Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 234
Date: Tuesday, 20 July 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 234
Tuesday, 20 July 1999
Today's Topics:
South Park and XTC? There *IS* a connection
Some, more, things, you, (maybe), didn't, know, about, Head
Hip Hop
Get your hands on this book
Postponement...again
my turn
Fresh, interesting and offensive, attorneys at law
taking questions for Martin Newell
Re: Putting *The Move* on XTC
Lillies
What's cool, what's not
Andy(s Demos) on Autoreserve
The The news; What about XTC?
the state of diy
XTC Interviews and English Settlement
Rock'll never die man!! Plus... XTC Interview in
Capt. Sensible, Andy Partridge, Robyn Hitchcock and their pets
DIY CDs, and a defense of record companies
Discovered new XTC fan
Interpretation Is Prohibited!
$105 for a Used Sweatshirt!?!?!
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Iain.Murray.70428176@army.defence.gov.au Message-Id: <4A2567AE.007DB516.00@stagemaster.army.defence.gov.au> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 08:58:04 +1000 Subject: South Park and XTC? There *IS* a connection The Sydney Daily Telegraph ran an article about the new South Park movie on Thursday, 15 July (the movie's opening day in Australia). The headline : "Censors Working Overtime". Oh well, it's better than nothing, I suppose........ Iain
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990715011651.84413.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Andrew Gowans" <ratwhacker@hotmail.com> Subject: Some, more, things, you, (maybe), didn't, know, about, Head Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 11:16:50 EST Yeah, Mike Nesmith had some cool things to say about working with Jack Nicholson too. One day I'll find them, transcribe them and commit them to the ether(net). Did you also realise that JN also "compiled" the tracks and soundtrack out takes that make up the album "Head"? Some reviewers didn't like his approach of sandwiching soundtrack "artifacts" and the musical tracks, I don't find it offensive. Some consider he committed heresy upon the Monkees myth by editing @ 1 minute from the opening track "Porpoise Song" (longer in single release). However, if you buy a Rhino release of the album, and some of the CD re-issues, you get the recompiled version. Also, some reviewers consider that the studio version of "Circle Sky" on the album is inferior to the captured-in-concert live take in the film. I can live with "reviewers" opinions, mine is that the live track is great but the studio version "honks", truly great track. Further Monkees-Jack Nicholson trivia, Mike Nesmith dedicated the track "Beyond the Blue Horizon" from his second "1st national Band" album to JN. I can't recall the album title, I think it is "Loose Salute", but I'll dig my old vinyl out and maybe post it too sometime soon. Like when I'll have time for this stuff AFTER the house gets painted..phew! Ciao for niao, The Rat
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002001bece88$53611ce0$82cb2499@oemcomputer> From: "Chauffefamily" <delia1999@email.msn.com> Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 23:07:30 -0700 Subject: Hip Hop I'm sorry Drew, but I don't buy your 'today' thing with regard to hip-hop & in particular L. Hill- I think most hip-hop & Lauren Hill especially, is a pathetic rip-off. It seems to me it is good only because a few R n' B artist say so and because that is what MTV & the commercial radio stations are jamming down everyone's throats. The media controls the airways- It is very difficult for kids today to even hear someone like XTC because you're lucky if even 1 radio station in 10 will play anything by them! L. Hill does not seem to have this problem. I think pop in general (except for alternative bands) all has the same formula to the point where all music has the same r n' b backing sound with the exception of maybe some different lyrics whether it be a Mariah Carey, Brittany Spears or N' Sync, etc., etc. Rock music will survive and I'm sure in time, will find a way to 'reclaim' the airways.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3AE4C7B8CC1BD31194140008C7B14DE80426D8@hfd-exch008.aetna.com> From: "Witter, Karl F" <WitterKF@aetna.com> Subject: Get your hands on this book Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 12:51:39 -0400 Rock and roll today is "the new golf -- it's something middle-aged square guys do at weekends in ridiculous clothes." Speaking as a mid-30s square guy, I resolve never to look like what this writer is describing. However, if you loathe seeing target markets to whom rock is a consumable, like golf, cigars, and SUVs, rather than a passion or art form, get thee to a bookstore (or if you're cheap like me, a library) and pick up Mark Steyn's "Broadway Babies Say Goodnight: Musicals Then and Now". Author Mark Steyn may be West End- and Broadway-bound, but he has good bearings on almost all musical forms. Allentown? You're going back to Allentown? Karl
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990716072048.8219@pearl.ocn.ne.jp> From: Takashi Yamamoto <oomax@pearl.ocn.ne.jp> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 16:20:06 +0900 Subject: Postponement...again Hi! All! I conveyed the sale plan of "Japanese mini-album"here formely. But it is to be postponed on September 17. It is usual...Oh my... Takashi Yamamoto Japan
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 06:35:00 +1000 From: Sean Dwyer <ewe2@cvis.com.au> Subject: my turn Message-ID: <19990716063500.A14604@cvis.com.au> Well, I've finally managed to get AV1 here in Bendigo, Australia and spent a couple of weeks having a darn good listen, so now i feel qualified as a longtime fan to give my verdict: wow! River of Orchids is simply amazing in XTC terms; i can see why they were excited about it. Is it just me, or do i detect a Sting impersonation in there? The rest of the album just swings along from there, its as if I'm seeing colour for the first time after a lifetime of black and white, which is quite a statement coming from an old jaded musician like myself :) One of the very few albums that i can cheerfully leave to loop away for hours...volume 2 is going to be very special to beat this. My other special favourites on the album are the two Moulding compositions: correct me if I'm wrong (as I'm sure you will), but I can't recall two better-humoured pieces. Normally he seems to veer between bitter sarcasm and angst, here it's gentle humour and self-deprecation, but that's only how I see it. I can only hope volume 2 won't take as long as volume 1 did to live in my CD-ROM :) regards, sean dwyer -- "don't screw with Mother nature, because you are small insignificant and biodegradable" web: http://ewe2.cvis.com.au/ email: ewe2@cvis.com.au
------------------------------ From: ElizaS33@aol.com Message-ID: <ef3f5c1c.24bfaffd@aol.com> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 17:43:25 EDT Subject: Fresh, interesting and offensive, attorneys at law Hi chalkpeople, I haven't posted in a while, but this thread touched on something I've been thinking about in the last few days: >alot of new pop or "alternative" music i hear nowadays just >doesn't sound that fresh or interesting or even offensive to me. maybe >its all about hip-hop? is that where the new ground is being broken now? Last week, I went to lunch with a bunch of coworkers, most of whom are about ten years younger than I am. They were listening to Kid Rock, and just cracking up at things like the little midget rapper in the group claiming to have a large penis. I was thinking, gee, that's not that funny. But then, the more I thought about it, I realized when I was 22 or so, I probably thought equivalent things were funny, or at the very least daring. Then, thinking further back, I remembered that when I was 15, my friend & I thought the word "scrounge" was completely hilarious. Thus, we also thought that Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" was the single funniest song ever written. This fact is not hugely relevant, but boy, is it embarrassing. ;-) So, in addition to a number of other factors (such as the music industry's current throw all the crap you can find at the wall and see what sticks policy, there being less new ground to break musically these days, etc etc), I think part of the reason that so many of us don't find music (or insert your favorite art form here) surprising, challenging or shocking anymore is that, as we have more life experience, our own immunity to being shocked, challenged or surprised is building up. That said, I've heard a lot of great music this year; the new releases from the Flaming Lips, the Negro Problem and the Solipsistics are right up there wrestling with Apple Venus 1 for album of the year in my book. Not stuff you hear on the radio necessarily, unless you listen to either Morning Becomes Eclectic or Idiot's Delight. But new and on the market nonetheless. So when's Yazbek going to have a new album out, anyway? Elizabeth The Gallery of Indispensable Pop Music http://homepages.go.com/~popgallery
------------------------------ Message-ID: <378E63EC.EAD8AD46@autoreverse.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 18:42:53 -0400 From: Ian C Stewart <ian@autoreverse.net> Organization: http://www.AUTOreverse.net/ Subject: taking questions for Martin Newell Hola y'all A friend will be interviewing Martin Newell in about 2 weeks---got any questions you'd like to have him answer? The interview will be for the upcoming HOMEPOP EXPLOSION issue of AUTOreverse... email me directly: ian@autoreverse.net rrrrrrraaaaahhhhhkkkkkkk, (timestretching is sweet) Ian
------------------------------ Message-ID: <378E7093.8E9FCF59@bond.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 19:36:54 -0400 From: Mark & Barb Kirk <mondacello@bond.net> Subject: Re: Putting *The Move* on XTC Mlle. Malady "hey you, fuzzy wuzzy" Nelson scribed: >... I absolutely adore The Move. I'm particularly fond of "Hello Susie", "Cherry Blossom Clinic", >"Fields of People", "What?", and "Open Up Said The World At The Door"... Is anyone else >remotely or vaguely interested in them, meaning The Move? I've finally been tempted to unlurkify after close to a year of the opposite. In answer to your question... "Yes!". I agree wholeheartedly, The Move made some pretty amazing music for it's time (pretty amazing for any time actually). It's really a wonder why they never made it on this side of the Atlantic (or maybe they did... I do know that the boys from Cheap Trick were quite fond of them). Some particular favourites of my own are 'Night of Fear', 'I Can Hear the Grass Grow', 'Wave Your Flag & Stop the Train', 'Fire Brigade', 'Blackberry Way' and 'Curly'. There are certain days when the last two songs play endlessly on the jukebox in my cranium. Another obvious link in the Move/ELO chain is The Idle Race... now there's a very sadly underated-unknown-unheard of (fill in the proper adjective) band. Lots of great songs from... Jeff Lynne... there, I said it! I'm well aware that his name is tantamount to severe flaming in these here parts. But, if the detractors could put aside all the Post-77 disco pap (hey, I really like the third side of Out Of The Blue... 'Concerto For a Rainy Day' is a marvelous song suite), and what some may look upon as the damage that he inflicted by producing Beatle George (again I have to defend another favourite of mine... 'When We Was Fab'. What a great song! I still love that one!!) Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, put aside all the bias affiliated with the mans name, and give a listen to The Idle Race (if you can find any that is)... 'Come With Me', 'Going Home', 'Please No More Sad Songs'... seems I'm on a somewhat melancholy kick at the moment. At any rate, it is truly some great stuff, well worth sinking your teeth and hard earned dollars into. Oh well, whatever you may think of my rambling reminiscence of dearly departed sixties pop combos, I've been pleased to see the names of The Move, The Zombies, The Kinks, etc. in recent posts. (I know, the Kinks pop up quite often... but I'm still happy to see it!) ~Mark Kirk~
------------------------------
Message-ID: <378E8689.FB23B3A7@tmbg.org>
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 21:10:39 -0400
From: Ben Gott/Loquacious Music <gott@tmbg.org>
Organization: http://listen.to/loquacious
Subject: Lillies
Hillies,
Lately, we've been chatting about "Black Sea." Well, maybe we haven't, but
we should, especially because it came at a really interesting time in Steve
Lillywhite's career. Now I know you're saying, "Shut up about Steve
Lillywhite already, Ben!" but I can't...he's just too goddamn good.
A few days ago, I bought Joan Armatrading's 1981 "Walk Under Ladders"
(which features Andy Partridge, Tom Dolby, and a couple of Peter Gabriel's
mucisians). Yes, the synth parts sound completely dated in 1999, but the
songwriting is great and the production is UNBELIEVABLE! That album is
sooooo XTC-influenced, methinks (just listen to the electric guitar in
"When I Get It Right" -- "Drums & Wires" anyone?) and Lillywhite's
signature "big drum sound" (which we can all witness in current Dave
Matthews releases, by the way) is rearing its pretty little head. Sorry to
drone on about Armatrading here, but I'm worried that some of our young
Chalkfriends haven't heard it...and they should. Furthermore, it is a
great album to add to your Lillywhite collection. (Well, *I* collect albums
by producer...Why else would I have The Bogmens' "Life Begins at 40
Million" if not for Jerry Harrison?)
And here's my tuppence on the annoying crap that's being played on Top 40
radio: at least we're back with pop! Third Eye Blind might suck the life
out of any room, but at least he's not Marilyn Manson. And what about that
new Brian McKnight song? It blows, sure, but what about that Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis production? No wonder Janet Jackson keeps 'em around!
Speaking of Top 40: I'm going to see R.E.M. this fall, in Boston. Anyone
else? I'll be wearing my "Apple Venus" t-shirt.
Love,
Ben
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
Benjamin Gott . Loquacious Music . Salisbury, CT 06068
AOL: Plan4Nigel . Telephone (860) 435-9726 . Mobile (207) 798-1859
I can see a hole in the sky / As wide as your smile...
+----------------------------------------------------------------+
------------------------------ Message-Id: <199907160432.VAA00374@grebe.prod.itd.earthlink.net> Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 23:28:25 -0600 Subject: What's cool, what's not From: "Bob O'Bannon" <batchain@earthlink.net> >>>hip-hop has decisively supplanted "rock" as the pop music of the Now and >of the foreseeable future.<< >>> Hip-hop, along with its various substyles and offshoots, is by far THE >music of choice of rebellious teenagers as well as the rest of the core >popular-music-consuming public. << Whoever wrote these comments is right on the mark. Rock isn't dead, but if a kid wants to annoy his parents with his music, he isn't going to do it with rock, because that's what his parents are listening to. Hip/hop does the job now. If you disagree, just pick a teenager (unless you live on a farm in Iowa) and ask him/her what he/she listens to. There's a few square ones out there still hanging on to rock, but most are listening to hip/hop. XTC fans prided themselves for being on the cutting edge when they discovered the band 20 years ago (and we were), but to your average kid today who listens to Public Enemy or Snoop Doggy Dog, XTC is nearly the relative equivalent of listening to Air Supply. And I think Andy would agree. When asked what the young Andy would think of the music he is making today, he answered: "Oh, he'd be repulsed. He'd be totally repulsed. He'd think it was really middle of the road. He'd think it was kind of, I don't know, his parents' light entertainment shoved through a strimmer or something." Face it, everybody -- we listen to square music (see, even my use of the word "square" proves how square I really am); XTC is out of fashion, untrendy, conciliatory, easy-going, happy music for people over 30. And I'll take that over hip-hop anytime. Bob O'Bannon
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 12:14:38 +0200 (MET DST) From: Martin van Rappard <rappard@dds.nl> Subject: Andy(s Demos) on Autoreserve Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.90.990716121055.7461C-100000@fatima.dds.nl> This was posted on the Big Takeover list - the BTO is an excellent music mag, and its latest issue (#44) features our heroes on the cover and an very funny interview. Unfortunately it's too long to type it up here, but I'll see if I can get it on a XTC website somewhere. "on a similar but unrelated note (not really), I've written an article about the beloved Andy Partridge on the subject of his unreleased home recordings for my magazine AUTOreverse. Along with the article on the website is a 45-minute mix of various Partridge demos that you've probably never heard before, in streaming Real Audio. Please check it out and let me know what you think! http://www.autoreverse.net/ Talking of box sets, the planned box set of XTC demos, "Fuzzy Warbles" sounds like a good idea. I think. cheers, Ian C Stewart" Sincerely, Martin http://members.xoom.com/rappard
------------------------------ From: JStrole@aol.com Message-ID: <f3131abe.24c08436@aol.com> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 08:48:54 EDT Subject: The The news; What about XTC? Matt Johnson was in NYC a couple of months ago recording the new The The record. According to the owner of the studio, he was very noisey (music wise) and used some old vintage effect boxes. This information is second-hand, so don't come to me if the new record is his homage to Burt Bacharach. Can anyone explain why just about every '80's unsung band deserved mention in the recent Aimee Mann article except XTC? Dave Gregory even toured with her (and we can only imagine what else, wink, wink, nod, nod) a couple of years ago. Plus, don't we all think it's rather absurd that XTC would tour with Guided By Voices? If anything, the more likely scenerio, from the statement as it appeared in these 'hills recently, would be Andy & Colin touring as part of GBV and playing a couple of songs within the set. Even this, I highly doubt. Let's face it, Elvis is dead, Julian cannot replace John for a Beatles reunion and XTC will not tour. Though these maybe dissapointing facts, they're facts still the same. I will believe differently when I see it. Harry
------------------------------
From: dan@gge.com
Message-ID: <378F87AE.CF659122@gge.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 12:28:03 -0700
Subject: the state of diy
adrian wrote:
>Hip-hop/jungle/ambient/trance/trip-hop/drum'n'bass (and suchlike other
>variants) symbolise todays 'New Wave' of music IMHO.
>It has the same 'DIY' element as Punk/New Wave; it can be thrown together
>at home (on a half decent PC), you don't have to be technically proficient
>(musically) to play it, and it mostly appeals to those under 25.
i'm with you on that. i think it differs from the punk d.i.y. ethic
though, in that in the styles you cited and with todays standards being
what they are, its no longer enough to just write "music" (use your own
definition) and produce & release it. nowadays it has to be "good". it
has to be polished, well produced, and have killer graphics. true, this
is easier to accomplish today than it was for kids (i'm going to use
that term to mean 'people under 25 who are releasing their own
independent music') making punk records in the 80s. they most likely
didn't have cd burners, digital recording equipment, desktop publishing
capabilities, etc. a 45 rpm single recorded on a 4-track in someones
garage with a xerox-copied cover just doesn't cut it anymore.
i guess what i'm trying to figure out is: what exactly is [the
equivilant to] "garage" music now? and exactly how are people utilizing
new media and communications to distribute it? and is there still an
aversion to "selling out"? alot of punk bands stayed punk on principle
and never tried to get signed, even turned down offers in the interest
of not compromising the music and to remain equals with their fans
("scene" in the vernacular). i know i'm cherishing an ideal here, but i
hope this attitude still exists in grass roots music.
xtc content:
um.... i really like them.
-dan
------------------------------ From: RMJENN@aol.com Message-ID: <4a658738.24c0fc71@aol.com> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 17:21:53 EDT Subject: XTC Interviews and English Settlement Greetings Chalkhillians: I've been enjoying the digest for a couple of weeks now and thought I'd introduce myself by letting everyone know that there is a long (11 pages) interview of Andy and Colin in the latest issue (#44) of The Big Takeover (see the website at <www.bigtakeover.com>). For those of you unfamiliar with this magazine, it is a large (200+ pages), obsessively detailed (as many of us are) journal of "music with heart" that is published twice a year. Look for it at your local indie record store or indie book store (I even saw it at a Barnes & Noble once). Next, there is an interview that Andy and Colin did back in March for a radio program called "The Open Road" that is available in Real Audio on the KCRW website <www.kcrw.org>. I highly recommend it -- the boys are in rare form. Finally, just to speak my peace on the debate about English Settlement vs. [your favorite album here]. ES was the new XTC album when I was introduced to them and I was instantly hooked on the breadth and the quality of the songs on the album. Without a doubt, I have listened to this album more than any other in my collection (of course, it's been out for 17 years or so). Any subsequent (and even prior) efforts are inevitably compared to ES and it's a hard act to follow. I'm not really crazy about their early "punky" stuff. I can hear hints of what ES would become when listening to Black Sea. I was somewhat disappointed in Mummer and The Big Express when they came out (although they have grown on me over the years); but, thinking back, at that time I was in the midst of a rather bleak period in my life. Skylarking blew me away the first time I heard it (driving through the Alabama countryside late at night) -- I can see why this album is many people's favorite. Oranges & Lemons and Nonsuch are solid efforts, as is AV1. As Andy says in the Big Takeover interview, XTC seems to be getting better as their career progresses. My point is probably obvious by now: my opinion about any XTC album is based as much on my particular experience with it as it is on any intrinsic "greatness" in the album. Your experience is different and so your choice may be different. And that's O.K. :~) Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for listening. Bob
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990716232046.22348.qmail@nwcst286.netaddress.usa.net> Date: 16 Jul 99 18:20:46 CDT From: Mor_Goth <mor_goth@usa.net> Subject: Rock'll never die man!! Plus... XTC Interview in My little contribution to the "Rock is dead, or at least has a case of terminal diarreah" thread: Personally I reject the whole premise behind the argument. Let me explain.. no that would take too long... let me sum up. Rock, hip-hop, R&B, they are all categories artificially imposed on one basic thing: music. Rock can't be replaced by anything because there is no such thing as "rock", merely a broad spectrum of musical styles which flow and interact with each other continuously in the theater of pop culture. Who is to say that the Beastie Boys aren't "rock" in a sense, that Puff-Daddy isn't making "rock and roll" music sometimes? Its like arguing the finer points of the exact meaning of "supercallafragalisticexpialadocious", meaningless, and maybe a bit silly if you really think it through. In other words, to sum up my summation in the words of a most elegant poet I once heard: "I want to give them all one big label that categorizes everything: *This Is Pop*!" Oh, apologies if this has already been posted. I was recently at ye ol' tobaccee' shop and saw a magazine called "The Big Takeover" which not only had a nice interview with XTC in it, but also featured da boys on the cover. There's nothing new in the article that loyal Chalkies wouldn't know already, but it is quite amusing and complimentary. Resigned as clown, Gravestone
------------------------------ From: JStrole@aol.com Message-ID: <16c2775f.24c11db1@aol.com> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 19:43:45 EDT Subject: Capt. Sensible, Andy Partridge, Robyn Hitchcock and their pets Peter Jarrett you are right, Andy has worked with Capt. Sensible. WOT?! You are all saying at your screens right now. In 1989, Capt. Sensible released an album called "Revolution Now." It's sort of a B-sides, what-he's-been-up-to-lately type of thing. On it five songs are co-written by Martin Newell. One is co-written by Captain Stupid, who turns out to be none other than Robyn Hitchcock (you cannot miss his unmistakable vocal). "The Kamikaze Millionaire" contains the harmonica playing of one "Howlin' Wilf" (yes, Wilf). The harmonica part and the moniker are distinctly the one and only Andy Partridge. As a return favor Capt. Sensible plays guitar on one of the tracks on "The Greatest Living Englishman," produced by Andy P. "Revolution Now" is a wonderfully-trippy album with little vignettes between the songs and if you liked The Damned or Capt.'s solo stuff you will dig this. BTW when my wife met The Capt. at a Damned reunion show a year or so ago, she mentioned RN and said, "Someone over here (the USA) owns that?!" and was quite genuinely surprised. Harry
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990718025521.007cc100@popmail.iol.it> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 02:55:21 +0200 From: Giovanni Giusti <giovanni@delizia.com> Subject: DIY CDs, and a defense of record companies Todd Bernhardt wrote: >Now fans have the capability (as they always have, to a degree, if they >wanted to buy singles or samplers, or make their own mixes) and, more >important, the _convenience_ of _only_ buying the "sweets" and missing out >on the meat and potatoes, which used to come included as part of a meal >served up by a particular artist. (...) > >How to balance this? Well, the Internet and direct marketing of music by >musicians to fans may be an answer, as may new guidelines for royalty >payments negotiated by musicians for songs included on such Frankenstein >CDs, but don't count The Industry out yet. (...) Well, true enough, I hadn't thought of that. I was only thinking about people downloading full CDs. BUT: Consider that "Best of 1999" CDs are already the most bought CDs of all anyway (second come "Best of" CDs from a particular artist: maybe it's that most "commercial" artists serve s**t as their meat and potatoes?). I work in close contact with the media (not record) industry, and I have learned that not all things are so black and white as in "artist good, company bad". Most major record companies love to have good artists in their catalogs, not only commercial crap. Fact is, they can't afford to give them the publicity and distribution, because, uh, most people love commercial crap (otherwise it wouldn't be "commercial" at all), and more "difficult" artists just sell less. So they still keep them on their catalog, but give them less importance. With a cheaper and more convenient distribution, both artists and record companies are happy. (The problem with the Internet so far is that nobody has managed to make it inconvenient for people to download music without paying for it - and that record companies aren't happy to be cut out of the deal. This new distribution method, of making CDs on-the-spot in the record store, would keep the companies happy.) Don't be so angry at the record companies: XTC are now a cult group, but without Virgin's promotional effort at the beginning of their career, how many of us would never have heard of them? Record companies invest a *lot* of money on young musicians, most of the times at a loss. Then, when their music ticks with the audience, can we blame them for trying to squeeze the extra dollar out of it? Do you know how much money Virgin lost when Mr. Partridge got his stage fright? Still, they stuck with XTC for years... until they started rarefying their *albums* so much that only cult followers remembered them from one to the next. That's not something that a major record label can afford. I met a lot of dedicated and earnest people at record companies big and small. I also met a few sharks, *especially* at the smaller, supposedly more "artist-friendly" labels - who are even more desperate for money on a day-by-day basis, and, although they may not question an artist's musical choices, do give them pittances for their recordings (and often end up not paying the bills). So the new distribution method would not change things much for the worse: at least some people might include an XTC song in their compilations! Have you ever seen them in the "Big hits of '99"? Giovanni
------------------------------ Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990718031143.007cd550@popmail.iol.it> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 03:11:43 +0200 From: Giovanni Giusti <giovanni@delizia.com> Subject: Discovered new XTC fan Imagine how wonderful it was to discover, just yesterday, that one of my coworkers is an XTC fan too! With a total workforce of 20, that wasn't very likely either. A real stroke of luck. Oh, she's not as crazy for them as I am, but still likes them a lot and owns quite a few (not all) of their CDs. I promptly offered her a copy of the XTC-scheme for her computer, but alas! Hers does not have audio. No more uninteresting babble. Giovanni
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3792951B.4B@gte.net> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 20:01:47 -0700 From: "May O'Mahoney" <may5272@gte.net> Subject: Interpretation Is Prohibited! Rich Bunnell wrote in response to my 'interpretation' of 'Travels in Nihilon': > Nope, nothing that profound or anything--it's just a recording of Steve > Lillywhite's shower head, according to Song Stories. Ah-ha! A shower head! What Rich missed in my previous post was the fact that I was merely expressing my PERSONAL opinion on the matter. Art in any form will have as many interpretations as there are individuals who come in contact with it. ********************** If you want your faith restored in music I would highly suggest going to see Mr. Adrian Belew if his tour stops near your town. I had no idea what I was getting myself into before the show and now look back on it as nothing less than inspirational. He is a wonderful musician with a lot of love for his music as well as his audience. Yes, yes, I know for a sarcastic cynic this IS gushing but believe me, I rarely gush. Equally wonderful was his opening band, The Irresponsibles. Adrian Belew produced their cd "When Pigs Fly" that I now gladly have in my possession. I can almost safely say that if you're an English Settlement, Oranges and Lemons, AV1 type of XTC fan you just might really really like this band. You can check them out at: www.esmillennium.com/irresponsibles OR www.murple.com/irresponsibles Yours Truly, May O'Mahoney
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990719195733.26038.rocketmail@web120.yahoomail.com> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 15:57:33 -0400 (EDT) From: Jon Rosenberger <wile1coyote@yahoo.com> Subject: $105 for a Used Sweatshirt!?!?! Greetings Chalkites, Far be it from me "Mr. XTC Consumer" to judge the purchase decisions of others but this one has to be recorded permanently in the archives, so I submit for your reading edification. ""How Phil put the kids through college"". An auction on the infamous Ebay site ended today with Chalkhills own Phil Corless profiting to the tune of $105 for an Uffington Horse Chalkhills sweatshirt that he had lying about the house. I am amazed at the rabidity of XTC fans. Enjoy the Sweatshirt SoalCoal and I hope it fits. ;~) Phil, maybe you should sell all your shirts this way. You could retire on one batch. Congrats!! And while I am posting I will weigh in on one more recent topic between recently bandied about between Mark and Duncan "Are the singles worth it?". Mark - I agree with you, the Apple Venus 1 singles are really pretty cool and I am glad that I own them. And: Dunks - I agree with you as well, I wouldn't pay that much for them and if I had to chose I would definitly get the Hendrix Set. I purchased it recently and it rocks. Hope you like it. Hopefully we can all learn from this very mature exchange of views. Thanks guys. Cheers All themolefromtheministry
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-234 *******************************
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