Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 11
Date: Monday, 21 October 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 11
Monday, 21 October 1996
Today's Topics:
Re: Beatles Slams, Producer Fees
You say potato, I say Chalkhills
Jason Garcia: The Introduction (Part 1???)
Small tidbit about Thanks For Christmas.....
misc
Reviews: Smell the Ammonite & Skylarking Gold CD
Politics of the Lads and Chalkhillians
Chalkhills' Children
smoke screen
GO 2
Bootleg/demo suggestion.
yet to be released music
XTC on Tour?
Media and Fossil Fuel
that oh-so-naughty word
XTC Lives!
the biz is bizzare
Stuff with some XTC mention
New movie coming out called Dear God......
"Hurrah's" (NY) Show from 1980
Train Running Low on Bowl Coal
Maintain Radio Silence
SKYLACKING
Sydney - 'On The Street'
An obscure XTC release?
OT - What do you call that noise?
Surf's up
familiar quotation...
"Big Fire" Lyric
Swedish FOSSIL FUEL
And what is Agony Andy, you ask?
Administrivia:
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>
World Wide Web: <http://chalkhills.org/>
The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <199610161627.MAA19882@nlm.nih.gov> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 96 11:35:31 EDT From: dabl2@nlm.nih.gov (Don Lindbergh) Subject: Re: Beatles Slams, Producer Fees >From: box@nemesis.com.au >Subject: Skylarking on transparent vinyl > >Same thing happened to the Beatles IMHO. That Let It Be thing on >the roof was a complete botch. If it was just any other band >people would have worn earplugs. Hmm, you must not have watched and listened to the same footage I did, this stuff is GREAT. Of course, so are the Beatles, live or otherwise, however I know all to well this is a boring old topic here and everybody has an opinion etc. >From: myke <jerk@earth.execpc.com> > > Well, according to popular legend, the Beatles were an > awful live band ANYWAY, but you couldn't tell for all the > screeching. Again, I believe the Anthology footage refutes this quite succinctly. I respect your right to disagree (after you watch the footage). >Mitchell Froom would be an >excellent producer for XTC's new project, even though he's way too >expensive. Well, they had Todd, who was at one time the most expensive producer in the business. At the time (late 1980's), that phrase meant $100,000+ for delivery of the final product. Of course, that included use of Todd's personal studio and whatever it took to complete the project etc. Also of course, Todd really wore two hats (engineer also). Possibly Froom gets something like that these days, but frankly I'd be surprised. Anyway, I believe the group would need good record company support to even think along these lines these days. I wonder what Dudgeon got. I'd guess he was fairly cheap, but I certainly have no idea. > This saddens me somewhat. I was going to attempt to hire > Mitchell for a project-- but does anyone know exactly HOW > many millions of dollars I'd need first? My impression was > that, since he produced the minimally-selling Ron Sexsmith > album and was hired for the second one as well, that he > was willing to take on smaller projects. If not, then Ron > is on shakier ground than I previously suspected... I don't know anymore what the numbers are typically. I used to work at EMI and saw many a producer and engineer contract. At the time (early 1990's), I remember seeing the contract for Nile Rogers doing Bowie's "Let's Dance". For his efforts, Rogers got $45,000. I guess this record was done quite a few years before however, I can't even remember. A 'known' engineer like Jimbo Barton would typically get $25,000 for a 'known' act/record at the time (early 1990's) and a producer like the guy who did Robbie Nevill's stuff (again, name eludes me, Peter something) got $50,000. Today, I don't know, but I would guess $50,000-$75,000 for a 'known' but not incredibly successful producer. Firstly, I believe these figures are HIGHLY NEGOTIABLE on a PER ACT basis and 'you're only as good as you're last record etc. Often, for instance, rules change when the producer actually has a personal interest in the artist/project etc. I believe Todd has done records for (a precious few) acts who had NOWHERE NEAR 100k, but he simply liked them. I can fairly confidently say that although Todd was in fact a fan of XTC, they ok'd at least 100k if not more for Todd's production of _Sylarking_. And it was damn well worth it too IMNSHO...... --Don DABL dabl2@nlm.nih.gov
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 11:16:37 -0500
Message-Id: <v01540b03ae8ac7f43eee@[146.6.72.49]>
From: h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu (World's Greatest Lover)
Subject: You say potato, I say Chalkhills
Oh, by the by...
I think the idea of a Chalkhills musicians' compilation tape sounds
great! (and it's
not just 'cause I have stuff to contribute) I wanna hear original music!
Let's do it!
Jason
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 11:03:13 -0500
Message-Id: <v01540b00ae8abd0daefc@[146.6.72.26]>
From: h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu (Spiritual Generation World-Wide Foundation)
Subject: Jason Garcia: The Introduction (Part 1???)
Howdy.
Since my first post was a rant, I figured I'd make up for it in my
second by indulging myself in a comprehensive introduction. I'm Jason
Garcia, I'm 21 years old and live in Austin, Texas. I've been reading this
list for, oh, about seven months now, so....gee, I feel like I know all of
you already! Anyway, enough sentimentality.
My love affair with XTC (the music, not the band themselves) began,
quite funnily enough, with the release of Nonsuch. Of course at the time
MTV was playing the "Peter Pumpkinhead" video rather frequently (but I've
only seen it once, dammit!!!) and I thought to myself, "You know, these XTC
guys aren't half-bad, in fact, I kinda like 'em!" So I went out and bought
Nonsuch. While at the store, I saw several other albums which I wondered
if I should get. Then, while listening to Nonsuch at my friend's house, I
was informed that a certain album called "English Settlement" had a certain
song on it called "Senses Working Overtime" that my friend had heard was
quite good, and that there was some other album with a song called "Mayor
of Simpleton" which my friend had heard and thought, "Why isn't anyone else
doing this stuff?!? This is great!!"
Thus, I began college in 1992 armed with three XTC records:
Nonsuch, English Settlement, and Skylarking, the latter which I acquired my
first day in Austin, on a whim. I found Skylarking pleasant enough, and
Nonsuch equally so, but I COULD NOT GET INTO E.S. In fact it was months
later before I had even listened to all the songs!!! In the meantime,
however, I decided to make it my quest to obtain XTC's entire catalogue.
Black Sea came next, followed quickly by Go 2 and White Music. And to make
a long story short (too late), by around the fall of 1993 I had all of
their albums, with Rag and Bone Buffet being my last purchase (I think).
*EPILOGUE*
Of course, the daunting English Settlement is now one of my
favorite albums ever, and I have a great appreciation for what might be
considered weird or unlistenable by non-XTC fans. I think all of it is
great and, like all of you, am eagerly awaiting a new release from the
boys. Geez, I feel like I'm writing an essay-- here I am trying to think
of the perfect sentence to end this thing. Hmm...well, suffice it to say
that, well, I'm glad I'm here, finally, at last...and ....I love you man!
*sniff sniff* *hooooot*
Did I say enough sentimentality?
Jason
"I was in a land where men force women to hide their facial features
And here in the West it's just the same but they're using make-up veils"
P.S. - oh, re "Fuck" in "Great Fire"-- that's "smoke...curling 'round the
door." It's separated from what follows so he can take a breath, I
imagine. And now, the rest of the digest...
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 10:14:57 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Small tidbit about Thanks For Christmas..... Message-id: <01IAPGQIKH7M904QVU@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Okay, last year in December I'm in Bath and Body Works in the mall in Lafayette Louisiana, and they're playing Christmas music. The standard fair, stuff like "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" and "Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart", then I hear these very familiar drumbeats, then the horns some in, and I'm almost shrieking, because I can't believe what I'm hearing. So I take my little year-old goddaughter out of her stroller and proceed to dance with her around the crowded store as Thanks for Christmas blares out for all shoppers to hear. Amanda "Everything works if you woggle it"-Agony Andy
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.16.19961016151447.1bc76332@cic-mail.lanl.gov> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:14:47 -0600 From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov> Subject: misc Hey, incredibly-enlightened fans of XTC - just some random comments inspired by the latest Chalkhills: - Stephen Varga, re: "What's wrong with the record-buying public?" I think a friend of mine recently answered this question when she said "well, people suck". Actually, they don't all suck, but I think many people's tastes, beliefs, values, etc. are formed by TV ads, a whatever's-the-most-popular mentality about entertainment, and so on. I learned quite a while back that there is little relationship between talent/quality and sales, whether you're talking about books, CD's, movies... - Turning on friends to XTC - someone said a friend said Black Sea "wasn't any good"??!?! Gaaaaahhhh! Actually, I had a similar experience. I loaned "Nonsuch" to a friend, and he really liked it, but O&L and Skylarking were just a little too weird to him. - MITCH - Please tell Andy that the new demos are great, and that they must ALL appear on the next album(s), or as one of our German corres- pondents said recently, "I shall become cross". - RE: Amanda Owens saying "whoever didn't like what I said about Clinton, well, I don't like him & I'm going to say it", blah blah. WOAH! OK, I was the one that said it, and I shouldn't have, but it was only a side reference to the f-word thing. Never mind. The main point is, YES, of course, I whole-heartedly endorse your right to say WHATEVER you think on this list (and everyone else, of course). It's like whoever just said that we're not necessarily all liberal on the list. I have very different ideas & opinions on all kinds of things compared to the "average American", but I didn't mean to try to imply that anyone else should censor themselves. - One last thing, before I get into a JHB-length posting (just kidding, Joshua) - ya'll (all Chalksters) are great. I've seen quite a few postings since I've been on the list from people who essentially say "Wow, this is cool, because I didn't know anyone else who was a fan of these guys". And I feel the same way. So regardless of the f*** issue, liberal/conservative, or whatever other perceived conflict has reared its ugly head, I think we've got a pretty cool little email list here. * ------------------------------- DeWitt Henderson "And every night when I put the cat out, I stir the sky so it'll spin all night" (A.P.) (OK, so this may not be an EXACT quote) * -------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 11:06:54 -0400
Message-Id: <v01510100ae8a649dc142@[128.122.161.36]>
From: vanvalnc@is2.nyu.edu (Chris Van Valen)
Subject: Reviews: Smell the Ammonite & Skylarking Gold CD
Hello Fellow Chalksticks
Here's my two cents on both discs.
First, Fossil Fuels. The packaging of the limited edition is interesting in
the box cover only. But it really does have a "Smell the Glove" kiss-off
feel to it. There are many glaring typos and omissions in the text which
shows an utter disregard for the material being offered on Virgin's part.
And as far as the superior sound quality, I didn't notice any improvement
on the tracks following "Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down". Another odd point
was the use of the LP version of "No Thugs in Our House" rather than the
single version. Those who have the single will remember that the single
ended with the chord fade out on the word "Dear", and didn't have the
raunchy reprise that appeared on English Settlement.
I was also disappointed by the truncated fade out on "Wake Up". I love the
long fade out from the 12" version(identical to the version on The Big
Express) which when I hear it I literally get the shivers up and down my
spine. I'd give it a "Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide" C-. Only for those
who are only just recently getting into the Swindon 3.
Secondly, The Moblie Fidelity 24 Katat Gold CD of "Skylarking"
I got this at a bargain price(I thought--I've seen it previously for up to
$32) of twenty bucks flat. I was thrilled with the packaging--it includes
the picture of Andy with his knickers down(!) which was left out of my
other CD booklets. As I had posted many moons ago, I already have two other
versions of Skylarking--The UK Virgin import(which has "Mermaid Smiled"
instead of "Dear God") and the US Geffen release with "Dear God". The
overall sound quality exceeds the Geffen version but is not noticably
different from the Virgin import(I think the Geffen was probably mastered
as AAD while the Virgin is specified as ADD). I like the locking jewel box
it came in as a nifty gimick(when I got mine, there was a long gouge in the
outer surface and I e-mailed them to ask if I could buy a replacement box.
They offered to send me a new box for free, which was real cool of them).
BTW, they sell them at 5 for $5.99.
So, buy it if you have the Geffen US version, but not if you have
the UK release.
As an aside, when I got my Fossil Fuels in the mail(Siren Disc in
Hollyweird), I opened it up and the pins that hold the disc tray in place
were snapped off. I had to return it for replacement, which I hope will
arrive shortly.
Someone posted in issue 3-10 asking what the non-limited edition
Fossil Fuels looked like. It has a clear jewel box with the booklet cover
facing out. The price difference is only $5.00 ($29.99 versus $34.99).
That's this world over, over, over and out.
CV
If you have an unpleasant nature and dislike people
this is no obstacle to work.
--J.G. Bennett
Catch "Forever Knight" on the Sci-Fi Channel every Monday at 8PM and
midnight, EDT.
--Lucien LaCroix
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:17:55 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Politics of the Lads and Chalkhillians Message-id: <01IAPEMP577Y904QVU@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> How do we really know Colin and Dave's views.....Andy does all the talking! Anyways, concerning the views of most of us.....I talked to Jes about this yesterday, because he had a few valid questions for me. I am a very conservative, very Catholic person. I don't agree with plenty of Andy's views, but I respect them because he is entitled to them. Besides which he doesn't rant and rave and scream them on a daily basis, and when he does put them into his music, he at least makes the melodies and chords sound good, which is a lot more than I can say for other political minded bands like Pearl Jam and REM, who tend to preach, IMHO, and whose music doesn't quite cut it. (Man was that a long sentence.) As far as Dear God goes, another question asked by him, I like the song b/c the lyrics make me think. I spend roughly 3/4 of my free time pondering things, the other quarter sleeping, so when I do ponder, I usually listen to a song and think, "What does this mean to me?" A lot of Andy's songs (and Colin's) have really touched me. Well, I think I've just about covered it. Amanda "Everything works if you woggle it"-Agony Andy
------------------------------ From: Ben Gott <bgott@mail.hotchkiss.pvt.k12.ct.us> Subject: Chalkhills' Children Message-ID: <SIMEON.9610160901.A@library6.mail.hotchkiss.pvt.k12.ct.us> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:46:01 -0400 (EDT) Chalka-lawkas, Be sure to order a copy of "Chalkhills' Children" when Richard puts it out. I'm getting a feeling that it's going to be incredible! Any XTC fans in Connecticut/New England? Send me an e-mail! What about in Philadelphia (where I'm - hopefully - going to go to college!) It's good to see the mood of posts improving. I think we had our moderator scared for a moment... ---------------------- Ben Gott The Hotchkiss School "Success is being a quote." -Andy Partridge
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 12:53:00 +0100 (BST) Message-Id: <v01510103ae8a6c5c411f@[194.128.83.69]> From: fisher@easynet.co.uk (Mark Fisher) Subject: smoke screen Much as I'm happy to support anyone expressing themselves in whatever way they see fit, surely the lines EliSabeth Noron is hearing are not: "I've been in love before But it's never been as hot as this... fuck" but: "I've been in love before But it's never been as hot as this... smoke Curling round the door" - Mark Fisher http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~fisher/
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199610171608.BAA23726@mita2.cc.mita.keio.ac.jp>
Subject: GO 2
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 01:08:11 +0900
From: NAOYUKI ISOGAI <b9400863@cc.mita.keio.ac.jp>
Hello There!!!
Sorry if someone has posted about this...
> From: Tobin Munsat <tmunsat@pppl.gov>
>
> You're probably thinking of the classic game "go" or "go moku".
> Unfortunately I don't know what the Japanese word for 2 is.
As far as I know, "go" is totally different from "go-moku." We use
the same insturuments (i.e.: a 19x19 grid and black and white round
stones) when we play either of them, but I guess "go-moku" is much
easier than "go," which is sometimes called "i-go." The accurate name
of "go-moku" is "go-moku-narabe," and it requires two players. They
put a stone alternately, and who has put five ("go" of "gomoku" means
"five" in Japanese) stones in a line wins. The rule is really simple,
but you need a lot of techniques if you want to win. To the contrary,
I don't know the rule of "i-go" ("go" of "i-go" doesn't mean "five"),
but I'm sure that it is really difficult to win at "i-go."
As far as the album title _GO 2_ goes, I heard it referred to "i-go."
BTW, is there anyone out there who is willing to trade me the AUDIENCE
RECORDING of "Live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (03/08/82)" for parts
of my collection? If so, please email me privately...
Cheers!!!
---- NaoyuKing, the department "This is your life and
of Economics in KEIO Univ. you do what you want to do,
just don't hurt nobody..."
E-mail : b9400863@cc.mita.keio.ac.jp
------------------------------ Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19961017154113.0074647c@pppl.gov> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 11:41:13 -0400 From: Tobin Munsat <tmunsat@pppl.gov> Subject: Bootleg/demo suggestion. I've got an idea on how we might resolve this torturous internal conflict that each of us is grappling with; i.e. "I sure would like a copy of those demos, but I also don't want to cheat my favorite band out of their due royalties or support those treacherous bootleg profiteers." Why don't the people with the demos dub them for the rest of us, and *charge* money, and then voluntarily send some royalty to the band? I'd gladly pay money for a copy of the demos, and it sounds like the people with the demos also want to share them, but they don't want to cross our heroes. I would think that even a couple of dollars per tape would be more than the band would ordinarily get for a CD sold in a record shop. Their record contract can't stop people from *giving* them money, and it's not like the distribution of these demos is going to make any difference in the record sales anyway (anyone fanatical enough to buy the un-slick demos will surely buy a copy of the shiny disk). So the cost might look something like this (please note that I *don't* have them myself): $2.50 (cost of tape) $2.50 (labor/shipping charge) $3.00 (to be sent to XTC) -->$8.00 for a copy of the demos and the warm fuzzy feeling of cash flowing into the proper pockets. (I haven't thought of any major problems with this scheme, although I admit that it sounds a little sneaky. At worst, it sounds to me like it may be illegal, but not immoral.) One last note: I'd like to publicly thank Phil Corless for a great job on the "Chalkhills" shirts. I got mine last night and it's superfantastic. -Tobin
------------------------------ Message-ID: <32664836.4A8C@tsdesign.com> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 10:52:49 -0400 From: Steven Hoskins <steve@tsdesign.com> Organization: Terry Swack Design Associates, Inc. Subject: yet to be released music Forgive me if this has already come up, but I'm new. Has anyone heard tracks from the unreleased upcoming XTC release? I met a friend who knows a friend and..I got most of them. Be curious to hear opinions from other who've heard this...they're quite a departure from previous albums, and, being a 13-year fan, I believe much better than the previous three 8) SH.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01510102ae8bec41c1dc@[198.206.243.87]> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 08:35:31 -0600 From: dreiss@storm.simpson.edu (Catherine Dreiss) Subject: XTC on Tour? Hello, I am a new subscriber to this list but I am a long-time XTC fan. Drums and Wires was my first encounter, when I was a college radio dj my sophomore year. I dug Go 2 and White Music out of the cutout bins and renamed my radio show "This is Pop" soon after. I saw XTC perform twice. The first time was at the Ritz in New York when they were promoting Black Sea. Need I say that they were great? Andy was pumped up and crazy on the stage, whirling like a dervish and spinning out of control. During Helicopter he almost fell over his monitor and by the end of the set he was hoarse from yelling. This was a show where the man gave more than he had to give. No, they were not disappointing live. They were and are amazing musicians, though neither Colin, Dave nor Terry could exude half as much stage presence as Andy. The second time I saw XTC was at the Palace in Paris, where I was spending my Junior year. As far as I know, this is the last or second to the last time they ever attempted a live performance. I was right up front and to the side of the crowd. The band came out late and began the set with Respectable Street. The year between the two performances had completely changed Andy. He was bloated, sweaty and red-faced from the moment they came out on stage. As he sang, it was as if he wanted to hide behind his guitar. Andy was suffering and it was obvious. In the middle of the song, he lay down his guitar and walked off the stage, and from where I was standing, I could see him collapse to the floor of the wings. Colin finished singing the song and the band left the stage. Eventually, the band minus Andy came out to say that the show was cancelled. I have read Andy say that the tremendous energy that he gave the band's early performances were his mask to hide his stage fright. The pressure of touring and pretending to feel fine about it and putting on a false face led to a breakdown. I don't think that a man older than his mid-twenties could give as much energy as he did that first performance so he would have a lot of difficulty keeping up the facade of having a good time on stage. So the moral of my story is this: we are all great fans of XTC and of Andy Partridge, right? As fans, lets all hope that they never, ever tour. Why should anyone subject him or herself to a arduous tour that could possibly lead to another breakdown? We'd be selfish to expect XTC to do this! I am enjoying the list and the virtual comradeship of fellow XTC fans. Caye Dreiss
------------------------------ From: "Knut S. Helstad" <fou96ksh@lsv.hib.no> Message-Id: <9610171315.ZM7023@mailhost> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 13:14:58 +0100 Subject: Media and Fossil Fuel Norway 17.10.96 Fossil Fuel was presented on Safari, one of the more popular radioshows in Norway. Radio DJ:- Andy Partridge, vocalist in XTC, was said to pee in his pants playing live, now you can listen to some of XTC's best work in this new compilation, Fossil Fuel. -If you're into intelligent pop-music, innovative melodies and humour, you should bring yourself up to date with this album. ... The DJ also talked about the past and present XTC, played songs from the album. This is the same program witch features your everyday pop-music. So I keep my hopes up for the millions. ...By the way, some time (2 years) ago I promised a couple of you a copy of the eleven-different-animals, XTC-songbook, could I get your addresses once more, because I forgot all about it moving to another country. http-tip: (If you're into games, check out www.slaughterhouse.com) Knut fou96ksh@lsv.hib.no -- Knut S.Helstad Sydnesgaten 10 5010 Bergen
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b07ae8c7958887a@[139.80.196.84]> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 16:02:50 -0800 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: that oh-so-naughty word EliSabeth <enorton@biosci.mbp.missouri.edu> wrote: >Speaking (or not) of the now-so-popular f-word, am I the only one who >hears it in Great Fire? >I've been in love before >But it's never been as hot as this... fuck erm... that's *smoke* curling round the door. I don't really see how the fuck fuck could curl round a door :) 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)
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199610170014.RAA22543@access.tucson.org> From: "Jeff Smelser" <jsmelser@access.tucson.org> Organization: Access Tucson Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 17:27:56 -0700 Subject: XTC Lives! > More seriously, I don't know what it would be like to see XTC play. The greatest thing about XTC live is that you sit there thrilled that they're playing these songs you know by heart then suddenly there's something different about it. They throw in a little jam,(Battery Brides), or sing the bridge totally different,(Burning w/Opt/Flames), or Andy just cops an attitude,(Are You Receiving Me?) and so on. The fact that they perform this way is just totally charming and will endear you to them forever. Did me. Check out the Live XTC Cd, BBC recording to verify. > In fact, forget the tour idea, why don't we just all have a bash at > somebody's house? We'll invite the band. They can bring instruments, if > they want. Now this is a top notch idea! The fans of Pop Will Eat Itself are doing the same thing this year. They're bored of not having a new album from the group so there gonna have this big party, play the records they do have and meet each other. PWEI also threatened to disband this year so there's added angst involved there as well. Until next time, Your Chalkdusted Friend, Jeff Jeff Smelser Video Engineer Access Tucson jsmelser@access.tucson.org
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 11:32:05 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <v01510102ae89e82d2453@[128.230.1.89]> From: pebrantl@mailbox.syr.edu (Paul Brantley) Subject: the biz is bizzare Steven Varga writes: "What is wrong with the record buying public?" The record buying public is to the democratic voting community what the radio stations are to a completely corrupt electoral college. And record labels are the wiseguys with the bent noses who beat up on the members of the electoral college. TRANSLATION: The radio station/record label confederacy can make and break anyone they are interested in. PREDICTION: within five or so years -- just about the time our guys reach a "legendary aging rocker status" -- when the labels presume they won't be making records for much longer, Virgin records will probably invest a tremendous amount of time and money on cashing in on their "legendary" accomplishments -- their extensive back catalogue. Box sets, MTV life-time achievement awards, Rolling Stone Cover, "best kept secret of the pop world", blah blah blah. And hopefully Andy will do to that MTV stage what he apparently did to Todd Rundgren's waste paper basket. Funk pop a roll. Paul
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3266B241.4B03@mci.com> Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 16:25:05 -0600 From: Jeff Langr <jeffrey.langr@mci.com> Organization: MCI Subject: Stuff with some XTC mention Many fans who appreciate XTC's outlook on British life would do well to listen to the Kink's latest release, To The Bone, a semi-live, semi-unplugged double CD set which (along with a few of the obligatory noisy Kinks songs) has some great small audience session takes on a few choice, classic Kinks nuggets. Highly recommended! Ray is also on Good Morning America tomorrow AM... Language controversy take: perhaps if those upset at the prospect of "censoring one's self" could look at the issue in terms of showing a bit of f**king manners (big grin), maybe we could get this out of the way. Hard to go anywhere nowadays without having to listen to foul language. (I have very bad manners unfortunately but at least I try.) Personally the four-letter words don't bother me, but if they bother other people I'd rather try to be accomodating than piss them off. :-) Then again, if they can't take it, well, this is a subscribed digest and it's rather easy to unsubscribe... And Amanda -- great quote, thanks -- post more if you have 'em. Oh, and To The Bone has a great take of Apeman where we do find out after all that Ray was indeed singing "F**king up my eyes", not "fogging." Which brings me to a question -- other than the supposed line in Great Fire, are there any XTC obscenities? I can't recall any off the top of my head... Flame away, Jeff L.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 09:09:21 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: New movie coming out called Dear God...... Message-id: <01IAS72SZH4I901AFJ@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I have to wonder if the song will be in the soundtrack....the movie's about a mailman who people think is God, so they send him letters all the time....or something like that, I only caught a little bit of the preview. Amanda "Everything works if you woggle it"-Agony Andy
------------------------------ Subject: "Hurrah's" (NY) Show from 1980 From: wwilson@mail07.mitre.org (Wesley H. Wilson) Message-Id: <961018111906.18612@mail07.mitre.org.0> Date: Fri, 18 Oct 96 11:19:08 -0400 First of all, a big thanks to Phil Corless for the Chalkhills shirt; just received mine yesterday and it looks and fits great! Two items from Chalkhills #3-10: 1. XTC isn't saying "f**k" in "Great Fire," rather "smoke." It's "Smoke," then Andy finishes the line with "...curling 'round the door. Memories of old loves crack and blister/Mister Fireman, bet you couldn't put me out if you tried!" (Always really liked that "blister/Mister" rhyme and the thoughts enclosed in those lines.) 2. Someone else listens to the Magnetic Fields? I thought I was the only one who bought and liked their stuff. I'd recommend "The Wayward Bus" as a fine addition to anyone's collection. Weirdly produced and wonderful. Here's a tale for you: A fellow who lives next door to me knows I'm an XTC fan, so one day last week I came home to find two rather old-looking cassette tapes in a plastic bag on my door: one of them was labeled "XTC: Hurrah's, 1/6/80. WPIX" (ACtually, it could be "1/16/80", I don't have the tape with me now.) The other tape was a live Records show from 1979. Now, I have heard some songs from the "Hurrah's" show before, but I couldn't believe how good (i.e., clean) this version sounds! At one point Andy says to the crowd (paraphrasing here), "Don't be fooled, we have two other albums out: White Music and Go 2. Spend your pennies wisely!" Anyway, this fellow is going back to Denmark (his native country) SOON, and will be taking the tapes with him. So, with my new dual-head cassette deck, this weekend I am going to find the best possible tape and dub this sucker! I haven't had a chance to ask him, but I think he taped this himself back in 1980, so it's a first-source version and it sounds really good! I can't say it's the best show I've heard - some of the guitar solos and Andy's singing are laughably bad! But other parts are quite tight and good (e.g., "Crowded Room"). The show gets better as it rolls along. 'Nuff said! Wes
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 12:18:34 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <v01510100ae8d244b5db0@[206.15.69.27]> From: mf@well.com (Mitch Friedman) Subject: Train Running Low on Bowl Coal Nope, no word from Andy about the Bootleg album but I was just reading through the FAQ section over at the Chalkhills website and was reminded of a bit of info that I've never shared about the train sounds at the beginning of TRLOSC. Kurt and Roland of Tears for Fears did nothing but lend their synths to XTC since they lived in Bath at the time so they weren't responsible for making those breath sounds, that was Andy. But here's the BIG bit of news: the raspy sound that you hear as part of the train impersonation is nothing other than a wire toilet brush being dragged quickly across the metal rim of a closely miked snare drum.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 19:33:02 -0400 From: WES HANKS <W_HANKS@wow.com> Subject: Maintain Radio Silence Message-ID: <199610181933_MC1-B12-977F@compuserve.com> Hello Friends, The recent post (3-10) regarding the CBC reminded me of the NPR station in Detroit I used to listen to when I lived there in the 80s. Anyway, this station wasn't solely classical, free-form jazz and "All things considered". As part of their fundraising they would do special programming (much like PBS) that was produced by their local music/program director(s). An annual program was their Jimi Hendrix special...about two days worth of obscure Hendrix material broadcast for the tape fiends. Well, as part of this fund-raise-o-rama they would broadcast an XTC tribute (the music director loved them). I remember it was about 12 hours worth of programming devoted to XTC. That was a day I got disaproving looks at work for wearing(?) a Walkman. Time marches on! Wes "It adds to the mystery when you don't know whats going on." Crow T. Robot... "The Beast of Yucca Flats"
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 17:31:15 -0700 Message-Id: <199610190031.RAA26784@barley.adnc.com> From: studio seventeen productions <ambient@adnc.com> Subject: SKYLACKING received my copy of SKYLACKING a day or so ago. as expected, there is a truly wide range of musical styles contained therein....but overall it's a fascinating listen. there are several standout tracks, and it alternately had me laughing uproariously or green with envy at the shrewd musical interpretive abilities of some of the contributors. the best track, IMHO, is our very own John Relph's "Another Aerostar" which must be heard to be believed. this man can PLAY the mandolin! and the versions of "1000 Umbrellas", "Summer's Cauldron", "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul"...any of these alone would be worth the price of admission. there's only gonna be 50, and I'm getting 2. at $5.00 each ya can't lose. so: thanks to IAN STEWART and all who contributed.......well worth waiting for! ERBA.................ERBA................ dave at studio seventeen 173451681734516817345168173451681734516817345168 * * * * * * You can't teach ducks to dance... * * * * (Mr. Blint, Consequences/Godley & Creme) * * * * visit: http:www.adnc.com/web/ambient/index.html seventeen: the ambient music page 173451681734516817345168173451681734516817345168
------------------------------ Message-ID: <326ABD40.7C4@zed.com.au> Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 00:01:05 +0000 From: Colin Wright / Helen Murray <evernow@zed.com.au> Subject: Sydney - 'On The Street' This from Sydney music paper On The Street' - 16th October 1996 Four Years on Strike and Locked in a Cupboard - by Mike Gee XTC Andy Partridge, funny bloke and principal songwriter with Brit quasi-psychedelic rustic pop essentials, XTC, is having one of those days. I'm nailed here at Virgin Records in London in a salubrious storeroom filing cabinet cum room, he moans. Truth is , I'm squatting here with damaged gold discs and boxes. This is what comes of being not famous, you realise. They lock you away with the other stuff they don't want to think about. Now, let's see, if we can just move a little here - there's enough gold discs here, one must be ours. I'm sure we're owed a few. Over here, what's this? Peter Gabriel. And over there it's let's see Whitney Houston, no sorry, Michael Jackson, no, actually it's Diana Ross - before the transplants. ho else is here, you can see I'm in good company. Who's this? Oasis...oops, sorry, it's The Beatles. Why am I in this cupboard? Well, actually, that is a good question, considering I've just realised I could have done these interviews from home. Why I didn't is also a good question. That Partridge finds himself in a tricky situation is an understatement. A man of few past words when it comes to chatting with the press, he's agreed to do just 13 interviews worldwide to promote the release of Fossil Fuel : The XTC Collection, a best of' from the last twenty years. Flashback to Swindon, Wiltshire sometime in the mid 1970s. The local outfit is called The Helium Kidz, a Midlands imitation of the by-now legendary New York Dolls. They don't last but from their rapidly forgotten remains rises XTC who will not only survive two decades but will also survive new wave, old wave, retro and being on strike for four years. That's right, XTC have been on strike for the past four years. It ended just six weeks ago. A label thing with Virgin from whom they have now finally parted company with this collection of their singles (and a couple of bonus tracks), Actually it's kind of ironic. I'm very glad they picked up Wrapped in Grey' for a single (it was their last). That was the final straw with Virgin because they withdrew it from the shelves immediately after they released it, which made us go on strike. It's a kind of symbolic thing. It ends the album and the relationship. That relationship began in 1977 when Virgin where the new kids on the independent block, locked into Brit punk and the new wave movement and headed by the also awfully clever Richard Branson. Their debut White Music meshed dissonance and unresolved melodic lines with a blatant attack on rock conventions while their second Go 2 was a helter skelter of menace and jerky rhythms. By Drums and Wires, they'd got the buzzsaw out of their system and proceeded to dish out such timeless wonders as Life Begins at the Hop, Making Plans for Nigel and Ten Feet Tall. As the 80s progressed so did XTC - always around the core of Partridge and Moulding - with two classics, Black Sea - a rich and diverse landscape of undanceable rhythms, intricate interplay and gloriously smart lyricism that included the marvellous Generals and Majors, Towers of London and Sgt. Rock, and the poetic, songcycle Skylarking.. I can't listen to the early stuff anymore, says Partridge shuffling for a better resting place. Its like a photo of yourself as a teenager with acne and a haircut like a member of Slade (Cum on Feel the Noise') - the gaucheness of youth. Our early records are mines, full of the naive gaucheness of youth. I can't take it anymore. It's like anybody pulling out their worst clothes and showing everybody. We didn't know what we were doing. We were just naively, noisily energetic and thankful to be making records. Our songs were about the stubbly, pimply, yelling stuff that youth is about. The songwriting is halfway decent now but it took a lot of time. Our songwriting back then was semen stained - you know, crispy and slightly pearly and you don't want it on the sheets in the guest house. We had to do our learning in public; most bands do if they hold together - and most don't, they fold after two albums. But if they do hold together and grow, the songwriter hits a curve where it starts getting better and better. When Neil Young started out he was bloody awful but he got better. Elvis Costello too. At first he didn't half prattle on about a load of nonsense. We all do. A lot of people when we started out thought we were a comedy band. We weren't, we were just a band that wasn't afraid to smile. I can still see the terrible poise of most young bands - petrified to be seen as anything but serious. One of our strengths was we weren't afraid to let in the humour vein. I think it's essential if you are going to have a balanced output. Some of the most sinister people you hear about - Charlie Chaplin, Adolf Hitler - liked a laugh. You need contrast. There is nothing worse than putting an album on and it's monotone. Black is black only if white is next to it. Andy Partridge is a man who steps out of the great tradition of British pop - the old tradition, that is; the new leaves him cold and despairing for real passion. Punk revivalism, techno and technology are all symptoms of a malaise that Partridge sees strickening an art form. Green Day are only a fancy dress version of the real thing. That lasted just a short time. Anything else is an imitation. But that's okay, you know. Britain has this disease - it takes things far too seriously. Rancid and co. are probably raiding their mum's dress box. They're probably clean living lads having a bit of a lark. Brit pop he explains away as a reaction to the tyranny of the groove. The mechanical oppression of music in the late 80s, he moans, is the worst thing that has happened to British music, any music. It dehumanises music. It's like having a row of adding machines talking to each other. I'm very old fashioned. I like songs. So it's good to see kids have discovered songs again. It's sort of a return to... remember the 60s big thing for 20s and 30s music. Kids skipped a couple of generations then and discovered the 20s through bands like the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah. (Who remembers the legendary Viv Stanshall?) and those old and dirty albums. Most mechanical music is very oppressive. It depresses one's brain to try and grasp it. People make mistakes, have dynamics and embarrass you. Machines don't. There's not a lot, if any, musicality in machine music because it's made by people who have no grasp of chords, melodies, how to make someone tearful with a certain chord. They just get the family cat to walk across a keyboard, then the computer samples the sound and selects a tractor and a rocket launcher to go with it. The mechanics are simple. I've got a computer at home and getting a mechanical guitar is easy. It's also horrible. What the world desperately needs, then, is a dose of XTC. Fossil Fuel will fire up the interest and Partridge is positively brimming with songs after the four year enforced lay off. Some of the best things we've come up with I have to say, immodestly. Now all we need is a record contract.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 19 Oct 1996 13:40:41 -0500
Message-Id: <v02110100ae8e856b3da4@[144.92.180.117]>
From: jhackney@facstaff.wisc.edu (John M. Hackney)
Subject: An obscure XTC release?
Chalkhillians,
About 3 weeks ago I was in the Virgin Megastore in Picadilly,
London. I of course checked out the CD section for releases by XTC and
found that they had a pretty big variety of titles. Within the band's
section, however, was a divider with the title "The Negro In Me". There
were no CDs after this divider, so I couldn't determine the release to
which they were referring. I've never heard of this title before! Can
anyone tell me what this might be? Perhaps it was a mistake, but I don't
know for certain.
After leaving the store, I went to eat dinner at the "Wong Kei"
restaurant in Soho, which is known for its cheap prices, good food, and
rude waiters. It's got something of a Bohemian atmosphere, I suppose.
Anyway, after being seated in the basement, I looked up and just two tables
away was Noel Gallagher (of Oasis). At first I didn't know for sure if it
was really him and not just some guy trying to look like him. He was all
hunched over, slugging back glass after glass of wine with his meal. But,
all around me people were starting to point and get excited, and by the
time he got up to leave, there was no doubt that he was the genuine
article. It seemed a little unreal to stumble upon that situation, but
maybe it's not that big of a deal to see people like him in that part of
London.
Finally, does anyone have the current e-mail address of Dave
O'Connell, from York, PA? I've tried sending several messages, but
apparently his address has changed recently. He contributed to our digest
just a few weeks ago----- Dave, if you read this, send me your new
address, I've got an offer you can't refuse.
John
John M. Hackney
Department of Botany
University of Wisconsin-Madison
430 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 273-4361 Home
(608) 262-0657 Lab
(608) 262-7509 FAX
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Oct 1996 20:13:52 -0500 Message-Id: <v01530500ae8ee3c0ab03@[204.153.64.180]> From: musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) Subject: OT - What do you call that noise? Sound, a fanzine I published for several years, is attempting a reincarnation on the Web, to be introduced first by a traditional, use-up-what's-left-of-the-pulp-in-America paper edition. Sound traditionally has a "Sound of the Street" column in which we publish disc reviews submitted by our readers. Anyone wishing to submit, please feel encouraged. I probably won't print Fossil Fuel reviews, since it is a re-release and not available stateside anyway. But anything else that's on your latest and greatest playlist is eligible. We also have a letters column, "Sound Off," which rips off as its graphic the ink-pen-through-the-hand "Dear God" artwork. If anyone wishes to send us an e-mail message, there is a good chance of it being published. Thanks.
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Oct 1996 20:38:50 -0500 Message-Id: <v01530501ae8ee8e5e08a@[204.153.64.123]> From: musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) Subject: Surf's up Thanks for heckling me, Adam. I didn't realize "surfing" was the sign of an internet dilettante. What word is appropriate? "Scouring"? "Rummaging"? "Foraging"? "Ransacking"? Perhaps I need to be grittier, earthier, part of the proletariat. How about "fucking"? Last night, while I was fucking around on the internet . . .
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b05ae9095b41b37@[139.80.228.155]> Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 13:53:23 +1100 From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan) Subject: familiar quotation... Hi folks - I belong to a mail9ing list called a.word.a.day, which simply sends out one peculiar or unusual word per day to all subscribers. At the end of each day's message is a pithy or funny quotation. Todays rang a bell. See if it sounds familiar to any of you... >Whenever books are burned men also in the end are burned. >-Heinrich Heine Almansor hmmmm...... James
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01530500ae8f5fee5381@DialupEudora> Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 22:04:32 -0400 From: jak@localnet.com (Joel A Altre-Kerber) Subject: "Big Fire" Lyric In Chalkhills Digest #3-10, Elisabeth Norton wrote: >Speaking (or not) of the now-so-popular f-word, am I the only one who hears >it in Great Fire? > >I've been in love before >But it's never been as hot as this... fuck > >It's pretty subtle, but even on my crappy speakers I can hear it when the >volume is up high. I searched about and I can't find anyone mentioning >this before. This one has been around for years. Not sure why we always think the boys are putting nasty words in their songs! The actually line (which makes sense when read more than heard) is - "I've been in love before But it's never been as hot as this Smoke Curling 'round the door..." Hope THAT one is to bed! "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -Theodore Roosevelt
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 10:58 +0200 Message-id: <199610210858.CVKG@memo.volvo.se> From: =?iso-8859-1?q?P=C4R?= NILSSON <PVKU.PARN@MEMO.VOLVO.SE> Subject: Swedish FOSSIL FUEL Someone whose address I've lost - sorry! - asked me if the FOSSIL FUEL discs on sale in Sweden were also made in Sweden. The answer is no; they are made in Holland, and as far as I can determine identical to the ones described by a Dutch fan (Mark Mello?) in an earlier digest. Incidentally, my preferred store in Goteborg (also Sweden's biggest store) has shifted a whopping 17 copies of FF. Extrapolating this to the rest of Sweden, some 800 FF copies may have been sold. Thus it is hardly surprising that FF has failed to make any impression whatsoever on the album charts. Shame! Cheers, Par
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 10:29:39 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: And what is Agony Andy, you ask? Message-id: <01IAWGKTXFNC90820X@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I've gotten a few em's from people not knowing what Agony Andy is. Well, I'm not British so I can't give a full fledged paragraphe, but apparently, Andy was once knwn as an Agony Uncle. Agaony Aunts were these women who answered some really cheesy mailed in problems on Radio One, and Andy was the sole Uncle.For those who haven't yet heard this, here's a sample of what a response from Agony Andy might be to a problem........ (There was a problem sent in from a boy whose parents were running his life... couldn't pick his own clothes, couldn't watch telly after 9:00, mother called the headmaster at his mixed school and told him she didn't want him taught sex ed....actually, Janice, the Agony Aunt, faked this question and many others on Andy's first time on the job.) His response to this was..... "Well I'm posting you a gun and a handful of bullets and you can either off yourself or them." And here's a snippet of the raport between hosts.... Andy: "Well, there's been a flood of a letter-" Janice: "Wait, before you start, congratulations. You'r going to be a daddy." Andy: "That's right." Janice: "Well done." Andy: "I've learned how to do it, how to become a daddy." Janice: "Well they say everything works if you woggle it." And there you go. Amanda "Everything works if you woggle it"-Agony Andy
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-11 ******************************
Go back to Volume 3.
24 October 1996 / Feedback