Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 31
Date: Tuesday, 14 November 1995

          Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 31

                Tuesday, 14 November 1995

Today's Topics:

            Dear You-Know-Who (or is it Whom?)
                      In comes I...
              Dear GAWD, it's a new person.
          Mr. Palmer/Swindon/Covers/The Countess
                   Re: God and Gregory
             covering ground, cooking oranges
               Heathens and Hallucinations
              Future of XTC's back catalogue
                   XTC-ie not religion
          The strangest place where I heard XTC
                       One-Song CDs
               very small XTC auction list
                  Strange place for XTC
               Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-30
                    Roundabout England
                  The strangest place...
                Mr. Partridge's Birthday!
                          (none)

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The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.

Did you make disease, and the diamond blue?

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

Subject: Dear You-Know-Who (or is it Whom?)
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 95 19:59:17 -0500
From: John Daniels <daniels@icd-rls.indy.tce.com>

>> Imagine an unthinkable for a moment: Andy
>> Partridge composes a song with a great chord progression, catchy melody,
>> and fantastic arrangement, but the lyrics go "I hate the Niggers.  Kill
>> All the Jews."  And imagine for a moment that he was serious.  I don't
>> think many people out there would consider themselves "Closed-minded"
>> for skipping this song each time it came on.  It simply would go
>> against most people's deeply held personal values.<<<

I believe you are missing a point here. There is a fundamental difference
between this religion thing and messages such as "Kill all Jews!!" For one,
religious faith is a strongly help PERSONAL belief. It is up to an
individual to find his own GOD (be it Christian, Buddhist, athiest, Jew,
etc.)  and express that faith in a way that he sees fit. This person has
explored all the alternatives to this faith, and continues to explore them
throughout his life, in an effort to strengthen that faith during his time
on earth and whereever he goes after that time (be it heaven, hell, another
life or worm food). If one does not question his faith on a daily basis, how
does one truly have it to begin with? Blind faith without the heart will
lead one into a dark hole.

Anyways, I am straying a bit here. The point is, religous belief is a
personal belief, that only effects (or is it affects, I never can tell the
difference!) ones own life. Messages such as "Kill all Jews!!" certainly has
an impact on most, if not all, of our lives. This sort of "faith" in itself
could be construed as a religion. Imagine growing up in a radical
anti-semitic family. As a child, you would be intensely effected (there goes
that word again!) by the views/beliefs of your family members. Perhaps even
to the extent that you believed those views to be "good" for all mankind. As
you grow older, you retain your faith in these beliefs from your upbringing,
and as you do not open your mind to alternatives, those ideas fester until
you either let them go unchecked and act on them or are apathetic toward the
actions occuring around you. Events like this occurred earlier this century
in Europe, as well as situations similar to it throughout history. The scary
thing is it still happens today. And many of these wars are fed by religious
differences.  If these people of yesterday and today would open their minds,
and gain a better understanding of what each others beliefs are about,
perhaps these wars would peter out due to their ridiculous nature. Blind
faith is a dangerous thing. I think Andy was trying to express a similar
point here in this song that we have all been "talking" about. So what if he
is a Christian or athiest?  Would it make a difference if he was Jewish or
Buddhist or whatever. He states a view on what some religions have done to
our civilizations over history. And you cannot argue that he is correct on
this point. Remember that there is a difference between a religion (which is
a physical body or organization) and the belief in that religion. You don't
have to like the song or his religious beliefs. You have a right to your
opinion, just as Andy does to his (as expressed in this song, intrepreted by
us fans, or spoken by Andy in interviews). As long as we mean no ill will
with our opinions and try to force them down other peoples throats, which is
what messages such as "Kill all the Jews!!" lead us to believe. Some views
are just opinions which lead to healthy discussions such as those found on
this list, while others are dangerous for all mankind. This is why I
appreciate all types of "good-intentioned" discussions on this subject (and
others like it). I can test myself every day while hearing other peoples
opinions, be they different >from mine, or the same. It would be a boring
list (or world, for that matter), if we all agreed on everything!

John Daniels (no relation to Jack...unfortunately!)

PS. Sorry for the long post, but all of this banter back and forth inspired
me to add my own bits of ??

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

Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 20:21:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Natalie Jane Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu>
Subject: In comes I...

(Wow, I've never posted to a mailing list before... I hope I'm doing this
right...)

I was going to put off writing my "Hi, I'm a newbie" message for a while,
but someone mentioned that they wanted to see more of such messages, so,
adroitly side-stepping the "Dear God" tangle of thorns, I step into the
fray...

I first heard XTC when I was ten.  I have a vague memory of sitting in
front of the TV, drinking hot chocolate and peering in puzzlement at the
"Senses Working Overtime" video.  When I was thirteen, a boy I had a crush
on told me that he was happy because a copy of "Mummer" had mysteriously
materialized on his bedroom floor.  When I was sixteen, I bought said
album, and as soon as I heard that weird triple drumbeat and that sonorous,
incantory voice - "Do you know what noise awakes yoooouuu..." - I was
completely hooked.  XTC became my favorite band.  Until...

When I was twenty, I went to England for my junior year abroad.
Naturally, I planned on going to Swindon, but was dissuaded by the
mockery of my English friends, who reacted in the same way that I might
if a Brit came to Michigan and told me she was determined to go to Flint
(industrial wasteland town north of Detroit). Despite this,  I went on
listening to XTC, but after a while a strange thing happened.  I couldn't
listen to them anymore: they were TOO ENGLISH.  It was a case of
super-saturation.  I sold some of my XTC records, put the rest away, and
haven't listened to them since - until now, three years later.

It's a weird experience coming back to these records after so long.
They've unleashed a flood of memories from my adolescence - mostly good,
some bad.  I've been hearing things I never noticed before: political
aspects of the lyrics, nifty musical bits, and so forth.  I'm liking
albums I used to dislike ("Go2") and disliking albums I used to like
("Oranges and Lemons" - like chewing plastic).  I can't really say XTC
are my favorite band anymore, but they're certainly up there, and I'm
glad Chalkhills exists so I can talk about them.  So now this newbie has
said hello.  Hello!

And hey - amid all this "Dear God" controversy, we've forgotten an
important event.  Wasn't November 11th Mr. Partridge's birthday?  Happy
birthday, Andy!

Natalie Jacobs
**************
"Big Brother is watching you.
Learn to become invisible."

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

From: Randy Watkins <randyw@sisna.com>
Subject: Dear GAWD, it's a new person.
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 18:00:21 -0800

Yep, I'm new to this group, but I've been listening to XTC for some
time.  I discovered them on some late night show that was playing their
"Senses Working Overtime" video (when it first came out).  I've been
amazed over the years that (a) these guys aren't as popular as The
Stones or Madonna, and (b) that NO ONE that I've ever known has ever
heard of them.  It's a tragedy, really; I think it's some of the most
intelligent music with texture that I've heard.

If this is an issue discussed long ago, forgive me...but I've got a set
of "Nonsuch" game cards.  How many of these were made?  I've also got an
Austrian version of "Oranges and Lemons" on 3 mini-discs that comes in a
three-tiered "pocket-box"....

Covers for XTC?  Hmmmm.....

Roger Waters'  "What God Wants, Part I"
Pink Floyd's  "Corporal Clegg"
Donovan's  "Celeste" or "The Trip"

Ciao,
Randy
"I am nothing that you think I am anyway"....Syd Barrett

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

Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 19:37:07 -0800
From: kevbob <kevcol@teleport.com>
Subject: Mr. Palmer/Swindon/Covers/The Countess

Mr. Erich Sellheim (sellheim@zfn.uni-bremen.de) offered this tidbit:

>In another issue, Robert Palmer was there and they played him "Great
>Fire" He didn't know that it was XTC, but he proved some bad taste by
>saying the following:
>
>(Shakes his head) "I shudder at the thought that someone puts the drugs
>that these boys obviously take in my coffee. An English group? Is this
>The Kinks? XTC? Really? Up to now, I thought they were a good band, but
>this.....is too esoteric for me."

I have three words to respond to Mr Not-Esoteric Palmer's criticism of Great
Fire/XTC:

'Addicted to Love'
_________
And regarding Richard Pedretti-Allen's (richard.pedrettiallen@octel.com)
trip to Swindon, and I quote:

>  It felt rather ridiculous going there because I liked the music of some
>  guys that lived nearby.  Would you go to Hollywood because Trent Reznor
>  lived there?  Would you go to Jamestown because Jim Jones lived there?
>  Don't answer that.

I agree with this. I visited a certain star's home (or the street outside-
it doesnt matter who it was!) once in London and felt like an idiot. I'll
never do that again, especially when we in the States make fun of those
Hollywood "Map to the Stars Homes" tours. (BTW- The Jim Jones Experience
took place in *Jones*town Guiana! You may have it mixed up with the
Jamestown Colony of 17th century Virginia! They didn't need spiked grape
Kool-Ade to off themselves! Old Man Winter took care of that for them! I
digress..)
_______
And... Who should XTC cover?

No one. Every minute they might spend in the studio recording someone else's
inferior work is another minute we wouldn't have new XTC material! And the
waits aren't getting any shorter!
_________
Lastly, I hope some of us aren't too harsh on The Countess of Chocula for
saying that she didn't like the personal attacks regarding some now
forgotten string. There was one post in partucular that did go pretty far in
denigrating a particular poster who had some religious beliefs that he chose
to share. I think that was the one she was referring to and it *was* pretty
rude and uncalled for. Anyone want to follow that up, email me instead. (As
to leaving the list 'cause you don't like a string, it is still possible to
read through the topics you don't want to get to something you do, so no
point in people leaving for that reason- that's silly. All topics wither
with time. Patience is rewarded.)
_____
I relinquish the floor to...

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

From: William Wisner <wisner@gryphon.com>
Subject: Re: God and Gregory
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 21:42:02 -0800

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>  -- look closely at the cover of Oranges and Lemons.  From whose
>  guitar are all the oranges and lemons spilling?  Is there a hidden
>  meaning?  Of course!  The other two chaps may write all the songs,
>  but without Mr. Gregory, there would be no oranges and lemons.

Some members of this assembly would have it that Colin is, in fact,
responsible for all the lemons.

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 15:11:53 +0800
From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan)
Subject: covering ground, cooking oranges

From: Martin_Monkman@fincc04.fin.gov.bc.ca
> From whose guitar are all the oranges and lemons spilling?  Is there
> a hidden meaning?  Of course!  The other two chaps may write all
> the songs, but without Mr. Gregory, there would be no oranges and
> lemons.

And look at the photo inside the CD.... whose hat is full of oranges and
lemons???

---
BTW folks, I admit it, I goofed. Yup, it was Sam Cooke.

---
From: vanvalnc@is2.nyu.edu (Chris Van Valen)
>Who should XTC cover???

a quick scan through some CDs suggests:
Billy Bragg - Sexuality
The Bats - North by North
Buffalo Tom - Treehouse (with Colin on lead vocals)
The Church - Unguarded Moment/Electric Lash
Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth/Vegetation
Dave Dobbyn - Maybe the Rain
Brian Eno - Spinning Away/Backwater
Robyn Hitchcock - Another Bubble/So you think you're in love/Madonna of
  theWasps
Sugar - If I can't change your mind
Paul Kelly - Before too long (again, Colin on lead)
 from the "believe it or not" category: The Stranglers - Skin Deep
 from the "you must be joking" category: Bob Marley - Is this love?
and the "how I wish, but definitely left-field" section: Kate Bush - Hello
Earth

That'll do. Otherwise we'll be here all day.

James

James Dignan, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.

Ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk St., St. Clair, Dunedin, New Zealand
pixelphone james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz / steam megaphone NZ 03-455-7807

   * You talk to me as if from a distance
   * and I reply with impressions chosen from another time, time, time,
   * from another time                     (Brian Eno)

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

From: "R.L.Crane" <R.L.Crane@sheffield.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 10:10:25 +0000
Subject: Heathens and Hallucinations

Um...Hi !

It appears my comments about heathens and hallucinations were
somewhat.........um.....not sure of the word here, hhowever....to
everyone who's written to me about this......I will reply
personally....it just might take a while

'S Cool to hear from you all, though!

Prankster Will

"More Marmite !"

All Done

Bye Bye

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 20:36:20 +1000 (GMT+1000)
From: Vzzzbx <h8hc035@wilbur.mbark.swin.oz.au>
Subject: Future of XTC's back catalogue

I ordered in the Dukes's 'Chips...' CD from the UK a few weeks ago, and I
was told it will take a couple more weeks than expected because -- this is
the important bit -- Virgin UK are out of stock and need to print more
copies.

This way I'll know what Virgin plan to do with the XTC back catalogue.
If I get 'Chips...' we might be safe in saying Virgin _won't_ delete the
old stuff in a hurry.  However, if I get told in 2-3 weeks that it's been
deleted... I'll be a very unhappy chappie.

If it's been deleted I'll be on this list in a jiffy.  :)

 #> From: jmarsh@ix.netcom.com (Joel G. Marsh )
 #> Why haven't "the boys" gotten the financial and critical
 #> recognition they deserve, even after all this time?

Have you seen the singles charts lately?  If XTC was up there with that
stuff I'd be offended.  :)

--
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: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:18:40 +0000 (GMT)
From: Kevin Donnelly <kevin.donnelly@st-hughs.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: XTC-ie not religion

  Hey, what's all this about God? I thought this was an XTC mailing list
not a circular from a theological college. Are XTC so dull in themselves
that none actually wants to talk about them? Well, I do.
Someone today mentioned that Senses Working Overtime has been (urgh!)
covered. This is a disgrace. How could anyone else capture the sheer
beauty of the lyrics? Andy's voice is essential, surely?
It seems that certain people have been making pilgramages to Swindon. I'm
sorry guys but Swindon really is an appalling place and not worth
visiting even if it is XTC 's birthplace.  Though perhaps I should not say
that as I'm intending to visit Macclesfield (Ian Curtis &c) and Woking
(The Jam); and neither are exactly  tourist hot spots.
So why have XTC not received the success they deserve? I perceive that it
could well be due to their highly idiosyncratic style (ie there is no
band like them)and eccentricity. To me this is endearing but I suppose it
doesn't make for great chart success. Though I reckon a re-release of The
Difappointed would go down pretty well. But the charts aren't all, I suppose.

And the church bells softly chime....

Kevin

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

From: g.giusti@area.it (Giovanni Giusti)
Subject: The strangest place where I heard XTC
Date: 14 Nov 1995 15:13:43 GMT
Organization: area bbs

OK. Now the funny thing is that the two strangest places where I heard XTC
both involved TV and "Generals and Majors".

In both cases it's Italian TV.

Around 10 years ago a sort of Italian would-be Top-of-the-Pops used G&M as a
background music while the long-haired vee-jay blurted out things such as
"Heyyyy kiiids, let's check out this cooooooool new videeeoh by Muh-donnah"
while jumping up and down in front of the camera.

But even more weirding was hearing the same song playing in the background
during a *recent* (4-5 years) glittery prime-time variety show (I don't know
if they still exist on US channels, but they hold on to them over here): just
as the balding presentor with very visible facial liftings, an artificial
grin and *tons* of makeup was entering the stage amidst a crowd of succinctly
dressed blond dancers sporting enthusiastic stares, you could hear G&M in the
background.

Luckily, it wasn't played live by the orchestra.

I wonder why "Generals and Majors": I didn't know it had ever been a hit
single.

Finally, I do have the memory of some XTC song used in a local station's TV
commercial for a butchery or something like that. But as I can't remember
which song nor the images of the ad, I guess it doesn't count.

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

From: Michelle Pratt <mpratt@aacn.nche.edu>
Subject: One-Song CDs
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 95 08:48:00 PST

<<Well here's my idea.  If you had to pick *ONE* song you'd like different
versions of to be recorded and played over and over and over twelve times by
different artists doing their own personal styles on it, what would it be,
and give me a few artists that could do this.>>

"Statue of Liberty" - National Symphony orchestra, any reggae cover, Cyndi
Lauper, Bananarama, Elvis Costello, Green Day, Def Leppard...

Michelle
mpratt@aacn.nche.edu

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:19:27 -0700 (MST)
From: dahaa@primenet.com (David Haakenson)
Subject: very small XTC auction list

Hello again,

Here's a short list of XTC items I have for auction. E-mail bids directly
to me; do not post here! Postage is extra. Bidding will close arbitrarily
in about 7 days or so. These are one owner discs and all are NM; if you buy
and are unhappy with them, just mail them back for a refund excluding
postage. Thanks.

                       -------
The Colonel-Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen/I Need Protection; UK 7" Virgin
VS380, pic sleeve, Colin Moulding's pseudonym single with Terry Chambers on
drums.

XTC-Making Plans For Nigel/Bushman President/Pulsing Pulsing; UK limited
edition 7" Virgin VS282, foldout game board sleeve with sheet of game
pieces; there were supposedly only 500 of these made.

XTC-No Thugs in Our House/Chain of Command/Limelight/Over Rusty Water; UK
limited edition 7" Virgin VS490, gatefold diecut theater sleeve with sheet
of "actors" to position on the stage.

XTC-This World Over/Blue Overall; UK limited edition 7" Virgin VS721, six
postcards attached to front of pic sleeve.

Dukes of Stratosphear-You're A Good Man Albert Brown/Vanishing Girl; UK
limited edition 7" Virgin VSY982, pic sleeve, colored vinyl.

XTC-Skylarking Interview with Andy Partridge; US promo only 12" Geffen
Records (Warner Bros. Music Show) WBMS 146, features music from Skylarking
with interview segments of Andy and a bit with Todd Rundgren; regular red
WBMS sleeve, also 1-page Geffen press release sheet.
                       -------

David Haakenson

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:16:11 -0800
From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman)
Subject: Strange place for XTC

How's this one . . .

Last May I was on Crete, y'know that big island at the bottom of Greece. It
was a Sunday night, and the rickety bus I was on broke down between two
very small and secluded towns in a dark, mountainous region in the middle
of nowhere. I was forced to walk about two miles in the dark; my path
guided by the direction of some faintly lit building in the distance. When
I finally got there, I noticed it was one of only four buildings in the
"town" still standing. As I got closer to the open door, I saw a skinny,
sleeping grey cat with dirty matted hair and noticed some music a low
volume coming from the inside of what seemed to be a bar. I walked in and
found one guy standing at a bar, next to a turntable, playing "Yacht
Dance", and looking at the lyrics to English Settlement!

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:02:45 -0600 (CST)
From: "LaShawn M. Taylor" <shonniet@interaccess.com>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-30

jenny @next.com.au wrote:

>Dear Madam Barnum is Andy!  Fly on the wall is Colin!  Collideascope is Andy!

Collideascope is Andy?  Really?  I thought the voice was too high to be
Andy's.  Of course, I'm still trying to figure out who sang what on that CD.

And speaking of vocals and our beloved D.G. (oh, no, I'm not falling for
*that* again.  I've learned my lesson), I've always been curious. .
.little has been heard from Dave songwise.  Did he ever sing alone on any
of the CDs?  I've thought "Grass" was sung by him, but then again, it
could be our dear Andy (see above paragraph).

Perhaps this is why Colin and Andy are forever frowning while
Dave is grinning his butt off.  No pressure to write, no pressure to
sing.  He's got it made!

LaShawn M. Taylor

******************
I hate being wrong
but I do it so well. . .
******************

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

From: Gene_Yoon@brown.edu
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 16:54:24 -0500
Subject: Roundabout England

> From: jh3@ns.cencom.net (JH3 Unlimited, Ltd.)
>
> Here's a possibility: How many non-English XTC fans have actually been to
> Swindon to have a look at the band's hometown? Or even English ones?

Wellll, I've never been to Swindon, but I did go on a "theatre tour" to
England for a week three years ago, and during the whole visit XTC kept
coming up in my consciousness.

I saw the Chalk horse hill (it has a proper name which I can't recall) on
our day trip to Stonehenge.  England: known for its rock groups.  I was so
flabbergasted when in a gift shop I saw all these trinkets with that horse
on them that I exclaimed, "Hey, that's XTC's 'English Settlement' logo!" to
which I was met with puzzled expressions from the store clerks and
disgusted faces from my friends embarrassed at my ignorance.

Riding on the bus in London I had one of those revelatory moments when we
zoomed into a crowded traffic circle and (guess what) 'English Roundabout'
started pumping into my headphones.  That was very memorable.

> NEXT TIME: The Terrifying Swindon Contraflow Roundabout!

Eek, do we really want to know about this one?!

In Bath we had dinner at an old inn/tavern that was really a converted
house; during my whole time there, 'Dying' kept playing and replaying
inside my head.  What a "mood song" that one is--as in the music seems to
say as much, if not more, than the words.  'Dying' always makes me think of
an old English farmhouse or a New England bed & breakfast: low ceilings,
quilt-covered beds with big wooden posts, rolltop desks, tick-tocking
grandfather clock, oil lamps, creaky hardwood floors, stone fireplaces
(lit, of course), wood varnishing everywhere.  Even the "shoop" of the
fingering changes on the acoustic guitar reminds me of a slow-dripping
faucet.  It's a setting that seems to glow everytime I hear the
song....oddly comforting, considering the gloomy lyrics.

The closest I got to seeing Swindon was when CNN did a segment on England's
new Cash-by-Card system, and Swindon was chosen as a pilot site.
Anti-materialist Andy (and Good Things Colin, too) must have been thrilled
at that one.  Swindon looked like a much bigger, busier town (city?) on TV
than I would have imagined.

If I could ever visit England again, I would do it differently.

Gene

%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%,,,,,,,%
You can't buy chewing gum anywhere in Singapore.
But you can buy peppermint candy 'cause you eat it till it's gone.
    %```````%```````%```````%```````%```````%```````%```````%```````%

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

From: RandyXpher@aol.com
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 17:02:10 -0500
Subject: The strangest place...

The strangest place I ever heard an XTC song?  Last week, after I finished
off my DG-related post (apologies again) and fired it off , I went to lunch.
 Got in the car, started it up, and what song was playing on the radio?  Dear
God!  Swear to God...  I'm taking it as a sign to shut up about the whole
thing.  Of course... I'm talking...about... it ......now.  Oops.

Just a moment to give the gladhand to my TD Man-Of-The-Match... P. Hux.  The
more I listen to Satellite, the cooler it gets.  I think it *may* have
eclipsed the original in my heart.  It's becoming a close call...

And finally, does anyone know where a fellow can get Yazbek's album on this
side of the Atlantic?  I've exhausted all my local import sources with no
luck.  Advise, please...

RC

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:26:26 -0800
From: uu023@freenet.victoria.bc.ca (Timothy Chi Him Chan)
Subject: Mr. Partridge's Birthday!

According to the Music News of the World page, this past Sat.,
Nov. 11 was Andy Partridge's 42nd birthday!  H.B. Mr. Partridge!

Also,
I found this in GUITAR WORLD's Dec. 1995 issue in an interview
with Julianna Hatfield:
"In high school there were the Big Three: the Replacements, REM,
and XTC.  Those were the three bands that made me realize,
'I have to do this, too!'"

I'm not a big fan of her music but it's good to see she was
inspired by great bands, especially Andy and the boys!

Tim Chan
Victoria B.C., Canada

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 15:20:20 -0800
From: Christie Byun <cbyun@ocf.Berkeley.EDU>

I just had to post in answer to the question about hearing XTC in weird
places.

This was when I was first listening to XTC, and I only had their "newish"
albums (Oranges and Lemons, Skylarking, Nonsuch, plus English Settlement,
though I didn't listen to it much at the time).  So I didn't know about
their frenetic "punk" stuff.  Well, one day I was at Circuit City to look
over their CD players.  While I was there, I heard some vaguely familiar
music coming from another part of the store.  I followed my musical
"nose" into the car stereo section.  I didn't know the song, but it
sounded so dang familiar (a lot like XTC in fact).  And blasting out of
one of the car CD players was Statue of Liberty.  I didn't even know it was
XTC and I knew it was XTC!  Wow!  And propped on top of the player was the
jewel case for the Compact XTC.  It turns out one of the employees was a
fan and had just gotten it.

I guess that wasn't TOO weird.

By the way, I really hate "My Weapon".  Sexist or not (and I think it is,
no matter what Barry says) it annoys me.  So does his other musical
creation on Go2.  I'm probably offending you Andrews fans out there, but
I'm glad they "sacked" him when they did (though I like/respect his goofy
organ contributions to the first two albums).

And one more thing--I was watching the Kings v. Ducks hockey game last
night and I noticed (well, to me anyway) that the Ducks' player Paul
Kariya (or however you spell it) looks a lot like Andy, but with dark hair.
Hmmm...

Christie

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End of Chalkhills Digest #2-31
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Go back to Volume 2.

15 November 1995 / Feedback