Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 4
Date: Tuesday, 26 September 1995
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 4
Tuesday, 26 September 1995
Today's Topics:
Oops.
Andy's Email Address
demos, demos, and more demos
the genesis of extasy
RE: "Terry & the Love Men"
The latest word
While we are waiting...
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-1
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-3
About the _Bubble Gum Album_
Little Express subscription
Burned by the Tom Tom Club!!!
Re: demo-tracks Japanese CD
Rumors and Misinformation
Confessions of a pop junkie
Re: Chocolate Fireball Addiction
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-3
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Richard Aaron Manfredi <manfredi@scf.usc.edu> Subject: Oops. Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 16:16:02 -0700 (PDT) Sorry about the mistake on the "Reflex" thing. As far as I know, Rip Van Ruben is the only song by XTC. Hazy memories, I guess. Richard Manfredi
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Sep 1995 21:04:08 -0700 From: Mark Rushton <rushton@primenet.com> Subject: Andy's Email Address >Andrew Notarian <apn@UDel.Edu> said: >The post goes on, with what seems to be a quote by Andy Partridge, >explaining that Terry et al are really an XTC-inspired group from >Swindon/Liverpool. The intermittent greater than signs lead me to >believe it might have been an e-mail message. Andy has e-mail, maybe? I thought the home computer had him on the run? (yuk yuk) As for another fan's hope that Terry Chambers would be playing drums on the track: I can only say I hope Chambers is drumming on the track. To call themselves "Terry and the Lovemen" and not include Chambers would be a shame. But if you consider that all their other one-off projects (or two-off in the case of the Dukes) have been named in accordance with not imposing on the proper XTC releases, then this would make sense. REM has always done things in a similar way (Hindu Love Gods, Automatic Baby), and it makes for some fun trivia too! I'm surprised that there aren't more leaks with regard to the new album/label. Cheers, Mark Rushton author of the Bill Nelson WWW site: http://www.primenet.com:80/~rushton/nelson.html
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 09:10:42 -0400 (EDT) From: glancaster@mecn.mass.edu Subject: demos, demos, and more demos why are you folks with the "new" demo tape torturing us? can't one of ya give the rest of us a hint how you came by your copies? and won't someone be willing to do a tape tree? i am willing to make dubs for anybody & everyone, should i ever find a copy myself. so... come on!!!!
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 17:26:14 -0500 (CDT) From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" <jenor@csd.uwm.edu> Subject: the genesis of extasy In a recent digest, Ken Salaets wrote: "Actually, while introducing my kids to the many spendid pleasures on "English Settlement" (their new favorite, toppling "Oranges and Lemons"), it struck me how similar it was to Gabriel-led early Genesis, in particular, "Nursery Crimes" and the album before that. Or was I listening to Genesis, and thinking how much they sounded like XTC?" Revealing a bit of my adolescence, I'll note that the synth sound on "Ball and Chain" reminded me *a lot* of a synth sound on some song on Genesis' _Selling England by the Pound_ (don't remember title--haven't listened to that one for ages). --Jeff Jeffrey Norman "You think your country needs you, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but you know it never will" Dept. of English & Comp. Lit. e-mail: jenor@csd.uwm.edu --Elvis Costello
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 17:30:09 -0500 (CDT) From: "Jeffrey with 2 f's Jeffrey" <jenor@csd.uwm.edu> Subject: RE: "Terry & the Love Men" Regarding what is purpoted to be Andy's posting on AOL, which ran as follows: >Re: "Terry and the Lovemen" ? > >Are a group of fellows from Wiltshire and one from Liverpool, who are >besotted with XTC. They just seem to take the band's career as a >template to live by, (sounds unhealthy to me!) You've got to admit >they do a pretty good job on the 'sounds alike' scale. Their singer >does a passable Colin and even manages to sound not unlike Dave and >Andy in other places (weird). With dedication to duty like this, how >could David Yazbek have refused them a place on the album. I hear >they took their name from an ad in Japan for our album "Black Sea." >(The Japanese) jumped the gun and advertised it under the name of one >of our 'in' jokes at the time, which was calling the record "Terry and >the Lovemen." I don't think this means that XTC are *not* "Terry and the Lovemen"; I think this is an example of Andy's ironic wit (it does sound rather like him, although AOL addressses are apparently easy to fake). In other words, the reason T&tL sound *so* much like XTC (amazing, isn't it?) is because, errm, they are. --Jeff Jeffrey Norman "You could have had a future University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but you had a fit." Dept. of English & Comp. Lit. e-mail: jenor@csd.uwm.edu --St. Johnny
------------------------------ From: ZITTEL@aol.com Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 20:20:20 -0400 Subject: The latest word I just heard some XTC tidbits from a very good source. Thought I would share them with you. It seems that the Talking Heads will be making a new album without David Byrne. To make up for his absense, they have asked various people to help out. Andy Partridge will be co-writing and singing on one of the tracks. I think he will be going into the studio in a couple of weeks to work on his track. Also, in a past issue of The Little Express it was mentioned that Julian Lennon had met Andy about possibly working together and tossed around a few musical ideas. Well, Andy had not heard from him in a long time until just recently he rang Andy up again. The word is that he might use part of their collaboration on the record he is currently working on. But nothing is for sure yet. And on a less interesting note, I recently found a promotional CD called 'A Hello CD of the Month Club sampler' (HEL-1994). It includes one song from each of the Hello releases from 1993 and 1994. It contains the Andy song (Some Lovely) My Brown Guitar from his disc.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Sep 95 11:02:04 EDT From: Melissa <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> Subject: While we are waiting... While we're waiting for Testimonial Dinner, I want to ask y'all: What XTC tune would YOU do on a tribute album and why? Musicians, you can talk about how the song fits in with your particular style, the rest of us can let our imaginations run wild. Myself, I might do "This World Over" cause I can hit all the notes and really blast the song while I'm in the park walking my dog. About Andy sharing his "wedded piss" (last issue), I assume you're referring to that song someone oh-so-kindly shared the lyrics to. I think we're all too quick to assume that it's a response to Andy's marital breakup. He's been writing songs like that for years: Supergirl, Madam Barnum, Me and the Wind, Miniature Sun, Heaven is Paved..., Wait till Your Boat Goes Down, Are You Receiving Me?, Snowman etc etc Before I heard they were getting divorced, I always wondered why he wrote so many songs like that. They've either been having problems for a loooooong time or that's just an easy subject to write about. And when you lowered me into your syrup, all I could think of was what a lovely way for me to go. --Melissa P.S. Sorry I can't put in fancy quotes so you really know what I'm talking about. My primitive mail server won't allow it. But I hope you understand.
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Sep 1995 17:54:15 BST From: Martin Wilson <mw25@unix.york.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-1 Welcome back Chalkies everywhere! Ee bye Gum, I 'ant 'arf missed yer! Having no Chalkhills to read of course means that I've had time to actually listen to some XTC. I still think 'Rook' is the best thing they (Andy's) done - court adjourned. On Tue, 19 Sep 1995 16:12:54 -0700 <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote: > All this brings me to my question. Where the heck is Nithilon (as in > "Travels to ..")? I know Nineveh was a city in ancient Bablyon, but > Nithilon?! If any there are any historians/anthropologists amongst us that > might provide insight, please respond. > > Ted Harms Library, Univ. of Waterloo Well Ted. Nihil means (I think) 'nothing ' in Latin. So Nihilon is 'Nowhere'. > Strolling under grimey skies > <Don't let the smoke get in your eyes> (?) > Machines that make you kiss in time... > > Does anyone have a clue what in heavens Colin is talking about in this > song, anyway? The lyrics seem rather cryptic. I thought this one was fairly clear. It's a gentler, modernised version of Ewan McColl's 'Dirty Old Town'. About a first relationship in an industrial working class environment. The machines make you kiss in time because you only have the time outside work to meet. Thus ends the cultural studies lecture for this week. Nothing to report (as far as I know) from this side of the Atlantic. I have heard slightly more XTC on the radio over the past few weeks but that only means 2 tracks. Oh England where is thy soul? Martin U o York UK
------------------------------ Date: Sun, 24 Sep 1995 20:12:12 BST From: Martin Wilson <mw25@unix.york.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-3 On Fri, 22 Sep 1995 14:21:16 -0700 <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote: > From: pgm2@cornell.edu (Peter Mullin) > Subject: Chocolate Fireball addiction > Would other Dukes fans care to compile a "listener's list" of > period (and modern) recordings that approximate the Chocolate Fireball > sensation? For starters, I can think of: > > Beatles: 'Revolver', 'Sgt. Pepper' > Beach Boys: 'Smiley Smile', 'Pet Sounds' > Yardbirds: "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", "The Hot House of > Omargarashid", and similar tunes > Pink Floyd: 'Relics', 'Ummagumma'; "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play" > > Any other ideas? Anything by the Kinks. - Dedicated Follower of Fashion, Waterloo Sunset, See My Friend Kevin Ayres - Jolie Madame, Lady Rachel Robert Wyatt - Oh Caroline, I'm a believer cover The Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday Pink Floyd - Corporal Clegg (Good Man Albert Brown) Fairport Convention - Chelsea Morning Pentangle - Light Flight Any more? Martin
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 10:46:22 -0400
From: fm348@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Harold Freshour)
Subject: About the _Bubble Gum Album_
First off, it's good to see Chalkhills back. Patty asked about
the _Bubble Gum Album_. A year ago, the alternative radio station in town
had a call-in interview with Andy. He said that "Cherry In Your Tree"
off the _Carmen Sandiego_ soundtrack was probably the only song from the
sessions to see the light of day. THe songs were influenced by 1910
Fruitgum Co. and the like. Alas, we may never hear the rest of the songs.
--
========Harold===Freshour=======fm348@cleveland.freenet.edu===================
"Let the speakers crackle and burn..."-Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
"Throw to first, back safely"-Herb Score
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 00:56:01 +1000 (GMT+1000) From: Vzzzbx <h8hc035@wilbur.mbark.swin.oz.au> Subject: Little Express subscription First of all, I'm a relatively new Chalkhills reader [since April], and this is my first reply so I don't even know if it's going to work. :) Secondly [the relevant bit], I've been reading heaps about The Little Express in here, and I'm dying to know how to join. Do I send money? Do I need a particular form? Many thanks to any and all replies... Lastly, and as concisely as possible [this is the bit where I bore everyone with my history], I bought Nonsvch in 1992 [for NZ$11!]; got Waxworks in November '94; became addicted and bought O&L, R&BB, SL, ET, ES, Go2, TBE, BS, WM, Mummer, D&W [in that order] in the last 12 months. So I'm a pretty new fan, really. Fave album is The Big Express, and I want to hear lots of orchestral exploration in the new album. That's my life in a peanut shell. I won't bore you any longer. :) Adam -- h8hc035@wilbur.mbark.swin.oz.au...! Dot dot dot excla-bloody-mation mark.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 11:19:00 -0600
From: vanvalnc@is2.nyu.edu (Chris Van Valen)
Subject: Burned by the Tom Tom Club!!!
Hi Chalksticks
This isn't exactly new, but it's a piece of trivia and a cautionary tale.
Around or shortly after the release of Nonesvch, I was browsing in the CD
singles bin at the local Tower Records and came across the Tom Tom Club's
then current single, "Sunshine and Ecstasy". I had no idea what this
sounded like (I had lost interest in them around the time of the second
album (No Adrian Belew = No Sale), but I looked at the track listing on the
back and, much to my amazement, saw the following:
Track 5: XTC Mix
Track 6: XTC Dub
With great excitement and glee, I plunked down my $6.00 plus tax and ran
home to an anticipated aural feast. I popped the disc in, cranked the
stereo and waited. I sat through the first four tracks (as a courtesy to
the artists), and it was quite a struggle to do as they were totally
full-tilt 70s style (yech!) DISCO! But I kept thinking of Tracks 5 and 6.
Track 5 comes in with...THE SAME CRAPPY DISCO!!! No hint, glimmer, sample,
lyric, or theme even vaguely like the Swindon Three(or Four, if you will).
Still, I sat through this mess and prayed for some relief in Track 6. Once
again, my hopes were dashed, as this was yet another variation on the same
crap. What a downer.
Despite my urge to hurl this piece if useless piece of plastic out of my
window, I have kept this in an honored place on my shelf as a reminder and
a warning to others--know what you're buying! If you see this in the
(deservedly) cut-out bins, steer clear away, my dear friends!
It's just a complicated game,
Chris Van Valen
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 10:11:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andrew Hooker <HOOKER2@MUVMS6.MU.WVNET.EDU>
Subject: Re: demo-tracks Japanese CD
Ah, yes I received this CD as a gift as well (it was at Christmas,
leading me to believe there was a shortage of fruitcakes that year).
ANyhow, "Always Winter Never Christmas" is easily the best track on the
CD. It has Andy doing his finest falsetto, and the music sounds a bit
like something Lindsey Buckingham did on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" album
(sorry for the analogy, but it *does* sound like this).
No Joke. (AP, 1995).
????????????????????????????Andrew Hooker????????????????????????????????????
URL: HTTP://WWW.MARSHALL.EDU/~HOOKER2/
E:mail HOOKER2@MUVMS6.WVNET.EDU
Marshall University; Huntington, WV; USA
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 11:16:48 -0700 From: relph (John Relph) Subject: Rumors and Misinformation jims@inlink.com (Jim S.) writes: > >>(gosh, I can now use netscape instead of lynx) I saw a 'new XTC album' >>planned (or is that rumoured?) to be released IN 1995 ON the Virgin >>label! 21 tracks! No way. It's only a rumour. Maybe 1996. If we're lucky. John Relph (me) wrote: > >The Adventure Club Sessions > acoustic sessions from 94.5 the Edge, Dallas, Texas... I have been informed that the _Adventure Club_ CD is no longer available. Sorry. -- John -- Guatemalan women weave 90 percent of the world's Triscuit supply
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 11:34:10 -0700 From: relph (John Relph) Subject: Confessions of a pop junkie Confessions of a pop junkie [Financial Times September 23 1995] This delightful apologia has the ring of truth, writes Antony Thorncroft. For me it was "Lullaby of the Leaves" by Gerry Mulligan. Actually, I am proud of it. It now sounds like movie music but Mulligan has kept his street cred. For Giles Smith it was the Beatles' "Let it be". Except that it wasn't. It was "Rosetta" by Georgie Fame, but memory has blanked out the horror of it all. We are talking, of course, "the first record I ever bought", one of those seminal conversations that you have when letting the hair down and loosening the tie. In his very amusing book _Lost in Music_, Giles Smith traces his pop odyssey. He admits that he convinced himself for years that his first commitment to pop was buying the Beatles record when it was actually acquiring a pale imitation of the Sixties sound. He confesses much else in this apologia of a pop junkie: the ruthless purge of his records before going to university, consigning Status Quo and Supertramp to the back of the wardrobe; the abandonment of all his ideals by buying CD versions of his favourite vinyl albums; the relentless pursuit of anything connected with XTC. These are not the meanderings of yet another wasted youth. Giles Smith is not a complete amateur. He actually flirted with the professional side of pop. He was half of The Cleaners From Venus, which were big -- well, almost big -- in Germany. He cut an album; he toured. The encounter with real pop managers, real record executives, ensures that his story is that much more heart-rending than the sad fantasies of a million lads who at any one time are in a band. What makes it irresistable, giving it almost a Pooterish naivety and making it a natural for early morning serialisation during the Parliamentary recess, is the niceness of it all. If drugs and groupies dog the stars, they left the Cleaners well alone. The high spot of the German tour was a glass of real orange juice. This is as much the story of a happy childhood in Colchester as a saga of the infamies of the pop world. Smith is incapable of malice: he admits that he signed a terrible contract so that he could fondle a piece of vinyl that carried his name. Being smitten by pop in Colchester in the 1970s was a forlorn experience. But suddenly, in the 1990s, that part of Essex produced Blur. In a typically deprecating anecdote, Damon Albarn, the lead singer from Blur, comes with his parents to the Smith family home for Christmas drinks and joins Smith's mother in some carol singing. "Utterly predictable, of course" writes Smith "that when someone from my family finally got to duet with a chart-topping pop hero it was my mother". In shining contrast to all the bombastic, overblown, self-serving books about pop, _Lost in Music_ has the ring of truth, the sweetness of innocence. And Smith is still hopelessly enraptured. On the last page the Cleaners are re-forming, Japan beckons. Can Smith, a now a 32-year-old journalist with a lawnmower and a worrying liking for jazz, join the tour? "`When are the rehearsals?', I said." _Lost in Music_ by Giles Smith Picador UKP 12.99, 277 pages
------------------------------ From: dallin@CS.ColoState.EDU (michael dallin) Subject: Re: Chocolate Fireball Addiction Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 21:29:08 -0600 (MDT) In the last issue of Chalkhills... >...seriously, though: the sound achieved by the Dukes is both familiar and >unique. Would other Dukes fans care to compile a "listener's list" of >period (and modern) recordings that approximate the Chocolate Fireball >sensation? For starters, I can think of: > Beatles: 'Revolver', 'Sgt. Pepper' > Beach Boys: 'Smiley Smile', 'Pet Sounds' > Yardbirds: "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", "The Hot House of > Omargarashid", and similar tunes > Pink Floyd: 'Relics', 'Ummagumma'; "Arnold Layne", "See Emily Play" > Any other ideas? I have made it my life's quest to collect as much of this music as possible! Here are some wonderful ones not mentioned in your list: Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour Pink Floyd: Piper At The Gates Of Dawn The Small Faces: Ogdens Nut Gone Flake (highly recommended) The Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request The Move: their self-titled debut album (may be hard to find, you can also try "Early Move" -- it has a bunch of their early stuff, including Blackberry Way, which sounds ominously like Collideascope) The Zombies: Odessey and Oracle The Who: Sell Out The Kinks: Village Green Preservation Society, Something Else, and to a lesser extent, Arthur Status Quo: Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo The Pretty Things: SF Sorrow (good luck finding it, it took me a while) Well, heck, that's enough to get started. Most of these should be easy to find or order. Of course, there are *tons* of other bands (the Nice, Nazz, Blues Magoos, etc) that have added their own bit of trippiness to the psychedelic stew. If you need any more suggestions, feel free to ask! ;) --Mike
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 95 7:48:35 -0400 From: "Greg O'Rear" <jgo.systems@mhs.unc.edu> Organization: UNC Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-3 John Relph wrote: > I believe this CD is still available: > > From: REELGEORGE@aol.com > Subject: XTC New Rare Bit > [...Adventure Club ad...] Hmm...I wrote to the above address and got this: > To: JGO @ SYSTEMS > From: Mailer-daemon > Subject: Returned Mail: Undeliverable > > The mail you sent could not be delivered to: > 550 reelgeorge is not a known user Needless to say, I'm a bit skittish about sending my money. Did their mailer daemon hiccup, or is there a new address for this person? I was writing to find out a track listing. Anybody know what Jellyfish song is on this, or even if it's still available? [ No longer available. See above. -- John ] -- Greg O'Rear Computing Consultant IV, Novell CNA ADP, Univ. of North Carolina E-mail: jgo.systems@mhs.unc.edu 440 West Franklin Street Phone: (919) 962-0821; FAX: (919) 962-0900 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1150 WWW: http://www.adp.unc.edu/~jgo/
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-4 *****************************
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