Chalkhills Digest Volume 4, Issue 37
Date: Wednesday, 3 December 1997
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 4, Number 37
Wednesday, 3 December 1997
Today's Topics:
"now!!!" bands..
Run away! Run away!!!!!
Gregory and chance
more of my questions?
following the pattern
Roundabout 'Roundabout' in a roundabout post
Hope I'll Catch Me One.
Wet Paint
Music is analogue.
The Roundabout
Wayne's World and The Loving Firework
excited new user
Sarah, Paula, and so on
FInals suck.
Re: I've seen it in their faces
The Ghoul lives on . . .
Almost XTC-free post
wow, somebody else thinks that too!
Famous Swindonians Mural
Analog digital o my...
XTC Desktop!!!!!
M
new and old
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 09:49:34 -0700 (MST) From: J A White <J.A.White@m.cc.utah.edu> Subject: "now!!!" bands.. Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.971201093250.6974A-100000@gos> Hi all... Usually I'm nothing more than the classic lurker, but I had to respond concerning those bands who will and will not be remembered. As for Paula Cole, no comment. Beck, I do believe he is actually influencing the music scene to the point where he will indeed be remembered (and probably still recording) twenty years from now. Sarah McLaghlan, I think, will still have a fan following in the future, but I don't think that in twenty years she'll be attracting any new fans. Now, when it comes to bands who are REALLY useless, let's discuss Bush. Never have I been witness to such a "creation" of the music industry. It's almost as if the industry is forcing superstardom out of them, but their music lacks in every creative department necessary to maintain staying power. I mean, who's gonna buy "Razorblade Suitcase" in the year 2017? And while I'm ranting, who ever told that Gavin guy he could sing? It's bands like Bush, and to a lesser extent others like Sugar Ray, Smashmouth, etc.. who are the real useless ones. There will be 3 times as many sales of the Beatles' "White Album" alone in 2017 as there will be a total of all the aforementioned bands' albums!! Sorry for the apparent incoherence of this post...I'm tired and raving...Anyone else think of any other useless bands? I can think of at least 20 right now offhand...Responses?!? Best, jw
------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 13:05:27 -0600 (CST) From: lady cornelius plum <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: Run away! Run away!!!!! Message-id: <01IQNSEXDNBY901M3O@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Sorry, watched the Holy Grail last night. And I blow my nose at all of you. There's only a coupla responses this time out.....(thank your gods and deities.....) JHB-Well, it's MHO, like it or not. I never ask anyone to agree with me. Richard-So I jolted Colin....he said those shocks I used hurt a bit, actually. Small note-My MANager read the Andy-view I had transcribed for Bungalow and referred to Andy as "a cocky little......" That's all for now....anyone who needs copies of the new demos, write to me for Chrissake!!!! Ciao, LCP XTC song of the day-The World is Full of Angry Young Men non XTC song-18 and Life-Skid Row
------------------------------ Message-Id: <2.2.32.19971201223039.006789b4@popmail.dircon.co.uk> Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 22:30:39 +0000 From: Simon Sleightholm <nonsuch@dircon.co.uk> Subject: Gregory and chance Well hell-ooo, I just got this mail today and I promised I'd pass it on to other fans. It's from Stephanie Smith <doa@bc.sympatico.ca>, and anyone who's interested should contact _her_ directly. <quote> Hey. I have a 1966 Gibson Firebird III that's exactly the same as one that Dave Gregory plays. I'm planning to sell the guitar, and it occurs to me that an XTC fan -- or Gregory himself -- might want it. One way or the other, I don't want it to fall into the hands of some disinterested collector. So I did some Web searching and found your site, and thought I might as well mail you about it. Do you know whether or not the band can be contacted by e-mail? Do you know anyone who might be interested? Thanks, Stephanie Smith Vancouver, Canada <end quote> This week I'll be mostly wearing sandals, Simon -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~nonsuch/bungalow.htm (http://come.to./bungalow) -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- An XTC resource - "Saving it all up for you..."
------------------------------ Message-ID: <348376E6.68B5@bu.edu> Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 21:48:40 -0500 From: Ryan Walsh <factory@bu.edu> Organization: Boston University Subject: more of my questions? 1. anyone know the fingerings for the chords Cm and G/F# ? 2. Anyone know how to play "Love at First Sight" or "Don't Lose your temper" email me? Does anyone know anything about the 2nd XTC supposed to be coming out on the Hyperion publishing company? Sorry for all the silly questions. Ryan
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3483A585.36E8@bu.edu> Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 01:07:10 -0500 From: Ryan Walsh <factory@bu.edu> Organization: Boston University Subject: following the pattern So if each album title from now on will indeed come from a lyric in the previous album then my votes for the new CD would be : a)"Climb up here beside me" (omnibus) b)"Awaken you dreamers" (WIG) c) "People are next" (BAB) d) "secret shadow land" (dissapointed) e) "break the code" (rook) I personally think that too much time has passed for the band to choose a title that connects to Nonsuch but who knows. This list is a lot of fun I think I'll stay for awhile! Ryan
------------------------------ From: Gene_Yoon@brown.edu Message-Id: <v03010d0ab0a94fe48a8a@[128.148.19.52]> Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 01:41:08 -0500 Subject: Roundabout 'Roundabout' in a roundabout post I've told him already, but I'm telling you now, Bob Estus' ROUNDABOUT web site is TOPS! Here, for all you Eudora Pro users who haven't taken a spin, double click on the following now!: http://www.znet.com/~bobestus/index.htm magical, it is. great graphics (I love the "under construction" symbol, which is a modified AP caricature from the Rag & Bone album). cool, very interesting tidbits, info, insight. I wasn't expecting all the great photographs. To begin the Swindon Tour by Song (I had a little confusion about this at first), click on the Hooter, "Swindon's communal alarm clock". This takes you to, of course, The Meeting Place, and each link in the tour is in series after that. >From: The Village Green <green@vis.bc.ca> > >*Barry Andrews thread. >XTC didn't become interesting to me until after he left. I'm not a fan of >quirky pop. Arguably XTC is still considered very quirky pop. Especially among those who don't like them. Or don't "get" them, as the case may be. >From: SLEDZNH@aol.com > >Everytime I get into a plane and look out the window, the song "Roads Girdle >The Globe" comes streaming into my brain. Actually, the song I always think of at airports and in planes is the Dukes' "You're My Drug". It's the jumbo jet blast followed by the infectious bass line. I love it and it makes me want to MOVE! >From: jhackney@facstaff.wisc.edu (John M. Hackney) > >So, here's my question: Is Mr. Partridge a vegetarian? I believe that for some years he was actually VEGAN. Which, suffice it to say, didn't help that he was having only nuts and berries for his undernourished, nerve-frayed and weary body during the start of the aborted English Settlement tour. Maybe if he was ingesting some good old fashioned ANIMAL FLESH at the time XTC would still be touring and in turn be a phenomenal commercial success!! hahahahahahahahahaha anyway I don't think he's a full-fledged vegetarian anymore, judging from some recent comments in interviews. >From: David Ferguson <David.Ferguson@www.macgroup.org> > >Richard.PedrettiAllen wrote: > >>Pluck your magic twanger, froggy! > >Never thought I would read on an XTC digest a reference to (from) the >Ghoul. get out the firecrackers. >Anyone else (especially those in the Detroit area) recognize it? >Did he originate that saying? I thought it was from the Jim Henson classic, 'The Frog Prince'. But maybe not. >From: "Matt Keeley" <mrme@eskimo.com> > >Eh, it's a pretty good song, but the bit at the end of some choruses >(chorii?) gets to me... "Cynical Day-yay-yay-yays"... Ah well.. just >me. I like Colin's songs on Oranges and Lemons except for their endings. They're an afterthought, the way they just repeat some lines of chorus and trail off in repetition. A good song for me has to have a good ending, like the Ugly Underneath, or at least a solid, satisfying ending like Colin's Vanishing Girl. >From: Epidermis1@aol.com > >hey everybody, > my first post, although i have been reading everybody else's for some time. >my name is libby, pleased to meet all you other xtc fans. >......... >unfortunately, he isnt my boyfriend anymore, but we're still bestfriends and >fans of xtc. >enough storytime for now- >libby. what a nice story. and at 15 you've proven that age, in violation of conventional wisdom on this list, has nothing to do with the ability to produce a coherent sentence that has some grounding of sensibility to it. welcome to the garden, libby! :-) Gene
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3483AF9B.12837AF6@iname.com> Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 01:50:10 -0500 From: Ben Gott <loquacious@iname.com> Organization: Loquacious Music Subject: Hope I'll Catch Me One. It's snowing in Chalkhills, Bohemian XTC? Surely. That would have to be "Helicopter." What songs are XTC? I've always thought "Don't Lose Your Temper," "One of the Millions," and "Sacrificial Bonfire." Oh, wait...those are songs *by* XTC. Duh. I was the one who asked Andy the question, and I can see why there was no answer from his end. Tough stuff. [Pat Metheny Group's "First Circle" is on the Discman.] I'm too tired to write more, so I guess I'll go to bed now. But funny story before I retire: I was playing "English Settlement" today, and "Melt the Guns" came on. My roommate (remember, the Mel Torment fan?) started singing along! I was shocked! I said, "I didn't know you knew the words!" He responded, "I wouldn't have, because my pre-Ben music didn't include XTC. However, you play it so damned much I can't help!" Yeah! He's getting "Skylarking" for the holidays. "River of Orchids" is such a good song. Wow. -Ben XTC SONG OF THE DAY: Wait Till Your Boat Goes Down XTC MOMENT: my girlfriend singing along to "Senses Working Overtime" * ----------------------------------------------- * B e n G o t t :: Bowdoin College Telephone :: (207) 721-5142 Internet :: http://travel.to/loquacious * ----------------------------------------------- *
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3483C8B5.4AF6@sd.znet.com> Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 00:37:09 -0800 From: Bob Estus <bobestus@znet.com> Subject: Wet Paint Hi all, From: Todd Bernhardt <toddjenn@erols.com> >Just a short note to say "All Hail" to Bob and Brian for the incredible >virtual tour of Swindon they've set up. Thanks, it was a lot of fun to do. It pretty much stemmed from my curiosity about the place and Brian Carter had the goods. From: Eric Rosen <rimshot3@ix.netcom.com> >Finally, let us not forget that Disney has always been a reactionary force >of the most Fascist ilk. Just as Disney's animation studio hit its stride >in the late 30's, early 40's, their overworked and underpaid animators >decided to unionize. My comment may be unfair because most major studios that can abuse their status *do* and have reputations for being sweatshops where people are overworked and underpaid. But I know someone on the inside who lovingly refers to their establishment as "Mauschwitz". From: Gary Minns <Gary.Minns@benfield.co.uk> >One question: when you were researching in Swindon, did you ever find >out about "The Famous Person's Mural". I have seen this thing on TV >(possibly on the "Play at Home" programme) but when I was in Swindon a >few years back I couldn't find the damn thing. Consulting an old "Little Express" Issue, I see a picture of the mural, submitted by Gary Barret of Swindon, and it's half scrubbed off in preparation for a solid color coat. Dated July 1991. No reason given here for the desecration, though I did read somewhere it was subject to molding (not a pun). Andy commented in "XTC Play At Home" that his portrait always looked to him as if it had a penis jutting into his chin (it was his index finger). -Bob Scarry thought for the day: Andy and a Rorschach test ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hail Motor Oil >> come.to/roundabout << Hail Piston Ring ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------ Message-ID: <31790FAD9CB8D011BD6A0000F877207D26C63C@tu-server2.micromass.co.uk> From: Wood Robert MMUk <robert.wood@micromass.co.uk> Subject: Music is analogue. Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 09:02:05 -0000 Morning Chalksters, I take it the long absence of a digest was because the Americans were off for Thanksgiving? I only realised when I rang up a company in Ohio for some technical info, to get a message saying closed for two days, back after Thanksgiving. Do you all get Christmas holidays too? Anyway, to my point. Rob Hill wrote: >> but what's the sonic difference between vinyl and analog cassette? After all, the albums (except Nonsuch I believe) were originally recorded on analog, then transferred to vinyl. << The difference is quite simply enourmous! But I suspect that's not what you mean! For a start the bandwidth from cassette is poor, the tape travels *very* slowly, 1 7/8ths ips (inches per second) and the tape width *very* narrow. Just listen to the difference between a chrome cassette and a ferric cassette, the top end, for example, is very much poorer on the ferric. What you must remember about the albums being mastered onto analogue tape is that they would have been mastered on to 1/2" tape running at 30ips. Now I'm sure the vast majority of you won't have heard such a medium, but the quality of 1/2", 30ips analogue tape is quite simply awesome! I've heard identical mixes, one to DAT (which is basically CD on tape) and one to 1/2". You would think that they were different mixes. You'll find that many recording engineers prefer to mix to 1/2" rather than DAT. And contrary to what you may think, analogue tape, especially with Dolby SR noise reduction, is technically superior in many ways to digital, for example in dynamic range. The long and short of all this is that analogue sounds far better than digital for the reproduction of music. If anyone doubts this they should listen to a good hifi system set up with something like a Linn Sondek LP12 record deck and a set of Naim amps. Then compare it to a CD system; the difference will blow you away. The main problem is that most people do *not* sit down and listen to music, they have it on in the background as they're doing housework or cooking or working. Whatever. To these people CDs are great; they're convenient and sound far better than vinyl on their tinny, Japanese midi systems. They don't scratch or wear out, they're easier to carry around. To me, they're harsh, they're not engaging and once a CD has finished I don't feel like playing another one. If a good album on vinyl's just finished I'm ready for more. To quote one a hifi manufacturer (I forget which one) "Analogue is for music, digital is for satellite." If you think I'm talking crap, get down to a good hifi shop that sells top quality (mainly British) hifi and listen for yourself...
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:17:47 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <v01510102b0a983fd49df@[204.74.8.136]> From: hgrey@pop.interport.net (Harold Grey, ITC) Subject: The Roundabout Thanks to Bob and Brian for the (Magical)Roundabout. Well done! Harold nyc
------------------------------ From: MARKROCKS@aol.com Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:37:37 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <971202083736_-2094580108@mrin52.mail.aol.com> Subject: Wayne's World and The Loving Firework In digest #4-33, Simon of Slightholm asked: << If "Wayne's World" had been a movie about XTC fans, what tune << would they have used in the head-banging scene instead of << "Bohemian Rhapsody"? I can only answer that in my neck of the woods, it would have been "No Thugs in Our House." When I was in college and ES first came out, I was living in a house with three other guys I had gone to high school with. Two of us were students, one was embarking on a career in sales, and the fourth was a no good bum. The bum was named after his father, earning the nickname "Junior," or June for short. Well, in our drunken stupors (which were often), we would crank ES at full volume and bang our heads to "No Thugs," changing the chorus to "No thugs in our house, are there JUNE." It was quite a spectacle. Wayne and Garth would have been proud! Also, while listening to O&L the other day, I noticed the word FIREWORK firmly implanted in the lyrics. So, if you ignore the release of Nonsvch, as I would sometimes like to, the trend of the LP title coming from a previous record continues. "Like a FIREWORK to which we're tied, be prepared to go through your ceiling" when the new record comes out! Mark "Shoveling up the past in Brian's future parade." XTC song of the day: "The Loving" non-XTC song of the day: "Pigs in Zen" Jane's Addiction
------------------------------ Message-Id: <m0xctSv-0002yoC@sunx1.uscs.susx.ac.uk> From: mandyt@central.susx.ac.uk (Mandy Taylor) Subject: excited new user Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:38:20 +0000 (GMT) (I don't know whether I'm doing this right or not. I hope I don't get kicked off...) *Yes, AP and co did bounce around in a mock convertable in Life Begins At The Hop, and Terry gets over enthused towards the end and the whole thing collapses. It's a very funny video, but I won't say any more about it so I won't spoil it for anyone else who hasn't seen it yet, cos doubtless you'll all manage to lay your hands on a bootleg/original at some point or other. Generals and Majors video also tends to crack me up. *AP was certainly a veggie at the time of his breakdown when he was living off handfuls of nuts and fruit (or sommat). I got that from the "Chalkhills" book, but I don't know about his eating habits either before or after 1982. *Beeswax only came free with the first 50,000 copies of Waxworks.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <34841DFE.9A2B7C9F@connectexpress.com> Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 06:41:02 -0800 From: Jon Davis <jon@connectexpress.com> Subject: Sarah, Paula, and so on In case nobody else has, I'd just like to point out that Sarah McLaclan's career has *already* spanned nearly ten years. Her first single came out in 1988, and every successive release has enjoyed increased popularity, so I think it's safe to say she's one that will last. It's perhaps too soon to tell about Paula Cole, but having listened to her second album _This Fire_ I can say she is a strong songwriter, well above the average of this or any other decade. During any given time period, it's probably impossible to really say what will last. Only the actual passage of time reveals that. Back in the 70s, there were lots of people (myself NOT among them) who thought REO Speedwagon would be remembered forever. And who would have guessed that a reunited Fleetwood Mac would be so huge in the 90s? I'd also like to point out that with the proliferation of niche-market radio stations (at least in the US), just about anything you can think of will probably ALWAYS be on the air somewhere. We've got 80s-pop stations, mellow-70s stations, rockin-70s stations, bubblegum-60s stations, you name it. In twenty years, there will be 90s-female-singer stations. Nuff said Jon
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 09:35:39 -0600 (CST) From: lady cornelius plum <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> Subject: FInals suck. Message-id: <01IQOZEM3UHQ90AAP8@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> I forgot I had a final exam today, so I'm cramming big time right now. Just two small responses......... John-I know Andy used to be a vegiterian. I don't know if he still is, but I know he was never a vegan. I (oops. Damn these rackin' frackin'.....) recall him wearing leather boots quite often. Most of the vegans I know won;'t touch anything remotely made of animal products. Pancho-I suppose shaved pits is a bit of an Americanism. I think it's nasty, but that's just MHO., Ciao for now, LCP XTC song of the day-Desert Island non XTC song-FUnky Shit-Prodigy
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 08:59:46 -0800 (PST) From: relph (John Relph) Message-Id: <9712020859.ZM553408@mando.engr.sgi.com> Subject: Re: I've seen it in their faces Gary Minns <Gary.Minns@benfield.co.uk> asked: > >One question: when you were researching in Swindon, did you ever find >out about "The Famous Person's Mural". I have seen this thing on TV >(possibly on the "Play at Home" programme) but when I was in Swindon a >few years back I couldn't find the damn thing. Not long ago I saw a video concerning the mural. It seems the wall on which the mural was painted was sustaining water damage (unrelated to the mural). So in order to save the wall, they needed to seal it. Which meant painting over the mural with a waterproof coat. Which was done. The mural now exists only in memory. -- John
------------------------------ From: MARKROCKS@aol.com Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 13:26:55 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <971202132625_-622915515@mrin45.mail.aol.com> Subject: The Ghoul lives on . . . David Ferguson caught Richard Pedretti-Allen's Ghoulish reference: >Pluck your magic twanger, froggy! > Never thought I would read on an XTC digest a reference to (from) the > Ghoul. get out the firecrackers. > Anyone else (especially those in the Detroit area) recognize it? > Did he originate that saying? Ah, the Ghoul. Now that brings back childhood memories of cheesy horror movies and things being detonated by M80s. Those were glorious times indeed. Good ole channel 50, a pioneer of independent television. Do you also remember that they used ELP's version of "Hoedown" as the theme music for the Red Wings games? And the late president CCooli9575 wrote: << The Specials are back; they're playing in my town, Burlington, VT, of all << places this week. I'm thinking of going out of curiousity if it's not too << expensive, I have no idea how much of the original band is on board. If << Jerry Dammers is involved it should be halfway interesting at least, if he GO SEE THEM! They played in Detroit last summer, and it was easily one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. The bands almost all there, but alas not Jerry. Neville's energy more than makes up for it though. They play all their oldies but goodies, and they really tear them up. Enjoy the show, and email me privatly to tell me what you thought. Mark Brown XTC song of the day - "Roads Girdle the Globe" non-XTC song of the Day - "Redirected Male" - Julian Cope
------------------------------ From: Richard.PedrettiAllen@octel.com Message-Id: <72EDB966944AD1118DC90080D8207488121CF7@ex-campus2> Subject: Almost XTC-free post Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 11:06:23 -0800 ~James (the other one). re: Aero-Viewing Girdle Grid Roads It has happened to me (but maybe I just spend too much time in pressurized cabins)! Hail mother motor, Hail piston rotor, Hail wheel (and wing!) ...well, RGTG, Dolby's "Flying North" and Eno's "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More"... ============ >>Pluck your magic twanger, froggy! >Never thought I would read on an XTC digest a reference to (from) the >Ghoul. get out the firecrackers. Did he originate that saying? I don't know if he originated it... his entire schtick was copped from Ghoulardi who did the same type of stuff in the Ohio area. I never saw Ghoulardi but people who have say that if you think David Letterman plays up his disdain for the medium, you have never seen Ghoulardi... totally over the top, even entering the movies scenes via Chromakey (Did the Ghoul do that? I don't remember). I can't recall Ghoulardi's name but he went on to become a well paid voice actor in Southern Cal. He recently died and Drew Carey dedicated a show to him. BUT SO WHAT?! ============= Re: "Roll away the wheel" cover art... Well then, how about a custom cut ala "E Pluribus Funk"? There. That should dispense the whole idea. ============= I know what you're thinking and yes, I'll get right to it. Richard "Intentionally Blank" Pedretti-Allen ...man, when I die, I don't want any "Moment of Silence." I want a "Moment of Loudness"!
------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 14:52:06 -0500 (EST) From: Gordon Wood r <11gwood@mach1.wlu.ca> Subject: wow, somebody else thinks that too! Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9712021431.A13453-0100000@mach1.wlu.ca> Chalkmates, Re: "Roads Girdle The Globe" & airplanes observation by the other James... What a weird coincidence. When I flew over to Britain for the first time last winter, "Roads Girdle The Globe" came ringing through my brains as we descended through the clouds to land at Manchester International. All this lovely lush green scenery being wrapped with winding grey bands of road. Also, as I took my first British rail journey up to Glasgow and Stranraer later that day, "Red Brick Dream" occupied my thoughts as my train wove through Northwestern English towns like Bolton, Preston and Carlisle. My appreciation for many XTC songs grew substantially after experiencing the visual context of Britain firsthand. Any other non-Brit XTC'ers have similar observations upon visiting the U.K.? Cheers from Ontario, Gord The degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of memory; Milan Kundera The degree of speed is directly proportional "Slowness" to the intensity of forgetting.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <MAPI.Id.0016.007269616e2e43613145303130303031@MAPI.to.RFC822> From: Brian Carter <Brian.Carter@btinternet.com> Subject: Famous Swindonians Mural Date: Tue, 02 Dec 97 14:44:44 GMT Gary Minns asked: >One question: when you were researching in Swindon, did you ever >find out about "The Famous Person's Mural". I have seen this >thing on TV (possibly on the "Play at Home" programme) but when I >was in Swindon a few years back I couldn't find the damn thing. Sorry to say that the mural no longer exists. It was painted on the side of a house at the end of Union Street in Swindon's Old Town and was a collage of various famous Swindonians. In addition to all five members of XTC, it included Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, Rick Davies of Supertramp, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Diana Dors, Dr Desmond Morris and ex-Swindon Town footballer Don Rogers, plus many historical figures. The whole thing was painted over several years ago. Most of the other murals have survived. Brian Carter Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom brian.carter@btinternet.com
------------------------------ From: Matt_Burnside@kaplan.com (Matt Burnside) Subject: Analog digital o my... Date: 02 Dec 1997 15:23:13 GMT Message-Id: <3239956381.187288632@kaplan.com> Organization: Kaplan Educational Centers >From: Rob Hill <rhill@umich.edu> >First off, to the recent outbreak of vinyllaphiles, I understand why >vinyl would sound preferrable to CDs, since digital is awfully >sterile--but what's the sonic difference between vinyl and analog >cassette? After all, the albums (except Nonsuch I believe) were >originally recorded on analog, then transferred to vinyl. Well, my take on this issue--tape and vinyl are both analog, yes, but the former is a magnetic medium and the latter physical. Tapes will degrade just sitting around, whereas you typically have to actually PLAY records to kill them. Also, the act of playing rarely results in total destruction of a record; I've broken more tapes than Roger Bannister. Finally, most musicians would agree that the METHOD of recording (analog vs. digital) makes more difference than the format of the reproduction (CD/LP/CS). Digital recording is what usually results in the brittle lack of warmth that many vinllaphiles associate with CDs as a whole. In other words, I'd rather listen to an analog recording on CD than a digital recording on vinyl.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 22:24:01 -0500
Subject: XTC Desktop!!!!!
Message-ID: <19971202.170022.3366.1.adamette@juno.com>
From: adamette@juno.com (Patrick M Adamek)
Greetings Chalk-type-people,
I am back online after a 6-month absence and my first stop was
chalkhills, where I found and downloaded the XTC theme from the "Archives."
I absolutely love it!! Anyone marginally interested in altering his or her
desktop theme should check it out. While reading this last issue of
Chalkhills, Andy's face appeared in the middle of my screen, followed by a
myriad of other XTC images and script, as my XTC screensaver kicked in.
Thank you thank you thank you to whomever created it!
My vote for a Wayne-esqe car-shaking singalong:
Life begins at the Hop
I had this in my car specifically for going out on the weekends (to get
pumped up!).
In #4-35, Jim S. mentioned a few experiences with XTC that I share. One
was the Rolling Stone review of O&L. I'd been following XTC by then, but
that article inspired me to subscribe to Rolling Stone, and I have ever
since. I did enjoy the comments about Skylarking is to Pepper's what O&L
is to the White Album. Also: paying $24.99 for an import Mummer. I
actually paid $29.99 for mine at West End Wax in St. Louis, Mo. A friend
with me asked why I would pay so much, and I replied, "I've been looking
for this for so long, I would have paid $100.00."
My vote for Worst XTC song: Smartest Monkeys....should not have been
included on that album (I know this because I've programmed the song off
of my CD and the album is a lot better!).
All for now
P
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199712030301.TAA14874@mail.eskimo.com> From: "Matt Keeley" <mrme@eskimo.com> Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 19:00:00 +0000 Subject: M Oooh... another movie... one I really want to see this time... Y'know, that's really pathetic... that movie was made in the 1920s and I STILL haven't seen it... it's not like it's hard to find or anything... ah well... > From: lady cornelius plum <ACOEA@jazz.ucc.uno.edu> > SLight non-XTC post real quick..... Has anyone watched MTV's Top Ten Video > lists of late, you know the top ten 80's videos, top ten cheesiest videos, Just out of curiousity, was the top ten cheesiest videos thing the 10 best videos that just happened to be really cheesy, or the ten most cheesiest videos... if it was the latter, I'd be extremely disappointed if "Life Begins at the Hop" wasn't on the list. Which means, I'm extremely disappointed. > From: The Village Green <green@vis.bc.ca> > and response (tell me what do you say). I haven't seen the video since > back when it came out but didn't they drive around in a mock convertible, > bouncing here and there? Yep... if you could call it that... mainly just a pink slab o' cardboard positioned in front of 4 bar stools. And of course, Andy kicks it over after not too long. But hey, wouldn't you? > From: Eric Rosen <rimshot3@ix.netcom.com> > >Disney-owning souls have no beef with "Nothing Sacred" on the > >ABC network. Perhaps we should be more concerned about > >offending the Baptists behind the boycott ;-). > Funny how those Baptists never bothered to mention how heinous Disney's > sweatshop operations in Haiti are and how, on humanitarian grounds alone, > their operation is worth boycotting. Hmmm... let's see.... should I risk hanging myself again by making a comment that could seem offensive if misinterpreted? Eh... I could go either way. No, that's not the comment. > From: jhackney@facstaff.wisc.edu (John M. Hackney) > I know that I should pay better attention to postings on this list > that probably have discussed the topic to death ages ago-------but, I can't > remember having seen it being chewed over. So, here's my question: Is Mr. > Partridge a vegetarian? If so, does anyone know how long he has been? > What stage of vegetarianism does he identify with, i.e., no red meat?, no > meat?, no animal products whatsoever?, that type of thing. This is > probably covered in the book, "Chalkhills and Children", but I haven't read > it yet. What about the other guys in the band? Anyone? Actually, Andy has been a vegitarian since his nervous breakdown. Actually, it is interesting to note that the fabled alternate cover of Go2 actually had XTC sitting down on chairs in butchers' outfits with dolls on their laps interspersed with slabs of meat (I beleive Barry had a couple of Barbie dolls...). After the shoot, the album was released, and then recalled with 2 of the distribution outlets destroying the old sleeves and replacing them with the sleeve we all know and presumably love, while the 3rd outlet just pasted the black text sleeve over the picture. You can tell if you have one of these if the words "trying to TRICK YOU" seem slightly darker, as this is where Terry's turtleneck sweater is. In some older copies the2nd appearance of the word "VICTIM" is also darker, for this is where Colin's hair is. If your copy of this album seems darker in these places, but you aren't 100% sure if you have the right copy, look in the upper right hand corner of the sleeve and if a 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12 or 13 appears, you have one of the copies, so happy peeling! Actually, I'm not sure if Andy's a vegitarian... I think I remember him making various references in interviews to still eating meat, but you never know... I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was. > From: David Ferguson <David.Ferguson@www.macgroup.org> > Richard.PedrettiAllen wrote: > >Pluck your magic twanger, froggy! > Never thought I would read on an XTC digest a reference to (from) the > Ghoul. get out the firecrackers. > Anyone else (especially those in the Detroit area) recognize it? > Did he originate that saying? I'm from the Seattle area, and I recognise it... my mom says it all the time... I believe she said it was from an old television show... "Smilin' Ed McConnell and his Buster Brown Gang", later renamed to "Andy's Gang"... Ran throughout the 50s, mainly. > From: Rob Hill <rhill@umich.edu> > First off, to the recent outbreak of vinyllaphiles, I understand why > vinyl would sound preferrable to CDs, since digital is awfully > sterile--but what's the sonic difference between vinyl and analog > cassette? After all, the albums (except Nonsuch I believe) were > originally recorded on analog, then transferred to vinyl. Well... to me, tapes seem like a medium (no pun intended) between Vinyl and CD... That and the analog hiss... which vinyl doesn't really have that much. Ah well... here I am, master of obsolete technology, and I even hate tapes... wiggy, eh? > From: J_ARTECONA@RCMACA.UPR.CLU.EDU > I certainly do not want to begin flaming poor Amanda, but......what's wrong > with hairy armpits? IMO they are delicious, especially sans deodorant (too > chalky). I think shaven pits is more of an american thing, I know lots of > women in europe don't shave. Latin women tend to shave as well (haven't had > a good pit in quite awhile mind you) so I will have to wait until I run into > a more progressive lass with a hairy underneath. Ah, am I the only one who really didn't need to know this? And am I the only one who's a bit odd in making people read it again in a post about how I didn't really want to read it? Ah well... > From: R.Crawford@mgn.co.uk > While playing the game Worms (on a playstation) I named my team > XTC with the 4 members being the obvious names (including Terry who > always seems to be the one who either single handedly kicked the > living shit out of the opposition, or passed on within seconds of the > game starting). Heheh... I have a tendency to do this too... I usually pit DEVO (Booji Boy, Jerry, Bob1, Bob2) versus XTC (Andy, Colin, Terry, Barry)... hmm... I shouldn't really be posting this part, but DEVO has a tendency to clean house. > >"After Nasty's 'Bigger than God' comment, people started to burn > >their records. In fact, they were buying them just to burn them. > >Record sales skyrocketed..." > Heheheh I havn't heard him referes to Nasty for so long it has really > improved my day (along with receiving The Bull with the Golden Guts & > Jules Vernes Sketchbook this weekend). Heheh.... that was one of my favourite parts in that film...8) Ah well, that's this world over... Matt Living Through | (ICQ UIN: 1455267, Name: MrMe) Another | http://www.eskimo.com/~mrme Cuba -- XTC | I used to be temporarily insane! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now I'm just stupid! -- Brak Yeah.
------------------------------ From: Stroo@aol.com Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 22:32:33 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <971202223233_1051855813@mrin42.mail.aol.com> Subject: new and old Hello fellow Chalkhillians, It's good to finally be making my first posting. My computer has been down for about a month, so I'm a little behind on my digests, so I hope none of this is old... First, thanks Amanda for the demos. I still like Green Man the best (it bette r be on the new CD), and I do like River of Orchids, even though I'm probably missing its meaning. I usually like the boys' ballads a little less than their more upbeat tunes, but I really like the potential on "I Can't Own Her", especially after a session of XTCizing in the studio. As for listing the top ten worst songs, I have another idea. How about what would be on Upsy Daisy II ? My choices would be: Reel by Real Love At First Sight Runaways (All of a Sudden)... All You Pretty Girls The..Smalltown Reign of Blows I Remember the Sun Beating of Hearts Great Fire (I always hit repeat when this track is over) Ladybird Summer's Cauldron The Meeting Place Season Cycle The Loving Scarecrow People Merely A Man (one of my faves) Dear Madam Barnum Then She Appeared Of course, I've heard the stories of Geffen "promoting" the boys with a video and boxed set. What's the latest? So many things separate XTC from the rest, but I personally enjoy looking for the catchy musical nuances (I have no better term to offer). Examples off the top of my head: the quick percussion before the line "But me made too many enemies" from "PP"; the first appearnace of the piano in "Summer's Cauldron"; the bridge between the two chorus verses on "Pretty Girls" and before the chorus on "Then She Appeared"; the bass' first appearances on "Senses" and "Seagulls"; and to me, the psuedo-foghorn on "Seagulls" and regal trumpet on "Merely A Man" exemplify sheer brilliance that the average listener misses, and to me that also is missing the point of their music. One final thought: Living in the Cleveland area, the location of the R & R Hall of Fame, I don't feel it's too early to look what can be done to give the world's most underrated band the ultimate honor they deserve. If eligibility begins 25 years after a band's first release, the time is really not that far away. Bob stroo@aol.com
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #4-37 ******************************
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