab Sprout Revealed
Hungry for more dinner. . .
(none)
RE: TD II - Electric Boogaloo
Mummer, New Zealand and question marks
sarah's "dear god" and robyn's producer
My first 2 cents worth
Testimonial Dinner
This World Over
May I have some more, please?
TD II - Electric Boogaloo
Watneys
What about the Kinks?
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And they just scream for more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 19:31:50 -0400 (EDT) From: glancaster@mecn.mass.edu Subject: Re: Testimonial Dinner for those who're still having trouble locating "Testimonial Dinner," try cdnow - you can search for their web site, or telnet to cdnow.com; they're reputable and, if an item is in stock (which TD is, as well as being on sale just now), they deliver quickly. if you find yourself tempted by their import items, in my experience, that's another story - you wait a long time, and hear they can't get 'em. they do notify you, and you're not charged till an item is shipped. while i'm at it, hello to "Quincy!:
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 18:26:05 -0600 (MDT) From: Big Earl Sellar <splitred@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-16 Howdy! David.Criddle@cinsycfs.rcc.org (David Criddle) suggested: > Shonen Knife - Love at First Sight YES! That would be perfect! Although I would still prefer a new XTC album, PERIOD. Oh well...Later... EEEEEE Big Earl Sellar/splitred@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca EE "There's a giant contest going on under every bottle cap/And one of EEE them's a winner/ And I wonder under which/And the rules are on the EE wrapper/And the wrapper's in the ditch" EEEEEE - Bob Snider, THEY OUTTA BOTTLE FRIDAY NIGHT ***To the people of Quebec: Consider this one open appeal for Unity. Through Unity, we will *ALL* get the rights that we deserve. NON, s.v.p.***
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 20:43:48 -0500
From: produce@magicnet.net (Arthur James Virgin)
Subject: Prefab Sprout Revealed
In response to the post about Prefab Sprout...Paddy is NOT doing a
solo album. The band actually completed a full album and submitted it to
their label Epic Records (According to a source the album was much in the
vain of their dance hall single "If You Don't Love Me" from their greatest
hits album). Epic told Paddy and Co. that they were interested in an album
as ambitious as "Jordan: The Comeback" (anyone who has heard this album
knows why!). So it was back to the drawing board for Prefab. A friend of
mine was supposed to get a few tracks from this unreleased Sprout album,
but nothing so far.
If you are into the Grays or Jellyfish..Andy Sturmer is in the
middle of finishing his solo album (if he can find people that will not
quit because of his perfectionist attitudes).
Thats all for now,
AJ :)
"How can I be pleased when I'm handed the keys
to a town they call Misery" - Andy Partridge
Visit my Quality Music Page! http://www.magicnet.net/~produce/
------------------------------ From: troy@pcc.com (Troy Peters) Subject: Hungry for more dinner. . . Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 21:54:58 -0400 (EDT) In the last issue, David Criddle began to dream about the sequel to TESTIMONIAL DINNER. . . For years and years (since around 1984), I have thought that the Cars would do the ultimate cover of "When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty." I am not even really a Cars fan, but this song seems to have been written for them. Am I crazy? By the way, David, thanks for picking up on my suggestion of Prince doing "Pink Thing." On the Prince tribute, I would like to see the Dukes do "Paisley Park" and XTC do "1999." Troy Peters r
------------------------------ From: Joe_Jarrett@nynet.nybe.north-york.on.ca (Joe Jarrett) Date: 27 Oct 1995 21:42:15 GMT Organization: North York Board of Education Once you forget about the fact that none of these covers are as good as the originals by our favourite band, the TD CD is quite excellent. It is great to hear other people paying tribute to THE most overlooked, creative pop band ever. It is really quite pointless (IMHO) to compare these versions with the originals, but rather to just enjoy them in their own rite. Remember virtually all bands at some point cover other artists material and mean it as a tribute, not as a replacement for the original. Thank you David Yasbek! Some more info on the plaques on TD: Jim and Virginia Lovejoy and Jeff Day, the organizers of the Princeton Illinois XTC Music and Friends Convention of 1993, presented these plaques to each member of the band in the name of all XTC fans as a tangible Thank You. Dean Zemel, the picture is not incorrectly identified. It was in fact taken by Peter Dix with his daughter Amy in Andy's living room, June didn't go to England that trip. The picture is also featured on the front cover of issue 38 of The Little Express from August 1994. The British fan who was awarded a plaque was Peter Kitchen from Darwen. As a sidebar, anyone out there know how to join the They Might Be Giants mailing list? Please respond privately. Thanks.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 01:16:41 -0500 From: jims@inlink.com (Jim S.) Subject: RE: TD II - Electric Boogaloo Dave Criidle gave us an incredibly inciteful list of artists and the songs they should cover on TD II. The following are comments on some of the choices: > Blur - Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me) EXCELLENT! > Tom Waits - Ladybird NO NO NO!!! One of my all-time faves. As a songwriter, Waits is undeniably a major talent. But that VOICE! UGH! > Paul McCartney - In Loving Memory of a Name I can hear it now - and it's awesome. How about McCartney for "Ladybird" as well? > Shonen Knife - Love at First Sight Perfect choice. Would be fun as hell. > Prince - Pink Thing He's not worthy. > Green Day - Outside World > Madness (Reunion Recording) - When Your Near Me I Have Difficulty > Squeeze - Merely a Man These are also perfect matches. Well done, Dave and Jude. One thing I was disappointed in was the song selection for TD. SOOO many great songs were left off. And I could do without remakes of certain songs, i.e. "Making Plans For Nigel." > Bono - Thanks for Christmas Also unworthy, IMO. > ...Just in case Mr. Yazbek gets inspired for a sequel!!! GREAT IDEA!!! Jim S. <jims@inlink.com>
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 16:45:56 +1000 (GMT+1000)
From: Vzzzbx <h8hc035@wilbur.mbark.swin.oz.au>
Subject: Mummer, New Zealand and question marks
AngryYngMn@aol.com writes...
#> I decided, "Hey. I should listen to Mummer." #> I'm
#> almost addicted to it now.
Same thing happened to me. I've got it on every day at the moment,
especially side 2 ['Human Alchemy' onwards'] and those B-sides they
whammed in the middle.
I don't think much of the flow of the album though. It sounds like they
just recorded a pile of tracks and did their best to put them in a neat
order. Anyway, who cares about the order, every track's a gem. :)
james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) writes...
#> Australia shmaustralia... there are other places in the same
#> general vicinity that are also longing to hear Joe Jackson sing
#> Statue of Liberty.
When I went to New Zealand a couple of years ago, I couldn't believe how
much wider your choice is, compared to ours. I found some things in
Auckland I'd never seen in my life. Your country definitely has _much_
better taste than this pathetic excuse for a nation. :)
Also, everything else in New Zealand was around 20% cheaper too, which is
odd considering most of it was made in Australia and exported...
One more thing... am I the only one who doesn't get question marks with
this list? My guess it's something to do with this university, unless
it's happening to other people...
--
h8hc035@wilbur.mbark.swin.oz.au
'The music business is a hammer to keep you pegs in your holes, but please
don't listen to me. I've already been poisoned by this industry!'
-- Andy Partridge
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 12:20:06 -0400 From: deluxe transitive vampire <woj@remus.rutgers.edu> Subject: sarah's "dear god" and robyn's producer s.reule@genie.com sez: >Enough about this, let's hear some other opinions on the Sarah Mclaughlin >track. My wife says it's better than XTC's version! I wouldn't go that >far but I think it's the best thing she's done as far as the intensity of >the vocal. Anyone else think so? when andy says that he thinks sarah did the song better than xtc did, i think he's really getting at sarah's voice being much more epxressive than his. her vocals beat the pants off andy's, far as i'm concerned, for "dear god". as for the musical facet, i was surprised, though not unexpectedly, how much she turned the song into her own. well, her band's, anwyays. the song would have fit in so well musically with her other work that, if i didn't know better, i'd've said it was her own tune. as for "the best thing she's done as far as the intensity of the vocal", i think her vocals on "hold on" from _fumbling towards ecstacy_ are more intense, even moreso when she performs that song live. i'd like to hear her sing "dear god" live since her live performances are much more stupefying than her studio work. Algae99@aol.com sez: >Has anyone heard the rumor that perhaps Andy was producing the next effort >from Robyn Hitchcock. In the Kershaw Sessions, a Robyn import, there is >mention that the two met and Andy offered to produce the next album. It >would be a very interesting pairing. _the kershaw sessions_ are a collection of various appearances by robyn and company on andy kershaw's radio program on the bbc. if i recall correctly, the particular session that andy and robyn met on was recorded in 1988. andy's offer was made mostly in jest - i transcribed that particular dialogue for chalkhills years ago. so i think this rumor is just a mix-up of time periods. in any event, robyn is already recording his new album and andy's not involved. woj
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 09:47:31 -0700 From: mmbarton@scn.org (Michael Barton) Subject: My first 2 cents worth I'm feeling compelled to write after several months of enjoyable reading, upon listening to Testimonial Dinner. Allow me to be one of the first to say that I didn't find Sarah McLachlan's version of Dear God to be nearly as inspired as several other tracks on the album. I don't know how to say it, except too Sarah-ey (and I'm a great fan of her last album). Maybe my expectations got a little built up. On the other hand TMWSAHS and Another Satellite really took the originals into a new orbit. Are there any NPR programs broadcast nationally that would qualify for rare XTC being played on them? I'm envious of Canada...
------------------------------ From: ToddT8@aol.com Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 16:52:11 -0400 Subject: Testimonial Dinner Okay, I thought I'd give my two cents, since I've been listening to this baby since I bought it about a week ago. I think that there are some highlights, the much mentioned version of Dear God certainly is wonderful, but I have mixed feelings. I think some of the artists tried to stay close to the original and came up short. I mean why listen to a cover of Nigel when you can listen to XTC? Joe Jackson and Rueben Blades brought something of themselves to their versions and succeeded in creating something new and interesting. I also like "Wake Up" which is harder edged than the original and gives me a reason to listen to it. Overall it just makes me appreciate the original songs more and prompted me to dig out some older XTC disks (White Music and D & W). Boy do I love D & W! BTW, does anybody else think that the songs added to the CD sound like they belong on GO 2 more than D & W? Peace Todd
------------------------------
From: Bob Delavan <bobde@microsoft.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 95 16:05:22 TZ
Subject: This World Over
Hello everyone, I recently just got onto this list and I am ecstatic to
be on it.
Looking though the digest, I noticed a couple of things:
1) Without a doubt, if a band has enough talent -- they should do
"This World Over".
-- This has got be one of my favorite XTC songs of all time.
-- It's also just a great song in general.
2) ATD II should also include "This World Over", I would
suggest Tiffany :-)
Actually I would love it if Sting covered this. This
would combine the best of both worlds for me.
-- Something acoustic similar to "Message in a bottle"
-- that Sting is famous for finishing up in a live show.
Anyhow, those are my first comments on this list...Take them in stride
and remember it's a
"free thinking world."
-bob
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 21:53:57 -0500 From: shonniet@interaccess.com (LaShawn M. Taylor) Subject: May I have some more, please? Well, I finally broke down and brought the new CD, Friday, 'cause you all keep talking about it so much. So just for that, you're going to get a sister's view of the CD. So if you all take your seats: Freedy Johnson: He sounded like he was reading the lyrics from a billboard. Otherwise, all right. Spacehog: couldn't make up their minds on tempo. I did like the whistle part, though. CTD: The pace was slowed a bit, but I could dig it. However, it is still startling to me to hear the lead singer's voice. No voice should go that low, IMHO. Verve: Before I got the CD, I called that 800 number to hear those 3 samples. Did it 8'oclock in the morning. Needless to say, I did not have to buy my morning coffee. It was brash. It was crude. It was snotty. I like it! Rembrandts: It's Nigel, Rembrandtish. Sarah McLachlan: A darker tone, almost haunting. This being my least favorite song since it clashes with my religious beliefs, Sarah's vocals make the lyrics more poignant. Ruben Blades: Being a Brazilian music fan, I wasn't too sure reading some earlier Chalkies comments on the song. But now all I can say is LOVE IT! He took the song and transformed it. What a great version! I especially loved the flavor of horns and bongos. Joe Lamy in the last Chalkhills wrote it was like have two great songs. Oh, I totally agree! P. Hux: The great otherworldness of Satellite Andy conveyed in the originial was utterly destroyed by the harsh, heavy guitars. It simply did not work. TMBG: Also being a TMBG fan, 25 o'clock was what I exactly expected from them, seeing that the original was a bit goofy already. Loved it. Terry & the Lovemen: Whether there's three of them, whether it's one of them, whether it's none of them, I don't care. I never heard the song before but instantly feel in love with it. Of course, maybe that was because this was close to a new song I would ever get. Sighhhh, if only I had a little more. . . Joe Jackson: Somehow, he kept the spirit of XTC in the song while adding his own stamp on it. Loved the organ parts. Ah, but such a short Dinner--is there anything for dessert? LaShawn Taylor *------------------------------ LaShawn's Reality Slap #2 Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup left in a pot overnight will turn the kitchen into a "foul mush" room. *------------------------------
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 21:08:40 -0700 From: pinknoiz@ccnet.com (Bob Gonsalves) Subject: TD II - Electric Boogaloo > P.P.S. Did anyone else notice that it sounds like Ruben Blades says "I > hate that XTC" in the last 10 seconds of his song? WEIRD! It's more like "la gente, si" (the people, yes). That last phrase, in Spanish, starts off with "Pero" (but)... Bob Gonsalves, Pink Noise Studios home: http://www.pinknoiz.com/pinknoiz/ work: http://www.sinanet.com/iwinc/products/Lingraphica/Lingraphica.html
------------------------------ From: BugRoom@aol.com Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 06:20:36 -0500 Subject: Watneys For god sakes... OKAY!!! I'll switch to Busch for subject matter. I'm sure that's much more potent and tasty. Peace, love, VOODOO, John (apparently this year's "Jester-o'-the-Brits")
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 14:11:03 -0800 From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: What about the Kinks? Hey everyone, I've been an XTC fan and friend for 15 years, and have been looking in on recent posts to this here list. There's been a lot of discussion about other bands that may be similar to XTC, but as far as I can remember, no one has said too much about the Kinks. First and foremost I was an enormous Kinks fan and only "discovered" XTC while on my search for any bands that had some of the great elements of what Ray Davies had. Upon hearing "Don't Lose Your Temper" I was was instantly hooked. Let's face it, there are lots of parallels between the two bands. Most obvious is the pure Englishness of their bodies of work. Don't overlook the concentra- tion and wry eloquence that both Andy and Ray employ to the mundane aspects of real life in their songs. Not to mention the incredible command of melody, lyrical prowess, humor, variety, prolificness, and longevity. What about the fact that both bands burst onto the scene during a British invasion and both went pastoral when all their contemporaries took a different course. On the downside, both bands suffered from endless touring and terrible music industry manipulation and abuse. Andy has told me on several occassions that in his opinion, no single songwriter has ever surpassed Ray Davies in his finest moments, i.e. Waterloo Sunset, Shangri-la, Autumn Almanac, Mr. Pleasant, etc. In fact, Andy even requested that I fax him the chords to Autumn Almanac so that he could finally play the song. For the Morgan-Fischer Miniatures album that Andy eventually contributed his "The History of Rock and Roll" piece, originally he was working on a 1 minute cover version of Waterloo Sunset in which the bass line kept descending, long past the horizon. Two weeks ago I got to see Ray Davies perform a solo acoustic one man show here in San Francisco in which he told stories about the early years, sang many classic and obscure 60's numbers and just made me so proud to be a Kinks fan all these years. Since hearing my first XTC song in 1980, I have never been so proud. Thank you for the days, Mitch
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-17 ******************************
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