Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 141
Date: Thursday, 18 March 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 141
Thursday, 18 March 1999
Today's Topics:
Adm. Lord Nelson
Re: Hating Andy
Mr. Relph had a question.
XTC ALL AROUND...
That leaves me and....NNNewman!!!!!!
Re: Your Dictionary
Re: Revolution
slaggs from andy
season cycle
Beatles Song Rights
Re: Revolution
Re: Push Your Car From The Road
BEATING OF HEART*less
Apple Venus Quiz
DG and AP
Thanks Dan Weincek
Party, Peeve, (?), Pluck
Hitting those nails right on their heads.
Gregory's role / another AV1 assessment.
Minor Ruminations after St. Patrick's
Re: XTC in Tokyo (Take 3)
Where did Vincent Van Gogh?
Launch the CD-ROM Magazine
Genius
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Chauncy14@aol.com Message-ID: <31caa359.36efcec4@aol.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 10:48:20 EST Subject: Adm. Lord Nelson If Admiral Lord Nelson died in Trafalgar in 1805, is he the war here who is represented in the sculpture dedicated to the Trafalgar Square, London? Just a thought. -john gardner, chicago
------------------------------ From: CCooli9575@aol.com Message-ID: <e7b2ef06.36ef949c@aol.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 06:40:12 EST Subject: Re: Hating Andy > >this belittling of his former >>bandmate's "little solos" reeks of the worst possible egomania and lack of >>basic courtesy, not to mention self-restraint. > >I'm glad to see at least ONE person on the list agrees with me on that. >C-U-N-T that's how I spell "Andy" in MY dictionary. >Tis all for now, >Amanda C. Owens Amanda, I certainly don't blame you for siding with Dave, who from all reports I've read on the XTC divorce(Andy got one thing right, it's a male divorce; being in a band is like being married without the good part), seems to be the more reasonable party after the fact. After all, you know him on a personal level, I don't. I have never met either Andy, Dave or Colin, and don't expect to unless they come to Vermont or I take a road trip of at least a few hours which with my job is only possible on weekends(I don't get much vacation time). In any divorce, some will side with one party or another or try to remain neutral. My Dad's still mad at my Mom because she "kicked him out of his house" twenty-five years ago. I heard it was the court that decided that, but he conveniently forgets that little detail. My Mom, on the other hand, has nothing against him one way or another; she recognised that they were better off apart than together, plus he had a problem controlling his temper, especially when he drank, and the court agreed that it was not a healthy atmosphere to bring up three growing boys in. Of course, Andy's only guilty of having a bitter and cruel streak, but Dave put up with it for twenty years, and I suspect his real reason in the end was he wanted to be on the road again and do more than just play a bit of keyboards and the occasional guitar solo on the occasional XTC album. I'll miss him, but I'm not sure XTC needs him anymore, and I don't think he needs XTC anymore. Which reminds me; I noticed he wasn't in the new Blondie lineup. I remember he'd auditioned or at least talked to somebody, and I guess I assumed he was a shoo-in, yet it clearly didn't happen. What was up with that, anybody know?(Amanda?) Just like I don't have to hate my Dad to love my Mom, I'll still love Andy's musical genius and if I met Andy I'm sure I'd find him charming; most of my friends have some qualities I deplore, but their good points outweigh their bad, or they wouldn't be my friends. Same thing with Andy; if I thought he was a complete stinker of a person with few redeeming qualities he'd have to be a superhuman genius for me to give his music the time of day.(Take a bow, Van Morrison; one man I'm in awe of musically who I hear is prickly at best, downright impossible at worst. Sort of the Marlon Brando of pop music) Chris
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990317174545.5759.rocketmail@send104.yahoomail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:45:45 -0800 (PST) From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com> Subject: Mr. Relph had a question. JR queried: "According to the www.launch.com website, "XTC is in the Vault" on Launch 23. This is the most recent issue of the CD-ROM magazine. Does anybody have this issue? If so, tell us more!" Yes John I have it. This was announced a few gests back by someone (sorry can't recall who). I rushed out to the store and nabbed one, It is three short (Maybe 1 Min) video files of XTC doing their thing. They seemed pretty old clips which is understandable given the fact that Virgin owns all of the video rights. This Release is probably for die-hard, gotta have everything fans only. But then again there are a lot of us out here aren't there. Cheers The Mole
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990317192458.21367.rocketmail@send105.yahoomail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 11:24:58 -0800 (PST) From: MARK ELLIOTT <frontln99@yahoo.com> Subject: XTC ALL AROUND... Hey friends... XTC is getting a ton of promotion suddenly! It seems "EASTER" is the track they have chosen to be the grabber so far. *Heard it on 3/15 on a little college type station WFMU ..almost crashed my car reaching for the scan button !! they played it during a fundraiser. *Last night (3/16) as I was making a MiniDIsc copy of AV1 for the plane trip to LA on Saturday (Going to see Miles HUNT!!!again...) the TVT XTC commercial came on for AV1!!! I was stunned!!! It was very colorful with lots of flowerin morphs & stop motion pics of the lads. WOW...Just saw a huge 5 page interview in a magazine called MOJO..check it out , it looks good. As you can see...the promotion dept of TVT is hard at work getting the word out that XTC still lives & hath returned!!! cheers Mark
------------------------------ From: Xtckinks@aol.com Message-ID: <ad21e7f9.36f00ed8@aol.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:21:44 EST Subject: That leaves me and....NNNewman!!!!!! In Digest #137, Lucid Girl <tshirtqueen@geocities.com> said: >>Off to work, for what could potentially be my last shift as a postal worker >>(I got a job today, need to work out the schedule). And that, my friends, >>is as great a way to start the week as any. Nicole, Great post! I related to so much of your posting. It was almost Twilight Zone material (I guess I'm showing my age?). To make a long story short, you mentioned 'Buddhists' and 'piglet' and 'remote control flipping' and 'bringing fans to the fold.' These are all very ex(tc)isting aspects of my life as well. To top it off, the above quote is basically what prompted me to write. I'm GREENMAN with envy that you are leaving the Post Office. I dread the job as well. Good luck and congratulations! Paul
------------------------------ Message-id: <fc.000f4ca3001f405d3b9aca00479ac279.1f406d@cfrb.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:33:28 -0500 Subject: Re: Your Dictionary From: rgreenham@thebear.net (Rich Greenham) Chauncy 14 and Strangeways... In "Your Dictionary", the person being played for a "four-eyed fool" is Andy! His wife left him for another man. Listen to the song! By the way, the walrus was Paul. Rich
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03110704b315bf0bf990@[206.173.240.82]> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:36:51 -0800 From: Eb <gondola@deltanet.com> Subject: Re: Revolution >From: erik schlichting <eriks@ci.conover.nc.us> > >> That would be Michael Jackson who sold "Revolution" to Nike, wouldn't it? > >Actually, correct me if I'm wrong (I'm sure this would happen without my >invitation), but I believe the Gloved One purchased the rights to as >many Beatles tunes as he could post-Nike, ostensibly to prevent such >from happening again. I seem to remember that Sir Paul did not have the >funds to make such a purchase. Sad and scary. As others previously said, no, you're wrong about the chronology. And Michael OUTBID Paul to buy Northern Songs -- you make it seem like Michael bought the company as a charitable gesture to Paul or something! I can't remember the product, but I've also recently seen an annoying use of "Good Day, Sunshine" in a commercial. Ugh. Eb now recommending: Beth Orton/Central Reservation
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s6efcd55.008@gw.utk.edu> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:45:43 -0500 From: "todd steed" <steedt@cie.gw.utk.edu> Subject: slaggs from andy Andy is a talented guy. Also... He's an example of the kind of small-minded thinking he puts down in his art ..on occasion.. Like many writers with an occasional protest in their songs, what they are also protesting is that BAD thing inside THEM, whatever that bad thing is. I always find it interesting when a writer turns that sharp knife on themselves. I'd like to see him do that more, instead of on his ex-bandmate...and do it in songs. Just my quid's worth, Tod Stead
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F010D8.E8DB67DB@gge.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:30:24 -0800 From: Dan Duncan <dan@gge.com> Subject: season cycle last nite i came home from work and listened to selections from apple venus, nonsuch and english settlement. i also listened to the dukes' 'pale & precious'. i find that different xtc albums sound like the different seasons. to me 'english settlement' is definately autumnal, 'skylarking' is, of course, summer, 'nonsuch' is perfect for a dark winter day indoors, etc. 'mummer' is very summery too. i don't know if it is because of the time of year when i first discover these recordings that i forever associate the time of year with them, or what. anyone else pushing the pedals of the season cycle? this is the sort of crazed fan minutia that i subscribe to this list for. on an unrelated note: anyone else on this list intersted in old-time/rural american/bluegrass/country or insurgent country? in particular i want to meet people who like/have heard of 'paul burch and the wpa ballclub' http://www.paulburch.ml.org/ email me personally to continue this discussion. Autumn is Royal As Spring is clown , dan
------------------------------
Message-ID: <36F018AB.7BE5@heraldonline.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 16:03:40 -0500
From: BPeschel@heraldonline.com (Bill Peschel)
Organization: The Herald
Subject: Beatles Song Rights
Greetings:
After seeing several different stories about the Beatles' song rights, I
sought out the News and Observer Web site and clipped this from a 1991
story about McCartney and his practice in acquiring song rights.
(clip)
If publishing rights are Mr. McCartney's bread and butter, they
come with an unusual jam: Though ""Sweetheart of Sigma Chi""
belongs to him, the Beatles classics do not.
Paul and John once owned equal stock in their publicly held
publishing company, Northern Songs. When publisher Dick James
decided to sell his interest in Northern Songs in the mid-'60s,
Paul and John wanted to buy it by putting up their existing shares
as collateral. But John found out that Paul had secretly acquired
107,000 more shares than him, and the deal was off.
Northern Songs, with 159 Lennon-McCartney tunes, was sold again
five years ago to one of Paul's fellow musicians -- not another
Beatle or even Yoko Ono. The buyer was Michael Jackson. The moon
dude, acting on Mr. McCartney's advice, shelled out $47.5 million
for the Beatles' catalog.
The fateful flicker of inspiration came in 1985, according to
Chet Flippo's biography ""Yesterday,"" when Mr. McCartney and Mr.
Jackson were recording ""The Girl Is Mine"" for Mr. Jackson's
""Thriller"" album. In the hall outside the studio, Mr. McCartney
casually told the young superstar to invest in song rights.
As he remembers it, Mr. Jackson giggled and replied, ""I'm
gonna buy your publishing, ya know.""
Mr. McCartney thought it was a joke. He was wrong. And before
long, ""Revolution"" turned up as a jingle for Nike sneakers. Mr.
McCartney originally approved the Nike deal but later joined the
surviving Beatles and Yoko in filing a suit to stop the commercial.
(end snip)
I apologize for the non-XTC comment. I'll do better next time.
Sincerely,
-- Bill Peschel
Book page editor, Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:13:44 -0500 (EST) From: William M Reed <wmreed@gcfn.org> Subject: Re: Revolution Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9903171542.A26328-a100000@login> Mr. Peschel said: "Now, everytime I hear Revolution, I think first of Nike, and maybe the Beatles. Same with a number of other songs that have since been appropriated by Madison Avenue. To any artist who cares a damn about his/her creation, that's the primary reason why their music shouldn't be used." I never liked that incident either, but there is NO WAY that I would ever think of shoes before The Beatles when I hear "Revolution". You've got to listen to The Beatles more often to get that all straightened out. :) Good Luck! Bill WM Reed E-mail: wmreed@freenet.columbus.oh.us AOL IM: SirWill OH
------------------------------ From: fheaney@erols.com Message-Id: <199903172042.PAA08392@smtp2.erols.com> Subject: Re: Push Your Car From The Road Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:36:56 -0500 Elizabeth wrote: > Anyway, say you're listening to AV1 in your car over and over again. And > say every time you hear River of Orchids, all you can think is, "But I LIKE > my car!" Does that make you a bad person? Whoops, I'm afraid it does. But don't worry, the world needs bad people, too. (^_^) -- Francis Heaney, Manhattanite and public transport lover
------------------------------ From: Xtckinks@aol.com Message-ID: <2b33f5c1.36f0266c@aol.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 17:02:20 EST Subject: BEATING OF HEART*less To Whom It May Concern, Can we all aff-lay on Olly May, I don't even want to SEARCH to see if it's the same C'hiller doing it, but why make snide and sarcastic remarks about her postings? Have a heart, people! Bear with it! She does her best! Everytime she posts, it seems someone has to comment on her 'style' (for lack of a better word). Thank you!!
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199903172229.XAA12891@mail.knoware.nl>
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:41:10 +0000
Subject: Apple Venus Quiz
Dear Chalkers,
Here are the results of the signed cd giveaway quiz
No less than nine people managed to get all 19 questions right and
they all entered the final draw for one of five signed AV1 cd's.
Without any further ado, here are the lucky winners in no particular
order: Andre de Koning, Paul Culnane, Michael Stone, Travis Schulz
and Jon Rosenberger.
Thank you's must go to everybody who participated, to Cooking Vinyl
for supplying the cd's and of course to Andy and Colin for signing
them.
And if you want to know all the answers, go to:
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/av_answers.html
yours in xtc,
Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
or http://come.to/xtc
------------------------------
Message-ID: <2D26BA632106D21192E100805FA7059B0116B17D@xch-rtn-17.ca.boeing.com>
From: "Rader, John M" <John.Rader@PSS.Boeing.com>
Subject: DG and AP
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 15:07:26 -0800
In #5-139, Dan pitched in with more on the DG/AP thread:
From: "Wiencek, Dan" <wiencek@aaos.org>
Subject: Small Beatles thing/Big DG thing
I've been as chagrined as anyone to observe the way Andy has behaved in the
wake of the split. Maybe he has nothing left to learn from Dave musically,
but he could certainly learn from his (Dave's) tact and decency.
Although there has been a great deal of criticism of AP recently, his
behavior is 100% normal. We all do this type of rationization and it has a
name: cognitive dissonance. Whenever we make a suspect decision, we find a
way to defend it, even if the decision negates all previous experience and
statements. Say we we paid $20 for the new XTC cd as an impulse buy. We
know we could have paid $10 if we shopped around, but hey, it's XTC. The
more we staunchly we defend our new way of thinking, (This new XTC is the
greatest disc of all time, it was worth it) the more suspect we probably
think that decision was, at least subconsciously. (I could have bought 2
if I waited a day and went to 'CDs for Cheap') If you apply this to human
interaction you actually see that as time goes by, Andy is doubting his
decision: His attacks are becoming more vitriolic. It's Andy's defense
mechanism, trying to shore up his reasoning.
Stephen Jackson then wrote, in part:
As far as I can see, Dave Gregory, other than providing flourishes
of genius, provided quality control' and appeared to serve as some
kind of mantle to AP's excesses (ironically, of course, AV1 is not
an album that suffers particularly from this)
But let's keep a sense of perspective, shall we?
First of all, Dave's influence on Andy's songwriting and arranging was
plainly in decline; you have only to listen to Andy's demos to know
that. The final versions of the Nonsuch songs were probably around
90-95% faithful to the demos, and everyone who's heard the Apple Venus
demos knows how richly detailed they were. The songs were almost fully
arranged before the band even started rehearsing. Dave often fleshed
out Andy's ideas with a bit more flair and technical razzle-dazzle than
Andy could've mustered, but the creative donkey work was already done.
Like Andy said, he's at the point where he no longer needs to rely on
his bandmates for input the way he did before. If you care to argue
that this will prove/has proven detrimental to his art, that's your
right. But I don't think you can rightfully say that Dave has been
acting as a brake to Andy, and that now that he's gone Andy's going to
run riot in a fit of wanton self-indulgence. As those who've read Song
Stories know, Andy gets his way pretty much all the time, with Dave
there or not. That's the way it's always been, at least since he
definitively established his dominance of the band, around English
Settlement.
Yes the demos are fleshed out, but who says Dave didn't influence the demos?
Here is how I picture it:
AP(on phone): Hey Colin, I think I've written an exceptional song. Come
round and give it listen.
CM(who is married): Great mate, but the in-laws are coming, and the dog
needs a run. Check back next week, allright? I'll see you when we get to
the real studio.
AP(who is single at the time): Hmm, who else can I call? Dave!!
AP(on phone): Hey Dave, I think I've written an exceptional song. Come
round and give it listen.
DG(who is single): Would you like me stop at the curry house or should we
cook something up there?
DG cooks some curry. They both sit down to listen. Dave listens, makes a
few suggestions. Some of his original suggestions get incorporated and the
demo is fleshed out.
Sound likely? How many musicians don't want to get the band together when
an inspiration hits them?
Please Andy, listen to your subconscious. Work it out! I love the dueling
guitars in ' Books are Burning' and I want AV2 to that standard.
John
------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1999 17:24:16 -0800 From: "Melby, Mary Beth" <Mary.Beth.Melby@disney.com> Subject: Thanks Dan Weincek I just want to add my "hear, hear!' to Dan Wiencek's comments on the Andy/Dave situation and the Chalkhills reaction to it. Thank you, Dan, for articulating what I myself feel about the situation, and what I hope other 'Hillers will agree upon. Basically it's this: Andy and Dave and Colin have all gone through a rough seven years, culminating in the successful realease of AV1 for Andy and Colin and the successful release from XTC for Dave. It was a mutual decision that has had and will have large repercussions for a good deal of time to come. But it WAS a mutual decision. We can judge all we want but it behooves us to remember that we have absolutely no involvement in the situation. If we trust Andy. Colin and Dave to make great music - together and apart - then we've exerted all of the power that we have in this relationship. I for one trust Dave to know what's best for him and to have acted in his own best interests. Do I hope that Andy and Dave patch things up? You bet I do. And I expect, having more at stake and having a longer and closer history together, that it will happen in less time than the thirteen years that it took Andy to get a bit more sensitive to Todd Rundgren. Here's to mending fences... in both XTC and Chalkhills. MB
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.32.19990317172935.006aa460@mail.halcyon.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 17:30:30 -0800 From: "Lynn S." <nemaliand@halcyon.com> Subject: Party, Peeve, (?), Pluck Hello, Thank's for the party story, Suzanne. Glad you all had a good time. My regret is even stronger now, but there was nothing I could do. Pooh on the damn car, a blown wiper motor keeps you home in Seattle. ** There's something that's bothering me that I must get off my chest. This is a call for a little PC, in hopes that no one else follows AP's lead. It's in reference to him using the "c" word to describe a male's behavior. Well, I say if men want to call each other names, fine, but leave our perfectly wonderful genitals out of it, or make sure you call all the women you are mad at "dicks". Ahh, I feel better now. ** I went to a magazine store to buy a copy of Mojo last week. I was chatting with the counter clerk about the contents of the mag. Unfortunately, we hadn't been clear with each other and it turned out that he had been talking about the Marvin Gaye article and I was talking about XTC. We didn't figure it out until he said something about "the record that changed the world". So I started blurting out XTC records, and he says, "No, not XTC, they haven't done anything to change the world".(!?!) I replied that I thought the messages in their music could go a long way towards changing the world. Then he said he had met AP once, ran into him at a train station. He said he walked up to say hi to him, but Andy turned around and tried to hide. He said he thought Andy was a jerk until he read that he was just painfully shy. Hmm, wonder if it really was Andy. ** We may not have made it to the AVI party but we made it to the symphony the night before. We have a brand new hall here in Seattle and it is lovely. The acoustics are so sensitive however, you can't turn the pages of your program without disturbing someone across the room. The symphony played a Webern piece that reminded us of ROO, opening with lightly plucked strings. Needless to say, I would be on cloud nine if Andy and Colin would play there with orchestral accompaniment. That would be the day the world changes I guess. Lynn S.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990318021832.4538.rocketmail@attach1.rocketmail.com> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 18:18:32 -0800 (PST) From: Cheryl <cxtc@rocketmail.com> Subject: Hitting those nails right on their heads. Hey there! Mitch informed: >They're only human you know. And isn't what this whole Andy vs. Dave thing boils down to? Very clever Mitch. Thanks for sharing a bit about the whole ordeal and bringing another side to the whole matter. Both are very clever musicians, obviously and both are... human. Just because they have that special knack of mesmerizing us with music certainly doesn't make them immune to those all to human instincts to lash out in anger and jealosy. It's good Mitch could bring a level head to this matter. : ) Lady Catherine of Sweeney enlightened: >"S-T-A-L-K-E-R, is that how you spell Amanda in >Dave's dictionary?" That's funny. But I believe 'tis >Dave who phones Amanda.... Oh! Good point! That is true. Amanda has always been the fan's fan but has never shown any real stalker tendencies. Her tenacity won her the prize gift of speaking on several occasions to Mr. Dave Gregory. I think that is admirable. As hard as that is to say, being filled with jealosy. : ) Really, I think it's great Amanda. Having said that, I think you were a bit harsh on Andy, Amanda. Just my opinion. I'm not chastising, just stating my piece. : ) I've asked this question before and now that the new album is out I would like to pose it again. If you could have XTC play one song live for you(yes, that is the stipulation. ONE Song) personally, what would you pick? Take care, Cheryl
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199903180412.XAA10286@lima.epix.net>
From: "Michael Davies" <miser17@epix.net>
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:11:25 -0500
Subject: Gregory's role / another AV1 assessment.
> Dave Gregory, other than providing flourishes of genius, provided
> 'quality control' and appeared to serve as some kind of mantle to AP's
> excesses (ironically, of course, AV1 is not an album that suffers
> particularly from this)
Wasn't the situation that Gregory was still part of the band while
they were writing and recording the songs, but stopped being part of
the band after the songs were done (or almost done) but before the
album's packaging was done (thus he is given the same sort of credit
as Prairie Prince in the credits)? That would explain the appearance
of "quality control" on AV1.
Oh, I just got my copy a couple days ago (cassette...why didn't
anyone say that it was in one of those nice Biobox things? Very nice
packaging. The only other tape I have that's in one of these is
Rancid's "Life Won't Wait".) and I'm not disappointed. I didn't have
extremely high expectations, since I generally haven't liked their
"pastoral" stuff as much as the rockin' stuff, and because a couple
people on here have been really disappointed, and I wasn't
disappointed. "I'd Like That" has some lyrics that seem pretty dumb
to me ("I wouldn't Hector if you'd be Helen of Troy"?), "Frivolous
Tonight" sounds too much like a children's song, and "I Can't Own
Her" is sort of turgid (I'm not sure what "turgid" means, but I think
it applies to "I Can't Own Her". Does anyone agree?) but most
of the album is like the best (well, not quite best. "prettiest", I
think I mean) parts of Skylarking or Mummer ("100 Umbrellas", "The
Meeting Place", "Beating of Hearts", "Wonderland"). "River of
Orchids", "The Last Balloon" and "Greenman" are especially good.
Michael davies
miser17@epix.net
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F0AA89.72A2DBC3@pacbell.net> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:26:01 -0800 From: Ken Sanders <moparson@pacbell.net> Organization: Pacific Bell Internet Services Subject: Minor Ruminations after St. Patrick's Howdy Chalkies, After going out with some friends for DELICIOUS Corned beef 'n Cabbage dinner (with the required pint o' Guiness) and having a fun time at the Britannia Arms, I drove one of my friends back to his place. When I headed back to my home, I turned on the tape player in the car, and the evening was PERFECTLY summed up with "Frivolous Tonight" . In other matters, I've grown extremely fond of "Holly up on Poppy" and "Omnibus" from Nonsuch. A question to end this one; Just what effect has this groups' posting had on Messrs. Partridge and Moulding, in regards to dealing with all the efforts in putting out AV1, AND, if beneficial (I would hope!) d'ya think there might be a "nod" to us fans by way of a tune on AV2 when it's released? I realize my question might be silly or even vain, but I figured I'd put it out there *me not knowing if Andy or Colin ever get feed back from this group*. Ciao 'n Hors D'oueveres, Ken
------------------------------ Message-ID: <36F1DD94.BACA8E7@po.twin.ne.jp> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:16:04 -0800 From: michaelw <michaelw@po.twin.ne.jp> Subject: Re: XTC in Tokyo (Take 3) Greetings! A question, some comments, other fun stuff, so let's begin! >From Cooking Vinyl, we get this: > I sympathesize with your tower records experience. Whilst not directly > involved and not being able to comment on Tower or Pony Canyon's role... Well, then why interfere/comment on the promo work..what's your point? Read on... > I want to mention one thing. Colin and Andy have been doing promo for two > months solidly now. This is incredibly hard work! I imagine that they > are exhausted and very jet lagged. We work with many artists who would > not be rpepared to do the promotion schedule they are doing. They are no > longer 20 years old. Please give them the benefit of the doubt. I think that Mr. Goldsmith and myself have done more than given them the "benefit of the doubt". Indeed, if you read our posts, we were NOT slagging or criticizing Messrs. Partridge and Moulding; far from it! In fact, I wrote that, although Pony Canyon's/HMV/Tower's handling of the situation was inexcusably poor, Andy and Colin, kind and good-natured troopers that they are, were quite giving of their time. They were the calm amongst the storm; they were genuinely polite, considerate, and generous with each and every person with whom they met. I even said that they must've been quite tired after all the promoting they've been doing. We're quite aware that it was hard work for them, so no patronizing needed. Anyways, I just want the person who sent the post to understand that we were venting our anger and frustration out on Tower/HMV/Pony Canyon, and NOT Andy or Colin. If we gave the wrong impression in our posts, then go back and read them again, okay? On another note, listening to AV1 is continuing to be an aural pleasure to the nth degree! And it's weird, in a good way, how I'll be listening to certain songs, and they fit the place or moment here in Japan. River of Orchids totally fits when I ride my bike and I look over at the line of cars I continually pass up! I'd Like That is walking with my wife/friend and 16 month old son...Easter Theatre, again, when I'm with my son at the park, and it's a Sunday, and I see all the school kids with their parents, having fun... Frivolous Tonight happens when my friends are over to the house, or I visit them... Fruit Nut is the guy who lives next door who constantly tends to his garden, but is a little loopy/IN-sane, if you ask me! Greenman is our local Buddhist priest when he's decked out in a green robe...Your Dictionary is my first fiancee, whom I haven't run into yet but could very well do so as I'm currently living some two miles from where she lives! I Can't Own Her could very well be about a female friend of mine, whom I've known longer than my wife, is a close friend, but who has been going out with the same guy for 10 years now..this Japanese guy is married, older than her, but obviously he can't own her, as she is fiercely independent! Harvest Festival always takes me to the many classrooms I visit in and around Osaka, and then has me reminisce of my elementary school back home in California, and the Autumn/Thanksgiving-themed open house/activity days we would have. The Last Balloon-I was taking a train to Kyoto, looking out the window at some school children...how much fun they were having...as compared to the serious, stern, cold and abrasive-looking "adults" on the train with me. Under my breath, I was singing, "you should drop us all...." And, FYI, I'm not getting anywhere near the Andy/Dave thing...whew! Michael Wicks P.S. A few posts ago, someone had mentioned Jethro Tull...I'll tell ya the songs I think could be long lost twins: Yacht Dance and (from their Stormwatch LP) Dun Ringill....two of my favorite acoustic songs...well, up until AV1 came along! Any other Jethro Tull fans out there, feel free to e-mail me, as I just finished a pretty good bio on them...great band, Ian and Andy ARE gods! Uh.....I meant Gregsy and Martin Barre...whoops, sorry, I mean Colin and Dave Pegg!
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v03007802b316b756f9bf@[209.242.85.68]> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 08:03:48 -0600 From: John Yuelkenbeck <jy@tomrussell.com> Subject: Where did Vincent Van Gogh? Regarding Andy's oft-times abrasive personality: I was in a play several years ago about the artist Modigliani (called, amazingly enough, "Modigliani"). The play's main theme dealt with the differences between art and artist. We often idealize artists to the point of forgetting that they are human. Also, artists tend to express their emotions more readily, with less hesitation than the rest of us who more rigidly follow society's constraints. My favorite line of the play: "Everyone wants a Van Gogh in their parlor. But who wants Van Gogh?"
------------------------------ Message-id: <fc.00003c54001bbd7200003c54001bbd72.1bbd76@nynet.nybe.on.ca> Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 09:21:30 -0500 Subject: Launch the CD-ROM Magazine From: Joe_Jarrett@nynet.nybe.on.ca (Joe Jarrett) John Relph wrote: According to the www.launch.com website, "XTC is in the Vault" on Launch 23. This is the most recent issue of the CD-ROM magazine. Does anybody have this issue? If so, tell us more! I bought this when I was lined up waiting for Andy in Tower Records in Toronto. I posted the following to Chalkhills on Feb 28: In addition another fan pointed out that XTC are in a CD Rom magazine called "Launch". It's volume number 25 and has the Goo Goo Dolls on the cover. They are featured with three audio and video clips and a review of Transitor Blast in the 'Vaults section. One sound clip is Making Plans For Nigel and has a video montage of promo shots (TVT doesn't have the rights to the MPFN video). The second clip is a black and white version of CrossWires live. It's great and has a manic Barry at work. The third clip is Science Friction and features a really young Andy. It's a video and not a live show. At the end it cuts to a shot of the keyboard player and it's not Barry. I think it's Johnny Perkins. All three clips are about a minute a piece. Really great find. John you've been so busy compiling you missed it. Furthermore you posted: I just thought I'd point out that each format of "Apple Venus Vol. 1" features a different picture of Andy and Colin. One must collect the set to get all the pictures. What is the picture on the band in the cassette? I have one but I haven't opened it, as I'll never play it anyway. Joe
------------------------------ From: "Michael Versaci" <stormymonday@sprintmail.com> Subject: Genius Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 09:57:09 -0500 Message-ID: <000101be714f$99883c30$780c2499@laptop-mversaci.mtwconsulting.com> Folxtc, One of our favorite contributors, Ms. Catherine Sweeney points out: >I beg to differ. A Genius is in the league of Shakespeare or Einstein. >Bandying the word "Genius" about in relation to someone of the stature of >Partridge is a little over the top. I agree with her point (and have written about it in the past) that the word is often over-used. There are many people that have a "genius-level" I.Q., i.e.; they score very high on standardized intelligence tests when compared to others that have taken the same test or tests. Possessing a genius level I.Q. is not the same thing as being a genius. A true genius is able apply his/her gifts and achieve spectacular results. In the sciences, people like Newton, Einstein, and Hawking are obvious candidates because you can measure their impact on the world at large. Artistic genius is much harder to quantify; both Van Gogh and Mozart are generally considered to be artistic geniuses, but neither of them were recognized as such (by the masses) until after their deaths. Good music is often a combination of talent, technical proficiency and inspiration, and only one of the three can be measured, and even then there is room for debate. Few would argue that Al DiMeola or Stanley Clarke are anything less than technically brilliant, but I don't get an emotional rush when I listen to their records. The Clash, on the other hand, were not great musicians in the technical sense, but their music moves me. I'd rather listen to "London Calling" over "Land Of The Midnight Sun" anytime. And what about The Beatles? People will argue until they are blue-in-the-face over their technical abilities, but would anybody say that they (apart from Paul on the bass) were virtuosos? They were not, and yet if you put Pat Metheny and Eddie Van Halen on Guitars, Omar Hakim on drums, Tony Levin on bass and Freddie Mercury, (don't e-mail me and tell me he's dead!) Elton John and Al Jarreau on vocals and had this "band" recreate a handful of Beatle records note-for-note, would it be "better" than The Beatles? Is Andy Partridge an artistic genius? I would say that he is, but only time will tell if the rest of the world will come around. Michael Versaci P.S. I think that Leonardo Da Vinci may have been the greatest genius that has ever lived, because he made stunning contributions to the arts & the sciences, and he did it to satisfy his own curiosity...
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