Chalkhills Digest Volume 5, Issue 351
Date: Friday, 24 December 1999
Chalkhills Digest, Volume 5, Number 351
Friday, 24 December 1999
Today's Topics:
A Question of Honour
The Million Drunk March in Las Vegas
XTC vs. TMBG, a rewritten list, and much, much more...
1999
XMAS XTC
Sound Effects
lycanthropy rules
but Christmas isn't for another fortnight!
Silly Season?
[JOKE] Andy Partridge Suicide. [JOKE] (fwd)
Oops
Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?
One more time and then I'll shut up
Nonsvch Supreme
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <001401bf4d84$5d930040$ad8b01d5@default> From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com> Subject: A Question of Honour Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 20:27:33 -0000 To attempt to answer the matter that has been raised is, I fear, to invite trouble since someone will probably get hold of a copy of DeBrets Peerage and take issue with my facts. However, I am confident that I at least know the gist of the award system in the UK. Twice a year the government/HM the Queen give out gongs. There is the Queen's Birthday Honours (which she picks most of) and The New Year's Honours (which is more for the Government). This year, there is to be a special Millennium List to commemorate "Heroes of the Millennium." Whilst the Beatles only got MBEs in 1965 (Harold Wilson gave it to them for "services to British Industry"), Paul became a knight a few years back. It is rumoured that the surviving members of the Fabs are also to be knighted and it has even been muted that JOL is to be awarded it posthumously. What he would think of that or whether they would need Yoko's permission is another matter!! Mc Cartney may be elevated to a Lord. Since that nomark Lloyd Weber is already one then that's fair enough!! If you ask me he got it for being a posh Southern Jessie! Other knights of rock are Sir Elton John and Sir Cliff (pass the sick bucket for his latast effort) Richard. Bob Geldof got an honourary one (as he's an Irish citizen he wasn't allowed a full one ) and noone cares if he calls himself "Sir Bob"...reckon he deserves it!!!! The lowest award was a BEM ...British Empire Medal (but it's gone now) Then: MBE OBE (Order of BE) CBE (Commander of BE) Knight (you get to be called Sir and there's 4 types Garter, Bath, Thistle and St. Partick)...don't know which one Paul is. Baronet Lord Lord (of the hereditary Peer type)...not many of those these days, as it's non-PC Baron Viscount Earl Marquis Duke I don't think anyone has been awarded a rank above Viscount for a long time. The top 3 are probably just members of the Royal Family Now, I've almost certainly missed something out, but that's the gist and I don't profess to be an expert!!
------------------------------ Message-ID: <000901bf4d87$3427a3c0$1ab59fce@default> From: "Wes Hanks" <wes@iolvegas.com> Subject: The Million Drunk March in Las Vegas Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 12:48:56 -0800 Some books I bought and read this year, "The Battle of Kursk" - D. Glantz & J. House "Citzen Soldiers" - S. Ambrose "A History of London" - S. Inwood "Back in the USSA" - E. Byrne & K. Newman "All Tomorrow's Parties" - W. Gibson "American Front" - H. Turtledove "Late Antiquity" - G.W. Bowersock, et al The most excellent "Hyperion" series - D. Simmons "Tales from the Drone's Club" - P.G. Wodehouse Every cd I picked up this year has already been mentioned in other's lists. Except, race out of the house with shaving cream still on your face to purchase Joe Strummer's "Rock Art and the X-Ray Style" Best pc game I picked up this year - MechWarrior 3 Best music magazine I discovered this year - UK's own - "Uncut" Did anybody watch the restored version of "Greed" on TCM a few weeks ago? Off-line feedback please. Cheers, Wes Hanks
------------------------------
Message-Id: <199912232241.RAA04285@nantucket.net>
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 17:40:16 -0800
Subject: XTC vs. TMBG, a rewritten list, and much, much more...
From: "Diamond" <arnos@nantucket.net>
>1) Andy thinks "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a fantastic song but doesn't
>really like anything else on "Flood".
Birdhouse is one of the best songs by them, but if he liked that, he should
listen to Lincoln. Someone tell him that, please. Do you think it's the
music or the lyrics that turn Andy off?
>2) Andy *really* disliked the album "John Henry".
John Henry is probably their worst album, so I understand that. I can really
get into it though.
>3) Andy thought "XTC vs. Adam Ant" was 'eh'.
Fair assumption. Although I like it, it's obviosly not up andy's ally.
>Vermonters are very
>tolerant people, even when they disagree with a certain lifestyle.
and they make good icecream, too... ben and jerry's is the best stuff in
the world
But honestly, I'm happy to hear that. I have a pretty good friend who came
out of the closet over a year ago, and I was surprised to hear that there
were people in my school who were totlally intolerent about it... why can't
they just let people do what they want... it's like jehovas witnesses,
coming to your door trying to force their beliefs on you. let people believe
what they want to believe, do what they want to do, f*ck who they want to
f*uck (escept, obviously, children and mentally challanged people) It's
amazing how stupid people can be sometimes.
I feel that I must re-write my best of 99 list. When I first wrote it, I
hadn't but many albums this year. I have since bought some that really
deserve to be on the list. So, here I go.
1. XTC - AV1/Homespun (I count it as one album)
2. John Linnell - State Songs (Incredible album... I've never had so much
fun listeng to an album. Really helps to show what Linnell adds to TMBG, by
seeing him by himself)
3. Ben Folds Five - Reinhold Messner (Didn't have it last time, and I could
kick myself for not getting it sooner)
4. Joe Jackson - Symphony #1 (Been listening to it a lot. Really good,
especially the second and fourht movements)
5. Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin (Maybe it's a little early to be putting it
this high on my list, seeing as I just bought it yesterday, but it's really
quite good)
6. Beck - Midnight Vultures (Beck's always been a fifty-fifty musician to
me. I usually only like half of one of his albums. This one's more like
70-30. Really Good.)
7. Wilco - Summer Teath (bought it on tape, will have to buy it on CD now.
Anyone know how Being There is?)
8. Squeeze - Domino (it was alright... it's slowely growing on me...)
and I just bought 13 by blur... wow, it's really different. I wish it was
more like the Great Escape, but oh well...
I personal note here, on December 18 I celebrated my aniversery... one year
of being an XTC fan. I listened to 0&L first (first album I bought by them)
and then went on to Nonsuch, Big Express, and Bull With The Golden Guts.
Great ceebration. Unfortunetly, I think Andy forgot. Maybe he didn't get my
invitation...
Can I just say something here? XTC are really good. I mean, REALLY good. It
just makes me so warm inside listening to an album by them. I just wish I
could thank them in person just for being them. Anyone wont to send my
thanks on to them?
KevinDiamond
____________________________________________________________________________
"To emphasize the afterlife is to deny life. To concentrate on heaven is to
create hell."
-Tom Robbins
------------------------------
From: "Mark Strijbos" <mmello@knoware.nl>
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 23:51:14 +0100
Subject: 1999
Message-Id: <19991223224909.29844A6CE4@mail.knoware.nl>
Dear Chalkers,
allright, I give in... you want lists? you got one!
My fave purchases of 1999, in no particular order:
- AV1, about 16 copies
- Homespun, 10 copies
- Israeli Times Square 2LP
- Japanese Waxworks cd
- French Great Fire 12"
- German Skylarking LP with regular, non-textured sleeve
- Filipino Peter Pumpkinhead 7"
- German This World Over 12"
- Dutch Black Sea LP with green outer bag
- Japanese Black Sea LP with Canadian (sic!) black plastic bag
etc etc etc
Oh yes, i also made one non-XTC purchase... i bought the new
album from the Kula Shakers but that turned out to be a big mistake
So i've learned my lesson, i'll stick to XTC from now on.
yours in xtc,
Mark Strijbos at The Little Lighthouse
http://www.knoware.nl/users/mmello/
or http://come.to/xtc
------------------------------ From: RMJENN@aol.com Message-ID: <0.4fd21507.25940ec2@aol.com> Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 18:48:18 EST Subject: XMAS XTC I have two Christmas related suggestions for the XTC fan: 1) Consider picking up "Song Stories" by Neville Farmer (& XTC) and listening to one (or more) XTC albums while reading the chapter that describes the songs on the album you're listening to. I'm stuck at work and not terribly busy, so I've been going through the albums in order, one or two per day (I'm up to Mummer). It's very entertaining and enlightening way to pass the time (at least, its better than endless games of Free Cell on the computer). "Song Stories" shouldn't be too hard to find - I bought mine at Barnes & Noble ($15 in a trade paperback edition). 2) If you get any extra cash or record store gift certificates for Christmas, consider picking up the "Transistor Blast" box set (assuming you've already purchased AV1). I was a little leery of it myself, having discovered XTC in the mid-80s, after they stopped touring, and so I had little regard for XTC as a live band (I was surprised to learn from "Song Stories" how much XTC toured in the early days). However, this box set of "live" BBC studio and live concert recordings changed my mind. The sound quality is excellent and the performances show some of the older songs in a new light. Anyway, it will help pass the time until AV2 comes out. Happy holidays to all, Bob J.
------------------------------ Message-Id: <v04210102b487cb826760@[208.13.202.154]> Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 07:56:57 -0500 From: "Christopher R. Coolidge" <cauldron@together.net> Subject: Sound Effects Assignment for the last year of the millenium: go to your nearest library and find a copy of Simon Frith's Sound Effects, read it through, and see if you agree with me that it needs a sequel for the year 2000. The observations it makes about to place of rock and roll in modern society were spot on in 1978, and are even more true, with amendments to suit the current fragmented climate. Frith makes only observations about society as he sees it. It's one of the few truly scholarly examinations of of modern popular music I've run across, and very interesting reading. 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
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 11:54:54 +1100 From: Sebastien Maury 02 9950 3315 <maury.sebastien@a2.abc.net.au> Subject: lycanthropy rules Message-id: <E1778IGE2QLJU*/R=A1/R=ABCNET/U=MAURYS6G/@MHS> Before I get too carried away, here are my picks of 99: A good year as far as my purchases were concerned. *Ben Fold Five:...Reinhold Messner. Growth and a modicum of experimentation. Strong songs and fine chops. *Blur: 13. Surprise of the year. Joyous, weird and tasty in turn. *Jason Falkner: Can You Still Feel? Bought vinyl first (bonus tracks on it!!!) and picked up the CD later. Fine guitar pop. *Flaming Lips: Soft Bulletin. Not a classic but fascinating and intelligent. And goofy! *Fountains of Wayne: Utopia Parkway. Fine live band and the "fun" album of infectious tunes of 99. *Macy Gray: On How Life Is. From this year's most fascinating pop vocalist (dig the Rod Stewart vibe Mace), an unpretentious funk fest. *Incognito: No Time Like the Future. Smooth jazzy grooves. *Jimmy Little: The Messenger. The most amazing collection of Australian pop/rock classics of the 80s heard thru the prism of this 60 something indigenous crooner. Absolute gem. *Moby: Play. About as eclectic as things get on the one disc. Fab. *Owsley. Surprising. Sassy guitar pop with the odd twist. *Prince (whatever): Rave un2 the joy fantastic. Not his best by a long shot but still a notch above most dreck washing the market. *Regurgitator: ...art: cheezy pop-Are You Being Served theme can never be better used. *Ron Sexsmith: whereabouts. A slow burner but truly astounding beauty. *silverchair: Neon Ballroom (thanks Toni. Oh and of course they're "majoritaire" now) *Wilco: Summerteeth. Sweet summery ballads and uptempo hoedowns. Pernice calling? *XTC: Apple Venus v1. Of course. My fave from their whole catalogue, just tipping out O&L. Concise, gorgeous. Some 97-8 CDs I can't believe didn't get released here until this year, with a few I only just picked up this year: *Madonna: Ray of Light. *Introducing Ruben Gonzales. *Carleen Anderson: Blessed Burden. *Dave Dobbyn: The Islander. *Tevin Campbell. I can only attribute the bizarreness of this digest to the fuuull moon we've recently had...um anyone else out there think I'm an evil pervert and wants to write and tell me so, my address is above. It's a work address in the Australian government and so it's maybe a smidgen unlikely I'd be telegraphing illegal sexual perversions along it. But Ryan thanks anyway. I'll assume it was a joke, cleverly and wittily balancing my flippancy with your (very well hidden, subtle as a sledgehammer) sarcasm. What? You were serious? Oh...Ditto Dorothy. For the record, I don't sleep with underage boys. IT WAS A BLOODY JOKE. I don't quite know how much clearer I can make this but if you have a look at my original post, you may see that I was adding to a general catalogue of right wing moralising that's been suffusing the list of late. Fine. I'm not going to stop people but I'm sure as hell going to object if I don't agree. Now repeat after me, "'BOYS' is a very common synonym for 'MEN'". I wrote "boys". It implied "men", not for the least reason that, as a number of people have helpfully pointed out, ummm let's see now, oh yeah it's *illegal*. What I certainly didn't mean to do was start a forum for sexual liberation and morality (and I realise this may help perpetuate the blasted thread) but IT WAS A BLOODY JOKE!!!! I couldn't let my sparkling good name be ground into the dust on the basis of a quick quip or a jokey aside. Oh and I'm not going anywhere. I bait. You bite. Fun! Seb.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19991224020856.51460.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Megan Heller" <hellerm@hotmail.com> Subject: but Christmas isn't for another fortnight! Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 20:08:56 CST Brian continues his side in a debate which is perhaps more fruitless than the whole drug thing-- >If you enjoy epitomizing the lackluster educational awareness in this >world, then you are a victim of the dumbing down of our society that is >now in full swing. my god but I am so sick of the millennium hype and arguments and everything else (I'm not commenting on anyone on the list; I mean this about everywhere). But, honestly, before I was sick of it, I was into the idea of taking part celebrating with the rest of the world. The truth is, it *doesn't* matter, other than the potential for a few computer disasters and explosions, and no one's going to come around to the correct logic within the next week. with the mentioning of all the different calendars, I'm surprised there's been no mention of the Julian calendar. We (well, in general) operate on a Gregorian calendar now, but I know in Europe the Julian calendar was used into the eighteenth century (I know it was in use when George Washington was born). This older calendar dates back to Rome, and is at this point... twelve days off from the Gregorian calendar? (anyone know for sure?-- I can't remember). Russia was on the Julian calendar until after the revolution, which is why the "October Revolution" of 1917 actually occurred in November in the rest of Europe. (re: the subject line, the Julian calendar makes an excellent excuse for being late on Christmas gifts. Of course, you may not have friends after you use it...) please correct me on any details re: the Julian calendar... megan (who just contributed to the dumbing down of society by staying awake 32 hours to complete 9 Ph.D. applications, and is now going to bed). ps - Mitch! Thank goodness "My Brown Guitar" is going to be on AV2! I was worried when you didn't list it! pps - happy holidays everyone.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19991224022948.39204.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Duncan Kimball" <dunks58@hotmail.com> Subject: Silly Season? Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 18:29:48 PST Best of the season to everyone on Chalkhills. Thanks to Harrison, Dom, Chris and all those many others whose name I forget, who have made this list so continually interesting, engaging and controversial. A special thanks must go to John Relph for his exemplary moderation and his endless patience. Well played, sir! To Andy, Colin, Dave, Terry, Barry and all their friends and colleagues - what can I say but "Thanks For Christmas" ! A great year for XTC and 2000 looks even better already. Hats off guys! My particular thanks and good wishes go out to all those Aussie Chalkers whom I have met and am now privleged to count as my friends, notably Toni, Seb, Paul and Iain. Your friendship has helped me through some tough times and I will not forget that. I hope you all have a great festive season and that Year 2000 is a good one. 1999 is a year I'd rather forget in most respects, but Chalkhills has been one of the saving graces. I hope you all have a happy, safe and successful festive season and a wonderful new year and look forward to locking horns again in the future. OK well Im off now cos I need to shoot up, and the kids are hassling me to pack the bong for them. I'd better get to it before the acid kicks in. Cheers then! Dunks
------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 22:59:03 -0500 (EST) From: Brian Whitman <bwhitman@crudites.org> Subject: [JOKE] Andy Partridge Suicide. [JOKE] (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.9912232257140.24193-100000@netspace.org> My friend mailed me this, I have no idea where he got it. It's funny. Happy holidays. Brian Whitman bwhitman@crudites.org http://www.netspace.org/users/bwhitman ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 11:49:45 -0500 From: Christopher Moutenot Subject: Andy Partridge Suicide. XTC's Andy Partridge Quips Self to Death According to Partrigde, [Apple Venus] Volume 2's sound may boast more electric guitar than Volume 1, which featured lots of classical orchestration. In a statement, Partridge quips: "It's great to get our hands tangled up in electric guitar strings once again...this record has more hooks than a Long John Silver convention and it contains all the colors of the plectrum. I think it is head, shoulders and frenum above the rest of the pop music world. You will either love it or it will be the most expensive frisbee you ever purchased. Sure it's a collection of songs, but it's also a CD that you can shave your face in as well." Partridge was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he immediately expired. A brief autopsy attributed his death to excessive wit trauma and finally allowed for the safe removal of the stick of gum that Partridge allegedly swallowed six years ago while attempting to synchronously rub his stomach and pat his head.
------------------------------ Message-ID: <3862E9A7.2E59@yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 19:33:59 -0800 From: Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> Subject: Oops For the record and before you all start yelling "DIDN'T YOU READ?!?!?" I wrote that comment asking where "Some Lovely" was before Mitch's correction came in the next digest. -- * ---------------------------------------------- Rich Bunnell or "Taoster Man"--No, it's not a typo http://members.xoom.com/taoster/ If you wish to E-mail, remove "SPAMSUCKS" from the address in the header * ----------------------------------------------
------------------------------ Message-ID: <19991224041828.58638.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Bob Crain" <bobcrain@hotmail.com> Subject: Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 20:18:28 PST This is the coolest P.S. of the decade formerly known as the "nineties", which began on Jan. 1, 1990 and will end on Dec. 31, 1999: --------------- P.S. Somebody told me the other day that all four members of the Beatles were knighted in the 1960s. Does anyone know which year this happened? I also heard that the keyboard player for Deep Purple is an actual Lord. Cool. --------------- Merry X(TC)-mas everyone, esp. Todd, Steph, Harrison, Dom, and Pants the cat. What about that whacky XTC bootleg compiliation thingy that people are ordering? Sounds kinda kool, but what the fuck? Oh yes, "cunt". -Bob Crain
------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 13:06:28 +0100 (MET) From: Martin <rappard@dds.nl> Subject: One more time and then I'll shut up Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.90.991224125656.8771B-100000@fatima.dds.nl> "Brent Dougans" <brent.dougans@telus.com> wrote: > First off, English Settlement does not contain any bonus cuts. Oops - I confused the track list of the later bowdlerized version (one LP) as the original one, and thought the added songs were bonus cuts. To those who are even more clueless than me: http://chalkhills.org/discog/indexa.html#albums has all the answers. Brent then raised some valid points on the LP-vs-CD matter, but I'm sure most people on this list have seen the same arguments over and over on this mailing list and others, so maybe I'll reply to him off-list after I've send this message. Martin http://members.xoom.com/rappard
------------------------------ Message-ID: <002401bf4e0f$7e622360$c08601d5@default> From: "David Seddon" <D.Seddon@btinternet.com> Subject: Nonsvch Supreme Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 13:04:18 -0000 O.K., I've resisted this so far, but it's Christmas Eve and I feel a list coming on (sounds painful). Here's my choice of the 20 Cds I would least like to be without from the 90s, and I've even tried to put them in order: Nonsvch - XTC - Possibly the best collection of great songs since Abbey Road. WIG, TSAHD, TUU, DMB and others are simply gorgeous pieces of music. The undiscovered (by the masses) masterpiece of Rock. Enlightenment - Van Morrison (OBE, btw) - Van just can't stop his Celtic muse and this album's one of his most laid back and cheerful Automatic For The People - REM - a classic with scarcely a dud moment, and beautifully played and recorded. Ten Summoners Tales - Sting - I don't care if half of the people on the list hate Sting, I think that this shows a very clever songwriter at the top of his craft, and Fields of Gold is musical poetry. Grace - Jeff Buckley - Who knows how good this fellow might have got to be, but parts of this are awesome in their intensity. 20 Mothers - Julian Cope - The genius of the weird and alternative, who has a knack for making it accessible, turns out a cracking selection of melodic and musically explorative songs. Apple Venus Vol 1- XTC - If there was a better song than Harvest Festival in 1999, then I haven't heard it. Global Warming - Sonny Rollins - The jazz legend gives us another album full of hummable melodies and virtuoso Tenor Sax playing. Egyptology - World Party - Karl Wallinger is one of those people who ain't that far behind Andy Partridge as a songwriter (and Robbie Williams got to number one with She's the One). Mark Hollis - Mark Hollis - A gem of understated, minimalist music and sublime acoustic inspiration. The Red Shoes - Kate Bush - She gets my nomination as the most original (living) genius of popular music, and this has got some great moments of pleasure on it. Laughing Stock - Talk Talk - Music of aching beauty, sparse and celestial. Eric Clapton - Unplugged - Eric has rarely sounded better and the recording is pristinely clean. Mr Lucky - John Lee Hooker - Give your HI FI a run through with this. It'll give your amplifier and speakers a treat. Mnemosyne - Jan Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble - A fantastic marriage of saxophone and heavenly voices, but containing a lot of twists and turns. Jollification - The Lightening Seeds - These boys know how to make catchy pop songs. Very - The Pet Shop Boys - Ditto, and the cover of Go West is lush and uplifting. Biting social comment if you listen to the words. Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev - One I'm getting into right now. Could be a classic. Off The Ground - Paul McCartney - Some of this knocks your socks off for it's genius ( Golden Earth Girl and Come On People could have been Beatles classics). Some of it is awful, but the best of it gets it in here. The Beatles Anthology 1,2,3 - Where does one place this? It's musical history of the utmost importance and I found most of it fascinating and some of it wonderful.
------------------------------ End of Chalkhills Digest #5-351 *******************************
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