Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 266
Date: Sunday, 12 September 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 266
Sunday, 12 September 1999
Today's Topics:
Is "Fruit Nut" Darker Than It Seems?
Re: A TMBG Dinner
Amazing but true XTC stories!
Testimonial Dinner, Volume II
Beatles Mono/Stereo...
Re: World Party
Dukes Warning Labels
Take This Town
Re: Toffee
Martin Newell Cassettes on CD
Re: Guitargonauts Surveyed
World Party / AN OFFER
The Ballad Of Mr.Winky Fish
More PARTY's
i brke for liens
Rag & Bone Buffet and Vietnam
Odd XTC connection
Goodnight Saigon, Tibet
Re: Song Stories
Re: Fruit Not
Heads Talking
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: WWi8064839@aol.com Message-ID: <cc9c707.25070d5a@aol.com> Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 20:52:42 EDT Subject: Is "Fruit Nut" Darker Than It Seems? After listening to "Fruit Nut," I believe that the protagonist has thoughts of poisoning his wife! "I mix my poisons and the wife don't complain." Also, the weird vocal effect at the end suggests that he isn't sane... Wes Wilson XTC Specialist
------------------------------ Message-ID: <37D5B032.474D@ix.netcom.com> Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 17:39:14 -0700 From: Rich Bunnell <cbunnell@ix.netcom.com> Subject: Re: A TMBG Dinner > 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) Why does everyone say it's indistinguishable from the Dukes song? The first thing I noticed (I heard the Dukes version after the TMBG version, being a TMBG fan before an XTC one) was how more psychedelic the Dukes version was-- TMBG's version doesn't have the vocals delivered in a fragmented, gasping manner like ol' Sir John Johns(I wonder if that was the inspiration for the Johns to cover the song!), and it heavily stretches out the vocals in the chorus-- whereas the Dukes version goes "Of 25 O'CLOCK!" John Flansburgh sings it more like "25 O'CLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!" with Linnell on backing vocals. Musically it's quite similar; it just has a bit better production (but the point of the Dukes project was to imitate ol' times production) and since it's basically the same tune, what does it matter? I'd much rather listen to a similar-sounding tune than Freedy Johnston's wimpified "Earn Enough For Us" or the Verve Pipe's terrible macho crap rendition of "Wake Up." Speaking of Testimonial Dinner, I've added a review of it and Chips From The Chocolate Fireball on my XTC review page (at http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/taoster/xtc.htm -- that "_XOOM" nixes the annoying ad frame) -- those few of you who have added comments if you want to add comments for those albums go ahead, and those of you who haven't....umm.....GO NOW! I mean, the friggin' Bad Company page on the same review site is getting more comments! BAD COMPANY, for Christ's sake! Rich Bunnell
------------------------------
From: JEFFREY.THOMAS.JT@bayer-ag.de
Subject: Amazing but true XTC stories!
Message-Id: <0006800014849115000002L052*@MHS>
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 14:36:34 +0200
Hi "Kreideberger":
When: Saturday evening, 4 September 1999
Venue: Party for Kirsten, a friend who just moved into a new flat
What happened: As a housewarming gift, she received one of those amazing
Woolworth/K-Tel-style "4317 Greatest (S)Hits of the Decade!!!!" CDs,
usually full of B-Sides of Rick Springfield songs and whatever, with one
real hit and 5 others that made the Top 40 in Namibia, maybe. This
particular set was an 8 (!!) CD set of the greatest hits of the 80s (to me,
almost an impossible task, filling 8 CDs with great songs of the 80s; it
boggles the imagination, like trying to put together a "Best of Kansas"
record...), with incredible stuff like Stars on 45 ("...we can work it out,
remember Twist and Shout, la-la-la-la-la-la gave no reply-eye-eye...") and
the like on it.
Anyway, each of the 8 CDs had about 2 songs really worth hearing (whereby I
must mention that the Chalkhills thread from about 97 digests back about
"bad" music becoming good music can apply here, I found myself bopping
along to some really bad stuff). One CD ended with the Stanglers' "Golden
Brown", certainly an interesting number. And then came #8, and the 2nd
song was "Lucky Number" by Lene Lovich, so I thought to myself, "Well,
that's that for this CD, no more good ones'll come for awhile now!" But
then, out of the blue, came song no. 4.....
choppy acoustic guitar...
simple, tightly-tuned, "bongo"-style toms...
"Hey, hey, night fights day..."
MY GOD, IT WAS SENSES WORKING OVERTIME!!!!
Needless to say, I was AMAZED! I grabbed that package with pictures of
Kajagoogoo and Pat Benatar and whoever else on it, looked, and there it
was, in black & white: XTC. On a Greatest Hits compilation! That *really*
boggles the mind! Wow, the evening was a success!
This really happened, honest!
That's it from your roving reporter.
- Jeff
* * * *
"Take" is a transitory verb used in statements such as "He up and took off"
and "bring" is a consumptive injunction and must be used as follows: "We
brung some stewed ramparts to Aunt Vespa but she was already dead so we ate
them ourselfs." - MLP
------------------------------ From: Bob.Muller@fluordaniel.com Message-ID: <852567E6.00510972.00@fdlnata10.fdnet.com> Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 11:00:00 -0400 Subject: Testimonial Dinner, Volume II De Do Do Dan writes: <<which is almost the same thing i wrote in response to the 'testimonial dinner' question. pinch poke you owe me a coke, bob.>> OK Dan, you want a can or a snort? :~) Which leads to the question, if there was a Volume II, who would you like to hear cover what? Of course, if you've discussed this ad nauseum prior to my arrival, excuse the ring (like they say down south). For my .02, I wouldn't mind hearing: Elvis Costello, "I Bought Myself a Liarbird" Dave Matthews, "Yacht Dance" Tom Waits, "Rook" Bob Dylan, "All Along The Watchtower" :~) Bob NP: Janis Joplin, "Down On Me" (Great punk rock before its time)
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130301b3fc5ee7dab0@[158.152.74.66]> From: Yung <yung@orgone.demon.co.uk> Subject: Beatles Mono/Stereo... Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 17:55:13 +0000 Re: Dunkan Kemball's points about the non-release of the mono Sgt Peppers... I thought I'd add a curious(ish) footnote... about three years ago I was playing a session here in London when someone walked into the studio with a mono CD of Sgt Pepper. We all stopped work and gave it a listen. Whilst we all agreed that it certainly was different from the original we weren't convinced that it was necessarily a major improvement. Oddly, a week or so later I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon with George Martin at Air Studios (supposedly talking about a Larry Adler album). Once I'd sussed out how safe it was to discuss the Beatles, I asked him about the mono mix I'd heard. He confirmed that it was the band's preferred version (although he certainly DIDN'T seem to suggest that HE preferred it to the stereo version). I may not have remembered this next bit correctly (I was a bit overwhelmed at just being there), but he seemed to suggest that the mono version had been given a proper release in Japan (where the copy I heard came from). The fact that it was so elaborately packaged would suggest that it wasn't the bootleg that I'd suspected. If that's the case, I would guess that it's fairly easy to obtain - this guy had someone send him a copy from Tokyo. Yukio Yung ******************** The Orgone Company London ********************
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 02:40:55 -0400 Subject: Re: World Party Message-ID: <19990909.024511.-337367.3.MollyFa@juno.com> From: Molly E Fanton <mollyfa@juno.com> I heard Karl is pretty arrogant, but that won't spoil it for me. I seem to like arrogant guys for some reason. I just love Karl's songwriting and he's cute (well at least to me he's cute). He did a good job on Sessions From West 57th (I think that's the name of that show on PBS). He just seems like a perfectionist, like hmm I wonder. :) I think if there's anymore XTC cover albums like Testimonial Dinner they should do a song, but I have no idea what. Molly
------------------------------ From: fheaney@erols.com Message-ID: <005d01befa93$d0532900$53fda4d8@default> Subject: Dukes Warning Labels Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 03:17:47 -0400 Derek wondered aloud: > Strangely enough, I can now claim to own this piece on vinyl AND cassette, > after finding a tape of it in a used bin four or five years back. The box > that tape came in had a typed piece of paper glued inside reading "This is > actually XTC acting unusually psychedellic" with the catalog number > underneath. This led me to believe the cassette came from either a radio > station or it was a promotional issue... anyone have an idea? Well, when I bought my (used) vinyl copy of 25 O'Clock back in high school, it also came with a little slip of paper alerting the less informed consumer that the product inside was in fact XTC-related. I suspect your slip was put there by the store owners simply to let customers know who the album was actually by. (Certainly I've met more than a few sorta-casual XTC fans who had no idea the Dukes existed.) Mitch wrote, like a beacon in the night: > Just got off the phone with Andy and yes the album is coming along quite > nicely... Ah, Mitch, it's posts like this that make my heart sing. Thanks for all the info. (And hey, that's wonderful news about the single-disc Homespun.) Notes on new purchases, for those to whom such digression is pleasant: thanks to the folks who were recommending Prefab Sprout -- I picked up "Swoon" this weekend and it's swell. Other recent winners: Cibo Matto's "Stereotype A" (better than the first album, for the very reason that the reviewers think it's not -- because they use real instruments instead of being so sample-heavy. Program the crappy "Sci-Fi Wasabi" out and you've got a top 10 of the year contender), Isotope 217's "Utonian Automatic" (weird jazz-rock), Lilys' "The 3 Way" and "Better Can't Make Your Life Better" (an incredible replica of '60s pop, deconstructed irresistibly). -- Francis "You're a dedicated swallower of fascism." -- Billy Bragg
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 06:58:10 -0400 From: Lincolnfong <LincolnFong@compuserve.com> Subject: Take This Town Message-ID: <199909090658_MC2-8426-3B26@compuserve.com> Robin Holden mentioned the fact that Take This Town rarely gets a mention. Ok its a pretty earlyish track that appeared in a dreadful film for about 10 seconds but what a song and you get the Ruts' Babylon's Burning on the B side! Everything that a pop song should be. Ok I wont try and 'should' too much here but I know Andy still has that spontaineity in him because he's still talking about bubblegum albums and because of the Dukes. Why the aliases though, Andy? Dont get me wrong I dont care what name it comes out under but XTC will do me just fine. Not to say that a line like 'Now the son has died the father can be born' isnt clever. I just prefer the immediacy of 'Its not the aliens inside my bed, its just the ale that's inside my head'. I have no idea what Knights in Shining Karma is about 'and no hope of getting one...' Better than both of these though I prefer '1,2,3,4,5, Senses working overtime'. That has everything; Imagery, immediacy and a great tune. Top five I reckon. Lincoln
------------------------------ From: Paul@pi-design.com Message-ID: <7792192DE506D2119A6100A024F0274A307AB8@PIMAIL> Subject: Re: Toffee Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 14:51:46 +0100 > From: Mitch Friedman <mitchf@mindspring.com> > Subject: News (of sorts) from Andy and Dave <snip>Gregory...album...No word on the contents but it may > be called "Dave Gregory Sings For Toffee". It may be a UK only phrase so the album title might seem a bit bizarre to other C'Hillians... but someone that can't do something very well can be described as "not being able to <fill in verb here> for toffee" eg "Dave Gregory can't sing for toffee" but obviously DG feels otherwise! ;-) So now you know.... I have absolutely no idea of the origin of this one, but it seems to be a "northern" England one. Bugger me, I'll be well chuffed if someone finds out. (Arse!) Paul S
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 08:18:19 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <199909091518.IAA01939@mando.engr.sgi.com> From: John Relph <relph@cthulhu> Subject: Martin Newell Cassettes on CD Hey folks, Jarmusic has released four more Martin Newell "Cassettes on CD"! Jarmusic takes Martin Newell's original home-produced and home-released cassettes, cleans them up, transfers them to CD and adds three bonus tracks. Most of the bonus tracks are live recordings. The CDs (actually, they are CD-Rs) are produced in a numbered limited edition of 75 each. Well, three of the latest "Cassettes on CD" include bonus tracks which are live recordings of Martin Newell featuring Dave Gregory on keyboards, guitar, and vocal. The Cleaners From Venus' <I>On Any Normal Monday</I> includes "Straight To You Boy" (live); <I>Midnight Cleaners</I> includes "Wunderbarmaid" and "Bus Stop" (yes, the Hollies song) recorded live at Radio Fritz, Berlin, in 1995; The Brotherhood of Lizards' <I>The Brotherhood of Lizards</I> includes "And The World Strikes One" recorded live at Radio Fritz and "Home Counties Boy" recorded live in Osaka, Japan, in 1994. If you're interested, check out the latest Martin Newell catalog from Jarmusic on the web at: http://reality.sgi.com/relph/jangly/jarmusic.html There are other new items from Martin Newell in the catalog as well, including the book "Black Shuck - The Ghost Dog of Eastern England", featuring linocuts by James Dodds. Cool stuff. On a slightly different topic, I noticed that Peter Blegvad's hard-to-find CD "King Strut & Other Stories" is available on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=158576418 It's a great record, featuring Andy Partridge and some really cool songs. -- John P.S. In case you're wondering, I am not affiliated with Jarmusic except that I think Joachim's products are really cool. And Martin deserves the money.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990909172749.26320.rocketmail@web213.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1999 10:27:49 -0700 (PDT) From: pancho artecona <partecona@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Guitargonauts Surveyed Hey There, just a couple of thoughts from my new hometown, New Orleans. First, I would like to encourage you all to explore the Dave Gregory website Guitargonauts. Great stuff and a labor of love. Second, since it hasn't been mentioned (I think) Scritti Politti has a new cd out! They beat XTC for longest time between releases by I think 3-4 years. And the cd has no synths! Things Green Gartside and Andy have in common: stage fright and neither owns/drives a car. (Any more will be welcome) And finally, >> 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 >> What is the best lyric on AV1?... The longing look you gave me >> The worst lyric on AV1?... How I'd wash her hair like the swirling sky (strings included for full bothersome effect) >> When you first heard the album, what did you think should have been the >> first single?... Greenman >> Which unreleased XTC song do you like best?... Everything and Rocket >> What are your 5 favourite XTC Songs (in no order)? Too tough, depends on wether I am manic or depressed. Pancho XPRXTCFAN
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990909200323.11520.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com> Subject: World Party / AN OFFER Date: Thu, 09 Sep 1999 13:03:20 PDT On the World Party discussion-- I was never that big a fan, although I really liked a lot of the tracks off of "Private Revolution". I hadn't realized that so much of their stuff was out of print, though! I was trying to remember the name of the first single off of "Goodbye Jumbo"-- I remember a concert-style video-- and I knew i could recognize the name if I saw it, but I can't find a track listing for the album. Now it's driving me crazy-- who knows? (sad thing for me, I don't think of "Goodbye Jumbo" as having been released that long ago. I've had to stop listening to "Flashback" shows on radio stations because they're starting to infringe on the stuff I actually listened to when it first came out. This is the problem with getting into underground music when you're twelve-- it's good enough that you're still listening ten years later, but that also means you start feeling old a lot sooner.) --------- Now, an OFFER. I have an XL white Drums & Wires t-shirt in good condition (no holes, clean, only a little faded). I haven't worn it in, oh, eight years, and now that I'm moving house I need to get rid of some stuff, but I don't want to just throw it away. So, I will send it to anyone in the US (postage thing) who wants it and gets to me first for free. (If you're outside the US and willing to pay postage, hell, sure, it's yours.) Thought I'd offer it up. I hate forcing myself to part with things for space... oh, well, I'm keeping the Skylarking and Oranges & Lemons shirts I never wear (I'd wear the black Skylarking one if the screen on the front hadn't worn so badly). So, just e-mail me. megan.
------------------------------
Message-ID: <19990909230545.5983.qmail@www0c.netaddress.usa.net>
Date: 9 Sep 99 16:05:45 PDT
From: vee tube <veetube@netscape.net>
Subject: The Ballad Of Mr.Winky Fish
I said I'd do it
Please forgive me!
The Ballad of Mr. Winky Fish (Home Demo)
From the album: Watermelon Uranus
Melting Vinyl No: Fry 001
(sing along w/ur favorite XTC "Ballad Of" song)
LET'S BEGIN!
Mr.Winky Fish
Swam to town
Passing big flies and
Worms around
At a party too..
Much drinkin'
Put pink panties on
All his fins!
Then a minnow caught Winkies good eye*
Wouldn't listen to us as we all did cry
Don't go there! Mister Winky
Don't eat her! Mister..Winky..Fish
Mr. Winky Fish
Took the bait
Paid the price for those
Worms he ate
No more swimming in
Our big lake
Mr. Winky Fish
Learned too late!
Now he looks swell on some fishers plate
Fried in butter with some lemon just for taste
So long! too Mr. Winky
We'll miss you! Mr. Winky
Good bye to Mister..Winky..Fish!
*Why do you think they called him Winky?
Legal Disclaimer: No aquatic life forms
were harmed in the composing of these lyrics!
P.S. Why don't we all pull up our socks and KEEP
our AV.1's and CONSIDER, buying the single disc Homespun?
Yeah!!!!
}---:)
------------------------------
Message-ID: <19990910005320.17243.qmail@www0e.netaddress.usa.net>
Date: 9 Sep 99 17:53:20 PDT
From: vee tube <veetube@netscape.net>
Subject: More PARTY's
Indeed some wonderful music. And,though I may prefer Nos. 1&2 I would be
remiss if I didn't mention the US.EP "Thank you world" (I see this all the
time 'Cheap' in used bins) with one of the best best Dylan/Stones Tributes
of
all time "You're invited to a Party"
There was also an import 2CD single for "give it all away" with some
stunning (non album) tracks on it. I'm sorry for that guy from Svendonia
who had a bad time with his band and Karl. But, as I was walking up to the
Arcadia theater in Dallas to see World Party w/Jellyfish (great double bill)
I
spied some punks hangin' 'round some "longhair" who was signing
album covers. It was Karl, and I got him to sign my "Jumbo" CD. He was very
nice and the concert was a solid "10"
Please listen to "eeLs!" and let me know what you think.
XTC content: see "the Ballad"
nuttin'but'caviar }---:)
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19990911010656.24801.rocketmail@web215.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 18:06:56 -0700 (PDT) From: fflynt <fflynt@yahoo.com> Subject: i brke for liens hiy, my nme is eugene. i hve speech impediment tht i will try to render s fithfully s possible by omitting the from the following text. i sincerely believe tht shring my speech impediment with you, the reder, will contribute to closer understnding of speech impediments. my, people relly look silly, don't they? they pint their skin nd pierce their skin nd dye their hir nd wer funny clothes. i used to wer funny clothes too, but one dy i stred t myself in mirror for more thn n hour (i think it ws one hour nd 17 minutes, though i'm not too sure. i men, if i hd looked t wtch or clock or sundil when i strted string i'd be more confident in ffirming the exct durtion, but i didn't, so i cn only sy tht it ws more thn n hour. i hope you're not nnoyed with me for being so vgue bout it) nd relised i looked relly funny, so i stopped wering funny clothes. my girlfriend looked funny too, she used to wer those things tht look like teepees, but not s big nd not s pretty. now she doesn't look funny nymore. i think fshion models look funny too. i think they look like cucumbers with convulsions, hh, they relly mke me lugh. i wish ll of you who look funny would stop looking funny. you cn stop looking funny by cutting your hir nd stop dying it nd tke the things you put into your skin out of your skin nd glue nice pictures over your tttoos. tht's ll I wnted to sy, relly.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002b01befc1d$24e82f80$21f5fed0@oemcomputer> From: "Chauffefamily" <delia1999@email.msn.com> Subject: Rag & Bone Buffet and Vietnam Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 23:16:09 -0700 On the subject of Vietnam songs, no one mentioned Rooster by Alice in Chains from the DIRT cd. This was a song about Jerry Cantrell's dad while having served in NAM. Someone inquired about our favorite song from Rag & Bone Buffet- That's a tough one...Although Lemons & Oranges made me an XTC fan, R & B is a classic! Ten Feet Tall, the version of Another Satellite, Tissue Tigers, etc. are all great, but if I had to pick one song it would be Mermaid Smiled. It has a unique quality and feel to it..maybe it could also be the acoustic quitar lead in which also reminds me of the present with Knights in Shining Karma (which was played a lot on KTRU (Rice Univ.) here in Houston. One last comment is concerning AV1; I admit that on the first couple of times I heard it, I was rather shocked. It just wasn't the same XTC. However, I found myself listening to it more & more and realized that XTC has always been about change- they have always been ready to try something different. Andy has talked in the past a lot about experimentation, such as maybe a CD without a drummer or in the case of AV1, a more lush, orchestrated record. So even though AV1 may not be for mass consumption, I think from a fan standpoint, it can hold its own with some of the earlier works of the band.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v0310281ab3ff45d0163f@[165.227.110.102]> Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 16:42:49 -0700 From: Richard Pedretti-Allen <richard@tactics.com> Subject: Odd XTC connection Al Gordon is the XTC fan who has drawn an "Andy Peartree" character into his comic book stories a few times. Al and I have talked many times since he inquired about the SF Bay Area XTC Gathering early this year (he was unable to attend). I told him he had a great voice and he mentioned that he'd done some voice overs. I asked him to audition for my current client and he got the gig. So I'll be producing a recoding session with Al in a few weeks. I'm actually starting to make money off of my association with Chalkhills! Am I a sinner? Cheers, Richard Pedretti-Allen
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130302b4003121001e@[208.13.202.99]> Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 12:27:50 -0400 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Goodnight Saigon, Tibet >Billy Joel did a song called "Goodbye Saigon", I think. I think that >was the title, I know he did the song. American musicians tend to >protest things in other ways than through music. Name one song that >mentions Tibet, anyone. That would be "Goodnight Saigon," from one of the two great albums Billy Joel put out(The Nylon Curtain, the other being his last, River Of Dreams, which is really very well done; I'm not a Billy Joel fan otherwise). Not the best song on the album, but certainly heartfelt, and working-class Billy Joel of Long Island is one of the few songwriters outside the C&W genre who has any business sticking up for Vietnam veterans, since he has said that if he were drafted he would have had to go because he didn't have any rich uncles to pull strings for him and didn't have any reason not to(i.e. he would have been just another one of the clueless kids with nothing better to do).Funny how most of the kids protesting the war(and the Dan Quayles of the world getting Daddy to put him in the National Guard)were the ones with money, education and time on their hands. As for Tibet: "Tibetan Side Of Town," Bruce Cockburn. >Michael davies >miser17@epix.net 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: <l03130303b4003455c0d7@[208.13.202.99]> Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 12:42:43 -0400 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Re: Song Stories Found a single copy of Song Stories at Borders yesterday, and decided to buy it before they took it out of stock. I've read through it once already(I'd already read half of it in the store before I finally brought it), and it's kind of struck me the funny ideas we get about XTC just from dicussing among ourselves. Sometimes the best way to find out what a song is all about is to ask the songwriter, and both andy and Colin are very forthcoming about their material in the course of the book. Andy, for example, has this to say about "Pink Thing:' "Harry(his newborn son, also the subject of "Garden Of Earthly Delights")was called Pink Thing when he was born but I love my dick and I'm not afraid to tell people. So it's about both." there, you heard it from the horse's mouth. I was also rather amused to find that I wasn't the only person who thought "King For A Day" sounded like Tears For Fears., that one critic called it "Everybody Wants To Rule The World For A Day." Those of you who don't have the book yet, get it while you still can, it's a must-have for any serious XTC fan, though I must admit it took me a year to get one of those round tuits. Christopher R. Coolidge Homepage at http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html
------------------------------ Message-Id: <l03130304b400392ce3de@[208.13.202.99]> Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 12:53:46 -0400 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Re: Fruit Not >As it is, I have come to think that the text 'Fruit nut' is >Colin commenting on Andy's way of working, probably concen- >trating on these last years of struggle (personal and musical). >In my mind, this is Colin pulling Andy's leg in a friendly manner. > >Is this interesting? Decide for yourselves. > >Knut Egil I think it's just about Colin puttering about in his garden. Sometimes the most accurate explanation is the most obvious and mundane one. Christopher R. Coolidge "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: <199909112331.TAA06694@nantucket.net> Date: Sat, 11 Sep 1999 19:06:42 -0400 Subject: Heads Talking From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net> Hello everybody, good day and what a good day it is, too. Anyway. I thought I'd let everyone know that Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads was just re-released with all the songs in the movie. Sixteen in all. The original only had 9 of them, which I alwose hated. Also, they've all been "digitally remastered"! I most say, it's a great album. Many of these versions are much beter then the originals. Examples: Life During Wartime, Girlfriend is Better, Burning Down the House. It's really awsome. (Unfortunetly, nothing was added to the liner notes, although the original liner notes are really cool and, sometimes, really funny. You should also see the movie, cause it's a classic. Now, onto XTC stuff. I was just wondering, and I don't know if someones already brought this up, but I was wondering if Dave Gregory bought AV1? I mean, I would guess that he would, seeing as it is something that has been such a big part of his life, and he played some of the songs. Also, seeing as he's still talking to colin... I was also wondering if Andy was going to buy Dave Gregory's solo stuff. my guesse would be no, because he's a lot more stuborn than Dave is. What do you guys think? Also, It has been pointed out to me that there are already several cover compolations, and seeing as no one else really responded saying they were in bands or anything, i guesse that idea's over. oh well. Ummm.....I know I had something else to say. I guesse I'll have to say it later. See ya later, elevators. Kevin Diamond.
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