Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 331
Date: Tuesday, 7 December 1999

         Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 331

                 Tuesday, 7 December 1999

Today's Topics:

                      Melt The Guns
                       Alt-country
      Aimee Mann/Minster Hill (a bit o' XTC content)
                      Dec 8th, 1980
      Bakers Dozens, Strange, love, and Bass Fishin'
                        Oh my God
                    Re: Elvis vs. Joe
                 Pre Skylarking thing...
                 The Begining was the End
             various threads/thoughts, part 2
                       Top Ten 1999
                     and all is well
                          Versus
                   The Swindon Express
                     The End Is Nigh
                        NYE plans

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We'll look up together.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message-Id: <l03130301b4703b7d33d3@[208.13.202.131]>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 11:10:13 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Melt The Guns

>Government is not the answer, and guns are not the problem, nor is
>tobacco, drugs or alcohol -- awareness and the lack of it is the
>problem. Awareness, honesty, and responsiblity. That's what it's all
>about. The guns will melt when gun owners (the citizens and criminals
>alike) take their guns down to the local forge and cash them in for scrap,
>because they understand that it's in their own best interest not to
>consider using a gun on someone else, and that guns aren't necessary to
>use guns to get what you want out of life.
>
>Awareness, honesty, responsibility. And maybe a little patience (thanks,
>Axl). That's all it takes.
>
>It's all good! (meant sincerely-- my catch phrase of choice at the moment)
>
>Best, Will J

  absolutely! I couldn't have said it better myself. I have friends who
live in the rural hinterlands of Vermont, and hunt for food to supplement
their grocery budget. They use their guns responsibly, eat what they kill,
and give leftover venison steaks to their friends and family. I can also
see needing a gun if you live across the street from a crackhouse. I live
in a safe neighborhood myself and don't like hunting, so I don't own a gun
and don't need one.
  On reflection, I have no problem with "Melt The Guns" musically, it works
on that level. The lyrics, though- I realise Andy's expressing his opinion,
but I think he missed the boat on that issue. It's a little more
complicated with "Dear God," which is not his greatest song either, but I
think it works a lot better than even he thinks it does, and it basically
expresses what he intended, which is to say I-don't-believe-in-God-and
neither-do-you. I don't agree with him on that either, but I'll defend to
the death his right to say it. I'd rather get in a theological argument
with a complete non-believer than a zealot anyway; I rather be told I'm
full of crap and believing in fairy stories than be told I'm going straight
to the hellish planets.

Christopher R. Coolidge

Homepage at
http://homepages.together.net/~cauldron/homepage.html

------------------------------

Message-Id: <l03130302b4703f5e1d15@[208.13.202.131]>
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 1999 11:21:43 -0500
From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net>
Subject: Alt-country

> wouldn't say I was an enthusiast, but I love the good bits I've found.
>Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash and Gary Stewart are personal favourites, but
>there's probably a hundred more good ones I haven't heard. There's
>something good to be found in all sorts of music - it's just a matter of
>knowing where to look.
>
>....and on that profound note, I'm outa here.

  I'd also recommend Steve Earle, The Supersuckers, Whiskytown, BR5-49, The
V-Roys, and John Hiatt(the last not necessarily country, but his songs are
mostly covered by country acts). Alt-country is practically the only
contemporary music genre that interests me these days, never mind top 40
country which has mostly sounded exactly the same for the past ten
years(with the exception of Shania Twain and The Dixie Chicks, like them or
not, and a very few others).

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: <383300488.944525755251.JavaMail.root@web18.pub01>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 19:15:55 -0500 (EST)
From: "Beth O'Neil" <bethoneil@mail.com>
Subject: Aimee Mann/Minster Hill (a bit o' XTC content)

Wow Greg...talk about how one's man's (in my case woman) treasure is
another man's....oh whatever that saying is??!!  But I think Minster
Hill's cd is one of the best of the year...it's fab and maybe (only
depending on my moods) a close second to Apple Venus....sesh....  I find
it very XTC and can't understand how someone who may like/love XTC not be
totally enthralled by the Hill disc...But that's me....

Have Aimee's promo of the next cd...and while I am enjoying it I dont find
it near equal to her previous two platters.
Let's hope it just needs some real nice production work to bring it up to
speed for me.
Well that's it for me back under my blankie.
bye
bethie

------------------------------

From: "Michael Versaci" <stormymonday@sprintmail.com>
Subject: Dec 8th, 1980
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 19:19:45 -0500
Message-ID: <000001bf4048$c5234830$3aa31e26@laptop-mversaci.mtwconsulting.com>

Folxtc,

"On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas time
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah"

>From "The Late Great Johnny Ace"
Paul Simon

"Well nowadays there's a lot of guys like Johnny
they got it all worked out - like working 9 to 5
But they're all just cartoons - all think they're Superman
but they can't even fly
And they say that Johnny's ghost walks 'round in Memphis
when the moon is full and high
And I wonder if he sees these jokers
and I wonder if he laughs or if he cries
Now he's an angel in flames
But what about you and me
And they say it's a tragic story
he just wasn't there one day
but he went out in a Blaze of Glory
and you and I - you and I just fade away"

>From "Blaze Of Glory"
Joe Jackson

"And I've been knocking but no one answers
And I've been knocking most all the day
Oh and I've been calling oh hey hey Johnny
Can't you come out to play

And through their tears
Some say he farmed his best in younger years
But he'd have said that roots grow stronger if only he could hear

Who lived there
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls
We hear, we hear your name

Johnny can't you come out to play in your empty garden..."

>From "Empty Garden"
Bernie Taupin and Elton John

"Goodness Gracious has my scream become a sigh
As soon as I find a hero then I have to watch him die
Yeah Lennon tried to tell the truth but we preferred the lie..."

>From an alternate take of "Goodness Gracious"
Kevin Gilbert

"Don't worry Mike, they'll be another John Lennon..."

A co-worker of mine, Dec 9th, 1980.

Nineteen years, and I still miss him...

Michael Versaci

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199912070134.UAA16712@nantucket.net>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 18:52:38 -0800
Subject: Bakers Dozens, Strange, love, and Bass Fishin'
From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net>

Jim

I believe a baker's dozen has ten.

>For me, it'd be a three-way tie between "The Last Waltz", "Doctor
>Strangelove" and "This Is Spinal Tap".

Oh, I forgot Dr. Strangelove. I love that movie. That's clasic humor.

You know, I can't stand people who say that movies like "American Pie" and
"Something About Mary" are the funniest movies ever. Come on, rent Spinal
Tap, and then come back and say "My god, kevin, how right you were!"

Ahem...

I'm listening to '77 by Talking Heads. I definetly don't listen to this
album enogh. It's terrific.

XTC comment? Well, I'm in one of those ruts again, where I just don't feel
like listening to XTC. Not that I don't think they're good, I'm just not in
the mood anymore. Hurry up, av2!!!

Also, nice to see another Colin lover here . I really love Andy, but I think
that Colin is my favorite member of XTC. I think that one of the reasons I
feel this way is because I think of Andy as a genius when it comes to music,
and for some reason, because I feel like it's easyer for him than for Colin,
I feel like every Colin song is a bigger acomplishment then Andy's. I also
like his voice a *little* better.

And that's before I even start talking about his bass playing. Heaven. Pure
bliss. I must say, he's my idol when it comes to bass playing. (being a Bass
Player myself).

On another note, I didn't realize until I bought Nonsuch (My fourth XTC
album) that Colin also sang the songs. That means that I thought O&L,
Skylarking, and The Big Express were all sung by andy. The strange thing is,
whenever Cynical days came on, before I knew Colin sang also, I thought to
miself "Wow, he sounds so much better on this song."

By the way, A while back, there was a question about what people thought the
most unappreciated XTC song was. I vote for Cynical Days. i think that's a
grat song.

Kevin Diamond.

P.S.  Does anyone know where I can get a copy of Excess Moderation by
Squeeze?
____________________________________________________________________________
"To emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to
create hell."
          -Tom Robbins

------------------------------

Message-ID: <382124281.944540661744.JavaMail.root@web18.pub01>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 23:24:21 -0500 (EST)
From: Jeremy Cargill <musician@publicist.com>
Subject: Oh my God

Wow.  Some of you really are more paranoid than Satanas was!  I was
pointing out how ignorant your constant babbling about him and his
posts were and you accuse me of being him?  You really can't take
people disagreeing with you guys, can you?

As for the bible bashing going on here, XTC is a great group, but they
would not make good music with out Gods influence!  If any Christians
want to continue to e-mail me and share your thoughts, your very
welcome to.  God bless and have a Merry Christmas

------------------------------

From: WTDK@aol.com
Message-ID: <0.706d49c1.257de80d@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 23:33:17 EST
Subject: Re: Elvis vs. Joe

Re: the recent Elvis vs. Joe discussion.

Having seen both a number of times over the past decade I'd call it a toss
up. The last couple times I've seen EC he's been great. The brief reunion
with the Attractions was a lot of fun as well. Joe Jackson can be just as
entertaining as Elvis. His stage presence and general presentation of his
material is, I feel, quite different.

The last couple of EC albums have been very good. I didn't care for Heaven
and Hell, but am enjoying most of his latest. Incidentally, Laughter and
Lust is a very good Joe Jackson "pop" album. There's also a couple of
witty swipes at EC (in Hit Single--Steve Nieve's keyboard playing is
quoted during a couple of witty comments, so I'm making an assumption
here).

Graham Parker's first four albums are essential buys. After that his
career is pretty hit or miss. Still, you can see a lot of similarities
between GP, EC, JJ and, yes, even Andy Partridge.

I'd love to see Andy collaborate with Paul McCartney (as a producer or
writer) or Elvis. I think the two would mesh well stylistically, but maybe
not personality wise. I'd love to see Colin do a solo album. I love almost
all his stuff and would love to hear him do an entire album. It would be
interesting to see him collaborate with Ray Davies or what's his name from
Blur.

I personally think it would be a lot more interesting if Andy and Colin
brought on a permanent replacement for Dave. I'm going to miss Dave's
distinctive, tasteful guitar playing (not to mention the string
arrangements he worked on with Andy and Colin). So if we were to nominate
someone to replace Dave who would it be?

Wayne

------------------------------

Message-ID: <380665077.944541682876.JavaMail.root@web18.pub01>
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 23:41:22 -0500 (EST)
From: Jeremy Cargill <musician@publicist.com>
Subject: Pre Skylarking thing...

First I would like to say that I am not going to sit here like Satanas and
argue to prove I am not a "troll."  I will introduce myself once, if you
don't like what I have to say, then ignore my posts, but stop acting
childish and accusing me of being Satanas.

To clear things up, my name is Cindy.  Jeremy is my husband.  I just keep
his name in the settings otherwise I am sent all these e-mails from gross
bored men with nothing better to do than to harass woman on the internet.
If you read my first post you will see I mentioned I was a pre-school
teacher and the whole "dripping testosterone" thing which I thought would
give it away to the woman out there in XTC land.

I do own the old XTC stuff that is included with the greatest hits but I
can't find myself liking it much.  I just don't like that punky stuff.  I am
more into Amy Grant or World Party; spiritual groups in my opinion.  XTC's
later stuff to me seems to be spiritually motivated, whether they want to
admit it or not.  That is my opinions, and if you would like me to respect
your opinions, you must respect mine.  Christianity is not that bad you
know!

God Bless and Merry Christmas to all!

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199912070235.VAA23152@nantucket.net>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 20:41:52 -0800
Subject: The Begining was the End
From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net>

Regarding that coment in my last post, about not wanting to listen to
XTC...Cancel that. Just got a sudden urge to listen to Drums and Wires. For
me, Good XTC starts with this album. White Music and Go2 were Fine XTC, AV1,
O&L, and English Settlement are Incedible monuments in the History of
Recordin. Just to clarify...

By the way, put the bigging of "Nigel" down as one of my favorite XTC
moments. I really must say, XTC have a way of starting off and ending their
albums. Some of my favorites:

AV1- River of Orchids to start, The Last Ballon to end. Me, I like to listen
to this album on Loop for about five hours. It Cleans the Musical Palate
(spl?)

Nonsuch- Peter Pumpkin head is great, but should've ended with Rook

O&L- Garden Of Earthly Delights is probably one of my favorite opening
tracks ever, and then, of course, Chalkhills and Children

Skylarking- Summers Cauldren just sets the mood for the entire album. I
didn't originally like Sacrificil bonfire, but even know that I do like it,
I think it should've ended with Dying.

The Big Express-Wake Up, like Respectable Street for Black Sea, it opened
the album off with a bang. "Train Running Low..." is awsome.

Mummer- Don't really like Beating OF Hearts to start out, ut Funk Pop And
Roll is awsome (that "Goodbye" is terrific)

English Settlement- I've thought about this one a lot. I've always liked
Runaways, and I guess I can't think of a better choice then that for first
song on the album, but it seems a little shakey. I guess with an album as
great as ES, it's hard to start anywhere. Snowman's fantastic.

Black Sea-Respectable Street, I've already talked about, and travel's In
Nihlon is great, with the fading out to the "Rain"

Drums and Wires- Nigel is perfect, with the drums coming in. This one
probably has my favorite ending track, Comlicated Game. So Punk, but so
great.

Go2-Mekkanic Dancing's good. Sorry, I don't even know what song ends this
album, that's how little I've listened to it. I do know that I love Battery
Brides. A lot. But that's second.

White Music- Radios in motion? ...hmmmm... it's all right, I guess. What's
the last track on this one, Neon Shuffle? No good as a last song.

This, in a way, is why I've always liked the fact that the Bonus tracks were
at the end. Because I think it's so important to start and end on the right
notes when it comes to an album. That's my 2 cents, anywho.

Kevin Diamond. yep.

____________________________________________________________________________
"To emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to
create hell."
          -Tom Robbins

------------------------------

Message-Id: <3.0.2.32.19991206235719.00708238@mail.interlog.com>
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 23:57:19 -0500
From: David Oh <davidoh@interlog.com>
Subject: various threads/thoughts, part 2

continuing on from my last post:
----------
"no language in our lungs":

i've been listening to many xtc discs recently, one of them being "black
sea". with a portable cd player hooked-up to an 8-channel mixer (to play
bass along with it) and listening through akg k-240 headphones, i had "no
language" cranked up very loud (the only way to hear and play it, really).
i noticed something for the first time.

i've had the album since it came out (still have the black plastic bag it
came in, too) and "no language" is one of my all-time favourite xtc songs.
so it came as a surprise when i heard the following right at the end of the
track, mixed with various spoken (and inaudible) voices:

"so i could never actually hear it, but i... "

now, according to 'song stories', "the recording was filled with effects,
including the voice of alan whicker recorded from a television in the
studio. 'you'd have to be a right whicker wanker to guess which program',
says andy".

three things spring to mind:

1. to me, it sounds like andy speaking this line. i've heard andy speak
many times in interviews and this voice snippet has the same timbre as
andy's. anybody out there know who's who? is it andy or is it memorex, er,
mr. whicker?

2. has anyone out there been able to decipher the rest of that line? what i
have quoted is all i can make out, but there is more said buried beneath
the other voices.

3. who is this alan whicker bloke? i have seen a lot of british television
over the years (brit-coms, dramas, mini-series and documentaries - and i
love many of them, too), even though i have lived in toronto my entire
life, but i've never heard of this guy. some enlightenment, please.
----------
"the big express":

as mentioned above, i've been listening to many xtc albums recently, "tbe"
being one of them. it is, indeed, quite raucous and clangorous, but this
is, i think, a part of its problem.

actually, i think the mix - on certain tracks, anyway - is lacking
definition. especially on "train running low" (woo-oo, woo-oo!); andy's
voice during the verses is buried too deep in the mix, which makes it hard
to hear the words clearly. sure, you can read from the booklet, but even
then, it's difficult to follow along.

anyone else feel the same way?
----------
"mummer" and "tbe":

these two have always been my least favourite of their post-barry
recordings (and the pre-dave discs - "white music" and "go2" - are my least
favourite in their entire catalogue) but i've been giving them spins in my
players of late. both are good, but they do sound somewhat dated in general.

however, my appreciation of both discs has risen substantially and i've
discovered new gems amongst the tracks, such as "beating of hearts", "human
alchemy" and "ladybird" from "mummer". as a matter of fact, i've been
playing along to "ladybird" with my fender acoustic bass, plugged into the
mixer. this bass can sound very close to what colin's bass parts sound like
on this track, very round and warm sounding, and i've enjoyed the challenge
of playing with the jazz feel, a genre which i've never attempted before.

actually, i've never attempted to play _any_ xtc songs before on guitar or
bass because i felt that they were beyond my limited grasp as a musician.
lately though, i have been playing quite a few of their songs, much to my
great pleasure. i've nailed the bass part for "no language", come close on
"ladybird" and i've even started to do a cover version of "human alchemy"
using my korg m1 synth. i'm a stickler for detail, so it's going to take
some time to program the drum parts the way i hear them, but i've got the
basic framework hacked out.

as for "beating of hearts", has anyone noticed the tonal similarities to
"greenman"? as much as andy says that "greenman" is pagan, or "vaughan
williams with a hard-on", to my ears it sounds pseudo-eastern, as does
"beating of hearts".
----------
latest concert:

just a few short weeks after seeing bryan ferry at the beautiful massey
hall in downtown toronto, i returned to the grand old lady for another show
on 99-12-04. this time - yes.

i know what some of you might be thinking, but let's face it, i'm an old
fossil, too!
it was a great show and for anyone who has never seen them but has always
wondered; yes, jon anderson's voice really is like that. i tell you this,
chris squire and alan white are an incredibly tight, and playful, rhythm
section.

seeing a band of their stature in such a small venue really is an
experience. all concert should be that intimate.
----------
isp:

i've been have a great deal of trouble with my isp lately and i'm going to
be jumping ship soon. interlog was purchased by psinet (known as
piss-on-ya-net around here!), a big american conglomerate and wouldn't you
know it, the service has sucked since (not because they're american, simply
because they're a big conglomerate). there have been too many days where
the server is down and, most frustratingly for me, too many times i've been
dropped and have to reconnect. one night recently, i got dropped 5 times in
as many minutes! makes downloading a bitch of a job...

the reason i mention this is because i'd like to know if there anyone on
this list in the greater toronto area who can recommend a reliable isp to
me? i'd appreciate it!
----------
although i'm not going to stamp my feet and throw a temper tantrum, a la
our good friend, santana diablo, i would like some answers to some of the
questions i've posed in this, and my previous, post. it would be appreciated.

 peace & xtc,

 davidoh

------------------------------

From: RiknBkr@aol.com
Message-ID: <0.d10b8190.257e08ee@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:53:34 EST
Subject: Top Ten 1999

My top ten for 1999......some are older, but these qualify as 1999 re-issues
or releases:

10. Paul McCartney - Run Devil Run
9.XTC - Homespun
8.Julian Lennon - Photograph Smile (first heard at the XTC Virgin signing in
LA)
7.Pete Townshend - Live at the Maryville Academy
6.Paul McCartney - Band on the Run 25th Anniversary re-master
5.Fountains of Wayne - Utopia Parkway
4. Merrymakers - Bubblegun
3. Small Faces - Darlings of Whapping Wharf Launderette
2. Beatles - Yellow Submarine Songtrack
1. XTC - AV1

I may kick Macca's Run Devil Run out once I get the Small Faces BBC Sessions
and also Townshend's Maryville once Lifehouse is released (but that may be
next year).

Cheers & Happy Holidays
Phil C.

------------------------------

Message-ID: <00cd01bf4098$48c5ea40$ea548218@we.mediaone.net>
From: "Victor Rocha" <wstsidela@mediaone.net>
Subject: and all is well
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:48:58 -0800

<PLEASE SEND IN YOUR FAVORITE XTC MUSICAL MOMENTS>

My favorite XTC musical moment: The birds, crickets, and Prairie Prince
keeping time in "Summer's Cauldron"

Victor Rocha
http://www.pechanga.com/history.html

------------------------------

Message-ID: <384CD87B.F88070D5@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 01:50:52 -0800
From: Herne <herne@earthlink.net>
Subject: Versus

Hi folks,

Herne here with thoughts on recent threads or whatever.  First on a
thread I started...

1.)Swindon...In my post SLEPT THROUGH SWINDON I didn't mean to comment
as to whether the city was interesting or not.  I simply was asleep on a
train.  Had I had more time in the UK I definitely wouldwould have given
it a look.  Next time I'll go and take up you Chalkhillians on your tour
offers.  The closest I got to an XTC haunt in the UK was when my brother
and I made the pilgrimage to Abbey Road studios and did the Abbey road
"crossing the street" deal...which is dangerous by the way.  The traffic
is severe.

2.)NO THUGS IN OUR HOUSE...You always think you know more about your
favorite band until you get on a mailing list and find that you are an
amateur.  You don't know all there is.  There are so many people who
know more, have more demos, etc. etc. etc.  So I was surprised by the
volume of people on this list who didn't get what NO THUGS was about.
I'm not one who delves into lyrical complexities by any means but this
one was always pretty obvious to me.  Surely it would be obvious to
Chalkhills Sage Harrison Sherwood.

Imagine my shock a few digests back when Harrison seemed to say "Oh
Yeah, I get it...it's about this!  And from this point of view!"  This
from a man who writes a PHD like dissertation on THAT WAVE that left my
overloaded mind in ruins.  Damn.  I will not sleep well tonight.

3.)List Ugliness

Now, Harrison, being a smart guy that I know he is, knows that I'm just
joshing(kidding) him and such.   This brings me to the topic of the
recent bad vibes around here.  Question...What the fuck is it with this
list?  Didn't your parents teach you how to count to ten before you all
got mad?  Extend this to posting and maybe you'll cool off before
talking trash and ranting and attacking.     And if the Charlie Buck or
Ruck or whatever thing is a wind up as I believe it is...what kind of
sick crap is that?  How bored are the people behind that one?  Isn't
there enough ranting and raving around here?  Ditto Santanas and whoever
else.

4.)Equiptment Lists...Geez I knew there were a lot of musicians on this
list but SHIT!!! No wonder everybody is always fighting.  And all the
stuff you guys have.  Damn.  Some day when I bring my rock music
fantasies out of the closet I'll have to ask you all what stuff to buy.

5.)Elvis Costello vs. Joe Jackson---Hmm.  I agree that "versus" is
probably not the best way to go at comparisons of this nature.  Well
let's try it:

Vocals---Nod to Elvis as in recent years he has taken his voice to
different places than Joe.

Lyrics---EC is more obtuse, twisty, punny.  Joe seems more straight
forward.  I learned more about him from one album than I've learned
about EC in his whole ouvre.

Instruments---Joe Jackson comes across as more of a trained musician.
He uses great sessions type players and always has a tight band.  EC is
great with a unit like the Attractions but on his own or with others, he
seems all over the place...albeit in a brilliant manner.

Albums, songs overall--- EC.  Especially by volume.

Well that's all my Jim Beam soaked brain can manage at this late hour
and I don't think I did well at all so perhaps I'll try some others...

DOM vs. his detractors---Dom by a landslide.  His wit and humor is
always a must and as to why people would get pissed at someone who
always makes it quite clear he's kidding is beyond me.

Santanas and Charlie(or the people who are pretending to be them) vs.
Chalkhills---Alas no winners here.

Whoever vs. The HOMESPUN cover art---Folks it's easy.  One says "Apple
Venus Volume One."  One says "Homespun".  Where's the problem?

Chalhills vs. My Weapon/Super Tuff---Barry's entries can never be
removed from the canon folks.  And they shouldn't be.  If I gotta sit
though Peter Pumpkinhead, you all gotta sit through Go 2.

Chalkhills vs. Melt the Guns---The political songs always get people
cranky around here and musically it does go on and on but hey it's no
Cockpit Dance Mix.

Chalkhills vs. Spelling errors:  I almost always have some in my posts
cause I'm always barely awake, buzzed or both at 2am when I write in.  I
almost always apologize.  It's still not enough I know
but...but...but...What was I talking about?

XTC  vs. Virgin---Everyone lost.

XTC vs. Adam Ant---Amazing that XTC had a song title named after it.
Imagine if Limp Bizkit sang it.  It might have been on the radio.
People would say...who's this XTC band?  What's up with them?  I'll give
them a try.  And early Adam Ant as well for that matter.

Godzilla vs. Gamera---Gamera's recent cinematic offerings have been
superb but the children's friend is always gonna lag behind the Big G.

Time to say Good Night.  You may all start counting to ten.

Ken
who walked the by the oft mentioned Green Man Pub while in London but
didn't have time to go in, and who is frightened to find himself
starting to get into Progressive Rock.
More on that next time.

------------------------------

Message-ID: <001801bf409f$a961cd40$b410e1d4@oemcomputer>
From: "In2home User" <user@netwood.in2home.co.uk>
Subject: The Swindon Express
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 10:41:45 -0000

Hi Fellow XTC'ers,

I'm thinking of setting up a new fan club/web-site - "The Swindon Express"
- for like-minded folks such as yourselves, who are bored by the every-day
MOR teeny-bop bands and enjoy listening to quality music.

I don't actually know if there is a fan club locally in Swindon - it seems
that they've got the least following in their own home town ?? Doesn't seem
right to me. I know we've got Chalkhills - but that can't be it can it ??
If I'm wrong, then please let me know.

I'd be interested in hearing your views on this and any ideas you might
have for the club and/or web-site.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Jon.

------------------------------

Message-Id: <199912071421.PAA04354@mail.coss.nl>
From: "Mark R. Strijbos" <mast@coss.nl>
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 15:24:53 +0100
Subject: The End Is Nigh

Dear Chalkers,

The charming May "Oh, Im so funny sometimes" O'Mahoney asked:

> Are YOU tired of the Milleneum?
I'm certainly tired of the current millenium and we've still got a year to
go!

> I'm curious to now what you Chalkies are going to be doing
Well, i'm one of the poor schmucks who has to be "on call"
throughout the weekend to prevent a global meltdown.
So i'm going to be home alone and sober... sad, innit?

yours in xtc,

Mark Strijbos @ The Little Lighthouse
http://come.to/xtc

------------------------------

Message-ID: <000b01bf40d5$89656ac0$4780b2d1@oemcomputer>
From: "Aaron Pastula" <apastula@earthlink.net>
Subject: NYE plans
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 09:06:23 -0800

>May O'Mahoney asks:
>Are YOU tired of the Milleneum?  I'm curious to know
>what you Chalkies are going to be doing that night.

I'll bite. I'm actually leaving LA on the 26th and heading for England;
will be there the 27th - 5th, staying in a centuries-old farmhouse for a
while and probably spending the 31st in London.  Incidentially, anyone in
and around London who might have relatively inexpensive lodging
suggestions, please email me privately if you've got a moment.  My group's
established plans have fallen through twice now (I certainly didn't plan to
wait until this late in the game, believe me) and I'm not looking forward
to the prospect of packing a tent.  Of course, the alternate plan is to
head to Stonehenge on the 31st with a video camera and shoot a documentary
of who's there at the end of the millennium...sure to be a freak show.
Nevertheless, to anyone who has suggestions...thanks in advance...

XTC content, I'll bite again, my favorite moments:

- the crescendos that get "clipped" in "Humble Daisy"
- every single second of "River of Orchids"
- "Me and the Wind," particularly the last 1/3 or so when the "happy / sad"
  lyrics and music overlap
- The guitar solo in "My Love Explodes" - one of their best

I could go on and on....

AP

------------------------------

End of Chalkhills Digest #5-331
*******************************

Go back to Volume 5.

8 December 1999 / Feedback