Chalkhills Digest Volume 3, Issue 13
Date: Saturday, 26 October 1996
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 3, Number 13
The First Official Digest
Saturday, 26 October 1996
Today's Topics:
Mistakes mistakes mistakes
Correction and Suggestion
back in the saddle again
misc
$150,000 Dollars?
Glandular fever sucks
Chalkhillian's to Meet...
Nobody knows Dave Man
Australian Fossils Finds
Countdown to Christmas
Starts with....
X is for XTC
Richard Thompson/Dave Mattacks
Re:Dan Roberts and XTC
Dating XTC
New e-mail address
The Hop...totally Bops!
Hearing and seeing XTC everywhere
another "limited" edition sighting
QUX? Mark Owens!? (noooo!) & stuff
RE: The Hop doesn't hop
OffTopic: Another slap-dash DG
Re: Allan's instant tune comments
Official Lost Digest
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 23:14:46 +0100 (BST) Message-Id: <v01510100ae9455b23e02@[194.128.83.69]> From: fisher@easynet.co.uk (Mark Fisher) Subject: Mistakes mistakes mistakes In my hasty ramble the other day, I meant to refer to Generals and Majors (not Sgt Rock) merging with Living Through Another Cuba in the live set. I await your flames with due penitence. - Mark http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~fisher/
------------------------------ From: Keith Hanlon <ad180@seorf.ohiou.edu> Message-Id: <199610232215.SAA03241@big.seorf.ohiou.edu> Subject: Correction and Suggestion Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 18:15:43 -0400 (EDT) Hello everyone. Boy, do I feel like a dope. My last post thanked "Pat" for the wonderful Chalkhills T-Shirt. I know, I know... THANK YOU PHIL! I must have been on autpilot that day. And it is a wonderful shirt... Now on to my suggestion. I'm on the Prince mailing list (or the O)+> mailing list as many call it!). At the beginning of every digest, they list the Prince song of the week. Everyone on the list then listens to the song, and then posts opinions, interpretations, etc etc. Voila: instatnt thread. (If you're curious, this week it's "Dig U Better Dead" from Chaos and Disorder) Well, I think it's a great idea and maybe one that we should try. XTC has enough songs that we can do this for a while. As my high school chemistry teacher used to say (way back when): "Questions? Comments?" See ya, Keith -- "You move me like music." - Polly Jean Harvey
------------------------------ Message-ID: <326EA30F.9FE@aone.com> Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 15:58:23 -0700 From: William Ham <bham@aone.com> Subject: back in the saddle again hi, i haven't posted since the first, but that's because i felt rather stupid when i asked something that i later found in the FAQ and wondered why no one responded to my request about a chalkhills t-shirt. i didn't feel like i deserved one either. two things: 1. i wanted to comment on the person who posted about what songs people felt XTC should never have recorded. jesus, talk about asking for trouble...anyway, the only songs i could concievably consider taking away from XTC are the ones barry andrews wrote for "GO2" just because they don't hold up with the quality of the songs colin and andy wrote for that album and in general. simple as that. 2. i keep seeing people discussing musical projects they're working on and what not and i have a proposition if anyone's interested. i do a radio show in astoria oregon (near where i live) and would love to get some stuff from people to broadcast on my show. i figure it might help get you guys some exposure (i will definitely let people know, if you'd like, how they can get a hold of your stuff) and will send you cassette copies of the show if you would like as well. just e-mail here at home and let me know. that's all i have to add really. i'm off to drown in leisure......
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.16.19961023232443.369708f0@cic-mail.lanl.gov> Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 17:24:43 -0600 From: DeWitt Henderson <dewitth@lanl.gov> Subject: misc - re: G.M. Quinn's "Glorious Goal" - "inobstrusive"? Izzat a word? I'm too lazy to actually look it up! Actually, that was an interesting idea you related. - Allan Hislop's comments similar to mine about people not knowing about XTC, being lazy, etc. - absolutely! I think that people, and you can't really blame them for this - we're all "too busy" - just don't take the effort to look for anything besides what's served to them on a platter. So more obscure entertainment of all types is relegated to those of us who delve into it more. I've spent countless hours listening to CD's in stores before buying, borrowing CD's from friends, etc., and the lists of things I'd still like to check out, but will never hear on the radio (with the exception of the occasional track or two), grows exponentially. But most people don't do this - they're just not as into music, so that's why bands like our heroes suffer. - Hello to the Japanese fans on our list! Ya'll seem to be speaking up more lately! * ------------------------------ DeWitt Henderson Los Alamos National Laboratory CIC-13 MS P223 Los Alamos, NM 87544 505/665-0720 **(NEW phone #)** * ------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 20:31:45 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199610240031.UAA24926@cyber1.servtech.com>
From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com>
Subject: $150,000 Dollars?
>Regarding the recent thread about producer fees:
>Chalkhills & Children, the excellent book on XTC by Chris Twomey,
>says Todd Rundgren asked (and was paid) $150.000 for Skylarking.
^
I assume that this is supposed to be a comma, as I somehow don't see Todd
Rundgren producing an album for $150. :)
>Does anyone else out there think that Life Begins at the Hop is one of the
>dumbest songs they've ever heard? Especially the "ooh-ooh ooh ooh" part.
No, just you.
Seriously, I *like* Life Begins at the Hop, in that 1979 "look at us, we're
XTC and we're cleverer than you!" way. They've done better stuff, obviously,
but that one is still okay.
> Is this to do with the current computer capabilities and availability
> in the UK I wonder? Or is it British apathy that stops us writing in?
Andy has commented many times on how much Britain hates the band. He says
it's probably because the band is so undeniably British, and that's why all
their success has been in the US, rather than the UK.
>But the best CD of all my recent acquisitions is by far "Factory Showroom"
>by They Might Be Giants. A bit shorter than is usual for Them, meaning
>"only" 13 songs, but every single track is strong. It's amazing what
>consistent and consistently innovative songwriters John and John are.
I quite like it. IMHO, XTC Vs. Adam Ant falls a bit short of muster,
unfortunately, but the album in general is very strong and well-done. If you
like TMBG, you *must* own a copy of this album. And yes, myke doesn't like
it. But that's myke for you. :)
>XTC - Psychedelic Christmas ( :36 }
For everyone who hasn't heard this -- it's hillarious! Andy says "Hello.
This is Andy Partridge from XTC. Have a psychedelic christmas, and a great
new year. And remember: DON'T drink and drive; DON'T sacrifice goats if you
intend to use heavy machinery; and DON'T boil your best friends in vats of
their own phlegm if you intend to go handgliding much...more...often..." :)
>But it strikes me that any live or near live (like radio sessions) things
>the band have done since the touring days have been still obsessed with
>faithfully reproducing the records. And because the records have not been
>designed with live performance in mind, the live results tend to be pretty
>disappointing.
Well, think about it this way: on the first four albums, they were afraid to
record anything they couldn't reproduce live, Andy has said. Everything was
done with very simple lineups, few overdubs, etc. English Settlement
signaled the end of that trend -- and they probably would have moved toward
rearranging the songs for live play, except...that's when they stopped
touring. As it is, they've never gotten into the habit of changing songs
around for live play, so they've pretty much stuck to what they knew, which
was playing songs live the way they did in the studio. This is just a
consequence of fourteen years being "studio-bound."
> Does anyone know of any XTC songs
> whose title begins with the letters
> Q or U or X ???
Quicksilver (a Helium Kidz song available on Demos 6)...no U or X, though.
BTW: On the back of /Rag and Bone Buffet/, obviously the middle one (with
the glasses, natch) is Andy. But my question: which is Colin, and which is
Dave? Now, I would say that the round-hearded one is Colin, and the one with
the the bicycle chain is Dave, because of just a sort of vague "Colin-ness"
and "Dave-ness" that I can't pin down. But then again, it took forever for
me to figure out which one was Colin and which one was Dave on the cover of
Black Sea, so...
Josh, I see clear the colors through the haze
/---------------------------Joshua Hall-Bachner---------------------------\
| particle@servtech.com http://www.servtech.com/public/particle/ |
| "The few surviving samurai survey the battlefield. They count the arms, |
\--the legs, the heads, and then divide by five." - They Might Be Giants--/
------------------------------ From: box@nemesis.com.au Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 11:31:08 -0500 Message-ID: <TCPSMTP.16.10.24.11.31.8.2156250573.1768771543@nemesis.com.au> Subject: Glandular fever sucks Apologies for the length of this post, my unix account went mental last week and I missed a few digests. I'm beginning to notice how many Australasian people there are on this mailing list. It's comforting that I'm not the only one at this end of the big blue blob. #> From: Jeff Langr <jeffrey.langr@mci.com> #> other than the supposed #> line in Great Fire, are there any XTC obscenities? There's that classic line at the end of 25 O'Clock. You know, the one you have to play backwards at half speed to hear. :) #> From: vanvalnc@is2.nyu.edu (Chris Van Valen) #> 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. The album version [I've not heard the 12'' version] has a really strong bass mix. Sometimes I have to turn the bass right down because it's made things in the room jump, even when it's turned down. Very awesome. Yeah, the 7'' version doesn't have the same bass line. #> The Moblie Fidelity 24 Katat Gold CD of "Skylarking"--it includes #> the picture of Andy with his knickers down(!) Are you sure it's his knickers? It looks to me like his socks have just fallen down. Sorry to spoil your fun... :) #> Someone posted in issue 3-10 asking what the non-limited edition #> Fossil Fuels looked like. Probably one of us lucky people who lives in a country that *still* doesn't have it released locally. That new TMBG album won't be released here [and in several other countries] for another three or four months yet. On a similar topic, has anyone in Australia noticed Triple J playing bits of A Testimonial Dinner in the last week or two? Apparently it's on local release here now... #> From: jhackney@facstaff.wisc.edu (John M. Hackney) #> I looked up and just two tables #> away was Noel Gallagher (of Oasis). How the hell is this guy a sex symbol?! He looks more like a Spitting Image puppet than anything else... #> From: musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) #> 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"? I'm sorry, I wasn't actually being serious. In the intense media hyping of the internet [in Australia anyway], every bloody journalist who doesn't understand the internet refers to it as 'surfing'. So it wasn't a go at you, it was just me venting my frustration at the mass media jumping on every bandwagon they can get their teeth into. #> Perhaps I need to be grittier, earthier, part of the proletariat. #> How about "fucking"? Last night, while I was fucking around on #> the internet . . . Now *that* I like! It'd be good to see Katie Couric fill us in on which fucksites are PHR3aKiN' GNaRLY... #> From: Gene <isksa@ziplink.net> #> Someone told me [David Byrne's] suing the others in the band for #> doing this album. I heard a couple of weeks ago that he dropped the lawsuit. Probably because there's nothing he can sue for. #> I wonder what #> The Heads thought of working with Andy, since in my mind they #> replaced one huge musician ego for another. >From what I've heard about Andy he's more of a control freak than a huge-ego-type-person. And going by David Byrne's appearances in interviews I always had the impression he was incredibly shy and recessive, but I'm ready to be disproved on this... I'm sure the remaining Heads know better than me. :) #> From: Joshua Hall-Bachner <particle@servtech.com> #> I told her, "Go buy Nonsuch." Voila! Now I just have to get her #> to buy The Big Express and Skylarking, and her fandom is #> assured... Last week I lent my girlfriend Nonsuch and Rag & Bone Buffet. She liked Nonsuch, and although it took her about a week to listen to all of R&BB [she can't listen to a new album for more than about forty minutes without getting restless, like me] she said she liked it. So I can keep going out with her now. :) #> in a number of places (Down In The Cockpit, The Smartest #> Monkeys) they start to get overbearing and the music suffers for #> it. I still love 'Cockpit Dance Mixture'. It's got a very 'Melt The Guns' feel to it. And 'The Smartest Monkeys' [IMHO] has a pretty bollocky message really, as though Colin had run out of stuff to think about. #> 3) People are greedy and suck; This quote has to go on my wall as well. Bloody brilliant. #> once they've got a #> new label, we can supposedly expect an album every six months! :) Again I'm sorry to be a stick in the mud [what does that phrase mean?!] but I can't see any major label letting them do more than one album every twelve months. Maybe they'll get lucky and be allowed to release twin albums [in Guns & Roses / Bruce Springsteen style] but they're really not commercially successful enough to get that sort of treatment. #> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> #> Oz chalkhill fans might want to know that Fossil Fuels is #> supposed to be released locally on the 28th October. Simon, once again you have filled my life with a luminous brilliance. I love you and I want to have your babies. #> From: "David A. Komjathy" <dakomja@med.wayne.edu> #> the 12" #> Virgin release "English Roundabout b/w "Cut it Out" (both live). #> Any one ever seen, heard, or have carnal knowledge of this #> obviously incredible disc? Those two tracks are on the B side of the 'Love On A Farmboy's Wages' 12'' [VS 613-12]. I don't know if they were released in any other form though. #> From: ZITTEL@aol.com #> Also, could anyone tell me if the new Cathy Dennis CD that Andy #> co-wrote a song for has been released anywhere yet? Cathy Dennis is one of those artists whose popularity is mainly due to endless promotion, so my guess is you'll know about it whether you want to or not. :) #> From: kathryn lynne burda <klburda@umich.edu> #> Does anyone else out there think that Life Begins at the Hop is #> one of the dumbest songs they've ever heard? I can't stand that song. It's not nearly as bad as most other songs recorded by anyone anywhere ever, but it's still very flat and hookless. Which is why the single charted I suppose... #> Anyone willing to comment on other songs they just should NOT #> have recorded (like Jump?). NO!! 'Jump' is probably the most beautiful song they've _ever_ recorded! Of course this is all just my opinion. #> From: Allan Hislop <Allan_Hislop_at_UKCDEE01@ccmail.bms.com> #> And if I can get anyone else to listen to an XTC album more #> than once they always feel the same. I suggest people play them while they're doing something else, like studying or cleaning or something, so it can lay a subconscious foundation. That's how I went from detesting D&W to loving it. :) Adam On the music box: ES [fourteen years old and still timeless...]
------------------------------ From: chocko@icanect.net Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 01:21:07 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <v02140705ae9474c55c7b@[206.142.161.48]> Subject: Chalkhillian's to Meet... Al this talk about XTC lovers meeting in California and the North-East is making me rather lonely! Isnt there any XTC fans in the South East? They seem to be few and far betwen, especially here in Miami! (and you think YOU'RE tired of the Macarena?) If there are any of you out there... SPEAK UP! Cory W. Smith Better Than Ewe Records 555 N.E. 15th Street, Suite 33D Miami, FL 33132 WWW: ---[ Under Construction]--- Email: chocko@icanect.net
------------------------------ From: Floopyglop@aol.com Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 01:59:47 -0400 Message-ID: <961024015946_339864333@emout11.mail.aol.com> Subject: Nobody knows Dave Man Hi! People keep wondering where I am. Well, I'm at <Floopyglop@aol.com> now. The <Jumpthecup@aol.com> address just wasn't hip enough for a trendsetter like me, so I changed my identity and apparently left some of you in the cold, unforgiving darkness. I hope my goofy new screen name will not undermine any sincere points I might try to make within the course of this insufferably long post. Everyone's like what's a "floopyglop" and I'm like, it's beyond your comprehension, you adults just don't understand, it's a Dave thang, or whatever. Anyway... Some news: The U.S. version of The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead CD single is now out of print, according to the latest distributor catalogs, after spending four and a half consecutive years in print. I suppose this deletion had something to do with XTC and Geffen parting ways, but when combined with the cheap Goldline reissues for all the post-Mummer albums (except Skylarking), would this indicate that Geffen has plans to phase out American distribution of XTC product? I bought a cheap limited edition Fossil Fuels set from the trustworthy Daniel Zibin (thank you!) and luckily, it meets with my approval (otherwise, I would've had to start a brawl or something- that's my official policy on things I don't like). Thank goodness Virgin fixed the typos that made the promo adverisement so infuriating (Wait Till Your Boat Goes Dawn? This World Is Over?). I'm totally infatuated with the embossed or embroidered or encrusted (or whatever) fossil on the cover. I touch it so much, it's unhealthy (on second thought, maybe you didn't need to hear that). Well, I'm out of here. I have some social climbing to do, See ya later, commoners! Dave O'Connell York PA P.S. Visit fellow Chalkhillian Sara Lloyd's home page at http://acs.tamu.edu/`sol3804 and maybe, if you're lucky, she'll stalk you. Cool, huh?
------------------------------
Date: 24 Oct 96 15:48:26 +1000
Subject: Australian Fossils Finds
From: "Rob Clark" <robuno@iinet.net.au>
Message-Id: <AE954054-1BFA9C@203.59.25.213>
Simon Knight reports (digest #3-11) that FF is released in Australia
on 28/10/96.
I bought a copy at 78's Record in Perth 26/9/96. Plenty more there.
Who says Perth is 5 years behind the rest of the country?
Rob Clark
Perth
Socrates - To Be is To Do
Jean Paul Sartre - To Do is To Be
Frank Sinatra - Do Be Do Be D
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v02130508ae94e51adfa0@[134.32.48.179]> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 09:33:34 +0000 From: varga@ferndown.ate.slb.com (Stephen Varga) Subject: Countdown to Christmas In Chalkhills #3-11 Steven Reule <steven@obsessed-with-music.com> wrote: >For the XTC completist, "Thanks For Christmas" is slated to be on a >compilation CD called, if I recall correctly, "Just Say Noel" due at the end >of this month. Just passing along the info... Does anyone know whether this is a US, a UK release, or both? Doesn't Countdown to Christmas deserve equal recognition? The 90% certainty of an XTC video compilation seems to have gone quiet. I heard from one source that it would be out before Christmas. Well, All the Xmas releases are starting to come out now with mid November being the last dates for them. Will the XTC one be happening or not?
------------------------------ From: JSSimmons@mail.biosis.org Date: Thu, 24 Oct 96 08:51:48 EST Message-Id: <9609248461.AA846172308@mail.biosis.org> Subject: Starts with.... Tim K. asked about XTC songs starting with Q, U, or X. There are probably others, but "The Ugly Underneath" (assuming you overlook "The") and "X-Wires" are two songs that quickly come to mind. And I'm guessing I will only be one of many that will point this out. Now that I think of it, doesn't Chalkhills feature an alphabetical song listing? -Jon in Philly <chalkhills@chalkhills.org>
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v01540b03ae9431338bbd@[169.132.96.101]> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 10:00:55 +0100 From: pjmuck@mail.idt.net (Peter McCulloch) Subject: X is for XTC >From: Tetsuya Shimizu <uk9t-smz@asahi-net.or.jp> >Subject: Terry & The lovemen >Thanks to the information from this site, I could get "TESTIMONIAL DINNER" >CD. In this CD ,the band playing "The good things" announced themselves as >"Terry & the Lovemen". Who are they? "Terry & the Lovemen" was provisional >title of XTC's fourth album and the tone of the vocal is slightly like >Coiln's voice and this tune was recorded at Swindon and ........ I think >this band is pseudonymous one of XTC, am I wrong? You are correct, sir. Yet another sneaky endeavor by those patron saints of anonymity. >= Derek Miner wrote: >"Thanks For Christmas" will be getting a workout this Christmas season, as >well, because two new Christmas collections include it. Now this is great news, IMHO, as long as all the other cuts on the album are listenable. For years I've been trying to find some good commercially released holiday compilations, with little to show for in the "contemporary" vein except for those annoying "Very Special Christmas" albums. (Who wants to weed through the likes of Michael Bolton or John Cougar Melonhead just to get to U2 or Alison Moyet?). Now, if it only had "Countdown to Christmas Partytime" and "Always Winter, Never Christmas" on it, it would be perfect. Mark wrote: >The only time it begins to work is when they agree to reinvent the recorded >tracks, as in the acoustic tour. This really does open up new >possibilities, and new ways of hearing the songs. I'm surprised at how >little XTC have been prepared to deviate from the originals. It's like they >believe there's only one way of doing a song, which is the way it was >originally done (similarly the demos change very little between >home-recoding and final studio version). I wouldn't say they're not prepared to deviate from the originals. The fact is, with the exception of the acoustic tour, the only evidence we have of their live performances were recorded almost 15 years ago. had they been a steadily touring band up till now, and if they were still doing old favorites in their repertoire, I'm sure you'd hear different takes on the songs. Even when they were touring, Andy's lyrical and vocal interpretations were fairly spontaneous and varied from show to show. Allan Hislop wrote: >People are lazy, everything has to be instant. With a couple of >exceptions, XTC songs are not catchy enough first time round for the >majority of the general public, IMHO (got to get that acronym in >somewhere). Hence their generally large critical acclaim, but >relatively small record sales. Agreed, to some degree. If people are lazy its because they're not given enough choices. I think if anyone is to blame for the general public's lethargy, at least in America, its our conservative radio format. If good music were given the exposure and airplay it deserves, then people wouldn't be spoon-fed or brainwashed into buying music that they're probably not to keen on to begin with. As long as radio remains conservative, it doesn't matter how immediately accessible a song is because they're going to play what they want (or what the majors are encouraging them to push). I don't think the latest incantation of New Wave (Oops! I meant Alternative) is any more hook-laden or catchy than its predecessor, and,there even seems to be a large movement towards an "anti-melodic" approach lately which is gracing the airwaves. It's as if it's very cool and pretentious now to write something that's unhummable (Damned if I can remember the melody to REM's latest hit after the first 500 listens). And of course it always helps boost record sales to have a few lyrics bleeped out on the air, just to reassure the listening public that the artist they're listening to is NOW and"cutting edge". (can you imagine the record execs gathered around a roundtable reviewing NIN's, "Closer", and high-fiving cause they've agreed on a radio-friendly song with a "catchy melody"?! "Shipped platinum!") And they'd be right, too. Tim Kendrick wrote: >Does anyone know of any XTC songs >whose title begins with the letters >Q or U or X ??? Q is for Quicksilver (does this count?) U is for Ugly Underneath. Can't come up with an X either. While we're playing games: FOR MASOCHISTS ONLY: I was listening to Skylarking on my walkman the other day, and while the song "Big Day" was playing my right earphone died. I won't tell you what I heard, but I will say that if you have any rhythmic sense you might be shocked. Try this little experiment on your stereo if you dare: Cue up "Big Day" and either pan the music all the way to the left or turn off the right channel completely. WARNING: this experiment has been known to invoke spontaneous convulsions and other nervous conditions. Toodle-oo Peter
------------------------------ Message-ID: <D67AD72F01291300@ametsoc.org> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 96 10:26:00 -0500 From: dgershmn <dgershmn@ametsoc.org> Organization: AMS Subject: Richard Thompson/Dave Mattacks Hi all, Just saw Richard Thompson at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA, last night...fantastic show. He's one of the best songwriters around, and definitely one of the most incredible guitar players I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live. As complicated as some of XTC's chord changes and arrangements may be, RT could handle them with ease...I'd love to see what he would do with some of their songs. Danny Thompson (no relation, as has been mentioned here before) was with him on standup bass...also a fantastic musician, equally at ease with uptempo rock and slower, "jazzier" styles, pulling beautiful sounds out of his bass with every note. Very notably, as relates to XTC, Dave Mattacks was on drums...he's played with Thompson for many years, so it was no surprise to see him there. He's certainly an excellent drummer, and it's evident why XTC asked him to play on "Nonsuch." On the other hand, though, there were many times, particularly on the faster, more rock-oriented songs RT played, when I kept wishing Mattacks would just cut loose more. He's a very restrained player, often to a fault...though he did some nice things with the 8 (!) different cymbals on his drum kit, he did too much simple time-keeping on the drums themselves, adding little to the texture or momentum of many of the songs. It got me to hoping that XTC uses a somewhat looser and/or muscular drummer for the next album. Not that using Mattacks would be a terrible thing, but a drummer somewhere between DM and Terry Chambers might work out nicely. Just IMHO... Dave Gershman
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 09:05:49 -0600 (CST) From: AMANDA OWENS <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Re:Dan Roberts and XTC Message-id: <01IB0KO1IWLE909RSM@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Hey Ben....where did this little anecdote come from, pray tell? I've never heard Danny talk that much, his older brother usually does all the talkin (with good reason of course, he could melt iron with that voice.) PS-Dummies put in a great appearance on Conan O' Brien yesterday. Amanda "Everything works if you woggle it"-Agony Andy
------------------------------
Date: 24 Oct 96 16:51:01 EDT
From: DaveKGold <70673.317@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Dating XTC
Message-ID: <961024205101_70673.317_FHP69-1@CompuServe.COM>
Peter Dresslar said in Chalkhills 3-10 (well, you can see I'm behinda as
usual!):
>>I would be thrilled to just *date* a woman who doesn't *detest* XTC.
Everyone I date, I try to ease them into a little Oranges & Lemons,
maybe some Skylarking, and then I get major resistance. Okay, clearly
I'm seeing the wrong kind of woman, granted. If I ever meet a female who
is at all interested in the Lads, I'll try to hold on to her.<<
I myself have recently re-entered the dating scene (getting divorced!
<sniff>) I can relate to what you're saying. Most gals say "XTC? who?" .
Some do like it a bit.....
So if you're a 30ish single gal living in Southern Calif. and you're reading
this, E-mail me now!!!!!! <s> Especially if you're cute!!!! <GGGG>
I did actually meet a girl in a chat on Compuserve that HAS O&L and
actually knew "don't they not tour because someone in the group has stage
fright?". She gets 10 points for that. But she is actively involved in
her church (a Presbytirian <sp?> elder! Dear God!) so she loses 6 points
at least for that. <s>
In other news, thanks to Mr. Jump the Cup for the *apes. Between that, my
new copy of FF, and Explode Together, I've got lots to digest.
(Gee, I wonder if Relphy will actually post the part about them e-mailing
me!!)
Dave Gold
Gold Safety Consulting
"Makes its own sauce, just add water" - F. Zappa
[ Nope. -- Ed. ]
------------------------------ From: "Ben Gott" <xtcfan@hotmail.com> Subject: New e-mail address Message-Id: <96Oct24.152503pdt.84904(8)@compassion.hotmail.com> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 15:25:02 -0700 Hi Chalkies! I've changed my e-mail address...from bgott@mail.hotchkiss.pvt.k12.ct.us (a lengthy thing) to the simple "xtcfan@hotmail.com" that you see before you! Cheers! * ---------------------------------- Ben Gott xtcfan@hotmail.com bgott@mail.hotchkiss.pvt.k12.ct.us
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 16:10:42 -0400 (EDT) From: "John E. Daley" <John_E.._Daley.ZIFF-DAVIS@mail2.zd.com> Subject: The Hop...totally Bops! Message-id: <9610250214.AA5532@mail2.zd.com> >From: kathryn lynne burda <klburda@umich.edu> >Subject: The Hop...doesn't hop >Does anyone else out there think that Life Begins at the Hop is one of the >dumbest songs they've ever heard? Especially the "ooh-ooh ooh ooh" part. As it just so happens, Life at the Hop is one of the first XTC songs I ever heard, (when it was first released), and that's what got me hooked on XTC. Especially the repeating bass riff! It is one of my all time favourites (probably after Generals &Majors and Wake Up), and is anything wrong with that? (Answer: no.) So, tell me Kathryn, what's your favourite song, so I can slam it and say it SUCKS, hm? I feel like I'm one of the 'Silent Majority' of those types who like all those peppy fizzy songs like "Life at the Hop, Generals & Majors, Mayor of Simpleton, Supergirl, Senses Working Overtime" etc., but get too embarrased to admit it. I know we're supposed to like all the songs with heavy symbolism in them, but dammit, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.... life begins at the hop.... lalalalalalalala... boys and giiiiiiiiiiiiirls....
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199610250108.LAA16792@warchives.riv.csu.edu.au.> From: "Simon Knight" <sknight@warchivegw.riv.csu.edu.au> Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 09:57:46 +0000 Subject: Hearing and seeing XTC everywhere I think i've had too much XTC on the brain lately. Two cases in point: 1) I've been listening to the band Negativland's 1995 release "Dead Dog Records". This band takes hundred of found spoken and music parts and constructs entirely new works out of them. On the 9th track "Only a sample" about 3 minutes in a bass guitar loop kicks in. Am i imagining things or is that a formed from the bass introduction of "Poor skeleton steps out"? It sounds really cool. 2) Does anyone else out there think the character "Roger Irrelevant" in the english Viz comics bears *more* than a passing resemblence to Andy? He even seems to have the same off-the-wall sense of humour. Didn't Andy once record a flexi disc for Viz? Could this be their thanks to him?
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 24 Oct 1996 20:45:42 -0700 From: loughman@wind.atmo.arizona.edu (Rob Loughman) Message-Id: <9610250345.AA04658@wind.atmo.arizona.edu> Subject: another "limited" edition sighting If anyone's still having trouble finding the "limited" edition, textured cover version of Fossil Fuel, I just saw 4, count 'em, 4 copies of it at a local record store. They looked a bit worse for the wear (frayed shrink wrap, but no visible damage) & cost $35 + tax, + shipping potentially. If you're desperate, I can help. And I thought Tucson was pop music purgatory! Rob Loughman P.S. There's also a non-textured copy for $29. Needless to say, email me privately concerning this.
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 12:08:46 +0100 Message-Id: <199610251108.AA09439@felix.dircon.co.uk> From: nonsuch@dircon.co.uk (Simon) Subject: QUX? Mark Owens!? (noooo!) & stuff From: Tim Kendrick <TKEN@DICTAPHONE.COM> >Does anyone know of any XTC songs >whose title begins with the letters >Q or U or X ??? Hmm. In the words of Deep Thought, tricky. How about:- X-Wires for X? (the) Ugly Underneath for U? but the Q has me stumped. Mind, you I am several miles away from my collection at the moment. From: ZITTEL@aol.com >I have never heard of Mark >Owens. Is anyone familiar with him? Is he any good? Mark Owens is the funny little one from Take That, whose head seemed to be on a wibbly spring. Whenever he sang a ballad he would wobble it from side to side to portray sincere emotion. I think his chances of a major solo success can be summed up with the words "Cat" and "Hell" From: kathryn lynne burda <klburda@umich.edu> >Does anyone else out there think that Life Begins at the Hop is one of the >dumbest songs they've ever heard? Yup. I never really liked that track. Now I'm (perhaps overly) familar with XTC's catalogue I enjoy it a lot more than I used to, but it was NEVER going to be a hit and has little discernable melody or hook. I DO love the hand claps though. And the red-haired girl in the video... >Anyone willing to comment on other songs they just should NOT have >recorded (like Jump?). Actually I rather like that track, though I think "Toys" could well have stayed in the box, but that's mainly because of the lyrics. The same fate could befall Funk-Pop-A-Roll for the same reasons. I find usually it's the lyrics that turn me off an XTC song, rather than the music. FPAR lyrics really jar with me, though I love the bits where Andy vents his spleen and goes "Ahoooooooo-oooooooo". The most obvious choice for the rewind/erase treatment, in my opinion (and I'm not trying to rasp off any old scabs here) is that incredibly annoying one about intelligent apes. Simon * --------------------------------------------------- http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm * --------------------------------------------------- An English Settlement...
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 17:33:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Claudia S Cauchon <Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu> Subject: RE: The Hop doesn't hop Message-Id: <Pine.OSF.3.91a.961025162543.2494A-100000@hopper.unh.edu> On Wed, 23 Oct 1996 kathry lynne burda wrote: > Does anyone else out there think that Life Begins at the Hop is one of the > dumbest songs they've ever heard? Especially the "ooh-ooh ooh ooh" part. - This is part of the charm of "Life Begins at the Hop" that it is a very good dumb pop song which isn't always an easy thing to write. Think of some of the great pop songs such as the Beatles "She Loves You" or the Kinks "You Really Got Me", nothing really lyrically to them, but put a good beat behind them and, wow, there is a great song. Also, remember this is early Colin Moulding so he was just getting used to writing songs. You can hear how much his song writing improved from the White Music LP to Drums and Wires LP. "Life Begins at the Hop" is a great pop song about how young teenagers find out about certain aspects of life when they go to the hop. The "ooh-ooh" part I thinks is a real distinct part of XTC's overall sound that was still in it developing phase at that time. > Anyone willing to comment on other songs they just should NOT have > recorded (like Jump?). - Ah, man I can't believe you wrote that about "Jump" one of my all time favorite XTC songs. A song I think should have replaced either "Deliver Us From the Elements" or "Human Alchemy" on the Mummer album. "Jump" is such a great love song about someone trying to convince a person to take a chance and fall in love with someone (most likely the person himself). My favorite part of the song is as it is fading out we hear Andy Partridge singing "Feeling Groovy" in reference obviously to the Simon and Garfunkel song. I always get a chuckle everytime I hear the line. Claudia P.S. Oh yeah, for the person who just picked up a copy of an early Kinks LP. Basically, any Kinks record from 1965 to 1971 (Kink Kinkdom to Muswell Hillibillies) are great records. The LPs that came after this time period are spotty in quality, but in the late '60's Ray Davies was at his best. I don't even think Andy Partridge has come to match the quality in writing that Ray Davies did in that short period of time. Heck, if it wasn't for my love of the Kinks I most likely never would have given XTC the time of day. Briefly, Black Sea is release and critics are saying it has a real Kink sound to it (think "Respectable Street") so I decide to give it a try and now XTC and the Kinks are my two favorite bands.
------------------------------
Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.19961026003057.006c7888@dave-world.net>
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 19:30:57 -0500
From: Eric Adcock <eadcock@dave-world.net>
Subject: OffTopic: Another slap-dash DG
Part of a review of the "Dear God" movie from Yahoo's Reuters New Media:
Dear God's strength is characterization more than plot, while its sin
is haste. The latter is apparent in the picture's slap-dash look,
particularly its uniform bright sitcom veneer. It's also obvious that
more time in developing a better conclusion was necessary.
This reminded me of descriptions of Rundgren's production of "Skylarking"...
Take care, Eric Adcock Mr. What Bloomington, IL, USA
mailto:eadcock@dave-world.net http://www.dave-world.net/~eadcock/
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199610260828.BAA00859@cruznet2.cruznet.net> From: xtc@cruznet.net Date: Sat, 26 Oct 1996 00:15:50 +0000 Subject: Re: Allan's instant tune comments Allan wrote: > I remember buying my first XTC album, ES all those years ago, on the > basis of the "Senses.." single. I thought it was crap! And that's > the way I've always thought about each new XTC album on first hearing. > However, after another couple of listenings, they're my favourite > ever! And if I can get anyone else to listen to an XTC album more > than once they always feel the same. I have to agree with you here, Allan. I have almost never liked an XTC album the first time I listened to it, especially when I first started listening to them... I'm relatively a latecomer ... The first time I became interested in the band was on hearing their 1988(?) radio tour. I loved what I heard on the radio so rushed out to buy O&L. Well, my only experience of XTC thus far had been this radio tour, and hearing Dear God, and Senses.. So I expected to hear an accoustic band on O&L, and of course immediately was hit with Garden of Earthly Delights. And it got "worse" from there! Didn't like it at all. Something in me made me give the album a chance, however... And now I can't stop listening to them. > People are lazy, everything has to be instant. With a couple > of exceptions, XTC songs are not catchy enough first time round > for the majority of the general public, <snip> So true. In this way XTC aren't very compatible with your typical tune on the radio. I'm even guilty of flipping through radio stations and listening to bits of songs, then moving on 'cause I didn't like what I heard in the few seconds of a chance I gave it. I think listening to XTC is very similar to listening to _some_ of Frank Zappa's work (by now some of you are hissing and spitting, and a minority of others know what I'm talking about). There's just too much going on there to pass any sort of judgement on it without a few listens at least. Anyway, just my 2 cents Daniel Johnson xtc@cruznet.net xtc@titan.fullerton.edu
------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Oct 1996 20:25:53 -0700 From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <199610270325.UAA09542@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Official Lost Digest First, an apology of sorts: A couple of weeks ago I lost my main disk drive. I thought I had lost all the files, too, but after two attempts at restoring the files I got most of them back. I only lost a couple of files, but one of them was Chalkhills Digest #3-10! So the next digest which went out was ALSO numbered #3-10. D'oh! And I didn't notice, because everything looked fine to me. But NaoyuKing Isogai noticed after #3-11 went out, and he happened to have saved the ORIGINAL #3-10. So, since I am the Minister of Truth, I went back and changed the archived digests to correspond to the numbering they should have had, so the next digest will be #3-13. Which is to say, THIS digest is #3-13. The digests are correctly numbered in the Archives. Many thanks to NaoyuKing! Long live NaoyuKing! Secondly, Chalkhills is now OFFICIAL! (Perhaps that should have been first...) That's right, I received a note from XTC's management saying that XTC recognize Chalkhills as the official XTC fans internet mailing list. Thanks for all your support! (No, I'm not buying a round of drinks.) And lastly, I respond to select messages from recent Chalkhills digests: wwilson@mail07.mitre.org (Wesley H. Wilson) said: > >Just picked up The Sugarplastic's "Radio Jejune" (their first album). Fast >becoming a favorite of mine, whereas their most recent CD got on my nerves >rather quickly. _Bang, The Earth is Round_ is now one of my favourites. _Radio Jejune_ has some good tunes, but didn't grab me like _Bang_. I can't get the melody for "Say Katie" out of my skull. I usually sing it "Say Baby"... Yes, many thanks to those of you who noticed that I've got a new son. The Pink Thing. Heh heh. >P.S. Coincidence? The Dukes, a retro-60's hippie band, speak of an atom >bomb at the end of one of their album sides. The Moody Blues, a genuine >60's hippie band, have a song called "Dear Diary," which fades out with the >line, "an atom bomb exploded today...but it wasn't on anyone I know..." That album has been remastered by Mobile Fidelity. I suppose I'll have to pick up a copy someday! It's always been one of my favourites. I think it's because of the strange "computer" stuff at the start of the rekkid and the spoken word story in the middle of the LP. A bit bombastic of course, but where would we be without a bit of bombast? "Todd Bernhardt" <tbernha@columbiaenergy.e-mail.com> wrote: > >Ob. XTC ref: Now that I know and like the album so much, it's >esp. painful knowing that I missed a chance to see Dave play with >[Aimee Mann] when she toured here supporting the album >[...] (One thing, though -- I wonder how he felt as her boyfriend >touring with her on the "I'm with Stupid" tour? :^) Actually, Dave toured with Aimee Mann on the _Whatever_ tour, and did not tour with her on the _I'm With Stupid_ tour. But both shows were excellent. "VanAbbe, Dominic" <dominic.vanabbe@faulding.com.au> says: > >I've got an unreasonable request- can we keep this site for discussion >of all things XtC related, be they musical or not, be they even vaguely >related. If I wanted to debate the merits of freedom of speech vs. >censoring I'd become a campaigner or a polly, if I wanted to discuss the >merits of brands of cola I'd become an advertising exec. Truly, meta-discussions should be taken off-line. Moonsilver@prodigy.com (MR NOBLE K THOMAS) asks: > >I just received in stock a few copies of a Riuichi Sakamoto CD from >France entitled B2-Unit. Andy Partridge is listed as a musician on >this. Can anyone enlighten me as to the background on this recording >and Sir Andy's participation? Andy contributed some guitar parts, and I have a tape somewhere of a mix where you can hear them, but they were mixed into inaudibility for the final release of the LP. Specifically, he played on "Riot in Lagos" (or whatever it's called). musicvil@idir.net (John Yuelkenbeck) asks: > > Anyway, I know this isn't a technical mailing list, but >the FF posts being as lackluster as you would expect from a re-release, how >about somebody defining the terms "newsgroup" and "mailing list" for me. A newsgroup is distributed using the NNTP protocol. "Articles" (messages sent using the NNTP protocol) are read using a news reader application. By default, any site which receives news via the NNTP protocol will receive articles posted to any newsgroup. One copy of each article is sent to each site. Any user on that site can read articles, merely by using the news reader. The user does not have to "join" the list. A "mailing list" (sometimes known as a "listserv", a very stupid name) is mailed using standard e-mail protocols (usually SMTP) to a list of specific addresses, hence the term "mailing list". In order to receive messages from a mailing list, a user must specifically request to be added to the list. Thus messages from the list are only available to those people who specifically request to receive them. But Adam <box@nemesis.com.au> said it better: > >You have to go to a newsgroup. A mailing list comes to you. "Mark G. Cuevas" <litserv@ix.netcom.com> opines: > >I realize FF is a compilation of singles but IMO the single version of "Ten >Feet Tall" is infinitely inferior to the D&W version. > Does anyone out there *prefer* this version? Actually, now that you ask, I do have a soft spot in my heart for the single version of "Ten Feet Tall". I like the understated guitar solo and the more acoustic feel. However, the album version is better in the context of the album. The single version would be very out of place on _Drums and Wires_. Peter Dresslar <pdresslar@sirus.com> says: > >On the other hand, I would LOVE to meet some of you, as I assume would >happen on a tour. When's the next XTC Music And Friends Convention? Bob Estus <bestus@sonyinteractive.com> asks: > > Oh... I may not have been paying attention, but did anybody mention why >Parthenon Huxley was thanked on the O&L sleeve? He stopped by the studio while the album was being recorded and played tambourine on "Cynical Days". Scott Anderson <scandcar@dpc.net> says: > >"Holiday Greetings From Geffen Records" (pro-cd-4363) >....along with other (crap) artists saying Merry Xmas and I believe that's "rap" artists. As Andy Partridge said, "the C is silent". -- John
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #3-13 ******************************
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