Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 32
Date: Wednesday, 15 November 1995

          Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 32

               Wednesday, 15 November 1995

Today's Topics:

               Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-31
                 Re: Introduction to XTC
       The Case of the Missing Andy Boy PART 1 OF 4
                  xtc songs in a row...
                       Re: Dear Rod
  My first XTC song; and a weird place I later heard it
          Delurking (as opposed to Skylurking)`
          The Chords to "Roads Girdle the Globe"
                          Vocals
              *who's* pushing the pedals???
                  Buying singles/Covers
               Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-30
                   "DYING"   and   DAVE
                 Newbies in the New World
                     The Disappointed
                 who's in the limelight?
          From XTC Coverings to Swindon's growth
                   XTC songs I dislike

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God asked me should he ought to put his world on the left, no.

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

From: David Yazbek <yazbek@pipeline.com>
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 21:24:47 -0500
Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-31

To the several people who've mailed me and to RC from the last chalkhills--
my album will be available in the U.S. in  January through W.A.R.? records
(Colorado). It can also be ordered from Humbug Records (a division of
Trident) in the U.K. I have my first gig in years in N.Y. at Brownie's on
Ave. A on Fri. Nov. 17th at 8:30. I haven't sent out mailings because it's
more of a dress rehearsal than a real gig, but if any faithful XTCers want
to come-- well then, come. It'll be messy but hopefully fun. If you want to
be on my mailing list, let me know.
Also- you all may be interested to know that many of the suggestions for TD
acts and covers that I've seen posted went through my mind when compiling
the Tribute (one I can think of immediately is Elvis Costello doing
"Farmboy") but you have no idea what a complete pain in the ass it is
getting in touch with certain artists and then trying to lean them toward
the song you want. Thanks.
Yazbek

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 23:18:11 -0500 (EST)
From: heller megan j <mjhell@mail.wm.edu>
Subject: Re: Introduction to XTC

well, I'm not completely a newbie here--I've posted a couple of times and
I arrived just in time for the...err, discussion about that song which
shall not be mentioned (lucky me), but I thought I'd throw in my story
about how I got into XTC.

It was the summer of 1989 (the 30th of June, to be exact), and I was
twelve.  I was up late watching David Letterman, and he was introducing a
band I had never heard of, but who were apparently making their first
television appearance in seven years.  Well, halfway through the song
("King for a Day"), I was in love.  Unfortunately, over the weekend I
forgot the name of the band, since I hadn't really been paying attention
until they started playing.  That Tuesday, though, I decided to stay up
and watch a show that was on MTV at that point called "Post-Modern MTV."
I'd seen ads for the show before, and had always wanted to watch it and
see what type of videos they played.  Well, coicidentally enough, Andy
Partridge was hosting, and the first video was "King for a Day."  I
watched the next two nights he hosted, and was hooked by the end of the
week.  I went out and bought _Oranges & Lemons_ that weekend, and for the
next several months made it my personal mission to find out everything I
could about the band.  Even when, a few months later, I first got into
"gothic" music and started wearing all black, XTC remained my favorite
band.  Actually, I'm still wearing all black, and XTC is _still_ my
favorite band. :)

later,
megan h.

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 20:28:03 -0800
From: dfranson@earth.execpc.com (Dave Franson)
Subject: The Case of the Missing Andy Boy PART 1 OF 4

Hi all,

Here's part 1 of 4 of a lengthy article on Andy and the boys that was
published in the great, much-missed Trouser Press way back in '83.  To put
the piece in context, it was written towards the tail-end of the very
unsettling length of time between "English Settlement" and "Mummer."  Sound
familiar?  Enjoy!  ... Dave

*---------------------------------------------------------------------

Trouser Press/October 1983 pp. 26-29

The Case of the Missing Andy Boy PART 1 OF 4
by Harry George

Stalking the rare Partridge; or where's XTC?

Nineteen eighty-two was a watershed year for XTC. Their fifth album, English
Settlement, showed expanded studio range, featuring alto sax, fretless bass,
and l2-string guitar, but sacrificed a lot of attack in the process. The
band's decision to abandon live performance (after a US tour was cancelled
due to singer/guitarist Andy Partridge's collapse at the first gig) thus
seemed doubly ominous. Bassist Colin Moulding's slow-talking fatalism in an
interview last fall hardened the conviction that an artistic cul-de-sac lay
ahead.

Far from it. A cassette of XTC's projected next album, Mummer, was a firm
favorite of mine for weeks before my meeting with Partridge in his native
Swindon. The zest and invention of English pastoral classics like the Small
Faces' Ogden's Nut Gone Flake and the Kinks' Village Green Preservation
Society typifies the 10 songs: Partridge has finally equalled his heroes on
their own ground. Yet he seems doubtful the public will hear the LP in its
original form.

"There's so many things against it even being released," Partridge says.
Sitting at home, the relaxed, friendly musician seems poles apart from the
exhausted figure who found touring incompatible with his health. The only
thing now clouding his countenance is the hint of a goatee.

"We didn't get on well with the producer [Steve Nye] and went on to another
[Bob Sargeant]. Virgin [XTC's British label] said, 'There's no singles on
it, go away and write some more,' so I came up with 'Great Fire.' They put
it out and the BBC ignored it; consequently it never sold a light and Virgin
got very pessimistic about the chances of the whole album."

This despite English Settlement being the most successful (in the UK) XTC
album to date, while continuing the group's in-and-out singles chart career.

"Things that we think will sell are totally ignored. Yet 'Senses Working
Overtime,' which is like a piece of Russian film music in the verses with a
Flamin' Groovies chorus, became a hit. I suppose it's a lesson to Virgin to
take chances: The safe ones they put out never sell. 'Ball and Chain' did
nothing."

Partridge is far from offended at hearing his new album described as
"pastoral."

"I take that as a compliment," he insists. "When you live in this area the
real world happens to be 60 or 70 percent pastoral; you can't go anywhere
two miles in Swindon without hitting downs or sheep. 'Pastoral' to me means
being more in touch with the country than the city, which I think we are.
London gives me the willies.

"The only criticism I can see looming is from all those people who liked our
quasi-political songs [on English Settlement]. This album is a lot more
unprincipled."

Certainly, Mummer could not be accused of willful escapism-- even if "Love
on a Farm Boy's Wages" and "In Loving Memory of a Name" evoke a tranquility
and stability familiar to few of us. "Ladybird" is as dreamy as Pink Floyd's
More or "Grantchester Meadows," but XTC's sound is tough enough elsewhere.
"Beating of Hearts" opens the album with an insistent drum riff; "Human
Alchemy" is ominous and brooding; "Funk Pop a Roll" ("eats up my soul") is
Partridge's blast at the hollow music pouring from his radio.

XTC's problems are compounded by Virgin's dislike of the proposed Mummer
sleeve. Mummers represent an old English tradition of dumb show, performed
in disguise and usually at Christmastime. In approximation of this the nixed
cover photo shows Partridge, Moulding and guitarist Dave Gregory clad in
shredded newspaper.

"A lot of mummers wear suits of newspaper and have done so since early
Victorian times. I thought it would be really interesting to be disguised in
an information process for a once-yearly ceremony-- which making an LP
usually is. But Virgin said, 'People won't understand what mummers are, they
won't know why you're dressed in newspapers.' I'm thinking of changing it to
three newspaper men, like the ones children make by tearing paper. That's an
image a lot of people know immediately as a childish/primitive device."

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 22:51:21 -0600 (CST)
From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" <jenor@csd.uwm.edu>
Subject: xtc songs in a row...

Angry Young Man (or however he abbreviates it for aol.com) mentioned
hearing four XTC songs in a row on the radio. Cool--but I always get
worried when a normlly underplayed artist suddenly gets airplay. Call me
paranoid--but my first thought is always, "damn, did [name of artist] die
or something?"

Also, MTV had a blurb saying 11-11-42 was Andy's birthday. Happy
birthday! (unless, of course, they screwed up their research...)

--Jeff

Jeffrey Norman                                     "Can you write underwater
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee                    on liquid paper?"
Dept. of English & Comp. Lit.
e-mail: jenor@csd.uwm.edu                           --Zippy the Pinhead

PS: Jeff L--good to see another Wire maniac online--which you must be to
own He Said's _Hail_....

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

Date: Tue, 14 Nov 1995 21:41:29 -0800
From: alanzman@deltanet.com (Mr Z)
Subject: Re: Dear Rod

>One potential interpretation of 'Dear God' (sic) has not yet been
>broached; that it is a typographical error on the lyric sheet, and is in
>fact supposed to be 'Dear Rod'. Rod Stewart is responsible for many of
>the evils in the modern world, and I believe that Andy, for one, was
>shrewd enough to realise this.

I believe Andy's pink thing once said in an interview that the Rutles were
an early influence. The Rutles of course are famous for their
out-of-context quote "We're bigger than Rod".

Or maybe not.

Mr Z

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

From: MiKearns@aol.com
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 01:55:01 -0500
Subject: My first XTC song; and a weird place I later heard it

The first time I ever heard XTC was on a tape my dad made for me of WNEW-FM
(New York) about 8 years ago when their programming was wonderful - and they
always pulled out the stops at Christmastime.  The song was "Thanks for
Christmas" and for years I never knew who did it, though I was dying to find
out.  I later heard it at a Chi-Chi's, but the waitress didn't know what it
was.  I thought maybe it was Badfinger.  A few years later I accidentally
erased the tape...

A few years ago, a friend gave me Oranges and Lemons and I heard "The
Loving".  There was something in that song which reminded me of "Thanks for
Christmas".  I knew I was onto something (to say the least!)  I eventually
found Rag and Bone Buffet but not until I had already aquired Nonsuch,
English Settlement, Drums and Wires, and the aforementioned Oranges and
Lemons.  I gave away about 5 copies of Oranges and Lemons because I kept
finding cassettes at the grocery store for $3.99, and I forgot to keep a
copy for myself.

I love this band, and am slowly working to build my collection up to snuff.

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

Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 01:03:10 -0600
From: acraine@interaccess.com (Anthony G. Craine)
Subject: Delurking (as opposed to Skylurking)`

Well, I've been reading for a few weeks now and I've noticed some requests
for new blood. So here comes some.

My first exposure to XTC came on the only radio station in Chicago that
plays them -- WXRT. I knew and liked "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" and
"Generals and Majors," but didn't know anything about the band that played
them.

Then one day, a good friend of mine who is a musician (and I'll just go
ahead and name-drop here -- he's Dag Juhlin, guitarist for the band Poi Dog
Pondering) played a track on his turntable for me -- I actually don't
remember what it was, though I suspect it was "Senses Working Overtime" --
and asked me if I didn't think it was one of the greatest things I'd ever
heard. Well, I really liked it. We both loved the Beatlesque harmonies. I
was hooked.

Not too long after that I bought "Black Sea." Wow. That album became my
constant companion -- on the turntable at home and on tape in the car. I'm
no musician, nor even a musicologist or a music critic, but to me, that
music had texture. Does anyone else know what I mean when I say that that
album has a certain irresistible eroticism to it? "Respectable Street,"
"Living Through another Cuba," "Love at First Sight," "Sgt. Rock," "Burning
With Optimism's Flames" -- all of these songs made me feel alive, virile.
(Am I getting too graphic here?)

Anyway, I started acquiring more recordings, and I would have to say that
if I had to pick a favorite band, it would be XTC. And after I got past my
hot flashes I started to really listen to the lyrics. I found that Andy and
I have very similar views on religion and politics, and that only pulled me
in further.

When I went to England in 1989, I didn't actually go to Swindon, but I did
go to the Vale of the White Horse, which is near Swindon, and I had a tape
of Oranges and Lemons with me, so I was actually listening to "Chalkhills
and Children" as we drove up to the place. We got out of the car, dodged
sheep dung, and climbed those very chalkhills. Kind of a thrill for me.

Tony

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

Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 01:20:35 -0600
From: jh3@ns.cencom.net (JH3 Unlimited, Ltd.)
Subject: The Chords to "Roads Girdle the Globe"

It seems I've been getting more active on this list lately. Hmmm...

Anyway, I can't resist a challenge, and someone DID ask. So here, ladies
and gentlemen, appearing for the very last time...

The Chords to "Roads Girdle the Globe"
*--------------------------------------

As anyone who's tried this one knows, it's a doozy. I don't claim that these
chords are accurate, especially since they're not always playing actual
chords to begin with, and you'll have to excuse my unorthodox tabbing
method. Still, if you're sitting there by yourself with an acoustic guitar
trying to piece it together, this might help. Some.

THE INTRO:

For the guitar this is a fairly simple figure based on XXX777 moving up to
XXX988, moving up to XXX-12-12-12 and XXX-14-14-14 as punctuation.
Meanwhile, the bass guitar is sliding up and down on the low E string like
this: D-G-D-G-E-G-E-G. (This is why most bass players love this song.) The
basic chord pattern is just G, C (G bass), G, C (G bass). Later, this is
also the part between the choruses and verses where they're going "Whoa,
ho-ho, ho-ho"... Anyway, then you go into a chorus with no singing, followed
by the first verse.

CHORUS:
                        (Only need the 3 low strings
B     A   E   F#  G#     on those last three)
Roads gir-dle the globe

G  G      G    G       F#-F#-F#-F# (flourish)
...We all safe in your con-  crete  robe

B    B      A     A    G      G     F    F
Hail mother motor hail piston rotor hail wheel

B     A   E   F#  G#
Roads gir-dle the globe...

VERSE:

A  A  A  A  Amaj7  Amaj7  Amaj7  Amaj7
...Am I  a-sleep?

G  G  G  G  Gmaj7  Gmaj7  Gmaj7  Gmaj7
...Or am I  fast?

F  F     F  F  Fmaj7(add D) four times
...You  every  raaaaace...

F# (flourish, or...    F#7)
......You first you laaaast...

I play the Amaj7 as X02120,
the Gmaj7 as 354433,
and the Fmaj7 (add D) as 13223X.
(But that's just me.)

...Chorus;
"Whoa ho-ho, ho-ho";
Verse;
Chorus;
"Whoa ho-ho, ho-ho"...

And now for the rather complex MIDDLE BIT. This is picked, but the basic
chords are, as far as I can make out, these:

Bm7      E7       A6
...Steer me, Anna...Steer me, Anna

Bm7      E7       A6
...Steer me, Anna...Steer me, Anna

Dm7      G7       C6
...Steer me, Anna...Steer me, Anna

Dm7      G7       C6
...Steer me, Anna...STEER ME, ANNA!

I play the Bm7 as X2423X,
the E7 as 02010X,
and the A6 as X02222.
The other three are the same chords transposed upwards three frets.

And the rest you know. Good luck!
*---------------------------------

Here's a quote from Andy Partridge in Melody Maker, 8.3.81:

"...Anyway, she came backstage at the Mudd Club -- a real vamp, she
was. Dog collar, blue hair, white face, leather mini skirt, handcuffs,
bondage magazine under one arm. Her eyes said, 'whip me!' I thought, 'ello
-- she's not here to learn the chords to 'Roads Girdle the Globe'..."

*-------------------------------------
And just a couple more little asides:

>I'm sorry guys but Swindon really is an appalling place and
>not worth visiting even if it is XTC's birthplace.

Though I'm not sure I entirely agree with this statement, I should point out
that I was actually talking about Chalk Horse Hill, a few km's south of
Swindon, a nice place, and a legitimate tourist attraction, even for non-XTC
fans. Swindon? Well, hey, if they can turn Cleveland, Ohio into a nice town,
who knows?

And I didn't try to find any of the band members' homes because (A) Andy, at
least, doesn't like having to entertain fans who just show up on his lawn
and (B) I didn't know we'd have time to go there beforehand anyway. What
would I say to them, anyway? "Here, sign this!"? Is that anything to say to
someone whose work has completely changed your life?

Finally: "Collideascope" is definitely COLIN. Doing his best Andy
impression, perhaps, but still Colin. (Buy "Demos 6" you won't be in any
doubt.)

--John H. Hedges

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

From: Per Nilsson <pern@eritel.se>
Subject: Vocals
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 95 08:03:00 GMT

LaShawn M. Taylor <shonniet@interaccess.com> wrote:

>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.

Andy has always been the lead singer on his own songs, and Colin has sung
his.

>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?

Not to my knowledge.

>I've thought "Grass" was sung by him, but then again, it
>could be our dear Andy (see above paragraph).

That's Colin. See above.

Cheers,

     Par

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

Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 15:26:33 +0700
From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan)
Subject: *who's* pushing the pedals???

#> What are the barely-audible words spoken after the
#> line "but to me there very very beautiful," and also after the
#> next "beautiful?"

It's very very beautiful
[England's glory!]
Beautiful
[A striking beauty!]

a reference to an old brand of matches, believe it or not (check earlier
issues of Chalkhills for more details).

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in all this God debate - where does
the song 'Lord deliver us from the elements' fit in? Here we have Colin
singing about an omnipotent yet impartial God who is also a
personification/deification of nature - a very traditional, PRE-Christian
view, IMHO. Interestingly, XTC's most overtly pagan/pre-Christian religious
song is 'Sacrificial Bonfire', another Mouldingism. Who exactly IS pushing
the pedals on the season cycle, anyway?

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)

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

Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 10:45:48 +0000 (GMT)
From: Kevin Donnelly <kevin.donnelly@st-hughs.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: Buying singles/Covers

Well, now here's an odd thing. I'm nearly 19 and have only bought 2
singles in my life.The first is Sgt. Rock (>>>)with the amazing Living
through another Cuba/Generals and Majors on the B-Side when I was 17; and
the other is The Difappointed;which I bought last week. Now why should I
only buy singles by XTC? Well, because they're brilliant obviously. And
the only band worth shelling out a couple of quid for just one (or so)
song (I'm a student. Life's tough).
Things for XTC NOT to cover:

                 Love will tear us apart - Joy Division
                 Going Underground       - The Jam
       The Day the world turned Day Glo  - X-Ray Spex
                         Transmission    - Joy Division
               Smells like Teen Spirit   - Nirvana
                Doctor in the TARDIS     - The TimeLords

and many others  :-)
And DON'T let  ANYONE cover Senses Working Overtime.
Has anyone got the video?I would like to see it very much

Are you receiving me?

Kevin

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

From: "RUSSELL" <T.R.Russell@newcastle.ac.uk>
Date:          Wed, 15 Nov 1995 14:26:32 GMT0BST
Subject:       Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-30

Hi! I'm also new here. This is cool, I hadn't heard anything about
XTC for yonks but now - hey - I love e-mail. I've just been reading
all this Dear God stuff. It's interesting to hear the different
views. I am a committed Christian so I do find the song quite
difficult to listen to (due to the lyrics - I love the actual music)
but I don't think any less of the band for writing it. Anyway, that's
enough of that; I heard tell that the DG debate was officially over.
How about this - I'm convinced that Peter P-Head is about Jesus...
-"Emptied churches and shopping malls" (Jesus getting angry in the
temple)
-"told the truth" (Truth is another word for the Gospel)...
"was too good" (Pontius Pilate could find nothing wrong with him)...
-"had him nailed to a chunk of wood" (i.e. crucifix)...
-"died grinning" (He'd completed his task so was pleased)
-"on live TV" (the crucifixion was BIG news at the
time therefore a lot of people would have witnessed it)...
-"looked a lot like you and an awful lot like me" (Jesus was the sacrifice for
our sins i.e.took our place)...
-"made enemies of the people who would
keep us on our knees" (Jesus' enemies were the Jewish bigwigs of the
time who wielded the rods and kept authority over the Jews).

Anyone other opinions?

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

From: BARBER@emuvax.emich.edu
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 13:12:13 -0500 (EST)
Subject:  "DYING"   and   DAVE

Hey, folks....
I was listening to Skylarking last night (skipped DG) and was very suprised
to realize that Dave was the most present member on this finely crafted
album. He practically provided all of the music for the first half of the
album!  He is very uncredited IMHO.
Also, I came across an aquaintance of mine who had heard of XTC. He could
not remember which album he used to have on tape. After I blurted a menu of
about 11 albums (I think that's about right) he rmembered it was
Skylarking. He said "Yeah, it had that song about his Dad dying in a
grocery store" He was referring to "Dying". What an obscure song to
remember! My Dad died about 3 years ago and I am now rather intrigued about
it. Did Colin's Dad die (I assume of a heart attack) in a store? (Colin
wrote that song)
??????????????
JB@EMU

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

From: Bob Thomas <BobT@cait.wustl.edu>
Subject: Newbies in the New World
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 95 12:23:00 CST

Hey! Looks like I shook a couple newbies out of the network tree with my
off-hand mention of the decline of their species.   Thanks to Natalie and
Randy for making my post seem purposeful, and welcome to the war . . . I
mean, the list.

Natalie talked about how she developed an aversion to XTC's "Englishness"
and put her albums away for a time.  She's renewed her acquaintance with,
and fondness for, the band, but her comments reminded me of aspects of my
own affinity with this music.

They confound me in some ways.  Anyone who has ever tried to introduce a
friend to XTC knows that people often find their music strange -- even
annoying.  When I get a notion to make a tape on the theme "Pop Music I
Really Like"  I find it near impossible to work XTC into the mix.  I can't
say their "Englishness" accounts for these phenomena.  I like other bands
>from the cold North Atlantic who make the playlist.

Then there's the question:  what keeps this digest going, besides the
shrewd, caring and calm leadership of Sir John?  I think it must be the
"somethingness" of the music.

"Uniqueness" comes to mind but I have no answers and I have learned to live
with uncertainty.  I welcome your comments.

Bob

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

Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 17:25:51 GMT
From: Martin Wilson <mw25@unix.york.ac.uk>
Subject: The Disappointed


> Date: Wed, 08 Nov 1995 14:53:40 -0500 (EST)
> I am sick and tired of reading all these anti-Christianity
> pro-atheist messages that keep showing up. I'm also appaled that people
> would send personal attacks to a public list. It is because of this that I
> will now leave permanently, unless somebody can give me a decent
> explanation as to why I should stay on.
>                                    --Tracy

Did I miss something?  One good reason to stay on is that none of the above
things actually appeared on the list.  Some people said they didn't believe
in God and one person (me) said he believed in different gods but noone
made any personal attacks or tried to evangelise, we were just discussing
the meaning of some XTC lyrics.  I'm sorry if having a different religion
offends you but what do you think I'm going to do about it?

> From: hellman@tanaka.jrdc.go.jp (Olof Hellman)
> And I think it's great that everybody interprets it
> differently! Making those double meanings work so
> well is part of the XTC greatness.

	SPOT ON!

> From: BObannon@aol.com
> Jesus said, "He who is not for Me is against Me," which basically
> indicates that there is no such thing as religious neutrality. You either
> embrace Christ or you don't, and Andy certainly doesn't.

	This is b***sh*t of the highest order.  Like many non-Christians I
agree with many of the things the Bible says Christ said; that doesn't mean
I have to swallow the whole moralistic line of organized religion which
seems to care more about who you're sleeping with that the fact that 15
million children are dying of malnutrition every year.

> I fear he's potentially leading many astray

	How?  Because he is suggesting that intelligent people might
question their beliefs rather than blindly following others?  

> When it comes to spiritual truths, this can be dangerous.

	I'm religious myself but I believe that the belief in fixed
spiritual 'truths' is what's dangerous.  A couple of years ago a local
Pagan bookshop was firebombed by Christian fundies, just after that the
local bookshop was firebombed by Islamic fundies because they sold Salman
Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' all in the name of 'spiritual truths'.  I live
next door to a church but I don't go throwing bricks through the windows
just because my religious beliefs aren't the same as theirs.  I just don't
understand why we all have to believe the same as you Bob.

To all: Sorry for taking up so much room on a non-XTC subject but it's one
of my 'spiritual truths' that I wont tolerate intolerance.

		Bless us all, every one!

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

Date: Thu, 16 Nov 1995 05:23:24 -0500
From: tonylong@melbpc.org.au (tony longland)
Subject: who's in the limelight?

Hello all,

My first posting after months of lurkdom.

in Chalkhills Digest #2-31
LaShawn M. Taylor" <shonniet@interaccess.com> wrote:

>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.

I agree, it sounds like Colin to me.

>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).

I've often wondered if the singer of "Limelight" was Dave Gregory - it
certainly doesn't sound like either AP or CM. Does anyone know if DG did a
Ringo on this one and only occasion?

tony longland

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Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 11:55:03 -0800
From: richard.pedrettiallen@octel.com (Richard Pedretti-Allen)
Subject: From XTC Coverings to Swindon's growth

  >>*Jones*town

  Thanks.

  >> Every minute they might spend in the studio recording someone else's
  >> inferior work is another minute we wouldn't have new XTC material!

  There could be contractual reasons why they could not perform their own
  works considering the rumors that were planted in Chalkhills a few weeks
  ago.  A record company might have less fear signing XTC if they were to
  produce a "Bowie - Pin-Ups" kind of thing.  ...might even garner them a
  big hit!?

  >> forgotten string. There was one post in partucular that did go pretty
  >> far

  That was me.  It was mix of being very tired of the same old thread (that
  started about 2000 years ago), preachy attitudes and a desire for it to
  find a different home.  Aggresively.  Does that mean I don't get my
  Chalkhills t-shirt?

  There was seemingly a final burst, some rationalizations and summaries
  and now it seems to be fading... if it doesn't...  to twist a phrase...
  "I will rock the boat.  I'm not scared what might happen."

  >> Swindon really is an appalling place and not worth visiting

  I have heard recently that Swindon is experiencing phenominal growth.  I
  don't know what industries may be spurring this along but I don't think
  it is art.
  ---------

  Maybe I missed it but does anyone know how David Yazbek got the whole TD
  thing going?  I'd be very interested to know.

  Cheers, Richard

  === Agnostics and athiests don't advertise.

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Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 15:14:43 -0600
From: vanvalnc@is2.nyu.edu (Chris Van Valen)
Subject: XTC songs I dislike

Hi

Here's my contribution to the ongoing debate over what's not top shelf XTC
material(IMHO):

Crosswires
All Along the Watchtower(I can't even make it all the way through it)
Danceband
It's Nearly Africa
Melt The Guns
Human Alchemy(Gee, Andy--slavery is bad? Who knew!)
Shake You Donkey Up
Dying
Pulsing Pulsing
Cockpit Dance Mixture

(3 Colins, 5 Andys and one Bob)

Plus a song I'm still on the fence about:

Living Through Another Cuba

Cheers,

CV

"An alcoholic is anyone you don't like,
who drinks as much as you do."
                                --Dylan Thomas

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End of Chalkhills Digest #2-32
******************************

Go back to Volume 2.

16 November 1995 / Feedback