Chalkhills Digest Volume 4, Issue 108
Date: Friday, 10 July 1998
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 4, Number 108
Friday, 10 July 1998
Today's Topics:
Collaborations in the archive
Lennon versus McCartney
Andendum
Re: cLoCkWiSe (sleeps tonight)
Andy and Brian
Yes, We Have No Bananas
Swearing and XTC
Various replies
Re: 7 famous dirty words
MTV and other video channels should play XTC
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Chalkhills' Children '97 Best and "less-best"
No xtc content: Paul vs. John
Silly Love Songs
Woo-hoo! My first (and second) conversion!!
Wimoweh and the F word
Andendum Addendum
YAY, the Big Express is having it's day!
A group of odds and sods
FYI: Nice hotel nr Swindon and sort of XTC quote
Mother Mary
Mummer memories and others...
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I thought I had the whole world in my mouth.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <s5a49b7e.021@4thestate.co.uk> Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 10:25:10 +0100 From: Andy Miller <ANDYMILLER@4thestate.co.uk> Subject: Collaborations in the archive Hi all, Just a quick note to say that the lyrics to Paperchase and New York Inside My Head, the two Nicky Holland songs I keep droning on about, should be in the lyrics archive by the time you read this (thanks John!), along with those for Child Then from the new Slapp Happy album. Go see! Re: Moon on Your Dress and I Drew a Lemon - I'm not sure I agree with whoever said (sorry!) that these are 100% Andy. Terry Hall can write a pretty mean lyric himself (eg. Tunnel of Love, of Fancy That! by the Fun Boy Three). What I would say is that there's a _lot_ of Andy in I Drew a Lemon and, irrespective of the creative split, Moon On Your Dress is a fantastic song. Pretty contentious stuff eh? Best Andy
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 08:04:14 -0500
Message-Id: <199807091304.IAA08903@thor.inlink.com>
From: jims@inlink.com (Jim S)
Subject: Lennon versus McCartney
>From: Jason Garcia <h.h.name@mail.utexas.edu>
>Subject: Mother Mary
>Oh, I HAD to post about this one! That is, ultimately, the utter genius
>behind "Let It Be". Everyone's like, "oh, what a beautiful religious song!"
>when it's his actual mother he's talking about. Damn that Paul McCartney...
>Lennon may have been the "genius", but Paul was perhaps MORE of a genius for
>being able to take lucky coincidences and making them seem like genius.
>What a guy!
>
>Sorry, just had to take the opportunity to gush about my idol...
I find it incredibly sad that Mr. McCartney's work has been belittled next
to John Lennon's, merely because Lennon had the horrible misfortune to be
murdered. The amount of revisionism that has been affixed to Lennon's solo
work would make any good Stalinist proud. Before the murder (and Double
Fantasy), Lennon's solo material was considered spotty at best, with Plastic
Ono Band and Imagine being the standouts. Much of his solo work was
ridiculed at the time of release. Now that he is a Saint, his work as a solo
artist and as a Beatle is generally considered to be superior to that of
McCartney. I gotta tell you, it just ain't so. While it is certainly true
that Lennon was the social concious of the Beatles, that doesn't make his
work any better than McCartney's. In fact, in the mid-to-late 70's, as
McCartney's career flourished (at least with the public if not the critics),
Lennon was reduced to doing interviews where he started taking credit for
writing many of McCartney's most famous songs. He may have added some to
songs like Hey Jude, Eleanor Rigby and The Fool On The Hill, but he
certainly did not write these songs himself, nor was he was the principal
writer. It was really almost pathetic. How Paul McCartney has maintained
his stiff upper lip while constantly being slagged next to John Lennon (for
God's sake, Yoko Ono just referred to him as Salieri to Lennon's Mozart) is
a tribute to the kind of person McCartney really is. It must be incredibly
difficult to have been responsible for half of the catalog of arguably the
most influential popular music act of all time and to still have your work
deemed inferior for all the wrong reasons.
Sorry to rant, and I hope this doesn't start some sort of flaming, but this
just really sticks in my craw and has for years. Sure, McCartney's solo work
has been wildly inconsistent. And sure we should mourn the loss of
Lennon. We should also appreciate that we still have McCartney with us.
Now for some XTC content... is the 4-box CD set going to be released in the
U.S., or will it have to be imported? And what is the tentative release
date?
Cheers,
Jim S. <jims@inlink.com>
Movie buffs: Check out Jake Gove's excellent "JAWS" homepage.
Media, reviews, discussion, trivia and more from the 1975 classic!
http://www.winternet.com/~tandj04/jaws.html
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 12:19:57 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <v03007803b1ca5647cf72@[209.86.133.80]> From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> Subject: Andendum This will be additional info to what is contained in Todd Bernhardt's Andy phone call report since I too spoke with Andy yesterday. The band has finished recording the instruments for the orchestral album but only a few things are done for the electric one (Playground and Some Lovely are almost entirely completed sans vocals.) They have rented some equipment to finish the vocals at Colin's house and have brought in Nick Davis (the man who mixed Nonsuch) to engineer them. They plan on mixing the album in September. I only got a partial list of what songs will be on the orchestral album before the subject was changed to something unmentionable. River of Orchids, Easter Theater, Harvest Festival, The Last Balloon, Knights in Shining Karma, I Can't Own Her (about which Andy said that it now sounds like some piece of soundtrack music from a sweeping David Lean epic), I'd Like That (more acoustic than orchestral of course), The Green Man, and Colin's Frivolous Tonight. There must be two or three more to add to the list. I would guess Colin's Fruit Nut is one of them. About the "Every Demo Ever" project . . . Andy asked Colin to start rounding up his portastudio master tapes of all the demos he's done over the years. Andy has about 60 songs worth and was thinking something like a 6 CD set would suffice. His plan was to completely clean up and remix these from the masters, adding some nice reverb and compression to make them sound more studio like and less lo-fi. Colin got back to him right away by saying that he only has the masters to TWO songs; The Meeting Place and one other one. What happened to the rest? He either recorded over them or threw them away! Andy reasoned that it's because Colin is a bass player and those who play the instrument tend to do things like this. So there's another piece of Colin info to add to the puzzle! I also spoke with Dave last week and he wanted to clear up the misinfo that he wasn't going to be part of a Blondie tour but rather a reunion album. Oh and Andy mentioned that Chris Difford has finally agreed to turn over the master tapes but in the two times that someone has been sent to retrieve them, Mr. Difficult, um, I mean Difford has refused to hand them back. That's it for now. Mitch
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 14:32:20 -0700 (PDT) From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <9807091432.ZM23226@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: cLoCkWiSe (sleeps tonight) Ben Gott <loquacious@usa.net> writes: >You'd better hope that Paul is still offering free copies of his band's CD. >"Clockwise" has some really nice roots-rocky stuff...and I can hear some XTC >influence, too! Mmm Mmm good -- and I don't mean "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"! Yeah, this disc is great. Hard-edged pop, great harmonies, and I like the sound of Paul's voice. It reminds be a bit of The Mustard Seeds and a bit of The Verve Pipe, and I can definitely hear the XTC influenced in a couple of tracks. Catchy tunes and good arrangements, too. Well worth the price (and more). cLoCkWiSe have earned their place on Chalkhills Recommends. And on a completely different subject, Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com> says of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight": >I always loved The Tokens version (though I wouldn't admit it in the 70's). Yeah, I especially love the Theremin on their version. -- John
------------------------------ Message-ID: <c=US%a=_%p=PATH%l=PATH-SEATTLE--980709213707Z-1533@path-seattle-01.path.org> From: "Swan, Doug" <dswan@path.org> Subject: Andy and Brian Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 14:37:07 -0700 Doug the lurker here, can't imagine that a one of you know who I am. Waaay to intimated by some of the really creative and fertile minds on the list. I do read the digest as much as possible and thorougly enjoy many of the posts. A question (please reply to me at dswan@path.org): I'd heard a few months ago that Brian Vander Ark and Andy had finished recording and album's worth of material and that it would be released sometime after XTCs first one. Is that still true? If so, would the timeframe then be somewhere between Jan. 99 and June 99? Thanks for any info. Take care. Doug
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199807092219.AAA12567@mail.knoware.nl> From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl> Organization: The Little Lighthouse Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 00:22:13 +0000 Subject: Yes, We Have No Bananas Dear Chalkers, Just got the O&L gold disc cd from Mobile Fidelity and it's absolutely fantastic. Much better sound quality than the regular cd and it suits the magnificent production of this album After just a couple of spins i've already "discovered" several bits that are not or barely audible on the regular cd. If you love Oranges And Lemons (and who doesn't?) you should consider getting this edition. Currently playing the Humble Daisy home demo as found on the "Gribouillage" sampler cd. This song is really starting to grow on me (no pun intented) and it's interesting to compare this take with the familiar finished album version. Not unlike an uncut diamond, a bit rough at the edges but it's already very beautiful. yours in xtc, Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse the XTC website @ http://come.to/xtc and http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello
------------------------------ From: MFa2707621@aol.com Message-ID: <66d3bb05.35a54686@aol.com> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 18:39:01 EDT Subject: Swearing and XTC Chalkers, Wow, I didn't realize that there were swear words in XTC songs. I've heard most of their songs, and I haven't noticed any swear words. I'll have to listen a little more closely. I worked at a college radio station at Alfred State College a few years back, and we had to watch what we played. We couldn't play any songs with the fuck or shit in it. The reason was that if we played something with a swear word in it, the FCC might be listening, and we would get fined. A college station like our radio station couldn't afford the fines. I've heard other college radio stations and they play songs with fuck and shit in it. A few issues ago, Jason mentioned something about me being sensitive about XTC. Yes, I admit it. I get upset when people say bad things about XTC. That's because I'm such a die hard fan of theirs, and I feel like defending them. I know people have their opinions, but I hate it when people bad mouth any of my favorite music artists. I'll try to be more open minded though. Talk to you later. Molly
------------------------------
Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980709190251.006a29e8@130.127.28.14>
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 19:02:51 -0400
From: Adam Tyner <ctyner@clemson.edu>
Subject: Various replies
At 01:45 PM 7/9/98 -0700, <owner-chalkhills@chalkhills.org> wrote:
>
>Final news, and it's good: They just -- yesterday, I think -- signed
>in the U.S. with TVT Records, which Andy said is a big indy that used
>to have (and still does?) Nine Inch Nails, among others. Apparently
Wonderful! Will the BBC sessions be appearing in the U.S. at the same time
as Cooking Vinyl's release in the U.K.?
>As far as I know, the 4 CD box set will include only tracks that XTC
>recorded for the BBC since 1977. That's a lot of tracks! I had no
>idea they recorded so many. (Did they?)
Does it include live concerts (such as the '80 In Concert disc) that were
aired by the BBC?
>
>Hehehe. I was meaning to write that I recently got to see the " Dear
>God" video! My sister was watching Pop Up Video on VH1 and it said
Interestingly enough, I was flipping through the channels and saw the "Dear
God" video on M2 about this time last year. Never having heard an XTC song
but being very familiar with the band (thanks to the They Might Be Giants
mailing list and people, well, like Jeremy here), it piqued my interest
enough to pick up Upsy Daisy Assortment, and it all spiralled out of
control from there.... :-)
>You'd better hope that Paul is still offering free copies of his band's CD.
>"Clockwise" has some really nice roots-rocky stuff...and I can hear some XTC
>influence, too! Mmm Mmm good -- and I don't mean "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"!
>(although all owners of Crash Test Dummies' "God Shuffled His Feet" should
>pull it out and listen to it).
I agree...I really enjoyed it as well. Hopefully their touring will bring
them to South Carolina soon enough...
-Adam
/=---------------- http://www.he-man.org/ctyner/ ----------------=\
http://www.awod.com/gallery/rwav/ctyner/
The home of He-Man, "Weird Al", Yoo-hoo, Killer Tomatoes, and more!
Demented music list admin O- MiSTie #67,326
------------------------------
Message-ID: <35A559C3.2D9D@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 17:01:07 -0700
From: Rich/MetalMan <cbunnell@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: 7 famous dirty words
> To My Dearest Chalkhillians,
>
> Apologies to those outside of the U.S. of A. for a moment here.
> In regards to the recent questions about dirty words over the
> airwaves, I would like to clarify some things. I'm a proud member of
> "the media" (namely radio). There are the famous 7 Dirty Words That
> Cannot Be Said on TV (piss, shit, cunt, fuck, motherfucker,
> cocksucker, and tits)
If you're talking about American television, I've heard
the term "pissing them off" on King Of The Hill on Fox, and on
VH1's Pop Up Video, a name that R.E.M. once considered was "Cans
Of Piss."
Also on VH1, RuPaul was once shown saying the word "titties"
while telling some models how to walk. Are these instances just
slight exceptions?
*----------------------------------------------
Rich Bunnell or "Metal Man," whichever sounds more insane
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/4527/
*----------------------------------------------
------------------------------ From: MFa2707621@aol.com Message-ID: <4a13bca3.35a56055@aol.com> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 20:29:07 EDT Subject: MTV and other video channels should play XTC Chalkers, It's me again. I just wanted to say that I hope MTV, VH1 and Much Music say something about XTC's BBC 4 CD set. I'm very disappointed with the lack of coverage of Dave Gregory's departure. I think that was very newsworthy. I'm planning on e-mailing all three music stations when the release date is assured. Talk to you soon. Molly PS I'm thinking about starting a XTC AOL chat, but I'm not sure. I have one for Squeeze on Wednesday nights at 10:30pm EST. So if you like Squeeze come an and chat with me.
------------------------------ From: "Wesley Hanks" <whanks@earthlink.net> Subject: Everyday Is Like Sunday Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 18:03:14 -0700 Message-ID: <000001bdab9e$849b61c0$2c4b2599@default> So it was a perfectly ordinary sort of day... VH1 did a history of music videos from A to Z over the 4th of July weekend. With the patience of Job (a guy from the Bible for all of my atheist friends), I sat through the Vanessa Williams, Steve Winwood, Wilson Phillips et al, ad naseum videos with hopes of when they reached X, I'd be richly rewarded with a few XTC videos. It was a goofy experience to see Pete Wolf of J. Giels Band fame introduce the one XTC video, of course it was Dear God. No longer an XTC video virgin, Wes Hanks http://home.earthlink.net/~whanks/
------------------------------ Message-Id: <72EDB966944AD1118DC90080D820748847C1B2@ex-campus2> From: "Pedretti-Allen, Richard (Richard)" Subject: Chalkhills' Children '97 Best and "less-best" Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 18:01:47 -0700 To purchasers of CC97: I would like to get the digest member's impressions of CC97. Please email me privately (richard@tactics.com) and I will compile the results (with the exception of question number 4 which is simply for my edification). DO NOT POST YOUR PICKS ON CHALKHILLS. Regarding the covers on CC97: 1) What song did you like the best? 2) What is the most "radio-worthy" song? 3) What is the most professional sounding song? 4) What was the worst song? (You can also specify your reason) Additional comments welcome: Thanks! Cheers, Richard
------------------------------ From: sberkeley@CCM.FRONTIERCORP.COM Message-Id: <9807099000.AA900030977@ccm.frontiercorp.com> Date: Thu, 09 Jul 98 17:41:49 -0500 Subject: No xtc content: Paul vs. John Steven Graff wrote: >He's (Paul) the most successful Beatle, and the most talented. Period. >Anyone who argues about Lennon has to explain or get around his years of >(hard) drug abuse and untimely death... plus Yoko. Ummmm... Many (I) would argue that some of Paul's Beatle contributions were too sappy and poppy and that his Wings and solo period were/ are on the whole- fair to crap. Also, since when did John's drug use infringe on his composition and production? In fact, they may just be responsible for no small part of them (especially as a Beatle). Additionally, Yoko can be viewed as the prime motivater for all of John's post Sgt. Pepper writings, Plastic Ono is a great, great record isn't it? Oh, and I don't understand the untimely death remark. -Shamus
------------------------------ Message-ID: <8191BF798BAFD111817B0001FA0E3A574EDA94@ZSCED004> From: "ARCHER-MAY,Mark" <Mark.ARCHER-MAY@deetya.gov.au> Subject: Silly Love Songs Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 11:33:17 +1000 >I don't get why Paul writes such great songs as these and also writes piffle like "Silly Love Songs" and "My Love."< I don't know about "My Love" but "Silly Love Songs" was a musical response to the 10cc song "Silly Love" which was a comical and slightly barbed dig at people who write tacky love poems and love songs. Paul responed with whats the matter with silly love song, he after all has had a lot of experience with these. Mark
------------------------------ From: Iain_Murray@hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au Message-Id: <4A25663D.000E0625.00@ncc-notes.hr-m.b-m.defence.gov.au> Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 12:44:53 +1000 Subject: Woo-hoo! My first (and second) conversion!! I can finally add myself to the list of Chalkhillians (male, in general) whose wives or girlfriends are also XTC fans. It was never my intention to conduct tests or experiments on my poor, long-suffering girlfriend (heretofore known as "Louise"), but that's pretty much how it turned out - and, I must say, she passed with flying colours. Here's some of her comments : Senses Working Overtime - "Is this a cover? I haven't heard this for years - I didn't know these guys did it." Love On A Farmboy's Wages - "Was this a single? Why didn't I ever hear this on the radio?" (Good question, Louise...) Pink Thing - "He's talking about his dick - how can he get away with that? That's great!" There were a few more comments along the same lines. I made her a cassette copy of a few songs (about 45 minutes' worth) - the last time I was a passenger in her car, she started the engine and blasted me with "Respectable Street" at about 130db. The only downside is that she insists on singing along - at least she's enjoying the music, which is pretty important. P.S. My two-year-old niece loves dancing to "Jump" - my folk-and-classical-listening sister will be *so* pleased. Iain
------------------------------
Message-Id: <v01540b05b1cb3a5eda2c@[139.80.100.156]>
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 15:48:01 +1200
From: james.dignan@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (James Dignan)
Subject: Wimoweh and the F word
> Right. A few years ago when our station manager was going over
>the guidelines about what can be aired and what can't, she went
>through the list of usual violations, no offensive descriptions or
>terms for sexual/excretory organs or acts, no hate speech, no
>saying anything to incite a riot, etc. but she also said that
>expletives alone weren't enough to arouse the FCC's ire...namely
>that in the abstract sense, the f-word is okay if you're saying
>it in anger, or in a sentence like, "F--- the rules!" However,
>you can't say, "F--- the (person, animal, thing)!", because, no
>matter how you intend it, it implies physical contact in some way,
>and is therefore obscene.
> If we had anything on the naughty side, typically we'd wait
>until after 9 to air it, when presumably all the kiddiewinks had
>gone to bed.
the rules in New Zealand are interesting, but I suspect there are similar
ones in other parts of the world: If the word is *recorded*, for example as
part of a song, it is unlikely to cause ire. If, however, it is spoken
*live to air*, it is far more likely to get the Broadcasting Standards
Authority's attention. However, most stations apply their own discretion so
as not to offend their target audience - a commercial station PD would
wince at the idea of the word 'bullshit' in "Money", whereas a student
radio station PD will allow gangsta rap lyrics that honestly are more than
I can normally stomach.
I believe also that for some time on NZ television the word fuck was
allowable if it was being used as a term of abuse, but not if it was
referring to a sexual act ("that fucking song" could refer to "that
annoying, dreadful, etc, song", but not be used as a term meaning "that
song about fucking"). This seems similar to the rules of the FCC, above.
However, I am certain these rules have been loosened in recent years, and
that 'the dirty deed' can now be referred to by its most widely used name.
I can still recall the furore the first time the word was spoken oin NZ
television - live to air in about 1978. It was the last programme in a
comedy series. Right at the end of it, the presenter turned to his guest
star (NZ musician and actor Bruno Lawrence), and said "well, we got through
the series pretty well - only a couple of complaints, and no major
disasters", and Bruno replied "yeah, and at least no-one said fuck." Cue
credits, end of programme.
>My statement was more
>directed to the fact that the Lion Sleeps Tonight
>has been used over and over again and has been
>used to ad nauseum since a date beyond my
>knowledge.
"The lion sleeps tonight" is what I refer to as a 'template' song. This is
one stage beyond a cover. A cover, most people will perform in the same way
- there are only so many ways you can successfully sing it. With template
songs, it is possible for everyone to give a different interpretation of
them that will say something new. That is why they stick around.
Unfortunately, most artists can't be bothered thinking up something new,
which is why you have 1000 identical versions of Wimoweh, with very little
variation. Brian Eno's was a little outside the square (but then again, it
would be unlikely for the domed one to do a note for note cover of
anything). FWIW, I got this thought from a desussion I read of
Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" as being a template upon which the director can
impose whatever slant he or she may wish. No two versions of that play give
the same view of the character of its protagonists, and this is one of the
reasons why it has remained the greatest play in English literature.
James
James Dignan___________________________________ You talk to me
Deptmt of Psychology, Otago University As if from a distance
ya zhivu v' 50 Norfolk Street And I reply. . . . . . . . . .
Dunedin, New Zealand with impressions chosen from another time
steam megaphone (03) 455-7807 (Brian Eno - "By this River")
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 00:09:49 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <v03007800b1cb0bddbee6@[209.86.128.247]> From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> Subject: Andendum Addendum Oh yeah, Your Dictionary will be on the album too.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19980710051613.14755.rocketmail@send1e.yahoomail.com> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 22:16:13 -0700 (PDT) From: K D <hentoe_xtc@yahoo.com> Subject: YAY, the Big Express is having it's day! hi, just wanted to say how very pleased I am that 90% of this past Chalkhills was about my very favorite XTC album, The Big Express, of course!!!!! thank you thank you thank you!!! everyone listen to Seagulls again...then you will see that it is one of the loveliest songs ever. anyone else going to see Girls vs. Boys tmrw night at the new 9:30 club? that's all... the Baltimore Kate
------------------------------ Message-ID: <8191BF798BAFD111817B0001FA0E3A574EDAAA@ZSCED004> From: "ARCHER-MAY,Mark" <Mark.ARCHER-MAY@deetya.gov.au> Subject: A group of odds and sods Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 15:47:51 +1000 I have just made myself a promise never respond till I've read the entire Digest. >That's exactly what I thought for the longest time! But I just saw the video, which is very well done and moving. The JFK interpretation is deliberately accented there. JFK was president and still alive when I was born. And having been born and raised in Massachusetts I can tell you that at least around here he was mythologized nearly as much as Jesus was, so at least for me, the video works.< That is the video for XTC who sell best in the USA, it is an extremely sensible and deliberate marketting ploy. I will be honest I have not seen the video but I know that song is not about JFK he just doesn't fit the bill. I have never been able to understand how a man who is elected to do a job can be turned into something slightly less than a god. It is the only thing I fear with Australia becoming a Republic, an elected president it is such a pointless and expensive effort. "Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" is just another spin on the "Merely a Man" theme and putting a name on him/her would destroy the meaning behind the last few lines of the song. >the f-word is okay if you're saying it in anger, or in a sentence like, "F--- the rules!" However, you can't say, "F--- the (person, animal, thing)!", because, no matter how you intend it, it implies physical contact in some way, and is therefore obscene.< The on going conversation about the F word and others put a thought or two into my mind. Isn't it amazing how we as a society can turn a word that is about one of the most beautiful and wonderful things into a word of aggression and hate. In most cases movies with simulated sex will have a higher restriction level than simulated murder, mayhem and torture. Why is that a person that is angry will say Fuck is that what he/she would need to be happy again. I personally believe our society loves pain it would rather kill, insult, maim or any other violent act that you can think of than indulge in a good f...ing or at least that's impression I get from censorship. Sorry to go off the track it was just an observation. Mark
------------------------------ Message-ID: <7792192DE506D2119A6100A024F0274A02BB7F@PIMAIL> From: Paul <Paul@pi-design.com> Subject: FYI: Nice hotel nr Swindon and sort of XTC quote Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 11:57:18 +0100 Try the Chisledon House Hotel in Chisledon, it's about 2.5 miles outside Swindon itself. Very nice Georgian Manor House type thing. No, I don't get anything for this and no, I don't think that you'll get a discount (May be I will if you tell them that I referred you, but I'm sure they wont know who the hell I am) Stayed there for a wedding reception last year. Nice and quiet. Anyone see the quote in Time Out (London listings mag) 2 weeks back... I threw my copy away... it was a short blurb for a piece on a relatively new band further on in the magazine. The general thing was "who influenced you\who do you think you are like" and to paraphrase using my somewhat sieve-like memory: "Where not really in it for the money <some kind of integrity bit>..." "So you're like the XTC for the Nineties?" "Yeah, I like that... XTC for the Nineties." No doubt someone may have noticed it. Yes, people take the mickey (UK-ism) of Americans, but that's only because the replies are often so self-righteous... it's just too much fun. And... a rousing cheer for Phil! My T-shirts (as he well kno) arrived: a. They're great b. They fit and c. They haven't shrunk in the wash! I'm off on holiday for a week (French Alps), keep the content contentious. ---------- ---------- ---------- Paul "The servers are melting? Stuff that I'm off" Stratford PI Design <mailto:xtc@pi-design.com> Trivia <mailto:paul@pi-design.com> Work "Play us a record, Dickie" - Comfort and Joy ---------- ---------- ----------
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19980710133346.9651.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "k. siegel" <beatlebird@hotmail.com> Subject: Mother Mary Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 06:33:45 PDT Jason writty: >Oh, I HAD to post about this one! That is, ultimately, the utter genius >behind "Let It Be". Everyone's like, "oh, what a beautiful religious song!" >when it's his actual mother he's talking about. Damn that Paul McCartney... >Lennon may have been the "genius", but Paul was perhaps MORE of a genius for >being able to take lucky coincidences and making them seem like genius. >What a guy! > >Sorry, just had to take the opportunity to gush about my idol... That's okay, Jason, gush away. Your accurate description of Paul's talent speaks volumes about nuances that his critics fail to understand. Good call! Living in the bungalow & here >> http://www.site-x.com/yeah.html --Kristi
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Message-Id: <s5a5f3c5.035@chemonics.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 10:55:01 -0400
From: Todd Bernhardt <tbernhardt@chemonics.com>
Subject: Mummer memories and others...
Hi:
Trent Turner talked about Mummer memories:
>I remember being scared after hearing the end of FPAR, where Andy
sings "Bye-Bye" thinking that this might be their last album!<
And I thought I was the only one paranoid enough to have thought that!
What with Terry's departure and the end of touring, I had the same
fear -- and so love The Big Express that much more, because it was
_there_ and proof of their continuing existence as a band.
>Then a long wait. 3 years of torture working for a boss who was an
alcoholic. (That IS the nice thing to say about him.) Then finally,
I can't remember the season so well, but late 86 - early 87, The Big
Express came out.<
My friend, it must have been harder than you think, cause it was less
than two years -- BE came out in late '84, I think, and Skylarking in
late '86. Can empathize with you about the boss thang, though.
Stephen Graff remembered this impression of BE:
>"Blue Overall" sounds like Andy's holding back a massive belch
throughout, and goes back to his blues roots very well. (Yes he has
blues roots, as such)<
The first time I heard this song, it was as a 12" single b-side. The
sound of it is superb, very BIG, much better than the compressed
version on the BE CD. Love Pete Phipps' drumming on that song. Anyone
know if it's Andy or Dave playing slide on that one?
and
>"Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her,Kiss Her" I only liked this song after
hearing the Drums & Wireless version, which was even more mechanical
sounding than the record. I think it had a lot to do with the mood I
was in too.<
This has always been one of my favorites on the album. _Brilliant_,
evocative lyrics. One of those "God, I wish I'd written that" songs
for me.
and finally, about Paul M., he said:
>He's the most successful Beatle, and the most talented.
Period.
Anyone who argues about Lennon has to explain or get around his
years of (hard) drug abuse and untimely death...plus Yoko.
They also have to come up with his contributions outside music
and weigh them with McCartneys.<
Hmmm. Well, I'm sure I ain't going to be the only one to jump on you
about this, but here goes: As I see it, Lennon's value as an artist --
we _are_ talking about talent, right? -- has nothing whatsoever to do
with his drug abuse, untimely death (!?!?), personal relationships or
his contributions outside music. If we're going to argue about the
merit of their post-Beatle artistic output, then it comes down to a
matter of opinion. I personally like John's stuff more. For me, it's
rawer and more real, less contrived, than most of Paul's later stuff
(though of course Paul has had his shining moments). But -- again, IMO
-- what it boils down to is this: L&Mc are the perfect example of a
whole greater than the individual parts. In the Beatles, Macca
supplied the pop hooks, the brilliant surface, while Lennon supplied
the depth. In the early years esp., he was the driving force in the
band. Even during the later years, when they were writing separately
within the band, I believe John and Paul were still in fact writing
_for_ each other (IMO, esp. Paul, who it seems wanted to
please/impress John), and so their songs then were better and more
even in quality than their later stuff.
> I'd also love to hang out with Paul's gorgeous daughters if
possible...one at a time of course :)<
Well, don't tell my wife, but they're more fun together!
Ben Gott waxed loquaciously:
>You'd better hope that Paul is still offering free copies of his
band's CD.
"Clockwise" has some really nice roots-rocky stuff<
I gotta agree that this is a really fine CD, and at $1.50 for postage
the bargain of the year. Hell, I'd buy it at full price and still
think it was one of the best additions to my collection this year.
Great songwriting, great playing, great production/sound. I don't know
if I'd call it "roots rock" (sorry, Ben) -- IMO, it's got lots of pop
in it, certainly with homage to rock's roots but with plenty of little
bits of prog-rock (meaning these guys can _play_). Get your own copy
if you can. You won't be sorry.
Derek Miner mused:
>I used to love catching late-night programs on religious channels
spending time to denounce rock and roll in depth. The best stuff was
when they started playing songs backwards and claiming the devil put
evil messages there. Haven't seen any of these shows on gangsta rap,
though... hmmmm.<
Derek, are you suggesting that the religious-programming machine is
square in the pocket of the gangsta-rap establishment? :^)
--Todd
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #4-108 *******************************
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