Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 263
Date: Thursday, 2 September 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 263
Thursday, 2 September 1999
Today's Topics:
Re: "Green Man" garden fountain on Ebay
re: streams, etc.
100% on topic and in your face!
Shame on Shamus!
SEC: CLASSIFIED EYES ONLY TOP SECRET
Bests and Worsts
That noise!
It's Older Than You Think
A Testimonial
CROWDED WHA???
mmm...Kraftwerk...
Pink Things
A recommendation
All Scratched up :(
Shriekback
odd
Re: Rags & Bones
Making a list and checking it twice...
thanx 4 xmas
Everything
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-Id: <4.2.0.58.19990831220210.00b4e420@worden.electric.net> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 22:03:11 -0700 From: dh <dh@monkey-boy.com> Subject: Re: "Green Man" garden fountain on Ebay At 08:31 PM 8/31/99 -0700, you wrote: >From: STakesh@aol.com > >http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=154511378 > >This is not quite as awful as it sounds, but it wouldn't >suit just any garden, (or gardener) either! Apparently >there is a market niche for everything under the sun. Now, had we known earlier, we could have banded together and bought both Andy and Colin one. I'm sure they'd proudly display it in their gardens... (chortling with delight) |We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million |typewriters will eventually reproduce the works of Shakespeare. |Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. | http://www.monkey-boy.com |David Hathaway, CEO Of monkey-boy industries, dh@monkey-boy.com
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990901152958.27059.rocketmail@web203.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 08:29:58 -0700 (PDT) From: fflynt <fflynt@yahoo.com> Subject: re: streams, etc. > fflynt, I beg you - use some punctuation and hey - >maybe even try a paragraph now and then? It works >wonders. Syou're right. i tried it and saw spinoza move the mountainS > that ee cummings stuff is SO over. Sis that so? 's not cummings though, 's fflynt too lazy to hit the shift keyS Sthank you for your inputS
------------------------------ From: dan@gge.com Message-ID: <37CD4F98.415FDC24@gge.com> Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 09:09:02 -0700 Subject: 100% on topic and in your face! >.. oh, and then I remember "You're a Good Man Albert Brown". Absolutely hideous. there was a video for '...albert brown' ?! * -------------------------------------- >I didn't want the "retarded masses" to get a hold >of AV1 (which they would most definatly do if it was played on the radio, >due to the "radio plays it, it must be cool, I will be cool if I buy it" >mentality) show me a person who shops for music with this philosophy and i'll show you a person who says "if xtc plays it, it must be cool, i will be cool if i buy it." spare me. * --------------------------------------- >I recently purchased the XTC tribute album, A >Testimonial Dinner. Any opinions out there from other listers? my favorite track on that is ruben blades' "man who sailed..." i love where he took that song. my favorite thing about cover songs in general is to see how people interpret them and make them their own. that's why i didn't like t.m.b.g's "25 o'clock" very much; it is almost indistinguishable from the dukes' original. (donning asbestos suit) * ------------------------------------------ best of xtc, sept. 1, 1999: 1. "jason & the argonauts" 2. chalkhills thread praising "mummer" 3. nicole copying some demos for me 4. the segue from "living thru another cuba" into "love at first sight" 5. "i remember the sun" you're only lit once and you must stand and radiate correctly, dan
------------------------------ From: unna@worldmailer.com Date: 1 Sep 1999 09:32:51 -0700 Message-ID: <19990901163251.18710.cpmta@c008.sfo.cp.net> Subject: Shame on Shamus! Do you hate what you fear? Do you want to kill what you don't understand? Do you want a world where everything you don't like just goes away? Do you think that all around the world every boy and every girl, babies at the breast, those in power and those opressed... need the loving - but not Phish??? People shouldn't get sucked into generalizations between Phish and the GD. I think you could draw a very clear line between Phish and Rush, you know, two bands with technical prowess and the ability to write pieces as well as songs. Shoot, I could draw a line between Phish and George Gershwin if I wanted to! And, when you say "Phish's relevance to the song-based nature of xtc is minimal" I can only reply, "huh?" Must something be similar to be relevant? I think you ought to consider signing the petition to get Phish to cover an XTC album this year (or next!). I mean think of it! You'd be proving your loyalty to XTC, and maybe doing your part to re-program the Phisheads you have such an aversion to. Wouldn't it be ironic to have a stadium full of Phish fans singing "We're all so ridiculous tonight!"
------------------------------
Message-ID: <37CD78D1.FAA723C5@averstar.com>
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 15:05:18 -0400
From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@averstar.com>
Organization: Averstar, Inc.
Subject: SEC: CLASSIFIED EYES ONLY TOP SECRET
Dunks, Iain:
Thanks for the entertainment, fellas. That was very amusing. I'm also very
gratified to know Iain's posts are in fact being vetted by no less
formidable an authority than the Australian Army--I was beginning to worry
that sensitive military information was being clandestinely broadcast to
our little playground: "I really dig the new Barenaked Ladies record,
"E-way Attack-yay Ingapore-say in the Orning-may, Pass It On."
Sending this one out to you both:
2 tomatoes
1 gallon whole milk
1 loaf wheat (Roman Meal is on special--check the SuperSaver aisle)
1 dozen eggs (Grade A Large, _extra_ genetically altered, please*)
fresh parsley
1 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 pound sliced provolone
1/4 pound smoked ham
beer
ice cream
Anybody else want to contribute? Please don't post to the list, email
instead to Iain.Murray.70428176@army.defence.gov.au and
dunks58@hotmail.com, who have graciously assented to collate the results
while holding hands, gazing deep into each others' eyes, and redoing the
kitchen in French Provincial.
Harrison "Complaining about lists is like shaving your legs about
Volkswagens" Sherwood
-----
* The Jonas Salks down at the Chicken Genome Project have discovered
that if you reverse just one guanine-cytosene base pair in the genomic
sequence in Autosome 12, you get eggs with butter, parmesan, and oregano
ALREADY IN 'EM! Just crack-n-scramble, baby! A-and they're workin' on
the elusive Salsa Gene right now! Better Living Through Chemistry!
------------------------------
From: "Robin Holden" <rhoblidnen@connectfree.co.uk>
Subject: Bests and Worsts
Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 20:45:06 +0100
Message-ID: <000101bef4b2$7e0ba140$829301d4@robin-holden>
Interesting...
> What is the best XTC single that never was?...
Probably Real By Reel. It had that jumpy poppy moshing kind of new wave
thang happening.
> Which is the best XTC song to be more or less a hidden gem (ie: it doesn't
> receive the plaudits of other songs around it on an album etc)?...
Don't Lose Your Temper or Take This Town (both similar beats). The air
takes a regular beating to these songs in my house. I don't think I've ever
seen them mentioned on this list. Anyone else love either of these?
> What is the best lyric on AV1?...
That's a bitter pill taken with rain,
That I'll swallow down with the swirling sky,
with the swirling sky...
I think that's due to the music underneath, too. Huge, expansive sounding.
Gives me goose pimples. Makes my scalp tense.
> The worst lyric on AV1?...
Knights in shining karma tend your flame.
Again, this is probably because of the music. Just sounds too much like a
musty old hymn for me.
> When you first heard the album, what did you think should have been the
> first single?...
Your Dictionary. Hell, they'd get noticed, wouldn't they?
> Which song on The Transistor Belt Sessions do you most prefer to the
> original?...
Belt...? OK. When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty has something a bit
rougher-edged to it, which I like. No Thugs In Our House, equally, as well
as Meccanic Dancing.
> Which song on Transistor Belt Live in Concert does it the most for you?...
With Barry, Radios In Motion. The way Andy yells, "It's bouncin' of a ocean
liner" just makes me wish I'd been alive to see them play around that time.
With Dave, Optimism's Flames or This Is Pop, because they seem to be having
so much fun. I was born in Hammersmith, so I must have been just down the
road from that concert, pissing in my sleep.
> What non-XTC subject would you most want to chat to Andy, Colin, Dave
> about?...
Andy: Blur. Colin: his bass technique. Dave: anything, 'cos he seems like
such a nice bloke.
> What XTC subject Would You most like to discuss?
Terry Chambers, and a conversation beginning with the phrase "How the hell
do you play [insert song here]".
> Which unreleased XTC song do you like best?...
Haven't heard any, to my knowledge.
> What are your 5 favourite XTC Songs (in no order)?
Oh, shit...
Respectable Street
That Wave
Mayor of Simpleton
English Roundabout
Outside World
Make sense of that, then.
love Robin
--
"The strongest oaths are straw
To th'fire i'th'blood." -- The Tempest
Check out http://listen.to/pathogen
Also view http://surf.to/robinholden
------------------------------ Message-Id: <s7cd518a.035@OAG.STATE.TX.US> Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 16:16:48 -0600 From: "Steve Oleson" <Steve.Oleson@OAG.STATE.TX.US> Subject: That noise! In C-hills, Cathy spake: I think we should do this with all of the albums. I have a number of favorite spots on Mummer. Starting with the weird middle in Love on a farm boys wages. The music right after Andy sings "And its breaking my back" . It is like a noise-maker or something. I love to dance to that. You know like some cheesy choreographed move the Solid Gold dancers would do. Awesome. <<< The instrument that makes that noise is called a Vibra-Slap. It is a strange contraption that looks as if a cowbell mated with a wooden clothes hanger. -Steve Oleson Austin
------------------------------
Message-ID: <37CDA387.556F8FDB@averstar.com>
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 18:07:51 -0400
From: Harrison Sherwood <sherwood@averstar.com>
Organization: Averstar, Inc.
Subject: It's Older Than You Think
Sigh.
Do I have to do *everything* around here?
There's no zarking way Zappa said that thing about dancing about
architecture. You're getting it mixed up with the one he _did_ say,
which was: "Rock journalism is people who can't write, preparing stories
based on interviews with people who can't talk, in order to amuse people
who can't read." (Source: _Frank Zappa in His Own Words_, by Miles,
Omnibus Press, 1993) The other thing he said was, "'Conducting' is when
you draw 'designs' in the nowhere -- with your stick, or with your hands
-- which are interpreted as 'instructional messages' by guys wearing bow
ties who wish they were fishing," which is pretty funny.
No, it wasn't Zappa, and it wasn't Mingus, and it wasn't Burroughs, and
it wasn't Martin Frigging Mull. (*Really*, now!)
After an exhaustive, weeks-long search, the rigor and vigilance of which
would have shamed the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, a
veritable marathon of studly, testosterone-soaked research that has so
hyperdeveloped my souped-up, mag-wheeled, air-cooled, hemi-powered brain
that I now resemble those bald, veiny-scalped hydrocephalics from the
original Star Trek, I present for your delectation the definitive source
for the maxim.
For writen clerkes, who toile in hilles of chalke,
Yet, pardee, faile their thoughtes to expresse,
May Euterpe kinde be, and teche them to talke;
But natheless, they sholde not holde their brethe.
For to writen aboute musique, the sauge man doth assure
Is lyke to rys and daunce aboute architecture.
As quod the Andrew Perdix, never shorte of aught to saye,
"I woulde fain have made this instrumental
but the wordes got in the waye."
Geoffrey Chaucer,
Troilus and Criseyde
Book II, lines 1205-12
1386 C.E.
I hope this puts this silly matter to rest once and for all.
Harrison "You could look it up" Sherwood
P.S.: Say, does anybody want to trade me this bitchen Lickytung for an
old holographic Charizard you got lying around?
------------------------------ From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Message-ID: <852567DF.005D20F3.00@fdlnata10.fdnet.com> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 13:12:00 -0400 Subject: A Testimonial Danielle said: << I recently purchased the XTC tribute album, A Testimonial Dinner. Any opinions out there from other listers?>> Since I'm a covers nut AND an XTC fan, I knew the release would be worthwhile, and it is. My complaint would be that on the whole the covers are very unimaginative; they seem to exist more as duplications instead of interpretations. One noteworthy exception is the Ruben Blades' "Man Who Sailed around his Soul", with a touch of salsa rhythm and the trumpet, it's what I wish the others had been. I mean, if you can't add anything to it, or put your own spin on it, why bother? Of course, it's a "must have" for "the Good Things"... Bob NP: Dead Kennedys, "Kill the Poor"
------------------------------
Message-ID: <19990902001137.4293.qmail@ww156.netaddress.usa.net>
Date: 1 Sep 99 17:11:36 PDT
From: vee tube <veetube@netscape.net>
Subject: CROWDED WHA???
That should have read...
Melissa asked:
And how did the "masses" respond when your POS (my term,not hers) bar band
played...
...Crowded ROOM! (Go)
Short answer, not very well (unfortunately)
Sorry for any confusion and, My deepest apologies to all fans of
Crowded House.
And now, on with the show.
Someone said (sorry [again] I can't quote chapter and verse)
"A lot of Frank Zappa can sound annoying" Actually, A LITTLE fz IS!
annoying!
Nothing against "Schooled" musicians but, DAMN! Which brings up another
subject.
To "earn enough for us" is difficult even with a "Real" job. To do it in
the
"Biz" can be downright painful. Therefore, I would like to take this moment
to
whish ALL musicians (and their fans)...
"Nuttin'But Luv" }---:)
COMING SOON:
"The Ballad Of Mr. Winky Fish" (Home demo)
Included FREE on the forth coming "Watermelon Uranus" CD
Tar Tar For Now.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990902022904.46325.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com> Subject: mmm...Kraftwerk... Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 19:29:03 PDT Giovanni Giusti inquired-- >>I've gotten "Copacabana" stuck in my head >>before; this doesn't mean I like Barry Manilow better than something >> >>like Kraftwerk or Underworld. > >Why, you can't hum Kraftwerk? ah, yes, you are quite right-- in the passion of writing I forgot that I *do* indeed hum Kraftwerk quite often. It's usually from something more melodic, like the _Computer World_ album, but, as you say, there is something quite fun about singing "We are the robots". Actually, I was thinking about this last night, coincidentally enough-- I was listening to Plastikman (or, as my best friend puts it, "mmm...Plastik..."), and I was thinking he might have been a better choice for music I don't hum, but then I realized I've been known to hum just about anything... m.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130300b3f39c53af81@[63.23.192.71]> Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 00:26:41 -0400 From: MinerWerks <dminer@gte.net> Subject: Pink Things Fellow Chalkers, Nice to see all the comments on "Pink Thing," spurred by my little story. Janis VanCourt wrote a few digests back: >And I can't imagine anyone but the most sexually squeamish individual ever >being repulsed or offended by this song; it's too freaking cute. Just to clarify, as well, that the person I was talking with didn't find the song "repulsive" in the extreme that some people took my words to mean. In fact, the person I was talking with must have a stronger stomach than me, for they wanted me to listen to Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads." That's an experience I won't soon forget. From this, I also gathered that a "bubbly" song like "Pink Thing" doesn't really fit her usual listening habits. The person I was talking to didn't hear the baby side of the song at first, and you'd have to admit that a man singing a thinly veiled ode to masturbation isn't necessarily appealing (unless you like really clever lyrics, like me, I suppose). For the record, I would answer that the song is about both - a baby and a penis. Double meanings are one of my favorite aspects of a lot of songs, and Andy uses them so well. On another note: Pouring over some of the recent digests, I was reminded just how diverse the opinions are on XTC's music... admittedly, this is the only forum I participate in that really gets into the catalogue of a band I admire. However, from the people I've met, I rarely see as much disagreement in say, the catalogues of The Beatles or They Might Be Giants or (don't laugh!) The Monkees... We don't go very long before someone mentions how much they like a song, and somoene else mentions how much they *don't* like it (or vice versa)... this happened with "Omnibus" recently, as an example. Just a stray observation. * * * * Giovanni wrote: >(BTW "Grass" was the main soundtrack of a tormented love story I had at the >time. It's still one of the very few songs - all of them XTC - I can sing >to a woman to woo her.) Wow. Perhaps this is a method I should investigate. * * * * In reference to Iain's album poll: Wow, Barenaked Ladies' "Maybe You Should Drive" made the top five? If I'm missing out on some masterpiece here, I would love for the people who voted to fill me in. I was doing college radio when it originally came out, and I remember not finding it as interesting as "Gordon." I didn't find another BNL album as cohesive until "Stunt" came out this year. * * * * And lastly, in reference to Jeff Thomas' buying spree: Since you bought the second albums by Fountains of Wayne and Jason Falkner, I highly recommend buying the previous efforts. Falkner's first (solo) disc, in particular, is a wowzer. You might even be wise to go back to some Jellyfish. It should be easy to find "Spilt Milk" in a used CD shop. The Owsley disc and Sugar's "Copper Blue" are great - you should really enjoy those when you get them. And I'll reiterate something Jeff pointed out - that the Beatles "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" is due out on September 14th (at least in the U.S. it is). In case you hadn't heard, they actually went back and did all new remixes from the master tapes for this release. Heresy? Perhaps, but it certainly piques my interest that we can hear classics like "Nowhere Man," "All You Need Is Love," and "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" for the first time without the mixes being dictated by only having had four tracks to record on before everything had to be "bounced down" a generation. The movie will also be available on VHS and DVD the same day, with a full digital surround soundtrack, featuring footage that was never included in the original release. I'm so excited I could burst... no matter how much I love XTC, The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" will win out in my book, that is unless I actually was going to see Andy and Colin in person... = Derek =
------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 23:27:47 -0400 Subject: A recommendation Message-ID: <19990902.005700.-342143.0.MollyFa@juno.com> From: Molly E Fanton <mollyfa@juno.com> I just heard this great non-XTC band, World Party. The album is Bang!. I just find this album very melodic and just fun to listen to. Karl Wallenger is another one of those artists that just get me going. This album has been out for a while, but I just put it in my CD player and started listening. I just love the songs: Giving It All Away and What Is Love All About?. What do you guys and gals think of World Party? Molly
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 00:56:52 -0400 Subject: All Scratched up :( Message-ID: <19990902.005700.-342143.3.MollyFa@juno.com> From: Molly E Fanton <mollyfa@juno.com> I just listened to AV1 a while ago, and I was planning on taping it for my brother, when I discovered a scratch on it. I was taking good care of it. It started skipping during "Fruit Nut". I love this album, and I scratched it. I take care of all my CDs so this thing doesn't happen. Does anybody know what I can do? I don't really want to buy another copy, because this is my autographed copy. (starts to cry) *sniff* I want to get rid of that darn scratch. *sniff* :( Molly
------------------------------
Message-Id: <l03130301b3f40dfd858d@[208.13.202.220]>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 07:28:31 -0400
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Shriekback
>I've heard one Shriekback song, "Nemesis". ("Big black nemesis!
>Parthenogenesis!") Is that a novelty song or a good example of their
>work? I like it anyway.
>
>Michael davies
>miser17@epix.net
Well, don't expect every XTC song to sound like, say, "Senses Working
Overtime." It's their best song, IMO, but the album it comes from, Oil And
Gold, is also their best to start with. The followup, Big Night Music, is
also good, but more organic, more R&B and soul influenced. Subsequent
albums go even more in that direction and lack all members of the original
lineup save Andrews himself. Drummer Martyn Barker shows up occasionally as
a session drummer, and I hear Dave Allen was back for their most recent
album, but mostly it's the Andrews Show. Their fifth album, Go Bang! the
only other one I have besides their first album, Care(which is an OK groove
album but nothing to write home about)is a case in point, complete with a
KC and The Sunshine Band and a brace of cheerful and cheeky originals, but
little of the menace that made Oil and Gold so effective.
Christopher R. Coolidge
Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html
"A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has 10
GREAT laws.
A Good law protects me from you. Laws against murder, theft,
assault and the like are good laws.
A Poor law attempts to protect me from myself."
- Unknown
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199909021454.AA27626@axtx0060.scent.mccaw.com>
From: steve mcallister <steve.mcallister-next@attws.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 99 09:54:10 -0500
Subject: odd
. . . so I'm tooling around on this really cool site: www.w3cd.com which
is an online record/cd shop that has new and used stuff.
Naturally I dial up XTC and come up with all sorts of hip stuff including
something called "Homespun" for $13.18 (US). It is on CD and the release
date is listed as 10/12/99.
Anyone know what this is? Is it the XTC we know and love? Is this,
indeed, the demo-disc we've heard so much about? If so, why is it available
now if the release date listed is a month off?
Questions, questions, questions?
anyone got answers?
you knew this job was dangerous when you took it
sm
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130302b3f412147b62@[208.13.202.220]> Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 07:53:28 -0400 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Re: Rags & Bones >After reading Tyler's post about AV2 and hard rock. I just got something >funny in my brain. What if XTC turned heavy metal? Yeah, Andy singing a >good head banging song. Get this thought out of my brain. I don't >picture him doing heavy metal. He's no Ted Nugent or Angus Young >(AC/DC). :P > >Molly The closest they've come that I can think of is "Reign Of Blows," or maybe even "Sgt Rock." I could hear both of those done in a more edgy techno metal style, like mid-80's Judas Priest, maybe. >What is the best XTC single that never was?... >Grass/Jump (These two songs are my two fave songs from them. I don't >have a good reason why I like them though.) Since I never buy singles anymore, I have no idea. >Which is the best XTC song to be more or less a hidden gem (ie: it >doesn't >receive the plaudits of other songs around it on an album etc)?... Smokeless Zone >What is the best lyric on AV1?... All of River Of Orchids >The worst lyric on AV1?... >"Spraying my buds." (Just because I always think Colin's singing, >"Spraying my butt." :) I'd go with that one. >When you first heard the album, what did you think should have been the >first single?... >Your Dictionary (Oh, that would be interesting to see what the FCC would >do) River Of Orchids. Hey, I'm nothing if not perverse. >What non-XTC subject would you most want to chat to Andy, Colin, Dave >about?... Andy:politics, Colin: his garden, Dave: his future endeavors. >What XTC subject Would You most like to discuss? I'd play them my answer song from God, "Dear Andy." >Which unreleased XTC song do you like best?... >I'm not sure, I haven't heard many. Young Cleopatra, no contest. >What are your 5 favourite XTC Songs (in no order)? >Oh this is very hard. Isn't it. All Of A Sudden River Of Orchids Runaways Love On A Farmboy's Wages Wrapped In Grey Christopher R. Coolidge Homepage at http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html "A Great law protects me from the government. The Bill of rights has 10 GREAT laws. A Good law protects me from you. Laws against murder, theft, assault and the like are good laws. A Poor law attempts to protect me from myself." - Unknown
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990902160413.235.rocketmail@web117.yahoomail.com> Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 09:04:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Tyler Hewitt <tahewitt@yahoo.com> Subject: Making a list and checking it twice... While I agree in principle with those people who have posted with their feelings towards 'best of' lists, I also feel that within this context (an e-mail fan group) it does far less harm than it would elsewhere. Those of you interested in lists, statistical sampling, etc. and how they can effect what you see and hear, you Must check out the Komar and Melamid web page (part of the dia center for the art's page) at www.diacenter.org/km Basically, these two artists conducted market recearch surveys in a dozen countries to see what people most wanted/liked and least wanted/liked in art. From the dia center page:"The Most Wanted paintings, as well as the Least Wanted paintings, reflect the artists' interpretation of a professional market research survey about aesthetic preferences and taste in painting. Intending to discover what a true "people's art" would look like, the artists, with the support of the Nation Institute, hired Marttila & Kiley, Inc. to conduct the first poll. In 1994, they began the process which resulted in America's Most Wanted and America's Least Wanted paintings, which were exhibited in New York at the Alternative Museum under the title "People's Choice." ...the artists expanded their market research to more than a dozen countries around the globe and in turn, created Most Wanted and Least Wanted paintings for each country. Digitized versions of the paintings and the survey statistics which inform them are made available to the public through Dia's web site." The results are outstanding and hysterically funny, and have also been published in a book. Perhaps even more intersting to all of you, they then did the same thing with music! They conducted a survey on the web, asking people what they most liked and disliked about music, lyric content, insturmentation, etc. They then teamed up with Dave Soldier of the Soldier String Quartet to write the Most Wanted and Unwanted songs. The results can be heard on a cd sold through the dia center's website. The most wanted song is about as bland and generic as you can imagine, with sappy lyrics. THe most unwanted song, however, is over 21:00 in length, features accordion, bagpipes, banjo, tuba, a children's choir, an operatic soprano RAPPING cowboy-song lyrics, etc. It is completely hysterical, and has to be heard to be believed. I first heard this on National Public Radio while driving, and we had to pull off the road, we were laughing so hard. Check this stuff out! it really is amusing, and helps to keep market research in check.
------------------------------ From: dan@gge.com Message-ID: <37CEA17F.45C0AE42@gge.com> Date: Thu, 02 Sep 1999 09:10:41 -0700 Subject: thanx 4 xmas >The worst "song" on the disc [rag & bone buffet] to my ears is "Thanks for Christmas" that is one of my favorite xtc songs! yes, it is so saccharine-sweet it makes me teeth ache, but that is what i like about it. i play it as soon as i wake up every xmas day and listen to it with my bailey's & coffee. it is the closest thing to my fantasy of andy doing a children's album come true. there is nothing cool, ironic, hip, cynical, humorous, or otherwise "rock n roll-ish" about it. besides, i think it was a commission from the bbc so its not like they (xtc) were just overtaken with holiday sentimentality when they (he?) wrote it. also, hold it up against any other "pop" xmas songs ever and it chews them up and spits 'em out! didn't read the long dunks post, dan
------------------------------ Message-ID: <EB3FE924F73DD11187E400805FEA8E81010A6855@bcbcmail.bcbc.bc.ca> From: "Macdonald, Robert " <RMacdonald@bcbc.bc.ca> Subject: Everything Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 10:06:36 -0700 Hey all. I never make time to do these things but I had to do it so I could answer the question about which unreleased song I like best. >>What is the best XTC single that never was?... Wrapped in Grey (yeah I know it was, but then of course it wasn't) >>Which is the best XTC song to be more or less a hidden gem (ie: it doesn't >>receive the plaudits of other songs around it on an album etc)?... When You're Near Me (I Have Difficulty) >>What is the best lyric on AV1?... "Stage Right......Now the son has died the father can be born". >>The worst lyric on AV1?... "If you could slide me from this wire Toasting fork I'll be done" (but it's still better than I could do!) >>When you first heard the album, what did you think should have been the >>first single?... Easter Theatre (Because it's the best song imho and none of the songs were radio friendly enough to be a hit. ) >>What non-XTC subject would you most want to chat to Andy, Colin, Dave >>about?... Jazz, Life, Comics, Design, Games >>What XTC subject Would You most like to discuss? Recording techniques, how Andy creates his demo's >>Which unreleased XTC song do you like best?... Everything >>What are your 5 favourite XTC Songs (in no order)? Are You Receiving Me?, Respectable Street, Wrapped in Grey, Easter Theatre, Senses Working Overtime. (All singles....hmmmm this was a hard list to make....I don't think it is necessarily a good indication of my preferences but rather my favourites for nostalgic reasons. ----------------------- Something else on my mind...... I was listening to various albums and songs the other day and I was wondering if anyone can think of another band that has used as much do do do doooo de da do do do's in their songs. (Let's call it scatting (as in the Jazz phrase) because that's all I can think of calling it.) I know it's one of XTC's trademark sounds but has anyone counted just how many songs they use it in? Does anyone else love it? Has anyone traced it back to the source...first use? Best use of it? Most use of it in one song? Do both Andy and Colin use it or just Andy? Get back to me on this one. Cheers - Rob Rob Macdonald Victoria, B.C.
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