Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 50
Date: Wednesday, 13 December 1995
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 50
Wednesday, 13 December 1995
Today's Topics:
Re: Blur
Toys
blur
Froom..archenemy?
Froomstick Rhythm
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-49
origin of "Terry & Lovemen"
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-4 2
Van Dyke Parks
Heads project
More XTC jingles
ripoffs?
This and that in 2-49
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-49
Ben Folds - Ten Feet Tall!
Verve Pipe in Cincinnati
Too Many Cooks/The old days
Digesting the Digests
Senses Rip-off!
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Who's that dragging what looks like a pink sack of spanners down the road?
---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: QUINN@findsvp.com (Quinn, Margaret) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 18:03 EST Subject: Re: Blur Arthur James Virgin said: > A recommendation isnt an end-all! With that said...It takes more >than 1 listen to "The Great Escape" to procure a feeling about it. The >album (technically and songwriting wise) is BRILLIANT. A HUGE step forward >for pop music (escpecially Brit-Pop). Give it time!! As far as the >"Oasis camp" comment... I dont understand why everyone sees these two as >rivals..They are 2 different styles of music..I listen to XTC and tend to >prefer Blur...I would listen to Oasis if I was into the Smithereens! I totally respect your opinion on Blur, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it. While XTC is my favorite band of all time, I also happen to like the Smithereens. Are these things supposed to be mutually exclusive? 7IHd <ee92pmh@brunel.ac.uk> has this to say about Oasis: >Hmm, well it all depends on whether you like your music innovative and new >and different, or just a re-hash of what has gone before really. My comment about being in the "Oasis camp" was a joke (given the supposed contention in the British music press over Blur and Oasis). I don't think that not liking Blur automatically makes me an Oasis fan. It would be like saying that XTC fans don't listen to the Smithereens. :-) It's interesting how seriously people are taking this, judging from some of the private email I have received and the above comment. Is Oasis really considered so horrible? If I ever post again, I promise it will be more relevant... Margaret "America is free, cheap and easy..." -EBTG
------------------------------ From: 7IHd <ee92pmh@brunel.ac.uk> Subject: Toys Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 00:52:49 +0000 (GMT) # From: Natalie Jane Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu> # Subject: Listening to the "Mummer" CD # # This is the first unfamiliar XTC I've heard since "Nonsuch" came out. # The songs - all six of them - are wonderful. I've never heard Andy's # instrumental stuff before and it's really good - sort of minimalist, very # evocative. "Desert Island" is the nicest patriotic song I've ever heard # (and made me miss England a lot). "Toys" was a little weak, "Gold"... Excuse me!? 'Toys' weak? It's the 2nd best song on the entire CD! (Second only to 'Human Alchemy', closely followed by 'Desert Island'). IMHO, of course :-) Sorry, couldn't allow 'Toys' to be slated, it's a fine song, leave it alone. :-) -P _ |_)|_ *| | | )|| http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~ee92pmh/ ========
------------------------------ From: BARBER@emuvax.emich.edu Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 20:25:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: blur Excuse me, but right now I have Blur's THE GREAT ESCAPE in my top 5 albums of all time!! "Charmless Man" is brilliant. "Fade Away" takes you away into a world of carefree freedom. In Spite of the fact that it is still a great song, I fell that the worst song on the album is "Stereotype", the first track. Maybe you just got off to a bad start. Blur is in a higher class than Oasis, (IMHO)--both a higher level of composition and a higher level of class. This Blur album is proof of their maturity as pop composers. Long live Blur!!! -John Barber from Eastern Michigan University.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 21:27:18 -0500
From: produce@magicnet.net (Arthur James Virgin)
Subject: Froom..archenemy?
"John Christensen" <christej@vrinet.com> typed:
>More on XTC producers: IMHO, Mitchell Froom is the archenemy of all
>things percussive. On Elvis Costello's Brutal Youth, for example, he
>made Pete Thomas' kick drum (when you could even find it) sound like a
>marshmallow thrown against taut pantyhose.
Truly perplexed by the above remark (having extensively studied the
beautiful drum sounds on Brutal Youth), I decided to spend a little time
trying to justify these remarks....I'm afraid not. Froom/Blake have
created such a gorgeous drumscape on Brutal Youth I want to cry. There are
(approx) 7 different bass drum sounds, all of which are too cool for words.
The snare sounds are what kills me. Jeez, to be granted that much license
by Elvis to put those beautiful rings in the snare sound that other
producers/engineers spend days trying to extinguish. I would think that
with the polished sheen of the last few XTC albums, someone would be
willing to hear something different...maybe not.
Thats ALL I will say about producers..(I promise!)
AJ
:)
"Skylarking was like a summers day
baked into one cake" - Andy Partridge
Visit my Quality Music Page! http://www.magicnet.net/~produce/
------------------------------
From: Gene_Yoon@brown.edu
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 21:30:50 -0500
Subject: Froomstick Rhythm
>From: "John Christensen" <christej@vrinet.com>
>
>More on XTC producers: IMHO, Mitchell Froom is the archenemy of all
>things percussive. On Elvis Costello's Brutal Youth, for example, he
>made Pete Thomas' kick drum (when you could even find it) sound like a
>marshmallow thrown against taut pantyhose. Of course, if Andy follows
>through with his sans-drum-album threat, it really wouldn't matter . . .
Then you must have never heard Mr. Suzanne Vega's production on 99.9 deg F.
He really pumped some fire into Suzanne's previously luke warm music with
lots of clangy pot and pan banging percussion, though not quite to boiling.
Off the top of my head, Crowded House's 'Sister Madly' (also Froomed) has
some of the groovinest percussion around.
>From: Brookes McKenzie <RMCKENZI@smith.smith.edu>
>
>some comments/recommendations:
>
> - ben folds five - after hearing so much about them, i got their
> (eponymous) cd the other day, and granted i've only listened to
> it a few times, but two things strike me immediately - all their
> songs sound the same, and b) ben folds sounds an *awful* lot
> like young paul mccartney, with a tiny bit of michael penn
> thrown in.
>
> another good canadian band is the inbreds, whose
> only album, _kombinator_ is one of my favorite new things to
> have acquired this year - *very* stripped-down (bass, drums &
> vocals for the most part) little pop songs with great indie
> groove.
I saw both these bands last week, the same night, same gig! Ben Folds
Five, a trio (piano bass drums) from Chapel Hill, NC, are very original,
and they genuinely have a ball with their music. The pianist/lead singer
bangs things out of his concert grand that you wouldn't think possible,
using various body parts to hit the keyboard. In addition to their own
Buggles-meets-Tom Lehrer-meets-grunge songs ('Underground' and 'Best
Imitiation of Myself' get lots of airplay), they did a kickass cover of the
MTV classic 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. I love tight harmonies, and
they've got tons. And they were most comedic.
The inbreds were likewise impressive, if only for the fact that they
squeezed so many tuneful sounds out of nothing more than a drum kit, a
bass, and two voice boxes. Both bands were very satisfying live, made up
for the fact that Everclear (Evernoise, Everimitating Nirvana but not even
close) went on between them.
>one last thing (_sorry_ this is so long!) - _what_ is the deal with the new
>posies album? i've been hearing rumors of its release for absolutely ever.
>does it exist yet, or not?
The rekkid staw guy, he says late Mahtch.
Gene
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 19:39:52 -0800 (PST) From: Chris Coolidge <ccoolidge@moose.uvm.edu> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-49 I think Guns And Roses(used to call them Runs and Poses. How about Deaf Shepherd, for that matter)are a bunch of misogynist asswipes who unfortu- nately happen to like a lot of the music I grew up with; any band that covers The Damned, The Sex Pistols, The Heartbreakers and The Stooges has some redeeming characteristics somewhere.(Then again, maybe not; they also covered Charles Manson. I get the impression that was Axl Rose's idea, and the rest of their covers came from bass player Duff MacKagan's collection, whose solo album actually has its moments)Also, my jaw dropped to the floor the first time I heard "November Rain;" I have little use for their other original material, but that song sounded like somebody had been staying up all night listening to Mahler. No resemblance to XTC, of course, but I'm nothing if not open-minded. XTC content- I found a cassette of Go 2 for a dollar yesterday, mixed in with Peter Cetera, Richard Marx and Whitney Houston. Found cassettes by The Stranglers, The Soup Dragons, The Church, Jude Cole, and Dig in the same dollar bin. I already have Go 2 on vinyl, but the cassette will make a nice addition to my brother's christmas stocking this year. Burlington, Vt's public brings the strangest things to the used stores...Their loss is my gain. Chris Coolidge
------------------------------ From: m.mccormick2@genie.com Date: Tue, 12 Dec 95 04:35:00 UTC 0000 Subject: origin of "Terry & Lovemen" >From Chalkhills & Children p. 110: "The working title of [Black Sea] was Terry & The Lovemen, and some foreign magazines even advertised it with that name later. It was based on the whimsical concept that Terry Chambers was the band's leader, and seemed a fun way of acknowledginf the humble anchor man -- especially as XTC's drum sounds was now such a major component of their music. The sleeve concept had been carefully thought out, and everyone, bar Terry, thought it was a great idea. "We were going to dress Terry in a gold lame' suit," Andy explains, "ponce his hair up a bit and stick him at the front with a really swish looking drum set. It would be like a Las Vegas version of the Dave Clark Five. The rest of us -- the Lovemen obviously -- would be right in the background with our guitars. "Terry was horrified when he heard about this. ''I ain't fuckin' 'avin anything to do with that!'' he stormed. ''You ain't putting me at the front in daft clothes!''"
------------------------------ Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-4 2 From: jd.mack@neteast.com (JD MACK) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 95 00:33:00 -0500 Organization: Online Technologies, Inc. - Modem: 301-738-0000 -> Subject: Re: Misheard Lyrics -> -> My daughter came up with this one. "Let's shoot, let's shoot, all of -> the pretty girls". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! OH MY GOD, that truly made me laugh out loud! I'll never hear that song the same way again!
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Dec 1995 23:21:30 -0800 (PST) From: Mike Wheeler <mwheeler@gladstone.uoregon.edu> Subject: Van Dyke Parks Someone wrote: > Someone mentioned Van Dyke Parks as a possible producer. Although I > think that he would be a great musical match, I don't think that he and > Andy could coexist in the same studio. They're both control freaks, and > I've heard Parks is worse than Andy (hard as that may be to believe), and I > see another Andy/Todd situation (although that created a great album, so > who's to say). Wow, I was (and am) listening to Van Dyke's latest when I read this. It's a collaboration with Brian Wilson (they worked together on the Icarusian "Smile" album). I have a hard time believing Van Dyke is really a control freak. I can kind of see it, but I think he'd be open to Andy's and Colin's and Dave's ideas. I think he has very set ideas about each album and he would have a hard time expanding or changing the framework of his vision for the album. He also has a fairly set (and definitely unique) music style. It can't really be defined and he'll draw from countless styles of music, but there is no doubting a Van Dyke Parks song. Problem is I don't see Van Dyke Parks and XTC as a very good collaboration. Yeah, Parks' music is semi-orchestral which Andy supposedly wants. But it just isn't XTC's style and I have a hard time envisioning XTC's music in a Van Dyke Parks style. It's hard to describe his sound, but it certainly isn't XTC's sound. They are both quirky, but differently. Van Dyke Parks' music has a grand, self-indulgent, pompous, old time (I can't find the words to describe it) sound to it. It is certainly not "pop" by any standard. I'm talking about his six solo albums and his film soundtrack work here, not his work with U2, Sam Phillips, et. al. I'll e-mail him asking what he thinks of XTC. I'll let you all know if he says anything. Mike Wheeler mwheeler@gladstone.uoregon.edu
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 02:29:37 -1000 From: motherwest@InfoHouse.com (Michael) Subject: Heads project Hello Chalkhillians, A reply to a posting >From: DougMash@aol.com >Subject: Rubber Sharks, Talking Heads, etc. >Does anybody have SOLID information on the Talking Heads or Chills >projects? > The way I understood it, the T-Heads (sans David Byrne) were to record >10-12 songs using a different lead singer each tune. Andy is supposedly >one of the potential singers. Well, I met a girl at a party who tells me she's friends with the engineer on the sessions. She said the project is called Heads (for legal reasons - because David's not involved) and is being recorded at a studio in Connecticut. Andy's supposedly already cut track(s) and Debbie Harry will be appearing as well. Speaking of Jerry Harrison, *Warning, Shameless Promo Alert* my band PLEASE (http://www.please.com) recorded a single with Jerry Harrison as producer. (It's called Here It Comes Again and is on the Empire Records soundtrack.) This was before I heard about the Heads so I didn't get to ask about the project or Andy. I did bring up an obscure XTC reference though, and nobody but Jerry knew what I was talking about. He got it right away. (I mentioned the collage of voices at the end of No Language in Our Lungs). Chris and Tina and the bass player from the Modern Lovers dropped by while we were recording. Wow! And they're really nice people. Now that I think of it, Chris and Tina played a track for us. They said it was something they were working on and, y'know, Debbie Harry was singing on it. It was very rhythmic and aggressive, as I recall - almost industrial. Anyway, back to XTC. The girl at the party said that her engineer friend enjoyed working with Andy. I hope we here from him/them soon. Michael motherwest@infohouse.com http://www.please.com
------------------------------ From: g.giusti@area.it (Giovanni Giusti) Subject: More XTC jingles Date: 12 Dec 1995 12:43:53 GMT Organization: area bbs Apparently Italian TV producers have a great love for XTC. Tele+2, Italy's sports-only pay-tv, uses the two opening measures from "Peter Pumpkinhead" for their "coming-up" jingles. These are on air about once every 15 to 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. Although the whole clip lasts just about 5-6 seconds, I think it's one of the highest per-day concentrations of XTC music on TV, ever. One of these days I'll record one of these announcements and send it as a .WAV file to anyone interested. G.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 17:14:54 +0100 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: ripoffs? "Ken Salaets" <ksalaets@itic.nw.dc.us> sez: >From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) >>...I know we're not meant to mention the Liverpudlians here, but does >>anyone else think that "Difficult age" sounds a bit like "Baby you're a >>rich man"? >Just curious. Why is it when Andy lifts something from someone else he's >merely reflecting his influences, but when someone else does it, it's a >ripoff? Whoa Ken, I'm not accusing Andy of ripping anyone off for a very good reason. I've heard a few blatant ripoffs in my time. This ain't one, it's just hanging your influences up for everyone to see. Colin comes close to ripping off The Ivy League (compare "The Meeting Place" with their "Tossing and Turning" to see what I mean), but it's still not close enough for me to be convinced its a deliberate move. I have on occasion accused some of my favourite musicians of ripping people off - Billy Bragg for instance. If Andy or Colin came as close to someone else's song as The Barking Bard does to Dylan on "Ideology", I'd accuse XTC of a rip-off. Don't you worry about that one, sonny Jim! 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: Tue, 12 Dec 95 11:27:09 CST From: "Bernhardt, Todd" <tbernhardt@aga.com> Subject: This and that in 2-49 >From: DougMash@aol.com >About the rubber shark story clarification request, I will venture no >further than to state that Andy's "Pink Thing" and said shark allegedly >engaged in relations. Hmmm ... wonder if Andy hummed the theme from "Jaws" while he did this ... >From: Natalie Jane Jacobs <gnat@umich.edu> >I know I'm going to feel like a dork for posting this to complete >strangers, but what the heck. I love this band. C'mon, Natalie. It's US. We're yer Chalkhills pals, not strangers. Actually, it's funny that you mention "Mummer" this way. It helped me through a tough spot when it came out -- music can be the greatest therapy in the world (esp. drumming to "Funk Pop a Roll" after a BAD DAY :^) -- and after all, when you think of it, that album helped Andy get over a tough spot as well. >From: Martin_Monkman@fincc04.fin.gov.bc.ca >On Sunday, when I asked my kids what music they wanted to listen to, >my 2 1/2 year-old daughter said "No Bugs In Our House". Well, after all, "The insect-headed worker-wife will hang her waspies on the line-ine-ine..." Makes perfect sense to me. And your daughter has excellent taste in music, I must say. ByeBye!
------------------------------ From: David Yazbek <yazbek@pipeline.com> Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 12:38:56 -0500 Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-49 In response to a posting about my album-- My U.S. label, W.A.R.? (which stands for What Are Records?) tells me to tell interested parties the following-- If you can wait a bit, save the $25 you'll have to pay for imports and call W.A.R.? directly at 303-440-0666, or fax them at 303-447-2484. The Laughing Man wont be out in stores till late Feb.-early March, but they will start doing mail-business much sooner than that. Also-- I just read Frank Zappa's autobio for the first time-- great book. Also-- I have a gig in NY at Brownies on Ave. A. this thur. the 14th at 8 p.m. E-mail me if you'd like mailing-list inclusion. Yazbek
------------------------------ From: RandyXpher@aol.com Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 13:45:08 -0500 Subject: Ben Folds - Ten Feet Tall! Ten Feet Tall chords *My* undetailed view of the chorus would seem to be: F Am C G F Am Right...The chemistry is right... C G F Am This boy has reached his height... C G This feeling just goes... At least that's how I used to play it. > - ben folds five - after hearing so much about them, i got their > (eponymous) cd the other day, and granted i've only listened to > it a few times, but two things strike me immediately - all their > songs sound the same, and b) ben folds sounds an *awful* lot > like young paul mccartney, with a tiny bit of michael penn > thrown in. (i think, from only having heard two things by him - > hmm, betraying my ignorance a little? - in fact, does anyone > think he's good? if so, what's good by him? i probably should > get over my 80s hit song prejudice against him, considering that > i successfully overcame it as far as crowded house are > concerned.) but ANYway; I hear a lot more Rundgren influence than Macca. He reminds me of Runt period Todd, but with a lot more energy. I think he's a great writer, capable of catchy fun toons and mature serious songwriting at virtually the same time. The album gets better every time I listen to it. For my money, BFF is one of the three best of the year (Finn and Ron Sexsmith being the other two). Those I know who love it, loved it right off the bat, so I don't know if it'll ever grow on you... but I give it my highest recommendation. RC
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 15:07:12 -0500
From: David.Criddle@cinsycfs.rcc.org (David Criddle)
Subject: Verve Pipe in Cincinnati
My friend and fellow Chalkhills reader Jude informed me that the Verve
Pipe were playing a local club last Wednesday. We decided to pop over
there and give them a listen. We got in about 10:30 only to find they
had been playing for a half hour already. The Cincinnati/Clifton
scene never usually seems to start the main acts until 11:00-11:30. Oh
well.
They were very a very together band with lots of things going on in
the guitar section. Their lead guitarist had a very Jeff Beck-y sort
of style and played a wonderful, jazz influenced solo during one of
their tunes. Another memorable tune had all four vocalists doing a
split, call/response sort of harmony thing with grinding guitars
behind it. The songs were very well done with a good mix of pop hooks
with heavy guitar. Go see them if you get the chance.
After the show, we had a nice chat with their drummer/second
songwriter. He was happy to hear that I found out about them through
Chalkhills. The Verve Pipe's new album was produced by Jerry
Harrison, which alone should make it worth a good listen. I enjoyed
my 15 minute listen to their last album, so I would like to hear what
a 'big time' producer could do with them. While working on the
recording, he said Andy Partridge was lurking around the studio and
dropped in for a visit! Andy must have been working on the Talking
Heads thing. Maybe Donny (the Drummer/Songwriter) from the VP could
fill us in on the details sometime. He said they talked for about an
hour.
--aside--
Donny and I also found out we were both on a current Beach Boys/Brian
Wilson kick (ex: disks keep getting stuck in our cd players), which I
have been riding for the last year. Great stuff if you haven't heard
it. There is a lot more to the Beach Boys than Surfin' USA.
Especially the Smile sessions on the box set. Smile was the non-album
that was supposed to follow Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson's creative peak.
Paul McCartney said he listened to Pet Sounds daily for about 6 months
and it changed his bass playing to a much more free style. Also said
it was his major influence for Sgt. Pepper. Andy has borrowed more
than a few ideas from Brian Wilson of that period. Check it out!
Did some of that have to do with XTC? Oh Well.
Dave Criddle
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 13:45:58 -0800
From: richard.pedrettiallen@octel.com (Richard Pedretti-Allen)
Subject: Too Many Cooks/The old days
I'm reading Chalkhills and Children by Chris Twomey this week (found it
at the Stanford U bookstore). I'm coupling this with a sonic review of
the entire catalog. I even had to wind up the old vinyl spinner because
I don't have Go 2 on CD.
I was amused to read Colin's comments about Too Many Cooks In The
Kitchen & I Need Protection in that Virgin released it to pacify him.
I first heard this song (and caught it on tape) on WDET, Public Radio in
Detroit in 1980. The DJ was Mike Halloran who had fantastic access to
UK punk and new wave material. He called his program "Radios In
Motion." I was just getting into XTC (from Generals And Majors).
I had the song on tape and thought it was great fun. I knew the artist
as "The Colonel" but didn't know it was Colin until I bought Rag & Bone
Buffet. I had every major release by XTC up to that point but finding
Too Many Cooks on this compilation blew me out of my chair. I couldn't
help but dance (appropriately).
KFJC ("The Wave of the West") radio in Los Altos, California produced an
8 hour XTC special back in 1990. It was here that I caught the Homo
Safari stuff on tape.
I think my original exposure to XTC was at Lilli's in Hamtramck, Mich.
They had a fantastic collection of punk stuff on their jukebox and the
place was decorated like someone's basement. ...saw lots of wild stuff
there (most of who never made a mark on music), 3D Invisible, Cheetah
Chrome (from the Dead Boys), the Cubes, Art in America, Motor City
Monsters, Skafish, the Algebra Mothers (the A-Moms!), to name but a few.
Ahhhh, waxing nostalgic for Detroit's punk heydays... Bookie's Club 870
(at one point listed in Playboy as the "premier" punk club in the U.S.),
Nunzio's, the Red Carpet. XTC played the Madison Theatre with Hazel
O'Connor opening (who?) on April 8, 1981. I still have the postcard
advertising the show. XTC is printed so "graphic-artsy" that the
promoter rubber-stamped "XTC" on the card.
Cheers, Richard
"Stars congeal into instructions showing how the sky is opened" -AP
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 1995 15:22:25 -0800
From: relph (John Relph)
Subject: Digesting the Digests
Danny <100637.2212@compuserve.com> writes:
>
>...there's one tiny little detail on Skylarking which has always bugged me,
>and that is the curious high-pitched tinkling sound at the start of the
>middle section. It's on both my vinyl and CD copies.
>
>Funnily enough it happens over the words "I really get confused on who
>would make all this". A sign?? An act of God?? Nah, probably just a studio
>glitch that got missed or couldn't be fixed. Still, funny to find a flaw
>like that on what is one of XTC's most smoothly-produced albums.
I believe it's high notes on a piano or glockenspiel. There are a few
notes on a glockenspiel (or marimba) later in the song as well. Those
tinkles never bothered me. I don't think of it as a flaw.
jd.mack@neteast.com (JD MACK) writes:
>
>On a totally unrelated note . . . Any notice the implied obscenity in
>the lyrics of "1000 Umbrellas?" Complete this line:
>
>"So with a mop and a bucket
>I'll just say . . ."
"1000 Umbrellas" may be one of the best songs that Andy Partridge has ever
written. The lyrics are full of imaginative wordplay:
When you said we were
Over and over I cried
Now I'm crawling the wallpaper
That's looking more like a roadmap
One million salt seas
Recalled from school atlas
Alas would be filled to the brim
internal rhymes:
one thousand umbrellas
upturned couldn't catch all the Rain
that Drained out of my Head
when you Said we were
And one million teacups
I bet couldn't hold all the wet
That fell out of my eyes
When you fell out with me
And misdirection. The words you expect to hear are replaced with phrases
leading to completely different rhymes. And I love this verse:
So with a mop and a bucket
I'll just say forget her
And carry on sweeping up
Where I've been weeping
The Jesters will creep in
To strike down the newly crowned Monarch
Of Misery oh oh Misery
Just when you think things are bad, and you're wallowing in the nadir of
self-pity, something makes you laugh and you GET OVER IT!
"Bernhardt, Todd" <tbernhardt@aga.com> asks:
>
>Finally, I've heard of Window Box and Griboullage, but could someone
>please clue me in on what they are, exactly? I've hear Window Box is a
>demo tape
_Window Box_ is a four-song cassette only tape that was made by the people
at _The Little Express_ to be given away to attendees of the 1991 XTC Music
and Friends Convention. The four songs were all recorded by Andy Partridge
in the shed at the bottom of his garden. It has a really cool cover:
window shutters open to reveal a beautiful flower garden of music.
"Wesley Wilson" <Wesley_Wilson@iegate.mitre.org> writes:
>
>I just got 'The Laughing Man' yesterday, months after special ordering it
>from Japan!
I have exactly ONE extra copy of _The Laughing Man_ by David Yazbek. If
you are interested in this CD, please send me e-mail.
Which reminds me. There was a recent thread regarding hearing XTC in
strange places. I heard "Making Plans for Nigel" in the Chevy's Mexican
Restaurant near my house just a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked!
Shocked, I tell you!
vertigo@well.com (Giancarlo Cairella) writes:
>
>Maybe someone already announced this, but I didn't see it reported in the
>discography at the Chalkhills Web page so...
>
>There's a new album by Peter Blegvad out.
Okay, okay. So Andy didn't actually perform on the album. But since he
co-wrote the song "In Hell's Despite", I've added the the album _Just Woke
Up_ to the discography. However, you can find many more details in the
Peter Blegvad discography
(http://reality.sgi.com/employees/relph/music/blegvad.peter).
> I don't know if it's actually
>100% new or if it's the USA release of an older UK album
Brand spanking new! Released in October of this year.
On to another recent topic... Other music recommendations. Recent fave
spins:
P. Hux: _Deluxe_
Pure power pop. Love the cover of "Another Satellite" on _TD_.
The Boo Radleys: _Wake Up_
Neo-retro-psych-bubblegum-etc.
Combustible Edison: _I, Swinger_
More smoky lounge weirdness.
Elastica: _Elastica_
Not so new, but still some good tunes. Another "sounds like" album.
Radiohead: _The Bends_
Probably will be my personal BEST OF '95.
Happy Rhodes: _The Keep_
Odds and ends, mostly acoustic-based. She still has a great voice.
And did I mention that the Poi Dog Pondering show the other night was
excellent?!
-- John
--
Carrion feast for the hall. Pace with venoms lovely and ageless, counting
the dimensions in an almanac. Way to punch the night with religion.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 10:40:03 +1000
From: jenny@next.com.au (Eliot Fish)
Subject: Senses Rip-off!
Hey there XTC fans!
Here's a piece of news that you'll probably find extremely interesting. I
hope. Here in Australia, a band called You Am I have just released their
new single (I forget it's name) which sounds almost identical to the middle
8 of Senses Working Overtime ("...and birds might fall from black skies...
whooo-whooo" bit). Not only is the verse melody exactly the same, but the
backing vocals even do the whoo-whoos!!!!! You'll have to hear it to
believe it. It's so obvious that it must be a weird sort of tribute. There
is also some distinctly jangle guitar bits at the end in a sort of Funk Pop
A Roll vein.
The band, You Am I, are huge here in Aussie-land (Number One nationally
last album) and have toured the US with Soundgarden. So this is quite a
public admission of XTC-influence.
Tim Rogers the singer/songwriter writes great songs anyhow, so it's not as
if he really needed to rip XTC off...it's just some sort of "tip of the
hat" I guess.
Keep an ear out people... no doubt you'll hear this song sometime.
Eliot Fish
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-50 ******************************
Go back to Volume 2.
13 December 1995 / Feedback