Chalkhills Digest Volume 2, Issue 85
Date: Wednesday, 13 March 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 2, Number 85
Wednesday, 13 March 1996
Today's Topics:
Tribute Tape Idea
Beach Boys/Van Dyke Parks/Smile
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-83
Interview with Andy Partridge
re: XTC Guitars
my top 10 list
A New Interpretation
Top Ten thread stays alive...
10 albums
Best of 1995
Exchange Mart a go-go?
off-topic thoughts about 10cc
Books are burning with optimism's flames
Overrated Beach
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-84
Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-84
Take Note!
* If you use a signature (from your ".signature" file), please
keep it to *FOUR* lines of text or fewer. Your e-mail address
already appears in the header of your posting, so no need to
repeat it in your signature.
* If the NEW content of your posting is shorter than your signature
file, don't post it. Or don't post the signature. Pick one.
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the Chalkhills mailing list, send a message to
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org> with the following command:
unsubscribe chalkhills
For all other administrative issues, send a message to:
<chalkhills-request@chalkhills.org>
Please remember to send your Chalkhills postings to:
<chalkhills@chalkhills.org>
Check out EARTIME, the XTC album buyer's guide.
World Wide Web: "http://chalkhills.org/"
The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
Just think twice before the deed is done.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BugRoom@aol.com Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 16:16:40 -0500 Message-ID: <960312161639_244298541@emout10.mail.aol.com> Subject: Tribute Tape Idea Hello all... I just got an idea for the Tribute Tape title: Chalkhill's Children Whaddaya think, huh? huh? Bug
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 17:18:57 -0500 (EST)
From: James Poulakos <engjcp@gsusgi2.Gsu.EDU>
Subject: Beach Boys/Van Dyke Parks/Smile
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.960312171402.20327A-100000@gsusgi2.gsu.edu>
Thanks to you fellow 'hillians, I'll soon have a cassette of some _Pet
Sounds_ to hear--a new experience for me that'll no doubt enhance my
appreciation of xtc.
Someone wondered how the most recent Van Dyke Parks/Brian Wilson project
came out: mellow. My local college radio station, WRAS, had been playing
a few cuts off this disc regularly. None really stuck in my mind, but I
did notice that the music was Beach Boys-ish and had to be either Wilson
or someone who revered his vocal arrangements.
What are the "Smile" tapes/sessions/whatever that several of you have
mentioned here?
* --------------------------------------------------------------------
- Diese Nachricht besteht aus recyclebaren gluecklichen Elektronen -
- Beim Herstellen wurden keinen Elektronen verletzt -
My home page is now at http://www.gsu.edu/~engjcp/zero.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
James Poulakos
------------------------------ From: 7IHd <ee92pmh@brunel.ac.uk> Message-Id: <19785.9603122241@molnir.brunel.ac.uk> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-83 Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 22:41:34 +0000 (GMT) Hi, # From: DrBeat1@aol.com # Subject: Welcome and English Settlement Lyrics # Anyhoo, I've been wearing out my English Settlement CD and it occurs to # me, does anyone know if a CD version exists that has the lyrics? I'd love # to get a copy! I don't mind shelling out for an import if I need to. This cropped up recently - the UK copy (I have it, since that's where I am) has all the lyrics. Same cannot be said of Go2, sadly. Oh well. --- # From: "Anthony Ciarochi" <ciarochi@pe.net> <I originally said, re: Thomas Dolby:> # >>Ailiens Ate My Buick : The one major glitch in an otherwise glittering # >>career. # # Unfortunately, Aliens Ate My Buick was just the first of an ongoing # string of glitches in Thomas Dolby's career. "The Golden Age Of # Wireless" and "The Flat Earth" were glorious, "Aliens..." was fun # but mostly mediocre, and everything since has been total yawn-ville. Must protest! It depends on how varied your tastes are, as one thing I like about TD is that he is always experimenting. "Astronauts & Heritics" is one of my all-time favourite records, it blows me away every time I play it. "The Gate To The Minds Eye Soundtrack" is almost as good, IMHO. So there. Standard case of can't please everyone, I think. See also: The Big Express, Nonsuch. # I don't think he ever recovered from the Howard the Duck # soundtrack... Now there you may be right, though I haven't heard it so I don't know. :-) --- # From: sellheim@zfn.uni-bremen.de (Erich Sellheim) # Subject: My Weapon # # Hello everyone, # # In "My Weapon", the lyric sheet quotes the last line as "My stinking # weapon", which doesn't make too much sense to me. I tend to understand # "My Sinclair weapon", but I don't know if this means anything. # Any suggestions? As you're in Germany (from your email address), I assume this is simply a language problem. This is not literally "stinking" as in smelling nasty, but "stinking" as in a derogatory term meaning somehow bad. Which in fact illustrates the real meaning of the song; it is entirely tongue in cheek and carries a _very_ subtle pro-feminist message. And that (paraphrased) is what Barry Andrews himself told me, and he was very hurt by the "sexist" accusations that it attracted as everyone had completely missed the intended message. --- And on a completely unrelated (to the above) but vaguely related (to XTC) note, I don't know if this is widely known (in which case forgive me), but I couldn't help noticing that Dave Mattacks pops up on the Saw Doctors "Friends Demos B-Sides" CD, not on a Saw Doctors track but one one of the 'friends', a track performed by ex-Waterboy Anthony Thistlethwaite, entitled "Tower Of Love". To be honest this CD is a Saw-Doctors-completist- only requirement, and in any case is only available from the fan club or at the gigs, but as the track is from A Thistlethwaite's "forthcoming album" (which may have been released months ago for all I know), maybe it's already known about anyway. Any maybe nobody's that bothered. I dunno. _ |_)|_ *| | | )|| http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/~ee92pmh/ ========
------------------------------ Date: 13 MAR 96 10:01:13 EDT From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au Subject: Interview with Andy Partridge Message-ID: <0000uouqawke.0000txrrrzjn@dca.gov.au> This is a transcript of an interview with Andy, upon the release of "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" and the album "Nonsuch". Broadcast on MTV Australia 19 September 1992: (Clip for "Pumpkinhead" interspersed with interview footage) (Scene: Andy against large tree-trunk. He's wearing blue baseball cap at rakish angle. XTC logo from "English Settlement" superimposed on screen) Voice-over: Frontman Andy Partridge told us the story of Peter... AP: I carved a Jack o' Lantern for the kids. I felt really sorry for him 'cos he was perfect, so I thought I would immortalize him. And the more I started to write a song about a "perfect hero", I thought, well, he's perfect, he tells the truth and that's really powerful; he's perfect and he pleases people. How do you please people? You give 'em money! That's what they want. And so he becomes really famous for telling the truth and of course he gets too big for his boots and the government have him killed... It's Jesus Christ, it's JFK, it's John Lennon, isn't it? It's Joan of Arc isn't it, and ha!, we know it's about the Pope 'cos the Pumpkinhead is the head-wear, right?! You know, you're allowed to read whatever martyr you want to read into it. (Video clip sound swells up) Voice-over: Peter Pumpkinhead is the first video from XTC's tenth album, "Nonsuch" - a record that's just scored its fifth week at number one on the alternative charts. (Nonsuch album cover on screen)(then Andy and interviewer in what looks like small toy-shop or collector's shop) AP: I found this great picture of this palace that Henry VIII had instigated called "Nonsuch" and I found this great picture of it and thought 'that's beautiful'. And I thought the word Nonsuch meant 'doesn't exist', and I thought - how sad, calling a palace 'doesn't exist palace' and now it doesn't exist, you know, and it was just the most architecturally beautiful, perfect thing. We started to get the album together and then I looked it up in the dictionary and I found it meant 'without equal' (mock gasp), so it's turned into sounding like a really boastful thing but...um...me?? (coy expression). (Clip sound swells up)(Interviewer, Dave Kendall and Andy are now sitting on a park bench by some trees) DK: It's been ten years, Andy, since XTC have been on tour... AP: ...and you never wrote!.....oh, you bitch! (laughter) DK: I'm sorry...um, a lot of people are wondering are you ever gonna go out on tour, I mean what do we have to do to persuade you? AP: The weird thing is I'd like to flip that 'round and say why the hell do you need us on tour? What's the big thing where you have to be part of that kind of stupid circus thing - why do you hafta.....and what do I do with my carcass that's brilliant that anyone'd wanna see? You can go into a record shop and buy a slice of my soul - why'd you wanna see my pork wobbling around in front of you? Voice-over: If Andy Partridge likes to make fun of himself, he's also very serious about subjects like the environment... (Back near the big tree) AP: It seems kind of obvious, like, the big problems - nobody wants to address. Cars are messing the world up, you know, 80-90% of the world's filth comes from cars, and nobody wants to do anything about it, 'cos everyone owns a car and, "oh, I'm not gonna say anything 'cos I've got a car and I'm, you know...I'm not gonna....." (emphatically) People have got to look at themselves - they're the problem! Full clip (US version?) for The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead then plays. ****of course we're all looking forward to that time (soon!) when the boys are out promoting A NEW ALBUM! Speed the day..... Paul Culnane
------------------------------ Date: 13 MAR 96 10:59:35 EDT From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au Subject: re: XTC Guitars Message-ID: <0000zvjlthdx.0000yegmkkcc@dca.gov.au> Kirk, The "Senses Working Overtime" video clip shows Dave Gregory wielding what looks like a 6-string Rickenbacker. I daresay this and 12-string 'backers would be staples of the XTC studio arsenal. That's the only visual evidence I could find though. My suggestion for XTC producer: Rueben Kincaid. (Think about it)(Sorry, feeble attempt at humour, not nearly as witty as the idea of calling the new double album "Dave and Colin and the Infinite Andy"!!!) ..."streams of diamonds shoot out 'til we're wading waist deep in her brilliant love" (AP) Paul Culnane, deranged Australian.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 22:03:37 -0500 (EST) From: Brandon K Snavely <bksst6+@pitt.edu> Subject: my top 10 list Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9603122107.A19831-0100000@unixs6.cis.pitt.edu> I enjoy reading these so much that I thought I'd post mine!: 1) Depeche Mode - Violator & Black Celebration (tie) 2) Pet Shop Boys - Very 3) The Smiths - Meat is Murder 4) the The - Dusk 5) XTC - Skylarking & Nonsuch (tie) 6) Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion 7) The Cure - Head on the Door & Faith (tie) 8) Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 9) King Crimson - THRAK & Discipline (tie) 10) Suede - Dog Man Star Brandon K. Snavely: bksst6+@pitt.edu np: "scarlet thing in you" -peter murphy
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199603130312.TAA15294@deliverator.sgi.com> Date: Tue, 12 Mar 96 20:52:14 EST From: Melissa Reaves <MREAVES@KENTVM.KENT.EDU> Subject: A New Interpretation I have been reading with interest the discussion on interpretations of different songs. While it can be fun to come with new and different possibilities for the songs, and I don't deny anyone the right to think of things in their own particular way, I do feel that an interpretation can be just plain wrong. So it was kind of funny when I woke up the other morning from a very sound sleep in which I had dreamt that I had unlocked the secret to Senses Working Overtime. It was all about how the brain starts running through everything it's ever seen and heard and hallucinating and just generally blowing out all of its circuits just before death. And of course in my dream this was the most brilliant thing ever and it was _the_ perfect answer to what this song means and I woke up ready to write in to Chalkhills to share my discovery when I remembered this thread and my own thoughts on it. But still, it's an intriguing thought isn't it? The ultimate authority is the text itself. I know I'm just paraphrasing stuff that's been said, so I'll be brief, but whatever outside evidence one may find(statements by the author, current events etc.), if the theory can't be supported by the text itself it doesn't wash. This, by the way, also counts as my contribution to the "have you ever dreamt about XTC?" thread. Up to now, I hadn't. On a totally unrelated subject, namely Jellyfish, I'm glad someone else brought up the Queen connection!! That was the first thing I thought of, but I didn't want to be the one to say it. Course, it's a plus for me, not a negative. The other thing they reminded me of was the Muppets. The third song on Spilt Milk sounds like it's Kermit the Frog doing a turn with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. But anyway... And all the world is biscuit-shaped. --Melissa PS To revisit the misheard lyrics thread, I always thought it was "Put your foot upon the laughing gas and drive your brain around." I still prefer it.
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 22:36:58 -0500 Message-Id: <199603130336.WAA11854@borg.mindspring.com> From: Spawn Ranch Disciples <pete_srd@mindspring.com> Subject: Top Ten thread stays alive... OK, Chalkhillians, in keeping the Top Ten Albums of all time thread alive, here's mine (no particular order): Yes - Relayer. This rather interesting release (w/o Wakeman) proved to be one of their best musically. Yes - The Yes Album. A classic. Steely Dan - Aja. Everyone knows this one. Bruford - One of A Kind. One of the most beautiful recordings I've heard. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue. A jazz legend produces a landmark recording. YellowJackets - Politics. Their best. Pat Metheny - Secret Story. A wonderful modern jazz record; Pat's best. XTC - Black Sea. Fell over when I first heard it. RHCP - Blood Sugar Sex Magic. The crazy Hollywood kids mellow a bit and give a real gem. Victim's Family - The Germ. Crazy West-Coast jazzcore. Also fell over when I first heard this one. 2 honorable mentions: XTC - English Settlement Weather Report - Heavy Weather In reading everyone's top ten, I saw a lot of 2 or more from the same band in people's lists. What gives? I'm sure there's a wide range of interest out there...
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 00:00:26 -0500 Message-Id: <199603130500.AAA15511@dcez.dcez.com> From: "J. D. Mack" <jdmack@nicom.com> Subject: 10 albums AAAAAAHHHRGGGGG! I wasn't going to do this. I thought everyone would have thought this old stuff by now! Every newsgroups does it!! Now I'm going to list my top 10 Desert Island discs, and join the masses: 1. Oranges and Lemons - XTC. I noticed very few people listed this album. This is the album I played every day for a year, which completely got me into XTC. I find one of the greatest pleasures in life is getting drunk and playing bass with this album at very high volume (skipping over "President Kill"). 2. Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush 3. Ommadawn - Mike Oldfield 4. Brain Salad Surgery - Emerson Lake, and Palmer (the most critically vilified group of all time!) 5. Hejira - Joni Mitchell 6. Discipline - King Crimson 7. Relayer - Yes 8. Hemispheres - Rush 9. Live on the Double Planet - Michael Hedges 10. My 90 minute tape of They Might Be Giants - O.K., perhaps this one is a cheat. TMBG can't seem to release an album that's more than 1/3 brilliant, but my 90 minute compilation tape is 100% brilliant! Hey, if you hit your down arrow and skipped right past this, I understand. I've been doing that myself lately. For those of you who read this, I hope you saw something that made you smile. J.D.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 21:39:21 -0800
From: relph (John Relph)
Message-Id: <199603130539.VAA05862@mando.engr.sgi.com>
Subject: Best of 1995
Okay, so I'm a little late this year in compiling my Best Of Last Year
music list. Nonetheless, here are my personal picks from 1995.
Radiohead: The Bends
The most intense and ambient recording I'd heard in a long time.
John Leckie's production imbues this album with an amazing
atmosphere, swirling sounds in the distance, evoking distant
cities and lending the songs a certain power. One of those albums
that reminds me of great bands (the Beatles, King Crimson,
Nirvana, XTC, etc.) but stands out on its own.
Portishead: Dummy
Smoky hip-hop, very dark and rich, simmering in its own ambience.
This got a lot more play around my house than any other album this
year (mostly because of my wife).
Dodgy: Homegrown
Technically released in 1994, I didn't find out about it until May
of last year. Seventies rock for the Nineties, updated and with
its own positive spin. Even the downers come out looking good.
Nice wah-wah guitar, too.
David Yazbek: The Laughing Man
Power pop! I had to work in England for a month to find this but
it was worth it! Excellent electric piano work, twisted and
unexpected lyrics and melodic changes, and nicely polished to
boot. Also stylistically diverse, always a bonus.
Boo Radleys: Wake Up!
Lighter than Radiohead, but there are some great tracks on this
album, which reminds me more of the Partridge Family than Nirvana.
Loads of backwards tracks on this album. Gotta love it.
P. Hux: Deluxe
More power pop, but this is a little more distorted and
straightforward than Yazbek. More consistent, too. Some great
songs, cynical lyrics, and powerful sentiments. If you liked
"Another Satellite" on _Testimonial Dinner_, you'll like this
album.
Matthew Sweet: 100% Fun
The Partridge Family had a real day. Matthew Sweet takes light
poppy songs and makes them dark, grungy, and rough. But for all
its careful mistakes and wrong notes, Mr Sweet knows what he's
doing. "Lost My Mind" was one of the best tracks of the year,
with "Walk Out" a close second.
Pooh Sticks: Optimistic Fool
Not their best effort, but well worth a listen. I still don't
understand the idolization of Hue Pooh Stick, but these guys write
and perform great pop songs. This album seems darker than the
last two, but still has its positive moments. If it weren't for
the loss of inertia on side two, this would have been an excellent
record.
That Dog: Totally Crushed Out
An updated and cynical take on puppy love, complete with lipstick,
love letters, and a bottle of vodka or two. More grunge,
featuring violin and a female perspective. Loads of fun, but it
goes deeper than you think.
Honorable mentions go to the _Sing Hollies in Reverse_ Hollies tribute
album, for Jon Brion's track "Sorry Suzanne", the best headphone song
I've heard (over and over) in years; Urge Overkill _Exit the Dragon_
which annoyed me at first but grew and grew, very inconsistent yet
some classic songs; Blur _The Great Escape_, but you knew that; King
Crimson _THRAK_, which blew the doors out and brought back memories of
The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix; Robert Fripp _A Blessing of Tears_,
ambient frippery worth listening to, and unlike his other recent
Frippertronics works it's not annoying; The League of Crafty
Guitarists: _Intergalactic Boogie Express_, a live document in all its
flawed glory; and of course _A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC_,
which has a few great tracks and a few yawners.
-- John
--
Subvert the dominant paradigm.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <9603130445.AA8776@worldcom-45.worldcom.com> From: Martin Bell <Martin_Bell/New_Zealand/IDG_Net@idg.com> Date: 13 Mar 96 17:49:22 Subject: Exchange Mart a go-go? From: PCulnane@dca.gov.au >Is there scope within Chalkhills to set up some kind of "EXCHANGE MART" for >people wanting to trade good quality material? Anyway, anybody with video >stuff to sell or swap, please e-mail me (PCulnane@dca.gov.au) and I will >respond with my lists. Yes, yes, yes! Why is it we antipodeans are so full of good ideas (or are we just full of it? - e-mail privately please). I wholeheartedly concur, but don't have the foggiest idea of how you'd set such a forum up. Perhaps it could be part of the Chalkhills Homepage? Subsribing to the mailing list has been hugely thought provoking and fun, but it does have its downside.I described it recently to a fellow CHian as akin to the feeling of been let loose in a candy store, but all the candy's behind glass. By that I mean that each digest tantalises with its talk of demo CD this and live tape that. Don't you people realise that all this "talk" is driving us poor souls not in possession of said articles crazy with frustration and lust? The drool on my keybord is beginning to get embarrassing and co-workers are beginning to wonder at my mad panting and (ocassional) weeping every second or third morning as a fresh digest arrives. I know, I can (and have) e-mailed the odd person (and lets face, it our infatuation with XTC probably does seem odd to the casual observer) with a private request for an XTC related swap or trade. These have generally met with success (Hi and thanks to Chris, Scott, Thomas, James etc), but I can't help thinking that a unified forum would be the best solution of all. That way like-minded souls could share their little pieces of XTC bliss for similar. We'd probably need a few general rules about sound/video quality ratings to ween out nth generation dubs and ensure the "list" wasn't flooded with multiple copies of the same material. Any CHians without an XTC related item to trade could either come to an arrangement to pay a fair price for the item, or work out some other kind of swap. I firmly believe if the EXCHANGE MART got off the ground, its guiding principle should be fun and mutual enjoyment, not profit. Having said that, some people probably would be prepared to pay for certain things - it's just so much messier that way, what with international money orders, blah, blah, blah. As a group we CHians pretty much girdle the globe, so I'm sure it's possible that some people would be prepared to swap interesting local fare for XTC goodies. Sure, we're an eclectic bunch, but I notice from peoples top ten's that it shouldn't be too hard to find local material that is both interesting and relevant to XTC lovers. That way we get to spread music which might not otherwise find its way to "foreign" ears. Please forgive the evangelical zeal and rambling nature of this post. I'll probably think of some good reasons for this not working later on tonight, but right now it makes perfect sense. What think you? Martin
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 01:50:15 -0500 (EST) From: "Tom X. Chao" <tqc8542@is.nyu.edu> Subject: off-topic thoughts about 10cc Message-Id: <Pine.OSF.3.91.960313013818.14990B-100000@is.nyu.edu> I just wanted to mention, regarding William HamBevan's reference to "Sheet Music," that 10cc isn't THAT far away from our fave XTC-boys. Indeed, 10cc had not just 2 but 4 song-writers and penned loads of great, quirky pop tunes. To judge them by "I'm Not In Love" and "Things We Do For Love" is like judging XTC by "Peter Pumpkinhead," etc. "Sheet Music," their second disc, is fantastic, and while they did go downhill from there, all of the albums up to the point Godley and Creme split had great tracks on them, and even "Bloody Tourists" had a few. I still find myself humming "Life is a Minestrone" from time to time. Did you know that Godley and Creme invented a guitar synth called "The Gizmo" long before any others were developed? And that, in order to promote it, they recorded a 3-record boxed set called "Consequences"? And did you know later they directed dozens of videos for The Police, Duran Duran and others, thereby setting the look of MTV for years? Did you know Eric Stewart joined up with Paul McCartney during the 80's and added distinctly 10cc-style bg vox to many of Paul's solo songs? By god I'd rather listen to 10cc than a lot of these discs that people are listing amongst their favorites, many of which I hope are facetious lists and not sincere! TXC 10cc song of the past ten minutes: "The Loving" Suggested tribute tape title: Put Up Your Dukes
------------------------------
From: Gene_Yoon@brown.edu
Message-Id: <v02130500ad6c11ab855a@[128.148.184.54]>
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 02:02:53 -0500
Subject: Books are burning with optimism's flames
>From: DrBeat1@aol.com
>
>> ..
>> I am glad for this book, but is it me or was it rather lacking?
>> ..
>> Colin wrote a song, there isn't much detail. Also, aside from the
>> detailed overview of Skylarking, the latter albums are given a total
>> "rush treatment". Hardly any ink is given to The Big Express, Oranges &
>> Lemons, and particularly Nonesuch. ....
>
>I think _Nonsuch_ gets the "rush" treatment in the book because it
>was either just released or just about to be released when the book
>was published. Maybe there wasn't a lot of info available to Twomey
>at the time.
I remember Twomey "complained" in an interview that he had *too much*
material for the book. He weighed the options of doing a picture-laden,
shorter-text coffee-table-style book or a thicker one (a more book-like
book, if you will). He opted for the latter, but he still lacked the space
to include all his research, as the publisher put a cap on number of pages.
Twomey decided that he'd be complete about the lesser-known, earlier
stages of the band members' lives and careers, since the recent album
processes/sessions were pretty well covered in then-recent music rags. I'm
glad he did the book the way he did.
And more than that I find it amazing that a relatively obscure band like
XTC got the kind of documentation they did.
<Abrupt subject change.>
Last night I listened to Skylarking as I went to sleep (am I the only one
who does this?). It struck me again how much I love this album. This is
the first complete XTC album I ever heard, in '86 when it was new, but I'm
*still* discovering new elements in the songs. Sure, it's a tad sloppy in
spots and the mixing isn't great, but the subtle arrangements mesh so well,
the instrumentation is uniquely tailored for each track, without the busy
excess that bogs down Oranges & Lemons. I'm so glad Extrovert never made
the cut, it would have stuck out like a sore thumb. In fact, it sounds
like something from O&L.
Anyway, my "discovery" was the cello in Dying (thanks to Ben Gott). It
starts with "What sticks in my mind...." It's been underpinning the melody
all this time, but I never noticed it before. Earlier discoveries: the
cicadas at the beginning of Grass or the Spanish trumpeting in the intro of
Big Day. Moments like these I know how I can play this album from
beginning to end and not tire of it until the fifth repeat, then enjoy it
afresh a few days later. Curiosity: the average song length is
significantly shorter on Skylarking than on any of the other post-Go2
records.
A non-Skylarking late discovery was how Colin whispers "we're only making
plans for Nigel" behind his singing. Adds a rather sinister effect with
headphones. Anyone have other examples?
It's late and I'm sleepy and I'm rambling now. Not good....
.^
"Too much luck is bad luck" ^. .^.
\_o___/
\ ~~/
\ /
_L_ GeneYoon BrownBox399 401/8635403
------------------------------ From: steven.reule@24stex.com Message-ID: <9603122326.0WX6L02@24stex.com> Organization: 24th Street Exchange Date: Tue, 12 Mar 96 23:26:05 -0800 Subject: Overrated Beach Someone recently wrote: >Wait a minute here ... Let me pull on this asbestos jumpsuit >(ooh! that itches!): Ok, now I'm ready. Am I the only one on >this list who DOESN'T like the Beach Boyz? Never really cared >for them, but I recently picked up Pet Sounds on CD because so >many people (Andy P. included, of course) have cited it as an >influence. I listened. I *tried* to like it. I considered its >context, and who it influenced. I ended up giving it to my older >brother. I dunno, I like my music to have an ED GE to it (no >U2 jokes, please), and the BBs are just too, well, pale and >precious for me. If I'm going to listen to them at all, I prefer >them filtered through the genius of AP, thankyouverymuch. Well, YES, there is someone else out here who doesn't like the Beach Boys. I really dislike most of their stuff, especially the whiny, nasally vocal harmonies. I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears a difference between XTC harmonies in Beach Boy style songs (Difappointed, Pale And Precious, Chalkhills And Children) compared with actual Beach Boy whinings. Yes, I've heard the Pet Sounds era stuff and some of it rises to mediocre but to put them in the creative league of XTC to me is ludicrous. I might mention I am over 40 and most people my age seem to wax nostalgic about the Beach Boys but I never thought they were more than a good-time lightweight party group doing music that was usually derivitive (to be kind) and even at it's best dull and boring. Let me put on my flame-proof suit now... Steve
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 23:46:34 -0800 (PST) From: Anthony Ciarochi <ciarochi@pe.net> Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-84 Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960312234448.20054C-100000@nfs1> Ben Woll - I am hoping someday to put this thread to rest (as many others undoubtedly are), but every time I read one of your well-thought and well-stated installments, I feel compelled to respond. >>An artist also does not always have the best, or penultimate perspective on >>his own work - Orwell consistently denied Animal Farm was about the >>Russian Revolution, but come on!!! OK, so after many months of research, Orwell writes a novel about the unbelievably horrible conditions suffered by a family of Hungarian immigrants working in a meat packing plant. The public outcry is so overwhelming that the US government conducts an investigation, and finds the situation to be almost EXACTLY as Orwell describes in his book, or worse. As a direct result, the feds pass sweeping legislation to regulate the entire food processing industry, causing massive changes in what we consider 'safe' food (except for the hot dog -- deadly as ever, and we can't eat enough of 'em!) OF COURSE Animal Farm was about the Russian Revolution. I mean, what else could it be about? >>Anthony's Remembering Guernica was well written and pretty damn funny, but >>a world in which the audience is left out of the creative equation is a >>world I want no part of. Thank you, and don't worry -- you can't escape creativity. Everything you do, down to your last breath, is an act of creation; you can't help it. There is, however, only one truth, and no amount of creativity can ever change it. We, as humans, seldom glimpse the truth, since every experience is sifted through the polluted filters of our minds and sensory organs. Fortunately, some truths - like the meaning of Andy Partridge's lyrics - are obvious, at least by the tenth listen. This is the only way we know truth exists at all. >>Does anyone honestly believe that the >>state of the arts would be healthier today if we were not so afraid to >>call Debbie Gibson and Melrose Place mindless shit? I am fully prepared (except for a lack of Demerol) to write an extensive soliloquy on the parallels between "Another Satellite" and the plot to the movie "Searching For Mr. Goodbar," and proving beyond a shadow of doubt that Andy was, in fact, inspired by this film which, as we all know, was one of the most glorious moments in cinematic history. (Sadly, I might even convince a few people) Your argument implies that this nauseating endeavor would not only be worthwhile (my basis would be AT LEAST as strong as your Margaret Thatcher / Religion bases), but that I would actually be making the state of the arts 'healthier.' Are your SURE you want to live in this world? That 's the one I live in... >>Millions is about Mao. Another Satellite is about Religion. >>Dear Madam Barnum - who else but Margerat Thatcher? Only in your own private hell. :-) peace, Anthony F. Ciarochi
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 23:50:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Anthony Ciarochi <ciarochi@pe.net>
Subject: Re: Chalkhills Digest #2-84
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960312234843.20054D-100000@nfs1>
>>What's the "wheel"that you are supposed to roll away with a fork? Is
>>it an obscure reference to caravans that never move from the front garden?
Perhaps a wheel of cheese?
And is there any relation between masks and spoons? Is there
some other profound way in which the food metaphor fits into
the failing marriage / corrupt politician themes?
Food spoils.
Anthony F. Ciarochi
* ------------------------------------------------------------------------
ciarochi@pe.net On-line Administrator -- PE.net
http://pe.net/~ciarochi CS Major, Univ. of CA, Riverside
'Spend at least 15 minutes every day
listening to something you hate...'
* ------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #2-85 ******************************
Go back to Volume 2.
13 March 1996 / Feedback